The Maw derives its name from the fact that it seems to lead into the belly of the mountain. The ancient name for the southern part of the mountain range would be translated to "Two-Headed Titan". In the age of the gods, there were two titanic beasts that fought here and ravaged the lands. They killed each other and their remains turned into the mountain range that runs across the entire kingdom. The bigger one had two heads, becoming the southern part, while the smaller one fell towards the north. Both are now collectively called Kongensgrad. The space between them became what is now named the King's Pass.
We're now descending into one of the Two-Headed Titan's supposed heads, the side that's called The Maw. The bard told me that the other side is called The Whisper, because the entrance is quite small and hidden when viewed from afar. I'm a sucker for such lore, and in reality I was a real nerd. One wouldn't take me as such when seeing me, but outside from track and field, I buried myself in pop-culture. Please tell me more!
"The dwarves used to live here until two centuries ago. They dug too deeply and too greedily, and came upon the troll kingdom." There are dwarves in this world! "Trolls shun all forms of light. They live in the bowels of the world, most likely existing everywhere, hidden from view. Normally, they would never come into contact with people from above ground."
The caves look man-made in some places and natural in others. It goes to show that the dwarves didn't have the time to finish everything before they met the trolls. The path we're taking is quite wide and continues on into the depths of the mountain in an almost straight line. There are marked stones to denote the right path and it would seem that the trolls don't understand their meaning to consider removing them.
"The troll kingdom is an unknown force, since its numbers are unfathomable. Survivors speak of a sea of bodies. The kingdom estimates that there were at least a million, since they were able to almost annihilate the technologically advanced and well-equipped army of the dwarves, which numbered in nearly a hundred thousand. The Kingdom of Lares only has very few dwarves left, and most of them live among the humans as craftsmen." I do want to see a dwarf someday. Are they really all small, stout and beardy like fantasy would want to make one believe?
"Since trolls don't like fresh air and light, they won't be anywhere near the two entrances, but the further we go in, the more dangerous it becomes. It's a journey of two days, and the less time we spend in here, the more likely it is we make it through without a hitch." Rolan doesn't seem that nervous, but I think he doesn't really want to face an army of a million with just us six - seven, if I count Senka. If there was a spell like the one that purified the entire cemetery dungeon in one go, but for trolls, it'd be no problem at all. But even I think a million is a little much.
Still, I want to see a troll.
The bard seems to be the one keeping the time, since he calls for breaks periodically. We're slowly entering an area where the air is really stale and it becomes harder to breathe. While Gram, Rolan and I are fine, the less sporty types - Luna, the bard and Kamii - are having a harder time.
"If keeping up the flame tires you out, I can take over." I suggest to Luna, but receive a strange look.
"How are you going to cast the magic, you do not have a staff." She finally says and I'm dumbfounded. I thought you didn't need a wand or staff to cast magic in this world.
"I have been casting magic without a staff all this time, though...?"
"That is because light magic can be cast as long as there is light, even if that means only that from the moon or the stars." Luna shows me her staff and the three small crystals embedded in its tip. "This garnet is for invoking fire, the blue beryl is for channeling water, and the almost transparent quartz is to control the wind. You need a medium for every type of element you wish to cast." I see, although I feel like wind should be everywhere...
"Ignis." I mutter and a small flame appears above my palm. Luna's eyes go wide and she gasps. I don't have any crystals, or does an organic body also work as a medium? I'm not quite human after all, but she doesn't know that.
"How did you do that?" She raises her voice and the others turn to see what's going on. This is a sensitive area after all, so her suddenly speaking out loud is cause for concern.
"I do not know. It just happened this way." I shrug and grasp the flame in my palm, making it disappear. "I have not tried any other type of magic, but maybe I have a special affinity with fire?" I doubt that, but if that can serve as an explanation to calm Luna down, it's worth coming up with such a theory.
"You surprise us on every turn, missy." Gram comments and shows a resigned smile. "With your talent in our group, I think the demon lord isn't a problem at all." I don't think maou-mama would be weaker than I, especially since we both have the same type of body, and she had more time to experiment with hers than I did. Even if I happen to be more talented, experience is not something overcome so easily. Especially if it's at least twenty years more - judging by Gram's story about how she came to power that many years ago. And I will stand against you rather than with you, if you ever come to face my mother...
