The Siege (3.5)

The sandfish that snuck into the chamber earlier had crawled slowly around the chamber perimeter, avoiding Mike's perception until it ended up directly behind Mike. Luna and the Umbra scout noticed it, but didn't bring any attention to it. The moment Jack revealed the dagger, the sandfish crawled up the cavern wall and slowly made its way to a spot right above Mike.

Between his conversation with Jack, his anticipation for the dagger, and his perception of the weasels, Mike's concentration was stretched thin the entire time and didn't notice the sandfish above him. The sandfish was to be Jack's contingency in case his plan went awry or Mike turned out to be smarter than he looked. However once Mike was thoroughly suppressed, Ana used Jack's Zodian to communicate with the sandfish to free Luna's binds.

***

Luna experienced a rollercoaster of emotions ever since her family was attacked.

She felt guilty.

Responsible for her family leaving in the first place and a helplessness for not being able to do anything the entire time, but be coddled and protected. She didn't understand why any of this was happening. Luna didn't know who to blame. Her father that didn't meet her expectations and save everyone, her mother that kept her from pursuing a life of a warrior, herself for being too weak to speak out or do anything or this person for hurting her family. She didn't want to blame anyone, she just wanted to go home. And when the first explosion went off and the person that hurt her family became flustered, she thought about her father. "He must've woken up." she thought.

She felt hope.

And when the man ran away and another explosion sounded, her hopes reached an all time high.

That is, until Mike returned with shiny clothes she never saw before. She never saw armor nor metal being worn like that, but he looked to be stronger than her father in that moment.

Her hopes were dashed.

When Mike took her away from her mother, she resigned herself to not be a burden anymore. She always admired the way others relied on her father's strength and now was her time to be brave. A bravery that was crushed prematurely when Mike threatened to sell her mother because of a small outburst. Before she had time to feel hopeless, another man entered the room. It didn't seem like they knew one another. The man gave her a strange look.

But she felt safe?

She never met this man before and he looked scary in that black coat. Was it the familiarity of fur that looked so differently from the metal man who hurt her family. He said his name was Michael. The black man didn't say his name. He was the reason for the explosions? Then what about Ma and father? A lizard? Nevermind.

"A word, if I may. We specialize in custom orders. What you've seen so far have been prior requests. I noticed the products have escaped and even though my weasels can round them up, there might be a few casualties. That puts us in a very difficult position." said Michael.

[Did Ma escape? No she would come after me.]

[Is Michael going to hurt her? The black man doesn't seem interested in buying slaves. Did he come to save us?]

When she realized Michael was trying to sell her to the scary man, she tensed up. The man seemed like he would, he even handed over an expensive looking knife. But then another, small explosion sounded.

Michael was holding the knife and now he's yelling. Luna couldn't see it properly. Her arms were bound and tears were clouding her eyes. She didn't know why she was crying now, of all times. She could hear Michael screaming and she frantically blinked her eyes in an effort to see better. What welcomed her was Michael's deformed appearance and standing next to him was the man with his selfsame calm expression. It was that expression that made her feel safe. Telling her that everything would be alright.

She saw Michael charge at the man with bated breath, but Michael fell down.

That's when the black man looked her again. At that moment, the lizard from before returned. She took her eyes off of Jack and watched as the lizard ate through her chains. They came undone.

She was free?

"Your mother should be waiting outside that door." Jack pointed to the entrance. "Go."

Luna listened. She listened to what others told her all her life, but this time she didn't feel aggrieved by it.

Her heart felt lighter.

***

Kova led the rest of the escapees towards the entrance of the cave. They were twenty-eight strong, but it didn't give any of them a sense of security. They were all unarmed, desperate and all experienced the horrors of the weasels. Usually plagued by their incessant shrieking, the escapees were instead greeted by an eerie silence. The potions given by Jack healed their bodies, but their minds were still stretched taunt trying to cope with everything that's happened to them. Between sleepless nights filled with distant screaming in some far corner of the cave system and nightmares replaying the images of their comrades being eaten alive, most of them were afraid that the next time they heard shrieking it would be their last.

There were no more bars to hide behind, and now it was too late for regrets.

As the escapees got closer to the mouth of the cavern, another explosion echoed loudly through the caves, startling everyone. A few of the burrows collapsed onto themselves, but no one got hurt.

