To Kyle’s surprise, Drokh didn’t argue any further, and the 4 set out in somber silence. Hanastrel took the lead, easily following the trail left behind by the shrikes’ bloody prizes. Kyle knew goblins tended to have better Perception than most humans, but was nonetheless impressed with how easily she tracked their path.
That’s not to say that he didn’t have his misgivings about departing right away. Despite having used Healing Impetus on both Drokh and Ver’ah, both were clearly weakened compared to how they were earlier in the day. The lightning-affinity energy that Drokh used seemed to have particularly costly lingering effects. The ogre’s mana barely recovered at all as they traveled, leaving him at barely 60% of his full strength.
“So, what’s the plan when we get there?” Kyle asked. He assumed that much of Drokh’s power had been used to create the 3 massive bolts of lightning during their previous fight, which led him to believe that neither Hanastrel nor Ver’ah had the tools to take the shrikes down quickly.
“You 3 keep the other shrikes busy, while I handle the alpha.” Drokh said simply. “I trust you’ll be able to handle it.”
“How many alphas have you hunted?” Kyle pressed. “We’ve all seen how dangerous these creatures can be firsthand; I can only imagine that the alpha will be more dangerous.”
“How dare you question Drokh’s experience,” Ver’ah growled. “Show some damn respect. If he says he can handle it, he can handle it.”
Drokh raised a hand, quieting the troll. “The Courier has a valid question,” Drokh said, then fixed his eyes on Kyle. “It will not be the first alpha I’ve slain, though I hope it will be the last. It was a fight won with a cost, which I hope we will not have to pay this time.”
“Other than an increase in power and the shared hunting instinct, what else should we expect from the alpha?” Kyle asked.
“Their strengths become highly variable,” Drokh replied. “I’ve seen some that specialized in ranged combat, while others had more natural armor and preferred to be in close. That variance is why I’m the best suited to take it out.”
Even though he felt he was being sold short, Kyle nodded his agreement. “Understood. If we handle our shrike, should the priority be to help you, or one another?”
Kyle phrased the question in such a way to indicate that any of them could kill their opponent, though from the looks he received from Ver’ah and Hanastrel, they understood the implication perfectly well.
“Help one another first,” Drokh said. “I should at least be able to hold my own long enough to allow you to conclude your business, then assist me if necessary. Most importantly, try not get in my way.”
The expression on Drokh’s face was grim, and Kyle let the matter drop. The confidence in Drokh’s words rang hollow, but Kyle agreed that the beast needed to be stopped. With the shrike population in the hills as robust as it is, this thing will have no problem getting more under its leadership.
“You’ve all mentioned a few times that your queen has wards to keep things like the shrikes out. Any idea why they wouldn’t be working?” Kyle asked.
“They act as more of a powerful suggestion,” Ver’ah said. “They weren’t designed with this in mind, but most larger predators seem to get pretty uncomfortable and choose to nest somewhere else. Unfortunately, shrike alphas seem to be able to resist that urge pretty well.”
“Is that why you’ve had experience hunting them?” Kyle asked, pointing his question at Drokh.
“We had to expel them from our lands,” he said. “We haven’t had an issue with any in years, so we thought we got them all. We’ll correct that when we’re back. Now, stop asking questions and focus on the task at hand.”
The rest of their travel was filled with a tense quiet. They each knew that they were walking into a fight that could prove lethal, after all. Soon, Hanastrel signaled the group to stop, just before a bridge that spanned a small creek. “They’re below.”
In practiced unison, Ver’ah, Hanastrel, and Drokh vaulted the bridge, with Kyle following shortly behind. There was a large amount of brush beneath the bridge nearest the water, which was cut away by a couple of quick swipes from Ver’ah. The reason for the quick excavation was clear as Kyle saw the large burrow into the hillside, which had been covered by already-cut plant life.
The dawn light was just beginning to form as they stepped into the den, Ver’ah taking the lead with his shield raised, followed by Hanastrel and Kyle, with Drokh in the rear guard. They progressed slowly, the sloping path leading deeper into the earth below. Kyle heard an incredibly soft snap from the pack behind him as C.H.A.D.D. used its sonar capabilities to get a rough map of the area, even if the drone knew better than to share too much publicly.
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The darkness didn’t seem to pose an issue for the trio from the Resistance, and Kyle was fortunate to have Synaptic Barbs to guide his movement as he moved alongside them. There were dozens of branching paths that spread out as they descended, the smell of damp earth and blood growing stronger with each step.
Kyle could feel a gentle pull on his mana through his link with C.H.A.D.D., with several more snapping sounds following shortly after. Something was agitating the drone, but Kyle wasn’t sure what it could be. Redoubling his focus on Synaptic Barbs, the only thing he could feel was more open air around a bend in the tunnel they were walking through. So, it came as no surprise when Hanastrel whispered to the group that there was a larger cavern ahead.
