Thormak was speeding down the tunnel from the intersection straight ahead with Zanis not too far behind. He could see it open up into a room around 30 feet from in front of him. He urged his mind to remain calm, focused, however errant thoughts peaked through. It will be fine. They cannot have m- He burst through into the large room at full speed, he could clearly see the walls to the left and right but the room was long enough that he couldn't see the ends of it. The room was also tall, around 15 feet in height and he noticed three uneven spots upon the ground immediately to the left and right of him. The purple-fur ground dipped slightly on one section and in two others there was a scarcely detectable rise. He also caught the vague outline of webbing from the right-hand corner of the room as he drew to a halt.
In front of him in the open, 20 feet into the room, were a gob behind a barricade standing next to a glob in clear view. They both loosed their attacks upon him as he shouted, "Ambush!" and the three suspicious spots on the ground burst outwards as molemen leapt forth from their depths. A rumbling could be heard from further in the room. He deflected the oncoming arrow with his fist as water sprayed over his chest, some of it seeping through the holes of his gambeson and another ball of water came hurtling towards him from the right. He leaned backwards out of the way, taking a quick glance at the spider before promptly getting drenched in more water that had come from the left side of the room. He immediately started feeling nauseous.
He spun on his heels, turning as he ran back through the entrance, urging Zanis to flee as well. Not able to move at full speed, Zanis almost made it to the intersection when another volley came in from behind. He grunted as he fell down with a thud, water sizzling over his back and and another arrow sticking through his left lung. Thormak reached around the corner and dragged him to safety as he heard a roar of thunder coming from behind him.
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"Hiding secrets are we?" Eileen was standing by the recently defeated glob smiling at Darc who had the look of a child caught with his hand in a cookie jar. Gotcha you little bastard, Now let's see- A call rang out from the exit towards the intersection, "Eileen! Quick!" She made sure to let Darc see her smirk as she ran out of the room.
Darc sat there dumbfounded with his pistol halfway into his satchel. Lina came walking over, a look of resignation on her face as she fingered her bag where her own pistol lay, "Well, there's no hiding it now." Punching him lightly on the arm, he stirred with a start. "We should get moving" he said, but he was still standing there, casting his gaze upon the dagger still sitting snugly within the confines of the splattered spider's webbing. She punched him again, a little harder, "Forget the damn dagger! We'll get it later."
They turned as they saw Thormak carrying an unconscious Zanis in a princess carry, Eileen following close with a hand upon the elf's back. Thormak gently laid him down around the corner and they approached the dwarf that was still kneeling over the elf with Eileen on the other side. He turned towards them as their footsteps drew near, "There are more of them than I suspected. They are also well organized and..." He looked down upon Zanis as he continued, a look of frustration mixed with trepidation creeping onto his face, "I am not sure we can defeat them. Their numbers might mean-"
A low voice slithered into their minds, the tone smooth and silky, "You will join us or you will die." Darc could hear soft footsteps and a gentle rumbling from around the corner of the entrance, stopping near the intersection 10 feet down the hall as the voice continued, "Consume them." Several small objects the size of his ring finger came tumbling into the room. The pinkish pieces of flesh wriggled ominously upon the floor. "Together, we will unite the world as one. No more war. No more suffering. Only true peace and prosperity." The voice ceased its whispering.
Thormak and Eileen blanched, their expressions one of despair. Several seconds passed before Thormak, with a look of resignation reached towards one of the fingers. Eileen stopped him short, holding onto the dwarf with out stretched arms. She whispered, her tone fierce "No! We might have a chance..." She locked eyes towards her companion, her expression desperate, "Darc?". The dwarf seemed confused, however he stayed his hand as he glanced around the party, just now noticing the metal object in Darc's hands.
Darc nodded, his eyes determined as he drew his gaze towards Lina. She reached into her bag, drawing her pistol. He kept his gaze upon her as he made a few gestures: Me high, you low and pointed at the corner next to them. She nodded and positioned herself in a crouch as he stood over her. Glancing back he whispered, "Thormak, Eileen, hold them back if they rush us. Don't go beyond the entrance." He had no idea what he was dealing with, but whatever it was, it was enough for the two seasoned adventurers to nearly give up all hope.
