“Head into the mountains. Find the ruins of Grivok and don’t let anyone but me in.” Before leaving the city, Tailyn gave one final order to the remaining guards. The enormous defenders were clutching instinctively to their commander, not sure what was going on. Their city was under attack, only they weren’t being permitted to stuff themselves and carry out their main function. But unlike the animals, Tailyn knew the mages weren’t going to let the spheres get close. And he didn’t want to give the opposing army another six levels, so he had to make sure the guards survived.
The tentacles gently embraced Tailyn before letting him go as the animals said goodbye to their master. With no option but to obey, they rushed off toward the cliff and began their climb, though a happy shout went up from the direction of the walls when they cleared the fog. The enemy had spotted their target. Crossbow bolts whizzed by, only Tailyn didn’t see them. The waters of the Mean Truk lake had closed over his head. In front of him, a timer popped up, his level nineteen Vargot telling him it had enough oxygen for nineteen days under water. As soon as he got to the underground river, he felt the current Valia had warned the group about, only it could do nothing with him. Fang kept its owner right where he was. No matter how it enraged its environment, there was nothing that could be done against its real material.
Workshops destroyed.
Blacksmith destroyed.
Outer wall destroyed.
Mean Truk level reduced to 1.
Tailyn had only gotten a hundred meters out when the messages started pouring in. The city was in its final death throes, only the temple with One’s intelligence still firing back. And that was what was buying the runaways time. The enemy had decided they were all holed up in the central building. Soon, however, the unpleasant messages were replaced with a horrifying one:
22 people in your group died.
“What’s going on?!” several voices blared through the speakers all at once. It was everyone: Valia, Valanil, Forian, and even Valrus. Of the leadership group, only Tailyn was silent. The escape from the city had gone too smoothly, so he knew something was bound to happen. And it had.
“The current, sharp rocks, and human stupidity,” Sadil wheezed in reply. The old man was having a tough time fighting the water, though the same was true of everyone else. “But not stupidity on the part of the people who died—it was the ones who made that happen. Dean, talk some sense into your troops. I saw with my own two eyes how they barreled into some numericals and smashed them into the rocks. They have to be more careful. Hurrying isn’t going to help!”
“It isn’t my guys,” came the answer. “We took losses, too—ten people. Something pushed them.”
“The scanners are clear,” Sadil said, though he looked around just in case. “We’re alone.”
“Keep going! Dean, grab the bodies—we can’t leave them here. Valia, find an air pocket so we can regroup,” Tailyn said, his eyes fixed on Raptor. The group was spread out over three hundred meters, which meant he couldn’t see the front of the procession. On the other hand, he’d seen exactly how the people had died. A few dots had smacked into the wall, turning instantly from green to gray. Going through his logs, he had to admit he couldn’t find anything suspicious, at least, anything scanner at level twenty-three noticed.
Almost as if Tailyn didn’t have enough to worry about, One’s voice came through his voice chat:
“It looks like these are my last few seconds. They’re inside the temple. No energy, no cannon. Destroyers are everywhere looking for you. Tailyn, you made the right move sending the guards to Grivok—we can’t let anything into my parent’s city. It was a pleasure working with you, citizenry of Mean Truk. Good luck and—”
The voice fell silent, replaced by a message:
Temple destroyed.
Mean Truk destroyed.
You lost the title City Head.
The city’s financial obligations were transferred to Tailyn Vlashich.
But there was no time for Tailyn to mourn the loss as something big and hefty smacked into his chest just a moment after the city met its end. Still, even as the strange force pressed even harder, looking to smash the boy against the wall and its sharp outcroppings, Fang held him in place. The mages in front of him, however, grunted, and the water was tinged with red. The same force had hit the boy’s neighbors. As the bodies of the unfortunate victims pancaked, flattened by something incredibly powerful, Tailyn looked down and caught his breath. They weren’t up against something living. Instead, it was a simple trap the likes of which the boy had seen many times over in the ancient lab. On one side, a piston popped out to drive the target into the sharp stones waiting across from it. The simple trap was triggered by pressing on the stone. Tailyn had paid for his folly. Sure the ancients hadn’t known about the river, he’d made a mistake that had cost the lives of thirty people. Raptor reset to look for hidden niches, and Tailyn cursed. There were cavities every ten meters. While most of the traps had already been triggered, three or four of them up front still had the potential to kill. It was a miracle nobody had brushed up against them. And just the thought of how many lay ahead outside the boy’s scanning range...
“Valia, stop!” Tailyn yelled as he hurriedly described the situation. The girl at the front of the column froze, afraid to move a muscle. And while Forian suggested that Tailyn head up the group and place markers for everyone else, they had to forget about that idea. The city had fallen, and they were going to have pursuers hot on their trail soon enough. The emperors knew no portals had been used, which made it a matter of time until they guessed the secret of the lake. If a chase ensued, Tailyn was the only one capable of fighting back in that enclosed space. The next offer came from the dean, the veteran mage quickly putting two and two together. He started by clarifying Tailyn’s scanning range before putting his plan forward.
