by Han Yang
“Absolutely. Your powers come at a cost to me. Pay me, and I’ll never replace you. As for your friends, I can change Asha, like I said for ten thousand Zorta. I need a champion anyway, but he won’t go. He’s started writing a journal about you and Yermica gives great blowjobs. Good enough that he prays to me about them, and I improved her body after a giggle.
“But yes, you want to be a good friend and make him an elva again, then do it. If it's just you and Tarla going to Earth, it’s much cheaper. Kill Toneba, and you’re done,” Caitlyn said, mostly answering my question. “Damien Moonguard, all a goddess wants is some Zorta, and baby, you’re all out. Time to get to work.”
When she exited the door, a poof of magic obscured the exterior light. Her stick figure fell, clattering to the stone floor, and left us with a lot to think about.
CHAPTER 38
The Town of Seqa
“Can we talk about this?” Tarla asked, her foot stomp completely adorable.
“Sure, after we clear the farm fields Nessio mentioned,” I said, glancing around to see my army assembled for battle. “Apparently, there is a prime target for us to cleanse that will help us unify with the residents and help with long term food issues.”
“Must we do that now?” Tarla pouted, clearly wanting to talk about how things went with Caitlyn.
I chuckled, my hearty laughter earning a stern glare. I swept the fiery redhead off her feet, planting a giant kiss to her lips while we spun.
I stared down into her brown eyes, breaking the kiss. “Tarla, I’m not leaving you behind, and I promise to fix Jark and Asha before we leave, if we even do,” I said with an extra bit of joy.
She batted her lashes and kissed me harder.
Jark and Asha patted my back in appreciation, kinda ruining the moment.
“Alright, we’ve been waiting to open the gates, and we’re ready now that the boss is here,” Asha said. He snickered happily. “Let the man breathe.”
“We’ll sit down over a nice dinner at a table,” I said, sighing at the sheer thought of a table. Nee handed me some leather armor that I quickly swapped into, modesty not an issue. “There’s a lot to talk about, but we need to clear a rival out of the farm fields for long term food production.”
“I know, I just, it could wait, but I understand,” Tarla said, content for the moment.
Bell arrived, handing me the reins to Charlie and the fancy lance. I frowned, surprised she wasn’t in the saddle.
Bell said, “I’m not a battle mage, and never will be. Even if I get my divine magic, it’s not offensive in nature. My home is in the church.”
“Yeah, but your water golem is improving, and you're growing in power,” I said, trying to be positive. “Plus, your sword work and archery are getting really good.”
She eyed me and shook her head. “I… I need a break from this,” she said, waving her hands over the assembled army facing a portcullis and ten foot high double doors. “Trust me, I’ll be wanting to gain some Zorta to improve my church, but for now, I have a lot to process and prepare for.”
I accepted Charlie’s reins, fighting back the urge to convince her to stay. Instead, I hopped onto the mount’s saddle, sticking the lance in the resting hole by the foot and clamping it down as if we were going on a long haul.
“Alright, who’s the…” I glanced around, trying to find our guide. “…one with the information?”
A grumpy dwarf sputtered his lips, unhappy to be there. “I guess I get to repeat myself. Before the cataclysm, the mine was a town. The town needed food. Old mining fields were turned into growing farms.
“This farm has a magically created sun above it from the plasma magic tree. An aggressive spider queen named Tela cracked a hole in the wall, overrunning the expansion a few months ago. We sealed these doors and left Queen Tela alone, the expansion not a necessity.”
“And what should we expect when we unseal these doors?” I asked, pointing to the fortified gates.
“A farm field,” he said.
I frowned, wanting to smack the smug look off his face. “Imagine I’ve never been below ground before.”
“We use cleared sections of mines. Mages create a fake sun to shine light down on soil dragged down from the surface. A farm field underground still needs fertilizing and watering. Expect goblins, gnomes, dwarves, spiderlings, and such to be tilling the field and traps to be set at the next door. There is a second door on the side of the farm,” the dwarf said with a shrug. He waved a finger to add. “When Tela stole this from us, she dug a side tunnel and over a hundred minions charged our lines. Most of her army will not be in the field, and stealing it back shouldn’t be too hard. Holding it after will be the struggle.”
