Runeblade

Chapter 41 : Hanging Lanterns

Yellow light spilled out from around a bend in the tunnel ahead. It was a welcome reprieve from the washed out drudgery that was Low Light Vision. It also meant a cavern, and he had yet to see one that hadn't been swarming with depths-born. He placed his hand on A Father's Gift, feeling the supple leather of its grip.

"Something's up ahead." Kaius called back to Porkchop. He got a growl of acknowledgement in response. He knew there was no way his friend had missed the light, but he was the vanguard. Calling out potential threats was his duty, and one that had stopped them from being caught flat footed more than once.

They crept forward, alert and ready for hostile depths-born to bear down on them at any moment.

Kaius rounded the bend, stopping fast. His sudden halt caused Porkchop to bump into his back.

"What is it?" Porkchop asked, moving to his right to peer around him.

"Another glade." Kaius said softly, staring at the sight before him.

Though much smaller in scale than the one they had left in the prior weeks, it was still a breath taking sight to see so far beneath the earth. The cavern must have been an hour's walk across, with a ceiling that soared high above. Strange, impossibly thick, vines snaked their way up the edges of the caverns, clawing their way up the almost impossibly tall walls. Great serpentine trunks spearing deep into the grass covered loam below. They wove their way through stalactites, arching over the roof like the streamers he draped over rafters during a solstice celebration.

Long hanging tendrils hung from the great vines, their emerald lengths drifting in an unfelt breese. Each was tipped by a strange fluid filled sac. Almost like an overripe berry full of juice. The growths were the source of the soft yellow light that drenched the trees below.

And the trees. They were so green. So blessedly green. Kaius didn't realise how sick he had gotten of vegetation that glowed blue. Seeing the wash of normality splayed out in front of him brought it rushing back. Green was home. He'd spent his entire life in the Sea.

Even when he and Father had gone to visit the outlying villages, the trees had always been there. A wall of green and brown barely a stone's throw from the settlement's borders. Comforting and secure.

Before he had trapped himself down here in the depths, his three week trip to Deadacre had been the longest he had been separated from the forest. That had been radically uncomfortable. The rolling grass of the frontier left him feeling so exposed. It was so open. Gods, by the time they got back all he wanted to do was give the nearest trunk a damn hug.

At least, down here in the depths, he hadn't had to deal with the sheer openness of the frontier. Hells, the glade had done much to put him at ease. The boroughs and trunks had been familiar. At least, familiar enough to provide some semblance of conference.

But it was blue. Blue wasn't home. Green was.

Sure, the trees were the wrong shape. Strange droopy things with too-large leaves. The Arboreal Sea also didn't have vines thicker than a century oak with glowing fruits either. But it was green.

There was also the matter of the absolutely massive trunk that dominated the large copse. The rest of the trees were easily the size of a full grown elm. The specimen at the centre? Easily four times that height, its tallest reaches brushing up against the ends of the glowing tendrils that hung from the roof.

They'd have to investigate that later. If there was one thing he had come to expect for the depths was that it wasn't exactly subtle about where the greatest dangers waited. Nor that they guarded the best rewards.

Porkchop stood next to him, frozen at the sight. A moment later his friend burst into motion, sprinting out of the tunnel. He hit the soft earth and grass that coated the cavern floor, blurring claws kicking up clumps of sod.

"Shit." Kaius thought.

"Porkchop!" Kaius yelled, running after his friend. "Wait you idiot!"

Porkchop leapt upwards, flying through the air like a heavy stone to hit the grass with a thud. Kaius came to a stop, watching as the exuberant greater beast rolled around on the grass, letting out happy chuffs every few seconds.

"Grass! Green! I missed green!" Porkchop said, shoving his face and head into the ground.

Kaius laughed.

A deep growl from the edge of the trees cut him off.

Kaius moved. Ripping his sword free from its sheath with a fluidity born from months of living under the threat of ambush. Porkchop sprung to his feet. Red and black fur stood on end, making the bear-sized meles look twice his usual size. His friend met the growl with a challenge of his own, a bassy roar echoing from deep within the meles chest.

Eyes scything across the tree line, Kaius spotted the beast instantly. Cloaked in wiry brown fur, it was a stocky thing. It stood on its rear legs, leaning over to prop itself on long arms. Each limb was tipped by ochre coloured claws. They tapered to a wicked point, each one the length of one of his fingers.

It was hideous. A naked face of thick leather draped loosely over prominent ridges of bone. Beady eyes rested over a flat nose, recessed deeply beneath its oversized brow.

Reacting to Porkchop's roar, the creature hooted. Straightening itself on its rear legs, it smashed its fists into the ground over and over again, claws ripping deep into the earth.

Kaius shot off an Inspect.

Cavern Shambler - Level 17:

Depths-born, Beast

"Just a beast," Kaius called out to Porkchop. "But be careful of its claws. They look nasty."

The shambler punched the ground for a final time and roared at them. It charged, throwing its hands into the ground ahead of it and swinging through its arms in a strange lopping gait. Kaius set off at a sprint, blade held at the ready. Porkchop was beside him, rumbling out a steady low growl.

They met it half way, on the open field of grass that separated the tunnel they had left from the edge of the underground forest. It struck Kaius first. One arm swinging wildly towards him with claws outstretched. He stepped around the blow, letting the claws skitter harmlessly off his scalemail.

