Iron Clash (Legend of the Iron Flower Book 7) Read online

  Iron Clash

  by Billy Wong

  Iron Clash

  Copyright © 2014 Billy Wong

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission of the Author. Your support of author’s rights is appreciated.

  All characters in this compilation are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

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  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Bonus short story

  Credits and author page

  Sample of Iron Seeds

  Chapter 1

  "This is fun," Derrick said as he walked with the warrior couple up the steep brown slope. The valley they sought lay beyond it. A gust of wind blew raindrops falling from the gray sky sideways, making him half close his eyes.

  Not sure if he was being serious or not, Rose replied, "Walking through freezing rain in gale winds is fun? I can't see a thing, and you—you can barely walk!" Indeed, the big woman held onto her friend's hand to steady him against the heavy wind.

  "An old fashioned adventure like this is still a welcome break from the type of stuff we've been going through for the last year or so before this, no?"

  Rose and her husband Finn had been through rough times. Their battles to save their twin children and avert the dread prophecy involving them had taken an emotional toll, especially since Rose had lost an unborn child after being stabbed through her womb. Their struggles also put much of the responsibility for running their Center for Magical Study on Derrick's shoulders, a hefty burden for any one person. It was a good thing for all of them that some of the junior researchers had progressed enough for them to leave the center in their hands and take a break.

  "This weather's even worse than you'd expect here," Finn observed with a frown on his wide face. "I mean, the Finger is supposed to be cold all year, but this is some storm."

  Rose winked. "Well, maybe whatever ancient magic is in that ruin is acting up."

  The God's Finger was a thin westward-pointing peninsula off the coast of northern Coblan, and a harsh place indeed. Barely any vegetation grew on its hilly terrain, nearly devoid of inhabitants human or otherwise. The trio had been visiting their friend Loreen, and while staying with the one-armed soldier learned of a great ruin in the Valley of Ghosts nestled deep within the mountains. Despite the tough trip and rumor of grave dangers they'd have to brave to get there, they could not resist the allure of new knowledge that might await. So just like old times, they set out on an adventure together once more.

  "We're almost there," Finn said as they neared the summit, wrapping a tree trunk of an arm around his hulking yet voluptuous wife's not-so-thin waist.

  They exchanged warm, contented gazes, and Rose felt a surge of adoration for him. She gave his mat of red hair a playful rub, and he put her in a gentle headlock in response. Finally they reached the top of the hill, and the challenge they saw before them hardly diminished their cheer. "That's a nice tall mountain we'll have to climb," said Rose.

  Finn smiled. "Looks easy enough." The titanic tooth of the earth which stood before them must have been five miles high if not more, and looked about as steep and unforgiving as a sheer cliff face. "You brought climbing gear, right?"

  She shook her head. "Not like we need it."

  "Oh, gods," Derrick groaned, "am I even going to be able to breathe up there?"

  Grinning, Rose took a fuzzy green leaf out of her belt pouch and handed it to the scholar. "Here, I brought this just for you. It'll help you adjust to the higher altitude. Eat one and strap yourself to Finn's back."

  "Why always my back?" her giant husband asked with a curious look. "You're just as strong."

  "But you're the one who's always trying to prove his strength to everyone. So you carry him, and you'll get a better feat than me today." Besides, Rose's back pains were likely worse than his, even if she was not far shy of a decade younger. She had taken a lot more damage to her body, and would be dead a hundred times over if not for her unearthly resilience. Even if she was nigh indestructible, her countless scars and constant pain reminded her daily of a lifetime of battle.

  Derrick gave a flustered sigh. "You guys make me feel so useless sometimes."

  "You're not useless," Finn said. "Who else is going to read Old Script for us?"

  He laughed. "That's a point. Though it wouldn't be if either of you took the time to learn more of it."

  "We've been busy. Anyway, better get ready to help battle any monsters that attack us while we're climbing. Having you on my back is going to make it a little cumbersome for me to fight."

  Derrick looked at Rose and asked softly, "We're not going to get attacked by monsters, right? What could live up there?"

  "We probably could, though I'd hate being in the cold for so long. But there's no small likelihood we run into something else living, if not on the mountain then in the ruins themselves. These things never go that easily." Not with her luck, at least.

  "Heh, I'm not scared, I have you two big brutes to protect me. So let's go and find ourselves some knowledge." Derrick began to tie himself to Finn's back and Rose aided him, making as sure as she could that the scholar wouldn't fall to his doom during their long ascent.

  They started climbing barehanded up the mountainside, and got the first sign of trouble when a large amount of brown goo splattered atop Rose's fluffy dark mane. "Shit," she hissed.

  "What happened?" Derrick asked, unable to see as he was strapped to Finn's back facing in the opposite direction. This way, he would readily be able to shoot his crossbow or slash his sword at anything that came at them from behind.

  "Literally shit," Finn said, "that fell on Rose's head. Looks like a hefty dump, too—whoever took it can't be too small."

