Another few hours of moving down tunnels at a jog found Alton standing at the entrance to a vast cavern. The two lead scouts flared the manalights, but the darkness was too pervasive to break through. He activated his manasight and saw dozens of creatures moving around inside the cavern, but got no sense for the scale of it. Manasight was tricky like that for those who didn’t train as longsights. Fiends could seem to be a dozen feet or hundreds of feet away.
Thuklu muttered off to the side and pulled out the map to converse with his tribesmen. Alton heard them discussing it in low tones but paid little mind. They would let him know when they were ready. He stepped to the edge of the cavern and peered over the edge. From this high up, it looked like a dark pit with no end in sight.
Below him on the wall, he could see lights glowing. He reached down and scraped a piece off with Fury and dragged it back up. It was a fungus that was coated in a strange growth that gave off a soft orange light. It reminded Alton of the glow of a campfire. Something he missed dearly from the surface world.
The silence in the cavern was absolute outside of the soft tones of Thoiri. It was a heavy, palpable silence that pressed in on him from all sides. He sat on the edge and let his legs dangle while he cycled. The ambient mana in the cavern was ever present as it had been since entering the deep mountain. He would have to push Prian or Letty to further develop their longsight so Wolf company could traverse areas like this.
“Deep mine. From old days. Many stone. Lost in year 707 to many great Terragigas. Ledge run around outside, we must be careful. Wake Terragigas not good,” Thuklu said beside him.
With that, the group resumed their formation and pressed close to the ledge that wrapped around the cavern. Alton was required to turn sideways and scoot his feet one at a time to stay on the crumbling rock. Chittering could be heard all over the cavern from Morwarls crawling over the rock. It looked like they were eating the fungus growing on the walls. The food chain down here may involve different fiends, but it existed, nonetheless.
Alton judged them halfway when Thuklu, before him, raised his hand and halted the procession. He strained his ears for a source of the disturbance and kept his manasight on. Far above them and climbing down was a large black shape the size of an adult Gwelli. It crawled on the wall in a zig-zag pattern approaching the group. Thuklu flashed a few signals and looked at Alton, motioning for silence.
Seconds strained into hours as the fiend continued the move towards the group. Alton guessed from its movement and Thuklu’s instructions that it hunted by sound. When it was a few feet above their head, Alton could finally make out more details. It was a massive spider, because of course it was. The hair on his back stood up as he took the nightmare sight in. Eight long and hairy legs splayed out around a core the size of a human child.
It had fangs a foot long that dripped saliva on the rock as it crawled. It was moving for a spot in the middle of their line and would miss them unless it turned. Which it did, placing a leg on the shoulder of one of the Thoiri. The scout didn’t react in any way and Alton admired the resolve. Unfortunately, the spider was expecting rock and lost its balance, tumbling off the edge and screeching the entire way down.
Without warning, the ground below them trembled. A low resonant vibration filled the air, so powerful and deep that Alton felt himself vibrate with it. Thuklu whisper-shouted for them to move, and they did. Scrambling along the ledge as fast as they could. From the shadows, a massive shape began to emerge.
A behemoth beetle that vaguely resembled the Morwarls the way a house cat resembles a mountain lion. Its exoskeleton glowed with pulsing mana, and its mandibles clicked and clacked while it climbed up the wall. Even scrambling without care for sound, the group would not make it to the other side. Thuklu was yelling now, urging his companions on.
The Terragigas reared up on its massive back legs and swung its forelegs forward. It skewered two of the scouts and ripped them off the ledge. Alton pulled Fang free of its sheath and swiped feebly at the fiend’s limbs. His swings were weak, with no base to support himself from. The group continued to move as fast as they could on the ledge. Fifty feet farther, and they would be on solid ground.
The fiend reared up and stabbed out again. This time Alton slashed down with an infused Fang and cut deeply into a leg. An ear-piercing shriek sounded from the fiend and it pounded its legs against the rock wall in anger. His attack bought them the time they needed to reach solid ground, and the eight warriors leapt from the ledge.
This side of the cavern was a large, flat, open area leading to a dozen tunnels. Alton could only just make out the layered levels of an abandoned mine running far below. There was no time to plan as the Terragigas pulled itself over the ledge and roared at the party. Alton freed Fury and infused both of his swords liberally, placing himself before the Thoiri.
Shouts sounded from all around as the scouting party readied for a charge. Alton took the decision away from the massive fiend and sprinted at it. He surged with everything he had and felt his body elevate. The Terragigas reared and whipped its limbs out at him, coming from multiple angles. Alton whirled his twin blades and scored deep, wounding hits on several.
He danced away from its retaliatory strikes. The monstrous beetle grew frustrated and charged the group, forcing all to scatter out of its way. Its charge brought it far past Alton, and he had to sprint after it. With its back turned, Alton leapt high and stabbed both blades deep down through its chitin armor. He pulled both free and stabbed down again and again. Still, the fiend would not die.
It reared up again and flung Alton from its back. He had to scramble out of the way to avoid its remaining legs from slamming down on top of him. Both blades continued to hack away every time a limb came close. Black, thick blood was dripping from a multitude of wounds as it tried to pin Alton to the ground.
