Apparently, spiders didn’t look at a room the way we did.
Bane slipped into stealth and crept down the tunnel, leaving only a series of swearwords lingering in the air behind him.
I really liked Bane, especially considering the fact that, as an amphibian with highly limited contact with the outside world, he’d usually be expected to be a bit stunted in his conversational style. He’d picked things up with amazing speed, and his creativity knew no bounds, considering the lack of the internet in his past.
“Ass-eating fuck-nuggets” floated back to me before he went silent, and I grinned at the darkness. Those hours spent in quiet discussion of insults from home hadn’t been wasted in the slightest. He was gone maybe fifteen minutes before returning and hurrying to me.
“We’ve got a problem,” he said, shaking his head. “There are only three Drow down there, but there are easily fifty kobolds. They also have either the creatures the Drow used to carry their goods here, or the smuggler’s caravans were using weird mounts.”
“Why weird?” I asked and he gestured over his shoulder into the darkness of the cave.
“There’s a bunch of different creatures in pens: a pair of salamanders, easily ten meters long and looking as dumb as rocks."
"A tiger that looks to be half dead; and at least three other things further back in the cave that I couldn’t make out. The Drow are playing some sort of table game with cards. They have whips and spears close to hand, as well as a trio of Nightwolves close by.”
“What are Nightwolves?” I asked.
“They’re a species of wolf that’s adapted to hunting in the dark places of the realm. They use a form of Worldsense to hunt, as their eyes have atrophied, good sense of smell, as well. They don’t have the pelts of their forest cousins. Instead, they have pale, thick skin with ridges of bone. I’d expect one of the Drow to be a Beastmaster class, or they’d have already been eaten, so we need to take them out fast, as they’ll buff the Nightwolves and guide their attacks.”
“What’s the layout?” I asked, and Bane sketched it quickly in the dirt of the tunnel.
“The Drow are on the far side of the room, sitting around a table that’s been pushed back against the wall, maybe fifteen meters away, directly opposite the entrance. The mounts are on the right side, with the kobolds on the left. Their cages are in a half circle, with the Nightwolves in the center. Looks like the wolves are given any kobolds that annoy the Drow, as they’re fighting over some scraps now.”
“Well, at least they’ll be distracted, then.” I said, looking over the sketch. “Okay, Miren, Stephanos, you’re going to be the first to attack. I want the Drow closest to the wolves dead. Both of you target the closest one; then once he’s down, step back and let us through. I’d bet the Beastmaster is the closest to his pets."
"Then the pair of you and Arrin are to concentrate on the wolves as soon as the rest of us are inside. Lydia, Cam, and Jian, you’re on my right; Barrett and Bane, my left. Your targets are the two Drow that will be hopefully left. I’ll take the Drow that’s full of arrows and then the wolves. Once you’ve killed your targets, help whoever you can. Everyone good with that?” I asked and received a round of nods.
“Okay then, let’s go. Quiet as possible, please, turn off the Magelights, and Bane, you lead us in.”
The lights disappeared in seconds, and there was a general shuffling of feet and muffled swearing as people adjusted to the dark, with a few mutters of ‘That’s my foot!’ and ‘I said grab my shoulder… that’s NOT my shoulder!’ that caused a few snorts of laughter, relieving the tension.
I’d seen the grab that caused the complaint; Miren had been grabbing Stephanos’s arse, and I couldn’t help but grin about it, as Stephanos, despite being a man who looked like he should be wrestling bears in his spare time, had a surprisingly girly squeak when it came to Miren teasing him. Plus, he really wasn’t sure if it was Miren or Barrett… which amused those of us that could see even more.
We crept along the tunnel, all humor vanishing as we moved closer and closer to the fight, and soon the floor leveled out from the steep decline we’d been struggling down, into a weaving and meandering tunnel that ended in a dog leg.
We could see the flicker of firelight up ahead reflecting off the walls, and I felt the rest of the team relax marginally.
Those without any form of DarkVision were really having a shitty time underground when we had to put the magelights away.
I understood it, and I’d turned my vision off at one point to see how bad it was for them, and I’d lasted about two seconds before ramming it back on. I did NOT like the dark down here, especially when all I could hear, besides the heavy breathing of my companions, was the occasional scrape of Horkesh and her drones moving over the walls and ceiling all around us.
It freaked me the fuck out.
We gathered up just around the corner from the next cave and looked at each other, making sure everyone was ready, before Miren and Stephanos drew back on their bows, and stepped up to the entrance.
Stephanos had gotten the bow from the Drow, and he’d chosen an arrow from the quiver that looked like it was meant to give someone nightmares. It was triangular, with serrated sides and jagged points on the outer tips. I just knew it was gonna hurt like fuck when it came to be being removed.
Miren didn’t look happy as she slipped past me to join him, standing at the corner, and ready to step out. Her bow looked cheap
