by Jamie Davis
Cari looked at the map, trying to visualize what Stefan described in her mind. She pointed to the end where he’d marked the dam’s position.
“What about the dam? Is there a way to open it or cause it to fail?”
Stefan’s brow creased in thought. “It’s made of rock supported by timber braces. I suppose if you could knock out a few of the braces, the rest would give way under the weight, but you’d never get it done without the workers noticing.”
“What if we distracted them with an attack at the far end of the cavern? What then? I’m looking for an opportunity to sneak one or two of us to the right to the dam while the other four go left and launch an attack from that end of the cavern.”
“What, take on twenty of them with just six of us?” Helen asked.
“Four,” Rodrigo corrected the first mate. “Two will be heading to the dam to take out the supports.”
“Cari,” Helen said, using her first name in an unusual display outside of a private setting. “I know you’ve got some kind of magic mojo you can use during a fight to do a lot of things but four of us taking on twenty is a bit more than we can handle. What if we send back to Gary and the others back in the mine. They could even the odds?”
“It’ll take too long,” Cari replied. “We need to do this now. The plan is to stop them from opening any more casks of the Starwort solution and hopefully flush the whole river system with the release of the dam.”
“If we’re not careful,” Rodrigo added. “We’ll get flushed down the river, too. I don’t want to die on the end of a sword down here, but I like the idea of drowning in the dark of an underground river even less.”
Cari pointed to the area of the map in the sand where their passage opened into the cavern. “Is it higher in elevation here than in the rest of the cavern?”
“Yes,” Stefan replied.
“Then, after we start the attack, we fall back here and make a stand in the narrower portion of the passage. That makes it harder for them to bring their superior numbers to bear. Once the dam is released, the others can hit anyone still willing to fight from behind and we’ll finish the last of them. I’d like to take a prisoner or two. It would be nice to have someone who might be able to corroborate my belief that the Duke of Charon is behind this plot against Tandon.”
“Let’s survive the initial assault,” Helen suggested. “Then we’ll see if we can catch any prisoners.” She crouched and looked down at the map and then up at Cari standing next to her. “Who goes where?”
“You and Stefan will take on the dam supports. You both are the closest thing we have to an engineer. If any of us can figure out how to take them out, you two can. Rodrigo, Francesca, Beau, and I will provide the distraction you’ll need to start your work once you figure it out.”
“How will you know?” Stefan asked.
“You’ll have to come up with some sort of signal for us to begin. We’ll stay near the cavern mouth and hide while we watch for it.”
“I know,” Helen said. She held up the small powder horn she carried for reloading her two pistols. “I’ll light a small pile of this gunpowder with my flint and steel. It won’t explode, just cause a sudden flare in the darkness. No one will see it unless they’re looking that way.”
“That should work,” Cari agreed. “I think we have a plan. Let’s get going.”
The group moved forward down the passage and turned around the bend in the tunnel. As Stefan had described, the large cavern opened up before them. There were torches here and there beside each of the three small pools along the track of the narrow river. The torches were tied to long poles jammed into the sandy floor of the cavern, so they flickered at about head height.
There were plenty of shadowy areas, especially near the entrance where they were. Cari pointed left in the direction where she could barely see the dam in the dim recesses of the cavern.
Stefan nodded, and he and Helen started to work their way along the cavern’s upper edge toward the far end and the dam. Cari and the others crouched behind an outcropping of rocks beside the tunnel entrance and watched their comrades’ progress.
Soon, Cari could no longer see her friends. They’d disappeared completely in the shadows of the far side of the cavern.
“Beau, watch the area around the dam for the flash of light from the first mate.”
“Aye, ma’am.”
Rodrigo slid over next to Cari while she peered over the rocks at the people working below.
“I suppose you have a clever plan for us, right?”
“Rod, honestly, I’m making this up as we go, but there’s nothing wrong with that. I think we can pull this off. When Beau sees the flare, we’ll charge down into the cavern making as much noise as we can.”
She pointed at a small ledge near the bottom of the path to the cavern floor.
“We’ll stop there and prepare a pistol volley at the first group to come and engage us. After that volley, we’ll finish off any survivors and then retreat back up the path to this location. This is where we’ll make our stand.”
“I wish we’d thought to bring along the muskets from the guards back in the mine. We could’ve used the extra firepower here.”
Cari shook her head. He was right, but there was no sense in worrying about might-have-beens. They’d make do with what they had. Each of them had at least one pistol. Cari had two. That gave them five shots, which, if she planned their use carefully, could help them take out a quarter of their opposition in one volley.
Cari’s hand fell to her belt pouch and she felt the ceramic flask of oil she’d stuffed in there when Helen handed them out. She’d forgotten about it when they discovered the trolls in the region weren’t their enemies.
“Molotov cocktails,” Cari muttered.
“This is hardly the time to think about alcohol,” Rodrigo replied.
