5

Escape

Cricket poked his head around the corner and saw a handful of goblins supervising an obese, shackled troll while it plowed into the far wall using a giant pickaxe. The ten-foot troll reacted poorly to the atmosphere of Agoth, growing a red rust-like layer over its green skin that cracked like dry mud and dripped in places with yellow, almost orangish pus. The usual, yellow, fetid fur only remained in small crops, though long, wispy strands drooped from its neck like an unkempt beard.

As Cricket watched, the troll paused from its labor, only to be met by a prodding from its goblin taskmaster. The troll, tired of working, spun on the goblin and grabbed its entire head in its palm, lifting the squirming red creature several feet in the air, suffering a deep spear wound in the process. Two more goblins stepped in, prodding at its hips with their spears.

The troll tossed the deep goblin twenty feet through the air, where it crashed into a wall and dropped lifeless to the floor. The troll grunted lazily in protest at the tiny stabs, then resigned itself to picking again at the wall.

Cricket ducked back around the corner.

"We're lucky."

"Why's that?" Oydd asked.

"It's a mining operation. I don't even think they heard the fight. Too much noise. I doubt we made any sounds that aren't normal for this place."

Licephus returned from an adjoining tunnel.

"Nothing but powder kegs that way. A disturbing number though."

"What do you think they're up to?" Cricket asked.

"Likely procuring materials to produce more adamantite," Oydd answered.

"Maybe," Licephus replied. "I'm concerned about our proximity to the dhampiri. They are consistently working at an upward angle. Right now I'd place us roughly below Vestu Vestii."

"Vestu Vestii?" Cricket groaned. "That name sounds so lame. Almost every dhampir city is named vest something. What does that translate to? Like, the vest of vests?"

Oydd answered. "Vestu means church. But it does derive from vestments or holy garments."

"In this case," the vampire added, "The church of the holy vestments."

"But churches are called vests?" Cricket countered.

Oydd grumbled, but didn't outright deny the claim.

"So the city is basically called the vest of vests."

"Yes, but that sounds stupid," Oydd snapped.

"My point exactly."

Licephus peered around the corner. "I'll take the troll. You three take the goblins. Insect, you're on cleanup. Anyone tries to run away, they become your main target. Actually, start with the goblins furthest away, then work your way back."

Cricket nodded and readied his khopeshes in his upper arms and his sickles in the lower.

"Actually, if I may, Lord Licephus. I would like to handle the troll. I believe I can dominate his mind from here. If I fail, I imagine you can dispatch him quickly?"

"Proceed," Licephus consented, a note of curiosity in his voice.

Oydd smiled deviously. His eyes narrowed and the tentacles over his beak began to rise and whip about in the winds of magic. Cricket felt a terrible aura, as if... as if from the undead, he thought. He even looked about for some unseen menace, but found none.

After only a few seconds, the troll roared and Cricket heard the sounds of a minor skirmish as the brute quickly overpowered the goblins.

The insect rushed around the corner to find a single survivor of the troll's rampage running away. Cricket took a few steps after it then hurled a sickle. The weapon spiraled through the air and the tip connected just off-center from the goblin's neck, digging in deep and dropping the creature instantly.

Cricket eyed the troll warily. The hulk suddenly stood still, but grimaced as if in pain. A black mist rose from its glazed eyes.

"Don't worry," Oydd's voice reassured him from behind. "He is completely under control."

Cricket took a couple steps toward the troll and looked up at its disproportionately large eyes. "How'd you do that?"

"They're big. But their minds are simple. Actually, their size makes it easier to overpower them."

"Can you do that to anyone?"

"I don't even think I could do it to a goblin. Not the deep goblins. Their minds are stronger than they look. You, however," the rudra glared at the insect, "I could take easily."

"But you will not," Licephus ordered coldly.

The rudra took a deep breath and turned from Cricket. He waved a hand and the fat troll wandered ahead down the hallway.

"Even that pickaxe is adamantite," the vampire observed. "But no armor on the goblins. Worthless minions, I presume."

Cricket inspected the minecart. "What... is this? It's not ore."

"Phosphorous," Oydd answered. "A mineral that might be used to produce adamantite. I'm not sure. But I don't believe they're mining up to reach Al Tsiroth. It doesn't seem consistent and might take years even if they're left uninterrupted."

"And they will not be left uninterrupted," Licephus swore.

Cricket retrieved his sickle from the corpse with a slick popping sound, then wiped the blade clean on the goblin's crimson skin.

Licephus regarded him a moment. "You're on point. Your shell nearly matches the wall. It is an ideal natural camouflage."

