Tris was the first to descend the passage leading into the third floor, her figure quickly swallowed by the shadows ahead. Her role was critical. She would scout for traps and patrols, disarming hazards where possible and alerting the group immediately if monsters were nearby. Tris moved with quiet confidence, skilled enough to operate independently without fear of being caught.
The party had barely begun advancing through the ruins of the third floor when she returned, slipping back to them without a sound.
"Found enemies already?" Fayde asked, surprised. On the first two floors, the monsters had not gathered so close to the entrance.
"This floor feels smaller than the first and second," Tris reported calmly. "There is a wide open space just below. I spotted a lizardman encampment not far ahead, maybe a dozen or so. It looks like we are the first party down here. The monsters are still entrenched."
Fayde frowned. "What's the makeup?"
"All lizardmen," she replied. "No kobolds mixed in. Lightly armored, mostly spears and shortbows. It seems most of the stronger forces left with the invasion. I did not scout deeper yet, I thought it best to report back first."
Her instincts were good. Fayde trusted her judgment. But one detail gnawed at him.
"If the floor is smaller, they could hear the fight," he said, half to himself. "Nearby groups might converge if we start a battle."
That could be dangerous, or an opportunity.
If they could cause a commotion with a large-scale spell, they might draw nearby patrols into a controlled killzone. The terrain, full of broken walls and narrow alleys, offered excellent cover. Lizardmen were aggressive but lacked discipline. It could work. And if not, they could always retreat to the second floor and regroup.
Fayde made his decision and turned to the others.
"We are going to hit the camp fast," he said. "Reia, you will open with a Fireball on the center of their formation. Nes, Tris, and I will clean up the survivors and then fall back to cover. Allein, once the first blast hits, be ready to hit any reinforcements coming from the ruins with another Fireball."
"If we have to," he added, "we retreat toward the second floor stairwell and regroup."
"Good plan," Reia said, her voice steady.
"I agree," Nes added, glancing toward the ruins. "Their sentries are lazy. They will not form up in time once we strike."
The others voiced their assent, and Tris gave a curt nod.
"Lead us in," Fayde told her.
Tris led them carefully through the ruins until they reached a battered stone building overlooking the camp. It had three floors, though the top level was mostly exposed to the elements. Cracked walls and collapsed ceilings provided enough cover for an ambush.
Only Reia, Tris, and Fayde ascended to the third floor. Nes and Allein remained on the ground level, hidden among the rubble, ready to strike once the attack began.
The vantage point above was nearly perfect. From a gap in the ruined wall, Fayde could see the lizardman camp clearly. A dozen lizardmen milled about below, carrying spears or crude bows. Their hides, thick and scaled, offered some protection, but not enough to stop fire magic. Most wore no armor beyond scraps of leather.
If any bow-wielders survived the opening strike, they would have to be taken out quickly. A few lucky shots could bring down the unstable third floor they were standing on.
Fayde glanced sideways at Tris and Reia. Both were calm, focused. Below, the lizardmen shuffled between their crude tents, oblivious to the danger lurking above.
They would strike first, and they would strike hard.
"Tris, I do not think your arrows will be very effective against them," Fayde said quietly. "Let me try something. Nock an arrow."
Without hesitation, Tris followed his suggestion, drawing an arrow and resting it lightly against her bowstring. One of the advantages of Fayde's Void ability was that it required no chanting. It activated instantly, as natural as breathing. He placed his hand carefully over the tip of her nocked arrow and focused, channeling his power.
Until now, he had only enhanced his own weapons and body with Void Flames. He had never attempted it on someone else's equipment, mostly out of concern for controlling the magic precisely enough not to harm them. But if there was ever a good moment to test it, this was it.
The iron arrowhead flared to life, engulfed in black Void Flame. The fire crackled softly, clinging only to the arrowhead without burning the shaft. Fayde let out a small breath of relief. It had worked exactly as intended.
Tris's eyes widened as she stared at the black flames dancing at the tip of her arrow.
"Wow... I did not think you could do that," she whispered.
