Chapter 17 - Wind Through the Ruins
The Crimson Blades seem to be preparing for battle. Aodhan, fully armored, is barking out orders at everyone who has gathered in front of the outpost.
Aodhan: "Shaykard! Take a platoon over to the Western Ruins. Selbrin! Watch the entrance for Shaykard and be ready."
The two nods to the captain's orders and sets off to perform their duties.
Aodhan: "Marrec! Is Marrec here yet?"
Marrec: "Yes, sir! I just got here!"
Aodhan: "I think the Royal Army is marching to the Perilous Ruins. Take two platoons and investigate!"
Marrec: "Yes, sir!"
Aodhan: "Ceara, stay at the Mercenary Outpost and let me know if we get
any new information."
Ceara: "Yes, captain!"
Aodhan: "Excellent. Lethita is here."
The captain spots me among the mercenary crowd that consist about 60.
Marrec: "..."
Aodhan: "I have an assignment for you, Lethita. I need you to scout out the Perilous Ruins. It is imperative you get there before anyone else. If the gnolls see the Royal Army as an enemy, it will trigger a full-scale battle. Understand?"
"...Yes, sir."
Having assigned the task to me, the captain handpicks a few mercenaries among the rest and heads out his own way.
Marrec: "Hey, rookie. Come here for a second before you go.
Marrec drags me to the side after the captain leaves.
Marrec: "I'm sorry about earlier. And be careful out there."
Marrec reappears before the gathered mercenaries and shouts orders in the captain's absence.
Marrec: "Alright. You heard Captain Aohdan. Everyone, form up parties and let's head out!"
I meet Lucas and the others preparing a boat at the docks. They seem to have everything all ready to go.
Rocko: "C'mon rookie, we heard what happened at the outpost. Let's move out as quickly as possible."
"Thanks guys."
We sail out immediately to the Perilous Ruins. Time is of the issue. The Royal Army is marching towards the ruins, probably to find the relation of the gnolls to the bell tower. Gwynn must have grown impatient.
And we must prevent them from making contact.
Wait.
Why are we stopping them? Isn't this a good opportunity to wipe out the gnolls in one go?
If we attack now, the coalition force between the Royal Army and the Crimson Blades can deal a fatal damage to the Fomors.
We dock the boats near the shore alongside the other parties. We soon gather on the shores along. Marrec leads us to the Perilous Ruins at once. Taking everyone into account, there are around 60 of us, with Fiona among them. We make eye contact for a second before I refocus back to the Perilous Ruins.
Traces of battle appear everywhere in the ruins. There lie both Fomor and human casualties, though the humans only number a few. It seems that the Royal Army has already entered the ruins. The Royal Army has already engaged the gnolls. What's our next step then?
Marrec: "Those Royal Army fools! We don't know much about their forces. We can't be attacking now! Our goal is to catch up to them as fast as possible. We're heading to the eastern ruins. Shaykard and Selbrin should be here shortly to cover the entrance and the western ruins. Now let's go!"
With a wave, Marrec and a handful of men rush in. His quick decision leaves many of us still at the entrance. His reasoning makes sense. We aren't prepared for such an attack. Neither are Gwynn and the Royal Army.
As we were about to follow, a sudden cough redirects our attention to the fallen men. One of the injured soldiers lying on the ground is still alive. He groans in pain as blood pours out of his abdomen.
Lucas: "Zenni! Potion. Now!"
Lucas shouts as he removes the light iron armor off the Royal Army soldier. Exposing his flesh reveals a nasty wound demarcated by a spiked gnoll club. I guess not even armor will save you if you're careless.
Zenni: "I'm on it!"
Zenni takes out a small sack marked with a red cross. He dumps the contents out of a red potion flask and onto the wound. The liquid sizzles upon contact with the flesh. The open wound is rapidly closing.
"Gah!"
A bandage is then wrapped around the wound. The soldier's voice has grown rough and his breaths short from the aggressive treatment. Lucas then removes the helmet for the soldier to take easier breaths. A short-haired blonde youth appears from beneath the helmet. His lack of experience and is the only reason to blame for his state.
He grabs onto the arm of Lucas and struggles to make a coherent sentence.
"H-help them...! They've gone deep into the ruins-ugh!"
The soldier then passes out from the pain-induced rapid healing. Lucas checks his vitals to confirm his heartbeat.
Lucas: "He'll be fine. We will split up here. Lethita, you're with us."
The remaining mercenaries set out their own way. Spreading the forces is a good strategy to cover more areas in these vast ruins. Moving around in small groups also conceals our presence while staying relatively stealthy.
It has been hours since we entered yet we have not found any traces of the gnolls or the Royal Army. It appears that the gnolls have pulled back their troops. A nagging feeling keeps telling me that they are aware of us and are preparing for a counterattack. This uneasiness is making me anxious.
