“Uh, Cal, pretty sure there Gryalth deeper in the tunnels now,” Sleek said. They were still about two weeks out from the grove. Cal was reasonably sure he could dramatically cut that if they really needed to, but he wouldn’t be up to much fighting strength afterward.
“Are you sure?” This has apparently progressed in ways Cal hadn’t expected during his trip.
“Give me a second,” she said, then disappeared for a few minutes, leaving Cal and Third Smash to wait in the usual awkward silence before reemerging. “Yep, lots of them up ahead. What do you think happened?” The usual cheer in her voice had vanished with the news.
“I don’t know, but I’m worried about my family and the grove. TS you ready to fight our way through to your home?” Cal knew the answer, but keeping the communication lines open had proven to be a great thing.
Cal’s question caused the squirrel to curl his lip before he answered. “Always.”
“Good, because it’s looking like we have to,” Cal responded as nonchalantly as he could muster. He wanted to know what the hell had caused this and what had happened to the grove.
He wasn’t able to focus on his worried thoughts for long, as much as he wanted to, as a clicking sound pulled his attention away. It was coming from the direction of the water. It sounded familiar, but he couldn’t place it. Looking to his side to see if Third Smasher had also heard the repeated clacking, he found the squirrel alert and staring towards the water’s bank.
“Is this them?” Third Smasher asked, his eyes locked in the direction of the sound.
“No, I don’t think. I’m almost sure I’ve heard the sound before, but I can’t seem to place it. Stay behind me, but don’t do anything unless it is very apparently hostile,” Cal didn’t want any friendly fire, especially now that they had Gryalth to fight through. As he walked closer, the sound grew, and finally, it triggered a memory in him. It sounded just like a crab claw. “Tiffany, is that you?” He called out over the dark water as his eyes searched for the claw.
Just as he spotted it in the darkness just poking above the water, it was followed by the rest of the giant form that was Tiffany as he broke through the water’s surface. “Oh good, it is you. I had to be very careful to avoid the Gryalth. I’ve been looking for you for weeks!” The crab said with notes of both panic and fear evident in his words.
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“Yes, we just learned they are roaming the caves. What the hell happened?” Cal asked, more harshly than the crab deserved, but he was worried it was hard to hide that with answers so close.
“Stan was backed into a corner. The Gryalth had started going after all the mana pools, and he decided to make a move before they were corrupted. I don’t know all the details as Ethel sent me out to find you as soon as we realized how bad the situation was, but he did manage to secure them all somehow. The last I knew is they were making a stand at the grove you left from,” the crab explained at lightning speed while slightly covering away from Cal.
“Sorry, the anger isn’t at you, I promise. It’s entirely at the Gryalth, and I guess it’s time to kill a bunch of them until we get back to our families. Tiffany, I think you are best off staying with us instead of risking the waterways on a return trip unless you really want to.” Cal did his best to keep the simmering rage out of his voice. He knew Tiffany had done his best to find them and didn’t deserve any of his anger issues for the help.
“Yes, crab, stay with us. We will cut a path back home. Use your claws as they are intended,” Third Smasher welcomed the crab to their coming battle, and Cal couldn’t really disagree with him. He had seen Tiffany wrestle Frank. The crab could hold his own.
“Uh, okay, but I haven’t done a lot of real fighting, mostly just show fighting, though I suppose it’s safest with you two anyway,” Tiffany answered as he shuffled back and forth nervously.
“Alright then, let’s go. The plan is to hit hard, hit fast, and just keep moving. Speed is likely our best weapon here, and thanks to little Sleek, I think I can speed us all up a bit. Though not too much, as I don’t want anyone crashing off a wall,” Cal touched each of them in turn, channeling a bit of mana toward their feet. His goal was only to make them a little bit lighter on their feet, nothing extreme.
“To battle, let our groves be defended!” Yelled out Third Smasher the moment Cal was finished, charging off towards the tunnels.
“Dammit, why can’t he ever wait?” Cal asked as he moved into a quick pursuit alongside Tiffany, whose legs were apparently not just for show. The crab was moving faster than him and quickly catching up on Third Smasher, despite his head start.
The sounds of the squirrel attacking something up ahead spurred Cal to a faster speed. He rounded the corner and found Third Smasher and Tiffany engaged with a small patrol of Gryalth. Luckily, there were no battle mages in sight; four of them were already on the ground, unmoving, leaving six more in the fight. Cal lifted his hand and pointed his finger at three of them in a line and released a blast of lightning. He watched it arc straight through all three before sizzling into the stone wall. They all fell to the ground, joining their other dead comrades.
The last three were short work, thanks to Tiffany. The Crab may have doubted his claws, but Cal certainly didn’t. “Let’s go,” he yelled as they continued their race towards the grove.