Despite the seemingly peaceful creature leaving them be, the crew remained tense and ready for a fight.
The river passageway widened and narrowed at points, continuing on for some thirty minutes. Ulgrin’s eyes washed over other cracks and tunnels that no boat could pass through. Some were completely submerged while others would only allow a person to swim through.
Definitely not happening.
Strangely enough, however, they could all see something ahead. Sunlight. Another murmur rang through the crew as they approached.
In front of them a large chamber had been hewn as if some giant swordsman had slashed directly into the mountain. Far above their heads shafts of waning light poked through a crevasse in the world. Tectonic activity had caused a massive ravine to form and bisected this tunnel.
Ulgrin craned his neck and stared upwards as the boat slowly came to a halt.
Veins of exposed ore could be seen, marking this place as a potential boon to any enterprising miners. Pockets of sphalerite and galena highlighted the walls, glinting in the sunlight. Seeing it sent a wave of relief down his spine. No doubt the crew were praising their own fortune; bringing this information to the mining guilds would see them receive quite the bonus on their wages.
Turning his attention to the distance, he saw that the crevasse had bisected multiple different rivers. It continued on for at least a mile in both directions before the crack faltered and ended.
Captain Seeks pulled free a compass and his own map, eyes scanning the page. “Hmm. This is new. Lucky break. We seem to be in the southwestern sector now.” The badger grumbled. “By the gods, this is a massive crevasse. I’ve never seen such a dramatic change. It seems this place has just turned into a highway of sorts.”
Ulgrin nodded. “That’s good and all, but is there a path forward? We still have a destination to head towards.”
“We might. I think we can head up the channel and take one of the tunnels.” He gestured. “But it’s going to enter dangerous territory. An expansive cavern network.” Seeks took a deep breath. “There’s a good chance our vessel will be assaulted by the creatures within.”
“What exactly is going to attack?” Ulgrin asked.
“This area is infested with giant shrieking cave salamanders.” Despite the seemingly innocuous name Ulgrin could tell he was being rather deadly serious. “If one sees our ship and attacks then it’s going to attract the rest and we’ll have a fight on our hands.”
The dwarf paused. “How big?”
“Size of a mastiff. Large jaws. Mostly blind, but their screaming lets them see around them. Get ready to stuff your ears with wax. Unless you’d rather lose your hearing?”
Ulgrin shook his head and complied, taking a deep breath as the ship began to move once again. Their weapons were readied and a younger crewmate darted from person to person with a large unlit candle. Chunks of it were taken and handed off as they all prepared for the worst.
Some time passed before they arrived at the described chamber. A wide, low-ceiling filled the cavern before them. To their left a distant pool of magma burbled and cast its light over the rest. Mushrooms grew tall, their fat caps thriving in the low-light conditions and absorbing volcanic gasses.
Pools of water filled the area and Ulgrin could see dark shapes wriggling within them.
Despite the crew crouching down and closing their lanterns he could see these forms approaching. One of them grew inquisitive enough to leap across the water and land on their vessel. It immediately began letting out a low ‘eeee’ before a nearby javelin could be thrust and silence the creature.
A silent moment passed before a cacophonous SCREEEEE filled the air. Curses sounded as crew members began filling their ears with the provided wax.
Ulgrin followed suit and grimaced, the covering doing only just barely enough to prevent the sound from hurting him. It was loud.
Within seconds at least two dozen of the creatures leapt from their pools and began charging the ship.
“FULL POWER!” Captain Seeks called, raising his crossbow and firing it with a loud ‘kathunk’. One of the creatures was pinned to the cavern floor and its squealing only increased in volume. Their ship sped up, its engines kicking in as the helmsman turned it on
That incensed the nearby creatures and Ulgrin watched as they descended upon their kin. Blood filled the air as they consumed the dying creature. He immediately began channeling energy. Speaking aloud in Dunvi, “Gather. Coalesce. Collect.” He raised his hand and felt the mana respond to his call.
“Flame.” The blue energy shifted, swiftly turning into a ball of fire. “Launch.” It shot forth through the air and impacted one of the creatures, flames charring its upper body and sending it reeling and twitching. Still not dead, but slowed and injured.
Technically, one needn’t use words when casting spells. It was a mnemonic gesture that aided his focus. Expert practitioners could do such things in silence, but he needed the help. Repeating the words, he fired off three more bolts of flame before the wave of creatures reached the Whirligig.