Alton rolled to dodge another leg, and the Terragigas brought its pincers in and tried to bite him in half. He saw his chance to score a lethal hit and rolled under the fiend, stabbing straight up with both blades. Alton pushed more mana through his blades than ever before and felt the thick underbelly of the beast finally give. Both of his blades sunk in to the hilt and the beast gave another terrifying roar, though this one more pitiful than the last.
He had to abandon his blades for the moment and roll away from the fiend in its death throes. It tried to chase after him, but its movements were jerky and stunted. Thirty seconds passed before the beast collapsed and feebly clicked its pincers for the last time. Alton leaned against the cavern wall and caught his breath, hoping the fiend was dead for good.
Thuklu walked over to the fiend and stabbed it with his spear. There was no movement, so the older Thoiri dug Alton’s swords out of its stomach. It was a stroke of luck it died on its side, the corpse must have weighed a couple thousand pounds and his swords would have been a days labor to retrieve. He thanked the man for his blades and pulled a cloth out of his pocket to wipe them clean.
His closed his eyes and reached out to his core. It was back down to one third full. He sighed heavily. The fight had taken a lot out of him, both mentally and physically. There was a brief debate from the other scouts and it sounded like they wanted to retrieve the bodies of their comrades, but Thuklu shut it down.
Alton cycled and watched the mana flow over his nodes. The fight against the Terragigas had resulted in a surprising find. Where before there had been four solid nodes, there now rested a fifth, pulsing softly. Alton intuited that it was halfway full based on the brightness. Once that was full, would he reach the sixth tier? Only one way to find out and fortunately for him, it only involved killing more mana awakened fiends.
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Thuklu pressed them onwards, not wanting to stay near the fiends corpse and wary of predators. By his reckoning, they were only a few miles from the outpost that would connect to a trail that led down near Kitsu. Alton cycled aggressively as they ran, not wanting to chance another encounter with such low reserves. Both of his swords were well stocked with mana, and that gave him some comfort.
He debated drinking his last health potion for the minor wounds accumulated during the fight but decided against it. The trip wasn’t over yet and more contact with fiends was inevitable. Alton wondered if it had been a mistranslation that Thuklu said the tunnels were checked each year and he had meant a much greater time frame.
The Terragigas was one of the toughest single fiends Alton had ever faced. Everything until now had melted before his dual infused blades. It was a stark reminder that he was only in the middle tiers and still weak compared to many fiends that inhabited the valleys and mountains of his home. According to Jonah, during Agorra’s heyday, a warrior wouldn’t be taken seriously until at least the eighth tier.
To everyone presents surprise, they crossed an intersection and found a tunnel lit by manalights. Thuklu silenced everyone and stopped, having them backtrack a few hundred feet. He conferred with two of his scouts, who promptly left to scout a different direction. He consulted his map for a few minutes before kneeling close to where Alton was cycling.
“Should not be. Fear Edorians found tunnels. Find another way. May take long,” Thuklu said with a grimly drawn face.
“No. If it is the Edorians, we will handle them on the way. I have some anger to work out.” Alton answered with a quiet intensity.
Thuklu started to argue, but grinned instead. Alton’s answer seemed to please him. They decided to wait for his scouts to return so that Alton could rest and cycle. A quick meal followed and Thuklu posted watches deep down the tunnel to alert them of any surprises. It took another three or four hours for Alton to cycle to full. He stood and stretched, letting Thuklu know he was ready.
The group set off back down the tunnel towards the manalights. Thuklu briefly shared that he thought they were half a mile from what he was calling an outpost of the Thoiri of old. Alton kept his hands near his blades as they walked. The finely crafted boots each wore silenced their steps. The only sound was that of jingling packs and heavy breathing.
When they reached the intersection, Thuklu had them wait and observe for a few minutes. There was no sign of enemies appearing, the lights likely a defensive measure against fiends. With a possible siege against Kitsu, Alton assumed there would be few soldiers wasted watching distant tunnels. They continued to creep down towards the outpost.
Three intersections and a few groups of minor fiends later, the group found the outpost. A guard station was positioned near the end of the tunnel and conversations could be heard. They halted in a dark gap between manalights and collected themselves. No one was using mana so that they couldn’t be seen in manasight, and Thuklu ordered them to remove packs to increase their overall stealth.
When given the go ahead, Alton crept forward, darting from shadow to shadow. His blades remained sheathed to avoid giving off a reflection of the lights placed on the wall every twenty or thirty feet. No sounds of alarm rose from the guard station, and Alton grinned at the poor discipline on display. His experience in these tunnels had shown him they were full of fiend activity. There was no excuse for poor vigilance.
He was able to reach the wall of the guard station without raising the alarm. It was a stone wall that reached to the ceiling with a door cut in the middle. The door opened in two sections, one upper and one lower, to seal the tunnel if needed. The top half was opened for visibility down the tunnel, though no one was watching. Alton waited for the scouting group to catch up.