“A hundred minions,” I said with a huff. “That’s a lot.”
“Yes, and we aren’t thralls hell-bent on pleasing a mistress. We want to live and have other farms. So, we retreated, accepted the loss, and sealed her off. Now, we check the walls for signs of digging, but it seems she is content with her gains,” he said. “Anything else?”
“Thank you for your input,” I told him, nodding to Asha.
My army stood at the ready, knowing we had to eat, and this was the start of expanding our new home. Trolls sat on mounts, eager to get into the action. Behind them, goblins readied with their magic.
Asha ordered a skeletal troll to raise the portcullis. Perqueta and my other centaur skeleton brandished dual swords, the vanguard of our formation.
“I don’t want to keep fighting this Tela. We push for her head on a pike and consolidate our gains,” I said sternly.
The dwarf who had been leaving turned and said, “Nessio won’t like that.” I went to quibble, and he added, “Tela is a buffer to an even more powerful queen, called Selma.”
“Great, I’ll kill her too,” I said.
He finally smiled, his face clearly not used to such an expression. “Nessio would love that, and so would Zozo Hold. You’ll learn. Defeating Tela won’t be some push over, and Selma rules tens of thousands. The depths hold many horrors.”
“Do you not worry and find the goal of removing them common?” Tarla asked.
“The town of Seqa and those who follow Nessio prefer to live over fighting, but we certainly won’t complain if you start freeing up space and those enthralled.”
“Shit, do we have extra rope for the ones we capture?” I asked.
“Let me get the lads if yer serious. They’ll only restrain and bind the wounded or webbed feeders. They’ll not fight, not that you need it. You got a bigger army, and she won’t be expecting you. Tela has arcane magic that hurts, a lot, and you can’t be revived if it disintegrates you,” the dwarf said, leaving after his warning.
Over the next ten minutes, I double checked our troops. Nessio herself returned with a few dozen gruff looking dwarves. Each of them had looped short ropes, not too different from a noose, but meant for quickly binding hands or feet.
“The thralls won’t just lay down. They’ll fight like demons, especially if they think their queen is in danger. However, a lot of those enslaved by her are innocent and can be saved. Her children will likely flee,” Nessio told us.
“And where will she reside?” I asked.
“There’s a chain of mines that run from here to Zozo. She’ll have set up a nest somewhere between us and Selma. The upper chamber is the spot you arrived in. That was for shipping iron south, not for running ore to Zozo. I doubt we can reconnect this mine to that hold, but I do think Tela can be defeated,” Nessio said.
“Any objections to removing her?” I asked.
“Taking this farm and only this farm means sealing a breach, and the same number of guards from before will be needed, just one steep deeper. If you conquer her lands, great, but if you leave or refuse to patrol those new walls, we’re going to pull back our gains to be safe,” Nessio said.
“Expanding requires a bigger military,” Tarla said, Nessio quickly nodding in agreement.
“Okay, clear
the farm, kill Tela to remove the threat, and gain the Z. Then we retreat to seal the farm off?” I offered.
“Yeah, Selma won’t rush to fight us if there is free land. She will in due time, if her other threats aren't too great,” Nessio said. “Tela won’t be a pushover, but your army should be bigger or else I wouldn’t be here.”
I grabbed the lance out of the holder, nodding to Asha once again. “Open the gate,” I commanded.
The skeletal troll spooled the wheel. The clanking sound of chain winding up drowned out the nervous shuffles. I felt my stomach tighten, watching Asha hop into his ram’s saddle. A final clang told us the portcullis had locked into position.
The dwarves trotted forward, waving back my skeletons as they went to move the brace. This freed up more warriors for the initial charge.
With a collective heave, the huge steel beam lifted out of brackets. The dozen dwarves carried the brace out of the way, and another set jerked the ancient doors open.
