Lazybones
Adventurer
It's always fun to try to come up with creative ways to use spells, and that one in particular seems perfectly designed to create all sorts of trouble. 
* * *
Chapter 197
Bredan and his companions fled.
It was impossible to forget that the trolls were right behind them. They made enough noise that it seemed like they must be bouncing off of the walls and each other, their hooting cries filling the space until it seemed as though they must be hearing them at the Darkfall Gate, the sentries there wondering at the source of the din and glad that they weren’t anywhere near it.
Bredan slid on the slick ground as they made their way back through the mazelike expanse of the pillared chamber. His side burned where a troll’s claws had gotten under his breastplate. That was the problem with wearing armor you weren’t familiar with; you had to consciously remember that it didn’t offer the same level of protection as what you were used to. Not that it mattered, right now; if they faltered they’d be torn to pieces either way.
He’d taken the hit during the brief fight with the trolls that had spotted them in the mud cavern. The exchange had lasted all of maybe ten seconds, just long enough for them to win past and flee. Koron had knocked two trolls into the sinkhole, one with his hammer and the other with his bare hands. When Bredan had glanced back from the cavern entry he could see both of them struggling as they sank into the clinging mud.
Xeeta was faster than the rest of them, and as she reached the far side of the cavern she turned and hurled a fireball past them. Bredan couldn’t help but flinch as it streaked over him and exploded on the far side of the cavern. Shattered bits of stalactite tumbled to the floor all around him as the chamber shook from the force of the blast. Trolls screamed, but Bredan couldn’t immediately tell how many of them she’d caught in the spell. It was more important to keep running than to look back.
Despite his longer legs he was the last to reach the far passage. Darik had taken something out of his pack, and as Bredan rushed past he saw it was a small leather bag. A metallic clink sounded behind them as they sprinted forward. He didn’t know what it was until he heard troll screams just a few seconds later. Ah, caltrops, he thought. Clever.
Wishing he had something to contribute, he kept on running. He could feel his magic in him, waiting for him to summon it, but even if he could use it to run faster, he would not leave the dwarves behind. So he continued running on their heels.
The caltrops had bought them a few moments, but soon enough they could hear the sounds of pursuit closing again. Darik led them from one turning to another without a moment’s hesitation. Bredan quickly got turned around and could only hope that they were headed in the right direction. Xeeta paused and let the others rush past her. Her rod glowed slightly in her hands as she turned toward their pursuers.
They came around another bend, and he could recognize the familiar fork that led back to the secret entrance. But directly ahead of them, and closer than them to the intersection, was a gang of at least a dozen trolls. The creatures immediately spotted them and let out a collective shriek as they charged.
“I’ll hold them off!” Koron cried.
“Koron, no!” Darik yelled, but the other dwarf was already five paces ahead and still picking up steam. “Go on!” he shouted back at them. “You have to warn the hold!”
There was another explosion behind them, very close. Xeeta appeared in its wake. “They’re closing in!” she yelled. Either her alter self spell had expired or she’d let it lapse, and her natural features had been restored.
The three of them sprinted into the side passage even as Koron smashed into the troll ranks. They could hear his loud cursing, accompanied by the solid thumps of his hammer striking bodies, as they ran toward the hidden exit. Darik drew a flare out of his pouch as they ran, and as they burst into the cavern he ignited it and flung it across the floor. It shed an intense, ruddy glow that transformed the natural cave into a hellish landscape of garish shadows.
The rope dropped almost immediately. Darik grabbed hold of it before it could touch the floor. “Xeeta!” he yelled.
“You go!” the tiefling shouted back. She turned and hurled a series of scorching rays back up the passage. Bredan hadn’t realized that the trolls had gotten that close until he heard their screams. He turned back to the passage, summoning his greatsword into his hands.
Xeeta turned to see Darik rising swiftly toward the shaft, but in the current moment it seemed entirely too slow. She looked back in time to see Bredan meet her eyes. “I’m right behind you!” he yelled. Barely a second later he swung his sword in time to catch the first troll as it exploded from the mouth of the passage. Already burned by Xeeta’s magic, the creature staggered as the huge blade carved a deep hole in its side.
