by Jeff Sabean
Their caution turned out to be unnecessary, and in a short time they discovered the entrance to the caves. It was a smaller opening than would be expected: it appeared to be nothing more than a small cave rather than the entrance to an extensive underground network of larger caves and caverns. Scattered around the mouth of the cave were the bones of small animals and other such garbage, which Di’eslo quietly communicated was evidence of goblins in the area. The sun was still overhead, so there was no movement outside the cave, but the stench carried up to the group on the breeze was all the evidence needed to determine they were in the correct location.
Di’eslo lead the group toward the cave, taking advantage of as much cover as possible, but hoping the goblins would be less on their guard if they saw a shadow elf approaching, with Shenroc close behind him for the same reason. The rest stayed low, which was no small feat for Yutri, and followed as cautiously as possible. As they approached the last boulder before the open area in front of the cave, the group stopped.
“Shenroc and I will go first,” Di’eslo whispered to his companions. “Hopefully the sun behind us will distort their vision enough that they will not recognize his human blood. When we enter the cave, watch for either an all clear signal,” he waved his hand and gave a thumbs up signal, “or listen for the fight. Either way, make your way into the cave as quickly as possible: do not stand in the open for longer than you must, as there should be more lookout positions hidden in the rocks above.”
Interesting, a thumbs up is a universal “all clear” signal in more than just our world. I wonder if giving the bird means the same thing here...
“Heishi, are you listening to me?” Di’eslo was staring right at him.
“Roger, I got you covered,” Heishi responded quickly.
“Who is Roger?” inquired Di’eslo, scrunching up his face in confusion.
“He’s friends with some guy named Will that everyone wants to fire at,” replied Tiane with a grin.
“It is how Soldiers acknowledge messages are received and understood. I apologize, I will attempt to avoid such slang in the future,” Heishi answered, shooting Tiane a glare as he did.
Di’eslo nodded his understanding, then stood and walked boldly into the center of the clearing. He looked around with a haughty expression, then snapped his fingers as if beckoning a slave, and Shenroc obediently followed, head hung and giving the appearance of utter brokenness. Di’eslo waited for him to catch up, then slapped him across the face, adding in broken orcish, "If I must wait for you again, slave, I will feed you to the ekastatu.”
“Me sorry, great one. I no do again,” Shenroc replied, hoping his orcish was acceptable after so many years of avoiding the tongue of his paternal heritage.
Di’eslo sneered, slapped him again, then turned and strode boldly into the mouth of the cave, the shadows curling every direction from his skin as the sunlight shone on it. Inside the cave, he took a moment to shift his vision to see in the dark, and as it adjusted, he was taken slightly aback by four goblin forms standing in the darkness, pointing spears at him. Playing the part of the superior shadow elf, he swung his shield from his back as he jerked his flail from his side in one fluid motion, never taking his sight from the goblins.
“How dare you point those sticks at me, worthless slaves,” Di’eslo snarled at them, taking a few steps forward and swinging his flail a few times for good measure. Shenroc advanced behind him, easing his daggers from his hips, as the cave was too tight for a mighty claymore.
“We no slaves of you, we’s serve the mighty Sgel,” the goblins retorted, attempting to appear as if they were not frightened at the sudden appearance of a shadow elf noble and his orc slave.
Hoping to gain information about the orc leader, where to find him, and whether he held the orb they were sent to acquire, Di’eslo took one more step and stopped to stare at the goblins, just barely three steps away from him. Without warning, he swung his flail and smashed the speaker in the head, burying it in the skull of the pitiful thing.
“You will speak when spoken to, and only to answer questions, or I will kill all of you. Do you understand me, rodents?”
The other three dropped their spears immediately and prostrated themselves on the floor in front of the mighty shadow elf. Di’eslo nodded to Shenroc, who proceeded to give the “thumbs up” signal from the mouth of the cave, setting the rest of the group in motion. He then looked down on the groveling minions before him and began his interrogation.