Sudden violence filled the air. Screams and calls as crew members fought for their lives. It was a whirl of activity. Ulgrin was surprised at the sheer energy involved. It wasn’t like a spar or a duel. Nor was he training alongside his fellow militia members where things were controlled and had order.
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This? It’s gods-damned chaos! He yelled, drawing his hammer and charging forwards. Raising his weapon he called, “Force, Gather, Shapen!” In front of him he saw a human sailor just barely keeping the snapping jaws of a beast at bay with their trident. That was a lot of teeth.
Waves of blue force gathered around the tip of his weapon as he brought in a circular upwards swing. The distracted salamander could only yelp as his hammer impacted its stomach with a loud ‘whumpf’, force magic immediately sending the creature flying off the boat and away.
“You good?” He asked, wincing as the rebound hurt his hand.
“Aye! Thanks for the save!”
Moving forwards Ulgrin saw a trio of them biting down on a poor crewman. His free hand flailed in pain as a scream filled the air. Gritting his teeth, the dwarf let out a yell of his own and extended the warhammer’s length. A sweeping blow filled the air with a sickening crack as one of the salamanders had its foreleg broken.
Immediately they turned to him, letting go of their victim. The injured one snapped its jaws and Ulgrin barely kept his weapon from being pulled away.
Another swing smashed its skull into a pulp, but the others were then upon him.
Rows of teeth caught his boot and he felt a strange pressure from the metal buckling. The creature pulled, but his stout dwarven legs kept him on his feet. The other one leapt up towards him but he managed to bat it away. “Get off, ya bastard!” Ulgrin cried, pulling his warhammer back and stabbing the one biting him with its butt spike.
One stab had it squirming, two had it screaming, and a third made it let go.
“Flame, Burst!” Ulgrin called, raising his hand and sending a wave of flame washing over the two creatures. They squealed and writhed, oily bodies igniting and filling the air with the smell of… chicken? He would have thought that would be a fishy one.
Looking down, Ulgrin saw that the bronze had held firmly. Still not a pleasant sensation.
Turning to the injured crewman he could see shallow bloody holes in a half-circle pattern on three of the man’s limbs. Worsened by the fact these salamanders had worried away at the limbs in their attempts to pull their prey away from competitors. Cursing, he knelt down and pulled forth a sheaf of bandages.
An echo of his Grandfather’s voice filled him. ‘Getting hurt on the battlefield ain’t pretty. If you live, its gonna be a bloody mess. They’re gonna wriggle and writhe like a stuck pick, but keep calm, boy. Maybe this training will keep you or your men alive one day? Who knows.’
Confident in his training, Ulgrin ignored cries of pain as he wrapped them as quickly as possible. “Hold still!” Soon enough the wounds were covered, but he could already see blood coming through the fabric. Grabbing the man’s abandoned weapon he shoved it into his arms. “Keep quiet and stab anything that tries to get you!”
Seeing the fighting still going, Ulgrin moved forwards up to where the bulk of battle had culminated.
Salamanders circled their foes, screaming filling the air. It was hard to form a proper fighting line when these creatures didn’t stay in one place for long.
Raising a hand, “Gather.” He stopped for a moment, applying more focus. “Coalesce. Gather. Shapen. Focus.” Four balls of arcane energy collected above his hand, their forms shifting and sharpening. Changing into a proper dart. “Target. Launch!”
The arcane missiles shot forwards with speed, punching into the slimey hides of these salamanders. They howled, turning to face him and allowed themselves to be distracted as crewmembers with spears charged. Four of them were run through and coated the deck with dark purple ichor.
More of the creatures leapt from the shores and onto the deck and Ulgrin quickly found himself outnumbered. Five of them approached, hissing and screeching.
Ulgrin’s hammer swept in sweeping motions as he tried to keep distance. “Back!”
Behind him, however, he could hear powerful steps approaching. Captain Seeks ran forwards, hackles rising. He’d sheathed his crossbow and drawn a wicked looking bardiche fit for a person his size.
With a sudden surge of magic, Ulgrin watched as Seeks shot forwards like a ballista bolt. Two of the salamanders were cut clean in half, viscera spilling across the floor. Raising the weapon and recovering from such a powerful charge, Seeks sidestepped as a leaping amphibian tried for his flank.
Not one to let the powerful sailor fight alone, Ulgrin charged forwards. Raising his weapon he brought it down in a powerful overhead blow. Just barely missed as the creature backpedaled frantically.