  Releasing one of her handholds to brush some of the feces off, Rose heard the sound of flapping wings coming closer. She turned her head to spot what looked to be two scaly, winged great cats flying at the group's backs. Their claws were out, and their mouths opened and closed as if to snap prematurely at them. "Of course," she said wearily, "who didn't expect this to happen?" Drawing her sword Thorn with her free hand, she spun still clinging to the face of the mountain and slashed. Gutted instantly by her massive blade, a creature went plummeting towards the ground with its entrails following close behind.

  She glanced at the other monster, which now thrashed in its death throes with a crossbow bolt through its chest, and nodded. "Good job, Derrick. That wasn't so bad."

  "Rose..." he muttered with a look up, and following his gaze she saw that half a dozen more creatures swooped down from above towards them. She chanted magic words and with a flick of her wrist threw a fireball into their ranks. It exploded between them, setting the feathers of several aflame. The pack dispersed whimpering in fear, and a couple dropped out of the sky as their wings became too damaged. "You're getting good with magic, huh?" Derrick said.

  "Not too good. But better." Finn would still be far superior to her in terms of spellcasting, if only he could use magic without risking his humanity.

  Not giving up
so easily, the cat-things were coming back around to dive at them from the sides. Rose slashed through one's visage, punched the next aside with her hilt so it went careening into the mountainside. Derrick shot one in the eye, then cried out as another flew up in his face. "Rose, Finn, help!"

  Rose looked to assess her companions' plight. Derrick flailed uselessly with his arms and bow, trying to hold off a monster clawing away. For now, the scholar's chain shirt saved him real harm, but at any moment those talons could reach his throat or face. Not trusting her accuracy with a spell enough to risk saving Derrick that way, Rose thought to draw a dagger and hurl it into the cat's neck. But before she could, Finn turned, bumping his passenger into the mountain, and swung his mace. Its whole left side caved in, the creature pawed at the air while it gurgled its last. The strength soon left its wings, and it tumbled down into oblivion.

  Derrick panted for breath, wiping at a shallow cut on his cheek the cat had managed to give. "That was pretty scary. Thanks, Finn."

  He grunted as he turned back to grip the mountainside again with both hands. "Think I might've pulled my arm a bit with that stunt. Wish you were man enough to climb."

  "I might be if you'd bothered to bring climbing gear."

  Rose shrugged. "Too late now. Besides, I think this slope might be a little tough for you even with gear. Just hope those cats will be all we have to deal with." Righting her facing like her husband had, she continued on up.

  #

  They finally reached the peak of the great mountain, and peering down into the canyon on the other side Rose said, "Damn, that's going to be a long climb down. Can you believe the size of that fortress?"

  "Don't tell me you're not up to this," Finn joked.

  "I'm good. Just hoping there are no unfriendly inhabitants left to welcome us inside." The rectangular building within the Valley of Ghosts almost filled it entirely, standing over three hundred feet yet far wider than it was tall. "Wonder what kind of gargantuan race might have built that."

  "Extravagant archmages?"

  Derrick looked down at the massive structure. "They could have, but I doubt even they would have felt the need for a thirty foot door. I'm thinking real giants."

  Rose groaned. Finn met her worried eyes and kissed her, relishing the touch of her soft pink lips. "Hey, they're probably all dead by now."

  "Are we ever that lucky?"

  "Not often..."

  Derrick smiled. "If any ancient or undead giants attack, me and Finn will send them on their way to the next world, alright Rose? You just sit back and enjoy the ride." Starting to climb down into the valley, Finn laughed. If anyone would be protecting somebody down there, it would probably be Rose saving her male companions! He saw Rose's smile at the quip and was struck again by how lovely she looked, even with the countless scars on her face... what a wife.

  #

  Having finally made it to the entrance, Derrick stared at the immense stone double doors which barred the way inside. "How the hell are we supposed to get through those?"

  With a meaningful look up, Rose said, "Climb? I see plenty of nice big windows."

  "Or," Finn suggested cheerily, "how about we push?" Leaning against the huge slab on the right, he pitted his mighty muscles against its weight. With a loud grinding sound, it began to move, and the portal was soon open the crack needed for a human to enter. "See? It wasn't even locked."

  Rose punched his arm. "Show off. You could've at least asked for my help."

  "I didn't need it."

  As if to prove she could, Rose pushed the door a bit further ajar with a grunt. "There. Now you can actually fit your fat ass through."

  Though he'd been friends with the couple more than half a decade now, Derrick remained amazed not only at their physical prowess, but emotional resilience also. Through lives of constant hardship, the warriors had retained a bright outlook and optimism for the future. He supposed perhaps that was the strength love gave them, which he'd been denied by the death of his own sweet Julie. Derrick had never felt any attraction towards another woman since the day of that tragic battle, as if his capacity for love had died with her. Too, his attitude towards life in general had grown drearier, and he was aware Rose and Finn's decision to bring him along had partly been motivated by their hopes that carefree adventure would loosen his spirit up again.