“Who is this Sgel you serve?”
“He the master of all. Sgel the Nasty. He kill everyone and rule world,” the next goblin in line stuttered, face still in the dirt.
Di’eslo swung his flail and bashed that one in the head, the pool of black blood from the two dead goblins beginning to spread across the floor of the cave. "Wrong. This Sgel the Nasty will bow to me. Tell me the correct answer, slave, or you will be next. Where can I find this Sgel the Nasty?”
“He find you, you no find hi--” the third goblin began, before his head, too was caved in. The spikes of the flail Di’eslo swung expertly glowing brighter with each attack.
“Last chance to live, slave. Where is this Sgel the Nasty?” Di’eslo threatened the final goblin guard.
“He deep in mountain. Him throne in big cave. One way in, no way out,” the goblin risked a look up at the shadow elf as he spoke, and a yelp escaped his lips as he saw the Dwarf and Human enter the cave, smiling at the two in front of him. "What this? You no elf lord, you are traitor!” it screamed, reaching for the sharpened stick it used as a spear.
“Wrong answer,” Di’eslo stated, reverting to the common tongue as he swung his flail a last time. As the flail connected with the skull of the goblin, he released the building energy in the spikes, causing a small explosion that ripped the head clean off and sent it flying across the cave. Stunned silence followed the strike, with all eyes on Di’eslo and his flail. Turning to his companions with a grin, he simply stated, “Not all weapons are created equal. It is good to know the Art,” then turned and began moving silently toward the tunnel in the rear of the cave.
The tunnel was approximately five feet wide, with a ceiling that started just above Yutri’s head and sloped upward the further down they traveled until it was lost from view in the darkness. Heishi stayed in the middle of the group as the light faded, as he was the only member of the group unable to see in the darkness. Occasionally there were cracks in the stone where light shone through dimly, giving just enough light for him to not stumble on the rough floor, but for the most part he was blind.
“You ok, Top?” Tiane asked as the tunnel smoothed out a bit and the cracks in the rock became less common.
“Getting harder to see is all. If we ever get to a point where stealth is not the key, I’ll set fire to something. Too bad we weren’t headed out for a night mission, right?” Heishi smiled in the darkness, unsure of whether Tiane could see facial expressions with his new ability or not. “I keep trying what you did to feel the darkness and I get nothing. My senses are heightened here compared to home, but no matter what I try I am still running blind here.”
Hearing the conversation, Di’eslo whispered a word and the web on his shield brightened a bit, casting a purple glow around the group. “I am sorry, my friend, I sometimes forget not everyone can see in the darkness. This should help and will not give away our location.”
“You are full of surprises. Thank you, that does help,” Heishi replied.
The tunnel continued deeper into the mountain, and soon they were halted by Shenroc, who was now in the lead to keep the light of the shield in the rear. “Around this bend the tunnel opens into a cavern. I have not been able to see far into it yet, but I can see it widening inside. How should we proceed?”
Di’eslo doused the light from his shield as he replied, “I will go first and see what is there.” He slipped ahead of the group, calling upon the darkness to shroud his appearance. By his fourth step in front of the group, even Tiane c
ould not see his heat signature as he moved through the inky blackness of the cave. He returned after a short time, appearing suddenly from the darkness and making the group jump a bit in surprise.
“It is an empty cavern, although I admit I cannot see the ceiling. There are three tunnels that continue, two on the left side, and one in the back-right corner. From the air currents I could feel, the tunnel on the right leads deeper underground, the first on the left had no air flow which usually implies another cavern past it, and the far-left leads upward. The goblin said Sgel is deep under the mountain; I would recommend the path to the right.”
The group agreed, and Shenroc and Yutri lead the way into the cavern. Deciding to err on the side of caution, Di’eslo and Tiane stayed to the left and right of Heishi, walking him through the darkness rather than lighting the shield again. Halfway around the edge of the cave, a primal roar broke the silence followed by a screeching sound from above.
