Aldritch passed through the portal with his shield raised in case the demons decided to launch an ambush against them… But to his surprise, that’s not what happened.
He emerged into total darkness, but that meant nothing before his golden eyes. They easily penetrated the darkness and revealed the details of his surroundings.
The moment his body left the portal, his left boot landed on a dust covered steel rail that was slightly wider than his foot and twice as thick.
Aldritch frowned at the inconvenient placement of the rail and quickly stepped off, causing his other foot to land on a pile of loose gravel and the remains of an old wooden board that bridged the gap between this rail and a second, identical rail twelve feet away.
He was standing in the center of a vast man-made tunnel. Rows of interlaid bricks and mortar were used to build the seventy-foot-high walls that curved seamlessly into the ceiling. A line of heavy steel supports pierced the ceiling in front of Aldritch, dividing the tunnel into two equally wide segments.
There were two other steel rails on the other side of the tunnel. Both were identical to the two Aldritch was standing between, and all four spanned the entire length of the tunnel ahead of him.
Aldritch took a few steps forward and looked behind him - But all he could see was the crimson portal. On this side of the dungeon’s entrance, the portal was truly massive. It spanned the entire width and height of the tunnel, blocking him from exploring further in this direction.
Aldritch’s face twitched in irritation, and he turned away from the portal. He took a large step forward as Max passed through the portal behind him.
Like Aldritch, Max looked down at the odd sound his boot made. But he didn’t focus on the rail for long. He was only interested in looking for traps and, finding none, Max lost interest in the ground and moved to stand beside Aldritch.
“This is new to me.” Max admitted as he stepped around Aldritch. “Not the tunnel, obviously, I mean the rail and supports. This much steel in one place should make me happy. But -”
“You’re wondering why the demons haven’t already laid claim to it?” Aldritch asked, his voice was just loud enough for Max to understand him. He didn’t want to cause an echo.
“It’s not like them.” Max said in agreement.
One by one the other members of Mag Ársa emerged from the depths of the portal and moved to stand behind Aldritch.
Sulika, Faeyra, Oladi, Ralocan and Derrik were interested in the steel pillars in front of them. Each one had to weigh at least a few thousand pounds. How many gold coins could they get for each one? A hundred? Two? Maybe even three?
However, Zarud and Max weren’t quite as comfortable in the utter darkness of the tunnel. Kandis could see quite well in low light but were essentially blind in this level of darkness. This was especially true for Max, who was already blind in one eye. Luckily for him, he was able to compensate for his lacking vision with a preternatural sense of touch.
As for Zarud. Orcs had excellent night vision, but were actually quite blind in direct sunlight since their eyes have a horrible time adjusting to bright light… The opposite was true for Half-orcs. They had excellent vision during the day thanks - but in return, it took a long time for their eyes to adjust to dark environments.
Because of this, Zarud had to be guided towards the group by holding onto the shoulder of Ralocan’s robe.
Aldritch paid little attention to the group’s presence as he fixed his eyes on a point in the distance. There was a needle sized source of light directly ahead of them - and this was the only source of light Aldritch could see.
“Ears open everyone.” Aldritch said quietly and used mana to project his voice to the others. “I can’t use my scrying spell to scout effectively right now since I wouldn’t be able to gauge depth or height in regard to our current location. Whether I see something or not, I would have no idea if they were around us, above us, below us, or hidden via magical means without switching to another spell. So, here’s what we’re going to do. Oladi, you can summon a crow. Yes?”
“It’s a Raven, not a crow. But yes, I can summon one. It will take twenty-seven seconds to cast the spell.” She replied.
“Understood. Start casting now. Once you’re done, I want you to send the crow towards that light and tell me what you see. I’ll cast my scrying spell while you’re doing that and perform a cursory scan.”
“Why do both?” Zarud asked. His tone wasn’t meant to challenge Aldritch’s decision. He was merely curious why he would bother using a spell that wouldn’t work correctly.
“My spell is more accurate in terms of scale.” Aldritch explained while Oladi closed her eyes and began to quietly chant the spell of familiar summoning. “But a familiar can see things from a different perspective than I can. So, it’s more useful in this situation. Dragon’s Eye.” He muttered, pushing his mana into action. It instantly left his body and shot through the roof like a ghost, passing through a few dozen feet of brick and a few hundred feet of solid stone before finally finding open sky.
