Mist wardens, p.59
Mist Wardens, page 59
part #3 of Beastborne Series
The dwarf waited patiently, rolling the information over in his mind as Angram explained the look of the place and how to get to it. If there was something a dwarf understood, it was that the surface of Aldim was only the barest fraction of the habitable spaces.
More creatures than any surface race would feel comfortable with knowing lived in the Deep, the lightless caverns well below the surface and far enough away to feel like another world entirely.
Bardan was fairly sure it was a different world.
It was a place a person had to see to believe. Even without going so deep below the earth and stone, there existed more passages than could be counted. Even some of the most defensible fortresses sat atop a massive chamber far below the dirt.
Any person or creature with enough time and energy on their hands could burrow up into any such pinnacle of defense. It was general knowledge among the dwarfs. Clearly, considering Angram’s alarm, the elf was at least dimly aware of the threat.
Bardan had taken a few [Deep Hammers] to the stone around the Settlement before the Battle of Brightsong and found a massive network of tunnels and caverns below them.
It wasn’t so unlikely on its own but it smacked of something familiar. As if the tunnels were within a massive mountain rather than deep under the earth. Ever since he’d come to the Shiverglades something about the place really fluffed his beard.
The place was so durned incongruous. He was, first and foremost, a Delver. Like his father before him, and his father’s father. Bardan could read the stones.
And the stones told him they were mountains even older than the Anvil, but his eyes said that was impossible.
“Aye, I think we should talk to ‘em,” he finally said. Something was amiss, and he meant to get to the bottom of it.
111
Meanwhile, beneath Murkmire…
Altres placed a bloodied hand against the cold stone wall to steady himself. He gulped down the stale air in the tunnels beneath Murkmire. Beside him, Leis and Jaigo were also winded.
The tiefling stood and began to straighten his opulent clothing, only noticing the blood on his hand a moment before soiling his clothes. He turned with a bright shining grin and patted Jaigo on the back, surreptitiously wiping the blood on the new recruit’s cloak.
Your Sleight of Hand has risen to Level 37.
+0.75% Steal success (+27.75%).
+0.5% Hidden movement success (+18.5%).
+0.25% Item Quality (+9.25%).
+0.25% Sparks stolen (+9.25%).
“Good job back there with that maneuver,” Altres said, making sure to get the rest of the blood on the man’s dark cloak. It was only fair, he had bought it for him after all. “But perhaps next time, you’ll let me get some distance away before you sever the arm that I’m holding?”
The boy turned to look at Altres quizzically as if he was having trouble parsing his words.
Altres tried changing tack. “I do not like to get bloody.”
This did not have the intended effect.
If anything, Jaigo looked even more confused as if he could not fathom why that would be. Considering the difficulty that Altres had in finding a clean spot on the boy’s cloak, perhaps a few lessons in combat hygiene were in order.
Leis looked over and shrugged.
“I will… try,” Jaigo said, his voice hoarse from disuse.
“Splendid!” Altres said brightly. “That’s all that I ask.” One more pat on the man’s shoulder rid him of the last of the blood. “Leis, if you would be so kind.”
At the tiefling’s gesture, Leis stepped up to the edge of the crossroads ahead. The tunnels running beneath Murkmire had been carved out over the course of decades. At first, they were clearly made and marked with the intent of the original builders - whoever or whatever they were - but over time they had been expanded over and over again by too many people.
Smugglers, criminals, the Founder, the Council of Murkmire, and everything in between had made one tunnel or another, often without care for the overall structural integrity of the place.
What resulted was a crisscrossing mess of half-collapsed tunnels that tangled with a dozen other tunnels from different eras. Thankfully, the Manatree prevented the worst of monsters from venturing into the majority of the tunnels.
But Tunnel S-437 was different.
As they had found out after the first few hours, the tunnel was littered with strange crystalline growths that disrupted the Manatree’s barrier in strange ways.