Ultimately, I could start acting like a torch, too. Ugh, I shouldn't have proposed this. Luna's staff is long and the flame at its tip is quite high up. The fire on my palm is too low, and I don't want to walk around with my arm raised all the time. If only I could borrow her staff... but of course, she refused.
The first day passed without incident and the bard signaled us that it was pretty late already. We found a room, most likely a guard house, which could be used for camping. There are remains of tools and I think those are skulls in the corner. This is really a death trap, but with the narrow doorway we should at least be able to defend, in case the trolls show up at night. Gram can almost block it completely with his shield - this place was built by dwarves after all.
This time, half the party takes over night watch while the other rests. I have the first watch with Gram and Kamii, although I wouldn't count her as a proper member. She can't really contribute after all. And she's actually sleeping in my lap, as usual.
I listen to the big man's stories and learn more about this kingdom. I don't know much about the previous world outside of Japan, but what I hear about this one really sounds a lot like Norse mythology - or at least the one I know from games. A pantheon of very human-like gods, the world tree and layered worlds, and many other things. It's quite intriguing, and I wonder whether I would have learned these, if I hadn't been sent to this kingdom, or never even had the chance to see more of the world if I had been only sent somewhere on the Demon Continent.
I wake up to Luna shaking me lightly. Apparently it's just morning, and not an emergency. I sit up and look around. Senka is wedged between Kamii and I, and somehow I feel like her expression is one of annoyance, even though it's her usual empty one when she poses as a doll. I stroke the dark elf's hair before bending down to her ear and whispering "wake up". Her eyes flutter open sleepily and she looks up at me in slight confusion, before giving me a bright smile. Aww~
"The hardest part lies before us still." The bard comments. It's like he already went through here before, but that can't be... right? "But we should be out by the evening today."
"Then let's go." Rolan leads the way with a torch, and we're back on the move. The bard comes second and is effectively the one who guides the party. Luna is in the middle, shining a light in our center. Kamii and I follow, while Gram is at our rear, the shield strapped over his backpack to defend against possible attacks from behind.
We walk along endless seeming abysses and through low tunnels barely tall enough for the big man to stand upright in for the better half of the day. Shortly after our lunch break we finally come upon a place that seems more like the habitat of the dwarves. The bard asks Luna to increase the intensity of her light, and it illuminates a seemingly impossibly tall cave, held up by pillars cut from the very mountain itself. But the most impressive part is the amount of skeletons lying about. They are all small of stature, smaller than Kamii or even Senka, and it's obvious which belong to whom.
The armored dwarves and the naked trolls. There are many more bare skeletons than armored ones, but you can practically see where the last stand took place. Crunching pieces of bones with every step, we walk through this glorified tomb. I wonder why these haven't turned undead yet. Just as I ask this, I hear the clattering of bones not caused by our feet.
"Undead? But why now?" Rolan looks around in confusion. "There have never been any cases of them here before." I turn to look at the source of the noise and find that it's just a few, and they are tall - human. So I guess, humans are more likely to turn than other races?
"Sivalta!" I chant and a nova of light expands with me at the epicenter. It hits the skeletons and burns them away without a trace. The nova continues on as much as it had when I used it in the cemetery dungeon, and in its light I see bodies that aren't decomposed in the far off distance. Wait, don't tell me.
A high-pitched, nerve-grating scream echoes through the halls.
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"What was that?" Gram is alarmed and looks around. The acoustics of this place makes it hard to pinpoint where it came from. The scream is answered by others and settles into a chatter that seems to expand in all directions.
"The trolls have been alarmed." The bard mutters with fatalism in his voice. It was an accident!
One slightly deeper voice bellows something and we hear the sound of metal and the rattling of bones from all around us. That must have been a troll chieftain or something - or maybe even the king himself. This doesn't bode well...
"RUN!" The bard shouts, and we spring into action at the same time as the trolls begin to run towards us from all directions. The entire mountain seems to be shaking under their feet. With my night-vision I can only see an uncountable number of figures moving in the dark, coming at us from all sides.
We run through the streets of the ruined dwarf city, the trampling of thousands of feet and boots coming after us. When I look up, there are trolls pouring out of cracks in the pillars and out of the windows in the houses. The circle is closing in around us, but the road in front of us is already blocked by a mass of trolls.
