Chapter 22

The instructions they were given from Yan the Court Mage were to hold down the cave until the company of adventurers arrived from the Outpost. The problem that started plaguing the men as soon as they set terms for watches that night was simply that those adventurers should by all accounts have beaten them there.

All their traveling up the mountain and across the steppe had taken more than the couple days Yan had estimated for the adventurers to arrive. That fact didn’t sit well with the men as they took their turns at watch.

In the hours of night just before dawn Roden watched the tree line. He felt his Divine Gambit pull his attention. In moments, he started to see movement among the vegetation. Little dark shapes darted about the trees like ants at a picnic.

There were only a couple at first, but that number quickly grew to over a dozen. By that point Roden roused Errrkkkk, who roused Riakon. The others gathered on the stairs while Roden kept eyes on their foes.

“How many?” Riakon asked in a hushed voice.

“I’ve counted fourteen, but there could be more.” Roden replied.

“What are they doing, cacaw?”

“Not much really. Just sort of scurrying about. If I had to guess, they are looking for this cave.”

“Do you think they know it’s supposed to be here, cacaw?”

Roden shifted uncomfortably over to a different peephole.

“With as many as I’m seeing I can’t imagine they are completely ignorant. No shagrem yet though.”

As if prophesied, a lanky gremlin strode out of the trees flanked by a gaggle of smaller gremlins. His staff was adorned with another of those black crystals. However, the most alarming thing to Roden was the second smaller black crystal in his hand that he moved around with careful deliberate gestures.

“Awe fuck.” Roden said under his breath, “I’m pretty sure this shagrem has a locator spell or something.”

Errrkkkk immediately started stretching, “sounds like it's only a matter of time then, cacaw.”

“What should we do?” Riakon said as he too loosened up his arms and shoulders.

While the men talked in hushed voices, Roden never turned away from the gremlins. He watched the shagrem survey the landscape and eventually point to their location.

“Welp we’re made guys. I expect magic is coming as soon as they realize they aren’t going to be able to pull down the branches.”

“I say we let them bang their heads against this wall then hit them once they’re tired.” Riakon said punctuating the statement with a fist to palm punch.

Roden and Errrkkkk both stared at him in surprise.

“What?” Riakon said, uneasy under their gaze.

“That’s actually a good idea, cacaw.”

“Man fuck you guys, I have good ideas.”

Errrkkkk tilted his head at Riakon’s comment.

“Sometimes…” Riakon added.

For the next couple hours, the men took turns watching the gremlins attempt to remove their hedge hideout from their path. At first, gremlins simply walked up to it and began pulling at the branches with nothing to show for it beyond frustration at their ineptitude.

Their next effort was to attempt to break the branches with rocks. They only succeeded in hurting their hands and making smaller rocks as their most basic tool broke after repeated use.

Dawn had broke by the time the shagrem got involved. The gremlin cleared the common gremlins out of the way before casting a spell that produced a dark blue flame. Roden was called up to watch as the gremlin cast the flame toward them. It crashed into other branches, but unlike the real thing, these branches wouldn’t burn.

It was that reason that Roden was concerned they might try fire. He figured as soon as they tried to set the bush on fire and it failed miserably they would know something wasn’t right. To his relief the shagrem must have thought too highly of himself as he appeared to be enraged by the bush that wouldn’t burn.

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A dozen more little blue fireballs later and the gremlins were cackling at their shagrem’s attempts to remove the offending shrubbery. Roden had surmised the spell must be a common or Trainee tier spell in order for his Apprentice tier Adventurer's Refuge to be taking such little damage.

It was the laughter of his subordinates that sent the shagrem over the edge. He drew a substantial amount of power from the two black crystals in his possession. The amount of arcane energy he was taking in from the rocks was much greater than anything he’d done before. It was that swirl of visible magic that gave Roden an idea.

“Guys get back a big spell is coming and I’m going to try and fuck it up. Watch my back!” He yelled the last as he hopped down the hatch into the front door room. He was already preparing the spell by then.

When he dropped the front door to the surprise of every gremlin within sight, he’d already had his arm raised and was shouting the incantation, “burst!”

The beam of lightning magic shot out from his palm straight to the shagrem who nearly fumbled his spell in shock. Roden’s spell crashed into the shagrem causing a plume of dust and debris to be thrown about as the shagrem had done something to save himself from the brunt of the magic.

When the dust began to clear, Roden had already raised the door back leaving no evidence of the opening having been there. Inside the small room Roden crackled as his Storm Strider ability snatched stray bits of lightning magic.

“What’s happening out there?” He yelled up the hatch, hoping someone had taken his look out position. He was relieved to hear Errrkkkk’s voice.

“They seem really confused. The shagrem is still trying to piece together what just happened, cacaw.”

Roden smiled, his plan had worked.

“I have another idea, but I’d really appreciate some back up if it goes to shit.”

“Fucking go for it, cacaw.”

“Tell me when they are distracted enough for a surprise attack.” Roden said while taking a runner's stance, assuming his armor and conjuring his Elvan blade.

“Now, cacaw!”