Retreating toward the opening in the ceiling, Xeeta again summoned her magic, casting a haste spell on Bredan. The intervention was very timely as several other trolls erupted from the passage, forcing the fighter back with the ferocity of their attacks.
The rope dropped again and Xeeta grabbed hold of it. She hesitated as Bredan danced a bloody and violent dance with the trolls. More were just coming into view down the passage, and she could hear the sounds of still more behind them. But before she could cast another spell or otherwise intervene the rope jerked and she was being pulled upward.
“Bredan!” she yelled.
The fighter knew he was in dire straits. Thus far his own skill, augmented by Xeeta’s magic, had kept him out of their grasp, but he knew he had scant moments before his foes overpowered him through sheer numbers. He feinted with the sword, and as they surged forward he threw it in their faces. The heavy hilt caromed off the face of the lead troll, knocking the creature back for an instant.
Bredan was running by the time it struck. Xeeta was already in the shaft, the rope ascending with her, well out of reach. But he didn’t stop, and as he neared the opening he finally let his magic surge through him.
The trolls were right behind him as he leapt into the air. He rose impossibly high, higher even than the ceiling of the cavern, up into the shaft. He almost knocked Xeeta off the rope, then hit the edge of the shaft. His fingers narrowly missed the lip, and he would have fallen right back down if Darik hadn’t seized hold of his wrist. For a moment it looked as though both of them would fall, then Xeeta shot her legs out and pinned him between them. For a moment the three of them hovered there awkwardly on the cusp of disaster before the dwarf sentry was able to drag them over into the safe area.
They just lay there on the ground for a few heartbeats, breathing heavily. They could hear the trolls below, snarling and hooting in frustration. The dwarf sentry risked a look. “We’ll have to seal this off,” he said. “Now that they know about this entrance, they’ll find a way up here.”
Bredan pushed himself up, Darik and Xeeta just a moment behind them. “You’ll have to deal with that,” Bredan said. “We have to get back to the Hold, right now.”
* * *
Chapter 197
Bredan and his companions fled.
It was impossible to forget that the trolls were right behind them. They made enough noise that it seemed like they must be bouncing off of the walls and each other, their hooting cries filling the space until it seemed as though they must be hearing them at the Darkfall Gate, the sentries there wondering at the source of the din and glad that they weren’t anywhere near it.
Bredan slid on the slick ground as they made their way back through the mazelike expanse of the pillared chamber. His side burned where a troll’s claws had gotten under his breastplate. That was the problem with wearing armor you weren’t familiar with; you had to consciously remember that it didn’t offer the same level of protection as what you were used to. Not that it mattered, right now; if they faltered they’d be torn to pieces either way.
He’d taken the hit during the brief fight with the trolls that had spotted them in the mud cavern. The exchange had lasted all of maybe ten seconds, just long enough for them to win past and flee. Koron had knocked two trolls into the sinkhole, one with his hammer and the other with his bare hands. When Bredan had glanced back from the cavern entry he could see both of them struggling as they sank into the clinging mud.
Xeeta was faster than the rest of them, and as she reached the far side of the cavern she turned and hurled a fireball past them. Bredan couldn’t help but flinch as it streaked over him and exploded on the far side of the cavern. Shattered bits of stalactite tumbled to the floor all around him as the chamber shook from the force of the blast. Trolls screamed, but Bredan couldn’t immediately tell how many of them she’d caught in the spell. It was more important to keep running than to look back.
Despite his longer legs he was the last to reach the far passage. Darik had taken something out of his pack, and as Bredan rushed past he saw it was a small leather bag. A metallic clink sounded behind them as they sprinted forward. He didn’t know what it was until he heard troll screams just a few seconds later. Ah, caltrops, he thought. Clever.
Wishing he had something to contribute, he kept on running. He could feel his magic in him, waiting for him to summon it, but even if he could use it to run faster, he would not leave the dwarves behind. So he continued running on their heels.