“Eternal Mother, my Guardian, Origin of the natural world. Hear my call beneath the world where shadows fall. From the realm where Ravens take flight, I beg thee summon a creature of the night.” Oladi muttered and pulled on her mana. Like all spellcasters who drew their mana from an outside source - such as Priests, Druids, Oracles, certain types of Rangers, or Holy Knights - being in the dungeon hindered her ability to use mana effectively. It was much slower to respond than normal, and all spells consumed about 12% more mana than they would on Iolara.
Oladi unintentionally frowned as she focused on casting the spell. Summon Familiar was normally as easy as breathing for her, which only made sense. It wasn't as if she was creating the familiar out of thin air or conjuring an elemental. No, she'd already done that once; using the Eternal Mother's power to give life to a wooden statue she'd spent nearly a month carving. But once Oladi completed the binding ritual that gave life to the raven and bound them together through their connection with the Eternal Mother. The Raven became a creature almost like any other living in the same world as she - it had thoughts, feelings, a life outside of doing her bidding - It could even consume food if it chose to. The spell was just a way to bring it to her location... But summoning it inside a Dungeon was an entirely different matter altogether.
Normally, she would describe the feeling of casting the spell as turning a water release valve; the mana already wanted to act, she just needed to open the door and let it do what came naturally. But at this moment, the normally cooperative mana was being decidedly uncooperative. Even so, Oladi continued chanting the spell without pause. With each syllable spoken, Oladi’s mana trudged forth from the farthest recesses of her soul. She would get through this spell even if it took twenty-seven minutes, twenty-seven seconds was nothing for her. “Eyes of black, wings like the sky, draw them forth from where you lie. Cloak of night, heart so wild, be now my eyes, oh Mother’s child. Guide my path, be my sight, on brightest day, or darkest night.” She finished while bringing up her right arm, palm facing towards the ceiling... A distant raven’s cry reached everyone’s ears at the exact moment Oladi finished her spell and released her mana into the air.
The next second saw a large Raven fly swiftly and silently through the portal behind them: It flew circles around the group a few times before gently landing on Oladi’s left shoulder.
Aldritch ignored all of this in favor of scanning the area for demons… He found more than he expected. Not just demons, but other things too. Hundreds of massive buildings that slashed the sky like claws made of stone and steel. Wide avenues separated one line of buildings from the next. But these areas weren’t empty; A thousand - no, tens of thousands of metal monstrosities covered almost every inch of road he could see. All of them were as still as the grave, and cold as a corpse.
Aldritch had no idea what he was looking at. But he didn’t like it. Demons didn’t leave resources out in the open like this. It went against their very nature.
Aldritch believed their very society was built around moving from place to place and reaping every last ounce of usable resources until nothing remained. It’s what they did to each and every country on his home world, it’s what they were doing to the island before Aldritch arrived… So, why weren’t they doing the same here?
“See anything?” Max asked him.
“Nothing good.” Aldritch replied and started walking towards the light. “Oladi, send your friend ahead. Let me know what it sees.”
“He.” Oladi muttered. She whispered something to the raven and pointed toward the light.
The raven nodded and leapt from her shoulder. The first beat of its wings carried it over Aldritch’s head, and the second beat pushed it onwards at surprising speed. It breached the exit to the tunnel in only a few seconds and quickly began to climb out of range of any melee attackers.
The raven found itself inside an open building: Over a million square feet of cold, laminated flooring. Countless pieces of raggedy furniture, forgotten bags, decorated the enclosed space. An eerie purple light streamed through the countless holes in the rusting and cracked steel roof that constantly dropped shards of metal and dust into the room. And from the windowless holes that were halfway up each of the four walls. The raven counted eighty-six such holes. Each one was large enough for Aldritch to crawl through without issue, so the amount of miasma passing through them every second was nothing short of horrifying.
Adding all of that together, it wasn’t hard to believe the space was, at one time, a marvelous sight to behold… But right now, it was nothing more than an old ruin that was just waiting for the chance to collapse on top of them. All of this information was sent to Oladi through the telepathic bond she shared with the Raven. She did her best to describe everything the raven saw, but even knowing what to expect didn’t truly prepare them for the sight awaiting them.
“See any demons?” Aldritch asked her. He could see a few hundred swarming around their location. However, since they weren’t currently under attack, he assumed they were on a different level than the tunnel.