Captain Seeks let out a deep roar and swept his axe in a wide circle. One of the salamanders lost its leg and started flailing around.
Suddenly, however, the boat shifted. Something big had just arrived and it had enough mass to cause the boat to list at an angle! Ulgrin barely kept his footing and turned, watching the ginormous salamander pull its rotund body onto the boat. Easily five times the size of the rest, it stared them down with malice and hunger filling its half-blind eyes.
“Clutch mother!” A crewman called, voice filled with panic. A wave of thrown javelins landed on the creature but they failed to penetrate its thick fat.
A piercing scream filled the air. Ulgrin groaned, clutching his ears. A sonic wave of sound washed over them all, and out of the corner of his eye he could see the lesser salamanders taking advantage of the others doing the same. Fear filled Ulgrin, but he somehow managed to hold onto his weapon. Thankfully the creature ran out of breath, taking in big deeping gasps.
Having somehow managed to cut the last of the remaining salamanders facing him and Ulgrin down, Seeks turned to face this new foe. “Support me,” Ulgrin read upon his lips. With that, the badger raised his weapon and charged.
One giant paw swept forwards and the big fellow parried the attack. A massive jaw shot forwards and the badger barely ducked out of the way.
Cursing, Ulgrin channeled magic. “Gather!” He waited, conjuring a large ball of flame. The right moment would be near.
As their Captain lashed outwards with deep blows, the giant salamander recoiled. His bardiche was capable of sundering its thick hide, but the opportunity to do more than glancing blows was difficult.
“Ancestors guide my shot.” Ulgrin waited until the creature opened its maw to let forth another scream. “Launch.” Flame short forwards and struck it directly in the throat. The creature’s cry instantly became a choke as the fires scarred its vulnerable insides. Gouts of fire were ejected as it vomited a wave of unpleasant looking slime to put out the flame.
Still, it gave Seeks enough time to leap onto the creature’s back and draw his bardiche back. Magic surged and his limbs bristled with power.
He pulled his axe back and then swung with all his might.
The spinal cord of the clutch mother was severed in an instant and it gasped one final croak before slumping forwards. Their boat rocked back and forth before settling into peace as the battle died down. The last of the salamanders had died and their cries no longer filled the air.
The only thing that remained were the cries of their crew. Ulgrin exhaled heavily and collapsed backwards.
He gave himself but a moment before struggling to his feat and sheathing his weapon. The injured would need tending to. Looking behind him, he saw that the cavern was slowly receding into the distance, its warm orange light fading into the darkness.
They had managed to pass the danger.
Captain Seeks began barking orders and the crew regained some semblance of much needed structure back. Noncombatants emerged onto the deck to start administering bandages and healing potions. Alchemical potions weren’t too expensive, but they were still in limited supply. Ulgrin quickly dug the stick wax out of his ears and bemoaned finding bits of the stuff in there weeks from now.
An older looking kobold approached Ulgrin and tugged his leg. “With me, boy.” The draconic fellow’s whiskery mustache had turned a stark white but he appeared still lively. “I am a healer. But I lack the ability to channel like a true spellcaster, yes? Give me mana.”
“Understood,” Ulgrin replied. Healing magic was notoriously difficult. It required as much discipline as normal spellcasting did and then even more. Most bypassed this by making pacts with Spirits and Gods, taking parts of them into themselves and using that to use magic. Ulgrin felt a great deal of respect for this old kobold, for he hadn’t cheated by making a powerful entity do it for them. The two darted from patient to patient, administering care and closing wounds.
Thankfully the casualties were few. Nobody had died, but there were a lot of injuries.
Aiding the healer, Ulgrin finally finished up and took a seat. Exhausted, but still standing and victorious in his first battle. Today was a good one.
Additionally, judging by the smells of cooking meat coming down from the lower decks… they would all be eating good tonight. Roasted salamander sounded delicious. Eat or be eaten was the rule down here, and to the victor go the spoils.
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The first battle ends in victory. I've always had difficulty coming up with compelling fight scenes, but hopefully I've done this one justice.
Lexicon of Words and Terms Used:
Sphalerite and Galena - Two types of metamorphic mineral deposits. Sphalerite contains primarily zinc but also a blend of other minor elements. Galena is a source of lead but also contains silver in large quantities.
Giant Shrieking Cave Salamanders - Shriekers for short, but they've been found so rarely that no popular nomenclature is used.
Healing Magic - A discipline that requires much more study than conjuration and evocation. Proper understanding of the body is necessary to avoid accidents.