Altres had never been one for magical study, so he couldn’t make heads nor tails of the why. But that hardly mattered when there were a host of bloodthirsty monsters less than 100 feet below the Koblin District.
And that, Altres would not abide.
It was all hands on deck. They were spread thin working to clear the tunnel as fast as possible. No wonder they had rumors of that strange monstrosity lurking around.
A quarter of the smugglers in Murkmire were working for Altres, and that lot tended to exaggerate. He was fairly confident that the monster that had been spotted off and on was just one of many. In the natural state of affairs, it was overblown so the smugglers could up their prices.
Altres had to admit, the tactic was sound. It had, however, backfired on the smugglers. Now they had to put up with Guilo, a massive specimen of an orc that could strike terror in a stone.
Now he was wondering if perhaps Guilo wasn’t enough protection.
“Altres?” Leis said. By the tone of her voice, Altres knew it hadn’t been the first time she addressed him.
“Hm? Yes, sorry. Which way?”
“Left,” she said dutifully.
“Excellent!” Altres sauntered out into the opening within the tunnel ahead with the others following. Leis lifted her torch higher to illuminate the inky gloom. Thanks to his hereditary abilities, the darkness hardly bothered Altres. Nor did it seem to bother Jaigo.
There were countless uses he could think up for somebody who could see in the dark. Provided that the boy could be trusted.
That was always the crux of it.
Altres fingered the smooth hilt of [Quiet], ready to throw the magically imbued dagger at the nearest threat. Naturally, there were many ahead.
The tunnel twisted and curved in on itself as if the original creators had gotten confused and decided to just dig at random until they found their destination.
Four hulking creatures with strange bug-like eyes and pincers sharp enough to cut any one of them in half suddenly sprang up out of the blind corner. Altres’s hand twitched and [Quiet] tumbled end-over-end without a whisper of sound.
The tiefling’s smirk vanished as the dagger hit the hardened carapace on the creature’s chest as it rose to its full height of 7 feet. [Quiet], true to its name, didn’t even make a tink sound as it pinged off the organic armor.
He couldn’t quite believe his eyes. The armor of a Retoika was world-renowned. Harder than metal, lighter than a feather, more than one troupe of adventurers met their end trying to make a fortune from felling a single Retoika.
And now there were 3 in front of them.
Well then, Altres thought, this’ll be interesting.
He was already pulling out his lute strapped to his back as a blur of dark, blood-stained clothing streaked past.
Jaigo lunged ahead with amazing speed, he practically blinked across the distance, his sharp glaive leading the way.
A horrible screech filled the cramped tunnel as Jaigo’s glaive scraped against the armor, unable to find purchase.
Having witnessed both attacks, Altres’s protégé had better odds. With strength that belied her lean frame, Leis jabbed the sharp end of the torch into the crumbling wall and grabbed her knives. She whipped out two throwing daggers that whistled through the air and struck deep into a pair of insectile eyes.
The Retoika leaned back, swiping too high and narrowly missing its counterstroke against the boy. Jaigo recovered beautifully, moving past the blinded creature to its friend on the left.
Altres could hardly believe how fast the kid moved, even the Retoika seemed surprised by the sudden shift in direction. Choking up on the pole of the glaive, Jaigo jabbed hard into the middle of the leftmost Retoika as it tried to swipe at him with its claws.
For a moment, Altres was sure he saw that the beast landed its blow. Something dark and jagged like black ice lashed out from Jaigo’s cloak and hit the Retoika’s claw. It was over in the blink of an eye and Jaigo never stopped moving, he didn’t even seem to be aware of the action.
Slight as it was, the Retoika’s aim was altered ever so slightly. And that, paired with the kid’s surprising speed, had the resulting blow missing by a hair’s breadth.
Altres strummed a discordant tune on his lute, [Key]. Imbuing the notes with magic, Altres rolled out a sorcerous debuffing wave of energy that washed over the Retoika’s in a shimmer of champagne air.
Altres casts Lethargic Elegy II.
The [Retoika] is afflicted with Slow.