“No.” Oladi muttered in a surprised tone. “The building ahead appears safe - Well, as safe as a dungeon can be.”
Aldritch nodded in understanding. “Alright everyone. Eyes open for any signs of danger and look out for each other -'' He suddenly stopped walking and turned to face the others. “And remember this: If it comes down to protecting me or protecting yourself or anyone else. Prioritize each other first, anyone else comes secondary, and I come last. Is that understood?” There were a few side-eyes and uncertain glances shared amongst the group, but no one wanted to disagree with him right now.
What did he mean by 'anyone else'? Who else would be in here besides their group and the demons?
Reluctantly, they all agreed to his command and Aldritch led the group out of the tunnel with a smile on his face.
The moment they left the darkness and stepped into the wide-open space, everyone except Aldritch, Max, and Oladi had to stop for a moment and take in exactly what they were seeing. The ceiling alone contained more steel than any of them had seen in their lives. Add in the metal walls, rails, pillars, and doors that could be seen in every possible direction… This building was something out of a myth. The furniture that could be seen throughout the building was obviously of high quality, even in spite of the pervasive wear and tear showing on them, Max knew for a fact that collectors and nobles would pay through the nose for every piece here. “I don’t think the city can afford to buy this dungeon off of you, Sir Aldritch.” Max muttered.
The laminated floor was separate from the tunnel’s floor by a difference of five feet. Max and Aldritch cleared that distance easily and held out their hands to help lift the others onto the elevated floor.
Sulika and Faeyra each grabbed one of Aldritch’s hands and were gently lifted into the air. He placed them on the floor beside him before holding out his hand for Derrik.
Meanwhile, Max took Oladi’s hand in both of his own. He nodded to show he was ready - Oladi took a quick step forward and jumped. Max pulled back on her arm and launched her through the air.
Oladi landed on the cold floor - but she wasn’t expecting it to be as smooth as it was. Her boots slid a few feet across the laminated floor, forcing her to fight to maintain some semblance of balance. Luckily, she was able to maintain her footing until she stopped sliding.
Zarud wasn’t quite so lucky.
Aldritch saw the half-orc flailing in an attempt to keep his footing and reacted instantly: his right arm snaked out and wrapped around Zarud’s waist, hauling him off the ground and causing his feet to dangle helplessly in the air.
“You and I both know there was another way you could have done this.” Zarud grumbled while waiting for Aldritch to put him down.
Aldritch nodded in agreement - He unceremoniously let go of Zarud’s waist and allowed the half-orc to land butt first on the cold floor.
“You should’ve just said thank you.” Sulika chuckled before helping Zarud to his feet.
Aldritch took a few steps away from the group while looking down at the floor. It was like nothing he’d ever seen before: Each tile was a perfectly carved square- ten feet long and ten feet wide. The tiles were yellowish-brown in color, with a wide black line running through the center of the tile he was standing on. He followed the black line with his eyes. He saw it bend and twist with every tile it passed through - Aldritch stopped focusing on the line itself and started looking at the floor as a whole. It was then that he discovered the line used the nine tiles in a large square to form a strange diamond pattern. There were probably a few hundred of these strange diamond patterns scattered across the building, each one requiring a minimum of nine tiles to form.
“What do you think it means?” Aldritch asked Oakairo.
“I’m not sure. It might be a family crest of some kind or perhaps the logo of a business? It could also just be a random symbol someone thought looked interesting. There’s no way of knowing without more context.” Oakairo explained. His casual explanation belied his interest in the source of those symbols.
Aldritch nodded and looked over his shoulder at the members of Mag Ársa, only to find them all staring at a mural that covered a forty-foot section of wall. Aldritch hadn't noticed it before because he'd been too focused on the floor. However, now that he'd gotten a good look at it, it was obvious the painting was the true treasure here: The mural showed an endless field of purple roses that almost seemed to sparkle beneath the light of a massive silver moon. An ancient tree with midnight colored bark and golden leaves stood on the forefront of the painting, the golden leaves contrasted the silver moonlight wonderfully and gave the entire thing an 'otherworldly' feel. With everything else demanding his attention, Aldritch almost didn't notice the ethereally feminine human woman in a white dress walking through the field, approaching the horizon with her back to the observer. Her long black hair and dress had both been meticulously painted to give the appearance of wafting gently in an unseen wind...