"We need to get to the Bridge of Enleith, quick!" Shooting his crossbow towards the front while running, the bard exclaims. With so many enemies, I don't think a single bolt is going to do much. But he hits a troll and the others around it shy away from their fallen companion. Into that opening, Rolan plunges with his sword.
"Ohnd Spyd!" I shout, and a spirit spear forms. In its radiance, the trolls that come from our sides back away. Illuminated by its light I finally get a good look at them. They're basically goblins from games I know, just with completely black, scaly-looking skin, and gigantic eyes for seeing in the dark. The spear shoots forward, right past Rolan, and pierces through the encirclement and into a house, disappearing from sight. At this, the trolls in front of us open up a path in fear and scatter.
"Quick!" Rolan shouts and runs forward, cutting a troll's head off in passing. These small critters are many, but they're cowards.
Then the deeper sounding troll bellows something and the encirclement tightens again. That's the one we'll have to take out, or this won't ever end. I look back and find that Gram has activated the light on his shield and is using it to keep the light-sensitive trolls chasing us at bay. To our left side many are closing in and running towards us, wielding clubs and slabs of metal that look more like tools or unfinished smithy products than weapons. They have pieces of armor here and there, most likely scavenged from the dwarves.
"Ohnd Spyd!" The radiance gathers and shoots towards them, killing several and scattering the rest. Because of the angle, the spear disappeared into the ground without hitting too many. This spell isn't too good for close targets. I look forward and see that Luna is chanting a long incantation. I just hope the party can hold out long enough for that to pay off...
"Kuroeh!" Kamii shouts behind me and I spin around. A troll wielding a dull but pointy dagger jumps at me. The dark elf throws her crab claw around and hits it in midair, sending it off course. It's confused but doesn't seem hurt, as it quickly gets up. Kamii hits it again and it's knocked away. Wait, that hit just now looked stronger?
Another troll gathers its courage and jumps forward, but her right arm swings down on it and the hit beats the small creature to the ground. One more hit and its head is split open. Don't tell me...
Kamii begins to seriously swing her arm and every hit seems to gain more weight behind it. At one point the enemies are flung through the air with their entire bodies broken or are practically smashed into a pulp against the ground and the walls. Wow! I remember her hitting me once before, but it was only once. There seem to be conditions attached to that strength.
"Catastrophe!" Luna's voice resounds through the entire cave. This spell took even longer than the laser one, so I hope it's good. Oh, she's floating, an eerie wind lifting her up into the air. Everyone else forms a circle around her in the center, as her staff begins to glow in the colors of the crystals embedded in it.
Then a ball of light flies up high into the air and explodes in a bright flash. From it, fire balls rain down on our surroundings. So basically a firestorm spell? But then I see that trolls hit by it don't catch on fire, but rather seem to have the affected parts melted away. Oi, that's scary! Her staff forms an umbrella of water over our party and none of the fire balls hit us. So the wind was just to make you fly up into the air in a flashy move?
Spoke to soon, again. When the ball of light is used up, an upward draft pulls in all the fire balls that fell from it earlier and gathers them back. A multi-use spell? I have to admit, you have the most destructive potential on the team, like a true glass cannon, Luna.
After the second deadly rain of fire balls the encirclement crumbles and the trolls run for their lives.
"Now's our chance, make a run for it!" Rolan shouts and carries Luna. It seems she's exhausted after this. So there's something like mana after all? The bard runs ahead, since he seems to know the way. I shoot another spirit spear at the routed trolls for good measure and pull Kamii along. Gram follows behind us, the shield over his shoulder.
The angered voice of the troll leader resounds through the caverns and suddenly I hear whirring sounds from behind us. Several impacts on Gram's shield confirm that they are arrows. I think now's the time to test out this shielding spell. But it's really a mouthful and I feel like I'll just bite my tongue if I try to speak it in the original language. Maybe saying the words in the normal language works, too?
"Soul's light, protect mine charges!" A shield of light forms around me and expands to encompass Kamii next to me, too. It worked! Say goodbye to this arcane language, I can just say it in... whatever this language is!
So, this bubble doesn't encompass the whole party on its own, but it's big enough for them to come in and find shelter underneath. And it stays up while on the move. How convenient. I look up and see arrows coming at us. Just in case, Gram keeps his shield up, but the arrows are blocked by the bubble of light. I don't know how strong it is, but it doesn't seem to break under the constant rain of arrows and other projectiles that follow. This is mighty convenient!
