by Jez Cajiao
“Uh, yeah, sure; just let us loot him first,” I said, and gestured to Lydia, who snapped orders to her squad.
I looked around, making sure none of my team were injured, before turning back to Bane, who stood examining the Drow’s camp.
“What’s up?” I asked him, and he gestured to the bedrolls and gear.
“There’s little here; it looks like there was only four stationed in this cavern. I’m wondering why.”
“To watch the tunnel, I guess,” I said, shrugging.
“Yes, but if you believed the spiders would protect the tunnel, then why leave guards? And if you didn’t trust the spiders, why only leave four?”
He rifled through their bags, chucking some of it aside as rubbish, while useful things were placed in a small pile. I joined him, and we gathered the gear from the camp together, finding two bedrolls that were of ‘Uncommon’ quality, silk sheets, no less, and well-crafted eating utensils. I shrugged, figuring I’d been getting lots of good gear lately, and let the others divide them us how they would. I just wanted to get a move on.
I only took the contents of their money pouches: three sapphires, two rubies, twelve gold, fifteen silver, and three copper. I slipped them into my own money pouch, conscious that I was literally carrying a fortune in gemstones now, especially considering the pearls I’d been given by the Mer.
As soon as the others were ready, I set off again, Horkesh warning me that the scout drone hadn’t returned, and we went cautiously, traveling for nearly an hour. Most of the time, we were in pitch black for the members of my team who didn’t have vision augmenting abilities. We didn’t dare use the magelights now that we were so close to the Drow. We walked slowly, occasionally warning each other of stones or dips in the path, each person bracing a hand on the shoulder of the person ahead of them, with Barrett bringing up the rear, and Lydia holding onto me. Bane was scouting ahead as Miren began to sing softly.
I knew why she was doing it, her fear of the dark being clear, but as Lydia shushed her, I knew I couldn’t expect them to follow me somewhere like this again. I resolved to get a spell as soon as I could to help them, gritted my teeth, and moved on.
The hours dragged as we marched, Bane and the spiders occasionally reappearing to warn of groups ahead, or of the lack thereof.
We took out two more small groups, including one set of guards like the first, a trio seated around the fire drinking wine. Miren and Stephanos killed two outright before they knew we were there, and Arrin and Bane took the last one down. A Firebolt to the face ended the Drow’s interest in pretty much anything but stopping the pain, followed by a stab to the heart from one of Bane’s daggers.
The second group was harvesting mushrooms in a small grotto; well, their servants were. A dozen small, wizened kobolds labored, while the overseers stood laughing. Two of them restrained a struggling kobold, while the third tried to draw a picture on its back. Using a stiletto.
The two holding the kobold died fast, while Bane and Lydia made sure the one that had been cutting into the poor creature died much slower. I healed the tiny beast, and it ran back to its fellows, terrified.
I examined one out of curiosity.
Critical Success!
Your target has no defenses against your magic, and as such, more details are available:
Midnight’s Cave Kobold Minion
The Kobolds of the Midnight Cave were a proud mountain clan once, but as the centuries have passed in subjugation to the Drow, their history, knowledge, and secrets have been long lost.
Weaknesses: Physical damage is doubled, due to a lifetime of abuse. Magical damage is doubled, due to a lifetime of abuse.
Resistances: None
Level: 4
Hp: 11/11
Mana: 4/4
I could only shake my head as I looked the creature over, its pitiful condition clear, even as it reveled in its sudden good fortune. My healing had done more to redress the systematic abuse it had endured all its life than anything else it had ever encountered. The kobold now stood taller than its hunched companions, its long snout and tail making me wonder if they were truly descended from dragons, as the games I’d played back home had suggested. I couldn’t imagine any dragon pointing at this creature and claiming kinship, that was for sure. I pulled up a pair of notifications that had popped up while I looked the Kobold over.
Congratulations, you have raised your spell ‘Identify’ to level ten. You may now choose your first evolution of this spell.
