Chapter 21
“Leo, what do we do?” Artus’ voice was a panicked growl.
“Can you swim?” I asked the three of them as the screams around us grew to a maddening intensity.
“Swim? Yes I supp--” Artus began
“Dwarves don’t swim. Unless it is a pool full of beer. That is acceptable.”
“Oh, I love getting wet!” Allurie clapped gleefully.
“Here goes nothing!” I grabbed Artus and Allurie in each hand and lifted them onto my shoulders as if they weighed nothing. Artus let out a scared yelp, but Allurie moaned. She opened her mouth, and I guessed that she was going to tell me that she liked me picking her up, but before the pretty elven girl could make her sexual remark, I’d thrown her off of the top of the stairs.
And into the river of water below.
I couldn’t tell if Allurie’s scream was one of pleasure or fright, but Artus’ followed the elf girl a few seconds after, and his scream was one of absolute terror.
I had to kind of chuck both of them more than drop them off the stairs, and I let out a very thankful exhale when I saw that their trajectory would place them into the middle of the rushing current. I had been more than a little worried that I couldn’t judge my strength correctly, and I would accidentally toss my friends anywhere but the flow of the water.
“Oh, by the Shadow. You are out of your damn mind if you think I’m going to let you--”
“Do you want to die? Want me to jump with you?” I asked the dwarf woman as she held the magic axe out to ward herself from my grasp.
“I’d rather fight a thousand of those furry beasts over jumping in that water with a--”
“Too bad,” I said as I stepped toward Gratia, smacked my left palm on the flat blade of her axe to knock it away, and wrapped my arms around her shoulders. She let out a scream of surprise, and then I hoisted her in the air before I dashed the last few steps toward the side of the stairs.
I leapt off of them a fraction of a second before the Cutno guards turned the corner and saw the endless horde of gnolbolds.
I fell, and fell, and kept falling for much longer than I had anticipated. I realized that I hadn’t heard Artus and Allurie scream once they landed in the water, and I wondered if I had just broken my friends by throwing them into the river. The drop had been really far, and they may have broken their legs, or even spines, as soon as they hit the water.
I might break my legs or spine when I hit the river.
Then I hit the water.
The air exploded out of my lungs, but it wasn’t really from the impact. The river was much colder than I had expected, and it felt like I had just jumped into a pool of ice water. The shock was unbelievable, and I felt my muscles tense up as if I’d just gotten punched in the stomach.
It was also pitch black in the river, and I almost thought I had accidently logged out and was swimming in the VRIU, but of course, the liquid in the VRIU was body temperature, and this was cold enough to freeze hell.
I felt Gratia’s leg kick my chest as she tried to swim, and I kicked with my own legs to bring us both to the surface. My unusual strength seemed to apply to swimming situations, and we almost popped completely out of the top of the river when I made my second stroke.
We both gasped for air, and I heard the big gnolbold bark angrily from the shore of the river when we emerged. I tried to turn around so that I could see where the boss monster was, but the current had grabbed onto me, and the dark waters yanked me under for another few seconds before it spit us back out above the surface again.
“Ahhhh!” I heard Artus screech, and I turned to try and find him. He was a good fifty yards ahead of us in the current, and he was trying to swim while he held onto his emberbrand.
“Hold on, Artus!” I was still carrying Gratia in my arms, but the short woman was too busy spitting out water to argue with me. I kicked hard with my feet, and then tried to swim after the fenia while I held the dwarf’s head above water.
“Baawwwwh!” Artus went under again, but I could see his emberbrand glow in the dark water, and I made a last kick to reach him.
“Deep breath, Gratia!” I shouted before I dove under the angry current of the river. My eyes found the emberbrand, so my hands found Artus’ arm. As soon as I grabbed onto him, I kicked again, and the three of us shot to the surface of the water.
“Leo! Catch!” I heard Allurie shout as soon as I surfaced again. I saw the elf woman standing on the shore of the river. She had somehow found a rope and tied the end to one of the emberbrands. She tossed the line out into the water, and I let go of Gratia for a split second so I could grab the magic torch attached to the rope.
