“There is always sun above the darkest of storm clouds.”
- a saying from the Avian Guard.
“Only one thing could be responsible for this whirlwind of destruction…an orc in heat… gone berserk,” the dwarf answered stoically in response, “Combine that with the pain from the collar, and you have a recipe for a natural disaster.”
Remembering the orc’s hulking physique and brutish appearance, it came as no surprise that he could wreak such destruction. I did not know what I feared the most, coming into contact with more Echo-Stalkers, or reuniting with our fearsome former team member.
Still, we were fortunate that the berserker had cleared the way for us. As we walked down the path, Durhit raised a hand to signal us to stop as we reached the entrance of another perfectly round tunnel. He sniffed the air and pressed his ear to the wall.
“Running water, and close,” he stated matter-of-factly, gesturing towards the new path. “Move quietly. Perhaps we can sneak by while the hive is distracted.”
Similar to the main shaft, broken bodies of Echo-Stalkers lined this new path at almost uniform intervals. We passed by the shattered shaft and the head of a pickaxe, both halves of the tool buried in separate bodies that still oozed fresh ichor. The trail of destruction left behind by the maddened orc was impressive.
Following the breadcrumb trail of death, and Durhit's unerring sense of direction, we navigated through the network of tunnels as quickly and quietly as possible in the gloom. Sometimes the dwarf led us downwards, but more often now he guided us in a slight ascent through abundant twists and turns.
We continued without incident until we finally heard the sound of free-flowing water, confirming the dwarf's prediction. Excitement coursed through us, and we picked up our pace, abandoning the last vestiges of stealth as we powered down the tunnel.
Just as we turned the corner of the tunnel, we suddenly ran into two more Drones and a new larger, more heavily armored, and dangerous type of foe. I quickly dubbed this new enemy the "Soldier" variant, and it bristled with a cold threat as it gazed at us with its unfeeling, arachnid eyes. They raised their deadly weapon arms and threatened us with death with their rapidly clicking mandibles.
The man-mountain Kidu needed no prompting and rushed our new enemies. He thrust his iron spear into the larger Soldier Echo-Stalker before it could even mount a defense, stabbing it deeply. Momentarily distracted by Kidu's martial prowess, I almost allowed one of the drones to stab me in the chest. Luckily, I was able to dodge at the last moment. The chains at my wrists and ankles jangled as I turned a potentially lethal strike into just a glancing one. Still, my health was reduced by a full twenty-three points.
Capitalizing on the glancing strike that left it now open, Durhit smashed it with his mining tool and gouged a great wound down its trunk with a mighty blow. Recovering from my shock, I swung my own pickaxe in a rough upwards strike that brained the insect, the point of my tool firmly lodged in its cranium.
You have slain an Echo-Stalker 30 experience gained.
Mentally brushing aside the notification, I saw that Durhit had moved to help Kidu. The Hunter was still dueling with the weakened yet still extremely dangerous Soldier, his spear striking out like a darting snake while Durhit added a few attacks of his own to give him some openings.
I turned to see if Elwin needed any help, but he already had the situation well in hand. His opponent was bleeding from a multitude of wounds across its limbs, with one weapon arm drooping weakly as Elwin danced around it. The Drone's antennae seemed to be following the Rogue's knife as he passed it from hand to hand. Seeing it distracted, and wanting a slice of the experience, I raised my pickaxe. I smashed into it from behind with all my might with a Power Strike, which ended its life instantly and another notification crossed my vision.
You have slain an Echo-Stalker 30 experience gained.
You have gained 1 Dexterity.
Taking a quick breath, I turned to see what had become of Kidu and Durhit's fight but was disappointed to see that they had already put down the savage beast. Feeling a little frustrated, I absently kicked a loose stone on the floor. I was just a few points away from my next level. Kidu bent down to rip out the beast's impressive scythe arms as another battle trophy, only to stop when the sound of further fighting drifted from down the path. A bestial roar of fury and frustrated rage could be heard.
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"Don't you be telling me now that is our next destination?" Elwin began weakly, looking a little paler even in the gloom.
"The sound of running water is coming down from there, so that is where we must be going, manling. Let's just pray to the Earth Mother and all the gods of the hearth that the orc can distract them for a little while longer," the dwarf replied grimly.
