Chapter 25 Depths
Kate sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. Five minutes wasn’t a long time but after an intense fight, she was glad for every second. After a while, she checked the new notifications in the corner of her vision.
‘ding’ ‘You have defeated [Goblin Fighter]’
‘ding’ ‘You have defeated [Goblin Archer]’
‘ding’ ‘You have defeated [Goblin Fighter]’
…
‘ding’ ‘You have defeated [Orc Warrior]’
‘ding’ ‘You have defeated [Goblin Archer]’
‘ding’ ‘Berserker reaches lvl 11’
Stat points +2
Perseverance +1
‘ding’ ‘Berserker reaches lvl 12’
Stat points +2
Perseverance +1
‘ding’ ‘Mindless Ferocity reaches lvl 15’
‘ding’ ‘Mindless Ferocity reaches lvl 16’
‘ding’ ‘Furious Dance reaches lvl 14’
‘ding’ ‘Furious Dance reaches lvl 15’
‘ding’ ‘Reckless Charge reaches lvl 12’
‘ding’ ‘Toll for the Living reaches lvl 13’
‘ding’ ‘Courage of the Unarmored reaches lvl 11’
‘ding’ ‘Two Handed Weapon Fighting reaches lvl 11’
‘ding’ ‘Two Handed Weapon Fighting reaches lvl 12’
‘ding’ ‘Unrelenting Carnage reaches lvl 4’
‘ding’ ‘Intimidating Presence reaches lvl 3’
‘ding’ ‘You have unlocked the active skill: Shattering Step – lvl 1’
Active: Shattering Step – lvl 1
Use your strength and 20% of your stamina to slam the ground with a shattering force, disorienting or causing everyone around you to stumble. You may vary the power exuded.
‘ding’ ‘Silent Striker reaches lvl 3’
Serenity +1
‘ding’ ‘Silent Striker reaches lvl 4’
Serenity +1
‘ding’ ‘Silent Striker reaches lvl 5’
Serenity +1
‘ding’ ‘Frightening Growl reaches lvl 3’
‘ding’ ‘Heightened Hearing reaches lvl 4’
…
‘ding’ ‘Heightened Hearing reaches lvl 6’
‘ding’ ‘You have unlocked the active skill: Bewildering Wave – lvl 1’
Active: Bewildering Wave – lvl 1
Produce a wave of sound magic with you at the center, disorienting everyone around you that can perceive sound. Higher levels allow for a more targeted use.
Kate read through the messages, opening her eyes before she got out a pack of tissues, cleaning her hands of the blood as well as she could.
Melusine checked on everyone again without saying a word, lifting arms and opening jackets with a flashlight in her hand.
Kate knew that there were plenty of injuries perhaps not immediately noticed by the person who sustained them. Some could ignore quite a lot with a high amount of adrenaline and potential blood loss. And now there’s magic involved as well.
Her new skills were interesting. She thought that both could change the course of a fight if used at the right time, depending on how powerful they turned out to be. There was one major issue however. Her allies all around. Her growl only targeted enemies, at least according to the skill description, though she knew Melusine at least was affected when she had used it for the first time back in the castle.
Already she had taken a massive risk by activating both Mindless Ferocity and Furious Dance in the middle of that cavern. If she used her new abilities with the others present, there was a high chance of the skills affecting them just as much as her enemies.
New tools are new tools, she thought, glad to have gotten them anyway. There had already been several situations where she’d had to fight monsters alone, or far enough away from the others where she could’ve used something like a disorienting sound wave. She thought a cave like this one just didn’t exactly qualify for that.
Kate considered the four stat points she had gotten from her Berserker Class and decided to put two each into Endurance and Strength. Kate felt the new power flow through her, her muscles tensing and her heartbeat quickening. She took in a deep breath and gripped her hammer.
“Time is up. Kate, do you hear anything?” Logan said as he glanced back, him and Grey at the front.
“I would’ve let you know,” she whispered, glancing to Jon and Allison, then Melusine and Ethan. Kate stood up and rolled her shoulders. She looked down to Ethan and extended a hand, the man looking up before he gulped, and accepted.
She raised him up with ease, smiling slightly when he yelped. I could get used to this strength. She glanced up at the dark cavern ceiling a few meters above. Guess I can. I have the stats now after all. She took in a deep breath and joined the two men in front of her, hammer held in one hand as she walked past with steps as silent as she could manage.
