Zalan breathed easier once he could see the top of the set of stairs, confirming that there were no more Melders in the large chamber. He waved his friends forward, encouraging them to come up as well, free from any imminent dangers. The next floor greeted them with a large wooden door, holding up much better than the entryway had at the opening of the castle. Zalan hesitated before stepping through the door. The hospital room’s door handle flashed in his mind. He didn’t want to go through that again. Fran silently took the lead, reaching out to open the door. She signaled for Yelsa to get her bow ready and for Zalan to take aim at anything on the other end of the door. As soon as they nodded, prepared, Fran cracked the door open slowly.
Looking past the open door revealed nothing concerning. It was another ransacked room with a few windows to let in light. The group traveled inside, watching the corners for any creatures that may be prowling, but they saw none. They continued moving together as one unit until a low rumbling caught their attention. They frantically got tense and spun around to assess the source for danger, only to all end up looking at Zalan. He half-smiled, embarrassed, and placed a hand lightly on his abdomen.
“I think that was my stomach,” he said.
Yelsa lowered the bow she had pointed at him in reflex and smiled.
“Then we are all going to be hungry, soon,” she sighed. “The Artifact was nice while it lasted.”
“We need to move quickly,” Gorb said. “Hunger will mean a lack of energy soon, as we lack anything but emergency rations. We will need to find where the Homeseeker is located before we end up becoming too hungry to progress further.”
They picked up their pace moving through the room, Fran making her way to the next wooden door. Both Zalan and Yelsa indicated that they were ready and she threw the door open.
Immediately, they were met with high-pitched squeals in protest and anger from creatures on the ceiling. Zalan threw his arms up in defense as the ceiling looked to be boiling in anger, constantly in motion.
“How many things live in this place?” Zalan asked, frustrated. He blasted lightning toward the ceiling, but couldn’t get the bolt high enough. One of the creatures swooped down and Zalan got a good look at it before diving out of the way.
It was like a giant human-sized bat with spindly arms below its wings. The arms, though small, were tipped with claws. The one that flew past Zalan looked more scared than aggressive as it flew past.
“Bats?” Zalan asked.
“Razortongues,” Rep corrected.
As if to prove Rep’s point, a Razortongue flew by with its mouth open, its tongue hanging out and bladed like a chainsaw at the edges. Zalan tried to fire some lightning at it, but missed again due to its speed.
“Do not try to fight them at a distance,” Gorb said loudly as the shrieks from above them began to crescendo.
“And let them swarm us?” Zalan asked.
“If they wanted to swarm us, they would have done that already. They are scared, flying haphazardly after being shocked awake. Keep your sword in hand in case any get close, but do not draw any more attention to us,” Gorb replied.
Zalan looked back up to the Razortongues and saw that most of them were flying into each other or screaming in random directions. Very few of them even looked in the travelers’ direction, and even fewer glanced at them for more than a moment before continuing to flail and screech. They attacked one another in their fight to make it to the open windows, but once they reached their destination, the sunlight was too bright and they would hiss and turn right back around inside.
Fran cut a Razortongue in half as it tried to bite her in its aimless flight, then signaled for the rest of her companions to follow along so they could slink across the room and continue their way forward. Zalan and Rep had a very hard time taking steps forward, each time they intended to move, it felt to them that a Razortooth was coming right at them and they braced themselves for what ended up being a false alarm. This went on for about a minute before Fran grew restless with their lack of progress. Razortongues were beginning to look in their general direction more often.
“I will try to create a bubble,” Gorb informed them. He moved his hands over them in a large arc several times until sounds began to grow distant. Zalan blinked in shock as Gorb’s power created enough air rushing over them that the cacophony of hundreds of Razortongue screeches sounded like they were coming from across a hall rather than right above them. Zalan finally made a few steps forward, Rep close behind, and the entire group began to make slow and steady progress.
When they were about halfway across the room, the Razortongues began to take much more notice of the intruders making their way through the room. A few flew in closer to check, but were blown aside by Gorb’s wind. The more curious they became, the more agitated the nest was growing. One darted into the air bubble at top speed from Zalan’s left. He didn’t have a good angle to swing his sword in that direction, so he threw a punch that way, trying to at least redirect the Razortongue before it had a chance to open its mouth.
Crack
Zalan winced as the Razortongue fell to one side, bashed in the face by his fist. Zalan looked down at his hand to see how badly he’d hurt himself only to blink in surprise when he saw was unharmed. He looked up at the Razortongue that was trying to get back on all fours, its jaw slack.
“Did I just break its jaw?” Zalan asked no one in particular.
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“Indeed,” Rep said, his voice tense as he kept an eye on the Razortongues above. “You have a higher Strength than before. With enough training, you may even be able to kill one if you hit it right.”
“With my bare hands?” Zalan asked, stunned.
“Indeed.”
“Then why are we being so careful?” Zalan asked the group.
“There are hundreds. Just like you could take on Sickly Gargoyles at an earlier Level, you could also take these creatures on. But this many will easily consume us all,” Fran replied, though she didn’t look nearly as concerned as the other travelers. She looked more fascinated, studying the Razortongues as they passed above the air bubble.
They had almost reached the end of the room now, and more Razortongues were swooping down to attempt to bite them. Yelsa was good at taking out the incoming enemies, even with the air bubble jittering her arrows on their way out. Any that could get through the arrows and the bubble were now easily dispatched by Fran.
