TL;DR on where I have been: Family vacations/graduations led me out of town. IRL issues conflicted with the last post, as did my own mistake. All is well now, and we are back to our regular schedule.
If you were stressed...my bad. But a good reminder to join the Discord, I keep everything up to date there, so drop by for the notifications and the community :D
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Kaladin Shadowheart's POV.
What? Where am I? What—what happened? I remember being with Ms. Taurus at camp in the forest, then a sudden fog rolled in, and that was it. So how am I—
"Finally awake, Kaladin?" Bowen asked as he sat at a fire with his back to me.
I looked around, and we were at the back of a stone cave. It was much darker here, and it didn't appear we had retreated to the first floor. But at the camp, it was just Bowen, a sleeping Ms. Taurus, and myself.
"What happened?" I asked, my head pounding and my mouth dry.
"To summarize quickly, we were separated into two groups of two and two groups of three and moved to two distinct areas on the second floor. Your two groups faced a forest that was overtaken by a fog that would put you to sleep but had a minimal amount of monsters while our groups weathered a blizzard with many Yetis pouring out," Bowen explained.
"I see…so Sylvia must have cleared our floor as the fog wouldn't have put her to sleep and…" I trailed off.
We got incredibly lucky. How in the world were we meant to beat that fog? Was there something we missed on that floor?
"Varnir and I managed ours," Bowen filled in while still having his back to me.
"Then what's the situation now?" I asked, sitting up and rubbing my head.
"We all took a set of stairs downward in our respective areas that appeared after defeating the floor boss and arrived together on the third floor," Bowen said.
"From there, we have worked our way through this floor and discovered two major issues, and we have overcome one of them."
I took out some water from my ring and sighed as I quenched my dry mouth. "Just how long have I been asleep?" I murmured.
Bowen hummed to himself and shrugged. "Difficult to say, but at least a day," he said.
"So the first issue. I assume it has something to do with a cave system and monsters?" I guessed.
"That would be correct. This cave system is filled with a unique type of monster. To describe it best, it's a giant-shelled creature with razor-sharp claws capable of cutting out these tunnels. These monsters lay in wait and attack alone with overwhelming speed. But Tsarra and her illusions have made quick work of them, baiting them out of their hiding places. Although these creatures have tried to collapse two tunnels so far," Bowen went on to explain.
"Then there is something more out there?" I asked.
Bowen nodded. "Correct. Beyond the cave system is a far larger problem looming over us. Since you haven't been to Krunbar, you may not know, but inside the mountains are immense ravines that can be found underground. The Dwarves use these ravines to build forts on one side called bastions. They are typically connected via bridges to the other side of the ravine," he said.
"And if it were as simple as being empty, then we wouldn't be here," I added.
"Correct. The bastion is manned by many undead and is showing signs of intelligence. They are firing arrows and using strange magical weapons we have not seen before to hold us at bay. A frontal assault may be impossible. Currently, we are looking for alternative routes through the caves, but our efforts so far have amounted to nothing," Bowen said with a sigh.
Strange magical weapons?
"I see…what are the odds we found an alternative route?" I asked.
Bowen shook his head and said, "Nothing but wishful thinking, in my opinion. It was the only option while we waited for the two of you to wake up."
I went over and sat down by the fire. Bowen had his eyes closed, most likely concentrating on his Golems somewhere in the dungeon.
"Is the bastion still in good condition? Or can it be blasted through?"I asked.
"Well, you can see for yourself. I've alerted the others. They should be making their way back down."
—
"Are you feeling better?" Sylvia asked me in a low voice as we walked down the narrow tunnel into the darkness.
I looked ahead at the single flicker of light and the faint movements of Tsarra's illusion as it led the way. "Yeah, I just needed some food and water. Thankfully, that's all. Things could have ended up far worse if it weren't for you. Thank you for saving everyone," I said earnestly.
Sylvia looked to the side and nodded as she mumbled, "Of course, what was I going to do? Just leave everyone?"
Of course not.