The caltrops had bought them a few moments, but soon enough they could hear the sounds of pursuit closing again. Darik led them from one turning to another without a moment’s hesitation. Bredan quickly got turned around and could only hope that they were headed in the right direction. Xeeta paused and let the others rush past her. Her rod glowed slightly in her hands as she turned toward their pursuers.
They came around another bend, and he could recognize the familiar fork that led back to the secret entrance. But directly ahead of them, and closer than them to the intersection, was a gang of at least a dozen trolls. The creatures immediately spotted them and let out a collective shriek as they charged.
“I’ll hold them off!” Koron cried.
“Koron, no!” Darik yelled, but the other dwarf was already five paces ahead and still picking up steam. “Go on!” he shouted back at them. “You have to warn the hold!”
There was another explosion behind them, very close. Xeeta appeared in its wake. “They’re closing in!” she yelled. Either her alter self spell had expired or she’d let it lapse, and her natural features had been restored.
The three of them sprinted into the side passage even as Koron smashed into the troll ranks. They could hear his loud cursing, accompanied by the solid thumps of his hammer striking bodies, as they ran toward the hidden exit. Darik drew a flare out of his pouch as they ran, and as they burst into the cavern he ignited it and flung it across the floor. It shed an intense, ruddy glow that transformed the natural cave into a hellish landscape of garish shadows.
The rope dropped almost immediately. Darik grabbed hold of it before it could touch the floor. “Xeeta!” he yelled.
“You go!” the tiefling shouted back. She turned and hurled a series of scorching rays back up the passage. Bredan hadn’t realized that the trolls had gotten that close until he heard their screams. He turned back to the passage, summoning his greatsword into his hands.
Xeeta turned to see Darik rising swiftly toward the shaft, but in the current moment it seemed entirely too slow. She looked back in time to see Bredan meet her eyes. “I’m right behind you!” he yelled. Barely a second later he swung his sword in time to catch the first troll as it exploded from the mouth of the passage. Already burned by Xeeta’s magic, the creature staggered as the huge blade carved a deep hole in its side.
Retreating toward the opening in the ceiling, Xeeta again summoned her magic, casting a haste spell on Bredan. The intervention was very timely as several other trolls erupted from the passage, forcing the fighter back with the ferocity of their attacks.
The rope dropped again and Xeeta grabbed hold of it. She hesitated as Bredan danced a bloody and violent dance with the trolls. More were just coming into view down the passage, and she could hear the sounds of still more behind them. But before she could cast another spell or otherwise intervene the rope jerked and she was being pulled upward.
“Bredan!” she yelled.
The fighter knew he was in dire straits. Thus far his own skill, augmented by Xeeta’s magic, had kept him out of their grasp, but he knew he had scant moments before his foes overpowered him through sheer numbers. He feinted with the sword, and as they surged forward he threw it in their faces. The heavy hilt caromed off the face of the lead troll, knocking the creature back for an instant.
Bredan was running by the time it struck. Xeeta was already in the shaft, the rope ascending with her, well out of reach. But he didn’t stop, and as he neared the opening he finally let his magic surge through him.
The trolls were right behind him as he leapt into the air. He rose impossibly high, higher even than the ceiling of the cavern, up into the shaft. He almost knocked Xeeta off the rope, then hit the edge of the shaft. His fingers narrowly missed the lip, and he would have fallen right back down if Darik hadn’t seized hold of his wrist. For a moment it looked as though both of them would fall, then Xeeta shot her legs out and pinned him between them. For a moment the three of them hovered there awkwardly on the cusp of disaster before the dwarf sentry was able to drag them over into the safe area.
They just lay there on the ground for a few heartbeats, breathing heavily. They could hear the trolls below, snarling and hooting in frustration. The dwarf sentry risked a look. “We’ll have to seal this off,” he said. “Now that they know about this entrance, they’ll find a way up here.”
Bredan pushed himself up, Darik and Xeeta just a moment behind them. “You’ll have to deal with that,” Bredan said. “We have to get back to the Hold, right now.”
