Chương 15: In A Hole With A Mole

Ch. 15: In A Hole With A Mole The alphas did not have the quickness needed to jump away. Kayla evaded it. I rolled backward. Hugh was near the side and managed to escape barely scratched. Jan and Riley however did not. After I rolled, I leapt over the table surrounded by dead goblins and turned the table over for cover. A human scream ripped through the dank cave. I poked my head out and saw Jan. Her body was freed but her leg was pinned under the giant mole's paw.

The mole's nasal tendrils split between her and Hugh.

Ten went to Kayla, who brandished her hammer. They pounced at her like heat-seeking flesh missiles, but she slammed her mallet down on the ground. A magical pulse rang out, stunning the tendrils. In the brief pause from the attacks, she batted the tendrils one by one. Hugh had a tougher time. The tendrils were batting him, picking at him and pulling away. He sliced at the air in front of them, both trying to hit and keep his range.

The tendrils hunted for a weak point and slower and slower they encroached on his space until he was backed against a cave wall. My priority was Lee. I peeked over the end of the table. The ogre still held her by the hair. She kicked endlessly, hands bound, as she struggled in the air with the blade to her neck.

"Don't need the hostage no more," The ogre said.

"Wait!" She cried, "I… I know where the humans keep their weapons." This stopped the ogre. He turned her and placed her feet enough on the ground that her scalp had some relief from the hanging. He gave Lee the permission to continue.

"Through the Hatch? You can show me where more weapons are?"

"Oh, yeah… I… know… where…. the… weapons…" She said this as she struggled against his hold on her hair.

"I kill all your team though. Only you."

"Kill them all! We don't need all of them to show you where the weapons are."

"Where are they?" A small snap rang out. She said, "No clue. I just needed some time." Her hands were freed. The ogre felt a pinprick on the side of his hand. He turned his wrist to see a small bladed hair clip had been lodged in his tough skin. That provided Lee with enough time to reach over and twist the handle on the great axe, shrinking it into a hand axe, and shrinking it even further into something that was too small for the ogre to hold. She wrested her hatchet from his grip and sliced off her curls.

Lee rolled backward and propped herself up, gripping the axe again and resizing it to be a wood axe. The ogre, undeterred, took Wesley's baton out as well as a knife from his holster. The knife was small. Its blade was stained a rich red. At the end of the handle was a tiny empty glass orb and the jewel of its handle resembled an eye. 2 quests appeared on my screen. Manifestations of my own goal.

Save Lee (500 xp) Defeat the Core (450 xp) Optional: Do it without getting caught (Bonus 2x xp) Yeah, that about summed it up. I checked around for anything that might help. The goblins had a slew of common weapons. There were bows but… I had no real skill with a bow and arrow. As I fumbled on the ground looking for a body, the sliver of wood I'd been keeping in my pocket fell out in front of me. Lee leapt over a baton strike from the ogre. It smashed a wooden chair next to them and the furniture broke into pieces.

One strike from that and she'd be dead. She jutted behind him and sliced at his calf. He cried out, twisted his torso fast and struck her cheek with his dagger. She fell backward. The blood on the knife seeped into the blade, and filled the orb with its rich red liquid. The ogre struck at her with the baton. Lee quickly turned the handle, expanding her weapon into a great axe and parrying. Despite that, the weapon smashed Lee against the wall, damaging her greatly.

Lee attempted to twist the handle, but she could not. The baton strike had bent the wood. She dropped the axe and rolled under his legs, but the ogre turned around and placed his foot on her back. He pressed down on her and Lee could hear the crunch of her own ribs. He placed his dagger to her neck, where the incision from the axe was still leaking. The blood seeped into the dagger. A red aura surrounded the ogre, his eyes turning red from the malice of the dagger's effect.

Then, as if to show his strength, he reached over and grabbed a statue, he gripped its head in his palm and squeezed. The statue's bust crumbled at the strength of his grip. He smiled, menacingly as he grabbed Lee's head.

"I'm giving the order to retreat!" Kayla yelled. She had been batting away the tendrils, but every time she injured one, another would recover and attack. Hugh was in even worse shape. The mole with a full party would be bad enough, but the mole and its giant ogre leader were a deadly combo. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

"If you have a return stone, use it!" Hugh reached into his bag. He reached in and grabbed a faint blue crystal. He called to Kayla and said, "For Riley!" He tossed the crystal and Kayla caught it. Kayla got eyes on Riley. She was hopefully still alive, but definitely not conscious. Kayla had fought, subtly backing away so as to coax the mole both off Riley, and off Jan's leg. Jan, still howling in pain, reached into her bag as well.

Once the mole shifted its weight fully off her foot, she crushed the crystal and disappeared. The ogre pulled Lee's face up. She stared at him through the gap in his fingers. Her eyes were wide as he reached over and put the dagger to her throat. More and more blood seeped into the dagger. A red miasma surrounded the ogre, even affecting his physical appearance. His veins popped. His muscles strengthened. He began to grip Lee's skull, just a little, but it caused so much agony for her.

