Runeblade

Chapter 53 : Pushing Into The City

Muscle bound and draped in silk, a figure lounges over an austere stone throne, floating in a void only broken by dancing lights. He smiled. It was a jagged thing, like he had forgotten how congeniality worked. Like he had twisted boredom and frustration into a new shape. Forced them into a box that did not fit.

"Finally." He savoured the words. Tasting each note on his tongue.

The boy had done it. He'd found out about Honours. The bait had been set, and his hopes were being realised. With a click of his fingers a mote of light darted out of the swarm, slamming into his forehead. He checked the systems analysis for the thousandth time.

The boy was perfect. An optimal mix of uncommon strength, stubborn will, revelrous aggression, and sheer avarice for power. He was now destined to face the Guardian while unclassed, the temptation of an Honour would be too strong. Especially as his desire grew with more rewards from the system. The figure had no doubt that Kaius would be getting at least one more Honour before his final confrontation. Anything more would require grit, ingenuity, and more than a little luck.

And the Greater Meles! Unawoken bloodline too? He couldn't have planned it better if he tried. What were the chances? As a pair they were all but assured success.

Finally.

Finally, he would be one step closer to freedom.

….

Kaius peered up at the monolithic grey stone walls that towered over him. They'd broken camp a few hours before, rushing towards the city. Cutting their way through fungal fields and goblin labourers alike.

The city's fortifications were an imposing thing. He'd only seen one other city wall in person, Deadacre's. That had been maybe thrice his height, and built from chunky blocks of stone held together by mortar. The dwarven city wall made it look positively ramshackle in comparison. Formed as it was from a single contiguous slab of stone. Matched with the abnormally smooth and perfectly proportioned cavern walls, it was like the entire settlement had been carved from bedrock, cave and all.

Earth magic on a titanic scale, it had to be. He could wrap his head around the Depth's working such grand thaumaturgy, but if this was modelled after a real place.. How in the hells had they managed it? What sort of level would you need to be to work on that scale? He struggled to imagine even a vaunted third tier classer managing it, even with a dedicated team.

It wasn't just the size, but the attention to detail as well.

Kaius ran his hands over the wall, feeling the perfectly carved reliefs on its surface. He hadn't been able to see them from a distance. He probably could've when he used Eagle Eye at full power, but he'd been focused on goblins and the Guardian then. Not the walls.

They were so dense. Massive sprawling scenes of battles, forge workshops, and great feats of magic. Nothing was shown in titanic proportions, everything was to scale. At the very least it confirmed that it was a dwarven city, he thought, looking at the carved figure of a stout dwarf in full plate caving in the skull of some monstrosity.

They walked in the shadow of the walls, circling the base of the tiered city. Heading towards a broken portcullis a good hour's walk around the city's edge from their starting point. Though there seemed to be few entrances into the interior, he'd only been able to see one gate on their approach - diminutive in comparison to the walls themselves. A city designed for war.

"Do all people live in places like this?" Porkchop asked, staring at the monolithic stone in fascination.

"No." Kaius shook his head. "Not really. I mean, there might be places of a similar size, and we do use stone, but nothing quite this impressive."

"That's so strange. To live all hidden in rock like this. So close together."

"Surely you must have seen some elven demesnes in the Sea? You mentioned you had met some." Kaius asked.

"A little. It's not like this though. They grow their burrows from the trees, still connected to nature. More spread out, too." Porkchop answered.

"That sounds just as strange and wonderful to me." Kaius said, imagining what a house grown from a tree could possibly look like. "I hope I get to see it one day."

"One day. Once we've seen everywhere else first. I only just left." Porkchop reminded him.

"Of course," Kaius laughed. "It was just an idle thought, plenty for us to explore without retreading ground just yet. Once we escape that is." As he spoke, he scanned the far off tops of the wall. Flaring Eagle Eye momentarily to bring their crenellated battlements into clear view. He'd been checking for goblins every few minutes, but so far he had yet to spy any.

Yet more evidence that despite its fidelity the Depths did not perfectly reflect the wider world in its biomes. From what he'd heard, if this was a goblin stronghold in truth, they may as well be fighting a two person siege. Even with the level locks, such an assault would have been suicide.

Something to be grateful for, he supposed.

…

They reached the entrance.

It may have looked small at a distance, it was anything but up close. Towering over them, it had once held a solid steel gate. Once. Now the remnants of the stout barrier were torn and twisted. Burst inwards like so much scrap metal. Cracked and broken, Kaius could see the faint remnants of a grand inscription engraved into the few parts that had fallen outwards from the walls.

The sight gave Kaius pause, slowing his and Porkchop's approach. What could have done this? Wrought such destruction? Nothing that he had seen when he had looked through the city with Eagle Eye from above. Not even the mighty Guardian at its peak was powerful enough to tear through what looked to be solid enchanted steel a full long-stride thick.

"Do you think what ever did that is still inside?" Porkchop asked with a nervous grumble.