Lucas: "Get down!"
Lucas' voice alerts the rest of us and we take cover close to the walls. In a whisper, he tells us to stay quiet and listen.
Sounds of battle can be heard in a nearby area north of our position. The Crimson Blades or the Royal Army has engaged the enemy. We navigate our way around the area of interest to take a flanking position from the left.
Peeking from a fallen pillar, we see mercenaries fending off the gnolls' relentless attacks. The gnolls have pinned them from all sides. They will meet their end if we don't take action now. In desperation, one of the mercenaries breaks out of the encirclement with an aggressive struggle. The gnoll archers take the opportunity to shoot him down immediately.
We set our targets and dash out of our cover. The six of us weren't much in number, however the surprise initiation should disorient the gnoll forces just enough to turn the tide of the battle. We remove the ranged attackers almost instantly. Before they even turn around, their heads have already soared through the sky.
In a swift motion, I jump onto a bunch of gnolls from behind, knocking all of them down. I then quickly slip to the side to barely avoid a fleet of arrows fired by the remaining archers. The arrows stab into the fallen gnolls as a result of some friendly fire.
As the gnoll archers ready/nock another arrow in their bow, I pick up one of the dead gnolls and throw it at them. While they're busy dodging the flying body, I sprint towards the group and drive my swords down a gnoll in the center. Upon contact, I carve the swords halfway in the gnoll outwards and perform a fanning slash from the inside. The scenery is painted with a blood rain.
Grasping the momentary opportunity, I dive into another group of gnolls. Their agonizing shrieks are lost in the midst of combat.
"Heh."
As I though. This feels... Exhilarating.
Once we pick off the remaining gnolls, we fuse our party with the other mercenaries. According to them, Marrec has gone further ahead. They wanted to catch up but was ambushed by the gnolls. Given the surprise attack, many of them fell within the first volley of arrows. We came in just in time to wretch them out of their demise.
Now our numbers total 12, including the 6 of us. Just how far are they into the ruins if we have already encountered numerous losses. Along the way, we take off in rapid pursuit. Skirmishes break out everywhere in the ruins. Our forces are scattered and isolated, which is especially dangerous since there are so few of us compared to the gnolls. The main goal is to reach the Royal Army. So whoever is left behind are in for the fight of their lives. Since we are already behind in this foreign environment, we decide to pick up every straggler we can. We eventually accumulate to a number of 18.
Our path takes us to an ascending spiral hill. We arrive at the top to hear a mumble of snarls, grunts, and growls. From the distance, it seems like the gnoll forces have gathered in this location, for reasons unknown. Could this be their attack party? They greatly outnumber us. There seems to be about 80, if not more.
And in the midst of the gathering, I see a bunch of big gnoll leaders. One in particular sniffs the air reactively to our presence. The motion is very similar to a particular gnoll I faced before.
But how do they do that? Do gnolls have a sensitive nose that allows them to pick up peculiar scents?
Lucas: "Prepare! They're coming!"
With a loud threatening howl, every gnoll descends the hill in a predatory pack.
And one comes before me face to face.
"Shadow Fang..."
The gnoll snarls back in response, acknowledging my presence. The wound I carved into him has left a scar on his chest.
In no time his spiked club come slamming down my way. As I avoid the arch of his swing, two gnoll fighters sneak up from behind. I slash them apart with a quick swing and jumps backwards in an attempt to break away from my position. If I stayed further, I would have been mauled by the mobs.
The other mercenaries are busy engaged in the chaotic dogfight. I can't really rely on them for backup. There are no strategies or tactics here. Just kill as much as you can. I should worry about my own fight.
As I spend a few seconds glancing around, Shadow Fang lunges forward to knock me down. I fling myself reactively to the left at the last possible moment. Due to my slow reaction, my right arm is grazed by the spiked club on my way there.
I shouldn't lose focus. Every second is crucial.
I exhale slowly. The wound isn't that deep. The pain only stings. My heart races as I stare at my nemesis. The one I failed to kill before. I won't be making the same mistake today.
I clutch tightly on my twin swords. The feeling of the killing blow missing its target. It's...agonizing.
A stray arrow flies through in between us. And we dash towards each other simultaneously. We both swing our weapons aggressively resulting in a collision mid-flight. I parry his blow with my left and thrust forwards with my right. Shadow Fang redirects his weapon to effectively block my thrusting path.
I take a firm step forward. The gnoll commander does the same. Neither of us are willing to let up on our attack.
Coming in close contact with Shadow Fang face to face once again, he growls, baring his fangs as he applies a greater push against me. I have no choice but to back off here. I break away from the power struggle.
