Master of the Hoard - Chapter 17 (Patreon)

Aelis lay before me, drenched in sweat. The mental message from her reverberated through the room. "Fifteen minutes." Fifteen minutes before the first Crawls would come rushing in, trying to end our existence.

I grit my teeth, causing Creziel to slap his paws over his ears. The sound wasn't unlike nails on a blackboard and I let it go. "Aelis, good job on slowing them down."

She slowly got up, smiling softly. "I led them on a merry chase, milord. Still, I couldn't be too obvious about it, or they would have ignored me completely."

"We're short on time. Do you have any final knowledge to share with us?"

"Yes. Wreil made it back to you? Good. Then you know their numbers. There is one larger Crawl, however. I believe he is a Lieutenant. I would steer clear of him, if possible."

Roth made a high noise in the back of his throat and clacked his teeth. "If he beats the traps, he’s mine."

Aelis ignored the boast. "I also caught a glimpse of the dragon." Silence filled the room. All eyes were on Aelis, as she continued. "She is a red, and a big one at that."

"Thank you, Aelis." I stood, stretching my body to look over my gathered leaders. They were not much to look at, but I was still absurdly proud of them. "We have all rehearsed this. We know who does what and when. Share this with everybody - it's important. If, when, something goes wrong you run here for protection. Remember to run through the Clencher cavern to the throne room. You can ruin everything otherwise. And if you can't make it back here, flee and hide in the tunnels until everything is over and done with. Remember to pick up anything you and your friends can use from the hoard before you go. And now go."

"Spirit be with us." Arthor intoned the words without his usual sarcastic tone. The others repeated the words, kneeling to touch the ground before they left.

Silence before the storm. I used to use the term for when I arrived at a work site as the first. There was a certain satisfaction in watching the sun rise while I surveyed the grounds that would soon be home to a bustling mess of noise and activity. This time, however, the silence was accompanied with a nervousness I wasn't used to. I was in the right position, waiting in the doorway between the throne room and the entrance hallway. I could clearly see the door leading towards the Clencher cavern further down the hallway on my left. Right now, everybody would be waiting in their positions or scrambling to get ready. The rare warriors would be waiting with Roth at the ambush site, while scouts were positioned as living bait in the tunnels beyond that. This left the remaining two thirds of the tribe who were in the throne room near the other entrance to the Clencher cavern, including every single builder, shaman and other assignations.

We heard them before I spotted them on the minimap. Out of nowhere, a jumbled-up roar from several throats announced their arrival - and a few weak cries of pain attested to the ambush being a success. I angled my neck around and addressed the group behind me. "Everybody, get ready near the door. The first trap has been sprung. We will need you ready to charge soon." The crowd did as ordered and I pretended I didn't notice the reek of fear and less pleasant smells. It was not everyday you might get to face a dragon.

The first red dot appeared on the minimap and I immediately zoomed in to see what we were up against. Unsurprisingly, I couldn't see their attributes, but at least there was no fog of war inside my own domain. I watched the leading humanoid in the mis-matched leather armor spot one of my scouts peeking around a boulder and charge in, followed by several of his brethren. The low, squat humanoid looked like something misplaced out of some ancient mythology. His wide brow, flat nose and squat, muscular body made him look like a neanderthal in a dwarf's body. Except... I zoomed in and realized that the leather armor wasn't armor. Rather, it was the skin itself lying in folds on the creature's arms, legs and body. Only the head was free from the horrific growths.

Even as I watched, the Crawl almost caught up to my scout until she sped up, leaving the ugly creature in the dust. One, two, three light jumps and she arrived at the dead end, twisting frantically to get her body inside the tiny escape tunnel. Realizing that his prey was about to get away, he put in a final burst of speed on his short, stubby legs - when suddenly the earth disappeared from under his feet. I watched as three others followed him, tumbling to the bottom of the pit in a whirlwind of limbs and weapons.

I didn't continue watching, even though I wanted to. I knew that the pit was deep and steep enough that climbing out would be a difficult task for any survivors. Additionally, Jazinth had added sharp, downward-facing stone spikes to the edges of all pits. Returning to the overview, I gritted my teeth as I watched the development. There - a handful of red dots disappeared as a neighboring tunnel collapsed on top of them. In the next tunnel over, one of my blue dots disappeared, surrounded by a handful of enemies. Damnit. I watched as the red dots multiplied in number, spreading out into the surrounding tunnels before realizing their errors and returning to the main force. Eventually, they coalesced into a single red wave that continued inexorably towards the real tunnel and us. I barely had the time and sense of mind to count them before I realized that they would be over us at any time. There were still so many left - at least twenty. Right before them, a single blue dot sprinted, leading them towards me. That would be Roth. Aelis wanted to lead them here, since she was faster, but Roth insisted. "You're tired. I can see it. Besides, I’m tougher than you. Go get ready with the others."