Faster we journeyed down our path until we could clearly hear the swift-flowing water and the sound of battle that was joining it. We continued past a corner to see that we had come to a cliff path, and a small dark river was running swiftly below us in a vast cavern that reached to an unending darkness. To our left, I could feel a weak breeze and taste the fresh air. But higher up along the path to our right, we saw a most impressive sight.
The lone orc juggernaut was frothing at the mouth as he battled an entire hive of Echo-Stalkers on the ledge and his great bestial war cries drowned out the sound of the rushing river. He held a pickaxe in his right hand that cut through rigid chitinous armor like it was paper. In his left hand, he clasped a ripped-off scythe arm from a Soldier, which he used to stab with lightning quickness at the never-ending horde of insectile monsters. He relentlessly smashed them left and right, causing many of them to plunge to their deaths in the swift current below.
“That way!” hissed Durhit, pointing emphatically to our left, “Go! Go!!”
Just as we passed Durhit, a dark shape dropped from the ceiling, its chameleonic skin making it almost invisible in the gloom. It planted two sharpened scythe blades through Durhit’s chest that burst out the other side. His eyes widened in shock and pain as he started coughing up blood.
With a great snarl, Kidu thrust his spear with both hands at the new monster, striking it squarely where its neck should be and twisting savagely as dark viscera exploded from its new wound. Despite its hideous wound, the monster was still standing and fending off the rest of the Hunter’s strikes.
"No! No! No! No!" I screamed in rage and loss.
Durhit was one of my first friends and companions in this cruel, barbaric world. Memories of our shared comradeship flashed across my mind as I raised my hand to strike out at the monster. I swung a wild horizontal attack that connected solidly with its thorax, the chains at my wrists hitting it a moment later. The blow was so powerful that it smashed the creature aside, even as Durhit toppled to the ground.
You have slain an Echo-Stalker 30 experience gained.
You have learned Flails (lvl.1)
I barely registered the death notification as I rushed to hold Durhit in my arms, all thoughts of the battle lost with my friend dying. I tried to summon a Heal spell, but with Mana being so perilously low, it would not heed my call.
Hollowly, I read the notifications looking for a way to save the Dwarf. I found nothing, except for the fact that this game had counted the chains of my slavery as flails.
“My sister Evenes... Bronzegate Hold... tell her…” the dwarf gasped his last through bloodstained lips.
Someone began shouting in my ear. Feeling numb and empty, I almost ignored it, but the voice was persistent.
“We’ve got to go NOW!” Elwin yelled in my ear, attempting to drag me up, while Kidu stood guard over Durhit’s corpse.
Stumbling to my feet, I gently released Durhit, only to notice that the Echo-Stalkers had redoubled their assault. Some of them had climbed up the walls past the orc, only to be met in turn by Kidu’s swift spear, which skewered them against the cavern rock. Slowly, we began our fighting retreat, with the wildman taking up the rearguard.
In a fit of rage and frustration, I cast Rust on the orc’s collar as a parting gift to let the last few moments of its life be that of a free creature. Luckily, I was in range, dark whispers barely audible to me the magic took hold. I could barely feel the unwholesome energies as I released the spell’s black lightning into the orc’s slave collar.
This only incensed the creature to further heights of rage, its bestial roars echoing throughout the cavern, stunning the Echo-Stalkers in front of it with its intensity. Whether it was the adrenaline, my high Constitution, my new skill Mana Regeneration, or simply my inability at that moment to feel, I did not notice the usual wave of fatigue that came with reaching zero Mana.
All thoughts of fighting left us then. Clutching our weapons tightly, we beat a hasty retreat. I held my helmet to my head and my pickaxe in my other hand as we sprinted at full speed through the cavern, following the ledge and the course of the river below.
The darkness of the cavern began to lighten, and we eventually burst out into glorious sunlight that almost blinded us after what felt like an eternity of darkness and blue gloom. The river fell from the cliff in a cascading waterfall that fed into a large lake. We all skidded to a stop to avoid falling off before we noticed an animal trail that cut down across the cliffs and into the woods. As I stepped out of the cavern, a notification appeared that brought hot tears of joy and grief to my eyes.
Quest Complete: Escape from the Slavery Pits of Ansan