"The bridge is ahead of us!" The bard shouts and points forward. Indeed, there is a bridge only wide enough for a single horse-drawn cart to cross. It's a choke point and we won't be surrounded. The other side is a small open stretch before a large gate, which most likely leads on the path towards the exit. There are no trolls on the other side.
The trolls are coming from all sides and the path to the bridge keeps getting narrower. I don't think I can cast another spell while keeping up this shield, and Luna seems to be out of commission. If we get surrounded again, I don't think we'll be getting out of it that easily this time. Well, I could, but the humans wouldn't.
Suddenly the light bubble breaks and scatters into particles of light. It has a time limit? Well, I can use spells now,and the projectiles mostly come from behind. Gram does his best to block them, but if the trolls start shooting from the sides, his shield won't be enough to protect us all. The trolls are really quick on their feet, and the black rolling mass of them coming from behind is quickly gaining on us, too. Even if we make it across the bridge, they'll catch up in no time.
Rolan can't swing a sword right now, since he's carrying Luna. I shoot a light spear through the ranks that try to close before us, causing them to scatter a little. It's just enough to let us enter the bridge. At least now the enemies don't come from all sides anymore. I look back and see that they're practically already gnawing at Gram's heels. When I turn my head towards the front, someone passes me by. What?
Almost all the way across the bridge, the bard turned around and came to a stop at the middle, shooting a crossbow bolt into the mass of trolls following us. It deters them only for a moment, but seeing him make a stand, they stop just a few steps away. What's he trying to pull? The rest of the party has crossed the bridge now and we look back. He drops the crossbow and takes up his lute, playing a tone. At the sound, the trolls flinch as they stare at it in fearful curiosity. Don't tell me he's actually really powerful and is going to use some sound-based spells to stop them from crossing the bridge?
"Go, my friends! I shall stop them here." He plays another note, a fearless smile on his lips. Wait, are you saying you want to sacrifice yourself so we can make it through? He turns to the trolls. "You shall n-"
"Nope, not gonna happen." I won't let him look cool here, by doing something so dumb. "Spirit spears!" I make it plural - since I didn't know the plural form in the arcane language, but now that limit is lifted - and it works. A whole row of large spear forms and shoots forward, piercing the bridge from the side, just in front of the bard. It's enough to practically cut the rock it's made out of in half, and the part where the trolls stand on crumbles under their weight. Squealing like gutted pigs and grasping at each other impotently, they fall into the darkness below. "Now come on!" I yell at him and he seems to grasp what just happened. We leave the great halls of the dwarves behind us, their screams from across the abyss unable to harm us.
A short while of running later we make it into an area where a small breeze blows and the air smells fresher.
"We made it..." The bard comments while out of breath. "It is just a short way from here to The Whisper." He doesn't look like he just had a brush with death and he wears his usual smile. I feel like hitting him over the head, but Rolan already does it for me.
"What were you thinking?" Oh, he's angry. "You're not supposed to do that in such a place." Huh, what do you mean by that? Are you actually saying he shouldn't sacrifice himself in such a place, but some other place instead?
"Well, the situation looked quite dire. I was not aware that the lady was capable of using her magic in that way." Neither was I, up to that moment, though. "I understand, though, Rolan. I apologize."
I sigh and shrug at his nonchalance. My two priorities, Senka and Kamii are both safe, so I'm happy. Well, I think Senka would have been safe either way, but Kamii looks quite exhausted from the fighting and running. I learned something about her today, and now I know that she might have quite some fighting potential in her. Luckily, it seems nobody among the humans has noticed it.
That was quite the adventure. I can't suppress my laughter and soon the entire party joins in with me. Huh, why are you all laughing, too? I'm laughing because I absorbed some of the trolls along the way, without anybody noticing. Mostly the dead that were left behind and ended up under our heels. I've stocked up on quite some food for a while again.
"This was really an experience. I don't think anyone has ever survived such a close shave before. We'll have another story to tell." Gram comments with a wide grin. Yeah, I think it was incredible.
We soon move forward. There's no sign of the trolls following us, so the bridge must have been the only way across the chasm, huh? I seriously doubt that in a cave system like this one, but for now we seem to be safe. It's only a short way to the opening after all, and the trolls won't be chasing us out into the open, apparently.
This shortcut was really worth it.