"My shell is much shinier than the rock," Cricket protested.

"Look again."

Cricket looked down and saw that the yellow air of Agoth had already begun to gather on him, dulling his shell to a dusty matte. He groaned and moved ahead of the troll.

The passage led to the third story of a vast, bustling mineshaft with numerous tunnels leading from each level. Dozens of goblins in the lower levels pushed carts full of phosphorous and other minerals as imp guards flew or perched above them on the second level. Cricket counted three more trolls and a heavily armored ogre taskmaster at the bottom.

The general flow of traffic hinted at a single main tunnel.

Licephus moved closer to the insect, but remained concealed in the tunnel.

"Not a lot of action up here," Cricket whispered. "I think I see a floor above us, and it's mostly dead too. But we don't want to go down."

"What's down?" the vampire whispered in an oddly deep tone.

"Too many goblins to fight. I'm guessing over a hundred. I can count at least half that from here."

"And up? Do you see any tunnels that might lead out?"

"I really can't tell."

Licephus motioned for Oydd and the rudra approached the crater.

"Send the troll around the edge. Look down each connecting tunnel. See if you can find a way out. Also, look for ramps going up or down."

Oydd nodded, and sent the troll out of the tunnel into the open chamber. Licephus signaled for the others to withdraw and the group found a small, quiet nook to conceal themselves.

Oydd's eyes rolled back into his head. "I just passed two goblins," the rudra said, speaking of the troll. "They didn't find my presence odd, but may be heading this way."

Licephus gestured for the group to press back against the wall. After a short wait, a grunt echoed down the hallway, followed by the soft footfall of their bare feet, amplified to a surprisingly loud volume by the narrow corridors.

When the first poked its black horns around the bend, Licephus struck it with a downward slash from his cutlass, mutilating the small creature. Its friend half-squealed, half-hissed as it bolted away, but Oydd lifted his arm and the goblin levitated from the ground. It squirmed in the air and inhaled to scream, but the rudra tightened his outstretched hand into a fist, crushing its throat. He let it drop to the floor of the tunnel where it whimpered and crawled against the wall.

Cricket quietly knelt over it and rammed a khopesh into the side of its head. The goblin twitched a few times and then lay still. The insect then began to move the bodies into the nook.

"No exit this way," Oydd continued to narrate the troll's movements. "I do see a ramp leading to a lower level, but there is more traffic here."

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"Does anyone find your presence suspect?"

Oydd shook his head. "The goblins don't dare confront a troll. I'm avoiding anyone who appears to be in charge." Suddenly the rudra smiled. "I see an exit. It's still some distance ahead of me. And there are a lot of goblins here. A few of them even have adamantine armor. I think they are guarding the exit to prevent deserters."

"Are the guards the only reason it looks like an exit?" Licephus asked.

"Beyond the guards, the tunnel opens into a cavern with pools of lava and stalagmites. It slopes gently upward."

Licephus sighed. "I don't like the prospect of attempting to run on open terrain."

"What are your orders?" the rudra pressed.

"We need some kind of diversion. How many trolls can you subjugate?"

"I believe one is my limit. But I could send him down to fight while we run."

"No, I want him with us."

"I can still make ghouls," Oydd suggested.

"Without losing the troll?"

"Yes," the rudra nodded. "It uses a different part of my brain." Oydd summoned the ghoul jailor to his side. "I could raise at least three more."

Licephus looked back down the tunnel. "Do it. We'll send the ghouls down and start a commotion, then we'll run for the exit.

Oydd stepped back out into the tunnel and found Skunk devouring one of the corpses.

"Dammit!" The rudra pulled the mutant off of the deep goblin. He had already torn a leg free and engorged himself on the limb, swallowing it whole. His jaw cracked as it unhinged and the mutant slowly forced the leg down his gullet like a snake.

Oydd cursed in Rudric then bounded back down the tunnel looking for a more intact corpse.

"Dryad," the vampire turned to Jesh. "How well can you control the rock? I need to know what sort of support you can offer."

"I have never done as much as I've done today. Only nurtured the rock to grow slowly. I learned it from watching Orth."

"But you can do it again? Maybe move the ramp, or hurl some boulders down?"

Jeshu thought for a long time before answering. "Let's assume I can do one of those. It tired me more than I expected."

"Seal the tunnel behind us," Cricket suggested. "The ghouls start a ruckus, and then we run toward the exit and you close the tunnel behind us."

"You're not looking for a fight, bug?" Licephus asked surprised.

Cricket's face lit up. "Are we going to fight?"

Licephus laughed. "If you had a tail, it would be wagging..."

