‘Rawrk fight!’
Armed only with a pair of low-level daggers, he couldn’t do much. Having thrust one of my Flayer’s Companions into his empty hand, I jerked my chin in the direction of Chula’s body.
“Take her weapons too. She has no need for them, and four blades are better than two.”
Not like it mattered. Even if I get lucky with Soulcatcher once more, that wouldn’t change anything. I had to get acquainted with the Cradle. Hell, I even felt relieved, as I’d finally be able to get my items back. It was a pity that this rescue operation ended so ingloriously, and that the girls got involved and harmed. Was there another way out? I didn’t know. But everything that had led us to this point was my fault. Nevertheless, they should’ve tried to escape to the Fortress. No, all of this was nonsense. No one would have escaped anywhere. Our pursuers were too fast. In addition, I wasn’t the one who made Chula and Mashta come here; they came on their own initiative. As far as that was concerned, I had nothing to blame myself for. Things just go downhill sometimes, that’s all.
The Hounds seemed to have received a signal from their masters. The rest of the pack charged at us, fanning out across the width of the gorge. Without losing speed, they skillfully maneuvered between the stones, snow-covered hills, and snowdrifts, using any shelter they came across to shield themselves from ranged attackers.
Stinger’s mocking voice shook the clan chat like thunder from the clear sky.
“You’re really lucky, Wise. Where did you get such a party, huh?! I guess you’ve kissed your lives goodbye already? Send me a party invite! And don’t rush ahead of the tank who knows better! This is my job!”
Chapter 49
Instantly perking up, I glanced at the map and found that Stinger was very close, somewhere at the top of the cliff. That really was unexpected. But right now, it didn’t really matter why or how he had gotten here. Stinger was level 22, and we once again had a chance to get into the lair! I sent him the invitation without hesitation.
“Retreat to the lair as soon as I attack!” Stinger commanded confidently. “Everyone got that?”
“Rawrk understand!” the Raksh growled.
I glanced at Mashta who was still kneeling near Chula and was looking at me with a strange expression on her face — she didn’t hear the clan chat. So I answered for the both of us.
“Go!”
Using Dimensional Shift, Stinger teleported from the top of the cliff right behind his enemy; he plunged his blades into the neck of the beast even before his feet touched the snow. The Hound died instantly, and the rest of its kin immediately lost interest in us. Abandoning all caution, they jumped out from behind their shelters and rushed at Stinger. The more primitive the enemy, the more difficult it is for them to ignore a tank’s aggro.
“Back!” I barely managed to grab Rawrk by the shoulder, preventing him from interfering. The Demons were already too close; we didn’t need him attacking mindlessly and dying in vain. As soon as things turned against them, they ceased hesitating and rushed at us in huge leaps, waving their flaming swords.
“All to the lair, quickly!”
We didn’t have to tell Mashta twice; she clearly had enough game experience. The moment Stinger clashed with the Hounds, she, no longer mourning, grabbed Chula’s body and dragged it into the twilight of the cave. Following, I unceremoniously shoved inside the discontentedly grumbling Rawrk. Fury jumped in on her own. When I turned around, Stinger, having dispersed the Hounds with a Vortex Attack, was already rushing toward us. What’s more, he had managed to toss the corpse of his first victim over his shoulder and was still running as if the massive creature weighed nothing. As soon as he jumped in, the membrane on the entrance hardened.
“Holy shit!” Stinger threw the loot onto the ground, squatted, and grinned, wiping his blood covered daggers with the Hound’s fur and looking cautiously in the direction of the entrance.
I, too, didn’t take my eyes off it, still not believing what just happened. Seems we’ve avoided the trip to the Cradle by the skin of our teeth. I exhaled slowly, feeling the tension slowly let go.
The Demons got very angry.
Their whole gang huddled on the other side of the entrance, blocking the light that was seeping into the lair through the membrane. Pounding at their breastplates with their fists, they roared in unison in such a way that the ground trembled beneath our feet. One of them, the biggest one, easily parted the crowd and stopped in front of the entrance, staring at us through the slits on its helmet, flames dancing in its eyes.
