Tunnel Rat

Chapter 167: The Battle of the Gathering Fields

H'Splat hissed and screamed at her host of arachnids. "Kill it! Kill it quickly! Sting and Claw, Bite and Slash! Fill it with poison, or it will kill us all!" H'Spat had seen Cheese Fiends fight during the Mammal Rebellion and the Righteous War of Glory. The beasts were nearly unstoppable unless poisoned quickly and worn down by swarming them. They slaughtered many of the lower ranks in their frenzy, but that was far better than letting the Fiend Tenders herd them into battle and use them tactically.

H'Spat remembered the one time a fiend had made it to a Queen. It had died to the potent poison that only a queen produced, but only after it had ripped her limb from limb along with her guards, daughters, and entourage. The standing orders in all spider armies were to swarm a fiend and tie it down, regardless of the loss of soldiers. The lower ranks could be replenished in only a season or two. It took decades for a Queen to grow to maturity, and fully half of them died to politics along the way.

This fiend was defying the might of her army. It moved in unpredictable patterns, spinning and hopping like a manic grasshopper on bounceweed. Behind it, support mages were casting healing spells and causing confusion in her army. If it wasn't for a tiny fact, H'Spat might have fled: The fiend was staying in one spot. It danced and dodged in a circle, protecting the little rats and fluttering things in the center. And above them was a tear in reality.

The fiend and his strikeforce had come from it, and now they were defending it! It was the only thing that made sense. A much larger army was on the way! Or maybe the doorway led to something precious? Were they only guarding it until it could close? In either case, H'Spat knew she had to act quickly. "Send four of the largest brutes to guard the tunnel and send an assault group of spiderlings to keep the rats busy. Then all of the warriors are to attack the fiend. Work to get past him and kill the little fluttery things and mage-rats!"

Messengers saluted and scuttled away. The spider army abandoned its attack on the Hollow to focus on the Cheese Fiend rampaging in the army's rear.

"I'm getting scared! Why are there so many spiders!" Sassy didn't like little spiders, and the big ones were horrifying.

"Just keep casting spells. Don't let them get to us!" Another burst of static electricity rolled out in all directions, stunning the spiders for a moment. Larry leaped as it came, avoiding the blast and smooshing two spiders with his feet as he landed. Before they recovered, he spun, kicking three spiders and cracking their carapaces. Then he leaped to the other side of the circle to inflict damage on the spiders surging from that direction.

The bodies of dead arachnids were thick on the ground, but more kept coming.

Above Clan Puffy Fur floated four fairies who were using their magic to create barriers to slow the spiders down. Prickly bushes sprouted in a ring, ice coated the ground, and sticky taffy rained from the sky. Below, Redfawn was trying to keep Justin alive. "I'm going to need help soon. My mana is getting low, and I can't neutralize the poison! He got bit so many times."

"Coming!" Gingersnapple dropped next to Redfawn and poured a potion over him, buying Redfawn a moment to catch her breath. Moonflower and Tuliptoes went to the rift Larry had opened and pulled magic from Flowertown, drenching the surrounding area in Fae magic, giving both fairies and puffy furs a recharge. Cherrypit used some of the power to call forth more bramble bushes, slow the spiders and poke them in tender places.

But even with this help, the sheer mass of spiders were starting to overcome Larry. Spider ichor was making the ground slippery, and the bodies had caused him to trip more than once. His weasel slippers were panting hard but keeping him up. Pansy yelled out. "Jump!" Larry jumped high. All five puffyfurs had linked hands and cast an overcharged spell. Thunder and lightning crashed as electrical arcs toasted spiders in a 40-foot radius. Larry came down and hopped twice to where a Black Widow Assassin was noticing that her front legs were missing from the blast. Larry punted her into the ceiling, where she was impaled on a jutting stalactite.

The spider army paused for a second and nearly retreated. H'Spat screamed at them. "He tires! The mages must be out of mana! Now is the hour of victory!" The spiders moved to attack again.

Electrical arcs from the tunnel exploded, toasting and killing all the assaulting spiderlings. Into the tunnel moved shadowy figures. A deep, guttural voice laughed and yelled, "Fire in the hole!"

A trail of smoke and flame followed the course of a dark steel armor-piercing, anti-monstrosity rocket. It struck one of the Brutes and exploded, scattering legs and pieces of chitin across the cavern. A second Brute standing in range was the next target and exploded spectacularly into spider parts like the first. Boom-Boom and Narwhale moved up to the front of the tunnel and began reloading as Milo ran past them.

An exploding skull sent dust and debris into the air, confusing the last two brutes. In the brief time they shielded their eyes, the armored rat caster had disappeared from view. The one on the left quit worrying about finding Milo as the end of his high leap put him right in front of it, Shadowblight using all the momentum of the jump and a two-handed swing to penetrate the spider's skull. Charged with mana, the brute's head exploded in grey goo. Shadowblight purred as it ate the spider's soul.

The second turned to attack, and Milo rolled away, slashing with his tail. He gestured with his left hand and cast Harpoon of the Winds, puncturing its thorax. Narwhale's next shot was slightly off target, whizzing by the noble's rear and taking off three of its legs before the shell detonated in the back of the multitude of spiders surrounding Larry. Dead spiders were flung everywhere.

Milo took advantage of the noble's pain to kill it with three hits to the head with Shadowblight. The first shattered its annoying steel helmet, the second cracked its carapace, and the third blow obliterated its brain. Again, the spiteful weapon made a pleased noise.