“It’s not a drink, it’s a weapon. Everyone get out the oil flasks the first mate gave you.”
Cari took her dagger and cut a strip of cloth from her cloak, stuffing it into the flask to soak it in oil then pulling it part way out and replacing the cork stopper.
“These can be used as homemade grenades, small fiery explosives that might help us win this fight. Everyone make your own, now. We don’t have much time.”
While the others followed her orders, Cari lit one of the torches and laid it on the ground behind the rocks, out of sight. The fire at the head of the torch sputtered some when it touched the ground, but it stayed lit.
“The first one back to this point picks up the torch and lights their flask. Then pass the torch to the next person until all the flasks are lit. We’ll throw them at the feet of those chasing after us. The ceramic will break and, if it works as intended, spray the flaming oil all over the attackers.”
Understanding dawned on the others’ faces as they heard her plan. They set their flasks down near the lit torch, careful not to put them too close to the open flame.
Her plan came together and her team was prepared to carry it out. All that remained was to get the signal from Helen and Stefan.
They’d use their pistols and the burning oil to do as much damage as they could. After that, it would come down to cold steel.
That was fine with her, she was perfectly alright with using her blades to fight her way through this. It was where she was most comfortable in a fight.
“Cap’n,” Beau hissed.
Cari snapped her head around just in time to catch the ending sparks of the gunpowder flare out of the corner of her eye.
“That’s the signal. Everyone ready?”
Nods from the others brought a smile to her lips.
“Good, then let’s go.”
Quest completed — investigate the silver mine
12,000 experience
Quest accepted — clean the poison from the river
Chapter 21
Cari stood, a pistol in each hand, and let out a yell. “Get ‘em. For Tandon and the Empress!”
S
he followed the battle cry with a whooping holler that sounded a little frenzied and insane in her ears. The shouts of the others echoed as they ran down the path into the cavern right behind her.
It didn’t matter how crazy she sounded. Her primary concern was, what would the workers at the bottom of the cavern do.
She needn’t have worried. As soon as her group launched their attack, the closest of the cavern’s occupants set their casks of poison down and drew their weapons.
The first two groups to come at them merged into one cluster of seven. They shouted, brandishing their swords and axes as they ran toward Cari and her small party.
She reached the small ledge and knelt down, leveling both pistols to point down the slope at the advancing enemy. Her crewmates settled in position on either side of her with Rodrigo to her left and Francesca and Beau to her right.
“Wait for my order. Make it count!”
The first cluster of men and women charging up at them consisted of two orcs, a goblin, and four humans, including two women and two men. None of them slowed as they crested the rise and charged at their attackers waiting on the ledge.
Cari waited until they were only ten yards away before she gave the order.
“Fire!”
The five pistols fired as one, the lead balls punching outward and slamming into the charging enemy.
Both of the ones Cari aimed at dropped and two of the others beside them fell to the ground as well. They’d managed to cut down more than half of the first group.
2,500 experience awarded
2,500 experience awarded
The next group of ten or so gathered by the river basin at the bottom of the cavern floor. They were too far away to worry about right now.
“Finish them,” Cari called out.
She threw down her pistols and drew her sword and dagger. Her sword met the haft of a descending hand axe wielded by one of the orcs. He was huge, nearly seven feet tall.
The force of parrying the blow shook her entire body and she struggled to slide the axe to the side along her blade while she brought up the dagger with her other hand and plunged it into the bulbous belly of the heavyset orc.
Cari twisted the dagger and pressed inward, trying to do the most damage she could. She must have hit a vital organ. The orc spasmed once and fell to his side, clutching at the gaping dagger wound in his stomach.
3,000 experience
Cari turned to help her comrades, but they’d finished off the final two attackers. Shouts from below told her the rest of the work party was on their way.
The crack of a musket sounded an instant before a bullet whizzed past her head.
“Back to the upper position.”
“Cari, we have time to reload,” Rodrigo countered.
“No, we’re too exposed here, and they have some muskets. Back to the rocks and the oil flasks.”
She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him with her. Francesca and Beau were already running ahead of them. Beau’s hand was pressed to his side. He must have been injured in the initial fight.
Two more gunshots sounded from behind them, and a bullet ricocheted off a boulder next to her. The shouts of anger grew closer and she knew without looking back the remaining cavern workers chased close behind them.
Francesca waited with the torch in one hand and a flask of oil in the other. The cloth wick was already aflame. She dipped the torch towards Beau, and he lit his flask.
Cari picked up a third flask and Rodrigo the fourth and final one. They each lit their wicks from the torch and turned to face the angry mob charging up the hill behind them. In the lead was a man in a tailored uniform coat with gold buttons on the lapels and cuffs, a fine rapier in his hand.
He was apparently the one in charge.
