“That’s all I can do for now,” Glade said as a sixth collar fell from one of the dwarves’ necks. The ten-minute cooldown had always been a frustration, but the wait had nearly driven Krazzik mad.
“We’ll sort out the rest of you as soon as we can,” Glade promised, handing the freed dwarf one of their recently acquired crossbows.
“I still want to know how ye be doin that,” Bragden grumbled, picking up the collar from the ground and putting it away with the others.
Kedryn had initially protested, suggesting they use the collars on the Gnolls instead. While most of the dwarves had cheered the idea, both Riya and Bragden patiently explained that only the slavers guild was capable of activating the collars.
“Trade secret,” Glade responded for what felt like the dozenth time as he watched Riya distribute the rest of their gear amongst the group.
“Forget the collars,” replied another dwarf whose face was half covered in burn scars, resulting in a patchy, multi-hued beard of red and white. “Ye say Magma Beetles made this here alloy of star silver and steel? And there be a whole nest o’ the buggers down below?”
“For the last time, drop it, Gird,” Krazzik growled. “Ye can talk about yer new love after we are away from this hell hole with me boy.”
“We canna leave yet!” Gird cried, holding Glade’s slime catcher close to his chest like a protective mother. “There might be more beetles with this here alloy combination! It be a work of art I tell ye!”
Glade walked away, having given up on taking his slime catcher back from the odd dwarf. At least for the time being. Krazzik had warned them that this Gird fellow had a double specialization in blacksmithing and metallurgy and was extremely possessive of any metal object he took a fancy to.
“Sir,” Kedryn whispered in English, pulling Glade aside. “I have a concern.”
Knowing he couldn’t delay the inevitable any longer, Glade sighed, recalling his latest notification.
Warning! You have torn your mana channels further. Your body is now 10% saturated. At this level of saturation, you will experience +10% heightened awareness, +10% gain in stamina regeneration, -10% in mana regeneration, -10% in concentration, and -10 HPs every hour.
Note: Your skill, Telepathy remains in a passive state until used or dismissed. After which you will be unable to cast another astral spell until your channels have been repaired.
“I know,” Glade sighed. “I’m doing alright for now. Once we get this Gnoll situation sorted out, we can focus on fixing my channels.”
“I don’t think it’s that easy,” Kedryn said. “Riya warned me about overusing my channels. From our discussions it takes some serious magic to repair those. Even for minor tears. Beyond the fact that you won’t be able to cast any more magic once you use or cancel your telepathy skill, this is slowly killing you!”
“I get it,” Glade said, resting a hand on the Kids shoulder. “I really do. I’ve tried using my mana-processing technique to no avail. All it does is dump the same amount of mana I just processed back into my body because of the leak. Beyond that, I’m out of ideas. What would you suggest?”
“How about not tearing them further?” Kedryn replied in all seriousness.
Glade had to force down a laugh at the irony. Exactly when had Kedryn, the impulsive Kid who acts first and thinks later, become the adult between the two of them?
“Is everything alright?” Riya interjected in elvish. “I can’t help but feel you two are hiding something.”
Kedryn opened his mouth to respond, but Glade cut him off.
“We’ll talk after we’re done with this raid,” he told them in elvish, then turned back to Kedryn. “I promise. Now, let’s get moving. I can sense the spiders just on the periphery of my telepathy skill. If they’ve come this far, they likely won’t stop until we are out of these caves. Out of curiosity, do you think we will run into any more slimes along the way?”
“Not likely,” Riya responded. “The only incidents with slimes were in the chamber we found Krazzik in. I also spotted another star silver vein in the walls in the tunnel leaving that small chamber, meaning they wouldn’t have been able to pass through.”
“None of this makes sense,” Kedryn said. “Wouldn’t the Gnoll’s have known about the slimes if they were the farmers?”
“From what I understand, the dwarves were rented out by the slavers guild to the Gnolls so they could excavate these tunnels. They don’t know what it is this Black Robe or the Alpha are looking for, but it sounds like the slimes were every bit of a surprise to them as they were to us.”
“Not our problem to solve,” Glade said. “Lets just focus on getting out of here.”
Turning to Krazzik, Glade switched from elvish to dwarfen.
“Ready when you are.”
“About bloody time,” Krazzik grumbled, leading everyone away from the cavern.