Cricket scrunched his face, clearly not understanding the reference.

"No," the vampire said forcefully. "As little as possible. I think we'll have more than enough fighting to do if we don't dig up extra trouble." He turned again to the druid. "Seal the tunnel behind us, when I give the word. That sounds like the best play."

When Oydd returned, Licephus started down the tunnel toward the immense crater without conferring with the others. Two more ghouls followed the rudra, though they appeared less hearty than the first, and one sported a clearly fractured arm.

"Now," Licephus commanded, and the perplexed rudra sent the ghouls ahead. The undead deep goblins leapt from the edge, dropping onto the next floor down. The ghoul in adamantine armor landed on an imp, skewering it with his spear. The imp, looking little more than a scrawny, winged goblin, screeched in pain and soon drew the attention of the entire floor.

Oydd winced at the high-pitched sound, and faltered as he ran, but the druid came to his side and offered him an arm.

They're here.

Cricket looked at the rudra, who straightened and began to walk on his own. "Who's here?"

"What?" Oydd asked in irritation. I didn't say anything.

Licephus skirted the perimeter of the mineshaft and disappeared into a tunnel where he had seen the possessed troll enter earlier. Cricket ran to catch up with him, just as an armored imp flapped its wings, rising above the edge at his side.

Cricket screamed and threw a sickle, catching it in the exposed gut. The imp swooped at him, thrusting its spear, but wobbled from its wound. Cricket stepped aside and brought a khopesh down on its head. The weapon failed to damage the adamantine helmet, but stunned the creature, and Cricket finished it off with a sickle to the throat. It toppled back over the edge with his sickle still hanging from its stomach.

Cricket looked over the edge and whined. "My sickle."

"You need to stop throwing them," Jesh counselled.

"Or... I need to throw them more!"

Jesh raised an eyebrow at the insect's terrible logic and pulled him away from the edge. Cricket resisted long enough to lean over the edge and wave at the lost weapon. "Goodbye, friend." Jeshu pulled more forcefully, and the insect finally followed, chasing after the vampire.

When the others caught up, Licephus whispered over his shoulder. "Which way next, rudra?"

Oydd indicated a fork in the tunnel and Licephus proceeded at the head of the group.

The din in the main chamber grew louder and Licephus pulled the group aside where they hid for a short time as deep goblins rushed from the tunnel ahead to reinforce their friends.

When the tunnel quieted, Licephus emerged and signaled the dryad. "Seal this tunnel."

Jeshu nodded and focused on the rock until he began to tremble. The rock grew, though not as quickly as the previous time. The walls came to within about a foot of each other, and Orth cooed in excitement. But then the druid gasped and lost control of the magic. He panted and stared through the opening—still too wide to stop a goblin.

As he stared, a troll smashed into the opening, clogging the gap. Its saliva-drenched tusks scraped against the rock on each side and it roared, spraying spittle almost as far as the druid.

"Come." Licephus grabbed Jeshu and pulled him.

Skunk stayed and watched the troll. The brute chomped its jaw, as if attempting to bite him, then withdrew to stretch an arm through, grasping yards away from the mutant.

Deep goblins began to squirm through the gap between its legs and Skunk lunged forward, swatting the first goblin's head down into the rock.

"This way!" Oydd pointed down another tunnel and the group followed. Cricket risked a glance back and noticed another tunnel that led back to the main shaft, though at the moment it remained empty as their pursuers clogged the sealed tunnel.

As he ran, the insect replaced one of his sickles with a dagger, then tested the weapon in the air, and found it off-balance with his sickle. With little thought, Cricket tossed the sickle aside and drew a second dagger. The sickle clanged against the wall then landed at the rudra's feet.

"Watch it!"

"Sorry!" the insect shouted as he ran.

Cricket heard the sounds of battle ahead, and soon saw the subjugated troll battling a host of goblins with its eight-foot pickaxe. A pile of goblins lay at his feet, along with an assortment of limbs in his wake.

Several goblins watched the fight with their back to the insect, and he took one out with a well-timed slash as he passed. Three others immediately gave chase, and Cricket ran around the spacious chamber, dropping the goblins one by one as they caught up to him.

As Cricket neared the exit, a portal appeared. A door to another dimension, similar to the one they had slipped through to get here. However, this portal radiated power, and grew large enough for a troll to pass comfortably through.

Cricket skidded to a stop. He stared up at the gate dumbfounded, as the enthralled troll tossed goblins about behind him.

"Cricket!" Licephus warned, and the insect turned in time to block a spiked cudgel. He countered with two quick slashes of his daggers as his khopeshes held the club in place. The goblin slumped to the floor, spurting blood from its throat.