"Stand with Dovos!" Kova said as the rumbling died down. Dovos was their deity said to be the reason they were spared from the Goa Empire's oppression. It was false, but it gave some of them reprieve from their stress.

They entered the sandy cavern that marked the entrance to the cave system and Kova sensed a weasel heading in their direction. It hadn't noticed them yet. The cavern ceiling was dotted with natural vents normally letting through sunlight, but since it was night the air inside the cave was warmer. This, as Kova saw it was a stroke of luck and proof that Dovos was with them. If it the Sun was out, their scents would already have been picked up by this weasel and any others outside the cave as the air currents traveled in the opposite direction.

"We'll ambush it." Kova whispered to the group. Most of them fought with the weasels before they were herded here, so they had an idea of what these creatures were capable of.

The cavern floor had many ridges, with one main ridge leading from the cave entrance to their location. This path was used by the weasels to get in an out, surrounded by a tall rock face on both sides. Kova directed the strongest looking warriors closer to the wall's edge than the others in hopes they would have a better chance of hiding their presence and communicating with the escapees behind them.

As the eldest and the faux leader of this ragtag group, Kova knew how important it was that they executed this flawlessly. These rats terrorized them for who knows how long. He would have to make the first move and do most of the work this time around, but if they succeeded with little to no casualties then the fear hanging over everyone's head will disappear. His chances of getting out of here alive would increase if everyone was motivated and confident.

Kova could hear the weasel approaching. Everyone was in place and he was the closest to the weasel. The air current was still in their favor, blowing away from the weasel so it didn't notice them yet. He recalled his senses back when he hunted for his tribe. Compared to hunting other practitioners, this was nothing. At least that's what he kept telling himself to suppress the primal fear he had of death.

A cacophony of wheezing and scratching swept over the group. It filled everyone with dread. As tensions rose, the weasel stopped. Right before it turned the corner which would put it in everyone's view.

[Where we caught?]

[Should I run?]

*SLAP*

The weasel's barbed tail whipped at the ground in front of it. Almost invisible to the naked eye, only Kova barely saw it. The rest only saw the ground and sand burst at the end of the path. When it sounded they all shook and one tribesman covered his mouth before a sound escaped. This was starting to look like suicide.

Kova, who managed to follow the tail saw what happened. The weasel paused to attack a bug.

*Screeech*

The weasel appeared around the bend. At the sight of it everyone but the few veterans panicked, but luckily no one spilled excess Devi.

Sensing the rising apprehension in the air, Kova griped. He took down many creatures of Devi in the past and found himself in situations with worse odds. The only difference was himself. He was scared. Being malnourished, on the edge of death, unarmed, and made to lead a bunch of strangers just as scared as he was, it was hard for him to stay focused. Images of him being torn apart by these weasels just like his comrades kept filling his mind. It took all he had to quell the doubts.

He wouldn't get another chance.

There wasn't a piece of these beasts that wasn't designed for slaughter. A poisoned maw filled with needle teeth, a flexible, barbed tail, talon-like claws and matted fur that could protect it from impact made this creature a walking weapon. The only weakness was the head. They only needed one shot and Kova could only hope the others didn't get cold feet.

Thirty feet.

The wheezing became clearer and drowned out everything else. Despite being so large, its footsteps were barely audible. If they allowed this thing to attack, someone would die. In the darkness, face to face with death a few started tearing up.

Twenty feet.

Kova stifled his breathing and so did everyone else. He started circulating his Devi. As soon as the tribesmen on the other side of the path alerted the weasel, he would jump out and attack the head. Quick and clean.

Fifteen feet..

Thirteen feet.

Just as the weasel took another step. A young man fell from the other side of the path, landing on his shoulder. He broke his arm and yelped. Kova cursed inwardly. This was a bad position.

The weasel stopped and stared at the young man, but instead of attacking him it sniffed the air. It wasn't as mindless as it looked.

Kova was shocked, but used this moment to silently jump from the weasel's blind spot. The weasel was still sniffing the air with it's body and tail unmoving. This was his best chance. It stopped and stared at the young man again. Unfortunately for Kova, the young man was staring at him. Kova could see his own reflection in the man's eyes and so did the weasel.