"I want it." Oakairo said in a completely serious voice. His draconic instincts were screaming at him to steal the mural and hide it away from the world. Only he should be able to look upon such a creation... Well, okay, Aldritch could see it too... And the chocolate Oracle. She could see it too. But that was it - No one... Okay, maybe Sulika could also look at it, occasionally. But that was it!
Aldritch chuckled at the feelings coming through the bond and shook his head. "I'll personally carve it from the wall, my Lord. But not now. We need to focus on ridding this place of demons before we can turn our sights on loot." He called to get everyone's attention. “Form up. I know you’re excited about the reward waiting for you once this is over. But I need you all to focus until we can secure the area.”
There were a few grumbled complaints about leaving the treasure trove unattended - most coming from within Aldritch's own head. But the group did as Aldritch asked and formed up behind him: Max followed at Aldritch’s right elbow, Oladi and Faeyra walking side by side behind them, then Sulika followed shortly after with Ralocan on her left, Derrik on her right, and Zarud at her back. This was the formation they maintained as they started walking.
Across the room from where he was standing, Aldritch could see the frame of a large double door; Glass used to fill the frame, offering those inside a clear view of the city beyond the double doors. But the glass had been broken long ago. Now, only glass shards and sand remained on the floor in front of the door - which increased the chances of something Aldritch had been wondering about since they first entered the portal.
If the demons had emerged from the same portal they'd come through, killing and pillaging anything in their path. If that were the case, wouldn't the glass be outside the door? He thought it unlikely the demons would bother opening the door when they could just go through it, which would've caused the glass to explode outwards, not inwards. That should've only happened if they were already outside and had broken in. And if the demons were already outside when the portal in the tunnel appeared, then there could only be two explanations he could think of: either this was the Devil's home world, which he doubted because of its ruined state, or there was another portal somewhere on the planet that connected to yet another dungeon.
That was the secret Aldritch had only learned after centuries of studying the demons he'd killed: there was always another link in the chain, another world the Devils and Demons had destroyed or enslaved for no other reason than they could.
A few demons had once claimed they didn't have a choice. They had to attack other worlds or they'd die... But Aldritch knew this to be false. Demons had no pride to speak of and they would do or say anything and everything if it meant they could save their own hides. Even groveling before a 'lesser' being was easy for them. So, why wouldn't they also lie about their motives?
The simple fact was, Demons did have a choice. They simply chose to put their own survival over the lives of the worlds they ruined. Nothing wrong with that, Aldritch had done the same with the many many demons he'd killed. And he would continue to do so until the day his body finally stopped functioning, or the last Devil lay broken beneath his boot.
Aldritch slowed his stride to a fraction of what it was and glanced about the room. Despite how open the building appeared to be; with few things large enough to hide behind, and a clear line of sight to all four corners of the massive room, Aldritch refused to walk through the center of the building. He could ‘see’ countless demons moving through the space around them with Dragon’s Eye. Since Oladi said the raven hadn’t seen any demons on the floor, that meant they were in one of two places. Aldritch glanced down at the tiled floor - cold, hard, tough to get through in a pinch. Then his eyes trailed towards the ceiling: Numerous large holes and clear sight of the floor below… Well, he knew where he would wait.
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As a group, they moved closer to the wall attached to the tunnel and continued following it towards the western end of the building. They opened every door they came across and explored the rooms therein; most led to dead-end rooms with more ancient furniture, but a few led to hallways that seemed to go in one direction forever. Every time they happened upon one of those hallways, Aldritch would shut the door and place his hand against the metal frame. The level 0 spell ‘Lock’ would take care of the rest.
It might seem counterproductive to seal off possible escape routes. But there was a reason for it: until Aldritch could understand where the attacks were going to come from - and they were coming - he wanted to cut off as many pathways into the room as possible. So long as they remained in an open area, Aldritch’s magic could protect the others. But in a narrow hallway, with everyone scrambling to protect themselves and each other… Well, it would certainly be inconvenient, not to mention slow, to use such accurate magic. He’d much rather leave through those double doors he’d seen earlier.
