Chapter Four: On the Road (Patreon)

Chloe settled upon her seat and watched the scenery as they plodded along. The caravan had started moving a few hours before and she was sharing a wagon with young Sae. The same one in which the two of them had fun dressing up dolls just a few hours before. From what she had gathered since meeting the living, Sae was Alicia’s younger sister. Neither sister had explained how they’d ended up as part of this caravan or where their parents were. Chloe could guess, but in her long life she’d learned that assumptions could be dangerous. It was best not to assume, but she knew enough to figure that they were no longer in the picture. A real shame for one so young, a mere child should have a mother and Alicia was an adventurer. A vital profession to be sure, but not one stable enough to be looking after one so young.

Chloe glanced down at Sae curled beside her, she really was cute. The family resemblance between the adorable little Sae and her elder sister was apparent the moment you saw them together. Sae had the same blue hair and green eyes as her sister. Her long hair was parted by long pointed ears, while on her back spread a pair of translucent silvery wings. The marks of her fairy heritage and elven blood. Where her sister wore a shoulder cape, paired with a sheer top and worn shorts, Sae was dressed in a lovely little green dress with flared sleeves, and a frilled hem that ended just above her knees, which she paired with long white socks and a rugged pair of boots. One thing Chloe was wondering about was the lack of underwear both sisters presented. Alicia didn’t wear a bra, and more recently she’d noted she didn’t wear panties either. Was there some new fangled fad about not wearing underwear?

Movement caught her attention and she pushed her latest questions about mortals and their clothing habits aside. Turning a bit she noted Alicia climbing up the ladder and into the wagon. “Not going to take a nap?”

She shook her head, “I’m not tired just yet.”

Alicia settled next to her, “That’s perfectly fine. Hell, it works out for me. We haven’t really had a chance to chat. That was some magic trick you pulled, and Sae certainly liked it.”

“Thanks! I’ve had a lot of practice,” she replied with a grin. Her tail wagging a bit, she enjoyed the compliment but she wasn’t lying about the practice. Being sealed had left her with very little to do, and with only the gods for company she’d spent a good deal of her time practicing magic. When she hadn’t been practicing her magic, she’d been plotting out her next plan for world domination.

Alicia chuckled, “I figured you did. I’m a Dark Storm Mage myself, what about you?”

Chloe understood instantly what that meant. Alicia was clearly accomplished; it took an advanced knowledge of magic to be a storm caller. The part about Dark meant she had a strong grasp of Dark magic, one of the three holy elements. Most mortals either had an affinity for Dark or Light; those with Shadow were quite rare. Yet she couldn’t help blinking, her tail stiffening in surprise.

“Hmm? Something up?”

“I was lucky to have affinities for water, lightning, wind, nature, earth and fire.”

Alicia blinked, “A fellow storm mage? Have you learned to call storms yet? What’s your level in Storm magic? I recently reached Expert Grade E!”

“Um,” replied Chloe, not entirely sure she should mention that she was an Archmaster in all her affinities and even if she did, Grade A meant she was at the top of the field. There was also the fact that her body was that of a young woman who’d never left the novice levels. Still being a bit more skilled than her level might suggest wasn’t unheard of. She flushed, “Um, about the same.”

Alicia gave her a look, “At your age? That’s damn impressive. I shudder to imagine what kind of mage you will be when you grow up.” Alicia paused then a second later, said, “Anyway, you said you woke up at the Ruins of Ferios? Any idea how you got there?”

Chloe suddenly had a name to the place she’d been when she returned, but what could she say? Tell her a story about how she’d possessed the soulless body of a girl, who’d been sacrificed in some foul ritual? Mention how there might be some evil fiend released from the Abyss to once more terrorize mortal kind? Hell, as far as the mortals were concerned she was just as much an evil terror as the Abyssal was. Maybe she’d not done the best for herself in that area, but this time around things would be different. She was sure of it. 

Rather than say anything at all, she simply shook her head. There just weren’t any words she could use. Maybe it was wrong not to warn them about the Abyssal, but she didn’t know what to say. How was she going to say anything about it? She didn’t even know what Abyssal had been released upon the world.

“You don’t know?”

“I was just... there.”

“I see, so where are you from? Maybe we can get you home to your parents.”

Now there was a troubling question, she knew nothing of the original Chloe’s past, and as for her own home? The ravages of time had long swept it away. It didn’t help that the elves foolishly summoned a parasitic plant that had threatened to overrun the world. These days her distant homeland lay locked away behind an impenetrable barrier erected by the gods.

After a moment Alicia said, “Well, if you aren’t comfortable talking about it, you can take your time.”

“I um, uh... thanks.” she replied.

Alicia giggled, then composed herself. “I guess I should tell you a bit about where we are.”

“Somewhere in the Underdark?”

“Specifically the Upper Dark, we are beneath the Holy Queendom right now, traveling through what used to be the Queendom of Ferios.”

She blinked, “Didn’t I wake up in the Ruins of...”