  So far, though, the only pleasure he had enjoyed was during occasional humorous moments with his friends; he felt hardly as enthusiastic for new experiences and discoveries as he'd once been. Years ago he would have been awed and thrilled by the sight of this giants' fortress, but wasn't now. Looking around the vast front hall with its immense smooth pillars and arched ceiling high above, he felt only disinterest and a sense of resignation at the fact even a civilization that could build such wondrous things need fall and disappear amidst the sands of time.

  Still, he found himself asking, "You think this place was built by gods?"

  Rose shrugged. "Not the gods I've fought."

  Derrick couldn't help a laugh, and clarified, "Real gods, Rose!"

  "Who says they weren't real gods? They had religions, didn't they?"

  Finn hugged her shoulders. Giving her ample cheek a light pinch, he agreed, "They were powerful enough to be gods. But not to beat my little Rose."

  She grinned. "Seriously, I don't know if gods made this. But it doesn't seem like any live here now."

  "It's real quiet," Derrick said. "But I guess we'll find out for sure soon enough."

  The group walked deeper into the enormous ruin, Rose and Finn pushing open more great doors together. It seemed indeed this had been a home of giants; they passed by and under chairs nearly twice the height of a man, tables which towered over those, and closets looming like small towers, all notably made of strong stone.

  "Whoever used these must have been thirty feet tall," Rose concluded, even her voice somewhat meek.

  Derrick nodded. "Maybe more, even. But where did such a race all go?"

  "No idea. Let's keep looking."

  The structure seemed equivalent in complexity and number of rooms to a large castle for humans, and Rose soon began complaining about how many heavy doors they had to push open. Though much furniture and eating utensils remained intact due to their stony composition, any paper or parchment the inhabitants might have used had decayed into dust long ago, taking any clues about the people who had lived here with them. Eventually, they came across what seemed to be a throne in the middle of the ruin—and underneath it, Derrick detected the outline of a floor panel that he suspected might be a trapdoor. "Think you guys could move that chair out of the way?"

  "If it's not attached, maybe," Finn said. But he and Rose struggled to budge the immense seat. "See any switches that could make this thing move? It seems like it might be stuck to the floor after all."

  "I don't see any..." And it shouldn't have been so hard to spot, if it was made for giants to push.

  Finn grunted. "Harder this time?" he asked Rose.

  "Fine." The two went back to pushing, and Derrick heard a terrible grinding and screeching noise from beneath the throne as it moved inches from its original position. His friends, who were closer to the source, heard it all the clearer. "My ears!" Rose cried. "Are you sure there's no switch? I don't think this thing is meant to be pushed."

  "Maybe on top of it?" Derrick replied.

  Rose climbed onto the seat with quickness belying her armored bulk and began to inspect the armrests. "This might be it, I think." She slammed her fist down on something, and the sound of ancient gears rumbling to life under the chair filled the friends' ears. It began to slide forward off the trapdoor. "Ha, we got it!" Rose beamed. "Basement, here we-" There was a thunderous crack, and the throne stopped moving. She looked exasperatedly at Derrick, who shrugged.

  "It was really old," he said.

  Rose hopped off the seat and returned to Finn's side to resume their hard work. A few minutes later, enough of the trapdoor could be seen to expose an unfamiliar
symbol like a half filled in circle on its center. The least knowledgeable of them with regard to ancient languages, Finn asked, "You know what that is?"

  "No," Derrick answered at the same time Rose did. None of them had encountered this image in their past experience with ancient civilizations. "If this is a word or letter, it certainly isn't Old Script." The language of ancient humans, which had been used in the golden age of magic.

  "But it could just be a symbol," Rose pointed out, "and not a word. Though I'm not sure what it might represent."

  Too many things, Derrick thought. A half-closed eye, a rising sun, balance, good and evil, dividedness, secrecy, half-eaten meat pie... "Maybe we'll see when we get down there."

  "Yeah, but that means we'll have to push the rest of this thing out of the way first."

  "Well, get to it! You're a big strong girl, this shouldn't be a problem, right?"

  "I do have some little pains. But then again, maybe a workout will help loosen up my old muscles."

  By the time the throne was fully off the huge trapdoor, which nonetheless looked like it would be a tight fit for whoever sat on the seat, Rose and Finn stood panting with sweat running down their faces. Though he had barely helped, with his insubstantial strength, Derrick too felt his soaked clothes clinging to his skin while he gasped for breath. "Now, how are we going to open the door?"

  Finn slapped his head and groaned. "I don't see how we're going to open this by hand. There's nothing to grab hold of, nor are the gaps big enough to stick anything in."

  "How would the giants who lived here have opened it?" Rose asked.

  "Maybe gears that you ruined," Derrick suggested glumly. "Can we use magic to break it?"

  "I don't know about 'breaking'... but we should be able to open a hole in it. Can you help me?" Rose wasn't very skilled with magic, and Finn shouldn't risk helping given the curse that would endanger his humanity if he used magic might still be active.

  Derrick joined Rose in warping the surface to create a hole with an earth manipulation spell, the effort of commanding the stone making his extended arms shake before they finished. This revealed a huge staircase into the depths below. "So before you had magic, how would you have opened it?" he asked.