I smiled to myself and looked over to Cerila. She gave me a small wave, and I signed,
Lord Vasquez abruptly stopped us by raising his hand. He put his flaming fire orb to the ceiling and narrowed his eyes. We could see clearly that something had stopped trying to cut its way into the cave ceiling. Judging by the rocks on the floor, it had stopped long before it could carve out a hiding place.
Lord Vasquez put a finger to his mouth as he eyed Sylvia and me specifically before lowering the light on his spell. With that signal, I made my way to the front of the group. Varnir and I would use our spears to hold the creature back at first, while Lord Vasquez and Professor Garrison would dispatch it.
But that was only if I couldn't deal with it myself.
I had felt rather useless in the dungeon so far. I ended up falling victim to a trap that put my life in the hands of others, and I wasn't even able to lift a finger. I didn't want to be a burden here, and I definitely didn't want to feel helpless. Maybe I was venting my frustration. But whatever monster showed itself was going to be very unlucky today.
We crept as the illusion maintained a reasonable distance away from us. With a few more minutes of walking, it happened. It was sudden. In a flash, there was the sound of rock breaking, and the illusion, along with its light source, was snuffed out.
I rushed forward with Tsarra's warning at my back. The tunnel was engulfed in the light from torches and my fire magic, and I could see the monster clearly now. It was well over six feet tall, walking on two legs with a grayish stoney shell along its body. Its head had two giant beady black eyes and a gaping maw of razor-sharp teeth. Antennae drooped along the side of its head and down to its large scythe-like arms.
What kind of demonic lobster is this? This looks like a fisherman's worst nightmare.
The creature's head snapped right toward us and it was indeed as fast as Bowen had described. I formed my spell core and released it. A fist of earth came from the wall and tried to crush the thing, but it sprinted past, crawling across the wall and onto the ceiling at a blinding pace.
However, it was still a good distance away, and despite its speed, it was big, and this was a narrow hallway. It could only go so many places as it headed straight toward us.
I formed more spell cores, and it must have instinctively sensed them as it leaped off the ceiling. However, before it could touch the ground, the ground below it rose up and crushed it back up the ceiling, pinning it. But with a single swipe of its sharp claws it ripped the stone apart with ease.
Unfortunately for it, that was the least of it worries. As more earth moved to surround the creature it wasn't able to stop it all. It focused on protecting its upper body, but as it moved, the earth below was swept away, and it tripped over itself and into a small hole.
That moment was enough for my Lightning Bolt to crackle off my spear and race straight toward the monster, hitting it directly in the chest. The creature didn't even let out a scream as it fell over onto its back, and from a safe distance, I crushed its head with a rock. I went over to it and gave it a firm stab in the chest with my spear, just to be sure.
As they said, the creature was agile and deadly but not exceptionally durable. Magic other than earth magic seemed lethal enough to finish them off with a single direct hit. I inspected its sharp claws and nodded to myself. Those would cause havoc on anyone they touched. If it could easily slice through this stone, then iron or even steel armor wouldn't keep someone safe.
Professor Garrison whistled as he walked up behind me. "You made that look easy," he chuckled.
"I've had some good teachers in my time," I said, whipping the purple blood off my spear.
Professor Garrison gave me a pat on the back and I asked him, "How much further do we have to go?"
"Mmm, about another twenty or so minutes of walking, I'd say, as long as those bastards didn't collapse the tunnels," he said.
We continued to walk down the dark tunnels, taking multiple twists and turns, guided by the markings the others had left on their previous expeditions as Tsarra's illusion guided us, but we didn't run into any more of those monsters. We took a branching path and Professor Garrison poked the wall with a finger.
"Knock this down, and we should get a decent enough sight line to the fort. And be careful not to be too aggressive. The other side of this should be a sheer drop into the ravine," he warned.
Bowen put a hand up to the wall, and it crumbled down and away, revealing open air on the other side. I was the first to step forward, and I looked down first, seeing nothing but infinite darkness.
I took out a lit torch from my ring and dropped it into the ravine. I watched it fall, tumble off the walls, and slip into the darkness until not even the light could be seen anymore. Naturally, I never heard it hit the ground either.
