Chapter 112: Excavation

Chapter 112: Excavation

The fire user spontaneously combusted as maddened laughter clawed out of his mouth. Leif sighed, raising an arm to shield his face from the following detonation of power. The battle had wounded him, though his cultivated base of life-force hadn’t been overly tapped into. The two injured humans however, were in far worse conditions. They fled, vanishing over a ledge as the cavern began to collapse. He turned, and dashed for their packs, all the while cursing the fact he was about to get trapped underground, again.

Should have learnt from the Mythold back in Pherin. He mused darkly, backing away as the sound of manic laughter mixed with the crashing reverberation of several tonnes of stone falling down from above. He turned to the entrance of the cavern, then watched as it collapsed, his already fraying connection to the anchors created by [The Amber Path] were severed by the physical barrier that now separated them. There were several smaller side exits, but they were rapidly becoming untenable. A colossal chunk of stone crashed down barely a metre away, then flames washed over everything.

Leif whirled to protect the packs he had grabbed, covering them as best he could, then kicked off and sprinted for the nearest exit. If he was lucky, it wouldn’t be a dead end. If he wasn’t, well, there were probably dumber ways to die. Not that he would be overly pleased with the current situation. Though it angered him more than he wanted to admit, letting two of the terrorists escape wasn’t the end of the world. At least the fire user won’t survive this. He thought, sensing the wavering emotions of the human as his altered form was crushed. But flames writhed free from tiny cracks, elemental energy spooling back into a vaguely human shape. Hopefully won’t survive this. Leif amended.

Then he was through the small gap he had chosen to escape down, pushing the packs in front of him and down the natural passageway. After several metres something became obvious: packs would fit, but he wouldn’t. Leif focused his will and began to warp and change his body, already tightly compressed wood and plant fibre twisted and flattened, his entire form slowly shifting to become smaller and narrower.

Pain burnt within him as his body began to break, such delicate changes should not be rushed, but here he was performing them while trying to escape. The narrow passageway shook, rubble fell from above, an angular chunk of stone collided with his shoulder and pinned him against one of the increasingly narrow walls. Leif grunted, conjuring several limbs to dislodge the rock and protect himself from any more falling from above. He wouldn’t be crushed to death, not with his physique, instead the danger was becoming stuck in a crevasse and being unable to escape.

Heat erupted from behind him, the human turned animated bonfire either still alive or some sort of lingering effect having been triggered. He could stretch back his perception to check, but he’d rather not attract attention. The fight may not have been an overwhelming victory, but at least he had gotten out of there with what he needed.

The further he travelled the more distant the irregular flares of heat became, the rumbling faded away, the collapsing cavern no longer a threat. Leif hacked away at the passageway before him, amber arms converted into blades punching through loose rock and debris. His storage ring didn’t have enough room for even a fraction of either pack he had grabbed, his luggage a burden he had to be constantly aware of as he progressed. Fôll0w current novÊls on n/o/(v)/3l/b((in).(co/m)

Finally the gap he had been wriggling through ended, but not in a new cavern for him to escape into. Instead the inky darkness of a ravine stretched out beneath him, like a maw eager to devour him whole. He turned, looking back the way he had come. Nothing for it, he took a deep breath, then carefully began to lower himself down into the darkness.

It was a perilous and near blind descent. His conjured arms, that he used to carefully lower himself down into the depths below, emitted a soft amber glow, but that glow was hardly enough by which to see. The darkness was oppressive, the tight confines of the ravine suffocatingly tight.

A part of him, the monstrous part of himself he was gradually becoming more and more familiar with, hated being underground. It was against his nature to not be under the open sky, surrounded by warmth and life. It wasn’t quite claustrophobia, his rationality and mental fortitude battered away any fear that flickered into existence, but it was far from comfortable.

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“So we go back home?” Olav said. “I didn’t even get my fight. I was promised a fight.”

“If we wait around too long, we might get caught up in a fight trying to get out.” Samil pointed out, nodding in the direction of a brewing argument between two different groups of soldiers. “They haven't come to blows yet, but it’s getting more and more likely the more time passes.”

Olav grunted, adjusting the bulging sack slung over his shoulder. The large demikin opened his mouth, then paused, staring out over the town. He pointed, the other two following his direction. “What is it with this town and things catching on fire?” He asked dubiously. “Does this always happen? I hope the one we’re building doesn’t do this.”

“No.” Samil replied, raising a hand to shield his eyes from the sun as he took a closer look at the strange manifestation of fire energy hanging over the town. “Oh... oh no.”

A street over from where they were standing erupted into a geyser of flames as a vaguely human shaped ball of fire streaked down from above. Moments later the screaming started. Liv and Samil turned to face one another, faces pale.

“Holy shit.” Liv said, backing away while wiping away crumbs. “We should go.”

“Y-yeah.” He replied, a nearby explosion sending chunks of building raining down. “This is not something we should get stuck in the middle of, at least not without a plan.”

“Finally!” Olav cheered, letting his pack slump to the ground. Then he took off towards the living inferno.

The other two demikin watched him go, expressions blank. “Your cousin’s an idiot.” Samil said, running a hand through his hair and letting out a groan.

“We should probably not watch while he gets himself killed.”

“...Sure.”