“Damn, but this feels strange.” Talwarg muttered to Lanek.
“I know, I keep expecting the myrmidons to show up.” Lanek responded, scanning the horizon nervously.
While the group had left the monastery with steadfast determination, and were still determined to complete their mission, everyone’s nerves were on edge as they neared the edges of what had essentially been a no-man’s land for a thousand years. There was a palpable hesitation when they passed through the ring of rubble that had once been the wall enclosing the dungeon’s entrance. However, despite their fear, they continued on for a few minutes.
Suddenly, Talwarg roared for the warriors to protect their noncombatants. “To arms! We are under attack!”
Lanek looked around in confusion, trying to spot what had triggered Talwarg. Despite not seeing their foe, Lanek trusted the man completely and summoned his spear and armor, the latter of which had developed a large silver tree engraved upon the chest that was identical to that which had been present on Ivan’s bracer. Nerek eyed it curiously, but quickly turned his attention to more urgent matters, casting miniature totems to the ground and activating their powers.
Seconds after Talwarg had shouted, a tide of ghouls rushed over the broken ground from the north. To make matters worse, the force was led by several ghasts that served to anchor the various packs. Lanek looked to Ograch, who nodded in response and began firing arrows at the ghasts, knowing that the ghouls would not break as long as a ghast was present. Lanek reached into his pouch and pulled for several stone slivers that Ivan had handed him that morning.
Well, let’s see what stone darts do. Lanek targeted one of the ghasts, wishing that he could target multiple ghasts at once, but they were spread too far apart for [Splintering Dart] to target in a single volley. He supposed that he should have expected that as multiple ghasts will not exist in a single pack, which meant that there were several distinct packs working together and the ghasts staying away from each other and with their packs.
As soon as he launched the first dart, he felt a rush of power from the shards as they split and shot toward the ghast and the ghouls nearest to it. He watched on in shock as the shards struck their targets and blasted through the enemy lines, continuing on for 10 meters or more from the point of impact. However, there had been no explosion, just pure concussive force. Honestly, if Lanek were to describe it, he would liken the scene to that of how cannonballs were said to plow through entire rows of troops.
He watched for a moment and saw the ghast drag itself to its feet, missing an arm, but still capable of battle. The ghouls, however, were still. Got it, stone is good for crowds but not great against tougher foes. Thorns are good for the stronger enemies but useless against crowds.
Now knowing what the stone shards could do, Lanek took off and rushed toward the flanks of the onrushing horde. He suspected that the foul creatures would ignore him in favor of reaching the weaker prey just beyond the thin defensive line of orcs and hobgoblins. Meanwhile, Khurzag shouted a single word that Lanek could not make out that caused a group of orcs to form up into a shield wall before the vulnerable members of their group, shields anchored in the ground and heavy cleavers, axes, and short swords in their hands. Just behind this group, hobgoblins and goblins took up position, spears at the ready to stab through the gaps between shields and into their foes. The hunters of the group, a diverse mix of all three races, acted independently and found the most favorable spots to begin raining arrows down on the enemy.
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For a moment, Lanek feared that the flanks would be left unguarded, but he shouldn’t have worried. Shel stood tall and began chanting while gesturing at the ground around them. Seconds later, the arms of stone burst from the ground and resolved themselves into a half dozen stone creatures that screamed earth elemental to Lanek. Each one stood a meter taller than even the largest orc, but moved very slowly as they took up positions to each flank and the rear of the formation.
Finally, Lanek reached his position and readied his next projectile. He smiled in grim satisfaction as he launched the first sliver at the enemy horde, watching as the enemy reeled from the enfilade fire. Chaos reigned in the horde as the shards shattered the charge, figures on the east flank being crushed and launched into their fellows. Lanek walked forward launching another dart only after the previous dart had done its grim work.
Sadly, Lanek only had so many slivers to begin with and could not keep up the barrage for long. After a few moments that must have felt like an eternity to the ghouls, Lanek ran out of projectiles. However, he wasn’t too concerned, he would have had to stop firing anyway as the horde was just about to reach the shield wall and friendly fire would have been a serious concern. Satisfied with the results after having dispatched a third of the ghouls, Lanek prepared for melee and approached the ghoul line.
The next thing Lanek knew, he was crashing to the ground, dazed. His instincts forced him to roll to the side as a spear pierced the ground where his head had been. He rolled again to gain some distance and rose, vision blurred, but prepared to fight. Slowly, his vision began to clear and he watched five figures closing on him, armored and with a variety of weapons. Shit, Ash Wights.
He had faced these monsters before and their coordination was leagues beyond anything that the regular monsters and gaunts possessed. If he remembered correctly, it was due to the fact that the party had fought and died together before being raised as these creatures. The only reason he had survived the previous encounter was because he had his own party. Fighting them all alone was a daunting prospect.
The creatures did not seem to be in a hurry now that they had his attention, with one of them leisurely walking toward and retrieving a pair of javelins, one from the ground where Lanek had lain and another from a few meters away. So that’s what hit me. Luckily, it feels like the armor held or I’d have been skewered.
The two hulking figures directly in front of Lanek were clad in full plate, if a bit rusted, and wielded a greatsword and a sword with a tower shield combo respectively. To one side, a figure that was a bit shorter than Lanek was wearing chain mail and wielding a pair of daggers, its movements hard to follow as it watched him closely.
On his other side, the wight wore chain mail with the remains of a surcoat bearing the barely recognizable image of a chalice over it. This creature bore a mace in one hand and a round shield in the other, the shield also bearing the symbol of chalice. I’d bet money that this one used to be a cleric. Good lord, I hope it can’t still use magic. It’s god wouldn't still grant it power in this form, would it?
The final wight had since finished collecting its javelins and held one at the ready, prepared to dart in and stab or throw as the situation demanded. It wore little armor, just the remains of some kind of hide or leather armor.
Not wanting to give the creatures time to surround him, Lanek lunged forward, stabbing at the one wielding the greatsword. Before his blow could land, Lanek was forced to abort his attack and dodge to the right as the dagger wielding wight charged in and struck at his back. Even after dodging, Lanek felt the daggers skip across his armor. He scrambled to lift his spear in time to intercept an overhead blow from the former cleric’s mace, managing to deflect the blow but was forced backward when the wight’s shield slammed into his face.
“SON OF A BITCH!” Lanek growled, blood pouring from his nose and seeing double. He threw himself backward as the first tank swung a powerful horizontal strike at him, one that he had no doubt would have bisected him had it landed. As he landed, Lanek was forced to snap his spear up to deflect a javelin into the ground beside him.
He couldn’t let this continue. If his foes retained the initiative, they would overwhelm him and he had no idea if his companions would be in any position to aid him. He considered summoning the furballs, but discarded the idea. The tree must be protected. Although, he would reconsider if things got worse.
Lanek dismissed his spear and drew his sword. He needed versatility and speed more than anything right now. With his off hand he reached down and pulled the javelin from the ground. He glanced at the long bit of wood before grinning.
I wonder...