Terran glanced at the other bedding along the far wall. "Some of the miners escaped here in the attacks. You sheltered them, but they're not here anymore."
"A small group left through the wurm tunnel, hoping to find a way around the Kappers, to make it back to the surface and warn the others, but I heard a wurm travel through the tunnel not long after. I fear they're dead. A few others tried to sneak back, but I know they didn't make it. The Kappers are too cunning," she said.
"That's why they let us in the mines, but they're not going to let us out," said Terran.
"We could fight them," said Flynn, with a maniacal glint.
"There are too many, even for the group of us," said Darkness Sighs.
The ground rumbled slightly, rattling the glassware on her alchemical table.
"What's that?" asked Terran.
"The great wurms," said Darkness Sighs. "They travel through the earth, some below us, occasionally through the tunnel outside the cave, but it's rare. You get used to it."
"How often do the wurms travel through here?" asked Terran.
"Infrequently, though they're attracted to noise, especially if makes vibrations in the stone." She squinted. "What will you do now?"
"We have to fight the Kappers to get back out," said Terran. "We can't stay trapped here. I need to get an emerald and return to the settlement."
Darkness Sighs made a face, so he gave her a quick rundown of the situation.
"I see your dilemma and I wish you well," she said. "But should you die, you'll return to your home intact, though without your prize, but if I die, it is the end."
"Even with your Offworlder blood?" asked Flynn, eyes rounded.
"Even so," she responded.
"What about the quest?" asked Flynn. "Not that I'm suggesting we complete it, but what will we do if we even get back to the Final Tomb?"
"I think knowing that it's the Kappers will be enough," said Terran. "Or I hope so. I assume that the council has enough firepower to take on the Kappers, knowing that they're behind the takeover of the mines."
Darkness Sighs nodded.
"Wait," said Flynn. "We're just going to march back up, fighting through the Kappers that we just ran away from?"
Terran eyed the barrels. "You've got that about right. But maybe with a few twists. Do you know of another way to get to the Kapper caverns?"
The bone-witch nodded. "There are other connections further down the tunnel. You'll see a reddish rock that marks the entrance, then follow it by the rightmost path. Be wary of guards, and traps." Her gaze fell upon the barrels with a smile. "You're welcome to them, if they serve to free you."
There were three barrels, but Terran only took two. They were small enough to carry. Darkness Sighs gave them instructions on how to produce the smoke cloud. Before they left, Flynn approached the bone-witch, taking Skully from his belt hook.
"I would like to give you this gift," he said, holding the skull in two hands like a precious child. "In thanks for your help, and in hopes that I might see you again."
The bone-witch peeled back her lips in a smile. The elaborate headdress, the ink marked skin, she almost looked as if she were recieving Flynn for a sacrifice.
She placed both hands on the skull, overlapping Flynn's. "Your gift is much appreciated, but I will decline. This is your boon. I think it best that it stays with you."
Wide-eyed, Flynn nodded. Darkness Sighs leaned forward and placed her lips against his cheek, lingering for a moment with her hand on his neck, before pulling away with a coy smile. Flynn looked like he was going to float to the ceiling as he walked away, still holding Skully reverently.
"You okay, buddy?" asked Terran as he collected a barrel and led his friends from the cave.
Without blinking Flynn said, "Uh huh."
As they stepped into the wurm tunnel, setting themselves in the direction of the Kapper caves, Flynn exclaimed with surprise, nearly dropping the barrel as he hopped into the air.
"Terran. Terran. Terran."
Terran furrowed his brow at his friend. "You sure you're okay?"
"I have a class!"
Chapter Sixteen
"What? That's amazing," said Terran.
You have completed a quest: Find Flynn a class
Reward: Boon of Misfortune.
Terran wanted to examine his new ability, but his friend was so excited that he kept his focus on him.
"You were right," said Flynn. "I'm a Jinx. Like capital J, Jinx."
"I don't understand, why did it show up then?" asked Terran.
Luna bumped his leg with her body as they walked down the tunnel. "Do I really have to explain this to you? He finally has something to be here for."
"Geez, Flynn, if I would have known that a kiss on the cheek would have earned you a class, I would have done it a long time ago. Maybe even a little tongue," said Terran, smirking. "What do you get?"
Flynn's eyes unfocused as he stared at screens that only he could see. "Something called a Chaos Ball. There's also the base Jinx ability, which turns events fortunate when I put myself in danger, but it warns me that it won't always work, so... ouch. There's also the Armor of Misfortune, which helps my enemies miss me, and sometimes turns their attacks against them." He rubbed his hands together. "Finally. Something I can sink my teeth into."
With that, Terran pulled up his character sheet to see about his boon.
Boon of Misfortune
Range - Must be in a party with Flynn
Lends a lesser Armor of Misfortune ability that will sometimes make enemies miss or worse
The daunting task ahead seemed less imposing with Flynn's new class. Before, his friend had trudged from task to task, but now he seemed giddy with the idea of taking the fight to the Kappers.
