Delvers LLC- Surviving Ludus

by Blaise Corvin (ed)

  The adventurers whittled the goblins down until none remained, fighting back to back in a loose formation. Each adventurer had supported the other, and the goblins had been too small to reach the adventurers well. The goblins’ weapons, when they’d hit, luckily hadn’t done well at penetrating their armor. Jessel had taken a few stab wounds in his arm that went deep, so Anahi helped clean and wrap those once he showed her where the supplies were located. Innear and Mos had a few scratches but still asked her to clean the wounds in case the filth on the goblin daggers would otherwise cause an infection.

  Geb walked over once everyone was settled down and the dead goblins had been pulled into the brush, the adventurers finding little of worth on them. “You pulled your weight today, Anahi. I’m upping you to a half share of whatever we find, provided you continue to do what you did today. Agreed?” Anahi nodded, still coming to terms with what had happened but happy to receive additional payment.

  She had seen Geb fight over six goblins at once, at least she thought so. Each one had been cleaved in two; the metal-clad man had wielded the heavy blade as if it weighed nothing. He wasn’t faster than the others in the group, but his strength seemed impossible for a native-born Ludan.

  After a short rest for Jessel to recover, they packed up and headed out. While walking, they reviewed what they’d taken from the dead goblins. The only loot had been a heap of poor-quality brass knives, some simple spears that hadn’t been worth taking, and a couple bronze-bladed daggers with wood handles. All of it was packed into her pack, the additional weight noticeable but manageable.

  The clouds seemed closer to the ground the higher they climbed up the hill, Anahi’s legs felt on fire as they crested the hill. A vast expanse of open land lay ahead of them, with mountains rising into the clouds far in the distance.

  Geb said, “Let’s make camp here. It’s a bit early but it will be safer if any of the goblins decide to follow us.” He turned to Anahi. “You’re on second watch with Innear tonight. He’ll wake you when it’s time.”

  Anahi nodded, her body weary and her thoughts scrambled. The pack was heavier now than it had been the first day, but even if it’d been the same weight, it probably would have felt heavier. She had red welts on her shoulders from carrying the weight. The teen cleaned her wounds as best she could despite the pain, not wanting them to get infected.

  She knew adventurers faced danger all the time, but the sheer brutality of the battle today made her pause. Did she truly want this? Only two days into this journey and she had already faced more challenges than the last ten years in the village. She needed to take some time to think about this tonight, when it was dark and her thoughts quieted down.

  While she prepared to sleep, the men compared notes on the battle with the spindly cave demons, as they were apparently called. Innear rolled his eyes at Geb’s formality, insisting on calling them goblins. Anahi had no opinion on the matter; her only thought was that she didn’t want to meet them ever again, and definitely not on her own.

  Night fell quickly, the stars were hidden and the fire was the only source of light to be seen in any direction. Anahi fell into a fitful sleep, memories of the battle flashing through her dreams. At some point she was awakened with a quick shove.

  “Get up, lass. Time for our watch.” She nodded and got up, pulling a second shirt on for warmth. The cold jolted her the rest of the way awake, and the darkness permeated everything.

  Innear spoke in a whisper, a small breeze pulling his words toward her. “Keep your back to the fire at all times. It will keep you warm and help you see any monsters before they can attack. Don’t ruin your night vision. Look for the reflection in their eyes, and listen with a keen ear. You’ll likely hear them before you see them.”

  She nodded, yawning.

  “And whatever you do, don’t sit down. You’ll be asleep in a second no matter what your mind tells you.” Anahi walked until she was facing opposite of Innear. She wanted nothing more than to sit down; her muscles didn’t want to keep her standing.

  With a force of will, she pushed the thoughts away. This is what I want. What I have wanted for so long. I need to pay respect to my parents the only way I know how.

  Anahi maintained the thought like a mantra, listening for the smallest sound while scanning the area around her. The wind grew, but still she heard nothing.