Congratulations! You have raised your spell ‘Identify’ to its first evolution. You must now pick a path to follow. Will you augment your own abilities to EXAMINE, or will you pick the path of the INVESTIGATOR? Choose carefully, as this choice cannot be undone.
EXAMINATION:
As your spell had developed, and your understanding of the world with it, you have discovered startling similarities between the creatures of the realm. You suspect that powering the spell with more mana may give additional information. Gain further details on your target for each second you ‘Examine’ it; spell cost increases by ten mana per second while in use.
INVESTIGATOR:
The world around you fascinates you, but the creatures of the realms less so. Perhaps focusing your abilities on the artifacts, creations, and details around you would suit you better? Gain further details on all inanimate objects you examine, including a one-off boost of 5% to your crafting ability. You will suffer penalties to ‘Investigating’ living creatures.
I grinned as I read over the details, I was tempted for a few seconds to take the ‘Investigator’ path, mainly because I knew there had to be so much out there that I could find, treasures that dated back to the time of the Empire, but I knew what would actually be more useful.
I chose ‘Examination’, then dismissed it. I watched the kobolds as the bodies of their former masters were stripped of any valuables.
The one who’d been doing the carving had had a pair of black Spidersilk trousers that had looked beautiful, but considering the state in which it’d died, thanks to Lydia’s hatred of its actions, there was no way I was going to be putting those pants on.
Even I had standards, and I had spent a few days wearing greaves that an adventurer had died in, and then spent the next few years walking around and rotting through.
I checked out the quest I’d gotten for the Drow and nodded in satisfaction as I saw the progress.
You have received a Quest from your Goddess: ‘Keep your Word’
You have given your word to an ancient Cave Spider Queen, kill her enemies, grant her and her brood safety and food, and she will consider her Broken Oath to be renewed, binding her and all her brood to your orders and laws. You must kill thirty-five (35) Drow and their leader…
Drow Killed: 13/35
Locations Cleared: 0/3
Drow Leader Killed: 0/1
Reward: Oracle’s Freedom, Sworn Allegiance from One (1) Greater Cave Spider and her Brood, access to Cave Spider Silk, Cave Spider Nest Treasury and 50,000xp
We’d managed to take a third of them down so far, and once we’d checked the kobolds over, we set them free, giving them strict orders to go the other way down the tunnel, to find somewhere they could live comfortably and to enjoy their lives. They didn’t exactly object, glancing at each other, then vanished in a blur of dusty scales, skittering claws, and bad smells.
They’d been farting nervously the entire time we’d been there, and the subject of what they ate that could make such foul smells kept the group quietly entertained for the next half an hour.
The smells in the caves changed gradually as we moved along. At first, there’d been little besides a dusty, moldy smell, interspersed with the scent of copper heavy in the air in some of the sections with more water, now, though, the air changed noticeably.
The further we walked, the stronger the strange smell permeating the air became. it was heavy and sweet, cloyingly so. We slowed further and further, until we were creeping along, when Ba
ne returned from one of his forays ahead of us. He gestured and we all gathered round.
“It’s a garden,” he muttered, as quietly as he could. “A garden made up of some flowers I’ve never seen before, but they give off a strange shimmer to my Worldsense, so be very careful. There are six Drow in the gardens, two to the left as we walk in, crouching and working amongst the flowers. Three more are in the middle of the cavern, making potions, and they appear oblivious to anything else. Lastly, there’s a guard sitting at the far side of the cavern, close to the tunnel that leads out.”
“Well spread out,” I muttered pensively, and Bane nodded.
“They are; I could scout no further, so I don’t know how far away the main camp is. It could be in the next cave, or miles from here; either way, we have to keep the noise down and kill as many by stealth as we can.”
“It’s the guard that worries me,” said Lydia. “How far away is he?” she asked Bane, and he shook his head.
“Too far for a guaranteed kill from the bows; there are too many stalactites and stalagmites between there and here.”
“Shit.”
