Return to Jorgaldur Volume IV: Reunion

Cave assault (III)

"Who're you, and why have you attacked us?" Gjaki asked while emitting Bloodlust.

The surviving lamia and arachnes looked at her in terror. Her skill had affected them, to which it had to be added their situation. They could only regret having followed that group, having underestimated them.

Not only was the questioner of a higher level than them, but the methods at their disposal were clearly extraordinary. They didn't know who they were, but certainly not just anyone.

"We... We are deeply sorry for having offended your excellencies, everything has been is a tremendous misunderstanding," one of the arachnes assured.

"What kind of misunderstanding causes you to follow us for hours, and attack without warning or provocation?" Eldi inquired, as he pretended to be interested.

The arachne and her companions swallowed. Although they didn't have much hope that the crude excuse could convince them, they now realized how naive they had been. Their presumed prey had detected them long ago, perhaps from the beginning, and had been waiting for them. They hadn't had a chance.

"We made a mistake! It won't happen again! Please, spare our lives," the lamia begged, with tears in her eyes, her face contorted.

It was partly an act. That lamia had often attracted naive adventurers with her charms, or with desperate calls for help. Although, it was also true that their current situation was hopeless.

"How many mistakes like that have you made before? How many have you killed and robbed? How many have begged you for their lives?" Goldmi asked, outraged.

The contempt in her voice was palpable. She was no longer the same naive elf who had come to Jorgaldur. Although her years had been relatively peaceful compared to Gjaki's, she had seen enough of the dark side of people's hearts. While the elf had met wonderful friends, she had also had rather unpleasant encounters.

The sour expression of the others made the answer obvious. Although the lamia was able to hide it, it wasn't so easy for her companions. It was clear that what Goldmi had suggested was the truth.

"Shall we interrogate them?" Eldi asked.

"No need. Look at their equipment, they're scum. They attack those who are weaker to rob and kill them," Gjaki spat with disdain.

It wasn't the first time that she had encountered such groups. It was easy to identify them by the variety of armor pieces and weapons. It was evident that they had been obtained and distributed among them, not purchased as a complete kit.

They didn't match. Some had even been crudely adapted to the bodies of lamias, arachnes, and centipede-men. Had they been obtained legitimately, the different pieces would fit much better, and the adaptations would be more natural.

It was even evident that they had some weapons that weren't their favorite, but they used them because those weapons were of a higher level. If they had obtained them legitimately, they would have sold them to buy more suitable ones, even interexchanged them. If they hadn't, it was because they didn't dare, or because the price of stolen goods wasn't enough to buy better weapons.

When her companions nodded solemnly, she cast Death Web. That caused the sharp threads to converge in her direction, and cut their enemies to pieces.

Despite having seen numerous deaths, some of them extremely cruel, the scene shook the high human and the elf. Although, perhaps, it was even more chilling to discover among the belongings of one of the lamias a collection of plaques from adventurers, presumably their victims.

"We'll have to return them," Goldmi mused, overwhelmed by the amount.

Solemnly, her companions nodded. That group deserved the ending they had had. Gjaki even regretted not killing them more slowly.

"It's still just hammer and spear. It could be him, but I haven't seen him use the axe yet. Neither did Walls. Damn. I can't confirm or rule it out yet. I'll have to keep watching him," the assassin cursed.

He would have preferred to discard him, turn around, and report his mission accomplished. It was tedious to have to follow and watch him, but he had no choice.

"I have to admit that it was a good trap. Although those petty criminals were quite obvious. Didn't they notice the eagle? No wonder they were found out. It seems that the archer is also a tamer. Better not get too close. The wolf could smell me," he said to himself.

Evidently, the assassin hadn't seen through their disguises, nor did he know that he was following the correct target. If Eldi had used a single Burning Wall, he would have been exposed.

It was too unusual a spell for a warrior. There weren't many battle mages, and those tended to choice more direct types of spells. Therefore, if he cast it, the assassin would be more than 90% certain that he was his target, which was more than enough to attack him.

The assassin didn't suspect for a moment that he had been found out, so the bird was the only reason he couldn't relax. His targets had retired to rest, after clearing the battlefield with surprising speed. Nevertheless, it wasn't something he paid much attention to.

He didn't suspect for a moment that they were stalking him. Only when darkness enveloped him, did he realize something was wrong.

They had closed in hidden in Darkness, after making a big detour. Light was omnipresent on that floor of the dungeon, so they would have been easily spotted if a strange shadow had headed straight for him.

They had left the cave, and took advantage of the shadows of the stone walls. Then, they had moved across the prairie slowly, under the cover of Darkness, and the plants that Goldmi had raised to hide them.

When they finally got close enough, Gjaki cast Night. It was an expensive spell, but it gave her a great advantage, for she could see in the dark. Also the lynx, and through her, her sister. Eldi had it more complicated, although Sharpening Senses helped him orient himself.

They didn't know exactly where their stalker was, so Goldmi invoked the forces of nature, making all the plants move with Naughty Branches. If that didn't work, she would follow up with Chaos, which creates strong winds throughout the area. If it was still insufficient, a Marabunta would cover the area.

However, it wasn't necessary. An area where nothing moved was too obvious.