“Quiet now. There’s bound to be more,” she said, flicking on her headlamp before they descended further into the dark.
Minutes passed as they made their way into the depths, Kate slowing down when her light revealed steps in the stone. Not perfectly aligned or angled but they looked too deliberate to be anything natural. Or at least so she assumed. It was the only way forward and she didn’t plan to turn back now. Not after the battle they had fought through to get here.
She winced slightly at the descending steps, her healed wounds still itching, distracting her slightly from the task at hand. Luckily nothing showed up during the descent. She heard the others walk down, already able to distinguish who was confident and who was hesitating, who put more weight on their feet and which leg they favored. The information was easy to distinguish now that the sounds were so readily available to her.
The cavern opened up slightly. Drops of water fell from stalactites several meters above, the impacts audible to Kate as she looked around. Boulders and rock formations partially blocked her view, seven headlamps illuminating the darkness. She didn’t hear any steps or breathing in the vicinity that didn’t originate from their own group. The air felt less stuffy than in the corridors before.
“Nothing,” she whispered.
“This is… far too extensive,” Jon said. “It… doesn’t make sense. The tourist guide didn’t mention a cavern like this in the entire region.”
“It’s incredible,” Allison murmured as she collected a sizable piece of rock from the ground. She moved her headlamp down and turned the piece around. Sparkling light reflected off the crystals.
“They didn’t dig this place out. Not in the time they’ve been here,” Logan said.
“They could’ve been around for years,” Jon said.
“No. Not with the way they’re behaving. They lack that amount of planning and foresight,” Logan spoke. “Be careful. We don’t know what else might lurk down here.” He got something out of his pack and cracked it, dull blue light emanating from the light stick. Logan placed it near the stairs, making sure it wouldn’t move. “That should last a few hours at least.”
“We might not be back before night falls,” Jon said, Melusine lightly touching his shoulder.
“Neither will they,” Kate said and kept on walking. She heard the others follow a few seconds later, the group taking the same formation they had started with.
Some time passed before she moved past a large boulder and stopped, raising a fist. The sounds had changed. She touched the boulder with one hand and moved forward with slow steps, her headlamp soon shining into nothingness. A cliff reached into the depths, Kate stopping a few meters before the drop began.
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“Different way,” she whispered to the others and started making her way around the boulder. “There’s a drop here.”
“A drop?” Logan asked, slowly making his way forward before he saw what she meant, some of the others doing the same.
Kate came out on the other side of the boulder, scratching at her stomach when she heard a high pitched sound. “Fuck,” she murmured, seeing the two goblins at the other end of a five meter long suspension bridge made of rope and wood, two torches set up on the other side. One of the creatures aimed its bow and fired but she had already stepped away. Kate hesitated when she saw the abyss below, the second goblin already running down into a tunnel entrance.
She saw Grey rush forward, the man taking quick steps over the slightly swaying bridge before he rushed forward in a flash. Kate shook herself out of her fear and activated Mindless Ferocity, one hand on the ropes as she made her way over. She heard the string and ducked, an arrow flying past over her head. The movement nearly made her slip as she heard Grey slash through the running goblin. A crossbow bolt flashed past her, missing the bow wielding creature by a meter.
It ducked and moved to look for cover, giving her enough time to cross over. A moment later, she was by its side, its bow releasing a last arrow that hit her shoulder before she brought down her hammer.
She swung the weapon to the side, the corpse stuck to the metal released before it slapped to the ground and rolled over. Kate growled as she looked at the arrow.
Grey returned with the corpse of the other goblin, the man waiting next to the entrance with his hand on the handle of his sword.
The others crossed. Slowly.
Logan was the last, testing the wood and ropes before he dared to use it. The suspension bridge had sizable gaps between the wooden pieces, though it seemed well made and secured. The lives of everyone who would use it depended on it after all. The ground below wasn’t visible.
Melusine stopped next to Kate and glanced at the arrow, then at her.
“What?” Kate asked with a slight hiss. She turned her head and listened, Melusine closing in and checking the wound. There was something deeper still. Something heavy. Impacts.
“It’s stuck in your jacket. Couldn’t even pierce your skin.” Melusine said, simply taking out the projectile.
Kate didn’t feel it, instead moving closer to the entrance as the others gathered. “There is something down there. Heavy.” Then she moved into the tunnel. A decline followed, light visible on the other side. Kate turned off her lamp and motioned for the others to do the same. She watched six lights vanish one by one.