Suddenly, a vine gently bumped into Kyle’s back, then started twisting oddly in the air. C.HA.D.D. is writing, Kyle realized, focusing on the vine’s movements between the pack and his back. 3 AHEAD. ALPHA BEHIND. TRAP. TURN.
Kyle felt his breath catch as the message. He tried reaching out to Hanastrel to signal Ver’ah to stop, but it was too late. The moment that Ver’ah turned the corner and stepped into the more open cavern, he was beset by whirring blades of energy on all sides. Kyle moved without thinking, crimson light filling the room as Ignition bloomed to life in his chest. Before the first of the blades could reach the troll, Kyle erected a hasty Storm Shelter, intercepting the attacks as Ver’ah raised his own shield which brimmed with power.
The bewildered troll looked at Kyle, who shouted, “There are only 3 of them here! The Alpha is coming from behind!”
Before they could react, the ground behind them rumbled as a blade of stone rose from the ground, aiming to pierce Drokh through his stomach. He dodged backward at the last moment, but more and more blades kept rising from the earth, one after another. Soon, a veritable wall of earthen blades blocked all view of Drokh, leaving the 3 of them to face the shrikes in the open.
With Identify active, Kyle saw mana beginning to spread through the ground toward them, and he remembered Skippy punching him in the face after he bypassed Storm Shelter with spatial manipulation.
“An attack is coming; I’m going to have to drop the barrier!” Kyle shouted. “When I do, I’ll make for the one on the far side of the room. Ver’ah, take the one closest on the left. Hanastrel, the right!”
If they had any qualms with his directions, he didn’t wait to hear them. He pumped mana into the bracer on his left arm, creating a buckler as he darted forward. He heard the ground behind him erupt into a series of blades, and felt through Synaptic Barbs that both Hanastrel and Ver’ah followed his orders.
Auric Perception kept him informed as powerful earth affinity mana suffused the tunnel behind him. This is bad, he thought. From his studies with Jarberry, Kyle knew that earth affinity provided an effective counter to most lightning-based attacks, particularly in environments like this one. Drokh was going to need their help, and quickly.
The cavern was bathed in the crimson glow of Ignition, casting eerie shadows along the subterranean battlefield. Kyle parried an incoming blade of mana with his buckler as he focused on the shrike with Identify. From what he’d learned in his previous encounters, the shrikes should have been at least a little hampered by the near-absolute darkness, yet these fought with impeccable precision.
Ducking under another whirring attack, Kyle closed the remaining distance while scanning his foe. At first, he didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. Everything seemed normal, until he got the barest glimpse of energy that seemed to resonate in its mind. Despite Kyle being illuminated by his skill, the shrike’s eyes first darted toward the ground as he made a heavy footfall.
The beast immediately jumped backward, extending a clawed hand to dig into the stone of the cavern wall while launching another blade of mana at Kyle, attempting to bisect him. Kyle vaulted this one, paying close attention to the creature’s reaction as he landed. Again, its eyes seemed to be drawn to where he landed before refocusing on him.
The puzzle clicked together a moment later. Not taking an eye off the shrike on the wall, Kyle shouted, “The alpha is sharing some sort of seismic detection skill with them! Be careful!”
A cry of pain sounded out from Hanastrel less than a second later, causing Kyle to swear internally. He turned toward her, sidestepping a vertical slash in the process as the earth near him was gouged by the attack. The shrike seemed to ponder why Kyle was no longer pursuing for just a moment, and then its life was snuffed out as Parasitic Resonance greedily drank in its very essence. It never even noticed the deadly tendrils that crept along the cavern floor.
Kyle was already moving as he took in the sight of Hanastrel pierced through her stomach by a shrike’s elbow blade, its other arm aimed for her neck. A thin blade seemed to materialize out of nowhere, interposing itself and stopping the fatal attack before it could connect.
It only bought a moment, but it was enough. A tendril of mana connected to Hanastrel, and a moment later Storm Shelter erupted around her, forcing the shrike back as its blade tore a nasty wound through Hanastrel’s side. A wave of Healing Impetus followed a moment later as Kyle dashed past. He barely heard her words, over the sound of the wet cough. “Thanks for the warning, Courier. It would have taken my head otherwise.”
Kyle didn’t respond as he cast a glance over toward Ver’ah, who was stubbornly trading blows with the shrike he was engaging. It had him outclassed in terms of speed and attack power, but the troll was holding his own. Kyle made out a defensive skill in constant use over Ver’ah’s finely crafted shield, while a boosting skill seemed to enhance the troll’s already rapid recovery.
A cautious snarl drew his attention back to his new foe. This shrike seemed far more wary of Kyle, using clawed hands to scale the nearest wall and climb toward the raised ceiling. Tentative tendrils of Parasitic Resonance reached toward it, but were quickly cut away as the shrike launched a barrage of attacks directly toward Kyle. They seem to have learned that their best bet against me is to keep a longer range, Kyle thought.
A peal of thunder rocked the cavern a moment later, followed by an inhuman scream. Synaptic Barbs showed him a single moment of confusion from both the remaining shrikes. Drokh had engaged the alpha.