Cari aimed her flask at his feet. Her aim was true, but at the last instant, the man jumped in the air, hopping over her flaming missile. It crashed to the ground, missing the leader but spraying burning oil all over the two charging behind him. They fell to the ground writhing as the burning oil did its job.
2,500 experience
2,500 experience
Screams followed as the others threw their Molotov cocktails down at their attackers. In all, their makeshift grenades knocked out six more attackers.
The remaining seven charged in and Cari was once more caught up in the melee of a close-quarters fight.
She tried to angle towards the leader, but he shifted to the right and charged in at Beau and Francesca.
Cari found herself facing a pair of goblins armed with barbed spears. The longer weapons thrust in from either side and she batted the initial attacks away.
Her opponents showed they were used to attacking in tandem and they coordinated their attacks on her, driving her backward until she was pressed up against the cavern wall.
The first attack broke through when she tried to dodge to the side and her foot slipped on loose gravel, making her stumble.
The spear thrust in and slashed open her side, the barbs causing even more damage as the goblin pulled his weapon back for another strike.
Health damage — health -10
Health damage – health -6
A snarl of laughter came from the second goblin when he saw his companion’s spear come back bloodied. He slashed downward with the broad blade of his spearhead, trying to catch Cari off balance.
She brought up her sword, barely batting aside the attack. Her dagger parried the follow-up thrust from the first goblin.
Cari needed to land some attacks so she could engage her speed power-up skill. Her small force was outnumbered, and it was obvious they would lose unless she did something to even the odds. She wasn’t even sure if it would be enough.
Francesca and Beau were both down. She couldn’t tell if they were dead or just unconscious. Rodrigo was engaged in the fight of his life against both the leader of the work party and the last of the orcs. If Cari didn’t come to his aid, he’d be cut down, too.
Growling deep in her throat to push down the pain from the wound in her side, Cari surprised her two attackers by diving forward, managing to get under their thrusting spears.
Twisting from side to side, she thrust first left and then right with her sword. The power bar inched upward in her vision as both blows landed, wounding her attackers.
Cari pressed her advantage now that she was inside the longer reach of the spears.
Divided, the two goblins struggled to back away from Cari and bring their longer weapons around to bear on her.
She sprang at the goblin attacking from the right, driving forward with two attacks using both sword and dagger. She batted aside the haft of the spear and lunged, plunging her dagger into the goblin’s chest.
2,500 experience
She heard a chime warning her of the incoming attack from the other goblin. She ducked while rolling to the left, as a broad spearhead sliced through the air occupied by her neck only a second before.
The final goblin recovered quickly though, pulling his spear back in time to block the thin blade of her rapier, using the spear shaft as if it were a quarterstaff.
Spinning the spear around he punched forward with the butt of the spear. The metal cap on the end of the spear shaft cracked against Cari’s right knee, buckling it as shooting flares of pain shot up from her leg.
Health damage — health -18
Cari stumbled backward in an awkward recovery, trying to assess the amount of damage to her knee. Fresh pain flared as she put weight on it, but it held her up for the time being.
She recovered her composure and checked her power-up status. The gauge was nearly full. Perhaps two or three more successful attacks and she could activate her burst of speed.
The spear thrust forward at her face and Cari dodged to the side, parrying with her dagger. She lunged in a follow-up attack despite the injury to her knee, a move that caught her opponent by surprise.
The point of her rapier slipped past his ribs and into his heart. He dropped his s
pear and clutched at the steel embedded in his chest, falling to his knees and then toppling to the side.
2,500 experience
An anguished cry from behind her caught her attention as she finished off the goblin. It was Rodrigo’s voice.
Spinning around on her good leg, she saw Rodrigo collapse under a flurry of blows from the spiked club the orc wielded.
Cari charged forward without thinking, a half-limping lope down the path. She shouted a challenge at the two attackers standing over her friend.
The orc turned just in time to raise his club and parry her first attack.
The leader in the tailored coat used the moment her blade was engaged to thrust past her guard before she could bring the dagger around.
Health damage — health -12
Cari grunted at the stabbing pain, feeling blood start to drip down her side beneath her shirt.
The next thirty seconds was a blur as Cari backpedaled while trying to block the dual attacks raining down on her.
How she managed to parry or dodge them all, she didn’t know. She did know the odds were against her. Eventually one of them would land a blow.
Both opponents were excellent.
She’d be hard-pressed to take one of them on in a fight, let alone both at once.
It called for a bit of desperation as she checked her power bar once more. Just a single attack should fill it and she’d be able to engage her speed attack.
In order to get that attack in, she had to open herself up to one of her foes. She decided to feint towards the leader, leaving an opening for the orc to slip past her.
As the orc moved in to take advantage of the perceived opening, she twisted and thrust her sword blade upward into the orc’s throat. He let out a gurgling cry as blood spurted from his severed arteries.
Her power-up bar flashed in the corner of her vision at the same instant the orc’s dying blow landed, the spiked club crashing into her right shoulder.
