Chapter 411 - A Familiar Foe

I didn't get a chance to edit this chapter yet. For those wanting the cleaner version, it will be posted tomorrow.

There was a lot of distance between Hump and Randall’s party. He was nearly at full sprint just keeping up with the others as they raced to provide support. Even with his dragon blood, this was pushing it. His body was strong, but not as strong as fourth and fifth circle Chosen. At this rate, they might not make it in time.

Which meant they had to split up.

“Celaine, Emilia, you two will need to go ahead,” Hump said between breaths. “Let us know what we’re dealing with and see what you can do to help.”

“Agreed,” Emilia said. “We’ll get a read on the situation.”

“No risks though,” Hump said. “Don’t engage without us if you don’t have to. Neither of you are well-suited to fighting this type of horde.”

The two women sped on ahead, doubling their speed once they could leave the rest of them behind. It looked effortless when they ran, like they were gliding across the sand.

“You had best let Marcela know the situation,” Dylan said. “If we fight, our essence may draw more shades to us. We could end up overwhelmed and she should know what she’s dealing with.”

“Good idea,” Hump said. With a thought, he used Distant Whisper, reaching out across the sands to Marcela “Randall’s party is under attack by a swarm of shades. Their locator beacon isn’t active, so I’ve used mine. We’re moving south to assist but ours may become drained soon too so activate yours as a backup. Reinforcements would be appreciated.”

Thinking it worth a try, Hump attempted the same spell to contact Randall. He reached out across the plains, yet he sensed nothing but emptiness. Then the miniscule amount of essence that he sent out was gone, his will swallowed up by some distant force.

“Done,” Hump said. “I tried to contact Randall, but I can’t get through the shades.”

Hump looked up at Nisha. She was little more than a line of darkness in the sky at this distance. The little dragon was high overhead, surveying the battle before them. Through their bond, she sent him flashes of terrain—a fractured wasteland scarred by deep fissures, the earth cracked like the sun-baked earth in a drought, only on a vastly larger scale. Hump had never seen anything like it.

Randall’s group was near the edge of one such chasm, fighting a black cloud of enemies. The shades moved like smoke trapped in a jar, a constant streak of darkness as they enveloped the party. The icy blue of Frostfire flickered within, at time breaching the wall darkness like sunrays through leaves, but the host of shades didn’t seem to thin.

Not good, Hump thought. If he could sense it, he wondered what else would find them. The shades were drawn to essence like moths to a flame, and in this land where there was nothing for them to feed on, a battle like this must truly shine brilliantly.

Soon, Hump was close enough to hear the shrill shrieks of the shades, wailing in the distance. The sound sent shivers down Hump’s spine. Agony, hunger, desperation—the screams felt wrong. The closer he got, the more oppressive the air became. A heavy, unnatural cold clung to the landscape, chilling Hump’s skin. He sensed a sharp pull as his essence was drawn out by it. If Hump let it, it would leech away his power until he had nothing left, but it lacked the strength to forcefully extract it against his will.

Celaine and Emilia waited for them atop a stone plateau, staring down at the unfolding battle.

The swarm of shades seemed endless—far greater in number than anything Hump had encountered at Fisher’s Lake. The sound was horrifying. Up close, the shades formed a cacophony of deathly wails, eching like the haunting cries of dying animals. They moved as a writhing, menacing mass, like a cloud of shadow. Their forms were ghostly, each shade a wisp of shadow given a vague, humanoid shape. They circled in chaotic patterns like a flock of birds, so tightly packed that it was nearly impossible to see through the gaps between them.

Bursts of shimmering blue essence exploded from the ranks as Randall’s Frostfire burned within. It kept them at bay, but it was also what fed them. The creatures latched onto the essence hungrily, devouring it in streaks of light that faded as quickly as they appeared. Randall was holding them back, but this wouldn’t last forever.

“There must be thousands of them,” Bud said in awe.

“And more are coming,” Celaine said. “Look at the deep cracks. They’re hiding in the shadows.”

Hump followed her gaze, seeing dozens of shades rising from the spiderweb of fissures the fractured the rocky landscape. The creatures flew toward the battle, joining the chaotic blur of shadows and blue fire.