“You’re the one that agreed we should have more combat capable defenders,” Glade said. It was actually Bragden who had insisted on it, forcing the chief to see reason.
“Doesn’t mean I’m happy ‘bout it,” Krazzik grumbled, fingering the collar still around his neck. Oddly, the dwarven chief had insisted that he retain his collar until all his people were freed. Glade could appreciate that.
After a few short minutes of walking, the tunnel emptied out onto what was clearly a man-made path carved from the rock, one section leading higher into the mountain and the other leading down.
“Which way?” Glade asked.
“The one on the right leads down the mountain and onto the plains,” the dwarf said. “The tunnel on the left be the one where the rest o’ me people are.”
A gentle breeze, so soft he almost didn’t notice it, tickled the hairs on the back of Glade’s neck. It brought with it a hint of cold, fresh air coming from the tunnel leading down.
In that moment, all Glade wanted was to abandon the blasted tunnels they had been trapped in for days, leaving the dwarves to fend for themselves.
“And your son?” Glade asked, looking at the tunnel leading down.
“And me son,” Krazzik whispered, the dwarf’s voice brimming with emotion.
Taking a deep breath, he turned to face the crowd.
“Corporal, Riya, we’re going left. Same plan as the first time we assaulted the Gnolls. Riya blinds and we take them down. I want to minimize using the pistol as much as possible seeing as I’m running low on ammunition.”
“You five,” he indicated all the freed dwarves except for Bragden. “I need you as rear guard. If all goes well, you can be the ones to free the others in your clan as we will be moving too fast to unchain them. If things don’t go according to plan, it will be up to you to clean up our mess.”
“What do ye need me for?” Bragden asked.
“You’re our guide,” Glade said with a smile. “Hope you can keep up.”
The surly dwarf scowled but didn’t utter a word of complaint as they headed up the mountain.
----------------------------------------
For the first time since his arrival on Veil, Glade saw clear indications of civilization. The tunnel, roughly the size of a narrow street, had been methodically carved from the very rock itself. While it wasn’t a true wonder of the world, he could appreciate the level of dedication and expertise it had taken to accomplish something so incredible.
The going was slow, seeing as they had Bragden with them, but the dwarf didn’t complain.
Twice they ran into other groups of dwarves, each overseen by one Gnoll slaver. They swept the rooms with ease, Riya blinding the sole guard with light followed by Bragden shooting them with his borrowed crossbow.
He and Kedryn barely had any clean up to do.
They left the rescued dwarves for Krazzik to deal with, Bragden explaining the situation quicky so they could resume their trek up the mountain.
“We’re almost there,” Bragden huffed after they had hiked for more than an hour. “They be around the next bend.”
Not that they needed the forewarning. The group had long since heard the telltale sounds of Gnolls laughing, interspersed with cries of fear and pain.
Several dozen minds flared into existence, Glade easily identifying most of them.
“Six Gnolls, a lot of dwarves, and two I don’t recognize,” Glade informed the others. “One is likely an animal, but the other I’m not certain about.”
“Another of yer trade secrets?” Bragden asked.
Glade ignored the question.
“I’m bettin the odd one be Black Robe and the other be his pet warg,” Bragden finally said, glaring at Glade.
“A warg? Really?” Kedryn asked, his eyes lighting up in the usual way when the Kid heard something he recognized.
“Aye, but it be on the small side seein as it still be a pup an all. Somethin that we can handle,” he replied, patting his crossbow. “Now, get yerselves ready. As I mentioned a’fore, this here path is blocked by a rock fall. The bloody Gnolls are in a side room large enough to host one o’ the Dwarven Kings fancy parties. Me other clan mates be diggin around the blocked path to open up a way to the other side, so they should be outta the way when we start bustin us some dog heads.”
“Where do you think Krazzik’s son is?” Riya asked.
“That likely be what is makin the Gnoll’s so excited,” Bragden growled in a subdued voice. “Dabbin be… different. Gnolls like to pick on any that be different. It’s part o’ their nature so to speak. Ever since Black Robe spotted the boy, he’s been tryin to get his claws on him. The Alpha made sure to keep them apart seein as the contract they have with the slavers guild keeps the boy protected and all. It be a long story, one that we can talk ‘bout later.”
Glade nodded, the same anger he held for the scum who took advantage of others back on Earth began to burn within.
