Chapter Thirteen: Stand Me Up At the Gates of Hell
Fourth Tower Year 4771, 8.4.6
The Holy Kingdom of Zah’paht Dur
Krt’al Mines
They exited the mines to a flurry of activity. A large group of people had gathered around the table that had been used earlier to check-in explorer parties.
Marc was surprised to see Ba’eth there. Since returning to her hometown, she had spent most of her time at her family’s estate. A large compound where many generations and branches of her family lived together.
He walked over to her and caught her eye. She waved him over and the sibling followed him without a word.
“Marc. It’s good to see you here. Perhaps our luck is changing.” She spoke calmly, but with an unmistakable tension in her words.
“What is happening? We received a recall order.” Marc pulled out the tracking stone and displayed the glowing runes.
“Yes. We sent the order. You are the first to return, but I believe you may have been one of the closest parties when the order was issued.” The same Guild employee who had registered them this morning explained to them.
“Marc, did you see anything unusual in the mines?” Asked Ba’eth.
“Not really, a few larger than normal groups of beasts, but nothing we couldn’t handle.”
“I see.”
“What types of beasts?” The Guild employee asked.
“Mostly goblins. A large swarm of beetles, maybe more than a hundred. I have heard of larger.” Hee-suu volunteered.
Ba’eth and the representative looked at each other, but it seemed their report was not particularly helpful.
“Just over an hour ago, we lost contact with the tracking stones of an entire party.” The Guild employee admitted.
“Huh? What do you mean?” Marc asked, honestly confused.
“The tracking stones were broken, either by the team members to send an emergency call for help, or…”
“Or they were destroyed by something else. The fact that the four stones belonged to a single party is suspicious. Breaking one would be enough to trigger an emergency while the remaining stones could act as beacons.” Ba’eth explained.
Marc looked at his companions as they shared a grim look.
“After that, we immediately recalled all the parties,” continued the Guild employee. He paused as if trying to force out more words that resisted his intention. Then he resumed.
“Since the recall, we have lost contact with four more parties. The largest was a party of five. Now a total of eighteen explorers are missing.”
That revelation drew responses from several other people who were gathered around. Questions were shouted and it was beginning to get unruly.
Marc felt a wave of energy pass over him and saw that it came from Ba’eth. As the energy passed over the crowd, silence returned to the area, It was just a reminder of the power a Master level mage could use.
“Marc, you do understand your duty as a Guild member, correct?” Ba’eth stated with her old stern Guild Head demeanor.
Marc turned to Hee-ssu and Hee-deh. Both regarded him with worried but determined looks. He turned to face the Guild representative.
“We have received the emergency notice and are reporting to assist in rescue and recovery operations.” He handed the man the tracking stone, who nodded with a grave expression.
The next fifteen minutes went by in a blur. Ba’eth who was the most senior Guild members in the area took the lead of the rescue mission. By then, three other parties had exited the mine and would also join the rescue operation, however, two more parties had disappeared, their stones destroyed in a now familiar pattern.
The rescue mission now had nearly 40 Guild members, many of whom had been summoned from the Guild hall and had rushed over. Ba’eth, while still weakened from her injuries was still the most powerful mage in the party. She asked that Marc and his party stay with her so that she could leverage his mapping ability. This should provide them with a key advantage in dealing with an unknown danger.
Marc was more than impressed with the speed at which things took shape. In less than an hour from the order to form up, the rescue party was ready to enter the mine. Marc had mapped out the locations where each of the missing parties had lost their tracking stones. It was much further into the mine than Marc and his group had ventured, and in a different branch, explaining why his party had been spared.
Just as they were about to enter, a lone explorer limped out of the mine.
It was an Elf, badly injured. Ba’eth and Hee-deh rushed to his side and quickly began applying healing buffs.
The Elf had large gashes all over his body and it was a miracle he was able to walk, so it was difficult to imagine what he had encountered inside the mine.
“Who are you? What happened? Where is your party?” Ba’eth demanded.
The Elf’s eyes shot open. He seemed to be slowly recovering but while his mouth was moving, no sound came out. Finally, a single word croaked out of his throat. An answer, a cry, a warning, all combined into a word so painful he passed out as soon as it left his lips.
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“Vampyr”
《Oh, that’s not good.》
A quick response came from Ba’eth. Marc had learned Do’kein, the Dwarvish language that was the predominant spoken language of the Kingdom, but he still often encountered words new words that the translation ability would have to kick in to translate for him. The single word she uttered and the expression on her face was all the explanation Marc needed, however. He filed that word away under expletive for really bad situations.
“We go now. Time is of the essence.” The former Guild Head of Clearwater City ordered. Then led the rescue team into the mine as a medic and several volunteers collected the unconscious Elf.
“What do you mean, not good? Did he say vampire?” Marc queried his interface.
《Vampyr. A particularly nasty beast. One is incredibly dangerous, but they rarely are found alone. They are usually found in covens, sometimes as large as a dozen.》
Kira displayed a pop-up with a picture and description of the beast for Marc to see.
A Vampyr it seems was a large bat-like beast. Its head looked more like a mountain lion, with large fangs and a ridiculous looking open jaw. Like the few Wyverns that Marc had seen, it had four limbs, but four additional wings protruded separately from its back allowing it to use the large claws on each of its four feet without affecting its ability to fly. It had scales like a lizard and was a dark, almost black color.