“Ferios? Yeah you did, it used to be the capital around here, but that was decades ago. Before the Theocracy sacked the city and slaughtered the royal family. You can imagine the chaos that started. These days things have mostly settled down, but many old cities lie abandoned. Testaments to an age long passed. Not that any of that matters to us.”

“I guess not, so where are we going? I know Bordertown, but are there any stops before then?”

“Sure, we will be stopping for the night at the town of Tyna.”

“Tyna?”

“I guess you never heard of it. Tyna started life as a trading post, positioned at an access nexus with a connection to a large underground lake, the trading post quickly grew from a small outpost to a flourishing town. It’s one of the larger towns in this part of the UpperDark. Which comes at little surprise, since they have access to goods from all over, and a direct route to both the surface and the Middle Dark.”

The ground shook suddenly beneath them. Sae stirred, mumbled then drifted back into sleep, while shouting echoed through the caravan. Alicia grabbed her staff and hopped off the cart. Chloe was tempted to follow her but stayed put. It wouldn’t fit her cover to go charging into danger.

In moments the source of the danger became clear. Streaming in front of the caravan was a swarm of armored ants. Large bugs were common to the underdark, the Armored Ant was a monstrous ant species common to the Underdark, they could grow to almost three meters long and their mandibles could crush steel. While their thick carapace was almost as tough as a dragon’s scales. Worse, they were never alone. Yet for all that toughness, they were not without weaknesses. Fire and Lightning magic were quite effective at dealing with them. Lightning was her preferred choice, since it was quite good at bypassing things like armor. Meanwhile, fire was good for cooking them in their shells.

From her seat on a wagon, she had a good view of the unfolding battle. The various adventurers and guards quickly set up a perimeter while the wagons were pulled back from the ants. Chloe was honestly impressed by the discipline. Mortals were often so messy at that, but these guards and adventurers did it seamlessly.

Not only that but there was no panic, as they clearly came prepared. She watched the mages unleash spells of fire, ice and lightning upon the ants. Ants who quickly clashed with their frontline. Where magical wards and strong shields held them at bay. The warriors at the front struggled with shields and spears to keep them from overwhelming the caravan. The vulnerable noncombatants meanwhile stayed near the wagons, where they would be easier to protect.

Chloe felt rather safe just watching as the battle went on. She could have stopped the battle in an instant, but felt no reason to do so. Instead she spent it watching the caravan guards in action, there weren’t even a hundred of them. Hell they were barely more than fifty of them, and yet they proved their worth. Outnumbered they may have been, but they held.

Not without losses however. She watched one man lose his footing and that was enough for two ants to break past his guard. His armor crunched in a second, blood spurted everywhere as his form was crushed by the mandibles of a large bug. With one man down, a second soon followed, then a third before the remaining guards stemmed the tide. 

Only for a second breach of the line a few seconds later, but this time only two people died before a wall of ice blocked them.

Chloe just took notes of the tactics, and before long the battle was over. The guards mourned and buried their dead, and burned the dead ants. Nothing she had not seen a million times before. A reminder of how fragile the mortals could be. A shame to die so young, but she wished them luck in their next lives.

_________________Sae stirred as the walls of Tyna came into view. Chloe noted her moving. “You haven’t missed much. Fun dreams?”

“Where are we?”

Chloe pointed at the walls. “Tyna” she said, still taking the city in herself.

The road had opened up into a massive cavern. Several bridges over a pit into the depths went to a massive island upon which the town was built, tall stone walls hid the town from view. Massive towers ringed the town, bristling with ballistae, and catapults. She noted many guards in armor walking the tops of the walls. Beyond the pit and island, she could see the waters of an underground lake with a roaring waterfall descending into the depths. Long docks led off the town and into the waters and further out small ships could be seen plying the waters. With fishermen hauling in their catches.

Other caravans and wagons could be seen moving down the bridges towards the gates into the town. Speaking of the gates, they were massive, easily ten meters tall and twice as wide, while the walls looked to be nearly double that height. Even from here she could sense the enchantments woven into the stone of the walls and not only did they use stone but orichalcum and mythril as well.

Their wagon would soon be at the gates as well. Three figures soon joined her by the wagon. It was Alicia and her party. Alicia clambered up and said, “We should be getting into town soon. Arrangements were made ahead of time, so we have an Inn waiting for us.”

Chloe blinked, “That’s nice but what about me?”

“I figured you and Sae could share a room,” said Alicia.

She pulled out some of the herbs she’d harvested, “I can pay!”

Alicia gave her a look, “Nonsense. I’ll make sure you are taken care of. We can talk more in the morning.”

Elie the cowgirl interjected, “Yes let us take care of you. Being in a strange land must be trying enough.”

The big lug didn’t say anything. Chloe felt some warmth, at the way these people were acting. “So if I’m with Sae, where are you sleeping?”

“I’ll be with Elie, and Derick has his own room. Best we can do with only three rooms.”

“I see,” she replied and figured it might do well enough.