“Quite,” He quipped, a slight subsonic giving the impression of a chuckle.
“Okay, so the three in the middle of the room; could we sneak someone past them?”
“Unlikely. Perhaps if…”
“I can go,” came a small voice, and we all turned to look at Horkesh. We’d practically forgotten about her, as her only real use that we’d considered was to pass messages to the spider drones, but now…
“Could you kill him?” Bane asked, even as I spoke up as well.
“Are you sure? I thought you were supposed to just watch over us, then return to the queen, not help us?” I asked. I’d been deliberately not asking her about anything until now, knowing she was supposed to have guided us to the Drow and watched only.
“I will be queen one day; I have to learn about the world,” she said steadily, but the nervous clacking of her mandibles showed her real emotions.
“Okay, could you kill the guard?” I asked her, and she bobbed excitedly.
“My venom is like my mother’s!” she said, clacking her fangs together in enthusiasm. “I can change it or alter its strength. If I use my most potent, the guard will be dead within five steps, or paralyzed, if I use a weak form of it.”
Bane and I exchanged a long look and nodded at each other.
“Paralyze him,” We said in concert, and she bobbed excitedly again, turning, and darting away.
“Hsst!” I hissed at her, but Horkesh wasn’t listening, and her dozen spider drones went with her.
“Fuck!” I swore, turning quickly to the others, “Stephanos, Miren, Jian, Barrett, and Lydia, concentrate on the group of three with me. Bane, Arrin and Cam, get the two off to the left. We attack as soon as Horkesh does.”
We hurried along the tunnel, surprised at how quick the spiders were as they vanished around the corner, climbing onto the walls and ceiling.
When we reached the entrance to the cavern, we took turns moving close to the entrance and looking around, making sure we knew what was where, then falling back to discuss it. I asked the others, but none of them saw Horkesh or her spiders once they’d entered the room, so we relaxed slightly.
I’d had visions of them being spotted as soon as they entered the room, so every second we got to prepare was valuable.
Bane waited until the Drow were all out of sight before slipping into the cavern, vanishing amongst the vibrant blue and green flowers that filled it. I was watching the three in the middle as they moved around, clearly working on alchemy. I was curious both as to what they were making, and to the quality of their gear, when I heard Miren gag next to me.
I frowned, looking over at her, and caught her staring at the soil a dozen feet into the cavern, where a root was exposed in the dark earth.
I looked back at her and saw the anger on her face, so I crouched and looked more carefully, creeping forward with the others as we started to move into position.
There were dozens of patches of the flowers, each with thick black soil around the base, and here and there, the roots were exposed. I moved slowly closer to the nearest root, trying to decide why my instincts were screaming that there was something very wrong.
I reached out, moving on all fours, the flowers above me seeming to shift and turn with me, the closer I came, until a hand grabbed my wrist, pulling me to a halt.
I glanced over at Miren, who shook her head slowly, fear clear in her eyes as she inclined her head upwards. I glanced back and froze instantly.
The flowers were all facing us now, and they gave off an impression of intent, malevolent focus as they seemingly watched us.
I slowly backed up, and they gradually returned to slowly fluttering in a non-existent breeze. I glanced back at the roots and swallowed hard, as I finally realized what I’d been looking at. It was an ankle, the leg poking above the soil in places and the foot sinking back down…it was bone white and had clearly been drained of blood. The plants growing over the mounds that I now realized were piled corpses, covered in soil, were gently swaying, turning to follow the Drow as they moved around.
As soon as Miren knew I’d realized what the plants were, she released my arm, drawing back on her bow again.
I peered around the garden, taking the time to spot our people as they moved closer to their targets, I took a long breath in, releasing it slowly as I spotted a movement on the wall above the Drow guard.