“Leeeoohh!” Gratia screeched as soon as I let go, but as soon as I wrapped my hand around the rope I was able to catch onto the dwarf’s arm again, and the three of us pulled taut against the line.
“I’ll pull you in!” Allurie shouted happily from the shore.
“Be carefu--” The words got washed away when the flow of current pulled the three of us down into the dark, icy waters again. I felt the tension on the rope in my hand, so I kicked in that direction, and we surfaced a few feet from the lip of the river.
I didn’t know why Allurie was naked, but I was thankful when the elf girl pulled Gratia out of my arms and onto the rocky lip of the river. My hand that held the rope hooked around a rock protruding from the shore, and I pushed Artus out of the water with my other arm. The fenia gave a thankful gasp when he rolled onto the rocky shore, and then Allurie helped me climb out the rest of the way.
“By my great uncle’s beard. You are so stupid!” Gratia cursed me through chattering teeth.
“We are alive aren’t we?” I said as I hacked up a bunch of water. All of my friend’s life bars looked in great condition, so I didn’t think anyone was hurt. I did wonder if we would die from hypothermia, though.
“Aye. I suppose we are alive for now. Thanks to this elf.” The dwarf woman nodded at the naked girl.
“Yay! I thought this would be a great job for me,” Allurie said as she lifted the rope off of the rocky shore. Now that I wasn’t about to drown, I noticed that the rope was made of her clothes. Her socks, bra, panties, pants, and shirt were all tied together to form a surprisingly long rope. I had no idea how the elf woman had knotted the thing together so quickly, but I was glad that she had.
“You did well,” I said as I hacked the last bit of water out of my lungs.
“Did we lose the gnolbolds?” Artus asked as he rose to his feet. He shook his body like a cat would, and water droplets sprayed everywhere.
“I think so, but now we are lost.” I let out a deep breath and stood. The rocks here were smooth river type stones, and they didn’t dig as much into my bare feet as the gravel in the hallway at the top of the stairs had. I was also freezing, and I wondered if I just couldn’t feel anything with my feet. Could I die of hypothermia? I wouldn’t put it past Zarra to make that aspect ultra-real. We were all going to need to get warm soon.
And I really needed some damn clothes.
“I dropped that axe.” Gratia sighed. “But I’m a dwarf. I’m never lost in the Underdark. We’ll make it back to my stronghold in half a day. Then we’ll all warm ourselves by a nice fire, and I’ll drink enough beer to think that Leo is handsome.”
“Oh, he is handsome,” Allurie said as she unknotted her clothes.
“Maybe to you, elf. He needs a bit more of a belly and more facial hair. Also, look at his man parts. He’s too lar--”
“Okay, that’s fine. Let’s change the subject. Gratia, you said you know the way back to your home?” I asked.
“Leo, that is like asking if my grandpa can lift a thousand pounds while he drinks a keg of his favorite ale.” The woman shot me an exasperated look, and I turned to Artus, who just shrugged.
“It’s a dumb question. Every dwarf can lift a thousand pounds. Especially when drinking.”
“Oh, well, can you lead the way?” My naked body had started to drip dry, and I w
asn’t shivering nearly as much.
“Of course. That way.” She pointed to the cavern opposite the river. “I’ll lead. You three bring up the rear.
“Do you want a sword?” I asked as I fell into step behind her.
“By my grandfather’s beard. Why would I want a sword? I need a real weapon. Swords are for--”
“Light up ahead,” Artus warned.
“How far?” I asked as I peered into the darkness. Outside of the twenty-foot ring of emberbrand light, I couldn’t see anything.
“A few hundred yards. There are two tunnels. Light is coming from the right one.”
“We can’t go back. Unless you all want to jump in the river.”
“No!” Artus and Gratia both shouted.
“Awww I like getting we--”
“Shhh! We know, Allurie,” I cut the elf girl’s sentence off. “Do any of you hear anything?” We were still walking toward the distant tunnels, but I couldn’t really hear anything beyond our own footfalls on the river stone, and the water dripping off of us.
