Chapter 33

  Cries Of Pain And The Sound Of Snapping Bones

  The breeze carried a low whistle through the night that hadn’t been present before. The collapsed earth had created a mouth for the hissing wind to give louder voice to its passing.

  I can’t risk being caught by surprise. No, the shadows are still out there. I need to stay hidden, and I need to stay alert, Mor thought.

  As she remained within the branches of a tree, she looked over the hole that had swallowed the adventurers, and she let a yawn slip past her strict control.

  She cursed herself internally. Yawning just made you yearn more for rest, and in the wrong situation, it was a weakness of mind and body.

  Keep focused, there is no room for weakness on this night, thought the orc huntress.

  Shouts of argument drifted through the wind; some of the adventurers had returned. They’d climbed from the hole and walked in the direction of the tower.

  Her patience had been rewarded with information. The number of adventurers to contend with had gone down.

  Hours more passed before she caught sight of an elf-woman approaching the whistling maw of earth. The elf had dropped through the opening, and vanished into the darkness like the others had before.

  Another hour or two passed in the night before the sky began to lighten.

  The sun was rising and the shadows would soon be at a disadvantage. In a few more long moments the sun would creep higher and she could allow herself the small mercy of stretching out her stiff muscles.

  Crack

  A sound reverberated in the distant depths of the forest, the first sign of trouble that she didn’t need.

  Another bang, and the creaking of splitting wood was followed by the sound of a tree falling to crash into another.

  The sounds of destruction continued, growing ever closer.

  Mor looked from the horizon where the sun had yet to reveal itself, over to the direction of the violence that thundered through the trees. She couldn’t see much through the branches around her.

  The treetops lit to a vibrant green as rays of sunlight touched the peaks of the canopy.

  Growling snarls, yips, and barks sounded from a borderline orcish sounding throat.

  If this is a member of the hunting party or even Drutha, I will not hesitate… I cannot hesitate, she thought.

  Another sound and there was movement. Squinting her eyes in search of any glimpse of the threat, she saw a flash of the fur of a hulking humanoid figure. It was running through the trees at full speed.

  Running from something, when you’re that huge and dangerous looking… Tower, it can move fast, though, she thought as the creature rapidly drew closer.

  Too fast… I couldn’t outrun them or anything quick enough to be chasing them, she realized.

  So she kept herself hidden.

  It blew past her, giving no notice to the orc in the branches overhead.

  A winged shadow came after, and time came to a crawl as a black face looked up at hers. Her heart stopped beating as the creature slowed below her. The shadow let out a painful ear-piercing scream, and continued after its chosen target.

  And before the shadow did the same, she watched the furred creature dive into the hole.

  The sun’s light trickled over the ground, bringing brightness to the area surrounding the cavity in the earth. Two other shadows raced below, stopping at the edge of the canopy’s shade. They’d been too slow to follow their winged brother, and sunlight now blocked their way.

  I can’t return to my people empty handed, but what in the tower is going on here? She asked herself silently.

  * * *

  A howling sound began to rise from the tunnel ahead. They had finally drawn near enough to their exit that Nik could hear the snarling wind…

  Snarling… That’s not the wind! He realized with a start at the same time as Doggy and Ryan both growled.

  A furred beast ran toward them in the dark. It was down on all-fours.

  It moves like the evil version of me from the trials, but it’s… wearing clothes? he thought.

  Nik drew his shield and spear from his inventory, pushed the image of his dark reflection from his mind, and called out, “Warriors to the front! Shield's up!”

  Metal covered feet stepped up beside him, but Nik didn't have time to react to Sir BlackDagger joining him and his guards, shield in hand.

  I did say warriors, he thought.

  It was racing toward them and it would reach them soon. Nik readied to throw his black spear when Harper's voice cried out in panic.

  “Wolf! Wait, it's Wolf! He's a friend! Don't attack!”

  Whoever this Wolf is, it doesn't look like he's stopping, thought Nik.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  As the ‘friend’ neared, Nik shouted, “Halt, Wolf! We don't want to hurt you!” When that failed to elicit a response, he called out, “Hold the line, and follow my lead.”

  A soft nudge bumped against Nik’s back, and it happened again; the strange shift in perspective. His senses were not his own, they were Ryan’s. Something moved in the darkness, and it smelled like death.

  Nik’s head rocked back, his mind fought to regain focus as his vision returned to normal.

  Just before impacting into their front line, Wolf ground to a stop, turning to face some unseen threat. Nik pulled his shield back into place as a shapeless mass crashed into Wolf.

  A loud clang sounded as shadow and Harper's friend both slammed against the frontline's shields.

  The impact slid Nik and the others back, forcing their line into a curve.

  Wolf had been rolled onto his back with the shadow bird attacking him from above, relentless in its singularly focused assault, until it saw Nik.

  Sir BlackDaggers weapon lit like a blazing azure rod, and drove the shadow closer to the creature it was using for a host.

  Shrinking under the flame, the shadow lifted away from Wolf, and shot at Nik.

  Sir BlackDagger’s blade cut through the patch of living darkness, severing a portion of the shadow’s back section. The creature’s bulk, however, latched onto Nik’s shield.

  He shoved his spear into the shadow that gripped his shield, but the weapon met no resistance.