Protector of the Primordial Flame
Level 26
HP: 9,666
Creature of Chaos
The sheer amount of its HP made me shiver. It looked much more impressive than a Dalrokt, ten feet high and with shoulders so wide that our entire party could sit on them. Its legs and torso were protected by massive black armor, and its head was protected by a closed helmet with twenty-inch long horns that were sticking out of the holes on the forehead and were clearly not just for decoration. Its bare arms, thick as an average man’s torso, were bulging with monstrous muscles. Its skin was purple and rough, and it resembled a crab shell. In one hand, it held a massive, oval shield, with sharp notches around the edges; in the other was a seven foot long sword with a fiery blade. Judging by the weapon’s stats, it was both the commander and the tank of their party. I assumed that he had a bone to pick with us. It’d be better not to let it anywhere near us.
Fury pressed herself against my thigh; staring at the giant, she let out an angry growl. She looked very impressive; she had been rapidly growing during our little adventures.
After standing idly for a couple of moments, the Protector made a short swing with its sword, as if it intended to hit the membrane. Seemingly not wishing to embarrass itself in front of its kind, it halted. When it stepped aside and disappeared from our sight, we managed to see that the gorge had already been abandoned. While their commander was trying to scare us with its menacing look, the Demons climbed up the ledges to the top, onto the plateau. I made a mental note that they had no problems scaling such heights.
I finally allowed myself to turn around. Mashta was busily taking projectiles from Chula’s pockets and putting them into her own. The short, but intense, battle had emptied her reserves. She noticed Rawrk who, standing behind her, was staring at her neck with a rather malicious look. The Lowling’s had a bad reputation with the Raksh, so I had to keep an eye on both of them. Being in a party was the only thing keeping them from attacking one another.
The tunnel behind us lead into the darkness and seemed relatively safe; I saw no movement, and heard no sound. Peace and quiet was good as we needed a break. However, it wasn’t in our interest to stay here too long.
I went a few steps deeper into the tunnel so that I could have a better view of everyone and the entrance. There was nowhere to run; just in case, I blocked the path into hallway until we had taken care of the misunderstanding that developed between Mashta and I. I doubted that she’d do anything rash, as one had to be completely nuts to attack an ally now that we were in the same boat. Not to mention that her willingness to sacrifice herself spoke volumes about her character. She and Chula didn’t seem like they wanted to do me any harm. Therefore, I could put that aside and deal with a more pressing matter.
“We’ll rest for ten minutes rest and leave. Where’s the exit?” I looked at Rawrk first. As a native, he should know the area better than any of us. Not to mention that it’d be good to get his attention so he’d stop trying to drill through the back of Mashta’s head with his glare.
“There,” he said, pointing with a dagger at the ceiling, and barely managing to turn away from Mashta. His orange eyes were glaring at me now. “Citadel. Close.”
“I hope it’s not in the territory of the Citadel itself? Otherwise, we’re as good as dead.”
“No!”
“And the Demons went there hoping to meet us at the exit?”
“It’s
unlikely,” Mashta quietly muttered, without raising her head. “We’re the lucky ones, and the Demons are most unlucky. The natives and we have the whole day at our disposal, while they have only have evenings, about eight to ten hours in total. If they don’t return to their domain before the end of the Flame Phase, they become easy prey for both the natives and the outcasts. Therefore, they can’t afford such luxury as hunting us any further. Storming the Citadel is more important to them.”
“You didn’t tell me that they can also raid the Citadel.”
“You didn’t ask. What difference does it make?”
“It changes a lot,” I said thoughtfully. “Okay, we’ll deal with that later. Tinnie, stop hiding.”
“Let her stay there,” Stinger objected. “Your little one is warm and cozy. She slept all the way to here.”
He had already sheathed his daggers and sat down, relaxing on the ground with his back against the wall. I involuntarily compared him with that demonic beast and shook my head. You could tailor three Stingers from that Demon, and our tank was a rather big guy.
