So incensed by the refusal of what he thought was a reasonable offer of amnesty, the High King of the Elves begged once more with the Dragon Queen for aid, offering a dragon egg’s weight in precious silvery mithril. Greed sinking its claws into her reptilian heart, she commanded that flights of dragons launch into the sky and rain death and destruction on the Republic.
- On the Cataclysm by an unknown Quassian Scholar circa 103 AC.
We trudged silently down the long tunnels for perhaps an hour or two, the small Zajasite stones in our hands casting strange blue shadows in the gloom. As I looked to the bottom left of my vision, I noticed that my Mana had mysteriously risen to three points, and I also received a new notification.
You have learned Mana Regeneration (lvl.1)
I was grateful for the new skill, and its effects were pretty self-explanatory. The mystery to me, however, was how it had been triggered. Was it due to my constant draining of Mana and then resting? Did it stack with my Rest skill? I pondered these questions fruitlessly before I almost bumped into Durhit, who had raised a hand signaling a stop.
Up ahead in the semi-darkness, there was an offshoot tunnel. It was almost perfectly circular and smaller in diameter than the tunnel we were currently in. The dwarf raised a finger to his mouth, gesturing for silence as he looked down into the gloom. Slowly, we understood the need for caution as we strained our ears, catching the impression of an insectile clicking noise. As stealthily as possible, I ventured to the lip of the new tunnel and gazed down, holding my piece of glowing Zajasite like an icon of faith close to my chest.
What I saw could only be described as other. A pair of dark, four-armed creatures, just over a meter high, stood on two reverse-jointed legs. Their feet had sharp-looking claws, and a bony cranium sat on a squat, almost non-existent neck. Large hairy antennae protruded from their craniums where eyes would normally be, which twitched as if tasting the air. Instead of a mouth, four deadly mandibles formed a cross shape, clicking together as they communicated with one another.
Two long, double-jointed arms extruded from their shoulders, which ended in sharp-looking bone spurs that resembled scythe blades. From their chests, smaller yet more dexterous arms ended with three clawed fingers and an opposable digit for possible manipulation. The creatures' bodies were armored with pale ridged chitinous scales, thicker along their backs and trunks and finer along their joints.
The whole ensemble resembled terrifying, albino, insectile alien creatures in the blue surreal light.
The creatures chittered to each other in their unknowable alien language, their moth-like heads and antennae moving around as if searching. I noticed a bead of sweat forming on Durhit's brow as he moved closer, his body tensed like a drawn bow. Everyone gripped their worn mining tools, ready for a potential fight. My heart was beating like a war drum. An unknown part of me almost welcomed this potentially cathartic conflict, an alien counterpoint to the fear that I felt in equal measure in that cold darkness.
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"Echo-Stalkers," the dwarf muttered under his breath, causing Elwin the Rogue to visibly flinch and take a step back, inadvertently kicking a small pebble. Almost instantly, the pair of insectile creatures turned in our direction, their antennae swishing almost spasmodically. Their chittering grew in volume, loud in the silence of the tunnel as they stalked closer towards us, their scythe blade arms menacing the air.
Adrenaline began pumping through my system as I cast Identify at the rightmost Echo-Stalker to try and gauge the scope of the incoming threat.
Echo-Stalker - Drone - (lvl.6)
Health: 45/45
Stamina: 23/24
Mana: 4/4
Suddenly, without warning, their antennae stiffened, and the chittering stopped as they charged towards us, their leaping gait bounding across the distance between us. Mesmerized by their sudden burst of speed, I saw the right Echo-Stalker run across the wall of the tunnel as it sprung straight at me, dual scythe blades raised to stab through my chest. It was met suddenly by a rock thrown with lightning speed by our Rogue, landing smack into the center of its mandibles, half-stunning it as it missed its fatal strike.
Snapping out of my fugue, I raised my own weapon to smash down in a deadly arc with the strength of a Power Strike behind it. The force of the blow was so powerful that the chains at my wrists hit the creature before rebounding and striking me lightly across my own forearms. Feebly, as it tried to rise on unsteady limbs, I ended its suffering with a blow to its mangled head, ending its life.
You have slain an Echo-Stalker 30 experience gained.
The notification of its death brought a rush of elation through my veins, fierce and unrelenting. Looking around for any remaining threats, I saw that Kidu and Durhit had surrounded the remaining drone. Its own speed and eagerness to reach us had been its downfall. Kidu had been able to flank the monster, striking at it as it leaped. The force of his blow shattered one of its scythe-like arms, leaving it dangling uselessly at its side. The Hunter and the Sapper worked in silent tandem, each delivering their own precise, probing strikes with the utmost caution.
They knew all too well the risks of drawing more of these nightmarish creatures to our location, and so they moved with quiet, deadly efficiency.
Elwin held another stone in his hand, testing its weight while he waited for an opening. Sensing my approach, the drone chittered wildly, mandibles clacking as it raised its head in threat. That was all the opening Elwin needed. He promptly threw his projectile, hitting the antennae square on, causing it to nearly snap off.
We all charged the drone then, even Elwin, who picked up a shovel to join the fray. Our group struck it with everything we had, making it crash to the ground in a bundle of mangled, flailing limbs. We did not stop hitting it until it finally stilled, and I received another death notification.
You have slain an Echo-Stalker 15 experience gained.
You have gained 1 Dexterity.