“Nope,” Gratia said.
“Nope,” Artus confirmed.
“Oh yes. It sounds like about twenty of those cute furry gnolbolds,” Allurie said.
I sighed and then looked back to where I heard the river running in the darkness. It was probably too risky to jump back into the water, but I didn’t like our odds against twenty of the small dog men monsters. Maybe we could hide somewhere down here, and they would forget about us?
“What about that left tunnel? You said there were two tunnels? Could we take the one of the left and lose the gnolbolds?” I asked the dwarf woman.
“I don’t think it will take us directly back to my stronghold, but that might work if you want to escape without fighting.” Gratia shrugged.
“Are there any other ways to reach the surface?” I asked.
“Plenty, but they will take you out into the foothills of the mountains. You three don’t look prepared to travel back to Cutno.” The dwarf looked at my naked body and snickered. “It is warmer down here. You’d be better off taking me back to my stronghold.”
“Leo, I agree. Going to Jerjay’s place was a good idea, but if Gratia’s clan will give us shelter for a few days, and maybe give us some traveling equipment, the journey to Arnicoal will be easier.”
“I’d have to talk to my grandfather about the travel equipment. He doesn’t really like fenias, but you all did save my life, so I at least owe you a meal, and a beer, and maybe we can ask our tailors to sew up some clothes so that Leo isn’t swinging his meat stick around at all the men in our stronghold.”
“Ugh. I’m not--” I stopped myself.
“Oh. I’m not judging human. If you want to be a homo, that is your business. I just worry about our men folk. You’ll have to promise not to force yourself on any of them. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“Fine,” I growled at her. “Let’s just worry about getting away from these gnolbolds before they find. Ahh shit,” I said as I heard the closer-than-I-would-have-thought yipping of the dog men.
“Let’s hurry,” Gratia said, and the four of us made a run for where I guessed the left tunnel was.
The howls of the gnolbolds grew louder, but then I saw the mouth of the tunnel open up to swallow the emberbrand light. I couldn’t run at my full speed because of my bare feet and lack of visibility beyond the light of our magic, but I could tell that Gratia and Artus were working hard, and I knew I’d leave them behind if I approached anything close to running speed.
“Is it coming from behind us now?” I asked after we had run through the new tunnel for five minutes.
“Yes! They are actually getting closer.” Allurie was smiling as she ran, and I guessed that the elf girl’s regimen of constant chores kept her in good shape.
“We need to run faster,” I told Artus and Gratia.
“I’m really tired, Leo. I’m trying,” the fenia said between gasps of air. His life bar was close to full above his head, but I didn’t know if the meter tracked cardiovascular shape.
“I’m going to need a beer soon. Getting thirsty,” the dwarf woman complained over the sound of our running steps.
“You probably drank five gallons of river water,” I said as I glanced over my shoulder. I could see the faint glow of the gnolbold’s torchlight.
“That is water. Doesn’t count. Just like swords don’t count as weapons. They are just play toys.”
“How long does this tunnel go on for?” I asked.
“How am I supposed to know?”
“You said you knew the way back to your stronghold.”
“Aye. And this isn’t the way there. I’ll be able to tell at the next chamber. This thing could possibly go on for another mile.”
“Another mile?” Artus and I said at the same time.
“Or two. Some of these tunnels are really long. You boys getting tired? Need us, women, to carry you?”
“I’ll carry Leo!” Allurie moved to wrap her arms around me, and I managed to swat her hands away.
“No. We need a plan. They are gaining on us. Either you all run faster, or we need to find a place to fight,” I said.
“Ahhh! There is a cavern up ahead. I can see it,” Gratia said around heavy breaths. The woman really seemed like she was having problems running at this speed.
We emerged from the tunnel and into another cavern. There were strange glowing clusters of mushrooms on the walls and ceilings, and then foot high columns of jagged stone rising from the floor like stacks of off-center coins. I wondered if we could hold off the gnolbolds here. The space was really open, and I didn’t think there would be any way to keep them from flanking our positioning.