“Galad!” Di’eslo shouted, and his shield blazed with a purple light that immediately stole the darkness.
Swooping toward them from above, the companions saw three giant bats with orcs riding on their backs. The bats wore crude armor that covered their torso, and the orcs wielded spears and wore a mixture of chain and leather armor, with spikes protruding from the shoulders. They wore helmets with horns that protruded from both sides, and they screamed war cries as the bats descended on the intruders.
Di’eslo angled his shield toward the attackers, half-closed his eyes, and whispered, "Dain,” creating an area of silence around the beasts as they swooped in, the first orc jabbing at him and connecting solidly with his shield. The impact rocked the elf back on his heels, but the silence held, containing all sound. The bat beat its wings and moved out of range as Di’eslo swung his flail in response, just catching one of its legs and disrupting its balance. The beast hovered in mid-air above him for a moment as it angled for another attack, its orc rider clearly screaming but unable to produce any sound.
Heishi, excited to finally be able to see, smoothly pulled his katana from the saya, igniting the green electricity inherent to the blade as he brought it into a defensive position in front of him. Purple and green shadows bounced around the walls of the cavern as the second bat flew toward the new source of light. It proved to be a fatal mistake, as the crude armoring the bat wore could not protect it from his blade. As the bat closed, mouth open in a shriek of anger, Heishi dropped to his knees, slashing the bottom jaw from the beast and continuing the cut down its midsection, spraying intestines and blood across the floor as it crashed into the wall, quite dead.
The orc rider leaped clear of the wall before his mount crashed into it, putting himself into a clumsy but effective roll as he landed to absorb some of the impact. He swung around and hurled the spear at Heishi, who deftly picked it out of the air with the side of his blade, deflecting it harmlessly away from the group. The orc, as the spear flew towards his prey, pulled a club with spikes stuck through the head of it from next to his saddle on the bat, and charged Heishi, his face a mask of fury. He only made it a few steps before he stopped in mid-run, a thrown mithril war hammer smashing into his chest and crumpling him to the floor. Heishi looked toward Yutri, who rushed the orc, mouth open and clearly singing a battle song in the silence. He retrieved his hammer, turned to toss Heishi a wink, then spun and slammed it into the skull of the shattered orc.
The third bat rider, seeing Di’eslo squared off with the first, came around his back side, attempting to take out the dangerous elf. The bat was poised to swoop in for the kill, when a flash of light appeared from the right and it suddenly jerked to the left, falling twenty feet to the ground, quite dead. As the shocked orc crashed to the floor, it had only a moment to look around the cavern for the source of the attack. He made eye contact with Tiane just as he dropped his rifle, ignited the green flames of his kamas, and threw his right-hand weapon. Running toward the orc as the kama spun through the air, he closed the distance a moment after the blade struck the orc, digging into its shoulder and continuing to burn. The shocked orc yanked free the kama, which immediately doused the flame, and swung it at the puny human rushing toward him. Tiane slid under the swipe of his weapon, causing the blade to retract into the handle with a thought, and buried his second blade into the stomach of his opponent. A confused expression passed over the face of the doomed orc as it stared at the seemingly harmless wooden handle he now held. He turned it toward his face, and Tiane caused the blade to spring back from the handle, igniting the flame and watching it bury itself in the orc’s face. Grinning at the stupidity of the creature, he wrenched both blades free and turned back to the general melee around him.
The first bat rider, seeing his companions die swiftly and easily, attempted to break contact with Di’eslo and return to the safety of the darkness above. Not out of tricks yet, Di’eslo used his shield to launch a glowing purple web at the bat, which stuck the left wing to its body, causing it to fall to the floor, alive but stunned. The orc rider leapt from the back of the crumpled bat, retrieving a two-handed axe from the saddle of the bat.