As he walked, checking rooms and sealing off hallways, Aldritch couldn’t help but wonder what the building’s purpose was. The open layout suggested it wasn’t for industrial use; those types of building were usually compartmentalized for the sake of the logistics - For example, you wouldn’t put a loud forge inside an area where people were trying to complete detail-oriented work. Likewise, you wouldn’t store something hot next to something that must remain cold. An open layout would make those tasks much more complicated than they needed to be. However, an open building like this one was more suited towards customer service. Aldritch could imagine food stalls, merchants hawking their wares to any who passed by, maybe even a few bards playing for a few coins each. Places like this were great for creating a sense of community. A sense of belonging… A place someone from any walk of life could come and lose themselves for a few hours.
The tunnels were also strange. Their size and separation from the rest of the building suggested some kind of inherent danger. But the lack of a wall to isolate it implies the people still needed to access it regularly… Could it have been some kind of transportation hub? That made more sense than anything else Aldritch could think of.
They finally reached the westernmost wall after walking for several minutes and began following it towards the northern wall. Aldritch had been maintaining Dragon’s Eye in order to watch the demons scurry around outside. The demons were full of erratic movements interspersed between brief periods of inactivity that brought everyone and everything to a halt. In those moments, it was like Aldritch was watching time stop. The way every mana source could just halt at the same time was a bit eerie. Even Aldritch would admit to that. He’d never seen demons behave in such a way. Even stranger was the way the demons were gradually changing as they approached the northern wall, and the double doors. Those moments of inactivity were getting longer and longer until they eventually overtook the erratic movements they’d been showing.
Right now, he could see a large number of mana sources sitting idly, almost like they were waiting for something... Who was he kidding? Aldritch was well aware the demons knew they were nearby. They’d probably sensed them the moment they’d left the portal - That wasn't what concerned Aldritch. The demons were going to find out about them sooner or later. Aldritch was only concerned with the three questions on his mind. First: How were the demons tracking them - was it magic? Was it a magical device he’d missed? Or was it something entirely unknown to him? Second: How many demons were tracking them, and how many were waiting for the tracker’s signal to attack? If every demon was capable of tracking them, then it didn’t matter how they moved or what they planned. They would be forced to fight them all anyway.
At that point, Aldritch would be better off fighting the demons as normal. But if only a few demons had access to the magic or devices tracking them, then he would need to change his plan entirely. Aldritch would be fine in a drawn-out battle. His mana recovered fast enough that, with the proper pacing, he could technically fight indefinitely. Sure, it would be uncomfortable to survive on Divine mana alone, but he could do it. That was how he’d survived on his home world long after the last animal died, and the flora became more poison than plant... But the members of Mag Ársa were another story.
They wouldn’t be able to maintain that pace for long. They’d need food, water, and somewhere to sleep eventually.
Aldritch was hopeful that only a few demons could track them, and the rest were merely following their orders. If Aldritch could eliminate the trackers, then Sulika and the others would have plenty of time to rest and recuperate. If that was not the case, then Aldritch would need to slow down the pace and protect them or lock them in a warded room until he was finished clearing the area.
“You’re really determined not to let anyone die, aren’t you?” Oakairo muttered. It was obvious he was amused by Aldritch’s determination. He didn’t want anyone to die either, but Oakairo wasn't nearly as concerned as Aldritch seemed to be.
“Of course. If possible, I’d like to prevent them from learning what death is like. Even if only for a short while.”
“You sound like an overprotective parent.” Oakairo said and chuckled at the notion. “What’re you going to do if one of them does die? You know you can’t be around to protect them all the time.”
“I know. But if I am around, then I’m bringing them back alive.”
“You seem to have already made up your mind. You do this despite understanding the consequences?”
“Of course. I wouldn’t have accepted the job of guild master if I wasn’t prepared to deal with the consequences that follow.”
“Fair enough.” Oakairo replied in a pleased voice. “When the time does come, you have my permission to do whatever you need to.”
“Thank you, my Lord.” Aldritch replied, dipping his head in gratitude for the blessing he was just given.
“Aldritch?” Faeyra whispered. “Everything alright? You seem a bit... distracted.”
“Thank you for your concern. But I am fine. Just thinking of some alternative plans should things go sideways in a few minutes.” He said and grinned over his shoulder at her. “Nervous?”
She let out a nervous laugh and nodded.
“Don’t be. So long as you’re behind me, you’re protected. All of you are.”
“Glad one of us is confident about our chances.” Oladi muttered.
“Of course.” He laughed as they finally reached the double door. “I am Aldritch of clan Blackshield.”
