NEVER SPLIT THE PARTY: The Adventures of the Creeping Bam (BOOK 1: The Job)

CHAPTER NINETEEN: GAEL

Running out of that door was a harrowing thing, I was still rattled to my core and Art's comfort had only calmed me a little, but I swear, when it starts raining rocks it gets so much worse. All we can do is drop into a ball where we are and hope for the best. The whole time I'm convinced I'm about to be crushed to a pulp, and I wonder if I would even feel it if I was. You'd hope you would just die in an instant, wouldn't you?

It doesn't happen, though, and after a few moments of silence I feel like I can breathe again. I slowly lower the arms I've wrapped over my head and finally open my eyes, hesitant at first, barely a crack while I look out, dreading what I might see. There are several boulders lying around us now, the bigger ones mostly intact but now resting in little impact craters, while others seem to have smashed to pieces when they hit and rained their debris in all directions. The bridge seems to have been liberally pelted too, and it looks to be in a great mess now, those shattered logs that didn't just miss or bounce off caught in the framework of metal supports and left sticking in all directions. I'd be amazed it was still standing if I didn't know dwarven architecture is so much stronger than it looks.

"Bloody hell ..." I hear Art breath, turn to find him looking similarly surprised by the new view. "That's just crazy."

"Yes, it is." I reach over to retrieve my staff and sword from where I dropped them, then stop just short, settling on one knee now as I take a deep breath and hope. Focusing on my hands, I start to draw a sigil ... and it sticks. "Art ..." I barely breathe it, so scared to jinx it.

"Holy shit." I look up as I let the sigil die, and he's grinning. "That means –"

"The null field's down." My attention snaps back to the bridge in time to see Krakka running towards us from it, and Wenrich's trying his hardest to keep up on his tiny legs. "Wake up! We've got company!" He's pointing now with his free hand, and I follow his gesture to look back down the precarious cliffside track we just traversed.

There's more bandits moving down it now, a lot more. They're being cautious about it, but they have enough room on foot that they can still manage reasonably speed, and the first group are close now, already readying their weapons as they realise we've noticed them. I can't say I'm really surprised to see them.

"Ah, yeah." Art's stood at my side now, weapons held casually at his sides but ready enough. "That's a wrinkle."

"They have us surrounded, then." Krakka growls as he reaches us. Wenrich hobbles up a few moments later, doubling over a little with hands on knees as he fights to regain his breath. "Kesla and Big Man are holding off the ones on the bridge, but the cart isn't going anywhere. Not after all that debris got dropped on us. We're trapped."

"So what do we do?" I look back to the bridge, but with all that new clutter I can't see much at all, the ever-present haze of the river's spray more of a hindrance than ever. I can hear the violence well enough, though, a great cacophony of it reaching us even over the constant hissing roar of the water below, and as I watch I see something thrown out into the chasm from the bridge. Not a body ... actually, that's not really accurate, it just clearly wasn't a whole one. Driver 8's not holding back, then ...

"Protect the cargo at all costs." Wenrich manages to get out as he wrestles his breathing back under control. He stretches his back out and even over all the noise I can hear the crack of his spine. I'd shudder if I wasn't already a little disturbed by what I just witnessed from the bridge. "We can't let them get it."

"All right." Krakka hefts his hammer, gives it a little practice swing. "Master Clearwood and I are protecting the cart, we'll try to keep them off it. Can you two handle this fresh collection of interlopers?"