  Nik’s eyes opened wide, and he yelled out, “Lights, everyone!”

  Even as he remembered what was said about this enemy and called out for his people to use Candlelight or flaming weapons, claws of darkness dug into the shoulder of his spear arm.

  Pain burned through his entire arm as a cluster of lights took shape in the tunnel around him.

  “How do you like Shock Armor, shadow-monster?” asked Nik. The air around him filled with crackling energy. Blood dripped from deep holes left behind in his shoulder where shadow had been torn from existence.

  With the illumination around him, Nik could see glimpses of the beast beneath the cloak of darkness.

  Adrenaline fueled the movement of his battered arm as he pushed mana through his active Shock Armor ability and into his spear.

  He took aim at the bits of the animal that flickered in and out of view, and launched his lightning covered spear. It burst from his hands at the speed of light, lancing a hole through darkness and flesh. Electricity burst out in all directions, catching every piece of shadow in its path.

  Notification bells tolled for Nik and his party before the body of the bird had reached the ground, but they didn’t have time to pay attention to the system.

  A violent snarl ripped from Wolf’s throat as he turned his eyes on them.

  He was low and ready to strike at any threat.

  Nik put a hand up signaling for everyone to hold their positions, and he called out, “Harper, your friend isn’t acting very friendly.”

  To her credit, the elf — or whatever Harper truly was — rushed to stand between Wolf and the others.

  “Wolf, it’s me. It’s your friend, Lana. Everything’s ok; you’re safe now,” she said.

  The wolf in its strange, too-tight clothing, snarled again, but hesitated as Harper approached him.

  Hands up in the universal sign of non-aggression, she managed to draw his focus to herself. His throat rumbled low with the threat of violence.

  “That’s right, eyes on me, Wolf,” she said.

  She took a step forward, slowly moving one hand in small seemingly random motions.

  She’s accessing system menus, Nik realized as she placed herself within striking distance of her friend.

  Using the same hand she’d used to access her inventory, Harper threw a handful of powder into Wolf’s face.

  He slashed back quickly at her still outstretched arm, and blood sprayed from her limb as they both stumbled away from each other.

  Harper cried out, gripping her arm as she fell back into the frontline.

  Wolf, however, tripped over his own hands and feet, sneezing and growling as he began convulsing. Sounds of aggression and threat quickly turned to howls of pain given voice by a creature that was neither beast nor man.

  Bits of fur vanished to bare skin as bones snapped and reformed before their eyes.

  Nik’s heart thudded hard in his chest, and nausea tried to turn his stomach against him.

  “What in the tower is he?” he wondered in horror, giving voice to the question more than asking anyone.

  “He’s not… from around here,” Harper hissed through the pain of her injury, and LootLadDungeonDad stepped through the others to apply healing to the wound. Sir BlackDagger placed himself between them and the shifting form of Wolf.

  “What are we dealing with here, Harper? I want details, not hints,” Nik demanded.

  “He was sent to Earth with me. He’s a Lupine, a shifter from one of the world’s connected to the Black Tower, but he’s not from one of the tower-worlds. That’s why he’s alien to you, but he shouldn’t have been out of control like this,” she answered.

  The cries of pain and the sound of snapping bones ceased. The human before them collapsed, unconscious to the ground.

  “He’s your friend, your responsibility. I see you both as the same potential threat, so keep him under control. Are you strong enough to pull a small cart?” Nik said.

  Harper blinked in a heartbeat of confusion at the abrupt change of subject that the question brought, but she answered, “Yes, I can pull a cart. I have more of the powder; I made a small supply on my way here. Wolf wants to help you, though. Trust me. He’d die to help you on your path,”

  Nik dropped the cart from his party’s shared inventory next to Wolf.

  “Here’s the thing. I don’t trust you. The only thing I know so far is that you have manipulated things to your own end at the cost of thousands of lives.” He looked her in the eyes, daring her to argue the statement.

  She didn’t

  “I don’t know anything about you but the violence you unleashed on my world. So, put your shifty friend in the cart and Stics will keep an eye on the two of you,” Nik stated bluntly, motioning for his bulkiest guard to watch the newest additions to their quickly rising numbers.

  “Shifter, not shifty,” she said under her breath as Stics helped her lift Wolf into the cart.

  Nik heard it though, and said, “No, he’s shifty, too. You both are,”

  Stics’ low voice mirrored Nik’s statement. “Hmph, shifty…” said the goblin as his dark eyes looked between Harper and Wolf in suspicion.

  At least I have people I can rely on now, but I need to keep my eyes open to keep them safe, too, Nik thought.

  Nik went to the wall to collect the black spear that had pierced part way into the rock. Instead of pulling it from the wall, it popped directly into his inventory space. He turned back to the group and said, “Alright everyone, time to keep moving.”

  They weren’t far from the surface now, the whistling wind only crescendoed.

  Nik took in a breath of the surface air that was winding into the tunnel with the shine of the morning’s light.

  “Earth-shapers, we need a slope to the opening. Please, make a way for the clan,” Nik said, and they got to work without hesitation, elders and children with the skill, alike.

  It took only moments for the task to be done, but it was much more simple than what was to come.

  He thought, It’s gonna be a long day, with not enough time. We have a town to build.