Jackal Among Snakes: Book 2, A GameLit Fantasy, page 5
Argrave turned back. “We have to take advantage of these thing’s limitations, their simplicity. Use spells like the D-rank [Wind Wall] to block them; I doubt they have the capacity to understand and adapt to magic. Use some of the lightning magic you learned, or fire magic. Even if ice magic is more powerful because you’re a Veidimen, it will be too slow-moving to do much.”
With one roll of his shoulders to gather his confidence, Argrave stepped into the field of white. Far ahead, where the lilies began to turn red, the bugs continued to swarm about. Their movements seemed to coincide with the roiling anxiety in his chest. He felt the wind shift, and he foolishly turned to look at his side. Anneliese walked forward alongside him. Argrave didn’t need to have her empathic skills to see that she was wracked with anxiety just as he was.
Seeing her like that, Argrave had a strange moment of clarity. He turned away and clenched his gloved hands tight. I have to become a good leader. The lesson from Mateth isn’t only that this world is ever-changing, it’s that I alone am not enough to deal with everything. The white fields faded behind them as they came to the red, and beyond that into the wilted flowers.
One step after another brought the terrible rattling of the Lily Lurkers ever closer. Soon enough, the insects turned, their two tails quivering and their bright pink eyes locked on the pair as they approached. Argrave estimated they were about twenty. Feeling the distance was sufficient for good accuracy, Argrave stopped and held out both hands, forming the D-rank spell [Writhing Lightning]. The first two bolts of lightning shot out across the field, fell crackling echoing across the distance.
The electricity struck the first bug, and Argrave paid close attention to how the creature reacted. The lightning surged through its body and then spread through the ground and some close to it. The Lily Lurker spasmed for far longer than Argrave thought it might, and then its two quivering tails changed in pitch. This change was soon echoed in the other insects present, and they surged forth with an uncomfortably fast speed.
Argrave delivered lightning spells in measured bursts, targeting the ones he knew were already damaged as he retreated backwards in slow, steady steps. Anneliese mirrored his actions. The magic was much more effective than he thought it might be, and several of the bugs died as they drew close. As they drew closer, Argrave’s anxiety only rose, even though he had a plan ready.
“Stick close,” said Argrave loudly to Anneliese over the din of rattling, lacking the time to check if she heard and obeyed.
One leapt towards them, and Argrave’s heart leapt in unison. He instinctively used [Wind Wall], and the creature slammed against it, splaying out ungracefully on the field. Anneliese finished it off with two quick bolts of lightning.
Argrave took a deep breath, keeping an eye on the open cavern far ahead for any movement. As the remainder grew closer, Argrave continued to use lightning magic from behind the cover of his [Wind Wall], the spells passing through easily. The bulk of the insects, of which likely half remained, finally came close enough to the two of them. Argrave internally reminded himself of the purpose of this fight; to test their reactions. He was uncertain if insects would be afraid of fire as animals were.
Once many grew close, Argrave stepped out of the cover of the [Wind Wall] and formed the only C-rank attack spell he knew; [Wargfire]. A great lupine jaw emerged from his hands after the matrix formed. The creatures barely seemed to see the fire until the gaping mouth came shut, catching two. Argrave fell behind the [Wind Wall] spell once more, watching and waiting.
The Lily Lurkers caught aflame spasmed, their twin tails jerking about while their stinger contracted wildly. It looked as though the insect was stinging itself, but Argrave knew such a notion was ridiculous. Despite the fire, the rest of the insects rushed forward, averse to but not afraid of the flames. The dry, wilted flowers were a natural accelerant, and the flames spread alarmingly quickly.
Anneliese grabbed Argrave and pulled him away as the flames continued to grow. Argrave devoted all of his attention to getting away without tripping. Soon enough, the insects were consumed by the flames which continued to spread in the ring of wilted flowers. Argrave grew worried that he had caused a large fire, but the air was quite humid and the ring of red, unwilted lilies did not catch aflame easily. The flames were short-lived, but the insects caught fire.