When I gazed around, I could see the bastion on the other side of the ravine. It was impressive, to say the least. A fortress of stone and iron cut into the stone and molded into the rock. Multiple stories tall with towers and murder holes along its entire perimeter. A small landing space at the foot of the wall where people could barely fit and would be elbowing each other, trying not to fall into the abyss. It was not even close enough to deploy a proper siege tower, let alone lug a ladder to the walls.
If someone could even maneuver such a large ladder in a tight space, that is.
A single stone bridge extended across the immense open ravine and led to a large castle gate. Even if dozens of earth mages banded together to bridge across the ravine, they would be under constant assault from the fortress. The death of many would be inevitable. It was a dependable bastion, and taking it would be a nightmare for anyone.
"Thankfully, the walls appear to be in disrepair and not of their former glory. It is also clear that the design is…much older and not the same as the ones found in Krunbar. And I highly doubt barrier mages are amongst the undead, so blasting the walls is not impossible. With everyone's concentration on magic, we should be able to breach it. We just need to find the weakest point and, of course, avoid the undead's attacks at the same time," Bowen mused from behind me.
I weighed our options with a hint of frustration. If I had access to modern equipment and engineering, it wouldn't be an impossibility to take this fortress down, but those options were obviously not available. We had to make do with what we had, and the first and best option was to circumnavigate the bastion entirely.
"Can we bridge across the ravine at a lower point and dig up and around with magic?" I asked.
Lord Vasquez was the first to shake his head. "Impossible," he said gruffly.
I raised an eyebrow, and he pointed across to the other side. I followed his finger but didn't see anything that immediately struck me as a problem.
"Dull stone, huh?" I murmured after a moment.
"Precisely. We have neither the time, resources, or manpower to dig a path manually. There is also no guarantee we would arrive anywhere meaningful as we are in a dungeon," Lord Vasquez said firmly.
Magic digging was out of the question with the other side being made of dull stone. There was a chance the bastion's walls were made of the stuff, too, but they were at least cracked and weathered from time. Then, that left us with about four options.
"I have a few ideas. We could attempt to infiltrate from the side and get up the walls as quickly as possible. With Sylvia protecting us, it could be done. Fighting on the walls would get us away from the kill box that is that bridge, and we could ignore many of their defenses," I offered.
"A fair idea if we knew the enemy's numbers and how many high-level undead were amongst them. If there are a handful of Liches atop those walls who have yet to show themselves, we would be at their mercy," Bowen said.
Let me see…I should be able to—I…I can't see through the dull stone with Soulsight. Damn.
"It appears your scouting is also hindered. I've also been unable to get a Golem into the bastion," Bowen chuckled.
Then perhaps a siege would be in order. However, our side of the ravine is also not ideal. If we were an army, we would still be at a disadvantage. There is insufficient space to deploy siege weapons like catapults or trebuchets. And we are in range of the enemy magic, which will force us to hide in the caves.
"Then I'm certain we can attack from the relative safety of the caves. It may take a few days, but we should be able to make a breach with magic. Other than that, our only other option is a full frontal assault, which is a death trap I'm not willing to walk into," I said.
"Indeed, we can act after we make a dent in their defenses," Ms. Taurus said with a tired smile.
"Uh—I…what if the undead come out from the fort? Wouldn't they overrun us in the tunnels?" Tsarra asked.
"They would also have to move across the bridge. At that point, they would be doing us a favor," Bowen said.
"I also haven't seen these magical weapons you were talking about. What exactly are they?" I asked.
"They only deploy them when we got close. They fired various magical spells at us, but it did not come from a mage. I hadn't even sensed a spell core. They were fired from the murder holes," Lord Vasquez answered.
Interesting.
"Could you explain it in more detail? Was it wide-range explosions?" I questioned.
"No, they were rather small, precise attacks," he explained further.
Could it be…no. Surely not.
I shook away the brooding thoughts. The old Dwarven kingdom was clearly technologically advanced, but not to that degree. Or…were they?
"Is there a safer position to fire from? I would rather not accidentally cave the floor in and fall there again," I asked.
Professor Garrison slowly looked down the ravine and back up at me with a confused look. "What do you mean again?"
"Long story."