  Suddenly Innear’s hand covered her mouth and he pointed with the other. She nodded, seeing a pair of eyes reflecting the coals of the fire back at her. The animal was approaching from her left, and she was ashamed to admit that she had been dozing on her feet for a while. How long, she didn’t know.

  The scout kept his hand on her mouth and motioned at her bow. She nodded, and he pulled a sword slowly from its sheath. The blade made a sound, and the eyes in the darkness moved in his direction, focused on the movement.

  Innear then used hand signals that Anahi didn’t understand. He seemed to realize this, and clearly pantomimed for her to get behind him with an arrow nocked and ready. Stepping quietly and testing each step before committing, she moved behind Innear and faced the pair of eyes.

  As they silently watched the intruder, Innear whispered, “We won’t wake the others. They need their rest. We should be able to handle this. Only yell or make noise on purpose if one of us gets wounded, alright?”

  Anahi nodded.

  The eyes in the undergrowth moved closer to the ground and crept forward, until they were just outside the range of the fire light. A low snarl came from that direction, and Innear crouched down with his blade forward.

  The animal leapt up, covering ten feet before Anahi could even aim. Innear moved forward, meeting the animal where it landed and struck forward into its face. The animal snarled louder, a thin line of blood visible before it retreated and circled around the perimeter of the firelight.

  Anahi took a deep breath, trying not to focus on Innear, but on her target instead. The animal was fast, but she wasn’t about to let it get away from her. She saw it crouch as it had done before and led it by a small amount before releasing her bowstring.

  The arrow struck true, catching the animal in the flank and causing its trajectory to change. Anahi cursed to herself. It was far faster than anything she had seen before.

  She quickly nocked another arrow and saw Innear carve a furrow across its body, just below the head. The animal tried to wrap its teeth around the blade but Innear lifted it, throwing the animal onto its back.

  “Now.” Anahi fired, the arrow striking the animal in the throat. It gurgled out a mewling sound before trying to retreat, to slink down the hill. Innear darted forward and struck it through the head, killing it on the spot.

  Anahi and Innear spent the rest of their watch gutting and skinning the animal, something like a wild pig mixed with a hunting cat. Innear pulled the large canines along all its claws. Once that was done, they carved it up into manageable pieces for cooking and carrying.

  It’d been a miracle that nobody else had woken during their quick fight. Everyone was exhausted, though, so maybe it wasn’t that surprising.

  After Mos relieved the two of them for watch, despite the fact that her hands were bloody, she just climbed into her bedroll and fell asleep. There was no water to wash them off anyway. This time she slept deeply, lost to the world around her.

  If an animal had attacked, she likely wouldn’t wake up, either.

  Beyond the Village Borders, Chapter Three

  “It’s too large for this area. You should have woken us up when it attacked.”

  “It was over quick. Wasn’t necessary. You needed your sleep. Besides, you know that in the dark like that, more people involved might have been more dangerous for us than the animal. If there’d been more than one, I would have reacted differently.”

  “What’s done is done, but next time wake us. There is no room for any of us to be overconfident on this trip. We shouldn’t be encountering anything this dangerous right now, we’re still too close to civilization.�
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  “I agree. If this continues, we’ll need to turn around. Animals this large shouldn’t be this far down from the mountains. To be honest, I don’t even know what this is. It could be a monster of some kind.”

  “It is worrying, but there’s nothing we can do about it right now. Everyone needs to keep their eyes open. Innear, don’t lead from as far as you have been. We might get caught out because of it, but it’s no accident that the team hasn’t lost a member in three years now.”

  Anahi cracked an eye open to watch the adventurers having an impromptu meeting.

  “Aye, Geb. The problem I’m seeing is that the dungeon isn’t rated that highly, which makes me wonder what a cat that big is doing out here. You expect to see goblins and wolves, but not this.” Innear pointed at the skinned cat, two legs in the front and four in the rear. “It was faster than even I expected. The girl did well not to panic.”

  Anahi woke up slowly, the burn she had felt in her muscles last night now a dull pain. She listened to the adventurers talking, not wanting to eavesdrop but also wanting to hear what they had to say. After last night, she was more certain than ever that her life depended on the fighting skills of the four men she was traveling with.