*SLAP*

The tail that remained stagnant grazed Kova's arm with enough impact to change his course. He fell into the path right next to the weasel. His arm, already weathered from starvation and life in the prison, leaked blood from the gashes. He was fortunate the tail's barbs weren't poisonous, but he would be dead any second now once the weasel started moving.

"AAAAHHHH!" A warrior jolted up and yelled. The rest of the escapees followed.

*Screeeech*

Realizing it was surrounded, the weasel put up its defenses and whipped its tail around, indiscriminately. A slash barely missed Kova and tore up the wall above him. Its reach covered the ridge from wall to wall, leaving little room for blindspots. Kova took this small opportunity and ran towards the weasel. They needed to keep the weasel on the defensive, or they would all be killed.

Ignoring the searing pain from his arm, Kova enhanced his senses with Devi and dodged the second whip attack by a thin margin. The weasel wasn't aiming for him, distracted by the projectiles thrown by the prisoners up top. Even in their condition, a rock thrown by someone practiced in Devi could reach a lethal 1500 feet per second. They lodged into the cavern floor, repelled by weasel's fur and knocked away by its tail. The level of coordination shown by this weasel proved why it was an apex predator. One of them hit the target and pelted the weasel right on the forehead and it shook its head violently from the impact.

"AAAAHHHHH!" Kova jumped forward from a kneeling position and slammed his fist on the head of the weasel. The weasels skull gave way and its head followed, crashing to the ground. A fist sized dent was left in the motionless beast.

"OOOOOOOOOO!" A victory roar sounded as the prisoners jumped from the adjacent cliffs and rushed towards Kova. The veterans avoided getting caught up in the atmosphere and started dismantling the weasel to use its bones as weapons. Kova was given a potion and with a better atmosphere, they headed towards the cave entrance.

***

Elandriel, Diana, carrying the unconscious Haen followed the path to the main chamber. Neither of them could sense far enough to know where this path led, but they believed the man that rescued them would head to Luna.

"You don't look like tribesmen" said Diana, breaking the silence.

"I'm Nairobian. A place called Kupis." said Elandriel in a humoring tone of voice.

"We were set for Kupis. Dovos had other plans for us."

"Dovos?"

"Our patron lord. He protected our lands from the Empire, but we abandoned him when we left. I did it for my daughter, but I couldn't even protect her. It feels like we were abandoned instead."

"That's only true for people like us. If I was stronger...no would mess with me." said Elandriel, in a menacing tone of voice.

"...Even if you're strong like kings, there's always someone stronger."

"Kings...you mean the Chosen?" said Elandriel with a little more enthusiasm. "You're right. The Chosen don't have to answer to anyone, but that's only a dream within a dream. I don't need that kind of power. Just enough to protect my..." Elandriel trailed off.

"Someone like you who chases strength must think we're pathetic for taking risk even while being weak."

"I've heard stories about the Forlorn territories and none of them were friendly. I wouldn't blame you for trying to find something better." Elandriel belatedly realized his mistake and looked back at Kara. "Sorry, I shouldn't have spoken about your homelands like that."

"Heh, you are kind. But you are right. Our tribes keep fighting each other for petty disagreements so no one pays attention to us. I just wanted my daughter to live away from the war and blood. Maybe blood is in the soil."

[Maybe keeping my daughter from blood was a mistake.] she thought.

"I'm like you. I don't know much outside of my home. But if this place you speak of exists, I'd like to see it too."

"Thank you. My name is Diana and this is Haen, Luna's father." she said, with a lighter heart.

"You can call me Ely (pronounced E-lie)."

After walking for a few more minutes, Elandriel spotted a light up ahead. He motioned Kara to stop. He didn't know what the situation was up ahead but if that man appeared, he wanted to have enough of a lead to run away.

"AAHHHHHH!"

The sound of Mike screaming made Elandriel take a few steps back. He bumped into Kara. "...."

"Thank you for your help. I don't feel as hopeless as before. If I can ask you to take Haen and escape.."

Before she finished, Elandriel took a few steps forward.

"We'll go together."

"Thank you, Ely." said Diana. Just then, the door ahead opened and Luna appeared in the doorway. Diana lost her breath for a moment and ran forward.