CHAPTER 11

Boom! Followed by the streak of light through the dark tunnels as I fired my rifle. I thought it wouldn’t get a chance to shine but the tunnels were built stupidly straightforward. The Kesh in the distance turned into a splatter on the wall as its body was turned pieces. The spent round flying into the air trailing steam.

“I wish I had some of those back during the war,” Imperia said from behind me.

“What can I say? My people know how to make their weapons,” I replied with a shrug. Taking aim, I fired another shot at the fleeing Kesh. The round easily removed the head of the creature. The creatures had been on the run since we dropped down here a few minutes ago. They were weak when unable to surround their prey, making them little more than moving targets for my rifle.

Echo displayed a map of the caves that he gained using echolocation. There were much larger than I first anticipated. However, from how easily I was dealing with them it should only take a few more minutes to track them all down. Imperia was helping by casting a Magian Light.

“I can feel the mana filling me!” Imperia declared with each Kesh I killed. I didn’t comment as things just worked like that. Cycle of life for this planet. I still hadn’t been able to feel this mana yet, but I didn’t think I would have a problem with my weapons. At least it let her be useful by casting her light and using some of her storage spell.

We eventually came to a split in the tunnel. This was where things could get dangerous for us. If Kesh rushed from one side they might be able to surprise us while we were busy with our front. Checking Echo’s map, I saw that the right path was much shorter than left. Deciding to deal with that one first, I had Echo create a trip line tied to a small explosive.

“What’s that?” Imperia asked peering over my shoulder.

Finishing the setup, I dusted my hands off and stood up. “Just a little surprise for anything that tries to come from behind us.”

“Boom?”

I grinned and nodded. “Boom.”

We made our way down the right path and took the turn carefully. Thanks to Echo, I could tell there were a couple dozen down the path but there was a margin of error. Turning the corner, I steady my rifle and had Imperia dim her light. My eyes shifted to the heat spectrum. Taking a breath, I began firing.

The nanites refilled the clip when it was empty. It was a complete slaughter as I killed nearly all the Kesh from a distance. Moving into the large cavern, I took in the area, but didn’t see anything of interest. A few pieces of gear that may or may not be worth anything to the locals.

We turned back after making sure all the Kesh in the cave were dead when the cave shook from my trap going off. Walking our way back, we found a large Kesh that was nearly twice the size of the others missing a leg and part of its waist. It was bleeding out but was still struggling to move.

“That’s one ugly creature,” I commented in disgust. It had sores and looked more diseased than it should be able to support. Drawing my sword, I quickly sliced its head off feeling like it would be relieving its suffering.

“Kesh that survive long enough usually look like this,” Imperia said skirting around the pool of blood forming on the ground.

Shouldering my rifle, I looked deeper into the tunnel. “I really hope the other dens aren’t like this.”

“I would say to throw that away right now. Kesh aren’t very imaginative creatures.”

“Great.”

We spent the next hour in the den. We didn’t run into anything that could be called trouble. The Kesh were just too stupid. They only knew how to charge and flee. With us blocking the only other way out, they had no choice but to charge us. The Kesh packing the tunnels made for an easy target for my rifle. I could take out two or three with one round on average.

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“We probably won’t find the lord here,” Imperia said as we approached the end of the tunnel.

“Why do you say that?” I asked punctuating the question by firing a round.

“This is likely an expansion den. A group split from the main clan and came here to spread out more. Trying to get more food, most likely.”

“Good point.”

We finally reached the end of the caves at a large cavern. If it wasn’t for the obvious cut marks on the walls, I would been sure this was a naturally occurring location. Peering though the entrance, we found several dozen Kesh moving around in a panic. I also spotted a few women from the elves of the town.

“Captives,” I whispered to Imperia.

“Might be a mercy to just end their lives,” she replied. Looking at the few that I could see, I could tell they were traumatized. That said, people have been known to pull through worse. I wouldn’t make the call to end their lives for them. Thankfully, it looked like the Kesh were too stupid to use the women as shields to save their own lives. Over the next minute, I quickly picked the remaining creatures off.

Moving over to the women, I took in their injures and state. While most were alive and appeared to be awake, they stared off into the distance with dead eyes. The nearly dozen women were in pretty rough shape.

“Imperia. Increase your light.” After she did so, I moved all the women together. “I’m Lex. I just killed all the Kesh. I want to take you all back to Thaathnas, but you’re have to help me.” Of course, they didn’t respond in the slightest. I rubbed the back of my neck with a sigh. “Going to take more than that.”

~~

After making a quick trip to the surface to call for Argos, we managed to get all the women outside the caves. The sunlight did help revitalize a few of them and they stared at the sky for a long time. It would be hard to get them back to the town even with Argos. I helped Imperia on to Argos’ back so they could head over to one of the nearby farming parties for some help. I was sure I could defend this group by myself until then.

“How far is the next den?” I asked Echo moving to sit on a nearby boulder.

“Approximately twenty-seven kilometers to the west.”

“If they have captives, its going to make it even harder.” The location was almost forty kilometers from the town.

“A more detailed scan is possible given more time.”

“We might have to do that.” Finishing off this den alone had finished about half of the requests we took from the Freelancer League. We would have plenty of time to finish the others. “Alright. Handle it tonight while we stay in the town.”

Imperia returned with the party and after a few exclamations of surprise that he’d taken down entire den with just the two of us. They helped us take the women back to the town. The ones with family members rushed to the Freelancer building when they received word of their loved ones returns. It even warmed my heart a little that familial bonds were strong even in this word.

“Thank you Lex, Imperia!”

“It was no problem! I’m just glad they were still alive,” I said for the sixth or seventh time.

“Supper is on me!”

“Really? Thanks!”

Praise and gifts of food were poured on us, though the food mainly made its way into Argos’ stomach. He had earned quite a fan club among the town children. I was worried at first, but once he associated free food with the children, he became nothing more than a giant dog begging for scraps.

“Hey, the broadcast is about to begin!”

I turned toward the shout, surprised by the content. At the side of the tavern part of the Freelancer League, a orb lit up and floated into the air. A rectangle started to glow as an image of a giant castle formed in the air in front of the orb.

“Television?” I asked out loud.

“It is a Magian broadcast from the capital. We get it once a week.”

“Neat.”

A woman dressed in fancy robes stood in the center of the screen and was gesturing to the castle in the background. “The Orion Empire has declared war on the Kingdoms of Freuid and Terdia! The Emperor says that he can no longer stand aside while these kingdoms slaughter the border towns.”

“War finally broke out!” I heard someone whisper. “Need to move further in to avoid being drafted.”

“Are we close to the front lines?” I asked Seirus. He grew serious and nodded. “We are on the border of Terdia. A few of the higher ranked members think the Kesh might be a ploy to distract us. It wouldn’t be the first time they were used in wars.”

“The Empire is seeking anyone with fighting strength to enlist! Those that excel in the coming conflict can expect great rewards to follow.” The image from the orb cut closer to the castle and a wise elderly man with a beautiful woman that looked just a few years younger. The man almost had a physical aura of kindness radiating from him. He was waving to the crowds that were cheering.

“Can’t say I’ve never fought in a war, but I don’t want to get involved without knowing more about this planet,” I mumbled to myself.

“We can just stick to killing monsters, can’t we?” Imperia commented. She grabbed her chest for emphasize. “I mean we are women. Exempt from the drafts of the kingdoms.”

I laughed. “I didn’t hear a gender mentioned during the broadcast. Just people of strength.”

“Really?”

I sighed as I turned back to the screen. They were talking about the first movements of the war. I didn’t plan to get involved, but it would be best to know the situation for the future.