  She waited until Innear actually shook her awake before sitting up. He said, “We let you sleep in a bit because of last night. You likely won’t be that fortunate ever again.” She nodded, heading toward the fire to warm up and eat.

  Innear said, “There’s a pot of water over there.” He pointed to the far side of the fire. “Wash up and then pack. We’re heading out to try and beat the rain.”

  Anahi glanced up at the sky, and sure enough dark clouds were all she could see in every direction. There was a certain feeling that came with bad weather for people who were outdoors long enough, and now that she was awake she could feel it. It would rain today without a doubt.

  She cleaned herself up and then ate some of the meat from the big cat. Its skeletal remains were just outside of the camp, all the useable meat gone. When she lifted her pack, she knew where they had placed it but didn’t complain. The food didn’t taste very good, but was valuable, and would make for good eating for dinner.

  Innear came back from a quick scouting trip before the group had doused the fire or headed out. “There is a path that cuts across the hill. I can’t promise it leads all the way down but it’s the best I’ve found yet.”

  Geb nodded, and the group began hiking. Anahi noticed that Jessel took the rear today, and the implication made her stomach tighten. The adventurers were definitely nervous, too. Tension ran through the group like a tight bowstring.

  The rain hit an hour in, coming down in waves and chilling her to the bone. It relented after a bit, before turning into a steady drizzle that re-soaked the entire group. The dry path quickly turned into mud, and Innear slowed his pace accordingly.

  She heard Jessel grumbling behind her all the way until lunch, his words never loud enough for her to hear clearly, but it distracted her from scanning the land for dangers. The path they were following led further down into the valley, the clouds overhead creating shadows behind the smallest bush.

  Innear called a halt for a cold lunch near a stream at the bottom of the valley. He seemed confused about something, staring off into the distance while checking a small notebook, although Geb and the others paid him no mind.

  Ever since fighting the animal with the scout last night, Anahi had felt a sense of unease about this trip, and Innear’s actions right now weren’t easing it any. She sat down on a rotting log, not wanting to take the pack off and have to put it back on again. She noticed Geb making hand gestures, and Innear responding with a shake of his head. Interested, she studied Geb out of the corner of her eye until he gestured again. His hands moved fast, cutting lines in the air but only using small movements that might be easily missed if she hadn’t been paying attention.

  Suddenly, Geb looked over at her and winked, Anahi’s cheeks flushing red in embarrassment. She might want to be an adventurer, but spying on those who were employing her would only get her into trouble. She decided that for the time being, whatever secrets they might have, it was none of her concern.

  Innear finally nodded to himself, and the group got up to start again. Anahi had eaten a leathery piece of peppery jerky, and had washed it down with water from her canteen. She was still hungry, but no one else had eaten more than she had and she refused to be the odd person out.

  Their party’s scout led them along the stream, frequently crossing it. At least their shoes were already soaked so the extra water didn’t matter much. After an hour of trudging through the water, the foundation of an old house came into view. The remains were run over with vines and bushes, but enough could be seen to identify it. Then another building appeared, along with a third and a fourth. Some of the log walls had rotted and fallen into the center of the area the structures had occupied.

  “A village this far out?” Anahi mumbled to herself.

  Geb nodded. “Aye, lass. They tried to make a go of it on their own, only to be overrun with monsters, animals, and misfortune. I’ve only heard the story, but seeing it with my own eyes proves the truth of it.”

  She nodded, saddened and overcome by a strange feeling, suddenly missing her own home. Her village wasn’t much larger than this one had been.

  “I’ve got the trail now. Let’s go,” said Innear. The scout began hiking up a steep slope, the rest of them following, and Mos now trailed behind Anahi. This hill was far steeper than the last one, and Geb called for breaks every hour to rest up before continuing on.

