B2 Chapter 211: Siege, pt. 1

Kaius pumped his arms, keeping an easy pace as flickering oil lamps washed them with light.

He longed to stretch his gait—to push himself to the full speeds he was capable of. If they did that, Ianmus was dead.

The mage was ahead of him, sprinting as fast as he was able—a speed that was genuinely impressive considering his distinct lack of Strength and Dexterity, the man clearly considered running to be a vital skill in a caster’s toolbox.

To his right, Porkchop was keeping a similar loping gate to his own, though it was obvious to see that he was also forcing himself to a slow pace.

They took the corner hard, keeping their speed as they pressed on.

He could hear the plague raging behind them. There was no pursuit yet, but it would only be moments until the bodies were discovered and a force was on their tail—the smallest of graces afforded to them thanks to their sudden discovery, confusion working in their favour.

His mind raced as darkened stone rooms flashed passed them. Did they fight, or did they run? Running was risky. Once they were out of the caves, they’d have enough headroom to throw Ianmus on Porkchop’s back and make a break for it.

Unfortunately, the plague seemed to be made up of largely physical specimens. Considering how long their journey into the earth had been, Kaius suspected that their pursuers would close the distance before then.

Leading the boggarts on a pursuit out of the valley could be disastrous—precipitate them splintering into groups and infecting an even wider region. If they were unlucky, it might even speed up the boggarts discovery of the plains.

No, they had a duty. He doubted they’d be able to cull all of them, but at the very least they could fight them to a standstill in the darkness of the caves—thin their numbers until they were forced into a fighting retreat.

If they did enough, they might cripple the tribe. Stall their development and starvation long enough that a team better suited to their annihilation could be rallied.

Kaius pressed his lips into a hard line, his mind made up.

“Tell Ianmus we’re going to have to fight—we’ll hold a choke point in the darkness.” he pressed through his bond, Porkchop replying with an unmistakable feeling of acknowledgement—and an undeniable undercurrent of red thrill.

Kaius felt it too, his blood heating with a roar that had been steadily building since they had been discovered. Calm had come with it, the cool certainty that there was no more room for anticipation and dread—only action.

The bloodsong had been changing within him, he’d noticed. Less overwhelming, less…feral. He’d grown since leaving the depths. While he still felt the rushing anticipation of the fight, he no longer wanted to turn and fight where he stood as he once would have. Some of it was undoubtedly the clarity that had come with his ignited Mentis—the energy of his fire burned by his Glass Mind as it searched for avenues to victory.

Some of it was due to simple experience. The Depths—the isolated microcosm of challenge and battle that they were—had made it all too easy to indulge in base desires. His responsibilities had grown. His team, their mission, his vengeance, the phases, his growth.

Porkchop, on the other hand… Judging by the growing anticipation and violent desires he felt cross their bond, his brother was still very much in favour of simple, direct, action.

Not that Kaius could judge him for that, he still longed for the thrill of the fight—it had simply been tempered.

A howling roar raced through the tunnel behind them, a low rumble echoing shortly after it.

The pursuit had begun.

…

Kaius spotted the narrowing of the cave—the pitch black hiding no secrets before the flat monochrome vision of his Truesight. The boggarts had done little to excavate the tunnels this close to the entrance of the cave, and a natural deviation in the stone had led to a section that tightened to where he and Porkchop would only just be able to fight side by side.

**Ding! Truesight has reached level 48!**

The perfect place to make their stand.

“Ianmus! Stop beyond the thinning walls!” he called.

The mage nodded, his chest heaving too hard to answer through words.

Kaius appraised him, taking in his sweat streaked face and flushed skin. Ianmus had pushed himself hard—sprinted for all he was worth through the caves. No doubt his Stamina was shot, though thankfully the man would have little need for it in the coming conflict.

He could hear the roaring noise of their pursuers drawing closer—a tremendous wall of sound that burst through the cave in a constant assault. They were a minute away, maybe two.

Ianmus was the weak link to a fighting retreat, and given his pace through the cave, would have no chance in an outright rout. They’d need to buy the man time.

He took his position at Porkchop’s side, facing back the way they had come.

Mana flashed through the darkness, welling up from within his brother’s centre as jade plates bound his massive body in impenetrable defence.