Bright sunlight crashed through the opening doors. Gnomes and dwarves tended a farm field that stretched miles in the boxy cavern. A glowing orb rested at a pyramid point in the ceiling. A middle road segregated the lush green vegetables.
At the far end of the hall, the massive doors were wide open, revealing a dark tunnel that continued on. A wagon that the workers filled rested in the middle of the space, and for a brief moment, an eerie silence settled over the soon to be battlefield.
The second the gap in the doors opened wide enough, our cavalry charged. The thundering hooves of almost twenty mounted soldiers echoed in the large space. The plainly garbed workers fixated on us and hissed, swapping from using tools for farming to trying to use them as weapons.
Red eyes. Each of the twenty plus thralls had glowing red eyes that burned into my soul.
Dirt covered faces snarled with unbridled hatred. Their emotions overcame any reality or sense of wisdom. None fled, grouped, or retreated to a defensible position.
The scattered thralls countered our charge with one of their own.
“Disable if possible,” I shouted, feeling confident.
Our forces had more cavalry than they had farm workers, and on top of that, we still had a hundred goblins with magic in support.
Charlie bolted around the main formation, tearing up the farm field on a direct path for a female dwarf.
“Slow down, you damned horse,” I shouted, adjusting my shield to orient toward the target.
The dwarf shrieked unnaturally, her beady red eyes glared with hatred, and she prepared to throw a bucket at me.
“Charlie, she can be saved,” I reminded the warhorse. “She only has a bucket.”
The bucket soared out of her hands, fresh carrots distracting both Charlie and me with their widening spread.
Crack!
My forearm burned in pain when the shield absorbed the bucket’s impact.
“Buckets hurt,” I grumbled.
Charlie didn’t slow, shouldering the poor lass.
His immense power and strong hit sent her flying, tumbling into a roll across the field.
We never slowed, knowing someone else would likely bind her from where she lay.
The magical sun beat down a warm heat, and at the back opening, I saw my first spiderling; a male with four legs that was tiny compared to a female, closer in size to a goblin.
His form held no back spider type torso, but he still had eight eyes.
This variation froze, trying to decide what to do as he approached the entry to the farm field from the back of the cavern. I could see him glance over his shoulder and then to the portcullis on this side.
Did he flee, or did he try to be a hero? Indecision clearly racked his brain.
Charlie increased his speed, leaving a gnome thrall chasing with a hoe. Charlie wanted that spiderling more than he wanted an apple. He grunted, snorting as he outpaced the rams still trying to catch up. We diverted off the fields and onto the road.
“Charlie, I’m the leader, not the guy in the front,” I shouted.
The spiderling found his resolve, trying to kill me before fleeing. A side arm hurl of a blade sent it twirling rapidly for my demise. I raised my shield, taking the side of the blade off the top of the metal edge. The dagger pinged off the shield, soaring high behind us.
Charlie barreled on, oblivious to my tug on his reins. We left the main farm field for a long tunnel with a slight bend that only was thirty feet wide. A few glowing orbs hung from wall mounts, and the spiderling tripped under one. The constant back and forth checks over his shoulder were likely his demise.
Realizing I didn’t have a choice short of jumping off, I leveled the lance, aiming for the spiderling’s small frame. The horse neared, looming over the spiderling until the small frame disappeared under hooves.
Between lots of screaming, the snap of breaking bones echoed in the hallway. I held on for dear life as Charlie stomped the corpse into mush.
I dug my heels into his ribs hard, and the stallion flared an angry look at me.
“Yeah, you big oaf, we go back,” I said angrily.
He huffed, eyeing me with a nod, but it was too late.
Loose grit trembled below us. The skittering of a hundred legs echoed with an increasing roar. The sound of hooves smacking stone behind us intensified. I dropped the lance, ripped my sword free, and gave a battle cry in the dark tunnel.
A ten foot tall spider queen led the charge, her face a mix of shock and glee at seeing a single rider with his horse. The shock turned to fear when our cavalry entered the tunnel at a full sprint.
Spiderlings rotated up the wall, trying to fan out. Asha and the charging rams caught up to our side first, and Charlie thankfully waited to join them before bolting at the enemy.