“I’ll scout it first,” Glade whispered. “Then we can plan our attack.”
Getting on his belly, Glade low crawled around the corner and found a spot with a clear view of the cavern.
As the dwarf had predicted, the main route was blocked with a wall of fallen rock and stone that looked to have happened centuries ago. The side passage opened into a large cavern alight with torches and one large bonfire near its center. Large piles of dirt and rock littered the ground, presumably from the ongoing excavation work.
But what he saw happening near the center of the room turned Glade’s simmering anger into an inferno.
Five Gnoll’s, all geared similarly to the ones he had seen before, were jumping with abandon around the fire, yipping and cheering like the devil spawn they were.
A slim figure, covered head to toe in a black robe, lounged against a roughhewn rock like he was a lord overseeing his court.
Glade ignored them all, riveted as he was on the scene playing out within the circle of Gnolls.
A monstrous wolf was straining against its chain, snarling and snapping at a young dwarf boy in a cage, cowering just out of reach of the deadly animal.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
“Baba! Baba!” The boy wailed, the large wolf scrabbling with its forepaws a hairsbreadth from the boys tucked legs.
The Gnoll’s whooped louder, froth and spittle flying from their mouths.
A deafening roar reverberated throughout the room, the wolf’s body unexpectedly jerking to the side. The beast yelped in pain, scrabbling on the ground as blood frothed at its mouth.
The Gnolls clamped hands over their sensitive ears, turning toward the entrance to see what had caused such a thunderous noise underground.
A single human in tattered black clothing stood alone gripping what looked to be an oddly shaped metal rod, the stench of burning air rolling off him.
As a group, the Gnolls paused in indecision.
Glade did not.
Three more deafening cracks echoed throughout the room as two Gnolls dropped where they stood, their minds vanishing from his senses in an instant.
The sound of a bullet ricocheting off rock pierced the air as Glade missed the last of the monsters he had targeted.
The remaining Gnolls, realizing their predicament, leapt behind the closest pile of rock and dirt.
“What happened to comin back and reportin!” Bragden roared, charging around the corner with Kedryn and Riya in tow.
A flash of bright light erupted within the center of the room, blinding an unfortunate Gnoll who had popped his head out from cover with a crossbow.
Bragden was faster, a bolt tearing through the creature’s weapon and striking its hand.
“Nice shot!” Kedryn called, as the Gnoll ducked back behind the pile of rubble, yelping in pain.
“Shoddy, slags-baned gnollish piece of trash!” Bragden cursed. “I was aimin for the head!”
“Kedryn!” he yelled. “Flame them out! I’ve got Black Robe!”
Glade sighted his pistol on the man in black, who was slowly standing from his roughhewn throne, and squeezed the trigger.
A sphere of translucent black smoke sprang into existence in time to intercept Glade’s bullet. The impact sounded just like a bullet hitting bullet proof glass. And just like bullet proof glass, cracks appeared around the impact area.
Black Robe growled, raising what looked to be a large, oval lantern wrapped in chains, its outer edges wreathed in black fire.
Dropping his empty magazine, Glade rammed in his second to last clip at the same time as the lantern’s flames fed power to the shield, visibly repairing the damage.
A flash of fire burst from a torch above where the Gnolls huddled, lighting two of them on fire and flushing the other out. Glade took advantage of the exposed monster, quickly dispatching the slaver.
“Bragden! Get the kid out of there!” Glade roared.
The dwarf was already moving, pumping his legs faster than Glade thought was possible.
That’s when they heard Black Robe chanting.
“We can’t let him finish that spell!” Riya cried from behind, another burst of light appearing in front of the unknown mage, the distraction doing nothing to stop the chanting mage.
“What do you propose we do?” Glade yelled back. “Wait, doesn’t fire counteract abyssal magic?”
Kedryn was already shaking his head. “I’m almost out of mana. The drain from before and then blasting those two with a wide area of effect took more out of me than I planned. Besides, it looks like the magic rock he’s holding is the source of his power. All he’ll do is use it to repair whatever damage we do.”
“Got it, we’ll go with plan b then!”
“What’s plan b?”
“Overwhelming firepower,” Glade growled, advancing toward the sphere as he proceeded to empty his clip into the dark magic.
