How Black the Sky

were concerned that someone had heard. His grin returned when he saw no one was near enough to hear.
"So it's more mead for us then. Celebration demands it!" he said, motioning to the barkeep to refresh their steins, taking a long draught to drain his own.
Scythia winced as a sudden stab of pain shot through her temples, igniting the red gems in her silver circlet. Axebourne saw them light up and surged to his feet.
"Which direction?" he hissed, peering out the windows and into the street. She shook her head.
"I don't know. But it's coming fast, whatever it is" she said as the sharp pain dissipated. Her Circlet of Knowing could be a cruel accessory.
Together they rushed out into the muddy street and searched for danger in both directions. Scythia felt the ground tremble beneath her feet, rippling the puddles of water left by the morning mists.
"West," she said, and they both sprinted off in that direction, mud splashing up onto their treated leather boots.
Axebourne had drawn his weapon, a halberd with an extendable steel shaft that snapped out to full length at his touch. The edges of its blade were lit with yellow fire. Scythia followed suit, resting the chain of her spiked flail on her shoulder.
Then she saw it, a sickly face of black, scarred skin stretched over a skull the size of a potter's hut. When was the last time a Monstrosity this big had come to Overland? The thing groaned as it came, chasing after something Scythia couldn't see, swiping at structures in its way with those gnarled, massive hands. Townsfolk screamed, buildings sagged and collapsed, dogs were barking, cats yowled as they fled.
"It's fixated on something below!" Scythia hollered to her husband. "Let's get up high before engaging!"
He nodded and they altered their course to head for the temple. It wasn't as tall as one in a big city might be, but she would take any elevation she could get against that thing.
They raced down muddy roads until they came to the main street, the one that led to the temple. There were still hundreds of feet between them and the monster. Now she could see its prey, a lanky man encased in bright armor splashed with mud and black goo. He too sprinted for the temple, and Scythia saw his posture straighten when he caught sight of her and Axebourne.
She kept glancing back at him as she followed Axebourne to the temple.
On this stretch, lamps lined the street, their gems unlit but visible behind their glass casings. The tall armored man flicked his sword out at one of the lampposts, severing the post, causing it to crash to the ground. He plunged a hand through the glass to grab the gemstone inside, looking back to check the Monstrosity's position. He dashed up to the next lamp and repeated the process.
Scythia and her husband made it to the temple, and she paused on its steps while he went on ahead. The armored man had collected several gems and struggled to insert them into his gauntlet while he ran. The giant gained on him.
Scythia hailed him with one hand and pointed up into the temple to indicate her plan. He nodded as he ran, but she thought she saw him slowing down as he neared. She shot through the temple's open doors and into its foyer. Twin staircases led up to an open mezzanine on the second floor. With long legs she bounded up the steps four at a time.
When she joined Axebourne on a balcony overlooking the temple grounds, she saw that the armored man had stopped to await the Monstrosity in the street beyond. Brave? Or stupid? She figured he must have a plan.
"You've chased me from the depths of that sickly pit you call home," the man cried at the giant. His voice sounded young. "I'm tired of it! Come on, come get it you cliff-licker!"
Such language near a temple, Scythia thought. He's not orthodox.
The Monstrosity obliged, surging forward at the sound of the man's voice. It closed the distance, cocking an arm back, ready to swing and swat the man into paste. When only a few meters separated the two, the man drew his longsword. It blazed blue, its vibrancy jarring amid the grey and brown of the town's buildings, the red and gold of the temple ground's bricks and ornaments. The Monstrosity flinched, squinting at the unusual color and its bright light, and the man fired a mighty blast of orange fire into its lower leg. Flesh blew away like smoke, leaving only white bone. One of the gems on the man's gauntlet went dark.
The giant fell to one knee, swinging its arms blindly toward the ground in search of the armored man. It obliterated an ornate fountain, uprooted an old tree, but missed the man.
The armored warrior rushed the giant and fired a second blast of fire at the ground beneath his feet, propelling himself up into the air. He soared, and Scythia smiled. She'd never seen someone use a blast gauntlet that way before. It was amazing his arm didn't break, but some Overlanders were just naturally tough. A third blast sent the man flying even higher. A fourth blast, aimed behind, sent him closer to the giant's head, and a final shot deflected the huge creature's hand as it tried to knock the man away. It lurched, screaming in pain as its hand disintegrated into a mess of black skin and white bone. The armored man cleaved down the center of its horrid face with his blade, setting its wet beard afire with blue flame.
The Monstrosity toppled backward, the man falling with it. He impacted its chest and rolled down to the ground.
Pierce lay in a heap next to the giant as it twitched with the final impulses of its wretched life. He winced, trying to catch his breath.
"You alright, stranger?" came a voice from up the street. "That wasn't pretty!"
Pierce tried to blink his eyes