“We group together close enough that Tailyn can see the front of the line. That way, he’ll be able to control each step. If we come across an active trap, we disarm it and keep moving. There’s no other way.”
“We can’t disarm them,” Tailyn replied. “There will be people coming after us, and obstacles will slow them down.”
“That’s a risk, but you’re in charge,” the dean said to the boy’s embarrassment. Life hadn’t prepared him to have that role thrust upon him. Still, the group moved forward, albeit much slower. It took them half an hour to clump up, nearly an eternity considering the fact that they’d barely covered a kilometer. Tailyn constantly looked around, not trusting Raptor. With the destroyers right around the corner, it felt like, the plan was teetering on the edge of a knife. Fighting off one of the deadly machines in the narrow riverbed would have been almost impossible.
But everything turned out surprisingly well. Not only did the tail squeeze up against the head of the column, but there were no pursuers to speak of. Valia stepped forward under Tailyn’s guidance.
An hour went by. Then, another. And a third. There was nobody chasing them. Every hundred meters, they came across a pocket of stale but breathable air, letting them reset how long they could stay underwater. With that said, the underground river kept up its powerful current, forcing the group to work as hard as they could, and even the mages were beginning to wonder. And that was to say nothing of the numericals, unused to that kind of strain as they were. Two lost it and charged ahead, activating traps. What the enormous army outside hadn’t been able to do, simple water accomplished with ease—Tailyn’s retinue continued dropping in number. Although, were they really his retinue? They’d been reduced to simple people joined only by the single goal of escaping the killers hunting them down.
“There’s a cave up ahead! We can rest!”
Valia’s happy cry gifted everyone a new burst of energy. Pushing themselves to the max, they kept up the pace only to collapse onto the small sandy mound in the middle of the enormous lake. The river’s behavior was strange. Instead of filling the area, it went no higher than a certain point, and there wasn�
��t even a current next to the island. No matter where Tailyn looked, he couldn’t get to the bottom of the mystery—there were neither devices nor fields to be seen. To be fair, he didn’t put much effort into it, himself exhausted if more emotionally than physically. The elixirs and his regeneration kept his strength up, though the constant concentration and fear for Valia’s life were pressing down harder than the water ever could.
“An hour to rest, and then we’ll keep going,” Valanil said. The herbalist lay down on her back and stared up at the roof. Despite the fact that her scanner didn’t reach the stone, it was still visible, and there were a few rays of light peeking through.
“Is that a way out?” Forian asked as he dropped down next to his woman and found himself also staring up at the unusual picture. The previous five hours had been spent in complete darkness, the group relying solely on their scanners.
Tailyn was about to tell them that the roof was three meters thick, and that the light and air were coming through a few small crevices, when he was distracted by a sudden vibration coming from his intercom. Looking around to find Forian, Sadil, and even Valia, he could tell none of them was responsible.
“Someone’s calling me,” the boy said in a stunned voice. Even though he was in no hurry to press the Answer button, the device kept right on vibrating. Someone wanted to get in touch with him.
“Of course—our communications! Don’t even think about answering!” Sadil leaped to his feet and pulled his own communication devices out of his inventory. Without a second thought, he brought his fist crashing down on each of them in turn, reducing them to useless hunks of metal. “Anyone who has intercoms, get rid of them!”
Everyone caught the security chief’s nerves. Dull thuds rang out from all around as the group, weariness notwithstanding, jumped up and began looking around. It felt like there was an enemy hiding in every crevice ready to charge forward. Checking each device, Sadil made sure they were destroyed, though he didn’t stop there. It was like he could sense impending danger.
“Mages, get your shields out. Now! Valia, lead the first group. Hurry—we have about a minute before our guests arrive, and I don’t think the traps will be enough to stop them. Tailyn, your job is defense. Go!”
But he was too late. Only by a few minutes, but late, nonetheless. Valia was the first to notice the danger.
“Up there! Everyone get to the side!”
With a crunch, huge chunks of rock began raining down. The openings widened, and soon enough, five destroyers were in the cave. They attacked immediately—blue plasma charges came flying. Hurriedly, the mages pulled out their force fields, though they were far too late. The deadly energy hit the island and lit the entire cave up in a fiery vortex, vaporizing the water as it did.
Only it didn’t do a lick of damage do the group. A protective magic dome had spread over the island, and the mages stared at Tailyn, the boy’s hands held aloft, in stunned silence. Even with blood coming from his nose, he stood tall, taking on the full power of the attack. There was no thought given to what he was doing. He didn’t have time for that. All he’d been able to do was what seemed necessary in the moment, even though there hadn’t been a hint of his usual calm or detachment. His heart felt like it was about to leap out of his chest. But one thing he knew for sure: he had to protect his people. With that thought in mind, he’d spread the thick, protective field over the island, though the cost was tremendous. He was being drained.
Powerful Protective Dome. Cost: 27% of your mana. You’re spending 1% of your life force per second on maintenance. Ability recharge time: 60 minutes.
“Let’s go!” Valanil yelled. “Valia, move out! Tailyn, hang in there for thirty seconds and leave—don’t play the hero!”