Just beyond the door was a stone bridge with six-inch-wide stone walls that were slightly taller than Sulika’s waist and a rounded metal roof that covered the bridge from end to end. Nine steel struts, six on the left side and three on the right, extended from the top of the wall and supported the roof. There were odd looking gaps between the struts on the right side, leading Aldritch to assume there was once a total of twelve struts, but three had disappeared at some point. The bridge was narrow enough that anything more than two people would struggle to cross at the same time. But long enough to span the gap between the transport hub and the wall of the half-collapsed building across from them. Oddly enough, in the exact center of the bridge was an inch deep puddle of murky water that was about four feet across and left only a few inches of untouched space on either side of the bridge.
At one time the other building was likely a tall, red brick structure that had over a dozen floors, but that was no longer the case as it had fallen into disrepair: the roof was completely gone, leaving the interior exposed to the elements and the top half of the front wall had collapsed. Miraculously, the part of the building holding up the bridge had remained intact despite the wall falling in a way that should have caused at least a part of the bridge to collapse too. This revelation didn’t sit well with Aldritch. He slightly shook his head and continued to inspect the area.
At the other end of the bridge were two possible ways forward. The first option would have them walk down a steel staircase that was mostly hidden from view thanks to the stone wall on the right side of the bridge. And the second option would have them open the door set into the wall of the other building - a likely pointless endeavor, considering half the building was gone and Aldritch could see past the door to the center of the building. It was empty inside - even of rubble and debris. Almost like someone had removed the interior walls and furniture prior to the building collapsing.
Aldritch’s eye twitched in irritation. If they were planning to ambush someone, at least do it right. The key to a successful ambush was to make everything seem as normal as possible. If the demons wanted to convince them the building had collapsed on its own. The best thing they could’ve done was to leave everything inside. Let the walls and the roof collapse on the valuables inside, sacrificing them to ensure nothing looked out of place. As it was now, it was almost impossible for anyone to believe the bridge wasn’t a trap… He sighed and turned his head to face Oladi. “Can you send the raven to check if those stairs touch the ground?”
“Of course.” She replied while nodding. A second later the raven leapt from where it’d been perched in the rafters of the transport hub and flew out of a hole in the roof - It circled around the side of the building to approach the bridge from the side with the staircase. “It doesn’t go to the ground.” Oladi muttered. “The last fifteen feet or so have collapsed, broken beneath the weight of one of those large metal bodies.”
“Fifteen feet?” Aldritch repeated out of surprise. He hadn’t realized they were that far off the ground.
He nodded in understanding and leaned out of the doorway to get a better look -He looked to the left and right a few times to make sure they were still alone. He doubted he would actually spot a demon, there were too many buildings and bodies of metal on the road for them to hide behind. But it didn't hurt to check.
You never knew when stupidity would work in your favor, so it was usually worthwhile to at least check if it had reared its misshapen head or not.
The first thing he did was confirm how high up they were. He’d originally assumed the building was on the ground, or at the most a few feet above it due to the presence of the tunnel they’d appeared in. But no, they were easily a hundred feet in the air. Which meant the entire transport hub, including the tunnel, were suspended far above the ground.
A wide stone road started at the base of a building a few thousand feet to Aldritch’s left, passed under the bridge, and traveled in a mostly straight line for a few thousand more feet before ending at the base of a second building. The road also served as a point of separation for the two rows of buildings he could see from the doorway. The row on his side of the bridge had ten fewer buildings than the other side, due to the sheer size of the building they were standing in. But aside from the travel hub, the other buildings all had similar appearances: They were all constructed with either brick or stone, and were all of similar height, width, and he assumed they were of similar depth - but it was impossible to confirm that from where he was standing. Each building was also in possession of dozens of glass windows that’d somehow managed to survive the demon’s presence and remained unbroken.
“They remind me of the apartment buildings back on the island.” Oakairo said offhandedly.
“Makes you wonder how many people used to live here. If those are all apartment buildings… That’s, what, about a hundred residents per building?”
“I would assume even more than that. It’s possible some of the residents had families; partners, children, maybe even their parents?”
“Also depends on the race of the people living here. Halflings would need less space for a family of five than an orc needs for a family of three.”
“True.”
Aldritch motioned for the members of Mag Ársa to wait inside the building while he stepped out onto the bridge for an even better look. From his new position, Aldritch could see both ends of the road merge into an equally wide road that ran from south to north, as opposed to east to west.