“I might be able to gain a Level and kill them all if I get a few of them,” Zalan offered.
“Or you may lose your arm if you are so much as licked,” Rep replied. “I do not think this is worth the potential dangers.”
“I agree,” Fran said. “It was a mistake to put you up against Sickly Gargoyles when we did. This is not the time to test your mettle against a horde of Razortongues.”
Zalan nodded in disappointment, hoping to be the solution to getting out. When they finally reached to the other side of the room, it became clear that they could not simply walk out. There were Razortongues latched sideways on the door frame, hissing at the incoming travelers and sharing their teeth and tongues menacingly.
“Just blast the door down like you did the first one!” Yelsa told Gorb.
“No,” Gorb said, breathing heavily. The effort it took to keep up the pocket of air around them was taking its toll on him. “We need there to be a barrier between us and them. Otherwise they will simply follow us.”
“Then we need to kill them,” Fran began making her way to the door.
“No,” Gorb said once more. “We have been on the defensive this entire time. That is why they do not swarm us. They find us an interesting visitor, even if we are killing a handful of them. If we go on the offensive, I fear they will retaliate.”
“Then what do we do?” Yelsa asked, fearfully.
“I do not know,” Gorb admitted.
Zalan looked at the door and observed about seven Razortongues defending their exit. Then he looked back at the black cloud that was dozens of Razortongues flying past one another above them. He looked at his hands, then back to his friends.
“I have an idea,” Zalan said. “Rep takes on the Razortongues on the door and the rest of us keep the horde from attacking.”
“What?” Rep and Yelsa asked simultaneously.
“Think about it!” Zalan ducked as Fran swatted aside a Razortongue that came to attack them. “We don’t need to kill them, we just need to keep them away while Rep clears the way. Fran can create much bigger flames than Rep! Yelsa and I are good at firing at a distance. Gorb can redirect them. Rep can just focus on the ones at the door and let us know when it’s safe to go in!”
“I am not ready for that! Think of something else!” Rep pleaded.
“We do not have time,” Gorb said. “Be careful not to burn down the door.”
“Wait! I do not think this is a good idea! What if I make a mistake and we get hurt?” Rep asked.
“Then at least you will have tried,” Fran said to him encouragingly.
Rep bit down hard on the inside of his lip and huffed.
“Fine! Keep them off me!” Rep charged roaring at the door covered in Razortongues.
Gorb stopped supplying his pocket of air and began to redirect specific Razortongues. As soon as he dropped the bubble, the far away screeching overwhelmed them in its sheer volume. The Razortgonues were clearly angry, no longer confused. Fran took the lead, sending out flamethrower-like columns of flames at no creature in particular, scaring them with as much heat and light as she could output. Zalan joined in, zapping away bolts of lightning without considering his aim, hoping to be a beacon of fear for the Razortongues. Yelsa and Gorb took a much more measured approach, Yelsa firing at incoming enemies while Gorb would redirect them into the mass of flame to kill them immediately. The few that could get past the onslaught of arrows and power were quickly dealt a death blow by Gorb striking them in the head or chest.
The serious output of energies went on for about thirty seconds before Zalan screamed, straining himself to remain emitting his lightning. His limbs jerked involuntarily and his head felt like it would explode.
“Rep! How much longer?” Zalan called.
Rep didn’t reply from behind him, but Zalan could hear the cries and strikes of a battle ensuing to his rear. He threw him the fastest glance he could.
Rep was slashing one Razortongue’s wings off, while fending off another with a show of flame. He was sweating heavily and looked like he was struggling. Slow progress came in the form of a Razortongue having its head cut off, and Zalan returned his focus to the larger swarm.
A few more seconds ticked by agonizingly, Zalan’s forearms were burning like he was weightlifting a car. Gorb fell to one knee, heaving as he tried to blast another Razortongue into Fran’s considerably smaller column of flame.
“Rep?” Gorb coughed, nearing his breaking point.
“Now! Now! Come on!” Rep screamed.
The travelers didn’t hesitate, immediately turning around and racing past the open door, jumping over the dead Razortongues at their feet. Rep was waving with one arm, beckoning them as they ran over, then strained to slam the door behind them when the last of them fell through. Rep managed to close it just as a Razortongue flew through the opening, charging directly for Zalan. Zalan blasted it with lightning, but he was far too weak and only dazed it. He shielded himself with his arms over his face just as Yelsa was able to fire an arrow through its throat, putting an end to the attack.
The five travelers caught their breath, no one standing upright after barely having managed to rush through the door. As much as she tried not to, Fran was smiling to herself.
“What a fight,” she sighed to herself, looking at the dead Razortongue that decorated the floor. “Are we all okay?”
No one said a word, continuing to catch their breath. Fran breathed deeply and went down the line of them.
“Zalan, any injuries?” she asked.
“I’m good,” Zalan wheezed.
“Gorb? Yelsa?”
“I am unharmed, but exhausted,” Gorb admitted.
“I am mostly fine,” Yelsa said, though it was clear that her injured leg was causing her new pain after having strained herself.
“Rep?” Fran asked.
Everyone looked over to him when he didn’t promptly reply.
“I am fine,” Rep said halfheartedly, looking at the deep cut running across his arm, bleeding openly onto the floor.