Kaius held his blade ready.

Heat washed over him—Ianmus working immediately to refresh their empowerment before the tide was upon them.

**Ding! You have been Enhanced – Sundrenched Strength!**

The howl of the plague grew all the more baleful—slavering monsters baying for flesh. Their hunger, he realised. Blood had sat heavy in the air as they fled through the sites of their slaughter, it must be driving the boggarts mad.

“Ianmus,” he called, keeping his eyes dead ahead as he waited for their enemies. “There is a good chance we will need to flee.”

“I know, if their numbers are as great as you said—as it sounds like they are—then they’ll wear us down with attrition alone. We don’t have the potions or regeneration to keep up—I’ve done the estimations I can, and none of them look good. Even in the best case scenario, we stand no chance.” Ianmus’s voice was determined, but Kaius had dealt with the nerves of staring death in the face enough times to hone in on the raw edge to the mage’s tone.

“Rieker set us up.” Ianmus continued, trailing off to a whisper.

“Calm yourself. We’re going to be fine.” he assured—they might lose this battle, but he’d be damned before he resigned himself to losing his life. “When I call for it, I want you to retreat. Race to our tent as fast as you can, it’ll hide you well enough.”

Kaius could practically feel Ianmus’s gaze snapping to the back of his head.

“You want me to abandon you to your fate?” Ianmus asked, the thin edge of shock and offense cutting through his nerves.

“No,” Kaius said with a shake of his head. “We’re just buying time—It’s almost certain that me and Porkchop will be able to lose them on foot. We’ll circle back, collect you and disappear.”

“We cannot flee to the plains,” Ianmus cut in, voice resolute. “The two of you might be fast, but you’ll leave tracks—if we’re followed, they might be convinced to vanish into the forests if they discover how rife they are with food.”

“We can lose them in the hills—chip away at their trackers and raiders. I doubt we’ll be able to starve them out, with how much meat today will bring—but we can harry them all the same.” Porkchop assured the mage.

The half-elf ground his teeth at his explanation, but clearly thought it was a reasonable course, not saying a word to the contrary. Instead, Kaius felt the man start to channel his mana—the cleansing might of the sun gathering around the man.

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“I’ll focus on healing—a full strength beam might be effective here, but it would burn me dry.”

Kaius nodded.

“I hear them, they’re close.” Porkchop suddenly butted in, hackles rising as he growled into the darkness of the tunnel.

“Ready yourselves for glory, my friends.” Kaius said, settling into his guard—ready to break the boggart’s charge with Stormlash.

….

The first boggarts spilled around the bend in the passage in a gibbering tide that was preceded by the dull flickering glow of torches. The light was inconsistent and dim. A dull radiance that only just barely managed to beat back the darkness, leaving much of the passage draped in gloom.

Barely any of them held torches at all, really—most seemingly having been driven to furious madness by the sudden alarm and assault.

It mattered little to him, but hopefully it would make the boggart’s advance all the more difficult.

Most of the mob were boggarts, their charge slowing as the crowd was crushed together by the narrowing tunnel—forced to march eight abreast in the confines of his team’s chosen battlefield. They were an unending tide—more pressing from around the bend to push on the backs of the dozens of bogglings that choked the visible stretch of cave.

The sudden force of the walls pressing them inwards hit the approaching plague like a physical blow—many of those in the middle falling to the ground as their allies to their sides were forced inwards. Pained screams rang out, bones breaking as those that fell were trampled by their allies.

Even a few bugbears faltered. By far the minority of the force, they were still easily visible by their stature, scattered inconsistently though the mass—urging their lessers onwards.

Kaius grinned with feral glee as he saw that his plan had worked—that the memory his Glass Mind had impressed on him of a panicked stampede of deer through a tight gully had proven relevant.

Orange light spilled across him, snarling cries rising to a near fever pitch as the plague spotted them.

Boggart spearmen and slingers loosed their projectiles. Most were empowered in some way, mana flashing in his eyes as the lesser creatures drew on system granted skills to imbue their weapons with myriad powers.

Kaius took it all in. His skills and Glass Mind aiding him in tracking their passage—and how best to defend himself.

**Ding! Explorer’s Toolkit has reached level 50!**