He tapped Lina's shoulder as he willed his ball of light towards the entrance and she peaked around the corner. She had good eyes. She would notice anything out of place. She communicated back to him in whispered tones. A glob and a gob all at the far back wall on the right side 15 feet away, two spiders right above them. 3 moles, hunched over in front of them. A... large worm as wide as the tunnel poking out the leftside corner. Nodding, he gave her her targets and held out his hand, counting down with Eileen and Thormak standing behind them. Three. Two. One.
They both leaned out and opened fire with their ready enemies also letting loose a volley at the same time. Lina and Darc quickly ducked back behind the corner, after getting the view of a worm with a gaping maw recoil slightly as a spider exploded, its body parts spraying across the ceiling and wall. The sound of sizzling and a thunk of an arrow could be heard around the corner as two bolts of water sped past into their room, leaving trails of mist where Lina and Darc's heads had poked out. Then Darc felt his connection to his light vanish and the ball dissipated leaving the tunnel ahead of them in darkness.
The footsteps of the molemen almost upon them could be heard. A slight reddish glow seeped out from around Thormak's veins as he quickly moved to block the entrance holding his torch alongside Eileen as the two from Earth poked out again with their pistols singing thunder out into the air. The worm seemed to be forming a spell crackling with electricity as a bullet pierced it but it held onto its concentration as the other spider let out a chitter, falling onto the gob's head. Thormak struck swiftly with all his might, empowering his fist and a sickening smack could be heard as he struck the moleman hard in its solar plexus. Its eyes bulged however it remained standing even after taking a second, weaker fist to its abdomen. Eileen's opponent was acting with caution, blocking her attacks skillfully.
The last moleman was behind the two yet still within Lina's line of sight which she took advantage of, sinking a bullet into its brain. Another bullet pierced into the worm from Darc's smoking gun, purple blood seeping out in gushes from its wounds as it unleashed a thickened blast of lightning. All with eyes to see were blinded and Darc screamed as the lightning struck his chest, flinging him far back into the room as he slipped into unconsciousness.
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Unable to react while blinking her teary eyes, for the next few seconds Lina stumbled backwards along the wall as she heard Thormak and Eileen grunting and screaming in pain. She called out, "Darc?!" ... No answer came. Her eyesight slowly returned and she saw the blurry image of a squirming Thormak still by the entrance, a moleman's claws piercing clear through his entire body and Eileen standing next to him, blood dripping out her sides. She immediately opened fire and the two molemen in front of the pair dropped to the ground, blood spilling out from underneath them, however she could hear the distinct crackle of electricity building up once more. She screamed at the pair in front of her, "Dodge! Incoming!" She closed her eyes.
The deafening sound of thunder. A bright white light filling her eyes even as they were closed. A female cry of pain. She opened her eyes to a blurry view of a still-burning torch where Thormak had been and what was most likely Eileen blindly stumbling backwards towards the far side of the room. She rushed to the corner with her pistol held before her to unleash fury upon the worm. It filled the entire tunnel before her, 5 feet away making it seem as if the walls had grown teeth as far as the eye could see in the torchlight.
Fear and loathing etched into her features, Lina stood against her impending doom. The pistol rang out in a vengeance as she screamed into the void before her. The worm was writhing, the entire floor shaking along with it as the worm inched forwards. She felt the slithering feeling enter her mind again as she kept firing however no words came. The feeling left after the third bullet, however she continued to pull the trigger with tears streaming down her eyes until all that could be heard were faint clicks drifting into the empty void. The worm had already stopped, its mouth now closed, poking a few centimeters out into the room. Eileen put a hand over hers.
She could see the redhead was still bleeding profusely from her left and right sides but all she could think about was one thing. She frantically looked around the room, stumbling as her eyesight fully recovered and she noticed her surroundings. She saw nothing but chunks of flesh and blood sprayed everywhere as she called out, "DARC?!"... Only silence answered her. A moment passed and then she collapsed onto the ground on her hands and knees, tears dripping down, "It killed him... He's..." She started sobbing uncontrollably holding a chunk of flesh between her hands and several seconds later a wail of pain and loss came slicing through the air. Eileen merely sat there next to the woman, pulling her into her embrace, rocking her back and forth as she looked upon the blood and flesh strewn about the room. The tears began to well within her eyes unbidden.
