B3 Chapter 309: Kolnir, finale

Wading through the mire of grasses and fronds that surrounded him, Kaius felt like his nerves had been stretched to the point of breaking.

Every few minutes he would hear the distinctive cry of a Kolnir, their basey shrieks slicing through the jungle for leagues. He couldn’t just tune them out — not when the next one might be the only warning they got before they were attacked.

It hadn’t been long since they had fled the site of their last battle — they were being hunted, kolnirs scouring the jungle for evidence of those who had slain a member of their troop.

It wore on him, especially because the jungle as a whole wasn’t exactly quiet. Every rustling leaf and shifting branch seemed to leap out to him — let alone the sounds of beasts around them. Most, it seemed, were not hyper aggressive. He never caught sight of them, only the evidence of their passing. Rustles in burrows, and a flash of fur across the jungle floor.

They had to be set pieces — things the Depths had added to make the jungle seem closer to life. If they weren’t, he had no explanation for why they hadn’t fallen beneath an unending swarm of second-tier critters yet.

He still couldn’t avoid treating each one as a potential threat. He’d learned his lesson in the last delve, the second he started to ignore them would be the exact moment they would be attacked. It was exactly the style of the Depths to hide a deadly threat amongst a crowd of something innocuous.

The dense undergrowth ahead of Porkchop rustled. Something large, heading their way. Kaius reacted immediately, dropping into his stance as he brought his sword up into a high guard, the point of his sword trained at the approaching noise. The rest of his team reacted similarly, Porkchop hunkering down to brace, while Ianmus levelled his staff.

Kenva flew out of the undergrowth, landing in front of them as vines crawled up her legs before withering. She froze, excited expression wiped as she was faced by their battle ready formation.

“Hells, you sure know how to show a girl welcome,” she whispered, unwilling to draw attention.

Kaius sighed, dropping his sword to his side as he relaxed. Once the kolnirs had started to spread out and search, Kenva had gone ahead to try to find them a place to hide — even with the thick undergrowth, it would only be a matter of time until they were found.

Especially if the kolnirs were watching from above. No matter how careful they had been, it was impossible to push through the jungle growth without leaving a clear trail behind them.

“Not our fault you thought it was a good idea to sprint towards us without warning.” Kaius gave the ranger an easy grin. “Now please tell me you found something.”

Kenva nodded emphatically.

“Another tree with roots that reach above ground — this one’s even more of a warren than the one we left.”

Finally. They’d passed more than a few of the natural monuments, but the giant plants were as varied as a natural jungle — most simply erupted from the ground. Those were utterly useless to them without the natural highways of tunnels their root system created. If they could reach it they would be both shielded from view and protected by their dense mesh of roots that enclosed the paths around their trunks.

“Perfect. I hope it’s close — the last few kolnir screams have sounded closer than they were before.”

“It is — barely ten minutes ahead. It won’t be risk free, however — we’ll have to cross two hundred or so longstrides of open ground to reach the root warren. If they’re watching out for us, it’ll come down to a race.”

Kaius winced. It wasn’t perfect, but it was as good as it was going to get. They needed to get under cover, and those root networks went deep underground — perfect to wait out the ire of their hunters. It would be a squeeze for Porkchop, but the bulky and oversized kolnirs would be even more disadvantaged if they tried to follow. Without the room to swing their arms, or move freely at all, they would be far more manageable.

“Let’s go.”

“Thank the gods, all of the looking over my shoulders I’ve been doing has put a crook in my neck.” Ianmus sighed in relief.

They pushed on.

A few minutes later, Kenva pointed up through the gaps of the grass and ferns to a tree with wide and waxy leaves overhead. It stood out from the other crowns in the canopy, it’s bark a familiar sandy-grey.

“That’s our target,” she whispered.

The groundcover started to thin, giving Kaius a clean view of their approach. Just like Kenva had said, the stretch to the trunk was open and exposed. Much like the site of their previous battle, it was covered in snaking roots. Some rose a dozen or more strides in the air, segmenting the jungle floor like natural walls.

They slowed to a halt. Any further and they would have to make a break for it.

Following their ranger’s outstretched finger, Kaius focused on a crook between two roots that Kenva was pointing at. His eyes pierced the shadowed gloom, seeing the cavity beneath them. A tight squeeze, but it led directly into a warren that ran along the side of one of the roots. The path was partway exposed, a smaller mesh of growth acting as natural bars. As long as they were careful around any of the gaps large enough for a kolnir to shove its arm through, they’d be safe.

They just had to reach it first.

Kaius nodded to himself. They could do this.

“Ready?”

He gave his team his best confident grin.

“Let’s just get this done.” Porkchop replied with a grunt — he’d fared as well as the rest of them with the looming tension of their pursuit.

The rest of his team nodded.

“Go!”

Kaius kicked off, soft earth spraying behind the force of his footfalls. He crashed through the final remnants of undergrowth, uncaring of the noise and movement it generated. All that mattered was getting into the root network as quick as he humanly could.

They punched into the open, pace increasing as they left the undergrowth behind.

Blood pumping with every stride, Kaius felt a glimmer of hope flood through them. They were going to make it!

A kolnir howl came from high overhead, loud and cruel. It rocked through his chest where it nurtured his bitter resignation. Of course the bastards had found them, by the bloody gods, why had he expected anything else?

Kaius looked up, searching for the source of the noise. Far above and a little behind them, he snatched a glance of a kolnir hanging by one arm from a branch in the canopy overhead.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

It let go, falling like a stone.

He focused on running.

“Ianmus, Kenva! Movement skills now, you can cover us from the root network!”

They reacted without bothering to respond. They’d stuck together previously to avoid wasting resources, and to minimise the chance of being spotted by flashing skills. There was no point in that now, not when the two were too fragile to be of actual assistance if the kolnir caught up.

Burning starlight surrounded Ianmus’s feet as he tore towards the opening in the roots, moving in a dead straight line. Kenva bounded next to him, vines coiling to launch her forward with every step.

Kaius burnt his own spells, the world shifting as he warped slightly into slipspace. Every few moments, he flickered in completely, his vision going ghostly for a blink. Even with his spell lengthening his steps considerably, his brother kept pace with him easily — sheer physicality sending him hurtling over the jungle floor.

Something heavy hit the ground behind them with a thump, another howl piercing his ears.

He growled, pushing himself to move faster.

Oh, how he wished they could turn — stand and fight. A single kolnir was a dangerous but manageable threat, they’d proven that with their prior victory.

If they did that, they would die. Kaius didn’t believe for a second that the kolnir was truly alone.

More howls lit up the jungle — some close enough that he doubted it would take the beasts more than ten minutes to reach them.

His backline reached the warren, sliding into safety before they cleared the way.

“Hurry! It’s right behind you!” Kenva screamed, mana flashing within her as she used her Winter’s Mark. She loosed an oversized arrow a moment later.

The kolnir on his tail yelped as it slammed home, but he could still hear the drum beat of its palms slapping the dirt as it raced on.

It was gaining on them.

Ianmus waved his staff, solar mana coalescing around Kaius a second later.

He sped up, invigorated by the spell.

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

Still the Kolnir closed the distance, irreverent of the arrows and spells that rained down upon it. Kaius risked a glance behind him, getting an eyeful of crazed eyes and snarling teeth barely a dozen long-strides behind him. The beast howled, loud enough that it left a ring in his ears — drawing its troop towards them.

They’d just crossed the halfway mark. It was too fast.