The reddish rock was easy to spot. Luna headed into the narrow passage to scout. She gave them the all clear, and they crept into the tunnel. They followed the same pattern, Luna on point, then move together.
On the fourth cycle, she returned with news of a Kapper guard post.
"Is this something that your new abilities might be able to help with?" asked Terran.
Flynn shifted his mouth to the side. "Yes, but I can't guarantee that it'll be silent."
"I'll do it," said Luna, wagging her eyebrows.
The passage led to a round room where three bored Kappers leaned against the walls, holding miniature spears. The fight would be trivial except for a bell hanging at the back of the room, which would summon their friends against them.
To Terran's surprise, Luna padded into the room as if it wasn't an enemy guard post. The three Kappers snapped to attention, two of them extending their spears at the lynx, while the third put his hand on the bell string.
"Good day, my fine little Kapper friends. I have been sent by the bone-witch as an offering of friendship. She charmed me so I'm not dangerous. You may cook and eat me as you see fit," said Luna.
The Kappers with spears licked their lips, while the one on the bell stayed still. His eyes widened the longer he looked at the lynx, until he grunted, motioning for the spear carriers to collect Luna.
"Get lynx. Good lynx. Make fine meal," said the one with his hand on the string.
The two spear carriers edged forward, one hand on their spear, one hand reaching out. Luna remained passive, even when the first put his small leathery hand on her neck, tugging on the fur to test her reaction. When the lynx didn't bite, he grabbed a handful of fur and yanked it out. She stared ahead as if nothing was wrong.
"She not lie! Witch make right. We eat lynx," said the Kapper as he led Luna towards the back of the room.
The Kapper at the back relaxed his arm, wiping the saliva from his leathery red lips, right as Luna lunged forward and ripped his throat out. Before the other two could reach the bell, Luna knocked them backwards with her head, right as Terran and Flynn stepped into the room, punching their daggers into the backs of the Kappers, killing them.
"Nice work, Luna," said Terran.
Flynn cut the bell down, carefully disassembling it so no one could use it. They crept through the tunnels behind the room. A chattering rose in volume, signaling their nearness to the Kapper caves.
The passage came out high in the cave, giving them a good look at the Kapper empire. The size of the space wasn't as big as the Final Tomb above, but it was much larger, and filled with far more Kappers than he thought they could realistically take on. Dozens of camping fires surrounded by rock and bone huts filled the cave. On the far side, scaffolding led into mining tunnels, which the little lizard humanoids exited with buckets of material.
"There have to be hundreds of Kappers," said Flynn as he peered over the edge. "We can't fight that many."
Terran rubbed his jaw. "I don't plan on fighting all of them. How do they organize themselves? Is there a king or queen that rules them?"
"No," said Luna, lying on her belly next to Terran. "They have no real leaders, only a rough hierarchy that shifts with need depending on who has the skills for the job."
"Hmmm... that makes this harder. I was hoping to make a distraction and take out a leader," said Terran. "Maybe we need to give them something bigger to fear. Luna, your deception gives me an idea. The great wurms are at the top of the food chain down here. What if they thought there was a great wurm in the cave?"
"How will you manage that?" asked Flynn.
Terran closed his eyes and sent his earthen sense out. The room was thick with deep stone.
"I think I can manage something," said Terran. "Let's loose the smoke barrels in the room and let chaos reign. If we create enough confusion we can do major damage."
The height of the tunnel gave them a good launching point for the first barrel. Terran and Flynn each grabbed one end, ran forward, and tossed the barrel as far as it would go. It soared over the camps, landing with a thump, sending out a plume of black smoke, which quickly spread out. The Kappers shrieked and started running around, grabbing weapons and trying to put out fires before the smoke consumed them.
Standing on a ramp that led to the floor, Terran turned to his friend. "Alright, let's unleash chaos."
Reaching out with his mind's eyes, Terran triggered patches of deep stone on the cave floor. The explosions ripped through packs of Kappers, shaking the cave and creating more confusion.
At his side, Flynn conjured swirling balls of light and darkness, a maniacal grin on his lips, and launched them into the smoky cloud, where the only sign of impact was tortured screams.
"Oh my, this is fun," said Flynn, launching the chaos balls with each hand.
On the far side of the cave, in the region not covered with inky black smoke, Kappers gestured towards them with spears, but they'd have to cross the chaos region to reach them. Some of the Kappers headed into the tunnels.
Luna growled. "I'll take care of any that try to flank us." She disappeared into the tunnels.
A group of Kappers gathered near the mining scaffolding. Terran searched for nearby deep stone but not only did that section have none, but it was out of range. When Flynn saw what he was looking for, he clucked his tongue.
"Watch this."
A chaos ball floated over the cave, soaring unerringly, to impact with the scaffolding. At first, nothing happened, but then a support at the base snapped, and the rest followed like dominos, one after another, until the whole side of the cave was collapsing on top of the massed Kappers.
They spent the next twenty seconds exploding stone, and creating death-making confusion. As the black cloud dissipated, Terran said, "Let's throw the second."