Once they were a safe distance away, Argrave and Anneliese came to a stop and watched. The creatures writhed about, appearing in intense agony, but Argrave could not say for certain that insects even felt pain. He knew one thing, though.
“That seems to work,” Argrave concluded as he watched. “Started to get pretty scared, there. Fortunately, these things don’t gel well with fire.”
Argrave kept an eye on the cavern entrance, looking for flashes of white to emerge and ruin the victory. Anneliese said nothing as she caught her breath.
“See? We learned something.” Argrave looked back. “I told you it was purposeful. A lot less traumatic to kill insects with fire.”
“You are much too reckless,” she finally said. “And this knowledge is not especially useful. When a fire is lit in a cave, those inside most often suffocate, or the rock overhead shifts and falls. I have heard many tales from Veidimen miners detailing such grisly fates.”
“It’s still good knowledge.” Argrave shook his head. “We’re fighting against time. Three years until Gerechtigkeit’s descent might seem like plenty of leeway, but there’s a lot of holes to patch in this dam before the flood comes. I need to be reckless. The fact I even have to get the Amaranthine Heart to fix my body is a waste of time.”
Anneliese didn’t look satisfied with the answer, but she said nothing more on the matter.
“We should stay here for a time, make sure that no more come out.” Argrave nodded. He stepped into the cavern and looked into it. He saw a patch of loose dirt descend for a bit and then vanish into darkness. Even with the sun overhead, one could not see especially far down. Argrave felt an unpleasant squirming in his guts when he reminded himself he would need to go down there in the future.
“You mentioned you watched these creatures last night, had an idea about something?” Argrave inquired.
“Yes,” Anneliese responded quickly. “I watched their habits. These creatures are much like you, in fact.”
Argrave looked away from the cavern incredulously. “What does that mean? Too big, spindly, highly flammable?”
Anneliese crossed her arms. “They clean themselves compulsively.”
“Well, that’s…” Argrave frowned. “Good hygiene is important. Even these things have some virtues, it would seem.”
“They often use their mouths to clean themselves,” she continued. “Each other, too.”
Argrave nodded slowly, perturbed. “I can’t recall doing that, unless I have some bizarre sleeping habits I’m unaware of. Might be I have some apologies to make.”
“You’re missing the point,” Anneliese said, though Argrave swore she hid a smile. “We needn’t lace food with poison. We need only get some of the poison on them—place it near the entrance, have them walk over it, and then clean themselves.”
Argrave blinked a few times as what she said sunk in. “That is definitely worth trying,” he concluded. “We still need to check which poison actually worked. They’re on the far ends of the field, so they shouldn’t be disturbed…” Argrave paused, looking at Anneliese. “Very observant of you. I’m reminded of why I was so willing to bring you along.”
“It may not work,” Anneliese dismissed with a shake of her head.
“We’ll see, I suppose. I hope it works. This little venture of ours needs to end soon.” Argrave looked off to the horizon. “That tax collector coming to this quaint countryside tells me there’s a storm brewing in Jast, and I’d like to make it there before it starts.”
***
The days passed by quickly, and Anneliese found herself enjoying the brief foray into this idyllic village. Argrave taught her much of herbology and applications of combat magic. The villagers were uncomfortable with two elves in their town, but Anneliese did not feel it as much as she normally would because of the company of Galamon and Argrave. There was companionship in mutual ostracization.
After Argrave dealt with the tax collector and the small disturbance of Lily Lurkers roaming the fields, few other unforeseen events occurred in the days to follow. Galamon struggled to find significant amount of game in the forests, and so they tried Anneliese’s idea. After small-scale testing proved to have significantly promising results, the three devoted most of their attention to brewing enough poison to cull the numbers of the colony enough to head into the cavern proper.