He cut. His longsword opened a long slash down the creature's side. It roared in agony, blood erupting from its wound. Flesh rippled, sealing the cut closed far faster than Kaius expected.

Porkchop smashed the shambler aside, interrupting its attempt to maul Kaius. One paw hit it in the ribs with a heavy crack. More followed.

Kaius pressed the assault, following through with flowing slashes. The shambler seemed to view his blade as the greater threat, crying out in pain and rage as it dug its grip into the ground to launch itself in his direction.

Its arms rose over its head, descending back down in a viscous hammer blow. Kaius brought his sword up, blocking the swing with the edge of his blade. His defence cut the depths-born to the bone, sword biting deep into its wrists.

Porkchop lunged forwards, snapping his jaws around the monster's ankle. He yanked back with beastly strength, flinging the shambler away from Kaius.

It hit the ground with a tumble. Arresting itself out of its roll with its claws the shambler hauled itself to its feet, charging back in their direction.

They closed around it, assaulting it from both sides. Whenever the monster turned its focus to one of them, the other dove behind. Assaulting it from the rear and splitting its attention. Every cut that Kaius landed severed flesh and scored bone. Even with the depths-born's prodigious rate of healing, it wasn't able to keep up.

Soon the wounds stopped writhing, failing to close. Blood drenched its hair, and it slowed. Weakened by constant blood loss.

Eventually it collapsed, growling weakly as it bared its teeth at them. Kaius delivered the killing stroke, separating its head from its body.

**Ding! level 17 Cavern Shambler slain**

Kaius's chest heaved from the exertion of the fight. Taking a moment to mop his brow, he cleaned his blade on the grass before returning it to its sheath.

"Hells, that thing healed fast!" He exclaimed.

He wouldn't have been surprised if it had been a Champion. They at least had powerful abilities that would explain the increased regeneration. Maybe depths-born had something equivalent to general skills? With how shallow of a layer they are on it was hard to tell, he doubted whatever skills they had would be extraordinarily powerful. Although, it could just have easily been a natural trait of the beast. He'd seen some lizards regrow their tails, and they hadn't even been connected to the system.

"Still died easy." Porkchop snorted derisively.

"Yeah, you're right." He turned to look at his friend. "Though maybe next time we don't sprint directly into caverns we haven't had a chance to scout out? I know we haven't seen grass in a while, but you've gotta admit that was stupid."

Porkchop had the sensibility to look embarrassed, his ears drooping. He perked right back up after Kaius ruffled his head.

"C'mon. Let's go check out that tree in the middle. I bet we'll find a Champion there, and I've been itching for a real fight." Kaius said, setting off for the trees

Porkchop chuffed back at him, keeping pace.

It was true, he had been getting a bit bored with the normal depths-born. With everything he had gained they no longer felt like the threat they had once been. Sure, he wasn't any stronger or faster than he was when he first entered the depths, but his skills and equipment had improved by leaps and miles. Undead weren't so scary when their rusted weapons couldn't pierce his armour.

The only trouble they'd had recently had been a sheer numbers issue. Even if they could handily trounce a handful of foes, some of the smaller caverns they passed through had a score or more milling about in a group. Fighting that many all at once was tough. It was also … boring. More a factor of covering each other and working against getting surrounded than any true test of skills. Not like the Champions.

They entered the trees. Thick in the trunk, they had soaring canopies made up of quickly thinning branches that drooped towards the ground, weighed down by flat leaves the size of Kaius's chest. Thick roots snaked out from the base of the trees, dancing through the surface of the earth, their rough exteriors extending out to the edges of the canopy. It made for treacherous footing.

The canopy shadowed them, yet enough of the light penetrated the thin leaves to give them more than enough to see by. It tinted the light into a pale green, the shifting foliage sending the occasion beam of brighter yellow scything through the glade floor. A quick inspect let him know that they were called verdantha trees, while the vines above were hanging lanterns.

Their journey wasn't exactly a peaceful afternoon stroll. It felt like every few minutes another Shambler called out a challenge, leaping out of the trees above to throw themselves towards them with outstretched claws. Thankfully, the beasts seemed to be solitary in nature. The one time two approached them at once they spent almost as much time hissing at each other as they did trying to tear them limb from limb.

They cut through the obstructions easily.

Soon they drew close to the central tree. Thanks to the wide canopies of the verdantha's there was plenty of space between the trunks for them to see their approach.

The massive tree that lorded over the grove was situated in the middle of a clearing, almost as if the other trees didn't dare to intrude on its domain. A thick crown of leaves stretched just under the ceiling of the cavern, reaching the edges of the clearing. Amongst squirming roots Kaius spied a hulking figure.

Though it was hard to tell from the distance, Kaius was almost certain that at the shoulder it was as tall as him. Covered in a thick matt of grey fur, its thick chest held a broad head with two wicked looking horns erupting out to curve upwards. Behind it, a long tail snaked out. Heavy and muscular, it was almost as long as the rest of the creature's body.

He inspected it.

Grimclaw Dreadbeast - Level 27:

Champion, Depths-born, Beast, Apex Predator

Kaius let out a savage grin. They'd found their next target.