When everyone was in place, weapons were drawn, and Alton peeked over the wall. Inside, he saw four men wearing Imperial Edorian garb sitting around a table sharing a bottle. They talked and laughed as if they didn’t have a care in the world. Anger rose in Alton’s throat and he steadied his emotions. He couldn’t lose control here, stronger foes may be within.
Alton counted down from five with his outstretched hand and then surged and vaulted over the shortened section of the wall. The first guard died before he could react. The second scrambled backwards and tipped over in his chair, so Alton ignored him. The third managed to pull his weapon and hold it before him. Alton cut the blade and the man in two. The fourth shouted out a single word before Alton stabbed through his throat. One of the Thoiri finished off the soldier that had fallen and all went silent.
The group hid against the wall and waited to see if any response was mustered to the shout. A few seconds passed before a voice shouted out from down the single hall leading out of the room. Thuklu held up a hand to wait, and the group stayed silent and waited. Footsteps sounded down the hall, getting closer. When a man crossed the threshold and saw the bodies, Thuklu stood and sliced his neck before he could react.
Thuklu posted two scouts to watch the tunnel and Alton went through the room. Food, drink, a chamber pot, and changes of clothes were piled around the room. It spoke to a lengthy rotation and Alton figured there wouldn’t be a replacement for some time. The Edorians looked to have been in the outpost for a long time. It made sense how they kept getting the jump on the Agorrans if they had full control of the tunnel system under the mountains.
A second to rest and then they advanced down the hallway. Rough tunnels turned to carved stone passages the further they walked. A hundred feet down, the passage opened to a large circular room with a writing desk and several cots placed against the wall. No Edorians were inside and three hallways led from this room. Thuklu placed two scouts on each hallway.
Alton rummaged through the writing desk but found little he could read. It appeared to be a simple log of a watch rotation. A few bottles of whiskey and more basic supplies were inside a chest next to the writing desk. He grunted in disappointment, though not sure what he expected to find in such a small outpost.
---
While debating which hallway to investigate first, the decision was made for them when a soldier started stumbling down the far left of the hallways. A Thoiri scout made sharp hand motions and caught the attention of the group, who burst into action. Two of them waited by the doorway while Alton and the rest retreated back to the rear of the room and out of sight. When the man crossed the threshold, the Thoiri rose up and took him down. Unfortunately, none of them had seen the next soldier following him.
A shout rang out as the soldier raced back the way he came. Alton pursued him down the hallway, surging to increase his speed. He caught up to him near the doorway and stabbed him through the back. Alton pulled his sword out and found himself in a room filled with Edorians.
He took the initiative and leapt forward with both blades. Alton became a whirlwind of madness as his surging body descended on the unprepared Edorians. A few managed to get weapons up in time to put up a paltry defense before Alton cut them down. The rest of the Thoiri caught up and joined the fight.
Six of the soldiers were mana capable and surrounded Alton. They were in the fourth tier at minimum, with weapons infused and circulating throughout. Alton grinned and faced them, aligned in a semi-circle. The Thoiri focused on taking down the common soldiers and left these brutes to Alton. He reached down to his core and felt it at three-fourths full even after his surges.
Alton probed out with two lightning quick strikes at the closest Edorian. He managed to block Fang, but lost his hand to Fury. Alton pursued as he backed, but his allies covered his retreat. Three swords, a spear and a wicked-looking battle hammer flashed around Alton. He deflected the hammer into the closest Edorian and it smashed into his allies chest. The spear snapped under a double strike from his dual infused blades.
He took a hit on the side from one sword but paid the owner back, with Fury buried to its hilt in his chest. The soldier fell backward and took Fury with it, so Alton switched to a single sword combat set. Now one against four, Alton ramped up his surge and pressed. His movements would look like blurs to the common soldiers as he dodged and counter attacked.
Another sword user fell to a deep cut from Fang across his thighs as Alton went low to get under his guard. He took a kick in the back in return and rolled with it to get behind the battle hammer wielding hulk of a man. Fang stabbed straight up through his unmentionables as Alton shamelessly rolled through his legs. The last two Edorians traded looks and made a business decision.
One nodded to the other and ran at a circulated sprint down the hall while the other placed his body before Alton to block pursuit. Alton halted his surge to preserve his mana and walked over to rip Fury from its current occupant. He grinned and twirled the swords in the direction of the Edorian, who merely set his feet and resigned himself to death.
“I commend your courage. You will die with more honor than most of your kind,” Alton said and gave a curt bow.
The Edorian responded with some dog-language nonsense and Alton dashed forward mid talking. Fang battered his sword out of his grip and Fury took his sword hand below the wrist. The soldier back pedaled in shock, but Alton stepped in and bisected him from groin to neck. It was a grisly death, and it brought Alton out of his battle induced rage. His dual swords lost their glow, and he instinctively began to cycle and recover.
“Two run down hall. Outpost will know now. We should back and let them come at our choosing.” Thuklu said beside him.
Alton hesitated, but nodded his agreement. His blood lust had died down and he thought about it rationally. He didn’t want to risk the Thoiri getting swarmed by the Edorians. They retreated down the hall as a group and waited for a response from the outpost.