Valkyrie's Shadow

Birthright: Act 4, Chapter 14

Chapter 14

“Did he say move up?” Kyla’s voice drifted over from the rear.

Through the chorus of shifting boots, stomping and squeamish noises, Ludmila could barely hear Howe’s call from ahead of them somewhere. The cockroaches kept coming, and the party continued in their efforts to squash them as they came. The ichor drenching the stones made footing hazardous, the stench was stomach-turning, and the sound of countless rustling limbs made for a chorus of its own. Fortunately, none of the insects that came from whatever traps they had triggered were as monstrously huge as the few they had come across in the rooms or they would surely have been overrun by now. Not that it made things any better for their Fighter in the rearguard.

“C-come on, someone say something!” Kyla shouted over the din again. “Can we move now? Please?”

Not willing to risk her breaking up their formation, Themis had cast an enchantment on the wavering Fighter to help keep her calm as she fought. Though it didn’t completely eliminate her fear, Kyla was doing markedly better, fighting with clean and measured movements one would have never expected out of her given her previous state of near mental collapse. She used her shield to crush a half dozen crawling along the wall beside her, then two more on the ground in front with the flat of her sword. Her methodical defence continued even as she asked for updates from the front.

“I’m pretty sure he did, yes,” Ludmila said as she brought her own shield down to smash several cockroaches that were creeping through.

Though she had come into the Adventurer Guild with the idea that her years of training as a child to fight on the frontier would give her an edge in combat, their current situation flew in the face of what she considered common sense. She ended up discarding the notion of using weapons in a regular fashion, as her usual armament was ill-suited to dealing with so many small targets. Those that had shields were using them to kill as many as they could with every attack. Those without them used their torches to ward the cockroaches away, or stepped on them when they saw one skittering too close.

“Let’s catch up to him, then,” Henrich said. “We should be almost through if the pattern of the floors is the same.”

They dashed over to where Howe awaited, leaving the writhing black mass behind. The slowly growing rustle of thousands of legs behind them was an ever-present reminder that they were still being trailed.

“I only see one big one, but it’s probably three going by how things have been so far,” Howe said calmly as they approached. “If we can handle it like the third room up top, we should be clear…right?”

“Will we actually?” Penn was doubtful, “Now that we have this endless parade of bugs following us everywhere, who’s to say they won’t keep following us? I can’t think of any way to stop them.”

“If we wait, we’ll lose any advantage we have tackling the next room,” Ludmila said. “Let’s take ad…”

Her words trailed off as cockroaches started to crawl out of the cracks in the hall: like the previous corridor, their entry as a party triggered the release of yet another source of them. Howe followed her gaze, swinging his torch around and he cursed as the glistening dark bodies reflected the light. Several dozen were killed as they emerged from the walls but, like the sections of the tomb before them, there seemed to be an unlimited number of them that steadily filled the hall.

“Whoever came up with this is insane!” Kyla cried, “In what world do people have to fight this many cockroaches?”

“Ooookay, let’s attack?” Henrich said as he kept swatting at the insects crawling out of the walls. “Once Ludmila kills the first one, we’ll take the other two that come out. I’ll hold one and Kyla can hold the back while everyone else gets the other.”

After everyone gave their affirmative, Ludmila set her shield and spear down to draw her bow, releasing an arrow into the giant cockroach patiently waiting for them. It settled to the ground, dead, but nothing came out to rush them in response. They waited for half a minute, but nothing came out to charge them.

“Uh…the stuff behind is almost caught up,” Kyla’s voice nudged at them.

“Let’s go then,” Henrich said. “If they’re waiting, we’ll deal with them as fast as we can.”

As they approached the entrance to the room, the gleam of light reflected off of a second giant cockroach in the back. Henrich advanced on the insect, which was half hidden behind a crumbled stone column.

“Watch my back, I’m going for that one there,” he said as he stepped forward, brandishing his warhammer.

Not three metres into the room, a third giant cockroach detached itself from the ceiling and landed on Henrich’s head, knocking the fighter prone. The second enemy exploded into action when he fell, skittering by Howe and Ludmila who both managed to sidestep its charge. Penn and Themis were not so quick and were bowled over.

“W-what?!” Kyla cried in surprise.

The giant insect leapt onto her back, the impact driving her face first into the awaiting swarm behind the party. The four Adventurers looking back to her winced in unison.

“Kyla, are you alright?” Ludmila asked worriedly as Howe went to deal with the cockroach that was still clinging onto Henrich.

Kyla groaned, trying to regain her feet with the weight of the giant insect fastened to her back. She managed to rise to her knees before freezing.

“Oh no...” came Themis’ shaky voice. “The enchantment is off – I don’t have the mana to sustain it.”

The cockroach clacked its mandibles several times next to Kyla’s ear. It let out a loud hiss from its body and an expression of abject horror filled the Fighter’s face.

“Hold on Kyla,” Ludmila moved forward to try to detach the giant cockroach, “I’m coming to get it–”

“Hee–”

“He?”

“HEEEEEYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHH!!!”

With a cry borne of primal terror, Kyla snapped.

She heaved herself back to her feet and sprinted straight back the way they had come with the cockroach still attached to her back clinging on with everything it had. She plowed through the squirming stream of insects as effortlessly as a Death Knight plowed a field. Seeing the defender in front of them flee, Penn ran after her. With one fighter fleeing and one of their supporters rapidly disappearing back up the hall after her, Ludmila turned to call back to the remaining two party members.