“Randall and his party must have formed a defensive circle inside,” Hump said.

“They’re against the edge of a fissure,” Emilia said. “If I wasn’t told these shades lack intelligence, I would think they were being pushed toward it. How confident are you that our intel is accurate?”

“The shades in Fishers Lake were driven purely by hunger and instinct,” Dylan said. “These look the same, but it’s difficult to tell. There could be other creatures in the mix.”

“How long do you think Randall could hold that blessing, Bud?” Hump asked.

The knight frowned. “I cannot sense his power through all that. From the sight, he’s maintaining a wall of Frostfire around him and his party, much like your Fire Shield spell. I could fuel a blessing like that for a while, but they’ve already been fighting for half an hour. He could be near the end of his strength.”

There’s no way I could maintain a Fire Shield for half an hour, Hump thought. The gods truly do favour their Chosen.

“Then we must act as if we only have minutes,” Hump said. “No time to wait for backup. Our priority should be to clear a path and link up with Randall and—”

Hump stopped as he sensed essence behind him. He turned, a spell on his lips, staff blazing as he filled it with essence… only for Skander to appear in a puff of black smoke.

The rogue had a smirk on his face. “Didn’t mean to spook you, wizard.”

“Skander!” Hump said. “What’s the situation?”

“I’ll be brief cause we’re running out of time,” Skander said. “The others can’t leave. The shades aren’t the only threat. Mad’s managed to hold whatever this other creature is back, but something is moving through the ground. It’s brought down the cliff behind us and keeps driving us toward it. When it attacks, the shades go into a frenzy. We think they’re connected.”

“How can we help?” Bud asked.

“Drawing the shades off us would be a start,” Skander said. “We can hold them, but it’s only a matter of time before we run out of ground beneath out feet.”

“It’ll be hard with the power of your blessings,” Hump said. “The shades are feasting. We can draw some away, but then we will need to burn through the rest of them and clear you a path. It’ll get hot.”

“We’ll need a shield against your flame?” Skander asked.

Hump nodded. “Can Madeleine manage that?”

Skander scoffed. “Don’t get too full of yourself, wizard. You might be strong, but so’s our shieldmaiden.”

Hump smiled. “Good. Can you still teleport back inside?”

“Yep. Should be able to.”

“Then when I tell you, get in there and have them prepare defences. I’ll wait ten seconds.” Hump dug through his new Bag of Holding, pulling out a number of vials he’d stocked up on in preparation for the expedition and handing them to Celaine, Dylan, and Emilia. “Troll blood. The three of you take these and create a trail of troll blood leading away from us. We’ll draw as many away as we can before we burn them, and with any luck, it’ll keep their attention away from us while we retreat.”

“Will it work?” Emilia asked.

“Worked last time,” Hump said. “And this time it’s alchemically enhanced. It should be more effective.”

Dylan held a vial up to his eye, studying the sickly red liquid. “If it’s too effective, we could lure in every shade around.”

Hump grinned. “I suggest you toss it away from us then. And be ready to run. Unless someone else has a better idea?”

“No, this’ll work,” Dylan said, taking a couple of vials.

“Emilia, you’re fast than me,” Celaine said, taking her own. “You go to the farthest point.”

Emilia nodded. “When do we shatter it?”

“Thirty seconds,” Hump said. “Then we wait for shades to leave, before Bud and I introduce the ones left over to some pain.”

“That we will, my friend.”

“Jolly good,” Skander said. “Now stop chatting and get a move on.”

Celaine, Dylan, and Emilia headed around the mass of shades, toward the south and away from their escape route. In the meantime, Hump gathered his essence. Bud drew his sword with a hiss at Hump’s side.

“Where do you want me?” Bud asked.

“Focus on the ground,” Hump said. “You’re better suited for that. I’ll aim for the upper middle of the swarm and burn through as much as I can. We’re carving a path straight to Randall.”

Bud nodded, his gaze hardening. “Got it.”

“Skander, when the vials are shattered, use that as our signal. You’ll have ten seconds after that.”

“Ten seconds until you bury us in flame,” Skander said. “Now doesn’t that just sound delightful.”