“We’ll help.” A few mages appeared next to the boy to roll out their force fields after catching their breath. There was no rush or fear. After spending their lives preparing for that moment, it was time for them to prove their worth as the dean’s personal troops. Their cards were charged, they had plenty of mana and shield elixirs, and they were packed to the gills with all kinds of devices. Why not fight back against the undefeatable?
Tailyn wanted to turn down their help, though he bit his tongue. It had hit him—he couldn’t win the battle by himself. And the worst part was how fast his strength was abandoning him. With neither his regeneration nor elixirs doing anything to stem the tide, the blood dripping from his nose was joined by streams coming from his ears, and his hearing started to fade. Still, he heard the last cry of one the mages. Following Valanil’s orders had meant leaving the boy’s protective dome, and the destroyers instantly showed the power of their weaponry. One of them took just one shot to turn the new target into charred kindling.
“Pick Tailyn up, and let’s go! He’ll be our shield!” The dean was the first to get his head about him. Leading the charge, he jumped over to the boy and threw his arms around him. The only problem was that there was no moving the latter’s soft frame. Just as had been the case with the current, nothing in the game was strong enough to cope with Fang. More mages rushed over to help the dean, though even their combined strength wasn’t up to the task.
“I’ll be fine!” Tailyn wheezed as he took a step. But his legs buckled, and he fell to his knees, his concentration very nearly disappearing.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Valia asked as she shoved everyone else aside. “Here, lean on me.”
“It’s not going to work.” The boy was wobbly even on his knees. All he wanted to do was lie down and forget the whole nightmare.
“We’ll see about that,” the girl replied. “Don’t move!”
Grabbing him from behind, she grunted and lifted him off the ground.
“How?” Regardless of his plight, Tailyn was stunned. “I have Fang! Nobody can move it except for its owner.”
“Isn’t that your answer?” Valia said as she took a few steps and adjusted her grip on the boy. “Did you forget who we are? We’re the same. You’re me; I’m you. Literally. So, your Fang is my Fang. Okay, shut up—you’re distracting me. Just hang in there and try not to worry. I’m going to help, though I won’t be able to do much.”
“We can do it together,” Valanil said as she placed two glowing palms on Tailyn. Instantly, the pain left. The bleeding stopped. Tailyn had forgotten that Valia and her sister were top-notch healers, capable of giving others their life force.
“Can you keep an eye out for traps?” Forian asked as soon as Valia got to the bank. Most of the runaways were underwater waiting for their savior.
“I’ll do my best,” Tailyn replied. He was feeling much better after being healed, though the same couldn’t be said for Valanil. Telling her sister not to do any healing, she was bearing the full load, turning into a shadow of herself by the time thirty seconds had passed by. Dark circles formed under her eyes. Forian held her up, though he said nothing—he knew as well as anyone that the group would only last as long as she could hold out.
After fighting the good fight for another thirty seconds, Valanil collapsed into Forian’s arms. She was unconscious despite the regeneration potions she’d been throwing back one after another. Still, she’d pulled off the nearly impossible. Valia had almost gotten to the river leading deeper into the mountains, and most of the group was safe from stray shots inside the three-meter tunnel. Once, the destroyers tried to land and attack, only the mages quickly dissuaded them with concentrated fire that just about knocked one out. The dragon-like creature soared off toward the roof and stopped firing in an attempt to conserve energy. None of the rest took any more risks. Even though they were just machines, the destroyers were in no hurry to meet their end.
“I’m good from here,” Tailyn said as he turned off the powerful protection dome. It was overkill in the narrow tunnel. To keep everyone else as well as himself safe, all he needed was the force armor that he always had running, and the destroyers would have had to come through him one at a time, wings folded in the narrow confine
s, in order to reach everyone else. And there was no telling how they would have fared against the boy’s level nineteen Valkyrie.
The destroyers didn’t follow the group, though Tailyn had no doubt the entire army that had shown up outside Mean Truk was hunting them. Part was trailing through the mountains; another part was following the river. And the fact that they had finally figured out where the city defenders were meant they could move with more aggression and purpose.
But catching the runaways was impossible. The encounter with the destroyers gave them new legs, and nobody had so much as a thought about stopping and resting even as they made their way through three different caves with islands in the middle. As soon as their armor had refilled with oxygen, they headed back underwater. Nobody wanted to risk stopping.
It took two days to cover seventy kilometers. Tailyn churned out lesser regeneration potions, allowing them to forget sleep and their exhaustion. While everyone knew the bill would come due sooner or later, they also knew they had to live long enough to receive it. Happily, their pursuers were nowhere to be seen. Either they hadn’t been able to get past the traps, or something had slowed them down. Or they weren’t there—Tailyn wasn’t ruling that option out. The emperors could have predicted where the runaways would appear and sent their forces to that spot. Alternatively, they could have been waiting for the group to resurface before moving in for the kill. Nobody was going to be able to live in the river forever.
Tartila Mine (The Alchemist Book #5): LitRPG Series Page 27