Chapter 148 - The Battle by the Stream

Hump caught glimpses of the ogres through the trees as he rushed forward. The dozen or so still standing were down by the rocky bank of the stream, scrambling for cover as arrows rained in. The chieftain, however, stood out in the open, catching arrows on its shield as it roared back in defiance. It was a giant even compared to the rest of its band, and Hump felt a power to its voice like a whisper to the air. Essence.

The shaman arrived behind it, wielding a short staff of burnt-black wood, with embers that shimmered in the charred cracks. The two of them directed the other ogres in their throaty, guttural language. A few had run on ahead to try to get at Celaine and Teff somewhere out there in the trees, but they were called back. Those with shields formed a wall with the chieftain, while the others grabbed stones from the stream bank.

“Form a ring around them!” Marcela shouted over the noise, appearing through the trees further up the stream.

Emilia and Hugo, the beserker of Eve’s party, were with her. The giant of a man led the way, his eyes and body radiating red heat as if a forge filled him. He carried a hammer in both hands with the head partially extended behind him.

The chieftain shouted, and the ogres threw. A volley of head-sized rocks tore their way through the stonebark trees. Hugo swung his hammer, shattering one and continuing forward.

Hump felt a thrill rise within him. His fellow adventurers charged at his sides, their shouts mixing with those of the ogres—anger, fear, excitement. A rush that came only from battle. There was panic amongst the ogres as their larger group came into view, and a couple broke off from the defence of the shields. Hump stopped and took aim, gathering his essence and pouring it into his staff.

“Fire Beam.”

It pierced a red line through the trees into his target’s back, arrows and other spells joining his, bringing down the mispositioned ogres. The chieftain shouted something, and the ogres rushed forward, aiming for the gap between the main force and Marcela’s flanking group.

“Fill the gap,” Eve ordered, purple essence radiating from her as she chanted something sinister.

Dylan and the other more mobile melee fighters veered left, four of them forming a line across the mid-ground, connecting up to Marcela’s flanking force. At the same time, Bud and the more heavily armoured warriors took positions in front of Hump.

As Eve finished her chant, a purple skull appeared over the path of the ogres, hovering in place. It cackled manically as miasma swept from its base, surging down the slope toward the stream. The ogres staggered to a halt, staring up at it fearfully then retreating, surrounded on all sides. Some tried to run, but Nina uttered something, extending her staff and palm outward, a transcendent blue shining from her focus and pushing back the shadows of the forest. Behind the ogres, water rose from the stream in streaks, walling off their retreat.

The ogres clustered together, searching for their route to survival, weapons raised and ready. The chieftain stared around at its band, roaring something angrily. Behind it, the shaman raised its staff, the ember within smouldered brighter. Sparks flitted into the air and the creature drew in a deep breath. It blue, the embers flashing into flame, then fire swept from it.

There were shouts along the line as flame swept forward. Hump prepared a Shield spell, but Len was one step faster, the warding expert pointing his wand at the flame and muttered under his breath. The air shimmered, and suddenly the fire crashed upon an invisible wall. It broke like a wave, rolling over it and dissipating into the sky above. The heat was radiant against Hump’s skin, and the smell of burning filled the air.

As the flame cleared, a resounding bang shook the forest like a crack in the earth. It came again, and Hump’s eye was drawn to the chieftain. The creature slammed its shield with its club, hammering it over and over. Around it, essence rose in a mist of red light. Hump felt a chill down his spine. He’d seen that light before, felt that power. The other ogres joined the hammering, thumping their feet and bashing their shields.

“Bud, something isn’t right,” Hump said.

“What?” Bud said. “The plan’s working.”

Hump gritted his teeth. “We need to kill the chieftain.” He raised his voice so that others could hear too. “Kill the chieftain! Bring him down!”

Hump gathered his essence, preparing another Fire Beam. A silver streak pierced through the air, straight at the chieftain’s head, but it raised its shield with superhuman speed, catching the arrow. As it lowered its shield again, it snarled, large, spiked teeth jutting from its jaws. The dungeon essence danced in its eyes, and Hump saw the same light in the other ogres. Some sort of battle aura encompassing them. Armour formed over their skin like stone scales, the same grey as the stonebark trees—power they must have gained from the dungeon.

“Shit,” Hump said. “Len, be ready with a shield. They’re coming.”

“We have them complete—” Len stopped as the ogres charged straight at them, seemingly twice as fast as before.

The ground rumbled as the ogres charged, battle fury in their eyes. They were no longer trying to escape; they were after a fight. The shaman stood at the back, a spark of fire expanding from his staff and spreading out in a ring. There was a burst of essence, and the weapons of the ogres caught flame.

“Gods above,” Len snapped, floundering with his wand. He managed to raise a shield but the chieftain smashed through it like it was nothing. Len staggered back from the blow, barely keeping his feet.

Hump was ready though. As the chieftain pushed through, Hump sent a stone hurling through the gap in the front line with Rockshot. The giant ogre took the impact on its chest, stumbling but gaining its balance quickly and pushing onward. Other ogres forced their way closer, and the adventurers went to meet them. They clashed in clattering steel, thuds and bangs ringing out as weapons met. Blessing and abilities went off everywhere, filling the air with all types of essence, a mesh of conflicting powers.

Bud was amongst them, dodging the swing of a club and carving off an arm with his Frostfire blade, his blade whirling. He held his position in the line as the ogres fought to break through, his Heart of Frostfire aura radiating around him and filling the space with cold mist. To the left, Dylan and the others were already moving to attack the rear. The ogres were still surrounded, the frontline just had to hold formation.