Shenroc dashed in, his claymore flashing in the artificial lights produced by his companions. The larger orc blocked his first swing, redirecting the weight of the blow to its left as it stepped to the right. No novice to battle, Shenroc recovered from the wild swing and turned toward his opponent, stopping the swing of its axe with his own blade. As he held the axe in place, struggling against the superior strength of the full-blooded orc, he kicked out with his right leg, connecting solidly with his opponent’s kneecap and shattering it. The orc stumbled back, silently howling in pain, and dropped to its good knee. Expecting the trap, Shenroc came on in a fury anyway, an overhead swing of his claymore aimed directly for the orc skull. Before the orc could respond, he released the blade, allowing it to be batted harmlessly aside by the orc’s axe, pulling both daggers from his sides and burying them in either side of the orc’s neck. He stared his opponent in the eyes as the realization that a half-breed had just killed him, then ripped both blades free as he kicked the orc in the chest, the serrations tearing chunks from its flesh and the body dropping harmlessly to the floor. He returned his blades to their sheathes, retrieved his claymore, and turned back to the main group, prepared for more bloodshed.
As Shenroc battled the orc, Di’eslo smiled, slowly walking toward the bat. He spun the ball of his flail around as he walked, staring the beast in the eye as it attempted to break free of the web. As he came in range, the bat swiped at him with a free claw, which he batted to the side with his shield, then buried the flail in the skull of the bat. Sighing, he turned to see the fight was over, and removed his silence from the area.
“You are full of surprises, elf. Glad you are on our side,” Heishi exclaimed as he realized he could speak and be heard. “What was that?”
“A simple ability I learned to cover an area in complete silence. I typically use it to cover the cries of the wounded until I can assist them: it is discomforting to other wounded Soldiers to hear the screams of their companions. In this case, I assumed we still wanted stealth on our side. I can only hope I enacted the silence before others heard the cries of these two,” he finished, kicking the bat he had just dispatched. “I still am enchanted by these weapons you and your friend carry which kill from such distances. An arrow from a long bow would have had difficulty reaching that bat from where Tiane was kneeling and would not have killed it with a single shot.” He looked expectantly at Heishi, waiting for a response as Shenroc and Yutri crowded him, also wanting to learn the source of this power.
“They are called ‘guns,’ and are the weapon of choice in our world. We only train with martial weapons as a discipline, we happened to have them this time because of the nature of the mission we were carrying out.” He removed a magazine from its pouch on his belt and removed a bullet from the magazine. “This is a bullet. Inside the casing is a black powder that burns at a high temperature, and when compressed it will cause a
n explosion. The explosion from the powder propels the projectile from the front of the round, and if it is encased in a gun the barrel of the gun will direct the projectile. The problem we will have here is that when we run out of bullets, our guns will be useless, which is why I have only used my pistol once since I arrived here. Tiane is what we call a ‘sniper,’ and is a master at remaining hidden for days at a time to take a single shot to kill his intended target. As far as I am aware, he does not miss. Ever. His rifle carries more power than my pistol, and that is why he uses it from long distances to kill quickly and efficiently. You would be amazed how far that the kid can shoot.” As he finished explaining, the other three nodded in appreciation.
“Is there a way to make more of these bullets here in our world?” Shenroc inquired.
“If we can find the right components it would not be difficult. When we have some time, Tiane and I can search for the right components to make the black powder. If we can do that, we can reload the brass casings of the bullets. Creating the casings would be quite an intricate procedure, and I am not sure we would be able to do that here,” Heishi answered.
“Dwarves can build anything,” Yutri stated as he puffed up his chest with pride. He leaned over to Shenroc and whispered, “What is this ‘intricate’?” then blushed as he realized everyone heard his question.
“Intricate means too tiny for your hands, you oaf,” Shenroc stated as he attempted to keep a straight face.
“Dwarves can build anything, but that is pretty small. We may be able to hire a gnome to put it together if you can find the components required,” Di’eslo responded, smiling at the dwarf.