“I will scout,” Grey whispered in a voice so low the others didn’t even react.
Kate glanced his way, knowing perfectly where he was due to the sound. She heard his steps and saw his outline, then something about him changed. The light was barely enough to make out the others but she could no longer see Grey. “Go,” she whispered back, still hearing his steps as he moved.
Silent.
She felt the itch to go herself, annoyed that someone else would be the first to encounter their enemies. But she held herself back. Furious Dance was not active, either that or her new points in Serenity preventing her from going down the length of the tunnel already. Kate kept Mindless Ferocity active however. There were enemies left after all.
Grey returned, a strange sound coming from him before his breathing picked up, the man steadying himself against the tunnel wall. “There is… an ogre, or something like it. I think it’s taller, but I’m not sure. It has a cleaver… the size of… me.”
Kate moved her hands around the handle of her weapon. Good.
“Several goblins, and at least three orcs. It’s a big hall… and there are… corpses,” he said.
Kate ground her teeth. Silent.
“One of the goblins had a small staff or something. Might be a mage,” Grey said. “And there were strange growths or something. I c… couldn’t make out what exactly. It’s a big cave.”
“Where are the monsters exactly,” Logan said, listening to Grey give a quick description of the hall.
“Allison and Melusine, you two wait here,” Logan said. “Grey. You go for the mage. Kate, you take out the Orcs and then join me. I’ll try to distract the big one. Jon and Ethan, you pick off as many goblins as you can. Anyone gets seriously injured, we run back here, cross the bridge, and cut it on the other side. Understood?”
Kate cracked her neck and rolled her shoulders. “Understood, military man,” she whispered.
“Now go forth, warriors of humanity,” Logan said in a strange whisper.
She glanced at him and shook her head lightly. Did he lose it?
“For none shall stand in our way. We shall rage. We shall fight. Go forth,” Logan said as he crouched slightly, a pulse of white light glowing through the cracks of his armor, his eyes visible in the dark for a split second.
Kate felt herself tense up for a moment before she smiled, feeling the strange power. Furious Dance activated, her allies fading to the back of her mind as she focused on her hearing. She stepped forward with light movements, hearing the quiet and fast steps of Grey right next to her, heavier impacts coming from Logan and Jon, the latter farther back.
From ahead, she could hear the sounds of various monsters, shifting metal, guttural grunts, a heavy impact of metal against flesh, bone, then stone. She knew where they were before they had even reached the hall, four goblins to the left, two to the right, just as Grey had informed. The three orcs she could hear to the right as well, and the heavy impacts came from farther down the hall, at least twenty meters away.
Orcs.
Quiet.
Fast.
Hunt.
She came into the light, torches fastened to the mostly even walls. Corpses. The smell of blood. She ignored it all. One step, two. A flash behind her. One orc looked her way but she had already charged. She slammed the spike of her hammer into the back of a crouched monster. She ripped it out and used Bewildering Wave, her chest tightening before she huffed. Kate stepped forward, the orc to her left stumbling back at the sound, raising both hands to his ears. The other one shook his head, sword unsheathed and held towards her with a shaking arm. Kate slammed it away with her hammer, a second hit breaking through his right knee, a jab to his chin making the orc fall. She brought her hammer up when something bright appeared in the corner of her vision. A glance revealed a flying sphere of fire, Kate jumping up with Hunting Leap.
She watched as the thing exploded below, far more powerful than anything Ethan could summon. Arms held in front of her, the heated shock wave sent her higher still. She grit her teeth against the heat as she came back down, landing in a crouch. Kate turned at the pained groan of an orc, the half burnt creature reaching for its sword before she finished it with a strike to the head. Flames clung to flesh and hair.
She dodged when she heard the steps behind her, finding the last orc. Her pants had caught on fire. It didn’t matter. The orc swung wildly, fast steps bringing him forward before Kate stomped her foot down. Power flowed through her right leg as her heel hit the ground. The very earth shook, a loud sound echoing through the hall. She watched the orc stumble slightly, his sword flashing past her head. Kate stepped forward, her hammer slamming into his face in a thrusting motion. Something broke. She struck again, his sword coming back around.