"I was not sure either," Fayde admitted, smiling. "But it looks like it worked. You should be able to pierce their hides now. Only use it after Reia's opening attack. Aim for any archer that survives."
Tris gave a sharp nod and adjusted her stance.
Below them, in the heart of the encampment, the lizardmen moved about, communicating in guttural growls and barks. Some kept lazy watch, while others gathered around a large bonfire, speaking animatedly among themselves. Fayde wondered, briefly, what monsters did to pass the time when not fighting. But it was a mystery he had no intention of solving today.
The anticipation of battle buzzed through him. A few months ago, he would have been terrified. Now, he found a strange excitement in these moments before a fight, the thrill of seeing a plan unfold, the satisfaction of reading a battlefield. His old fascination with tactics and history from Earth had become one of his greatest assets.
They waited in silence, the only sound Fayde's heartbeat pounding in his ears. Beside him, Tris remained steady, her breathing slow and measured. Down below, Reia finished gathering her magical energy.
The Fireball left Reia's hands in a rush of heat and light, streaking downward like a falling star. Fayde could feel the searing warmth even from their vantage point.
The explosion shook the ruins.
Flames, dirt, and shrapnel erupted into the air as the Fireball struck the heart of the lizardman camp. It looked almost like an artillery strike, devastating and absolute.
The camp was chaos. Bodies and debris were flung outward from the blast. Blackened soot marked the epicenter where the bonfire had once stood. Most of the lizardmen were incinerated instantly, but a few survivors groaned and staggered to their feet.
Tris loosed her Void enhanced arrow without hesitation. The black flamed projectile punched clean through a lizardman's thick hide, dropping it where it stood.
Fayde followed up with a focused blast of Void Flame, consuming another before it could even raise its weapon.
Nes charged in from below, moving with sharp efficiency. His spear flashed as he cut down any lizardman who tried to rally. Reia and Fayde provided cover fire from above, finishing off the last scattered enemies.
It was almost too easy.
Then a low horn sounded in the distance, a deep, guttural bellow that echoed through the ruins.
"Visitors incoming," Fayde muttered. "Move!"
They regrouped quickly. Fayde and Tris sprinted down the ruined stairwell, rejoining Nes and Allein, who had taken cover behind a collapsed wall.
Allein was already summoning her magic again, preparing another Fireball. Nes stood nearby, his gaze sharp as he scanned the ruins.
"They are coming fast," Nes said, calm but serious. "We need to hit them hard."
Fayde nodded. With Tris and the Beastkins' enhanced senses, they could already hear the enemy approaching, heavy, rapid footsteps closing in.
Within moments, a tightly packed column of lizardmen surged into view, advancing through a narrow path toward the wrecked camp. They moved in formation, spears raised, shields tight.
Fayde counted at least twenty of them.
Their discipline would have been impressive if they had been heavily armored. As light infantry packed so tightly, they were practically inviting disaster.
"Allein!" Fayde shouted. "Center of the formation!"
Without hesitation, Allein unleashed her Fireball.
The blast tore through the enemy ranks, the explosion ripping apart the tight formation and sending lizardmen flying in every direction. Some were crushed under falling rubble. Others staggered to their feet, wounded and disoriented.
The survivors were few, scattered, and broken.
"Go!" Fayde ordered.
The Void Walkers moved as one, charging out from cover and striking the remnants of the enemy force before they could regroup.
The third floor was welcoming them properly, with fire, blood, and ruin.
"Let's go, finish them off quickly!" Fayde's orders spurred his companions on and they ran towards the frightened and bewildered lizardmen, finishing the survivors off easily.
Most of the lizardmen were in a daze after the 'Fireball' hit and were in a state similar to shell shock, so they could barely even respond to the charge. More horns sounded, some coming from further away. It seemed as if their attack had woken up a hornet's nest. This was somewhat unexpected, but Fayde knew they could always fall back if necessary, and there would be other adventurers on the floor above. He had no intention of retreating unless the enemy was absolutely overwhelming.
Smaller squads of lizardmen came pouring into the surroundings in an attempt to cut them off. Several lizardmen with spears and a few lizardmen archers attempted to surround them.