“Kyla ran off,” Ludmila said to Howe and Henrich, who had just finished off their opponent. “Penn followed her.”

Themis wobbled forward a few steps before falling to her knees. Ludmila helped her back up again, lending the Cleric her shoulder.

“We have two on the way out and Themis is in no condition to continue,” Ludmila said. “Maybe we should withdraw?”

“The stairs are right there, though?” Henrich pointed to the exit of the room.

“They didn’t say how many floors we’d be going through,” Ludmila replied. “Maybe there’s a man-sized roach waiting for us in the next room. The way back up is still clear – we should play it safe.”

The remaining members of the party exchanged glances.

“This is as far as we go, I guess,” Henrich sighed. “Let’s get out of here while we still can.”

With Henrich bringing up the rear, they backtracked through the halls. Kyla’s passing had agitated the cockroaches even more, and now thousands of them were scurrying everywhere and flying through the air in short bursts. They gave up all attempts at fighting, covering their heads to follow after their fleeing party members.

“「Magic Arrow」!” Penn’s voice echoed down the stairwell as they ascended.

The spell was cast again before they finished climbing the stairs. The corpse of the last giant cockroach greeted them when they reached the top. In the hallway ahead was the squirming pile of cockroaches that had been released by the pressure trap. Penn was breathing raggedly, winded from the mad dash to the second floor. Kyla was frozen by the sight of the creeping blockage before her.

“Do you still have that Alchemist’s Fire, Penn?” Ludmila asked.

“Eh? Yes, I do,” Penn answered between breaths.

“How does it work?”

“Erm…when the solution is exposed to enough of the air, it will ignite. If you just unstopper the vial, it would take a dozen seconds or so.”

“How much did it cost?”

“Um, one silver? Re-Estize coinage.”

“I’ll buy it.”

Ludmila held out her free hand in front of the mage.

Penn fished around in her belt pouches until she located a large vial of crimson-tinted glass, placing it into Ludmila’s palm. After feeling its weight for a moment, Ludmila unstoppered the vial with her teeth and tossed it at the base of the writing mass. It shattered and the contents immediately ignited. The burst of flame caused the insects to recoil as one. Many immediately died from the intense heat, but many more simply fled. Several scurried towards them with their abdomens on fire, which jolted Kyla into a fresh run up the hall.

Ludmila paid Penn, then adjusted Themis’ weight over her shoulder before moving forward again. Five minutes later, the cool and blessedly fresh night air greeted them outside. After being inundated by the putrid odor inside the tomb, even the hints of charred grass that lingered on the breeze smelled sweet. Penn had collapsed onto her back, staring up at the stars overhead. Kyla came to a stop near the edge of the ruin, staring blankly at nothing in particular. Howe and Henrich appeared moments later, jogging out of the tomb’s entrance. Little but the rustle of grass and the sound of laboured breathing filled the air as the group caught their breaths.

“Euwh?!” Kyla made a curious noise.

Ludmila turned her head to see the Fighter standing at an odd angle. She spun and hopped several times in the twilight.

“Kyla?”

“I can feel one in my armour!” She whimpered, “Ergh! Get out!”

Her face was distraught as she continued to dance around while grabbing at her gambeson.

“Let me see,” Howe came forward and tried to locate the intruder, but was having little success with Kyla moving about. “Hold still, dammit!”

“Do you see it? Did you find it? Oh gods, I can still feel it crawling around.”

The more the Rogue tried to isolate the insect, the more energetic its struggling became – Kyla’s panicked breaths and soft cries became even more pronounced.

“What are you doing!” Her voice was desperate, “It’s moving around even more. It’s going to bite me, isn’t it? Please don’t bite. Don’t bite!”

Ludmila thought she saw the lump where the cockroach was crawling under the layers of fabric. Letting Themis down to rest on the grass, she walked over and pinned the thing in place with both hands. It was one of the ones about the size of her hand. She could still feel it struggling even as its movements were sealed. With the sensation of its squirming concentrated on a single spot, Kyla let out a pitiful noise.

“I got it,” Ludmila said, “just stay still, we’ll–”

Henrich’s hand came flying in, smashing the lump in the fabric. There was an audible crunch as the force of his punch shattered the body of the cockroach. A pungent odor filled the air, and the stain of ichor from the squashed insect spread out through the fabric where it had met its end.

“Got it!” He announced triumphantly.

Ludmila let go and backed away as Kyla turned around to face Henrich with an expression halfway between disgusted horror and betrayal. Tears started to run down her cheeks, followed by a soft sob.

“Uh…” Henrich unconsciously took a step backwards while raising his hands. “I’m umbh–!”

He didn’t get to finish what he had to say, since Kyla’s gauntleted fist crunched into his jaw. Henrich made half a turn before wobbling to the ground in a heap.

“I hate you so much,” Kyla seethed through her tears.

A moment later she ran to the nearest tree, doubling over with her hands on her knees.

The sounds of retching filled the evening air, and Ludmila looked over the mostly broken remains of her team as the wind blew over the ruins. She wondered what the results of their test would be – if their examiners could even make any sense out of it.