[VAMPYR]
A PREDATOR HUNTER.
A powerful beast found in mountains and caves. The Vampyr is a pack hunter that is able to defeat even the most dangerous beasts if encountered alone. Its thick scales will defend against most physical attacks and offer significant protection against magic attacks.
It is able to hunt in near darkness. Exceptional visual acuity and fast reflexes allow the Vampyr to fly even in narrow and dark caves. Highly sensitive to Mana use, the Vampyr will target mages in a party first. Extremely dangerous. Do not attempt to subdue without a suitably armed and prepared party of capable e hunters.
“This is bad.” Marc answered his partner.
《Like I said.》
“Are we enough to beat it?”
《With this group?》
“Yeah.”
《Not a chance.》
“What do you mean? We can’t beat it? Then why?”
《You can’t take them on. You would need a hundred or more, properly equipped, experienced hunters with a solid plan to have a chance.》
“Why is Ba’eth leading us in then? If we can’t beat them. Isn’t it suicide?”
《Do you think she would do that?》
Marc thought about it for a moment. “No. No way.” He thought about what he knew about what things drove the Dwarf leading this mission.
“How many tracking stones are still active?”
《Smart boy. I knew I raised you good. There are currently 24 stones that have stopped transmitting. Excluding those who exited the mine, 16 tracking stones held by 4 parties remain in the mine.》
“Can you track them all?”
《Yes. Two small groups are moving directly towards us. We should see them in a few minutes.》
“What about the other two?”
《The other two parties have linked up. They are much further in. At least an hour’s march. Ten stones are active in that group.》
“Thanks. Can you plot a route?”
A glowing line appeared in front of them, matched with a path on his map.
“What about the beasts?”
《Not yet. I can only see the tracking stones at this distance. Once we get closer I can give you more information.》
Marc moved up next to Ba’eth and relayed the status of the missing parties to her. She nodded her appreciation and started giving orders. She sent a small scouting party with high agility ahead to intercept the two nearby parties and asses their condition. Then she gathered a few of the more experienced Guild members to her side to consult with them as they continued their march.
Marc stayed near the lead, pointing out the best path to get to the trapped explorers. He nodded to Hee-ssu and Hee-deh to join him and explained the situation to them.
“This is not a subjugation mission. We are no match for Vampyrs. We have one purpose. To evacuate the missing explorers. That’s it. Do not engage the beasts except to protect yourselves and each other. These monsters are bad. Fast, almost invisible, and hunt in groups.”
He saw Hee-deh shiver. Her brother grasped her shoulder and spoke.
“We’ll be ok. You just tell us where to go. We’ll follow your lead.”
Marc nodded, appreciating the level-headed and practical Dwarf Smith’s response.
Soon the rescue party had intercepted the two smaller parties of explorers. They had been deeper into the mine, so it had taken them longer to exit, but luckily had not encountered any problems.
The six explorers immediately acknowledged the emergency order and joined the rescue party. Without even stopping, the group continued to descend deeper into the mines.
《I’m starting to get more information.》
“And?”
《Sorry. It’s not good news. I have located half of the missing explorers. They are all dead.》
Marc exhaled, all the air pulled from his lungs as though by an outside force.
“The are several packs of Vampyr moving around. None are currently moving toward us, but there are probably more ahead.
He relayed the update to Ba’eth who nodded but said nothing.
Ten more minutes passed as they pressed forward. Finally, Kira gave Marc another update.
《I can see them now. It seems that there are more explorers there than we had expected. They must have broken their tracking stones themselves. There is a single group of fourteen people about 20 minutes ahead. I can now account for all of the missing explorers. Of the 40 missing, six have joined the rescue party. Fourteen are in the group ahead, the other twenty are confirmed deceased. The group ahead seems to have engaged the Vampyr and they have numerous wounded. Five are seriously hurt. One is grievously wounded.》
Marc again relayed the information, but could hear the tremors in his voice. He scolded himself. He was perhaps the one best positioned in this situation. No matter how badly hurt he got, he would likely survive. Using his personal space he could escape if necessary. He could even save a few people here by bringing them with him.
But not everyone.
In all his time in this world he had not encountered true danger so directly, his initial battle with the cute rabbits notwithstanding.
He spent the whole Siege of Clearwater safely protected in the city. When he did join hunting parties, he was always with more powerful and experienced hunters. He had felt fear, but in the back of his head, he always had this feeling that he would be okay.
What he felt now was different. Helplessness. He knew what was ahead. He knew how the people in the dark cave faced true death. There was danger here that terrified him, but it was not a knife pointed only at himself, but to everyone else in this mine.
He wasn’t sure he even had the ability to help any of them. Would they die in front of his eyes?
《You can only do what you have the power to do. You do not control the fate of the world.》
He understood what Kira meant, but was that really enough?
No, he wanted to do something. This would not be like when Grenn… fell.
He went to Ba’eth.
“Tell me what I can do. How can we save them?” He said, more forcefully than he had planned.
She looked at him with her cold piercing eyes.
“You have done enough. Leading us to the survivors, we stand a chance now. I can’t ask for more.” she finally said.
“I don’t want to just do enough. I want to do what it takes to save them all.”
Dwarf was surprised by his declaration. She reached up and twisted the hairs of her beard as was her habit when thinking deeply.
“What are you willing to do?” She finally asked, the pace of her step slowing almost imperceptibly.
“Whatever it takes,” he answered.