Obsidian Ridge - Jess Lebow [57]
The horror swung with a metered purpose. The Claw slapped the blade aside with one of his gauntlets. The metal made a melodious screech as it slipped harmlessly past.
The construct attacked again, swiping its sword level to the floor and crossing the entire passageway with its long reach. The Claw continued his retreat, tossing himself into a back flip like an acrobat, landing on his hands and continuing over until he stood on his feet, two full body lengths away.
The horror broke into a run, charging down the hall. Its magical blade came down, and the Claw dodged away. Diving forward onto his belly, he skidded along the stones, narrowly squeezing through the space under the ancient defender's floating feet. Rolling over onto his back, he slashed at the creature's legs as they ran past. His sharpened gauntlets screeched as they bit into the metal, sending sparks flying but doing apparently little other damage.
The Cellar guardian stopped its charge and turned around, lowering itself to the ground. Taking its sword in both hands, it came again, its heavy feet clanking as it did. Bearing down with all of its might, it filled the confined space with magical steel. The Claw didn't have time to get to his feet, so he rolled to one side, smashing himself into the base of the wall.
The horror's blade clipped the edge of his cloak but missed the rest of his body. The sword slammed into the wall with tremendous force, which was followed by a cacophonous roar.
The impact had released some sort of magic from the blade, and the passageway shook. The Claw covered his ears with his hands, feeling as if he were in the very center of a huge thunderstorm. The sound echoed down the hallway, crumbling stone and sending debris flying.
The Claw could feel the ground under his shoulder moving as the flagstones shifted from the tremendous noise. Then the ceiling started to collapse. Handfuls of dirt rained down on him, and he scampered to his feet, trying to cover his head with his cloak to keep the dust out of his eyes.
Taking off down the passage, the Claw attempted to escape from the fight. Right behind him, the horror yanked its blade out of the wall where it had buried itself into the crumbling brick. Then it gave chase, its metal frame pounding the vibrating floor.
There was a tremendous crash as the ceiling continued to cave in. A crack shot through the stone, running in every direction, and huge boulder-sized chunks dropped to the floor, shaking the walls as they collided with the ground. The Claw ducked into a crouch, running at full speed down the corridor. The horror was right on his heels. Behind both of them, rocks fell from the ceiling, chasing them down the hall as the passage filled in.
The corridor continued to curve down and to the right. The Claw followed, having no other choice, hoping that he wasn't running from one terrible fight into another. The ground shook, and the ceiling fell. The crack spread faster than the Claw could run, and dirt rained down ahead of him. Pieces dropped at his feet, and he hopped over them while he made his escape. Behind him, he could hear bits of stone clanking off the metal hide of the ancient construct. They sounded like huge hailstones bouncing off the iron rooftops of the shanties just outside the Llorbauth docks.
Coming around the next corner, the passage straightened out and widened into sort of a crossroads-four passages heading off in opposite directions. The Claw launched himself forward, hurling himself out of the hallway and into the open space. Landing in a ball, he somersaulted once, came to his feet, and spun around, his gauntlets out like the claws of a tiger, ready to fight.
The helmed horror appeared at the end of the hall, its blade clutched in its huge hand. Stones rained down around it, denting the creature as it tried to escape. The advancing crack in the ceiling shot out over the archway that led from the room into the hall. The keystone crumbled, and the end "of the passage collapsed,