Roden dropped the door and blitzed forward. He saw the shagrem had moved back a ways and the common gremlins had moved in, but none were focused on him or even looking in his direction. He covered the distance in a flash and immediately slashed his way through the gremlins.

His main target was the shagrem, but he took the opportunity to injure any gremlins that got too close. He knew he couldn’t afford to stop or slow down. He was only a few strides away from his target when the majority of the gremlins took note of him and a shouting alarm went up.

‘I’m not going to make it.’ he thought as the gremlins closest to him turned on him and started a feeble, but obstructing attack.

‘Time for plan B.’

Just when it seemed he would be buried in gremlins, a mist spread out from Roden as he shouted, “on guard!”

His Storm Guard spell’s matrix collapsed and the spell activated releasing an arcing bolt of electricity throughout the mist surrounding him. He may still bemoan the loss of his Conflagration spell, but he got plenty of area of effect with his Storm Guard.

As the gremlins fell around him he felt like a human bug zapper. He looked up and saw a clear path to the shagrem, whose face held a combination of rage and disbelief.

“Yoou! Hugan! Yooooouuuu!” He shouted before resolving to fight.

That was a bad choice in Roden’s estimation. All he had to do was get the shagrem within the range of his Storm Guard and it was over for the gremlin. He felt pretty strongly about that opinion until he saw the gremlin was not casting his spell at him, but at the fallen gremlin all around him.

‘Oh shit.’

Before he could react, undead hands grabbed at his legs. Reanimated claws dug into his wooden armor. They were overwhelming his spell, which could only fire once every few seconds. He tried to use his Storm Strider to dash backward, but to his horror he felt himself falling, too many gremlins had gotten ahold of his legs and made running impossible.

Roden hit the ground with a thud. He felt no pain other than a wounded pride at letting himself get tripped while out on what should have been a solo strike and retreat. What was done was done. He knew Errrkkkk would be around any second.

Just as he thought it, so it was. Errrkkkk darted over him delivering vicious strikes to gremlin skulls. Not wanting to get in his way, Roden laid on the ground until he was sure Errrkkkk had moved past him. Roden sat up only for Riakon to appear at his side and hoist him to his feet.

“You good?” Riakon’s voice boomed over the din of Errrkkkk crushing gremlins.

“Oh for sure, I just fell.”

Riakon chuckled, “sure you did.” The Dragonkin gave him a wink before drawing out the whip Roden had given him and started in on the gremlins with the unfamiliar weapon. After watching him put the lash to a few gremlins he could tell Riakon was starting to enjoy the weapon even though he was having mixed results. Some strikes didn’t crack and instead ended up being more of a bludgeoning weapon in those instances.

Back on his feet Roden set to locating the shagrem. Which he found being battered by Errrkkkk, who had backed the rustic mage up against a tree. Errrkkkk had him trapped like a boxer trapping his opponent in their corner. He unleashed a savage combination of blows that seemed they were never going to end until Errrkkkk delivered a rising knee that snapped the shagrem’s head back so hard he crumpled into a pile at his feet.

With their shagrem defeated the few remaining living gremlins still around dashed off into the forest. Roden darted after them and managed to stop one with a well placed Luminary Lance and grab another with his vine and pull him from the tree he had tried to hide in.

When he made it back to Errrkkkk and Riakon they had finished off the reanimated gremlins and had secured the shagrem. He wouldn’t be much trouble with his crystals safely tucked away in their dimensional bag.

The thing that caught Roden’s attention was the look of concern on his friends’ faces.

“What’s going on guys?” Roden said, flipping up his helmet’s visor.

Riakon held up a beat up backpack, “I think we figured out where that group of adventurers ended up.”

The implication plain for Roden to see he frowned, “fuck that’s trash mate.”

“Yeah now what, cacaw?”

Roden wracked his brain for an idea and one dawned on him spawned from his Game Master days.

“I think I might have a solution, but it’ll have to wait until tomorrow when I can change my spells.”

“What’s your plan?” said Riakon

“Nothing special, I vaguely remember I might have access to a spell that would let me send a message to Yan, just like the stone we have for Bo.”

“Well look at that brother this guy has been holding out on us.” Riakon said jokingly.

“Yeah well let’s hope it’s that easy, cacaw.”

Roden looked at the shagrem Errrkkkk had incapacitated.

“You think this guy is going to wake up?”

“Nah I just thought it was funny to have Riakon tie him up while we waited for you, cacaw.” He said with a smug look.

Riakon gave him a flat stare before starting to undo the knots on his restraints.

“Dammit Errrkkkk now my rope has gremlin goo all over it.” Riakon complained.

They all chuckled at the phrase ‘gremlin goo’ like a couple of school kids at recess.

“Was it just me or was that really–” Riakon started to say, but was interrupted by Errrrkkkk putting a hand over his snout.

“Don’t do it. Don’t you dare say what you are about to say, cacaw.” Errrkkkk said without a hint of humor.

Riakon batted his hand away and furrowed his brow. “I was going to say it was really hard.” He said unconvincingly.

“Yeah that’s how you ended up with gremlin goo all over your rope.”

More laughter ensued.