Time froze, or perhaps Nua’s thoughts sped up that much in the face of the impending disaster. In hindsight, she could have inspected the place better. She could figure out that the pillars supporting the ceiling were damaged by the earthquake and held mostly thanks to gravity and the outstanding ancient craftsmanship that still compensated for the fractures. The ghoul broodmother, who spun her nest between the pillars, burdened them enough that the fractures deepened and the column sections were slowly getting out of alignment. Not many people would notice the imbalance or the danger behind it, but Nua’s spatial awareness, when her eyes finally landed on the pillar, sent an immediate shiver up her spine.
She realized what Raya’s liquid flame would do when the vial was already flying. In an instant, ether filled her veins. Screaming at the top of her lungs, she grabbed the priestess by the scruff of the neck and pulled her out of the way, while the pillar was toppling over, falling right in the direction of the entrance where the party stood. She needed to trust that the others were able to react.
What followed was an explosion of thousands of pounds of stone hitting the ground and filling the area with a cloud of dust and debris, just as Nua was running to the left, the priestess catching up with her own etheric enhancement. Half-consciously, the girl felt pebbles and glass shards hitting her back. Then, she found herself in the corner behind another pillar, coughing.
“Everyone alive?” It was Zaina, her silhouette still blurry in the dust.
“Somewhat,” Lykomedes wheezed.
“Here,” Nua raised her hand. “With Raya.”
“The entrance is blocked.” Quintus propped himself against the wall. He was squeezing his calf, a trickle of blood flowing between his fingers.
“We must get out of here soon,” Oswald pointed at the ceiling. The vault looked as if it was on the verge of collapsing. Just as he was saying that, the upper part of the pillar broke off and hit the floor underneath, and the chamber shook.
“Yeah, no problem,” Lykomedes panted. “We just need to run to that large exit on the other side. You know, past the ghouls' mom.”
There was a hiss coming from the direction of the nest, and then, a blood-curdling shriek. A misshapen figure the size of a bashmu, with eight clawed limbs bent at the wrong angles and the corpus covered in tumorlike, livid masses, was straggling towards them. It was still engulfed in fire.
Four other silhouettes emerged from the dust, smaller than the ghouls they already fought, with pale, soft-looking skin. Apparently, they could hatch earlier if the need arose.
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Zaina sighed. “I was really hoping she got hit with a boulder.”
“We all did.” Quintus got up with his gladius unsheathed and his shield raised. Nua glanced at the warrior’s calf, wrapped in a piece of cloth that was already bleeding through. She noticed that his hand trembled.
“Let’s not meet them in the open field,” Oswald said. “Use the two pillars for cover. I’m going after the mother. Nua, Raya, pull back. The rest of you, take care of the smaller ones. Make it quick; we don’t have the time.”
Without giving it much thought, Nua looked at the column nearby and lodged her fingers in the horizontal indentation between the pillar sections. Then, she pulled herself up and after a while, she reached the ornamental carvings above her head. She could use the reliefs as support and perch there like a cat. She took her knife out.
The mercenaries were intent on using every tactical advantage they could to eke out a win. Here, the ghouls did not crowd at the entrance, facilitating the blows. But the open space meant that Zaina had an opportunity to barrage them with arrows before they got closer, and then Lykomedes could keep their claws at a spear’s length. Even then, winning the fight would be near impossible in their current state, were the ghouls mature.
Fortunately, that was not the case. Their bodies seemed incomplete as if they were built rather than grown. One was missing claws in its right arm, another was limping due to its legs lacking most muscles. There was one that had its ribcage open, with pulsing, glistening innards for everyone to see.
Zaina used the opportunity, landing her arrows in its stomach. Then the mercenaries started to dispatch the monsters with a methodical grind, cooperating like a well oiled machine. Nua knew that she had no way to join the fight, now that the critical factor was the group’s coordination. She was on guard though, just in case any of the stragglers got past the mercenaries and went after Raya.
Oswald hacked and slashed at the broodmother with heavy, weary blows. His hair was singed and there was a splattering of blood on his leather jacket. Some of it could be his – from the earlier wounds caused by the flying debris. It was an ugly, dirty fight, with none of the hits looking decisive. Finally, Oswald landed a vertical slash that did not seem much stronger than the other ones, but it sent the broodmother on her back like a cockroach. With a roar, he added a consecutive blow, and another, until the creature stopped moving.
“Now!” he shouted. All the other ghouls were either dead or barely able to fight. “We run!”
There was a large double door in the distance. More like a gate than anything else. They were already pried open, probably by the ghouls.
“Anki, if there are more monsters…” Nua sent a thought.
“No monsters.” The king hovered nearby. “But the floor just behind the door is cracked, unstable. I am not certain that everyone is able to pass that section. Run as fast as you can.”
Nua jumped off the pillar and started running.
“Ropes!” she shouted. “The floor is unstable! We will need ropes!”
If anyone thought she went mad, warning them of the obstacles she could not see just yet, they did not show it. They sprinted across the chamber, leaving the incapacitated ghouls behind them. On the right side of the room, smaller boulders started dropping from the ceiling. The door was just ahead, but they weren’t out of danger yet.