Cracks formed faster than the magic could repair, the last round shattering the globe in a shower of blackened smoke.
Black Robe staggered back; his chanting interrupted.
Glade rammed home his last clip, sighting in on the monster in front of him.
An arcane shout erupted from Black Robe before Glade could take advantage, a line of black fire shooting from the chained stone, engulfing Glade’s arm, pistol and all.
Searing pain rolled over him, the flame-retardant uniform burning away in an instant as his pistol fell from his limp hand.
“I’ve got you!” Kedryn cried, spraying a thin coating of magical fire across Glade’s arm, dispersing the corrupt flame.
Glade roared all the louder.
“It’s out!” Kedryn said, helping Glade behind cover as Black Robe laughed.
“You mundanes are all the same,” the voice rasped in Dwarfen. “Take away your toys and you have nothing left. You thought you could challenge me? Harnek the Black? You were wrong. So very, very wrong.”
“What now, sir?” Kedryn whispered.
“How should I know?” He hissed, his right arm hanging useless by his side. “What is that thing?”
“My Natural Lore skill say’s it’s a Corrupted Gnoll Shaman, level 11.”
“Shaman? As in Native American medicine man?”
“Not the same thing, sir,” Kedryn replied, waiving to someone in the dark, either Bragden or Riya, Glade didn’t know which.
Casting his thoughts around for an idea, Glade noticed several minds within range.
The ones further out were likely dwarves, which weren’t a help seeing as they couldn’t fight back. The other Gnolls were dead. That left Bragden, who was pulling Krazzik’s son to safety, Kedryn who was low on mana, Riya with her light magic hiding behind a pile of rock, him, and a mind he couldn’t account for.
Risking a glance, both Glade and Kedryn poked their heads out at the same time. The shaman was once more surrounded by his globe of translucent black smoke.
Black fire erupted from the shaman’s magic lantern, showering the rocks in front of them just as Glade sensed the unknown mind scream in pain.
“Sir, I have an idea. Any chance you could distract the Shaman for me? All I need is a few seconds,” Kedryn asked, a wild gleam in his eye.
“What are you going to do?”
In answer, the Kid held up his slime catcher, Slick pulsing on the front of it.
“That’s a terrible idea,” Glade said.
“Yes sir, it is. Do you have a better one?”
“No. But if this doesn’t work, I’m blaming you.”
Kedryn chuckled. “Ready when you are…”
“Just go!” Glade yelled, dashing from the burning pile of rock.
“Now, maggots, you will feel my power!” the Shaman cried, unleashing another torrent of black flame, striking just behind Glade as he sprinted across the room, diving behind another pile of rocks.
“You missed!” he called, ignoring the searing pain in his arm.
The Gnoll Shaman screeched.
Instead of hunkering down, Glade sprang from behind cover, running back in the direction he had just come.
“You will taste my wrath human!” The Shaman cried, raising the chain bound stone and releasing another torrent of flame.
The unseen mind screamed, nearly causing Glade to stumble.
“You fight like an old woman!” Glade yelled, leaping the trail of flames. He glimpsed Kedryn, running from pile to pile, shield in hand.
“You are nothing…” the shaman cried.
“I take that back!” Glade countered, jumping behind more rocks as the flames washed over them. “An old woman would have gotten me by now. I’d say you fight like a little girl!”
The shaman screamed in rage, loosing a blast of black fire into the rock pile Glade was hiding behind.
“Screams like one too!” Kedryn yelled from behind.
The shaman twisted around in time to see the slime catcher slam into the barrier, Slick attacking the abyssal smoke with gusto.
“What are you doing?” the shaman rasped after a pregnant pause.
“Distracting you,” Kedryn smiled.
Golden light flared to life as Riya stepped out from behind the rocky throne, her arms outstretched as a wave of celestial radiance slammed into the smoky barrier.
Cracks quickly spread across the dome of dark magic, the Gnoll raising the chained stone lantern to expend more energy to repair the shield.
Glade felt a spike of pain and panic rise in the mind of the unknown being as dark flame surrounded the stone.
Realization dawned on him as he watched the scene play out in real time and in his mental landscape. The stone was alive!
“You cannot win!” the Gnoll hissed. “You are barely a trainee in the celestial arts, whereas I have the power of the ancients at my beck and call! You will die, elf! I promise you that.”