Anneliese, Argrave, and Galamon took turns overseeing the brewing process. Some of the villagers grew discontent with their oversight, but Argrave employed various persuasive means to keep them in line—grandiloquent speeches, displays of force, and other such largely effective tactics. On one occasion, he had the two of them catch one of the creatures alive and bring it into the village. There were few protests after that incident.
As Argrave directed Anneliese’s progress on the field of magic, she noticed he had a very systematic approach to things. Rather than learn a wide variety of spells so that any situation could be confronted, Argrave much preferred to manage the situations he would find himself in. He taught her mostly electric-based elemental magic, with only a few spells to cover glaring weaknesses or perform tasks electric magic could not. He seldom explained his logic without being pressed for it, but Anneliese could find plenty if she dug.
Argrave also refused to divulge any more information about himself, a result which Anneliese had been expecting. She knew from experience that trying to bridge a gap too quickly might only break the link that binds them, so she kept her pointed inquiries to a minimum. She could not deny an intense curiosity. His knowledge was without question, but after much scrutiny, she was all but certain that its source was not something Argrave was entirely forthright about.
Eventually, more and more corpses of the Lily Lurkers littered the white fields, some of them being carried away by other workers to an insectoid midden of sorts. The activity from the colony began to fade, and what few insects the three of them did encounter were often slow and weak, easily dispatched by sword or spell.
After six days in White Edge, Argrave finally decided things had calmed enough to do a cursory examination of the inside of the cavern.
Chapter 6
Argrave stood at the edge of the Cavern of the Lily’s Death. The dirt beneath his feet was loose, and his feet sunk into it like beach sand. Some of the soil was still damp with the poison they had poured over the entrance. He wore a full set of leather gear with long sleeves, but it still did not feel protective enough.
“Good Lord. Everything on me is going to get dirty. I hate this.” Argrave waved his hands about as though trying to shake off bugs.
“You want to lead?” questioned Galamon, standing close behind him. As per usual, the elf wore his black armor alone, even with the gaping hole in its torso from the battle at Barden. His greatsword, axe, and bow had been set aside, and he carried only his dagger at the ready in his hand.
“Why would you even ask that? You can probably smell these things fifty feet away,” Argrave said indignantly, only to spot a faintly amused smile on Galamon’s mouth. It was perhaps a fortune the Veidimen helmet’s design exposed the mouth, or Argrave might never have noticed he was joking. Argrave prodded the elf’s shoulder in irritation. “Alright, enough with that.”
Anneliese looked about the fields of white and red, expression unbothered. “The fields are littered with these Lily Lurkers’ bodies. I cannot say for sure that we will proceed unimpeded, but… it is certainly the best we can get it in such a timely fashion.” Anneliese crossed her arms as she thought, and then she pointed to Argrave. “If you wish, I might break the druidic link with my pigeon and instead contract with a mole or other such subterranean animal. We can scout out the cavern in great detail before proceeding.”
“Not worth it. Any creatures still living will move, and I…” Argrave cut himself off from mentioning that he vaguely remembered the layout of the cavern. Anneliese had been asking pointed questions; he could not give her any more hints. Although… what am I afraid of her learning?
“We do this now, most of them will still be in the frenzy that Anneliese and I dealt with a few days ago. Because of the rattling tails, they’ll be easier to find ahead of time, though they might be bunched up in the cavern…” Argrave stepped forward and peered into the cavern. “…in which case, Galamon will step back, and Anneliese and I will deal with the issue with magic.”
Argrave took a deep breath and pulled his gloves tighter, dismissing his thoughts before he distracted himself further. “Whatever. Let’s start before I talk myself out of this. I’ll keep a spell up for light. We brewed some antivenom, but I don’t know how well it will work, so don’t get stung. Don’t forget to cover your mouth and nose, Anneliese.” He pulled up his own cloth before his face, and Anneliese did the same.
Galamon had no such covering. Being a vampire, Galamon did not actually need to breathe to survive, nor would he actually suffer if he inhaled any sort of noxious fumes. Habits built up over centuries were difficult to break, though, and Argrave knew Galamon made a conscious effort to breathe to keep in touch with the time he had been alive.