The [Retoika] is afflicted with Slow.
The [Retoika] is afflicted with Slow.
As the magic took hold, the Retoikas seemed to move as if they were encased in sludge. They hardly could hit Jaigo before the song hit them, but with Altres’s Lethargic Elegy, they had no hope of ever landing a blow on the kid.
“Look for the seams in the armor!” Altres called out, already starting up another song. “Don’t you dare damage that carapace!”
Jaigo didn’t even look back as Altres played his next piece.
This time a rippling wave of music rolled out and touched the three allies. The notes hung in the air as Altres somehow managed to play another part of the piece, on and on it went until it sounded as if multiple Bards were playing in concert.
Altres casts Assassin’s Madrigal.
Altres gains the effect of Accuracy Up.
Jaigo gains the effect of Accuracy Up.
Leis gains the effect of Accuracy Up.
Just like that, Jaigo’s strikes were finding the seams between the Retoika’s armor. Purple scalding blood erupted out as if the boy just ruptured one of Sparkspox’s new steam tubes.
Altres swung [Key] around onto his back and pulled out his rapier, [Peace]. Extending a hand toward the Retoikas, he recalled [Quiet] to his waiting palm. Leis stalked beside him, tossing the numerous daggers hidden all over her person (even Altres was impressed at the number) in a constant blur.
The Retoikas, feeling the onslaught of Altres’s signature blend of music that weakened his enemies while strengthening his allies to widen the gulf, began to turn and run.
Altres was about to sheathe his weapons to play a song of binding but Jaigo beat him to it.
Reaching out his free hand, the flickering shadows of the tunnel began to take on a fuzzy, physical aspect around the feet of the Retoikas, rooting them to the spot.
Running alongside Leis, Altres flashed her a pearly smile. “I like this kid.”
112
The shadows that connected Jaigo to the 3 Retoikas had a bizarre, almost furry quality that set Altres’s teeth on edge.
Looking more like he was fighting to keep hold of a suddenly sentient glaive, Jaigo zipped forward into the seam between one of the Retoika’s carapace plates right where… well, wherever an armpit was on most civilized creatures.
There was another spray of pressurized gore and the Retoika’s arm would have drooped like an overcooked noodle if Altres’s Lethargic Elegy wasn’t afflicting it.
Jaigo was already lining up his next strike.
Altres and Leis picked their own targets. With Assassin’s Madrigal, the infinitesimal gaps between the Retoika’s armor appeared as wide-open gaps between fence posts to Altres.
Leading with dagger and rapier, Altres glided into the fray like a dancer. He twisted around a descending arm, its glittering claws catching nothing but air.
Up went Altres’s rapier as he reversed his grip on the weapon, a necessary evil if he wanted to perform Faint of Heart.
Down thrust [Peace], followed quickly by [Quiet’s] silent answering strike from below. Altres’s shoulder cape fluttered on its own accord as he completed the dual strike.
Altres shut his glowing lilac eyes and concentrated on the Maneuver. A violent surge of mana passed from the tip of [Peace], arced through the soft internals of the Retoika, and grounded itself through the tip of [Quiet] lodged into the thing’s gut.
The familiar surge of gaining a Flourish Point filled the tiefling with malicious delight.
You use Faint of Heart.
The [Retoika] takes 421 points of damage.
You gain 1 Flourish Point.
Extracting [Quiet] was a simple affair, but [Peace] never came easily. There’s a metaphor somewhere in there, Altres thought as he planted a boot onto the thick carapace and wrenched his rapier free with a backflip. Narrowly avoiding the countering swipe, Altres landed on his feet, arms spread wide in a showman’s pose.
He couldn’t help it. It was all part of being a Bard.
Predictably, the Retoika charged him with its outstretched arms leading. Altres had enough time to roll his eyes and sidestep the brute, but he knew better than to kick it. He would be the one that moved, not the creature.
Instead, he slipped a parting kiss onto the Retoika’s side with [Quiet] extracting his first spray of pressurized blood.