As the fingers closed in on her, the last thing she would see was that wicked, gnarled smile. Teeth that twisted in different ways. Gums that expanded past the creases of the teeth. A blackened tongue. His breath. The last thing that Lee would experience was the ungodly halitosis of an ogre from Tartarus. Then the ogre's head shot back. His grip slackened and released Lee. Lee dropped to the ground. The ogre fell back, the red aura dispersing. Lee had fallen on her butt.

She stared at the beast, waiting for him to quit this bizarre act. The beast stayed on the ground. Slowly, deliberately, she crawled toward him. He did not move, the baton rested on the ground in front of his open palm.

"Lee!" Screamed Kayla amidst the heat of the battle. It divided Lee's attention, she turned to face her commander.

"I gave the order to retreat! Use this!" Lee reached out and grabbed the returnstone Kayla had tossed her. She nodded, the mole monster was quickly overwhelming Kayla. Lee crushed the returnstone to leave but first, her curiosity compelled her to solve the mystery. She crawled over and saw the ogre's dulled expression. His mouth was frozen open in the smile he had when he died. Lee noticed a wooden pick poking out of the back of the ogre's neck and blood gushing from a hole in the ogre's gums. Congrats!

You've defeated the ogre captain. Congrats! You did it without being noticed! Bonus for the ogre captain being a higher level than you. You just moved up 2 levels, hun;)"Drake!" Someone shouted. I had left my hiding spot on the table, making myself visible to the mole. I took a goblin's shortsword with me. The mole had noticed me and diverted some of the tendrils attacking Kayla to go at me.

"Do you have a return stone? I only have two left and I have to use it on Riley and then you!" Kayla yelled.

"Well, come on, Miss Slay Queen!" I yelled at her, "This is when you kill the mole all on your own, right?"

"Are you making jokes!?" Kayla cried exasperated. She was right. It wasn't super appropriate. I felt good; Lee was safe, but I had to get serious. Kayla was fighting the core all by herself, or was before the three extendable tendrils whipped at me. I dodged one, and blocked the other. I could tell two things. Kayla was quickly becoming overwhelmed, and that she was noble enough that she wouldn't leave Riley behind. So… the mission updated.

Defeat the core (450xp) Optional: Do it without getting caught (Bonus 2x xp) Save Riley (250xp)"I'll save Riley!" I cried out.

"No! What!?" Kayla yelled out.

"Toss me the rock!" I tempered my speed to remain human. Just a very quick human. The tendrils caught up to me as I approached the mole's body. I sliced at the tendrils with my sword, keeping them a distance away from me as I got closer to the mole's body.

"I said pass!" She looked shocked, but as she batted away three tendrils, she took the returnstone Hugh had given her and tossed it to me. I caught it and rolled under the mole. The two tendrils followed under it. Now that I was partially obstructed by the creature's body, I could use my abilities. I clicked the ability that said Cloudform. I held my hand up and made a circular motion, the cloud filled in the circle and created a small shield. The tendril struck, I used the shield to block and sliced one off.

The second tendril tried and I repeated the motion. The mole shrieked and the two tendrils chasing me withered. The mole started to turn to face me.

"Drake! The nose is abandoning me! They're coming for you!" I tested Riley's pulse: faint, but present. I placed the blue crystal in Riley's hand and crushed it. Sending her back. The sweep of tendrils attacked me from all ends. They collided onto the same spot but I had leapt in the air to avoid them. Luckily the mole's giant body obstructed me from Kayla. Unluckily, the tendrils redirected like ping pong balls hitting a hard surface, They quickly jutted up to meet me and ensnared me in their fleshy tubes.

Kayla finally had a shot on goal. She leapt up, divine strength coursing through her veins and slammed the spiked side of her mallet into the mole. The mole shivered in pain, its attention now divided. The moles claws dug into the hard rock and excavated, showering Kayla with chunks of rock. I grabbed the tubes and pulled them apart until there was enough slack for me to slip through. I kicked at the bundle, and came back into Kayla's sight. The tendrils were still after me.

"Drake! Take this!" She buffeted the rocks and tossed the returnstone toward me. I grabbed it. Great, a way out. But it wasn't a way out. A way out of this cave, sure. But I didn't have a way out until I fixed my car. And for that, I'd need to defeat the core.

"Thanks! Hey, Kayla!"

"What!?" Kayla dodged under the rocks but the mole's teeth clipped at her. She turned to me, and I had pulled my arm back and my foot up, like I was on a baseball field.

"Hold this." I pitched the crystal to her like a baseball player. Right at her face. Her instinct took over and she used the broadside of the mallet to block it. The crystal broke on impact and she became a blue light, about to escape the dungeon.

"I'll see you on the other side!" I cried to her.

"What the fu-" she didn't finish her sentence before disappearing. I cracked my knuckles and said, "Finally," under my breath. As the tendrils reached me, I looked into my abilities and chose the one I had been dying to use this whole time. Firebreath.