This matched with the image of the city’s layout Aldritch had inside his head. Just going off building placements and road alignments. Aldritch suspected the entire city was nothing but one big, gridlock inducing mess - Aldritch saw something out of the corner of his eye and looked towards the base of a building on the other end of the bridge.
There was a shadow covered alleyway separating two of the buildings. Aldritch didn’t like it being there - looking up and down the road, he spotted at least seven such alleyways. Each one was an excellent hiding place for any demons waiting to ambush them.
Aldritch narrowed his eyes at the closest alleyway. If there were any demons inside, then he’d already been seen… But the others haven’t. They’d stayed inside, hidden from sight by the elevated angle and the shadows of the doorway. Aldritch kept his lip movement to a minimum and his face pointed towards the road. “I believe my position is compromised. So, we’re going to do something to even the odds a bit. I want you all to keep your heads down and move towards the other end of the bridge but avoid that puddle in the center. Don't let it touch even a hair on your body if you can help it. Oladi. You’re going to want to shift now.” He told them in a low voice.
Max was short enough to not worry about being seen over the wall, so he was able to jog across the bridge to the puddle and dive over it without worrying about being seen. He landed in a roll that carried him a few extra feet and returned to the edge of the puddle to help the others cross.
Faeyra nodded slowly and crouched low to the ground: As one of the tallest members of the team, Faeyra had to practically get on her hands and knees to stay behind the wall - a move that did interesting things to the back of her pants.
So interesting, in fact, that Zarud couldn't help but look.
Following Faeyra's movements exactly, Oladi shifted into her monstrous crow form while dropping into a low stance and quickly moved in behind her.
When they reached the puddle, Max took a shaky Faeyra's hand and helped her move through the gap on the right side of the bridge. Once she was across, the two of them helped Oladi across the same way.
Sulika, Ralocan, Derrik, and Zarud were next.
Thanks to his naturally wide stance and low height, Derrik didn’t have to do much to hide behind the wall. He bent slightly at the waist and hurried after Faeyra and Oladi, leaping across the puddle in much the same way Max had. The Dwarf smirked at the two elves who'd had to put so much effort into getting over a mere puddle.
Likewise, Sulika and Ralocan didn’t have any trouble keeping low to the ground and moving just behind Derrik. With her natural dexterity on full display, Sulika was able to crouch walk only a hair slower than her usual walking speed - she also dove over the puddle without effort, leaping from a crouched stance as easily as Derrik had from a running start.
As for Ralocan, he only had trouble so far as his robe wasn't meant for sneaking. However, his natural quickness and control more than made up for any issues his robe caused - However, he had a moment of panic as he leaped over the puddle and the hem of his robe brushed against its surface, coming out the other side smelling of sulfur... Ralocan grimaced at the mishap and wanted nothing more than to cut off the offending fabric. It was definitely getting purified the instant he was able to cast the spell.
Zarud… Well, he was another story entirely. Matching Aldritch’s impressive height of 6 '10, Zarud struggled to get low enough to hide behind the wall. He dropped onto his hands and knees first - but the top of his head was still peeking over the wall.
“Get. Lower.” Aldritch whispered without looking at him since he was busy putting on a show of checking the rooftops for demons.
“Damnit… Fine.” Zarud quietly sighed. He got even lower, dropping onto his stomach and pulling himself across the bridge with nothing but the strength of his arms. Approaching the puddle with nowhere to go and being much too large to pass through either of the gaps, Zarud had no choice but to try something drastic. He lifted himself up as if he were performing a push-up before rocking back and forth. The back-and-forth motions were for building momentum, until - He kicked off the ground and threw himself across the water, trusting his friends to catch him.
Max, Derrik, and Oladi grabbed Zarud's arms the second after he jumped and quickly pulled him over the puddle before gravity could pull him into direct contact with the vile-smelling liquid.
Aldritch watched them all reach the other side using his peripheral vision. While he waited for them to reach the other end, he remained partially vigilant of the alleyways and rooftops. He knew he wouldn't see anything unless the demons wanted him to... But if the demons were going to launch a surprise attack, now would be the time to do it. The bridge had already been sabotaged, that much was obvious. And Aldritch had no doubts that the moment he started moving towards the other side, they’d spring their trap and attempt to either capture him or kill him. That was why he’d sent the others ahead of him; to give the demons the false impression that the others were still inside the building. Sure, it might fail if the tracker's ability to sense them was precise enough. But Aldritch was counting on the demons deciding to save magic the instant they saw him.