As they neared the final corner before the decline leading into my lair, I raised an illusion right in front of me. Then I waited. It was all I could do not to fidget, place myself in a defensive position or even hide - but right now, my illusion was my real defense. In front of me, a large stone wall spanned the entire corridor left to right. As long as they were unable to break the illusion, they would see the doorway into the Clencher's cavern as the only possible entrance and pass me by. I kept my minimap open, watching their progress on the other side. "Come on, come on, come on." I chanted inside my head, as I fought to keep the illusion steady.

The noise on the other side of the illusion was overwhelming. The clanging of weapons and grunts of the pushing, shoving crowd was almost overwhelmed by the furious shouts of Crawls as they filed into the Clencher Cavern and were met with... even louder roars.

I watched through the mini map, concentrating hard to keep the illusion up meanwhile . At first, it went according to plan. The moment Roth made it into the cavern, the Talpus next to the Stone Door that held the furious, starving Clenchers trapped slammed their door open and legged it behind Roth toward the other exit. Then, as my Talpi made it out the exit, with the Crawls chasing their flanks, they slammed the door right in the faces of the Crawls, leaving them staring at a closed door.

It didn’t take my Clenchers long to realize that dinner had been served. That in itself would've been cause enough for confusion and fear in the Crawls, except we had worked hard to make the cavern a living hell for the intruders. On the far side of the cavern, a semi-transparent Shadow Tower popped into action, firing weakening shots at the intruders, while the ground near the hallway had been riddled with leg-breaking potholes, spikes and slippery substances to make any attempt to shut down the tower painful and difficult, if not lethal. I closed the mini-map and glanced down the entrance corridor. From the side tunnel, a rising cacophony of shouts and cries of pain indicated that everything was working almost according to plan.

Almost. Three stragglers among the Crawls had arrived late and were waiting just outside the door. From their gestures, it looked like they were discussing whether they should enter or not. Growling, I released my illusion and charged toward the trio. I slammed into one of the three with my shoulder, tossing him into the door opening and slammed the door shut, locking the entire force inside with the Clenchers. Then I turned and tore into the two other surprised humanoids. My first claw stroke was almost absorbed by the armored layer on the first one’s chest, but the second stroke tore into its neck, painting the corridor with a few violent spurts of blood. I dropped the creature to the ground, bounding towards the other one... only to see its retreating back as it scrambled up and out of my lair.

Damnit. That was not supposed to happen. Now the dragon knew what- A thundering roar crowded out all other noises for a moment. I frantically brought up the minimap and realized that she was here. She was here! Just a few corridors away! The enemy dragon wasn't supposed to charge alongside the Crawls. Activating the Shadow Door next to me, I watched it fade into the background as I turned, almost slipping as I sprinted back into the throne room. The crowd next to the exit from the Clencher's cavern stared at my blood-drenched claws until my mental shout got them moving. "The dragon's coming. The original plan won’t work. You need to handle the Crawls so you can hide back in there."

A multitude of questions and Talpus noises sprang into being, but Roth shouted them all down. I couldn't understand what he said, but my gathered minions subsided and hefted their weapons as one. Seconds later, they followed the squat warrior, as he opened the Shadow Door into the Clencher room and they charged into battle behind him. When the last of them entered, I closed the exit door with an unspoken "Godspeed." and activated the illusion. I didn't envy my Talpi, stuck inside the room with the furious Crawls and starving Clenchers. They were on their own now. I needed to decide how to handle my attacker and I was running out of time. Another roar reverberated from just outside my lair.

My mind worked furiously, trying to decide how to handle this. I had hoped that I'd be able to finish the Crawls along with my Talpi, letting us lure her towards the Clenchers. That was not going to happen now. So, using the terminology of one of my favorite games, I needed a snap decision. Attack, Flee, or Items. I'd already used or distributed all items that could help me and Mana Crystals were once a day only. Attacking... well, I doubted that was going to go well against the most combat-hardened dragon race. So... flee? Or maybe...

