Return to Jorgaldur Volume V: Reunion (2)

Coordinated attack (II)

Eldi went down through a hole dug in the upper level. His initial intention was to use ropes, but a mole-man's Earth Ramp was undoubtedly more convenient. He had opened the hole himself with Mole's Power, which was a skill whose name he dared not say out loud.

They approached the door carefully, while avoiding the traps thanks to Rock Fusion. The mole-woman could detect abnormalities in the rock, although she didn't fully recognize them. Nonetheless, it was enough for them to get close to the door.

"There're many, and they overlap, I can't do more," she almost asked for forgiveness.

Perhaps, there was a path for them to pass through free of obstacles. However, the magical interferences were greater than her skill with the spell.

"It's enough, we're where we wanted. Where can we dig the tunnels?" Fita asked.

The mole-woman pointed out some spots. Their aim wasn't to enter the palace through tunnels, since it was impossible. Obviously, a mole-palace would be protected against the abilities of the mole-beings.

Therefore, they dug a couple of small tunnels, and hid in them. Eldi was the last, along with two young mages, as before entering, he summoned an Earthen Golem.

The mages stayed with him to closely observe the spell once more. They were very interested in learning it, and had been practicing during the expedition. Eldi could summon other golems, but the mole-mages weren't interested in the others. They had an affinity to the earth, which was the most common in their race.

Until now, the young mage woman had managed to create a kind of puppet barely three centimeters long, with only one leg and one hand, which couldn't even stand. Her partner had only managed to make it one centimeter shorter, with two legs, no hands and no head. He was also unable to move it.

Without a doubt, they were lacking a lot, very far from Eldi's two meters golem. Nonetheless, they had achieved the most important breakthrough, they could summon something, no matter how deformed, small and incomplete it was. From there, they could practice and improve it on their own. Perhaps, it would take them years, but they had the confidence to achieve it. Their eyes shone when seeing it walk, as if imagining that they were the ones who had summoned it.

The golem advanced, thus stepping on the traps as it passed. The Circle of Swords pierced it, although it didn't stop it. The Chains of Blood immobilized it for a moment, but it freed itself by allowing them to penetrate the earth that formed it, and come out the other side. No doubt, they had damaged it, but it was still able to continue.

Finally, a Bloodmine exploded both legs. The Golem's defense wasn't too high, but it was surprisingly persistent. In fact, it tried to crawl forward with it hands. It would have moved on if Eldi hadn't unsummoned it. With the dual mirrors they had "borrowed" from the vampires, they had discovered approaching presences.

A quick Landslide concealed the remains of the golem, the pile of earth that had been left over the last trap. They wanted to make their enemies come out, since entering was dangerous. In the Dream World, Gjaki had seen many traps, although she couldn't discern their exact locations.

"What happened?" one of the two vampires who had appeared asked.

"There's no one. I guess that dirt and rocks have fallen, and they have activated the traps. The attacks on the shield must have weakened the upper floor. You know, this city is old," the other replied. He had already walked a little further forward.

"How...!! Mmmmm!?" a young mole-warrior wanted to protest.

The city was almost sacred to them. Criticizing it by saying that it was old and was falling was an outrage for them. Luckily, his sister covered his mouth in time.

"Have you heard something?" the second vampire was surprised.

"What? No. Forget the traps if no one is there. We don't know who the enemies are, or where and when they'll attack. The one at the door is still active, it will let us know if something happens," the first one ordered.

"Couldn't we let some of those slimy beasts keep watch?" the second suggested.

"If I knew where they're... There're only a few here. Those at the lake haven't come yet, they're taking too long. When we finish this, I'll roast them alive," the first cursed.

It should be said that, although worried about the attack, the vampires were confident that they could repel it. After all, no enemy that reached 70 had appeared in all those years. Furthermore, they had discovered many rocks but no enemies, so they believed it had been a natural landslide. The sound of the explosions was supposed to be the rocks colliding.

In fact, they had sent the workers back as a precaution, and because it was the orders of their father, or their father's father. "Grandfather" wasn't a word that was usually used in that hierarchical relationship that was practically slavery.

The second vampire turned around and prepared to enter, but the ground gave way under his feet.

"Aaaaaahhh!!" he shouted as he fell, totally unprepared.

"Fajlo! Are you okay!?" the first one approached. His level was a little higher. That's why he was the boss.

Gravity and several Rock Holds made him fall into the hole as well. The latter were mole-mage spells that Eldi had on his long list to learn in the future. The first was a high human spell that was on the list of some mole-mages.

Their levels 73 and 79 might have allowed them to escape the surprise attack if only the mole-beings were present. Despite being more, having surprised them, and being in their territory, the difference in level was too unfavorable for the inhabitants of the depths.

The presence of Eldi, at level 100, changed everything. Electrocute Yourself stunned them one by one, Lion's Roar terrified them, and Buttstock knocked out one of them. The other was tied hand and foot.

"I want information about the palace's traps and forces," Eldi demanded.

"I'm not going to say anything! You're not going to get anything out of me even if you torture me!" the vampire refused, as he tried to show a firm attitude.

"Oh, how brave. Tell me, do you know what it feels like to be buried alive? Let me explain it to you. You run out of air, the dirt enters through your mouth, nose, lungs, even your ears. It's even worse if you open your eyes. The feeling of being trapped is really terrible and overwhelming," a mole-woman with a gloomy tone threatened.

Both Eldi and some of the mole-beings couldn't help but swallow. They knew she wasn't threatening for the sake of threatening.

"You don't scare me, you horrible creature!" the vampire confronted her. After all, apart from Eldi, everyone was at a much lower level.

"Really? We'll have to check it out," she continued, with the same tone of voice, which made his blood run cold.

A few minutes later, while spitting out dirt, gulping air anxiously, and with shackles sealing off his power, the vampire was much more cooperative.