Hump did what he could, exploding the ground at an ogres feet, blinding another with Dustshot, doing whatever he could to disrupt the ogre charge. To the right, a fat one broke through the line. Arrows littered his hide, but not enough to bring the big fellow down. He hurled a leg-sized club around like it was nothing, ignored the attack of one of Eve’s party and sending the Chosen flying back with a swing to the gut. Another of the Chosen went after them, allowing more to slip through and sending other adventurers into a panic as ogres suddenly towered over them.

Hump slammed the fat ogre with an Essence Blast, sending the creature stumbling back with a grunt. He took aim, drawing on the earth-rich essence of the forest and channelling it into a fist sized stone. It shone bronze, filled to the brim with essence. “Rockshot.”

This ogre lacked the chieftain’s durability. Its chest caved as the stone slammed into it. Blood spurted from its mouth, running down its chin. It clutched the wound and dropped weakly to its knees. For a moment, Hump wondered if it might live, then it collapsed onto its face. Another dead.

Around them, other bodies were on the ground, but Hump’s allies were not without their wounded. At least a handful had retreated with bloodied limbs, or allies over the shoulders, and pulled back to a safe space while the fight continued. It was a disordered mess. He raised his Shield as another ogre charged him, throwing its body weight into him. Hump gritted his teeth and pushed back.

“Get back in line!” Hump shouted at the Chosen that had left their position to check on their fallen comrade. “You won’t do her any good if the rest of us die here. Hold the line.” Through his barrier, he could already see Emilia and Marcela on the far side, fighting their own battles. Forcing the ogres back. There were only six of them left now. The chieftain had made them stronger and tougher, but there was no overcoming the years of training these Chosen had been through.

The shaman was still at the back in support. While the rest were controlled, it was somehow still standing. Arrows littered the ground around it and Hump realised it must have been protecting itself with a spell. He gritted his teeth as the ogre slammed down on his shield again. He prepared a counter spell, when the Chosen charged the ogre, engaging it with his spear and freeing Hump up just in time.

The shaman roared and a Fireball shot from its staff, the spell unrecognisable. Hump stepped forward to take it, essence radiating between his staff and spellbook as he summoned another shield. The fire wrapped around it, coating it like oil. He felt the ogres will within, making the fire burn hotter. Keeping it on his shield. He pressed back against it, willing it to extinguish. His will against the shaman. He broke it easily, the shaman too far away to impose its will for long. Its fire was extinguished, dissipating into essence and Hump retaliated with a handful of stone shards.

The impacts caught it across the front of its body, leaving red marks on its torso and smashing its nose. Blood poured from the crooked appendage, and it staggered, catching itself on its staff. Dylan was there before it could retaliate, leaping through the air empowered by Aspect of the Ape. The druid was covered in blood, though this time not his own.

He slammed his staff down on the shaman’s head and sent it falling back, roaring. The creature tried to catch its balance and block with its staff, but Dylan sharpened the point of his own with Growth. He drove it into the shaman’s eye with a quick jab, driving it deep into its skull. The shaman fell silently.

It was only the chieftain and a coupe of ogres left, engaged in a fight with Marcela, Emilia, and Bud, with many other Chosen in support. The sounds of battle were quietening now, and soon only the pained, desperate huffs and grunts remained. The chieftain roared again, its essence rising, but no dungeon empowerment would safe it now. Bud cast its heavy blow aside and drove a sword through its stomach, tearing upward. It snarled into his face as Bud pulled the blade free and cleanly swung at its neck, separating its head from the rest of its body. Marcela and Emilia made short work of the remaining ogres.

Quiet descended on the forest. The fight was won.

“Tend the wounded,” Marcela said. “Those of you still healthy enough to fight, be ready. There’s enough blood here to draw monsters for miles.”

Hump looked over the carnage. Adventurers sat back on the ground around him, catching their breath and clutching bruises. There were three that worried him, with twisted limbs and bloodied faces. All of them unconscious. These weren’t just ordinary adventurers, but the Chosen of the elite. Children of nobles. The best and brightest of Sheercliff’s future warriors.

“I have a feeling any deaths here over a single band of ogres won’t go down well,” Hump said.

“No, it won’t,” Bud said. “What happened over there?”

Hump sighed. “One of them broke through and a few guys panicked. It left an opening.”

Bud shook his head. “Why?”

Hump shrugged. “That’s what happens when you send academy students to fight a battle.” He searched the trees for Celaine, growing concerned for a heartbeat before she appeared nearby with Teff, walking over to join them.

“The pig ran off,” she said.

“Huh?” Hump asked.

“You wanted to get the pig back,” she said. “It’s gone.”

Hump paused a moment, then snorted. “If that’s all we lost, I’d count it as a good day.”

Still, something didn’t sit right with Hump. The ogres were dead, but the dungeon’s essence remained. A constant plague on his consciousness, like something lurking in the shadows just outside of sight. He searched the trees, half expecting to find monsters there, drawn in by the blood. But there was nothing.

“What’s wrong?” Celaine asked.

“I don’t know. Something just feels off.” His eyes roamed the canopies, but found nothing. He shrugged. “Probably nothing.”

Suddenly, the ground shook. Hump clutched his staff for balance as cries rang out around them. Cracks appeared in the ground. Hump staggered, falling to the ground. Ahead of them, a tree collapsed, torn in two just above the roots. The ground rose beneath it. No, not just beneath it. The ground was rising all around them. The whole world was erupting. Dungeon essence poured out of the ground like smoke from a bonfire, and in the cracks shone the red of the dungeon’s power.

“What’s going on?” Emilia shouted, stumbling over to them. She and Celaine had somehow kept their feet.

“Weapons ready!” Marcela shouted.

“It’s not another attack,” Hump said, staring at the ground. The ground wasn’t just rising beneath them. It was everywhere. Fissures carved lines through the forest, spreading outward. There was only one reason he could think of. “The dungeon is expanding.”