Black fire surged from the stone, its mental cries of agony ringing in Glade’s mind.
It was plain to see the Gnoll was right. Riya was already faltering whereas the Gnoll seemed to have unlimited power. Slick was still chewing through the abyssal barrier, but the magic kept replenishing itself. And Kedryn? He was slamming the barrier with his slime catcher of all things while launching small balls of flame from the fire pit at the barrier every other second.
Glade had nothing. His pistol was still burning with black fire back where he had dropped it. It was probably beyond saving by this point.
The only thing he had left was his magic. Looking at the massive size of the barrier, he doubted he could do anything to it with his manipulate mana spell. Which left telepathy.
Desperate, Glade cast his mind out, connecting with the stone.
The world around him vanished as pain, unlike any he had ever experienced before, flooded his psyche.
Notifications bombarded him as his vision shifted. One moment he was floating in a dark void of pain, the next he was back in his body, watching the shaman slowly gain the advantage.
The flashes between realities increased in tempo, fracturing the edges of his mind.
“Stop!” he mentally commanded, scraping together whatever willpower he had left.
The realities stilled as Glade found himself floating in a void of oppressive darkness. Pain, so thick it was palpable, wrapped around him in a haze of perpetual torment.
As the vista stilled, an ember of light, barely noticeable, focused its attention on him.
Without knowing what, or how, Glade cupped the ember gently in his good hand.
Pain, anger, fear, and a cacophony of other feelings rolled off the spark of light, flooding Glade with a tidal wave of emotions. A solitary cry for help in a world submerged in darkness.
Glade answered.
“I’m here little one,” he said, his voice gentle despite the pain. He didn’t know how, but he knew without doubt that the entity he held cupped in the mental equivalent of his hand was one of pure innocence.
The ember froze, tentatively reaching out its mind to his. What it found, buried under layers of emotional barriers that Glade had built over the months and years of pain, loss, and mental torment was another being that knew pain and darkness, just as much as it did.
“I’ve got you,” Glade emphasized, cultivating a feeling of firm resolve between himself and the innocent spark of light.
A third mind, large and domineering, entered the abyss.
“YOU WILL NOT DENY ME, WORM!” The Shaman’s voice roared through the mindscape, the chains of shadow binding the ember to its master vibrating in the darkness.
The innocent light quailed, its feelings of panic washing through Glade in flashes of insight. The ember had so little fire left to give. It had already given far more than it should have to protect the angry voice. Any more and it would fade away entirely.
“I DEMAND YOUR FIRE, YOU WORTHLESS EGG! I AM YOUR MASTER!” The Shaman screeched.
“No,” Glade responded, recollecting his experience with Acumen that had only happened a few days prior, but felt like an eternity ago. “This, you cannot have.”
“WHO'S THERE?” The shaman shouted. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING? THIS IS MINE! MY POWER! YOU CANNOT HAVE IT!”
“No,” Glade whispered, instinctively casting Manipulate Mana while remaining within the void. The black chains became translucent to him, nothing more than dark power held together by an unknown will. He pulled, drawing grains of power away from each chain connecting the ember to the conscious mind of the Shaman, until the whole couldn’t handle the strain any longer. “No more. What did you say about taking away toys?”
“NO! STOP!” The Shaman shrieked throughout the dark.
Glade ignored him, turning his mind fully to freeing the ember.
The chains of darkness collapsed one by one as he picked away at the magical construct, each vanishing in clouds of smoke.
“NOOO!” the Shaman’s frantic voice echoed through the void.
“You have no power here,” Glade said, severing the last chain from the dying ember.
Without warning, Glade’s mind shot back to his body where he was met with an endless stream of notifications and pain. Mostly pain as liquid fire poured from his center throughout his body.
A smile graced his lips as Glade watched the dark barrier flicker and die, the slime launching itself at the now powerless Shaman.
Then the screams came.
Glade slowly climbed to his feet, stumbling over to the dying creature before Riya or Kedryn could and picked up the round object that was now free of chains.
He looked around the room before finding his team. Kedryn was helping Riya to her feet, both of them saying something that didn’t quite register.
“Good job… Corporal… Riya” He panted. “I am… proud of you.”
With each word, the world grew darker as he felt a mental weight drag him lower and lower, until finally, he welcomed the sweet embrace of sleep.