Milo turned to Boom Boom. "Use incendiary shells to cause some panic." The dwarf gleefully pulled some bright red napalm missiles and loaded one up. Narwhale sent it speeding down the cavern to bring the gift of fire to the eight-leggers.

Professor Arlothe emerged from the tunnel, leading a large group of students along with Professor Cremona. "Advance! Show the poison-huffers how a mage electrocutes a bug!"

Cremona was having none of that. "Charge them; use Velom's Venomous Vinegar Cloud; it has the best effect on spiders. Don't let the spark-heads score all the points."

Milo saw a giant noble spider clinging to the wall of the caverns and shouting orders, encouragement, and threats at the spiders attacking Larry. That one needed to go away.

H'Spat sensed death coming for her and dodged, pulling back her head barely in time to avoid a razor-tipped bone missile that impacted one of her guards, killing it. She had only kept two guards next to her, sending the rest to battle. She regretted that now as the second guard was forced to leap and intercept the second missle with its own body. A Rat-Assassin was racing at her and preparing more spells. None of her soldiers were nearby. Her options were to run and take cover or face the creature in battle.

Then she saw the spikey-stick in its paw, and she laughed. This wasn't an assassin; it was a mage! A spikey stick was a poor rat's weapon used only by the cannon fodder of the rat-kin armies. The mage had used his best spell multiple times and was low on mana. This battle would be hers, and her army would revel in her victory! H'Spat ran at the mage before it could scamper away. To think it had almost outwitted her by its suicidal charge.

Milo saw his first two spells take out the Spider General's guards. That made things more straightforward, but he had hoped to end the fight by killing the general. He was casting Harpoon of the Winds like that drained down his mana. The noble was scuttling towards him. He knew it would leap at him, hoping to pin him and bring its sting into play. He moved directly toward it, then sprung to the side, rolled, and regained his feet. The noble had leaped at where he had been and hissed at him as it missed. He ran past its back as it tried to turn, raking his left claw along a hind leg.

The spider was turning in a circle to follow him. Milo brought down one foot hard as Gilad had taught him and spun, using his foot as the pivot point. His tail gained momentum in the long swing, and the blow took advantage of the spider moving towards him. His tail slashed across its face, tearing out two of its eyes. Stunned by the pain, it failed to see the rune-charged skull that rolled underneath it.

Milo leaped in the air, putting the spider's body between himself and his spell. Shrapnel punctured the spider's underside, doing minor damage, but disorienting it. It desperately cast a spell, creating a cloud of poisonous smoke that would let it scuttle away and find help. But Milo was already on top of it. The last thing H'spat saw was Shadowblight heading for her eyes, the weapon glowing in the cloud of poison and emitting a sound similar to the hissing a spider made when taunting a downed opponent.

The noble lost three more eyes as the spikes punctured them and the rest when the weapon detonated inside her skull. She wasn't dead yet, but Milo kept swinging until nothing was left of her head.

ShadowBlight accepts your offer of Noble Spider Souls. You aren't forgiven for breaking it, but this is a good start.

Three times daily, Shadowblight will poison your enemies with a Strong Poison, doing 100 points of damage for ten rounds.

Milo saw the notification. The tips of his weapon had a green tinge to them, and an additional spike that resembled a noble spider's sting had been added. It seemed...content? He put the thought aside and ran to the shrinking battle.

The spiders were in full retreat mode. Their general was dead, a Cheese Fiend was killing anything that got near him, and the rat army was advancing, throwing spell after spell. Only a fraction of them got away, and only because the mage's staves ran out of mana.

Milo ran to Larry. His friend was in a frenzy, stomping dead spiders and looking for live ones. He bled from many wounds, even his fiendish regeneration unable to keep up. Huge welts showed where he had been bitten, and in three places, he had been stung by nobles; their venom was still at work trying to kill him. The puffyfurs and fairies were clustered at Justin's body, exhausted and wounded and scared. Their friend Larry was distraught, and they didn't know how to help him. This was a scary side of him, and they didn't know how far that side had taken over. Milo tried to get his attention.

"Larry! Stop! It's Over"

Larry spun, his eyes seeing a spider and not his friend. He brought down his arms in a double-handed claw strike. Rather than block, Milo hopped to the side. Larry hopped after him, spun, and slashed with his tail. Milo hopped back, avoiding the tail strike that might have broken his neck, then forward. He turned twice and put his hands on his head. Larry tried to kick him and put his hands on his head. Milo hopped over Larry's tail and then took two steps back. Larry hopped in the air, then hopped forward two steps, getting closer to Tallsqueak. Redfawn flew up, and bells on her wings tinkled in tune with the hopping.

Amid thousands of dead spiders, Milo and Larry danced the Happy Hamster Hop until Larry collapsed crying on the ground. "Larry is not a hero! Larry couldn't save Justin! Spiders got Justin. Larry's brother is dead!" Milo suddenly realized who was under all the webbing. The fairies were still casting healing spells but looked grim. He ran to Justin and took his pulse. It was weak, but he could feel a soft flutter.

Milo had two of the large healing potions from the caverns left. He pulled them from his ring and poured them down Justin's throat. The guard's pulse became stronger, but Milo knew this was a losing strategy. The poison would slowly bring his health down again unless they got Justin more help. And soon. "Larry! Justin is alive, but he's too big for me to lift. I need a Hero to take him to the Old Healer."

Larry looked up and ran to Justin, picking him up. "Hurry, Tallsqueak! We need to save Justin!" He raced off toward the Hollow. Milo followed him, barely able to keep up with his badly wounded friend. Milo raced after him.