Commanding the Shadow Door inside the throne room to open, I slipped inside the Clencher cavern and activated the door behind me again. Inside, the situation was chaotic. The Clenchers were on the far side of the room, running berserk, snarling and tearing. Most of the Crawls had abandoned their efforts to attack and were trying to get back out, only to realize that there was no exit. The Talpi were on my side of the room, fighting defensively, content to see the Clenchers tear apart the Crawls ahead of them. The Shadow Tower, meanwhile, was spitting gobbets of shadow essence at Clenchers and Crawls alike, seeing both as enemies. Where the essence struck, the targets clearly weakened, adding to the confusion of the room. I did not have the time to help, however. Ignoring friend and foe alike, I waded through the chaos, shouldering aside a Talpus who hadn't heard my approach and trampling an unlucky Crawl. Within moments, I approached the other door. A duo of Crawls were trying to batter down the door with their maces to escape, and I unceremoniously clawed them down before they realized I was there.

A burst of pain from behind told me that my presence hadn't gone unnoticed. I kicked backwards with both hind legs like a horse and the presence went away. I spent a split second staring at the mini map to see the dot outside hovering near the entrance to my throne room. "Perfect!" I thought and burst into action.

One. Deactivate Shadow Door.

Two. Throw my neck outside into the hallway. Locate dragon. There.

Three. Breath attack.

Four. Jump back into the doorway and reactivate Shadow Door.

I allowed myself no time to think, to worry about the lives of the Talpi who were struggling inside the cavern. I simply threw myself back through the throng and sprinted to the other exit. Again, I spent a split second to check the mini map and could see the red dragon moving around in the corridor. This could go so very wrong... I shuddered and ran as fast as I could towards the hallway. This time, I didn't even bother to aim. I simply stuck my head around the opening and breathed, letting the droplets burst into the hallway beyond. Then I turned on my heels and sprinted back as a roar appeared behind me, followed by a huge stream of flame. I did not run to the Shadow Door, which I had left open, but towards the other side, where the entrance to the Habitat was. The moment I crossed the entrance to the hallway, I projected an image behind me of nothing - just an open doorway. Panting and hyperventilating, I turned around, focusing with my entire being on keeping the illusion believable and intact.

The first sight of the red dragon as she lumbered back into the throne room took my breath away. Goddamnit, but she was beautiful. Other words applied too. Majestic. Dangerous. Brimming with muscle. "All too goddamn close" rushed towards the top of the list. But beyond that, she was obviously beautiful. Twice my length, her body radiated heat as she walked, a thousand different shades of red and orange created a living, breathing carpet of walking magma. Also, where my body was sleek and deadly - the born ambush hunter - hers was that of a powerhouse, muscle playing with every step. Also, the only real indication that I'd already hit her twice was the murderous look on her face - her body gave off no hint of weakness.

"Better make this one count then," I thought as she stalked closer to the opening. If this had been my actual body, sweat would be dripping off of me from the tension. My mana was running on empty. I could feel the illusion dissipating and the big red was stalking faster now - she had clearly heard the noises from the ongoing conflict inside the Clencher cavern. I waited until the very moment when she turned around the corner before stalking towards her. As soon as she was all the way around the corner, I struck, sending another Weakening Fog at her - and then legged it for the exit. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched the cloud sinking wholesale down onto the unsuspecting dragon's body. Her shudder as it disappeared into her was a thing of beauty. My mental salute to her came out with as much vitriol as I could add. "Not so tough now, are we?" I cleared the exit from the throne room when I heard her turn and sprinted for all I was worth towards the tunnels. I had this now. I could run away, slowly regenerate some mana, strike from ambushes and from behind illusions. Except she wasn't as lost to her temper as I thought. Her furious message followed me along on my flight across the corridor.

"Just run away, you slinking coward. I'll take your hoard and torch your lair. Let's see you establish yourself when this is all my domain."

Oh. Oh. Damnit. That hit a nerve. I mean, sure, I would hate losing the place, but if she stuck around instead of chasing me... that would mean the end of the Talpi too. I had hoped that we would be able to finish the Crawls in time for everybody to jump the red. This… was a mess. I held no illusions that my Talpi would be able to hold their own against the monstrous creature, even weakened as she was. My foot hovered on the first step of the incline towards the tunnels, as my shoulders sank. "Curse you."  I sent back and tentatively made my way past the entrance to the Clencher Cavern and sent a worried thought for my Talpi who were fighting for their lives in there, before turning back towards the throne room. I had been really hoping to avoid a boss fight.