"Reia, with me. The rest of you clear out the ones to our rear," Fayde ordered.
His 'Void Flames' had become much more powerful than when he first came to Aergan. He could now cover a large portion of his body in flames. The thought crossed his mind that he was starting to look like the Human Torch from Earth's comics. With the way things were going, it would not be long until he could cover his entire body in flames. He laughed to himself while enhancing his body with 'Void Flames.' He was now able to cover his arms and his entire torso if he wanted to. Since it activated instantly when he summoned his power, he could even rotate the flames around his body to deflect most incoming attacks.
Fayde ran into the group of lizardmen in front of him with Reia following close behind. His body ignited in flames and he launched straight into an attack which took the enemy by surprise. He activated one of his newly obtained martial arts skills, 'Sword Whirlwind,' and spun in a deadly dance, cutting the two lizardmen in front of him in several places, his 'Void'-enhanced sword easily slicing through their hardened skin.
The two lizard archers who had been to the rear of the spear users had already nocked their bows and were aiming to fire straight at Fayde. Their attempt to fire arrows at him was quickly ended by several of Reia's 'Flame Arrows' that punched holes in their bodies.
There was one more archer who had survived the initial attack and had time to fire an arrow at Fayde. An attack this weak was not sufficient to break through his 'Void Flame' defense, and he deftly deflected the arrow with his left arm. Reia had not been fast enough to strike the last archer before it could attack, but it was fine since Fayde was unharmed. She slashed the remaining archer after the arrow was released and then finished it off, stabbing it through its chest.
Allein and the others had finished off the lizardmen squad to the rear, and after surveying the battlefield, there appeared to be none left. A good number of lizardmen lay sprawled across the surrounding area, dead and mostly in pieces.
The group made their way back to the center of the lizardmen encampment to see if there were any stragglers. Flames from the disturbed bonfire were now spreading everywhere, and at the center there was a huge conflagration. They were unable to get any closer and had to back away from the flames. The entire encampment was catching fire. Even though the encampment was in the middle of what looked like the ruins of a city, the lizardmen had built crude temporary structures which were now in flames.
Since they could not head in further, Fayde decided they should backtrack to where they had come from and head back toward the western entrance of the encampment.
After regaining their composure, Fayde turned to Tris and said, "Tris, try to scout the area and see if there are any more lizardmen approaching. We won't be able to rest easy until the area is clear."
"Alright, be back soon," Tris replied and then ran off.
They waited for a while, mostly in silence. Even though they were not under attack, they all remained on high alert as they waited for Tris to finish her scouting.
After some time passed, Nes, who had been carefully watching the surroundings, turned to Fayde. "Fayde, I can see Tris running this way."
Tris came running up, temporarily out of breath. "Fayde! A large group... of lizardmen... coming..." she panted hard.
"How many?" Fayde asked.
"I don't know the exact number. I ran here as soon as I detected them, but there are a lot of them."
"So what's the grand plan this time, fearless leader?" Nes said, his tone sharp.
"I don't need your snide remarks, Nes."
Nes shot Fayde a glare when he said that. Allein gave Nes a smack on the back of his head.
"Nes!" she scolded.
He rubbed his head and mumbled an apology. Allein was always useful during times like these. Nes had become more outspoken in his disdain toward Humans. Well, his disdain toward Humans in general, it was just that Fayde spent more time with him than any other Human other than Tris. Nes hardly ever spoke to Tris, so Fayde was left to be the target of his ill will.
"It's annoying, but let's fall back for now. There were supposed to be two other advance parties heading down to the third floor. We set out ahead of them, but they should be close by now. If we can meet up with them, then we can form a plan of attack."
Allein was not happy about it. "I don't like having to run away."
"It's too great a risk, Allein. Even if we have to share the rewards, it's better to be safe than dead," Reia said.
"Reia's right. We shouldn't risk it," Tris agreed.
"We don't have time to sit here chatting. The monsters will be here soon," Fayde reminded them.
Without hesitation, the group made their way back toward the second floor, retreating from the approaching wave of monsters.