Having intercepted Mashta’s wary, but not at all surprised, glance thrown at him, I realized that he had been gravely mistaken — the Lowlings were aware of his existence. But they either decided to leave things as it they were, or they didn’t yet have time to take action. Stinger stared at Mashta no less warily. There were enough reasons for him to distrust her from both personal experience and my stories.
“Don’t worry, I’ll warm her myself. Tinnie!”
The collar of Stinger’s shirt moved and Tinnie reluctantly left her hiding spot. She looked really sleepy. During the battle, I had felt that she was somewhere close by, but I didn’t have the time to check whether or not I was right about that. As soon as Tinnie’s gaze fell on Fury, she instantly shook off her sleepiness and flew toward her with a joyous screech. The Direcat replied by gently purring and leaning forward. Landing onto her neck, half buried in fur, her body lit up with amber light. It was warm in the lair so she didn’t spend a lot of energy.
“Sting, it’s your turn you confess,” I said demandingly. “How did you get here so quickly and oh so timely? Spill it.”
“What about ‘thank you, Stinger?’ Here, you need it more than I do,” he pulled the flask that served as Tinnie’s sleeping bag from under his breastplate, put in it the esc he looted from the Hound, and threw it to me.
“Sorry. Thank you.” I tied the flask around my neck and put the esc into my inventory. “To tell you the truth, we couldn’t have done it without your help. So how did you get here?”
“Easy,” he grinned into his beard. “I embarked on this journey as soon as I saw that the Fangores were following you. You can see far from the cornice, you know. So I had plenty of time to catch up with you. I thought that you could use some help on the way back.”
“But how did you slip past the Fangores?”
“I wasn’t alone. A couple of high-level Raksh helped me out. They obliterated three Fangores, but two managed to escape. Seems that they, too, listen to their instinct of self-preservation sometimes. But as soon as the Demons appeared, the Raksh immediately pretended that hunting Fangores was their lifelong dream, and went after them as if their lives depended on it. They disappeared before I had time to open my mouth. I think that I don’t have high enough reputation with them to fight together until victory or death.”
“Probably. But where did the Raksh come from?”
“You should’ve seen it,” Stinger smile widened. “Five minutes after your departure, a whole delegation arrived at the cave — a dozen Kobi and two of their Raksh bodyguards.”
“A dozen Kobi?” I asked with interest. “How come?”
“As it turned out, word travels fast even through snowstorms. They heard about Tinnie.”
“Actually, one of them saw her when I first got there, but I didn’t see any delegations coming to the Fortress.”
“Rumors probably need time to spread, Wise. Also, I my order arrived.” Stinger patted his flask with the Potion. “You should’ve seen how delighted they were, seeing your Tinnie and her Altar. They rose such a hubbub that I even had to plug my ears. But I understand them even worse than I do the Raksh, so I’ve no idea what all of those ‘ohs’ and ‘ahs’ were for. Not like I had the time to ask them, anyway. But I used the situation to its fullest — I had them look after the Altar while we’re gone. They’ll also pull the lever when needed. I’ve taken care of everything, Wise, don’t you worry.”
“So the Altar works?!” I exclaimed in amazement. “Oh that takes a weight off my chest! I thought you’ve wasted a whole soc when you dragged her along...”
“Everything turned out better than we thought,” Stinger reassured, utterly pleased with himself. “The most important thing is that she starts the process; assistants can take care of everything else. And this sort of work seems to be just down the Kobi’s alley. Must be some sort of racial specialty.”
“I could kiss your bearded mug right now, but I’m afraid that the others would misunderstand us,” I smiled. “By the way, did you invite the Kobi into the clan?”
“Into the clan?” His eyebrows rose so high that they got lost in his hair. “Them?!”