Cricket surveyed to make sure he was safe for a moment, then looked back at the portal. It opened to what he assumed were the lower levels of the mine, based on the scenery. On the far side stood a rudra, much older and more imposing than Oydd, and a trollblood holding a staff.

The edges of the portal faded, blending with the room, and soon the two stood before Cricket.

The elder rudra waved a hand and Cricket found himself floating in the air. The insect threw a dagger but it bounced off of an invisible barrier. He threw a second with the same effect. But this time he heard the barrier crack. The rudra seemed flustered by this fact, and before it could act, Cricket pulled back a khopesh and lobbed it through the air. It whirled, handle-over-blade, three times before crashing through the weakened barrier. The hilt slammed into the rudra's beak with a loud crack, then fell to the floor.

With a hiss, the rudra covered his face with his free hand and Cricket dropped from his telekinetic hold.

The trollblood laughed as a line of blood trickled out from below the rudra's hand. The sleeve of the elder rudra's robe slid down, revealing a black and shriveled limb from the elbow up. The skin appeared partially decomposed.

Cricket started to charge, but the rudra pointed a thin, adamantine staff at the insect, and he began to float again. The insect drew back his last khopesh, to throw the weapon, when the rudra released a pulse through the air, and Cricket felt it numb his mind. His hand loosened and the khopesh clattered to the ground.

In a daze, he studied his opponents as the sounds of battle quieted behind him. The rudra stood nearly a foot taller than Oydd. His skin appeared more grey, and his tentacles draped to his knees—though one of the four had long ago been severed near the top. The rudra's cranium bulged in the back, as if stuffed with too much brain.

The trollblood looked familiar, but perhaps only because the insect couldn't tell them much apart. However, it possessed two striking differences from others of its kind. One arm, severed at the elbow, had a forearm from another being stitched onto it. The arm looked slightly too large for the trollblood. A translucent black shell covered the limb, filled with a flowing, humming violet energy. Cricket only noticed the humming as he stared into the teeming energy inside the shell. The arm's five jagged claws curled around a gnarled staff.

Secondly, the trollblood breathed through its mouth, its nostrils overgrown with sweaty polyps, and a long, snake-like tongue hung from its open mouth. The tongue resembled the arm, covered with translucent black scales, pulsating from within with a hungry violet glow. The tongue rolled and coiled like the tail of a serpent.

Licephus cut down the last goblin and turned to the trollblood.

The trollblood spoke a single word. "Kneel..." and its tongue darkened almost imperceptibly. Though it spoke softly, Cricket felt the power of the word penetrate him to the bone. The vampire, his sword drawn back to strike, stopped and knelt on the ground.

Cricket felt an overwhelming urge to kneel himself, but could not because the rudra held him, floating in the air. The inability to follow the command nearly drove him mad. He felt pins and needles running up his legs. Cricket screamed.

Oydd raised his hand toward the enemy rudra, but without so much as moving a muscle, the larger rudra tossed him backward across the room. Oydd levitated himself to slow his fall, and raised his hand again, only to be forced violently backward and pressed against the side wall of the chamber.

Though the move seemed effortless, Cricket felt the rudra's attention leave him for just a moment, and the insect let out a long, horrifying screech. The sound seemed to catch his opponent off guard. The rudra fell to one knee, struggling to hold Cricket and Oydd aloft. He lifted the hand from his bloody beak and aimed it toward the ensorcelled troll, then crumpled under the unending waves of sound.

Cricket dropped to his feet, and heard Oydd crash down behind him. Still, his legs felt numb, and he used all his will to fight the urge to kneel.

The trollblood, a look of absolute terror on his face, waved his staff and a portal opened up around him and his fallen companion. Cricket watched, helpless as the portal closed and the two were gone.

He turned around and saw Jeshu at the back of the room, swatting goblins aside with his hammer. Skunk, with two spears protruding from his shoulder, and a long gash down his side, fought next to the druid.

Before he knew what was going on, Oydd's troll swung its pickaxe at Cricket's head. He raised his khopesh to block, but the pick broke easily through his defense and connected with the insect's face, knocking him backward.

Dimly, he heard the vampire's voice. "He released it from Oydd's hold." Licephus swung his cutlass, tearing open the troll's chest from a distance.

Cricket stumbled and barely dodged another swing from the raging troll before collapsing to his hands and knees. A piece of black shell hung limply from his face and dropped to the floor. Cricket collapsed, trembling as the vampire cut down the troll. He lay there helpless as the druid and the vampire fought wave after wave of goblins.