Розділ 16

Thad kept close behind Becca as the group made their way through the dark, winding tunnels of the forbidding dungeon. Gruff led the way, followed by Bunta, Becca, then Thad, with Scar covering the rear. The faint clicking sounds grew louder as they went deeper into the dungeon.

This dungeon looked the opposite of the slime dungeon, with its many colors and bright slime trails. Instead, it reminded Tad more of the first part of the soldier's trial cave. Driven deep into the earth, with no escape route. It felt stifling. As if they might run out of air to breathe. But they had to go deeper. The earthen walls were damp and slippery with moisture, lit only by one of Becca's magical light spheres. One floated just in front of Gruff's left shoulder as he entered the cave. The lights turned the group into shadows that flickered on the walls. Tad shuddered more than once at their shadows.

Heavy scratches and deep furrows covered the walls, as if from swords or some other thin metal object. What creature digs like that? The tunnel opened into a vast cavern, drops dripping from stalactites on the ceiling. A mountain of hundreds of insects the size of cars blocked the way. Translucent brown, heavily armored with long antennae growing from their heads. Their hairy legs seemed impossibly long.

Gruff raised his shield, bracing himself for the inevitable swarm, but the insects were still. Too still. Gruff huffed as he walked up to the mountain of insects and poked one with the metal toe of his boot.

"Metal cockroaches. At least their shells. Although... I've never heard of metal cockroaches that only have metal claws, usually they're completely covered in metal. That's strange." Gruff paused for a moment. "Let's climb over these things before the living ones show up."

Thad took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. Becca floated almost weightlessly up the treacherous mountain slope gracefully. She didn’t even have to look for a sure footing. Her balance was simply perfect. Under her feet, each step crunched and squeezed the metal-tiger shells. The razor-sharp metal claws gleamed dully in the reflected light. The mountain of shells almost looked like a treasure trove shimmering in the light.

More insects. He hated insects. The mosquito boss was scary enough, but cockroaches? He had once woken up in the dead of night to a cockroach swatting at his face, and he had been mortally afraid of them ever since. His mother laughed. “Cockroaches can’t hurt you, Tad.” She had never encountered cockroaches like that. If the boss had been a cockroach, Tad thought he would give up clearing dungeons altogether if they survived.

At the top of the mountain, Gruff turned to the team and pressed a finger to his lips. Too late. A click exploded through the cave, four cockroaches dancing side by side, their antennae swinging wildly back and forth in detection of the strangers. Gruff jumped down the rest of the mountain, raising the morning star above his head.

"They are raising the alarm! Kill them!"

The barrage of arrows hit their target, Becca unleashing volley after volley, showering the furthest cockroach with a flood of spectral arrows. The rest of the party instantly charged at them. Green liquid sprayed from Scar's mosquito sword and sliced ​​the cockroach apart with little resistance. Thad hurled a bolt of fire.

Gruff charged at the last two cockroaches. He swung his one-handed mace, the armor crunching wherever the heavy weapons fell. The cockroaches tried to counterattack, but their metal claws scraped against Gruff's shield and armor with a deafening screech.

Dead cockroaches filled the damp cave. It didn't look like a pristine dungeon. It seemed like a battle had already been raging here before Thad and his team got here. Other fighters had already breached the dungeon, and now Thad and his team were trapped.

Loud clicks echoed in the tunnels ahead. The sound grew louder and louder. Hundreds of clicks responded. Gruff wasted no time in rushing to the tunnel at the far end of the cave. "Block the cave! We can't let them overrun us!"

Too late. Cockroaches poured out of the hole and scattered in all directions. Their movements were a blur. They were fast. Faster than Wraithford. Faster than Thad. His eyes could barely keep track of a single cockroach. They scrambled across the walls and ceiling as Thad aimed the healer's staff at the tunnel. If he could cause a collapse, that would buy them time.

"Firebolt!"

Before Thad could trace the flight of his spell, a shadow loomed over him. The weapon whizzed through the air toward Thad's head. He didn't have time to dodge the blow. Gruff's shield slammed into Thad, knocking him into a gap in the mountain of metal-tartagan shells, away from the deadly attack. Thad rolled deep into the pile of metal-tartagan shells. It all happened so fast that Thad didn't have time to see his attacker.

“Riders on the cockroaches!” Gruff’s cry sounded worried for the first time since they had entered the dungeon.

“Becca! No!” This time the voice belonged to Scar.

Тад не міг просто ховатися в цій горі панцирів тарганів, він мусив допомогти! Тад проповз крізь панцирі тарганів, гострі металеві жвали дряпали й різали його плоть. Тад висунув голову з купи панцирів якраз вчасно, щоб побачити, як Груфф, Скар і Бунта зникли в тунелі на дальньому боці, куди хлинули таргани.

«Таде! Вершники викрали Бекку! Наздоганяй, якщо зможеш, або ховайся, доки ми не повернемося!» Груфф звучав відчайдушно.

Груфф рвонув уперед, протаранивши щитом рій тарганів. Бунта помчав попереду, але троє вершників на тарганах скоординували атаку, якої вистачило, щоб його сповільнити. Бекка зникла в тунелі, спіймана в металеву сітку. Вершники на тарганах були швидшими за інших. Вони проносились уривками через поле зору Тада. Рухи Бунти були ще швидшими. Іноді він навіть здавався зниклим. Але троє переграли його на нерівній місцевості, блокуючи атаки й просування. Вершники були сильними.