“Remember what I’ve said? We need everyone. The clan is how we’ll unite all the non-hostile races of this location. The faster we raise the clan’s level, the faster we’ll get good clan bonuses. Having any sort of advantage is welcome. A dozen of workaholic Kobi would provide us with a continuous stream of clan XP. Not to mention that they would provide us with equipment and that they would help us strengthen our ties with other factions.”
“Those are some ambitious plans that you’ve got there. Don’t take this the wrong way, but for some reason I doubt that the Kobi will be interested in your clan, they have their own faction...”
“A Raksh accepted the invitation,” I reminded.
“Hmm... You’re right. We’ll try again when we return. It’d be better if you do it, you need recruitment XP, else you’ll stay a wuss.”
“Also, why didn’t you warn me about that cliff? I almost broke my neck diving into the gorge. It was either that, or letting the Fangores tear me to shreds.”
“I didn’t know about it, Wise. I’m sorry.”
“You didn’t know?! You’ve been here for a month!”
“I spent a month in the mines. I’ve only recently moved near the elevator. I never went further than the Citadel, never left the lift to the Raksh for too long. They often go back and forth, so I thought that there were no problems with the road. And, to be frank, they can’t talk for shit.”
Having finally grasped the meaning of the conversation he had been carefully listening to, the Raksh zealously moved his whiskers. The tips of his ears twitched. “Rawrk talk!” he exclaimed, deeply offended.
“Sorry, pal, but that’s true,” Stinger retorted. “You’re a shitty talker. By the way, how did all of you manage to cross paths? I’m sure that this was no accident.”
“It wasn’t.” Mashta confirmed. “Chzher sent out search groups, but we knew where Wise would appear, if he appeared at all.”
“They figured it out because of Rawrk,” I explained. “Because of his respawn countdown. I didn’t know that I was so predictable.”
“See, that didn’t occur to me,” Stinger scratched the back of his neck, ruffling his hair, already tangled after the fight, and stared thoughtfully at Mashta. “Is the Fortress really so interested in him? The Dalrokts sure went through a lot of trouble for one human.”
“More than you think,” she replied gloomily.
“I told you, Sting,” I reminded. “What? You didn’t believe me?”
“Is it because of Alan?”
“Of course.”
“Did Chzher tell him how to create an Altar for a deity?” Stinger continued interrogating Mashta. “I’m also interested... You should’ve seen how he defeated the Matriarch! It was a marvel! I, too, would like to join Alan’s little cu
lt. I’ve always been attracted to macabre and tempted by dark forces.”
“I’ve had enough of Demons for one day,” Mashta brushed off his sarcasm, but forced a smile regardless. “I’ve seen Wise finish them off in one blow right in front of me. I’m still shocked. No wonder Chzher was so eager to send a search party. Our Wise is full of secrets. And I know nothing about the Altar.”
“Chzher said that it’s necessary to level up the first skill that your God has given you, and that everything else will follow.” I had to intervene, they were talking about me as if I wasn’t there. “You’ll have time to talk about me later. Mashta, is there anything important we need to know about this lair? Or is it no different from the rest?”
“I thought you’d never ask.”
Chapter 50
Having finished with the projectiles, Mashta folded and shoved Chula’s backpack into her own. Then she unbuckled Chula’s belt, took her flask for herself, and put the belt into the bag as well. I didn’t know that the Lowlings were so stingy. Or was she just prudent? I looked over at the corpse and felt a pang of grief and guilt; death was always sad, even in a game where one could be reborn. Not to mention that we were treating her corpse like vultures. Alas, such was the cruel reality of gaming worlds, where trophies were more important to the survivors than sentiment toward the dead.
“All sorts of beasts live here,” Mashta said, continuing her business. “Their levels go from level 21 and higher. They’re not very strong, but some are particularly nasty. And even though you can’t know who you’ll be dealing with, people usually take them down without much difficulty. Actually, this isn’t a lair in the conventional sense. According to legend, this used to be a safe passage from the plateau to the gorge and back. But then evil settled here, either due to the Citadel’s influence or something else. I should also mention that we have annoyed the Demons greatly, blocking their way through the lair.”
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