As the lumbering brute turned about, Altres ducked the follow-up attack and coiled his legs beneath him. He sprang forward, tucking himself into a somersault up and over the 7 foot-tall monstrosity. [Quiet] lashed out, driving and twisting into the Retoika’s disturbingly large insectile eye.
You use Crow’s Hunger.
The [Retoika] takes 318 points of damage.
The [Retoika] is afflicted with Blindness.
You gain 1 Flourish Point.
Landing on the other side of the creature, Altres twisted on the balls of his feet and held his weapons at the ready. Neverender wouldn’t work here, he mused, too armored. Besides, it’s sloppy and messy. We don’t want to mar that beautiful armor of yours do we?
It would have to be Heartshot.
Sheathing [Peace], Altres tossed [Quiet] in his hand with its ivory handle glinting in the flickering torchlight. The Retoika turned, clacking its large pincers in rage. Before it took another step the dagger was airborne.
Heartshot’s name was, to a degree, a bit of a misnomer.
Another [Quiet] suddenly sprang into being mid-air behind the first… then another… and then two more, then four. The daggers kept doubling in a straight line aimed at the chink in the Retoika’s armor below its neck.
Normally, Altres would have aimed for the heart as befitting the name. But really, Heartshot could be named Eyeshot or Bumshot even for all he cared. That last one he had actually used once.
Twelve daggers had embedded in some unlucky thief’s buttocks - an even split on each cheek for the sake of equality - when Altres first arrived in Murkmire and wanted to make a (non-lethal) point, pun intended.
The daggers doubled of their own volition again and again.
Altres watched as 16 daggers flew through the air in a straight line directly aimed at the small gap in the monster’s armor. The first knife sunk to the narrow hilt.
A fraction of a second later, the next dagger jammed into the hilt of the first and drove it deeper. A rapid (and disturbingly silent) series of collisions drove the first dagger into the creature’s body. Its armor plating prevented the dagger from making a clean exit.
Altres didn’t know what precisely was going on inside the creature’s chest cavity but he was fairly confident it was comprised of at least 12% daggers by volume by the time the Retoika made an awkward slow-fall to the ground.
Leis was ducking and weaving around her opponent while Jaigo was busy laying his opponent low with that wicked glaive he had picked out the other day.
The boy was certainly pulling his weight.
Red-skinned hand palm-down, the tiefling called [Quiet] back to his grasp. Altres used the Retoika as a bridge over the rapidly pooling blood in the tunnel and joined his companions.
More than a dozen glinting daggers stuck out from various gaps in the creature’s armor but it wasn’t enough. Leis surely did not lack the strength to drive them deep, she lacked conviction.
Altres was working on it with her, but even when faced with a merciless monster she would hold back on a subconscious level.
Fortunately, Altres had no such compunctions.
Pulling [Peace] free, Altres lined up Faint of Heart and lunged forward with all his might. The explosive arc of mana between the two blades sent three of Leis’s daggers clattering to the ground as something within the Retoika ruptured.
Even Altres was surprised. He nearly lost hold of [Peace] as the internal pressure of whatever Altres had hit forced the blades out with alarming force. Like a demonic sprinkler, the Retoika flailed its arms and let loose a horrific, bone-rattling cry of pain as its blood sprayed out through a dozen different holes all over its body.
Altres whipped his shoulder cape to block the worst of it with a mental command and pulled free his weapons. A few drops of the scalding purple blood burned as they landed on his cheek.
Dancing out of the way, Altres managed to avoid the worst of it. Leis did her best but she had already made the mistake of putting a wall at her back and she didn’t have much room to maneuver.
Jaigo stepped over and planted his glaive into the base of the thing’s neck to finally kill it. That didn’t stop the high-pressure blood sprinkler that was its body, but it did stop it from thrashing about.
“Well,” Altres said, wiping his weapons on the first Retoika’s corpse. “That went better than expected! Let’s get you two topped off, shall we?”