Kate blocked the savage weapon with her hammer, one hand letting go as the orc pushed with both. She unsheathed one of her knives and rammed it into his forearm, taking a second one as she stepped forward, still holding his sword back with her hammer. Metal slid against metal as the orc grunted in pain, his injured arm falling to his side. Kate closed the distance and punched the second blade into his chest with enough force to pierce through the leather armor, then she kicked, breaking his right leg.
The orc finally let go of his weapon, groaning as he fell to one knee, shaking hands grabbing for the hunting knife in his chest. He ripped it out right before Kate brought down her hammer in a wide arc, the chunk of metal impacting his skull.
Blood and bits of bones exploded to the side.
Fire.
She dropped to the ground, falling at the same time as the orc’s corpse did. Then she rolled. She rolled and patted out the flames on her pants and jacket, large holes now visible with reddened skin below. She rolled up into a crouch and grit her teeth, taking in the scene before her. Fires all over, screeching goblins, Grey slashing through them. A crossbow bolt and spheres of fire rushing out from the tunnel, striking the massive being engaged with an armored knight. She moved.
The creature was enormous. At least three meters in height, and two in width. It was covered in strange rock like growths, several horns coming out of its shoulders. Dark yellow eyes took in the invaders as it moved with trunk like legs and arms. The being held a two meter long cleaver made of either stone or crude metal, the edge chipped in several places. Burns and bolts showed on its light green skin, the monster uncaring for the projectiles coming in from the tunnel entrance.
Kate ran towards it, seeing Logan deflect a powerful swing of the creature, the crude weapon crashing into his greatsword. Both his weapon and arms shook from the impact. He stumbled back when the creature raised its cleaver above and brought it down.
Logan’s sword glowed for a split second, bright white light emanating from the entire length of the blade before the weapons met. A pulse rushed out, the cleaver deflected upwards and away.
Kate reached the creature in that moment, using its distracted focus to slam her hammer into its left knee. She heard cracks, looking up to see the thing turn her way. Grey moved past behind it, a sphere of fire impacting the monster’s face.
It roared as a blade cut into the back of its right leg, the cleaver coming down at Kate.
She held up her hammer, the massive weapon striking her steel and sliding off to the side, taking the fingers of her left hand with it. Kate felt her knees buckle from the impact, nearly going down.
Logan’s sword cut into its right leg from the front, Grey’s from the back.
The monster kicked forward, striking Logan, the man flying backwards before he landed on his feet. He went to one knee and came back up.
Another ball of fire impacted the creature’s head.
It roared and walked towards the tunnel, a crossbow bolt striking its chest without eliciting a reaction.
Kate felt the pain in her left hand, blood streaming out as she let go of her hammer. She ripped away a piece of her pants and wrung it around the wound in a quick motion, screaming when she tightened it. She grit her teeth and unsheathed one of her knives.
Grey rushed forward, once again cutting into the monster’s injured leg. He got through, right as the creature turned, its heavy hand impacting his chest in an erratic motion.
Kate watched it fall to the ground, its leg breaking away under its own weight and the cuts from both sides.
Logan and Kate circled it as Grey rolled to the side, coughing up blood as he tried to get up.
Another fireball hit its head, blood flowing from the severed limb.
Kate sheathed her blade and instead took one of the orcish swords from the ground. She found it light in her hand, walking forward before she jogged and jumped, Hunting Leap activating as she approached from behind the thrashing monster. She brought the blade down onto its skull, biting through flesh and into bone before she jumped off and landed.
The creature now reached for the new injury, striking the ground and walls with its heavy cleaver.
Logan’s blade flashed with light before it bit deep into the creature’s arm. Grey was standing once more, his movements slowed slightly but fast enough to deal with the large and heavy creature.
They moved in and out of its range, Jon and Ethan periodically sending fire and crossbow bolts against its injured form.
It slowed further until Logan slammed his greatsword into the monster’s open mouth. The creature slowly raised its injured arm to try and pull it out.
Kate came to Logan’s side, grabbed onto his hands, and pushed the blade in further, the steel breaking through and out of the monster’s skull with their combined effort. She could instantly feel the warmth of new health flowing into her, Kate stumbling back with a slight shiver as her fingers regrew. She glanced to the side, hearing the others rushing into the hall. Taking in a deep breath, she went to one knee and tried to listen. Her mind slowly cleared when she couldn’t make out any sounds beyond the smoldering flames and the pained moans of her allies. Where did I leave my hammer?