They rushed back to the barrel only to find a squad of Kappers waiting for them with spears. Before the first one could attack, Luna leapt into their midst, tearing off arms and clawing faces, turning the standoff into a bloodbath. When it was finished, she was covered in crimson splashes.
"I told you I'd take care of the flankers," she said.
They ran back with the barrel and launched it high overhead. It soared through the air, but on the cave floor a group of Kappers had a net, which they stretched beneath the falling barrel. They managed to catch the barrel, but the height ensured that it still smashed. It leaked out tendrils of smoke, but not the cloud he had hoped for. As the visibility disappeared, the Kappers pulled goggles over their eyes and disappeared into the cloud.
"That's not good," said Terran. "They must have a way to see through it."
As he lifted his crystalline staff, a wave of flaming rocks came flying out of the smoke. The rocks impacted around them, singeing his arm, catching the table in the small room on fire.
"They're mounting a counterattack, we should get out of here," said Flynn as he lobbed a swirling ball of chaos magic at a group of visible Kappers with slingshots. When it hit, the energy spun them around and a quarter of the shots hit their friends, while another quarter went wide.
"Not yet," said Terran. "We want them right on our heels."
"What? Are you crazy?"
Terran ignored his friend and closed his eyes, sensing the earth beneath him. As his abilities had improved, he could feel through the ground like sonar. A great rumbling was building far below.
When he opened his eyes, another volley of flaming projectiles was headed their way, so he blasted them out of the air using Sonic Disruption. He was readying another spell when Luna darted into the tunnel, wagging her tongue, blood splattered across her back.
"There's too many heading through the tunnels," she said.
"Time to go. Lead us back to the wurm tunnel," said Terran, hoping they could time it just right.
Lights flickered on the walls of the passage as they fled from the big cave. The sounds of angry Kappers echoed, driving them faster. A single Kapper stepped out from behind a wall, swinging an axe at Flynn's unprotected neck, but a second Kapper smashed into the first as he ran into the room, knocking him over. They leapt over the pair on their way down the tunnel.
"I could get used to luck like that," said Terran.
When they stumbled into the wurm tunnel, the floor vibrated beneath his feet, nearer than he would have liked.
"Gogogogo," said Terran. "And fast."
They headed past the bone-witch's cave and towards the passage that led back through the mines of the Shades, and what felt like every Kapper in the cave spilled into the tunnels behind them.
The ground rumbled, making each step treacherous, as if an earthquake had struck. Terran couldn't see too far ahead in the tunnel, as his Theris Stone didn't provide darkvision out beyond a certain distance, but the pressure in the space had increased, suggesting something large was headed their way.
"Faster, or we're not going to make it," yelled Terran. "There's a wurm headed our way."
Luna easily outpaced them, loping ahead until she disappeared into the passage. They were still a good distance away. The lynx stuck her head back into the tunnel.
"Hurry, you two. You're slower than Flynn is at picking up a girlfriend," she said.
"Hey!" said Flynn.
A glance backward showed that the Kappers had only just now realized what was about to happen. They halted their pursuit and began pushing the other way.
When the great wurm finally came into view, Terran stumbled, falling to his knees. As Flynn helped him up, he looked into the toothy maw of the beast, its round mouth irising in anticipation of the upcoming meal. Together they sprinted the remaining distance, slipping into the tunnel right before the great wurm rumbled past.
The enormous body flew past the opening, pulling air and dust with it that swirled around their faces. He had no way to tell when the wurm reached the mass of Kappers, but there was no way they could have escaped. When the tail of the great wurm wriggled past, Terran gestured towards the passage upward.
"Come on," said Terran. "They might move to cut us off."
The mad rush down the slope when they first escaped the Kappers was aided by gravi
ty. This time, laboring upward, his thighs burned and his forehead dripped with sweat. The leaf armor was breathable, but in the deep tunnels there was no breeze to wash the heat away from his body.
It seemed like they ran upward forever, until they stumbled into the multi-tunneled room at the back of the mine. Before he could push his quivering legs further, dozens upon dozens of Kappers streamed into the room, blocking the path back to the Final Tomb. Individually, they were no match for Terran and his companions, but en masse, and loaded with flaming projectiles, there was little they could do to stop them. The Kappers surrounded them, eyes gleaming with rage as they shook their tiny blades.
"I think this is the part where we die and take a short trip back to the Glen," said Flynn. "A shame too. We almost made it out."
Luna lowered her body to the ground and bared her teeth, ready to pounce. "I'll go out with their throats in my teeth."
Terran wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. He hefted his crystalline staff, regripping it, readying himself for a final battle, when he sensed a vibration in the stone. As the Kappers leaned forward, the hesitation before the attack, Terran corralled his friends to the side, right as the massive bone construct burst into the room. It leapt into the middle of the Kappers, splattering them with its fists and knocking them away with its tail.
As chaos descended, Terran sang through his staff, blasting the Kappers with sonic spells. The lower-level creatures succumbed to his point-blank magics.
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