"No." Kaius shook his head. "I would have seen it. Maybe in the world above some twisted hoard did this, but down here we're seeing nothing but echoes."

Despite his conviction, Kaius still found the sight unnerving. A warning that monstrous danger wasn't the sole domain of the Depths, and that even when he had a class he would be far from all powerful.

"Wait here for a moment, I'm going to check inside." Kaius said, gesturing for Porkchop to stay hidden in the shadow of the wall.

He crept forwards, feeling relief when Explorer's Toolkit started to ease his movement, dampening his impact on the world around him. The skill said it was far less effective in urban environments, but he'd hoped it only counted the actively settled kind. It seemed he was right.

Shadows lengthening to cloak him in their embrace, Kaius ducked behind a shard of twisted steel that was embedded deep into the earth. Whatever had torn through the gate had cast it to the side, leaving it buried right next to the wall. The perfect cover.

He peered into the open city.

A wide open road led into a dense mix of military style barracks and industrial workshops. Much like the walls outside, the buildings were formed from seamless stone. Each was a squat, blocky thing. Ranging from one to two stories, they formed a dense warren of side streets and veiled alleys. Dwarven corpses were strewn everywhere. They were densest right by the blasted open gate, nearly a legion of heavy plated fighters having been left to rot where they fell. Considering the bleached bone he could see peeking out from behind rotted cloth and rusted chain in some of the lighter armoured units, they must have been laying there for quite some time.

Three scores of goblins lounged in the alleys and prowled the rooftops. They were hard to spot, but ultimately Eagle Eye was more than enough to reveal them in their half hearted hiding spots. Skirmishers with savage looking short swords, Scouts with short-bows, and a few beefier looking Bruisers looking mean with studded clubs. With levels ranging from ten to fourteen Kaius didn't foresee them having too much of an issue, even with their numbers. The bows could be a problem, but with how sheltered the alleys were, he doubted they would be able to keep an angle on him and Porkchop for more than a few seconds.

**Ding! Eagle Eye has reached level 15!**

He could see open air stairs leading to the varying flat rooftops, most on the side of the buildings facing away from the open thoroughfare. Those would have to be their target. Thankfully, they were all concentrated on the left most buildings. Less chances of being caught out in the open with a cross fire from across the street. Once the archers were dealt with, the other goblins would be simple to deal with when they were forced into the tight confines of the alley.

Some of the armour still gleamed in the false daylight of the suspended crystal. Mostly the bulky looking plate, clearly designed for high level classers with how thick it had been wrought. There was no way that it would fit him, it would both be too short and too wide for his frame. Still, if it had lasted this long, maybe it would have some value?

He used Identify.

Decrepit Dwarven Heavy-plate:

Depths-wrought item

Originally made for Stonehold heavy shock troops, this armour has fared terribly with age, its inscriptions wasted and burnt. Thanks to superior alloys and master industry, the steel remains strong.

**Ding! Identify has reached level 17!**

Kaius scowled as he read the description. No doubt dwarven steel had a value all on its own, the frontier was about as far as you could get from the northern mountains while still staying in civilised lands. The rarity and curiosity alone would be sure to fatten his purse. Yet steel was heavy and even if they somehow found and brought a cart through the portal when they eventually left, there was no way they would be able to drag it through the wilds that were the Arboreal Sea.

If it had been enchanted, he would have found a way to make it work. Without that magic, it may as well have been scrap.

Taking a final look at the goblins, Kaius ducked back behind the shattered shard of steel that he was using as cover. No doubt there would be more of the depths-spawn that he hadn't been able to spot, but he was confident that they would manage.

He slunk back to the safety of the wall.

"So? How'd it look?"

"Good," Kaius said, his voice low. "There's an open board walk after the gate, lots of buildings and narrow alleys. A few dozen goblins, with some archers on the roofs on the left hand side."

"Archers? How are we supposed to deal with those?" Porkchop said, flicking his ears.

"There's stairs at the back of the buildings. The alleys are pretty sheltered. I think we push hard and fast for the roof. One of us holds the stairs to deal with any goblins who follow, the other goes after the bowmen." Kaius drew a rough diagram in the soil at the base of the wall, gesturing to a thin strip between buildings that lead to a way up to the tallest building. "What are you more comfortable with? Stairs?"

Porkchop let out a low rumble. "Stairs." He confirmed. "With my paws and my armour, they will find much difficulty in their attempt."

Kaius gave his friend a nod. He checked himself over, confirming his armour was properly tightened. Thanks to the fact that it has taken them a day to reach the city, his Serelian scale was already fully repaired. Happy with his preparations, he gave Porkchop a nod and drew his blade.

"Then let's do this. Full assault. No screaming until they see us."

"No screaming?" Porkchop said, ears drooping in defeat.

"No. Screaming." Kaius gave his friend a pointed look.

"Fine." Porkchop pouted.

They set off at a sprint, ready to take the fight to the goblins.