The once quiet and damp cave was now in a clamour. Steel can be heard clanging as the bandit's swords and axes were unsheathed. The hounds bared their fangs, threatening to jump at any moment, but the two fighters in front of them didn't budge an inch.
The cave erupted as the dogs and bandits charged at the four. They stood their ground. Alric was at the forefront of the formation with Eos at his side. Alric swung his sword wildly, each blow sending the bandits flying as his great strength clearly outmatched their sloppy fighting. Clanging metal is heard throughout the caves, like a twisted symphony of violence.
Eos was at his side, deftly dodging Alric's swings and the bandits' attempts at hitting him like a snake hunting its prey. He Shadow Walked the shadow cast by Sunbringer, propelling himself at the enemy. Bandits and hounds fell quickly as the unexpected strikes from Eos and the Alric's unmatched strength overwhelmed them.
Elfie and Cherry were at the back of the formation. Elfie had decided to honour Cherry's wishes, pulling off non-lethal shots. She aimed low and used her mastery of the wind to make the arrows move faster. Bandits crumpled with sharp cries, their legs studded with emerald-fletched arrows. Cherry was also doing the same. Shooting down any hounds that would have otherwise flanked Alric or Eos, making sure their vanguard was safe.
Eventually, their numbers thinned, and they ran deeper inside the cave, dispersing into the chambers. The four followed, weapons still in hand, to search deeper within the cave for Raynar and Millie. The air seemed to shift inside, and they could no longer hear footsteps.
Elfie's ear twitched, "Wait."
The cave suddenly went silent; even the sound of dripping water couldn't be heard. The wind drafts from earlier were also gone, leaving only a damp space with no sound.
The three stopped and looked at Elfie as her ears twitched, "They've put up an Aether sound barrier; it seems they're going for an ambush approach now."
The four looked ahead, and the big cave had small chambers everywhere. It's obvious that any hound or bandit could jump at them at any angle from this. Alric clicked his tongue. They don't have time for this! They needed to reach Raynar and Millie quickly before something bad happened to them. The thought of something bad happening to Millie is unacceptable to him. Not after everything they've already been through.
"Damn it! We don't have time for this!"
Alric charged on his own, and from an empty chamber, three dogs lunged at him. He could barely get his guard up. He managed to block a bite from one dog, but the other two got him in the arms and legs. He winced in pain as he tried his best to shake off the hounds, but they were persistent.
"Alric!" Cherry shouted as he quickly shot at the two dogs assaulting his comrade. Elfie shot two arrows at once, and the threat was neutralised.
Alric fell to his knees, gritting his teeth and focusing Energy Aether to heal, but the hounds' Aether clashed with his. A true healer would have made this easier. The pain was searing hot as he tried his best to focus his healing. He had to keep fighting, or else the wound would fester; that's how bad an attack from an Aetheric Beast could be. Eventually, the pain turned numb, and he was able to stop his bleeding and get rid of the Aether.
Elfie crossed her arms and huffed, "Even after all that warning I did. Go ahead, you meathead, try that again!" She lightly kicked him in the shins.
"Ow!" Alric yelped in pain, Elfie huffing again.
The four looked down the silent hallway, which had various chambers. Elfie clicked her tongue and aimed an arrow at one of the chambers. The arrow's tip was guided by the wind, an aura of green surrounding the otherwise dark cave. The energy kept focusing on the tip; the sound of whistling winds filled the air. Then she released the arrow, and with a deafening whistle, it flew into one of the chambers, and a blast of wind exploded.
Every hound and bandit in the room was sent flying by a violent burst of wind, each of them having numerous slicing wounds. They were all alive but barely, as their bodies were mangled by the powerful magic.
Elfie readied her arrow a second time, "WAIT, WAIT, ELFIE!" Alric shouted.
"Tch, what? You said we didn't have time."
"The point of the mission is to SAVE Millie and Raynar; you'll kill them if you shoot that thing inside their chamber."
Elfie looked up as if gears were turning inside her head. With a defeated sigh, she lowered her bow and crossed her arms. "What now then?"
"Nice going there, little tempest." Cherry snied.
"Do NOT call me that!" Elfie yelled, voice reverberating in the cave.
"Little?"
"Tempest! I hate that word. Call me that one more time and I'll blow you away!"
"Guys, not now-" Alric tried to break the two apart, but was knocked over by Elfie. Before their argument could escalate, Eos ran between the two into one of the chambers.
Once Eos entered the chamber, the sound of kicks and punches thrown could be heard. Bandits and hounds were thrown out of the chambers, and Eos came out, dragging barely conscious bandits. He threw the two bandits in front of the group and began asking questions.
"Where are the hostages?"
"Hostages? What hostages?"
"The hound bandits never take hostages!" The other bandit chimed in.
Cherry pointed his crossbow, and the two bandits jumped in surprise. "You guys took a caravan recently, didn't you? And took hostages during that heist."
"We didn't take any hostages! We just took the caravan!"
"Yeah! The caravan was bumpy and made some weird noises, but we didn't take any hostages!"
Cherry facepalmed as it dawned on him what happened. Elfie and Eos were quick on the uptake, but Alric seemed not know what was going on.
"What? What's going on?"
"These idiots took the caravan without knowing the two were inside."
Alric breathed a sigh of relief. At least now he doesn't have to worry about Millie and Raynar being held at knifepoint when they confront them.
"Aw, damn it! We gotta clear 'em out before the buyer gets here!" One of the bandits exclaimed.
"Shush, you idiot! They ain't supposed to know that."
"What buyer?" Cherry stooped to their level and asked.
"We ain't talkin'!"
Alric stabbed his sword into the ground. The two bandits jumped in fear as Alric picked up both of them by the scruff. "We don't have time for this! Tell us where the Caravan is or else!"
The three were surprised; they didn't know that Alric had this side to him. The bandits still resisted, but then, Alric smashed one bandit to the ground; the sound of cracking bones could be heard. The other one, now quivering in fear, gave in.
"All right! It's in the deepest part of the cave! The mistress is trying to get the battery out to feed the dogs!"
Alric shifted his eyes, and the bandits cowered in fear. He dropped the bandit and kicked him in the head, knocking him out.
"Ouch." Cherry winced.
"Cherry, do you still remember the way to the deepest part of the cave?"
"Obviously not. We still need to hurry, too. If they mess up the battery extraction, an explosion is the least of our worries." Cherry said grimly.
Alric clicked his tongue. It seems like they need to explore the cave more, but with the ambush, they'll need a way to blast through it. He looked to Elfie, and she was already smiling ear to ear, with arrows already imbued with wind Aether.
She blasted the hallways, and bandits and wolves came out flying, fighting the stragglers who had some fight left in them. Steels clanged as the bandits' swords and axes met the sharp edge of Sunbringer. Against Alric's strength, though, they all fell easily.
The four exchanged a look. No more questions were needed. A silent agreement passed between them, and they broke into a sprint, following the bandit's directions as the cave walls blurred past.
The four ran deeper and deeper into the cave and eventually found a big opening by the end, where a pack of hounds could be seen guarding it.
'This must be the end of the cave'
The four prepared to move forward as the wolves howled, marking the start of their march toward the final objective.