After all, if the demons could see him with their eyes, why use magic? And clearly the giant was the strongest person in the group. It only made sense that he’d go first - right? That’s the formation they’d kept since leaving the portal. So, why would they change it now?
Sulika and the others reached the far-side of the bridge about a minute later. “We’re all here. Now what?” Sulika whispered.
Aldritch nodded and looked back towards the empty doorway. “I don’t see anything. Move out, quickly. We don't want the demons to see us before we get to the ground.” He muttered, making sure the volume of his voice was only slightly lower than how he’d usually speak.
He turned to face the group and spoke again; this time his voice was barely audible - even to them. “When you hear the signal: I want you all to run towards the ground as fast as you can.”
“What’s the signal?" Ralocan asked-
[Now!] An imp shouted from one of the nearby rooftops. His voice, high-pitched and nasally, was barely loud enough to reach their ears. But even if they'd heard its voice, the alien ‘Abynaar’ language was understood by none of them… Then again, they didn’t need to understand what he’d said, they’d just needed to hear the ‘signal’.
And they did hear it.
“Move!” Sulika shouted, shoving Max and Zarud towards the stairs. Once they were moving, with Zarud practically sprinting down the stairs to keep up with Max. Sulika led the others onto the staircase at a dead sprint towards the ground.
Aldritch saw this and smiled dryly as the bridge broke under him: the collapse began as a simple crack in the center of the bridge, beneath the puddle of water, that quickly spread to both ends - the first crack was followed by a dozen more as the water poured into the crack, quickly eroding what few bonds the stone had left until it could no longer resist the inevitable pull of gravity. Great chunks of stone and steel broke off the bridge, including the part Aldritch had been standing on.
Aldritch looked down mid-fall to see a trio of imps hovering around the base of one of the support pillars that used to hold up the bridge... They were laughing at him as he fell: relishing the ease in which he’d fallen for the trap.
Aldritch smiled again, and this one was genuine.
With his shield in hand, Aldritch fell towards the ground at well over a hundred miles per hour - at these speeds, he would reach the ground in less than a second and be forced to either move or get crushed by the bridge falling around him… Or so the imps probably thought.
“Shield.” Aldritch willed his spell into existence at almost the exact moment he crashed into the ground. Ten thousand pounds of stone and metal hit the ground right after Aldritch; a large section of road cracked like porcelain beneath the weight of the bridge and sent years of built-up dust and stone particles flying into the air.
The imps cackled like mad at the sight of Aldritch getting crushed beneath the bridge.
They continued to laugh even as the dust began to settle and they could see the rubble scattered across the road.
Their laughter began to die down as they realized a part of the rubble was higher than it should have been.
Their laughter was silenced as their eyes landed on a perfectly healthy Aldritch: The giant was standing inside a golden dome of protective energy with his shield held above his head with both hands - the spell had caused most of the rubble and debris to simply slide off onto the ground. But a large sandstone block had proved too heavy to be pushed aside, forcing Aldritch to catch it with his shield.
“Haha?” Aldritch said mockingly while staring into the eyes of the closest imp. He released a grunt of effort before launching a thousand pounds of sandstone at the imps - Two of the imps managed to dive out of the way in time, but the third one wasn’t as quick and suffered the consequences. Its body was reduced to blood pudding as the block slammed into one of the support pillars, squashing the creature between two unyielding objects - damaged as they already were, none of the stone pillars could take that kind of damage. The moment the block crashed into it; the pillar was done for. It snapped it half just above where the block made contact and followed the pull of gravity towards the ground.
One of the two imps looked up in time to see the pillar coming for them. It shouted in panic and leapt aside, leaving its disoriented buddy behind. The other imp only had time to look up and scream before - *Squish!* Its voice was cut off as the pillar flattened it against the road.
Aldritch stepped out of the rubble without taking his eyes off the imp. He could see the fear in its eyes being slightly mitigated by the roars of its allies as they prepared to attack him.
The Imp still felt hope. Some small part of it still thought it would live to see another day.
Aldritch couldn’t help himself.
He smiled and watched the oblivious imp’s head implode beneath the weight of a mighty hammer.