Bloodsworn

Chapter 2.19 Monsters in the Depths

19.

They came in a rush of albino skin and maws of needle teeth, skating in their haste as Erak stepped into their rush. He swung the heavy slab of metal they had called a shield at the leading monster. Teeth and bone shattered as the monster was picked up and thrown against the tunnel wall, leaving a trail of mucus on Erak’s shield.

Nevia gave a shout and a wave of Essence rolled over Erak as muscle bulged through his arms and chest, energy filling him as he brought his sword around and cut through the next of the line of monsters. Its thick skull resisted for a moment before his borrowed sword burrowed through and it collapsed at his feet.

Miss my armor

Erak was forced back instead of being able to push his attack, vulnerable flesh only inches away from snapping teeth. The monsters kept coming in an exorable tide that pushed them back further and further. Erak was leaving a carpet of corpses behind as he retreated, each of his blows killed one of the monsters but without his armor he couldn’t hold ground.

Nevia and Sammus didn’t have the strength to kill the beasts in a single blow like Erak, but with Pomp’s aid they killed fast enough to nearly match him. Icy breath flowed over the monsters like a cloud and slowed them down as Sammus and Nevia struck like lightning. Nevia was smooth and efficient with no wasted motion as she killed with a soldier’s precision. Sammus danced and flowed, striking and retreating all in singular smooth motions.

Erak felt like a sledgehammer compared to them. Every blow had the weight of a falling sky with no attempts at subtlety or grace. He left the creatures splattered against the wall or carved in half and still they forced him back. Rage built with every heartbeat, rage at being forced further and further back by these troglodytes.

Bloodlust activated. Red light tinged the air and his companions efficient and graceful styles began to fray. Their strike’s came faster, hit harder, and the beasts died in greater numbers. Finally the tide stopped, leaving nothing behind but a mountain of bodies and a river of blood. All four of them stood there gasping for breath, hearts hammering away as the Essence that filled the hall urged them to keep fighting.

“Erak, could you release your aura?” Nevia asked after a moment, voice raspy as she sucked down great gulps of air. With a thought Erak did as she asked and the Essence flowed away in a minute.

“If this is the welcoming party I don’t think that this is going to be as easy as we thought,” Sammus said as he walked through the corpses carefully. The Elvish prince was trying to avoid the deeper pools of viscera, but was quickly becoming coated in a layer of gore.

Nevia said something to the prince in agreement while Erak started looking over his weapons. The shield was dented and had scratches down the length of it that had pulled furrows of metal free. It wouldn’t last that many more battles before it was nothing but scrap metal.

His sword wasn’t in much better shape. The edge had a few chips on it, nothing a whetstone wouldn’t work out, but nothing in comparison to his lost swords which he hadn’t had to worry about. It wasn’t a bad blade but just couldn’t hold up to his strength and the durability of the monsters he was fighting.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Erak’s missing the armor,” Sammus said as they made it to the end of the hallway where the attack had started.

“You noticed? His frustration is filling our bond,” Pomp said as he ran along the top of the bodies. The two fell into a casual conversation while Erak and Nevia walked behind them in silence. For a minute.

“When you leave I want to go with you again,” Nevia said. Erak looked over at her and shrugged a shoulder. He didn’t mind her following along, she was competent and her class gave good boosts to his strength and helped organize troops.

“That’s it? A shrug?”

What else does she want?

Pomp turned around and shot Erak a glacier glare before he turned back to pick up his conversation with Sammus again. Nevia glared up at him for a moment before she scoffed and turned to look back down the hallway as they started to follow the map again.

“We took heavy losses but I’ve been able to form a full squad of volunteers. They’re all higher leveled than most of the soldiery and they all fought with you. We’ll be following you from now on. No matter what.”

“I’m joining you as well, Erak. Your social graces are lacking. We will likely be finding more enclaves of survivors and you’re going to need the help. Also I think it would be better for my long term health if I wasn’t around Aloria. She has a habit of siblings dying around her,” Sammus whispered that last part.

For two more hours they kept walking, deeper into the dwarven tunnels. Every now and then they’d hear the scratches of claws on the stone or the growl of one of the creatures, but none emerged to contest their descent.

Water dripped from cracks in the stone and puddles grew in the corners where the floors sloped down. Gnawed on bones lay in scattered piles and other signs of the beasts lay smeared across the floor and walls. Mildew and decay mingled in an earth smell that Erak was forced to smell it all in its full depths. Another irritation from not having his armor.

“Erak, I think we need to go down here,” Sammus said as he stopped and looked down a straight vertical shaft that disappeared downward. Rust red metal rungs jutted out of the shaft and led away into pitch darkness. Sammus had the map out and was peering at it with his face scrunched up as he tried to decipher it.

Erak peeked over his shoulder and looked at the map and took a minute to read it. He thought the prince was correct. A three dimensional map printed on a flat piece of paper was tough to read at a glance. After a minute he realized the prince was correct.

Erak sighed as he wedged himself into the space, his back touching the stone as he started to work his way down. Each of the rungs groaned under his weight but didn’t yield as the darkness swallowed him. Above him he heard Nevia and Sammus start to follow him and then the scuttling sound of claws as Pomp scurried down, using the others as a living ladder. He perched himself on Erak’s shoulder as he kept going down.

You’re getting fat

“That’s rude and a lie, Erak. I don’t know whether I like you without your armor. You’re lashing out. And I don’t have a good perch.” Pomp punctuated that by shuffling along Erak’s shoulder’s, caring not at all as Erak carefully kept working his way down the ladder.

“Nevia wanted you to tell her you want her to come and follow you. She’s lost her commander and the majority of her command. She’s looking for something to attach herself to. Give herself an identity. A shrug was not good enough.”

I’ll let her know she would be a helpful addition. And her squad.

“And Sammus?”

Erak stopped for a moment and looked up to where Sammus was still climbing down. The prince had saved his life. He never shut up and habitually stole his food.

If we have too.