It was Horkesh, and she was gone in a second, dipping back into the shadows cast by the flickering blue-green light given off by the plants. I kept staring at the same spot, and gradually made out movement as she slipped down the wall, moving closer and closer…
Until one of the two Drow off to the left spotted Cam and cried a warning, causing the guard to jump to his feet, drawing his bow and sending an arrow flashing across the cavern a heartbeat later, drawing a cry of pain.
“Fuck!” I grunted, driving myself up and forward, moving as fast as I could towards the three in the middle. I saw Lydia and Barrett running as well, but with my heavily boosted Agility, I passed them easily, pulling ahead as my naginata pulsed to life, my anger flowing into it.
I felt the air part around me as an arrow passed on either side of my head, a tiny thought in the back of my mind that I was glad I hadn’t stepped slightly to one side or the other, but I dismissed it as I let loose with a roar of anger, releasing the curb on my simmering fury.
These fuckers had taken Oracle; they’d kidnapped my friend. for all I knew, it was the ugly fucker in the middle that had done it, the one that dodged the arrow so fluidly, while his friend took the other in the eye. He spat something out at his companion and brought his hands up, a sickly green glow appearing as he began to channel magic.
I leaned into my manic sprint even harder, picking up more speed as I closed the gap between us. As I charged, I piled the Stunning Lightning Bolt spell into my left hand until I felt my hand vibrating with the repressed spell, then I powered even more into it. I leapt into the air, jumping over a small ridge and landed, skidding on loose scree and lashing out with my naginata at a flower head that swayed too close. As I skidded closer, I released the spell at the Drow in the middle.
It flashed across the intervening space, energy hissing and spitting loose from the bolt as it covered the distance…before being absorbed into a black shield that flashed to life before the mage.
The lightning simply crackled across the surface harmlessly before pouring into the ground and vanishing, gone. Over a third of my mana, I’d piled into that one spell, planning on cutting through him like a knife through butter, and…I was sent hurtling through the air, pain screaming through my nerves as he released his own spell, a spell that hit me unerringly and seemed to fry every neuron with an overload.
I hammered into the ground a dozen yards from where I’d been hit, rolling with the impact to come to a halt, smoke rising from my body as I twitched uncont
rollably.
Inside my body, I felt the changes his spell was trying to carry out. Cells died by the score, a rippling effect that was growing exponentially as I shook and trembled, the pain growing by the second.
I managed to trigger my healing ring once, then twice, barely enough to push back the wave of destruction, but it was enough to get control of my right hand.
I frantically began forcing my fingers through the forms needed for ‘Battlefield Triage’; it blossomed to life in seconds, but still, I barely managed to cast it before I would have lost control.
While I fought my battle frantically, laying in the warm, blood-soaked earth just out of reach of a flower that was trying desperately to reach me. My companions were battling for their lives as well. Miren and Stephanos were concentrating on the mage, hammering arrow after arrow at him, while Barrett smashed his greatsword in great overhead strikes into the shield the mage had created.
With each blow, the strain on the mage’s face grew, and the arrows got closer and closer before being deflected. Lydia and Jian were battling away with the other Drow; she had only a single dagger, her other hand holding a pair of pruning shears, but she moved like she had been born in the fight. The two of them could barely keep up, a pair of cuts on Jian’s chest showing how close he’d come to being disemboweled already. Lydia’s heavy armor was all that was keeping them going at the minute.
The other fight was going slightly better, mainly because Bane was a blur of frantic battling insanity, all four arms blurring as he slashed, stabbed, and cut, kicking and spinning as he moved in a cyclone of death. Cam had struggled back to his feet, the arrow sticking from his right shoulder meaning he was less useful, but his axe wasn’t exactly a precision weapon anyway, and each mighty swing forced the pair of Drow back from him, swearing.
Arrin waited until they were totally focused on Bane and Cam, then hit the faster of the two, a Drow armed with a pair of silver scythes, with three Magic Missiles in the back. They exploded on impact, sending the dark elf staggering forward as he cried out in pain and shock. Bane spun, his blades slicing across the Drow’s stomach, chest, throat, and face, ending him in a red mist of pain.