“That is a lot of Gryalth,” Cal said as he surveyed the siege going on in the larger tunnel that connected to the grove.
“Yes, it is. I fear my blade is not sharp enough for this number,” Third Smasher quipped, his tone never wavering. Cal would have missed the dry humor if he hadn’t spent the last several months traveling with him. Now, he just smiled.
“Interestingly, I don’t think they have much in the way of battle mages here. I think this is just meant to be the fodder to get through the wall,” Cal wasn’t sensing much in the ambient magic around him. That didn’t mean it was a certainty. Of course, he knew cloaking magical fields was entirely possible, but he also could see a reason why they’d bother here.
“Good. I was hoping we would not have to waste any more time on your prattling about those dangers,” Following these words Third Smasher leaped from their hole in the ceiling directly into the midst of the force.
Cal sighed. He really would have to apologize to Andy once they met back up. He then leaped after Third Smasher into the carnage below. Using the ongoing distraction of the berserk squirrel, he looked around quickly to get his bearings and found what he was hoping to see. Most of the squirrels in front of them had not turned to join the fighting. He pointed his fingers out in front of him, one from each hand, and started pouring all his electrical out into giant arcing lines of deadly lightning.
By the time he felt his nearly drained, the area between them and the grove’s fortifications was almost entirely devoid of life. Cal knew this was going to attract some big attention, but that was likely already happening, just not from this siege point. “Come on, TS, mop up whoever is left and then go get Tiffany from his hiding place. I’m going to grab us a prisoner, and then we can go see our families.”
“Understood, I’ll see you inside,” Third Smasher called as he began eliminating any survivors.
“Hey you, you look mostly alive. Don’t do anything stupid, and you will likely get to stay that way,” Cal said after spotting one of the Gryalth leaning against the wall in what looked like a state of shock. It made no moves to resist him as Cal clamped stone cuffs around its wrist. He then led it to the wall and knocked. “Anyone inside, it’s Cal and Third Smasher. We’re back, and we brought up a prisoner.”
“How do we know you’re who you say you are?” A large squirrel asked, having appeared atop the wall.
“I mean, do you know a lot of humans that are on the planet that aren’t currently just inside your grove? TS will you and Tiffany get over here? They are doubting me!” Cal yelled back to Third Smasher.
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Moments later, the squirrel appeared at his side, and the footfalls of Tiffany could be heard nearing as well, but before Third Smasher had a chance to vouch for them the squirrel guard apparently recognized him.
“Sir, I had no idea. I apologize for the delay. Please come in. General Second Smasher will be glad to see you’re alive,” the guard said.
“Wait, Second Smasher is in charge of squirrels again? My dad is still here, right?” Cal asked, only a little confused. It would make sense to recruit the squirrel’s help in leading his old forces.
“Stan the first? Of course, he is still here. He would not desert us in this fight. Second, Smasher is his pledged knight,” this answer did confuse Cal. How the hell had his father become a king of squirrels?
“Alright, well, please lead us to him or the general, I guess. We’ve got a prisoner to lock up, and I want to see where we can best help,” Cal said.
“Of course, come inside,” the door sprung alongside the guard’s invitation.
Once Cal was inside, the new fortifications impressed Him even more. They weren’t just a simple wall; he had to pass through several layers before they were finally through to the grove itself. Off to the side on each layer, he spotted rooms carved deep into the rock walls. This was impressive work in defense of their home.
“Cal! Is that you?! Frank has missed you greatly!” Came the yelling of a hulking behemoth of a tree man running towards Cal with his arms spread wide.
Cal stepped back, barely avoiding the hug. “Woah, Frank, no crushing, I’m glad to see you too, buddy. I don’t suppose you want to explain the war effort?”
“First, we wrestled our way through the caverns, winning bout after bout with the weak Gryalth who stood in our way. Every time we did, Stan claimed the prize and absorbed the wells into Excalibur. Soon, the weaklings couldn’t face their losses and started sending tag teams after us, so now we’ve been stuck here forever, and none of them will wrestle fairly!” Frank’s explanation left Cal with far more questions than it answered.
“Sounds like you guys did a lot while I was gone. Everyone doing okay?” Cal was reasonably sure Frank would have led with any death so that at least eased some of the worry that had been plaguing him since they discovered the sudden Gryalth infestation.
“Oh yeah, everyone has been pulling their weight in this match. You should go see what mom has been whipping up for me. I’ve got some tag-team members now!” Frank exclaimed excitedly.
“I promise I’ll check in with everyone, but first, I really need to talk to Dad, and I’m betting TS wants to see Second Smasher as soon as possible,” Cal explained to Frank. He noticed the number of fruit trees along the paths they were walking had radically increased since he left and assumed this, too, was part of Ethel’s doing.
“Stan over here!” Frank suddenly shouted at a group of figures far down the path.
“Wait, that’s Dad?” As the figures approached closer, he realized he could make out his father standing in the middle of a ring of squirrel guards. Things had changed a lot more than he realized since he left. “Hey Stan, the first I’m back!” he shouted to them.