There was an ease to their actions. These creatures were of little threat alone to them now. It was only their numbers that were a concern, and the other beast that lurked in the ground below. Hump didn’t feel nervous as he gathered his essence, fire simmering in the focus of his staff, bubbling in a vicious, beautiful cycle.

The moments stretched into taut silence as Hump counted down in his head, his grip on his staff tightening. Then, in the distance, he heard the faint shattering of glass—the troll blood was released.

“Here we go,” Skander said. “Good luck.”

And then the rogue was gone.

“I hope this works,” Bud said. His voice was deeper, resonating with essence. “I’m not sure how we’ll explain to Marcela if we accidentally wipe out their party.”

Hump chuckled. “Don’t use the ‘H’ word, Bud. Not now of all times! You’re just setting us up for failure.”

The battlefield exploded into chaos. A high-pitched screeching erupted from the cloud of shades as hundreds of them reacted at once. They shot from the cloud, flying for the troll blood with a desperate frenzy. Celaine, Emilia, and Dylan rushed to get out of their path, circling back around. They’d be fine, Hump’s focus was on his role to play.

Hump levelled his staff toward the cluster of shades. Perhaps a third had gone for the troll blood. It was still a whole host of enemies to get through, and the moment he started to project essence, they would come for him. He had to be quick. The seconds continued on. Within, the Frostfire blessing Randall had been channelling vanished. Darkness replaced the light briefly, only for the red of Byzantius to shine through a moment alter—Madeleine’s blessing.

It was time.

“Fire Blast,” Hump barked. A blazing inferno erupted from his staff, a searing wave of fire sweeping through the densest part of the swarm. Shadows screamed as the flames consumed them, their black, formless bodies igniting and scattering embers across the desolate landscape. Even as it happened, others clambered to feast on the essence, hovering just outside its range, siphoning power from it in great streaks of essence. Some shades disintegrated on impact, their essence evaporating into the air. Others reformed quickly, flickering and unstable, but still dangerous. Hump poured more power into his spell, his focus unwavering even as the effort drained his reserves. In this barren realm, where the essence of the world was stripped away, every spell came at a cost.

At his side, Bud’s back erupted with Wings of the Frostfire Paladin, an aura of cold blazing around him. He swept his blade out and the icy blaze surged forward, shades shrieking as they were consumed by its wrath.

Their flames burst against Madeleine’s defences—they were through. Hump manipulated his essence, curving the flame so that it swept away from those within, sending the shades flying back as if he were peeling the skin from fruit. Then Randall and his party were on the move, advancing toward Hump at a steady pace.

“I do hope you have a plan!” Came Randall’s voice. “There’s not much room in here.”

Emilia appeared at Hump’s side, breathing heavily. “We may have a problem. There are a lot more shades in those cracks than we thought.”

With a thought, Hump dismissed his spell and directed Nisha to circle around and give him a view of the fissures. He felt that strange pride from the dragon. She was coming into herself and enjoying being a more present member of the team. Unfortunately, that made her reckless. Already he saw shades veering toward her, flying higher into the sky.

“Spiralling Light.” A ball of white light as large as a man’s head appeared before Hump’s staff. He sent it forward, directing it over the fissures where he poured more essence into it. Light poured into the shadows below, and then Nisha shared with him what lurked there.

The darkness writhed. Every single part of it was moving—shades. The fissure as packed with them like layers of cloth, and they were waking up.

There was a sudden shift beneath Hump and he directed his attention down. He sensed power in the earth—a power he recognised. Something was coming. The ground beneath his feet trembled.

“Bud, move!” Hump yelled.

The ground erupted just as Bud leapt to the side. A hulking creature burst forth, sending rock and debris flying. Its massive body was a grotesque amalgamation of flesh and stone, its gaping maw lined with serrated teeth of shining metal. It was less humanoid than the one Hump had met before, but there was no mistaking the clay-like flesh and sunken, hollow eyes.

Before him was a gorger.

The beast turned its hollow, glowing eyes toward the party. Its voice came as a guttural howl, echoing across the battlefield like wind through a cavern.

“Feeeeeassst...” Its voice was laced with intent. The shades all seemed to float up at once, and then they turned their hungry eyes toward them.