Galamon stepped ahead of Argrave without hesitation. He found himself envying his elven companion’s confidence, but Argrave only grit his teeth and followed close behind, ducking into the fortunately spacious entrance. To Argrave’s great displeasure, the mushiness of the soil only grew worse as they lowered further beneath the earth, and light quickly faded before Argrave cast a simple fire spell to replace it. Distant rattling echoed out from the cavern as the sounds of the outside faded.
Their party stepped around innumerable white insect corpses as they trudged deeper into the underground. The light of Argrave’s magic reflected off the white exoskeletons brilliantly and so they were not especially difficult to avoid, but the sheer number of them made Argrave uneasy. Most of the path was wide enough for them to pass through easily, but at times they had to duck or slide to avoid a low ceiling. The air was dank, and Argrave could feel his skin sticking to his leather clothes. He was undecided if it was sweat or the moisture in the air.
The echoing rattling grew louder with each step deeper, making Argrave’s blood pump faster as his nervousness grew. Then, when the noise was unbearably loud, Galamon would lunge forward and stab before Argrave could even spot the danger. This game of anxiety repeated what seemed to be indefinitely; a constant rise and fall of nerves.
As the three of them proceeded lower like this, the smell grew very unpleasant even with a mask over their faces. It was a combination of the poison that they had been brewing and the innumerable other undoubtedly foul things in the cavern: corpses both of insects and eaten animals, the Lily Lurkers’ waste, and general stale air.
At times, the path would branch, and Argrave would instruct Galamon on which direction to proceed. Though Galamon shot Argrave a curious look, he obeyed without question. Argrave moved slowly to avoid twisting his ankle on the unsteady ground.
“What is that light?” Anneliese asked, and Argrave jumped a little, bumping his head against a rock protruding from the ceiling.
Argrave took a deep breath and exhaled. “Touch me or something before you talk.” He paused. “Now, what are you talking about?”
“On the ceiling.” She pointed. “A faint purple trail of light—so faint I thought it was but a trick of the mind.”
“Oh.” Argrave nodded knowingly. He looked up, and just as she said, there was a faint line of purple on the rocks above. “It’s a vein of the Amaranthine Heart. It absorbs magic by spreading veins across surfaces, seeking out anything alive and stationary. Namely, the lily field.”
“And those veins are what is making those lilies change colors the way they are, if I am correct in assuming so,” Anneliese posited in wonder.
“Yeah, you’re right, but let’s cut the chatter,” Argrave said quietly.
Galamon paused ahead, and then looked back.
The light from Argrave’s spell illuminated the elf’s face, and Galamon’s helmet cast a shadow over his jaw. Argrave could clearly see his fangs in the dark, and it brought back some unpleasant memories for a moment. “Ground ahead is stone. Carved, looks like,” Galamon said.
Argrave dabbed his forehead with the back of his gloved hand, feeling some sweat. “Whew. Alright, we’re near where we need to be. Just keep going.”
Galamon nodded and turned back. Argrave felt faintly tired, but he said nothing as he readjusted the cloth over his face and followed along. He felt a strong sense of relief as his feet hit something more solid than the dirt they’d been treading on before. Far ahead, Argrave’s spell illuminated a wall of taupe stone with a large hole marring its carved surface.
The elven vampire stopped at the hole, carefully looking around before entering. Argrave tried to follow, but Galamon stopped him. “Hear that?” he questioned.
Argrave listened. “I just hear that damned rattling,” he said after some time.
“But only from behind—not a single one ahead. Is this out of your expectations?”
Argrave listened a bit more intently this time, realizing Galamon was right. He looked back into the cavern. “Well, yes… yes, it is. You don’t hear a thing ahead?”
“Dripping water. Strange pulses—sounds like electricity, almost. No rattling, though,” Galamon summarized. “I see insect corpses ahead, but none living.”