A faint groan came from the other side of the room. Eileen's eyes perked up as she gently lay the grieving Lina aside and moved to investigate, picking up the torch along the way. The room here was lined with beds along the back end and storage barrels could be seen lining both the left and right, stacked atop each other. As she approached the middle of the room she spotted a foot peaking out in the far right corner behind a barrel. Rushing forwards, she saw Darc lying there unconscious with a large hole bordered by burn marks in his shirt. Nearly his entire chest was covered in burns down to the bone. She immediately moved to heal him, calling for Lina.
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Darc awoke with a groan. Lina was embracing him to his right and Eileen was on the other side with her palm pushed against the pink skin of his chest. The hell happened? He groaned again, a sharp pain piercing his skull. It hurt to think. Lina stirred, rising up to look upon him as he noticed he was lying in a bed, the covers made of smooth silk. She had tears in her eyes as she spoke, "Idiot... you had me worried..." He attempted to rise into a sitting position however Eileen held him firm with a frown. "He really is an idiot." The redhead exclaimed before closing her eyes in concentration and adding, "Stay still."
Glancing to his right he could see Zanis in another bed behind Lina. He seemed to be breathing easy in his sleep. Looking to the left... he took in his surroundings as much as he could in the torchlight, however the dwarf was nowhere to be seen. Noticing his searching eyes, Lina held his hand firmly as she shook her head.
He sighed as he closed his eyes, taking it in. Opening them again he asked, "And the... worm?" Eileen shook her head as she rectified him, "Worm Prince. Lina slew it. Him. Whatever." He closed his eyes again in relief, letting himself rest.
The next several hours were spent with the party in recuperation. The worm's corpse was blocking the entrance to their room entirely so they felt that they were safe enough to sleep uninterrupted. After finishing their rest, Zanis and Eileen called the other two together for a group meeting.
Eileen was sitting on one of the beds next to Zanis as she eyed the two before her. The raven-haired man to the left had boyish features with slightly thick eyebrows while the woman leaning upon his shoulder looked a little too slim. She also had hard eyes. They both did. It looked like they had been through hell and survived. That was what drew Thormak to Darc in the first place.
He'd eaten up Darc's story easily enough, but she always had her suspicions. She sighed. Thormak was gone now. They'd been together for almost half a year and she had always found the dwarf to be strong... reliable. Steady as a rock. And now he was blasted to pieces all over the floor, the walls... the ceiling...
She focused her wandering thoughts, a firm look settling itself into her eyes as she spoke, "You've been keeping things from us." Darc sighed, a look of resignation on his face as Eileen continued, "Just... tell us. Please." Darc opened his mouth to speak before she added, "And no more lies. That's all we ask. You don't have to tell us everything." Zanis nodded from her side, a wry smile on his face.
Darc closed his eyes for a moment as he felt Lina's hand squeeze for a moment, urging him on. He looked upon the two before him and spoke, his voice hesitant, "I'd like to tell you everything, I really would... but there are lives at stake." He ran a hand over his hair, "If there's even a chance that word gets out- Well, we can't risk it."
Eileen nodded as a slight smirk twitched over her lips. Her eyes were grinning as she held up a finger and a contract appeared.
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And then he spoke. Darc told them everything. Their world, their civilization, their technology... and then the death, the despair, the destruction. The days... the years he and Lina spent running, fighting, surviving. He told them of Bradford and of the Seed and the portals and the costs they had paid. The thousands of lives they threw away as they grasped onto the last straws of hope. He ended with how he had arrived.
Eileen was sitting still, seemingly entranced by his story as Zanis was in deep thought, eyebrows furrowed.
She spoke up first, a sparkle of excitement in her eyes, "This... world you're from... Earth, yeah. You said that its people- your people, sorry, had more of those weapons?"
Darc opened his mouth to speak however Zanis interrupted, "You said you brought that Seed here? Doesn't that mean they're coming for us now?"
Darc really wished he knew the answer to that one. If they were coming then they might have to find another world. Again. That would mean finding Bradford and the Seed first, however. He turned towards Zanis and shrugged, his tone defeated, "No idea."
Eileen's face was furrowed in thought until an idea suddenly hit her and a smile spread over her face. Her eyes shot upwards to meet Darc's, "We should go find Bradford... You said he's the greatest mage from Earth?"
Darc locked eyes with her and answered with a grin, "Sure, we were gonna look for him soon anyway."