It appears that I won't be able to win through strength. That's okay. Strength isn't my strong point anyways. I just need to be faster.
I charge forward with a frightening speed. The momentum knocks Shadow Fang back a few steps. It stabilizes itself and returns a swing. I nimbly dodge it and twist both swords upwards in a rising arch. They cut into the flesh neatly. However the wounds aren't too heavy. But that's okay, I wasn't aiming for a fatal blow anyhow.
Following my Rising Crescent, I bring both swords back down in a descending crescent. Given my combo was lightning fast, Shadow Fang wasn't able to react and takes four clean slashes. It howls in pain, alerting the nearby trash mobs.
I need to finish this fast and now! Otherwise it's only going to be a repeat of last time.
Shadow Fang rams me down in retaliation. The force of impact makes me cough up a bit of blood. It slams its spiked club down immediately. I roll off to the side and quickly get up.
A loud smash blows away several mercenaries into the air. Another gnoll leader has been quite successful in reducing our numbers. His fur is pure white. It's a beautiful color. It is such a shame for it to be on an ugly monster. The mercenaries lay on the ground dead. We have taken five immediate casualties. By the sudden turn of events, I stand there stunned by the scene.
I am suddenly grabbed by Lucas as he drags me off far to the side. A white dazzling flash then appears mid battle.
KABOOM!
The abrupt explosion leaves many of us disoriented and uncoordinated. The remains of the victims lie on the cratered ground. And Shadow Fang was caught in the center of the blast. Someone must have tossed a bomb. The end result was not a pretty sight.
Lucas: "We're leaving! Retreat!"
There are 11 of us now. Apart from the five, another two were lost in battle.
How much did we accomplish? One dead gnoll leader and a bunch of gnoll fighters. With the rest hot on our tail.
Heh, the other way around would be much more interesting, and literal.
We take many twists and turns as possible as we flee deeper into the ruins. Even though gnolls have difficulty turning once they pick up their speeds, a few of the mercenaries are not accustomed to drawn out combat, thus slowing down to their inevitable doom. Our forces slowly dwindle away further as we get picked off one by one.
As we are unfamiliar in the ruins, we set off many traps lying in wait. A spiked log swings down from above as we spring the trap by accidentally stepping on the rope trigger. Thankfully all of us ducked quickly in order to evade the contraption. Once we get up from the spiked log, one mercenary falls inside a pitfall and is pierced by the spikes instantly. We carefully manoeuvre through the dangerous zone while watching our footing.
It's quite ingenious to place pitfalls right after the spiked log trap. Also quite fucking annoying.
Due to the time we spent crawling through the traps, the gnolls caught up. They leap over the pitfall traps and immediately jump into our group. Once again we are pinned down by the gnoll forces.
My swings grow duller by the second. Fatigue has finally caught up from the long extensive fights.
I can't keep fighting. Is this where we fall?
I'm not satisfied.
I want to keep fighting.
I want to kill more.
This isn't nearly enough.
One of the mercenaries beside me gets his skull bashed in by a flying club. The heavy impact causes the body to collide with the others behind him.
The white furred gnoll leader jumps and smashes its club downwards. I meet it head to head with my swords.
CRACK!
My blade snaps in half upon coming in contact with his smash. I hurriedly slip to the side desperately to avoid its blow. Thankfully the broken blade isn't my brother's. Nonetheless, I'm one weapon short now.
This is the absolute worst situation. We can't win...
Another flash comes into view. The blast radius blows back majority of the gnolls. We take the time to escape.
In a narrow pathway, hidden gnolls begin dropping boulders down from above. They crush a quarter of what remains of us. We number 8 now.
Another spiked log swings down after we escape the falling boulders. But...with all his strength, Rocko slams himself against the trap. The large spikes puncture through him entirely.
"Rocko!"
Lucas: "Rocko!"
Ivan: "Rocko!"
Felix: "Damn it! Rocko!"
Zenni: "Rocko!"
With his final breath, he pushes back the log, giving us enough room to crawl under.
No... Not another one of us... This can't be happening! Was the sacrifice necessary? Yes, the gnolls are still chasing but...this doesn't deserve...
...We have no hope like this, is there? Rocko knew our situation. There was absolutely no way to escape if this continued. Is that why...? Rocko?! Is that why you're buying time for us?!
Tears drip down my face in realization.
Rocko: "G-go friends... Enjoy another glass of beer for me... Haha...ha..."
Lucas: "Keep moving... Now!"
His voice somehow compelled us to listen. We scramble to crawl under and keep running.
Lucas stays behind for a lingering second. I hear his whisper in the wind through the ruins.
Lucas: "Take care, friend. Goodbye."
A loud explosion rings in the air soon after.