There was one other tunnel leading out of the chamber, and we all made a dash for it without speaking.
Then I heard howls coming from that tunnel.
“Shit!” I cursed. Were these assholes herding us? The creatures seemed too stupid to be able to think of a plan like that, but the monsters were kind of like dogs, and I’d seen documentaries on wolves and coyotes. They would often engage in such group hunting activities.
How did you take out a pack of wolves or coyotes?
“Allurie, do you hear how many are ahead of us?” I asked.
“Maybe thirty. They are really--”
“How about their leader? Do you hear him?” I asked.
“He is behind us. I can hear him yelling at them. He’s kind of mean.”
“Stop. We are going to make our stand here.” I gestured to a group of stone stalactites that kind of formed a fence. “I want you all to get behind there and hide. I’m going to fight these assholes.”
“Leo, you can’t fight all of them,” Artus said.
“I can if I can get to their leader first. If I kill the alpha, the rest of the pack might run away.”
“Alpha? What is that?”
“Their leader. The big one. I’ll try to kill him first. Then see what happens.”
“This sounds like a dumb plan, but my plan is to drink beer for our last moments of life, and we don’t have any beer.” Gratia shrugged and then climbed through one of the breaks in the wall of rock.
“Leo, I know you love men, but I don’t care. I still love you and will always remember your kindness.” Allurie wrapped her arms around me and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek.
“I’m not going to die. Ugh. Artus, don’t say goodbye. I’ll be fine,” I stopped the cat man before he could say his farewell to me.
The man just nodded, sighed, and then crawled into the space behind the rocks.
“Please take a short sword at least,” I said as I handed one of my blades toward them.
“No. I’ll just bash their heads in with a rock when they try to get in here. It is the dwarven way.” Gratia cleared her throat and spat on the ground.
“I’ll take the damn weapon,” Artus said as he reached for it.
“Allurie, take this dagger. Your job is to defend your friends. Okay?”
“Ohhh,” the elf girl said with wide turquoise eyes as she took the small weapon from my hand. “I’ve never had a job like this before.”
The barking behind us had grown louder, and I gave my friends a last nod before I ran back to the center of the cavern. The mushrooms were actually casting enough light for me to see, but I figured I could make my weapons glow during the combat as some sort of diversionary tactic. My plan was simple, and probably really stupid: I would just charge into the group of gnolbolds and try to kill their leader as soon as possible. These creatures had been pretty easy to defeat so far, but I figured that I would probably take a few hits as I tried to bulldoze through them. I didn’t know exactly what my hit points were, but my Brawn rating was in green, so I had to be well above average.
“This is going to work,” I whispered to myself as I drew my broadsword and my short sword.
Then the horde of gnolbolds poured into the cavern.
There were way more than Allurie had guessed. I counted forty of the small furry armored monsters. They seemed slightly surprised that I was waiting for them, and they hesitantly formed a semicircle around me. A few had short swords that looked to be in good repair, but most carried rusty blades or clubs that looked to be made of either bone or wood.
I still didn’t see their leader, and I wondered if the tall monster was standing at the back of the group. They hadn’t attacked me yet, but I didn’t want to charge into their midst until I figured out the direction I needed to hack toward.
Then the tall dogman stepped into the light of the cavern. He had his arms crossed over his muscular armored chest, and he barked an order to his minions. A few of the gnolbolds glanced at him with a dog like fear, but then he barked again, and they started to close the semi-circle around me.
I rushed the boss.
The horde seemed surprised by my bravery, and they didn’t really respond until I’d sprinted six steps toward the big bastard. The leader was the first to realize what my plan was, and he yipped out a surprised warning as he reached for his long blade at his hip. I triggered Ember when they all started to screech, and I tried to think about making the light appear on my weapons as bright as possible. I didn’t really know what I was doing, but I kind of wanted a flare type effect that could blind them. I didn’t even know if the ability would do that, since it seemed like more of an offensive type of spell, and Ember was definitely in the “support” class of abilities, but I figured I would give it a try anyways.
Lion's Quest: Undefeated: A LitRPG Saga Page 31