  After their third break, Innear came racing down the steep path before stopping to whisper in Geb’s ear. Their leader nodded before turning to the group. “We got a lot of tracks up ahead. Could be goblins or worse. The rain has washed the details out but it’s a problem either way. The dungeon is on the far side of the next valley, so we have to get through. The only question is how. We can wait for nightfall and try to sneak through, but a lot of orks and other monsters have night vision if they’re keeping watch.”

  “Orks?” asked Mos.

  “Maybe,” said Innear.

  Geb rubbed his face. “Goblins we can deal with provided they don’t swarm us. And that’s the rub, Innear said there are a lot of tracks up ahead. My gut tells me that we should rest up so we’re ready for a hard fight and go at this in the daylight.” Mos and Jessel nodded at that, grim smiles on their faces.

  “Alright then,” said Geb with a firm nod. “Innear is going to set a few traps, so rest up now. We’ll head up further when he gets back.”

  Anahi started as Innear motioned for her pack, which she slid off and handed to him. He pulled out a number of different devices, all much different than the basic snares she was familiar with.

  “Could you teach me on the way back? How to set these up, I mean?” The words left her mouth before her mind caught up, and Innear grinned at her.

  “That we can, if we have any left.” With that he turned and walked back up the hill, crouching low as he hugged the thick bushes on one side.

  Beyond the Village Borders, Chapter Four

  Innear returned an hour or two later, the exact amount of time hard to tell with the thick cloud cover overhead. “The traps are set. And I’m almost sure we’re facing orks. It doesn’t look like a large group, although it was hard to tell. Either way, we need to get going before it gets dark.”

  Geb nodded, and Anahi cinched the pack on her back. Her bow was strung and over her shoulder this time, the bowstring repacked with fat from the cat she had helped kill. It had had a coating of rabbit fat from earlier, but the rain had washed some of it away.

  Orks, she thought. It was a good thing she was too tired to feel as scared as she probably should. This time she picked up the rear, the adventurers moving much closer together than usual. She noticed Innear had a bow over his shoulder as well, and she wondered if maybe he would train her in archery as well. Then she shook her head to
clear the thought, focusing on the battle ahead.

  The path widened out the further they moved, and she noticed the footprints in the mud. Just as Innear had said, it was hard to tell what had made them since the rain had washed them out. Then she saw a footprint under a bush that hadn’t been softened as much. It was large, with four clawed toes impressed into the dirt. She shivered, and ran awkwardly to be closer to the group.

  Suddenly, Innear held a hand up, and everyone stopped and crouched down. The rain started to fall again as Anahi spied a blue-skinned ork in the distance. The monster held a spiked club in one hand and a dagger in the other. He wasn’t looking at the group, but he did seem agitated as he spoke to a small group of other orks.

  Anahi had been impressed with how her group had dealt with the goblins, so if this group of monsters was all they needed to face, she felt they should be fine. Unfortunately, she felt in her gut that this wouldn’t be the case. Leaning next to Geb, she softly whispered, “Can we run past?” In response, the man shook his head, first pointing to his sword and then down at his feet.

  Innear motioned for Jessel to watch their backs, as orks were known for being crafty. As monsters on Ludus, they were often portrayed as savages and nothing more than grown-up goblins, but her father had told her differently.

  Her father had told her, “Anahi, if you face orks you should run the other way. They are a proud race, and have been fighting with humans and Areva for ages beyond time. Understand that they can be quick to anger, especially when their tribe has been attacked. It is possible to find semi-friendly orks, but I wouldn’t want you to bet on it. If you see them, run as fast as you can and don’t look back.”

  The words still burned through her mind, one of only a few clear memories she still had of her father. How he’d known about orks she didn’t know exactly, but it must have come from experience.

  Innear slowly and smoothly pulled a bow that she had never seen before from his shoulder. All of his movement were very deliberate, nothing jerky. After he nocked an arrow, he aimed at the large ork. With a start Anahi realized that all the adventurers had their weapons out and ready, so she quickly uncinched her pack and set it quietly on the muddy ground. Then she readied her own bow, trying to mimic the way Innear had put his own weapon into action.