Tela slowed, letting her minions swarm in front of her. Her infantry consisted of dwarves, gnomes, a whole lot of spiderlings, and a few trolls, each of them glaring at us with red eyes.
I saw no goblins, and each of her soldiers carried crude weapons with minimal armor. The enemy charge faltered with their Mistress falling back. That and the cavalry in the tight tunnel at a full charge was going to cause a wave of pressure thralls on foot simply couldn’t counter.
The gap closed, and the loud snorts of animals barely sounded over the clash of running hooves.
Charlie crunched a dwarf, surging through the smaller enemy. As much as I wanted to save these thralls, their sheer numbers prevented anything other than savagery. I swiped my sword down into the neck of a troll.
At the same time, a mining pick crashed off my shield.
The blade ripped free, barely still in my grasp. Charlie, the damn demon, trampled a gnome, pushing hard for Tela. The pumping legs of the mount ignored the stabs and jabs of the enemy infantry.
My blade lashed out, diving into a gnome’s skull. I yanked the sword out with the horse’s momentum aiding me. A quick slice removed a dwarf’s arm.
I went from leaning right to shifting left, seeing a set of spiderling surging through the condensing enemy. Daggers shot forward, and I countered their jabs with slices or dismemberment.
The cavalry continued to surge into the infantry ranks, the pressure pushing the enemy to retreat, still hadn’t been halted.
Charlie slowed slightly, deciding to run on the heads of the enemy.
He jumped, pushing down smaller foes to keep his rush to the enemy boss going.
Queen Tela fled, her action not going unnoticed. Her minions wanted to protect her, swapping between focusing on us and turning to join her.
“Retreat you fools!” Tela commanded, and I knew she wanted to race to a trap or a fallback point.
Charlie was faster than her, and the crazy horse bit one of her eight legs, clamping down hard. The sound of his hooves being dragged intensified, and he stomped backwards as she trudged forward.
The enemy infantry fled my cavalry, completely unprepared for a charge in the tight tunnel. A fireball singed my hair, twirling over my shoulder.
&
nbsp; The intense orange and red magic splashed off a golden white shield of arcane magic. The fireball washed down, burning Charlie’s neck.
This finally caused the horse to panic, letting go of the spider queen’s leg.
An arcane bolt zipped through the spot the horse’s head had just been, disintegrating a red eyed gnome. Tela burst free of her minions, scampering for freedom with a wounded leg. A green aura washed over her, allowing her to flee with haste.
Charlie neighed unhappily, spinning to deliver a furious kick into a dwarf’s chest, surely killing the thrall. The troops slowed, letting the enemy flee, and my army consolidated. The fighting ended except for those who found themselves trapped behind our line.
“Healer for the horse,” I cried out over the sound of the defiant thralls fighting their capture.
A goblin walked under the ram wall, healing Charlie. I grinned, seeing that most of the anger etched in the horse’s demeanor faded with the pain.
Nessio arrived, helping bind a captured gnome. The dwarves of Seqa didn’t play nice, beating the thralls into submission before they could recover. I surveyed the scene from up high and had to admit, Tela made a big mistake in counter attacking so quickly.
The dead littered the tunnel, allowing blood to pool. The restrained thralls tried to bite dwarves through gags, and the last defiant dwarf succumbed to a group effort.
We paused our assault, organizing now that our charge had faltered. I let the infantry form in front while others recovered, were healed, or needed a breather.
“Minions or Zorta, Boss?” Asha asked.
“Zorta for the spiderlings. I’ll pick up the dwarves, goblins, and gnomes that I can,” I said, getting off Charlie. “Come here, minion.”
Perqueta pranced over to me, his memories suppressed. I loved that he eagerly obeyed. I handed him the reins to the wild warhorse. “Give this valiant steed to Bell. Let her know he is to be well groomed and fed extra rations for marvelous work.”
Charlie neighed happily, his eye almost giving me a wink with pride.
When they faded into the organizing army, Asha said, “That horse is terrible.”
