We set out the next day, rested as well as could be expected. Our next stop was in three days. Two of those were just getting through this valley to the next tunnel entrance.

The trail wound down the steep cliffs, crossing a small stream, only to wind back up and through a high pass on the other side. I noticed the peaks inside the Spine of the World were not quite as tall as the surrounding peaks. It made me think of two tectonic plates slamming together but instead of one going up and the other going down, they both just said fuck it, let's head for the clouds.

I knew plates slamming together could cause mountains, but usually one of them won out, or at least it wasn’t this extreme. Most of the peaks on the spine were tens of thousands of feet high. Some were probably taller than Mount Everest. I was pretty sure this was abnormal, but then again what was considered normal anymore.

Late on the second day, we entered the next tunnel. It was located halfway up a small peak. It wasn’t as wide as the first tunnel and the caravan was forced to travel single file. We soon encountered the next monsters.

Slimes dripped from the tall ceiling landing on people, carts, and the floor.

These weren’t the same kind of slimes I had battled in the church.

Umbral Slime | Level 8

My staff whipped out, slapping a slime against the wall. I could barely even see the creatures due to the low light and their ability to blend in with the darkness.

I Imbued my staff with fire and it seemed to help but these things weren’t as weak to fire as the base slimes were. Still, they were only level eight. I looked around to see if anyone needed help.

I spotted Ska, flitting about and slicing the creatures apart with little effort. It seemed like piercing or slashing attacks were the optimal counter to the creatures.

One merchant cart was overrun and before anyone could get to them, the man broke his token and fled back to West Exit, leaving his cart behind.

Normally this wouldn’t be a problem but the cart was blocking the remaining third of the caravan.

“Stick close, I gotta go deal with an issue,” I said to the man I was set to guard.

I made my way to the abandoned cart, destroying any slime that got within my reach. A few fireballs, from the limited casters, flew into the ceiling, burning away any more slime.

The cart was piled with animal pelts but I simply touched it and the entire thing vanished into my ring. It did take up a significant portion of the room but it was fine.

The rest of the guards cleaned up the remaining enemies and we got back to moving along.

The cave opened up, looking over an eerie luminescent green lake. The surface was dead still and we made sure to keep as far from the edge of the water as possible. Still, a few creatures burst from the placid waters, intent on seizing a meal. They looked like albino crocodiles with the head of a deep-sea angler fish.

Garlock Lurker | Level 12

The twelve-foot-long creatures had some weird power. When you looked at their eyes it was almost as if you were paralyzed. But my buffs protected most of the people. One unfortunate woman was grabbed without so much as a twitch in self-defense. I was too far away to save her as the creature quickly fled into the water, disappearing below the surface with its prize.

These ambush predators were pissing me off and I let out a shockwave that tore one of the beasts apart. We managed to drive off the remaining creatures before anyone else was dragged into the water. I could hear the man crying over his dead wife but he was quickly quieted by a few of the other guards before we moved on.

Sound carried in the underground and we didn’t want to bring down even more enemies on us.

The remaining part of the day went by quietly. We entered into a vast open cleft and made our way down to the next fort. Fort Edge of Darkness stood at the very edge of this rent in the mountain. Just looking at the steep drop and the endless dark below gave me the heebie-jeebies. Somehow the mohai had constructed a rope bridge across the natural barrier. But I was more interested in the fortress.

As we approached a ball of white light flew from the fort, illuminating the area and a sea of creatures that was boiling up from the crack. The area around the fortress lit up with spells and the sounds of battle as our caravan ground to a halt and everyone looked on nervously.

Thankfully, the creatures from the darkness only seemed interested in the fort. After ten minutes of intense battle, everything went quiet.

“Everyone, hurry up, we don’t want to be caught out here if another wave comes!”

That was enough to get everyone pushing forward as fast as possible. We made it to the walls and the gate opened, letting us in.

The thick stone walls had dozens of signs of battle marred into them. Large rents from claws covered most of the outer surface. Dead creatures that looked like some sort of bug covered the entire ground around the fort.

“Move off to the side and don’t block any defenders. Hurry up! We close the gate in two minutes,” one of the guards inside yelled.

I didn’t know if the man was prophetic or this was a normal occurrence but less than thirty seconds after the gate closed, I could hear the scrapping of rock as another flare lit up the darkness.

The fort guardians knew their business though and soon spells impacted the creatures as they tried to fight their way through the walls.

“You folks picked a hell of a time to travel the dark road. It's swarm season for the dewgon.”

I assumed the dewgon were the bugs.

“Most of the time they are harmless and perfectly fine remaining in their caves unless provoked. But they turn crazed during the swarm.”

This swarm reminded me a lot of the horde dungeons and I wondered if maybe there was a dungeon below. I quietly made my way over to a corner out of sight and whispered to Fiona.

“Can you check to see if these creatures are coming from a horde dungeon?”

“Yes,” she whispered back.

After she acknowledged me, I moved back to the group.

It took over an hour for Fiona to return. I felt a cold hand on my shoulder and once again I moved off to a secluded spot.

“There is a horde dungeon down there but I don’t know how you would even get to it. There have to be close to a million of these dewgon outside the entrance. The dungeon itself is only level thirteen. Maybe we can come back after the swarm is dealt with.

“Thanks,” I added quietly.

When I returned, I looked for one of the guards.

“Excuse me.”

“Huh,” the mohai said, stopping in front of me.

“How long does a swarm season usually last?”

“It depends on the size of the hive. Anywhere from a week to a month if the hive numbers in the hundreds of thousands.”

I winced internally at that, knowing the hive was even larger than the defenders' estimates. “Thanks, how long has it been going on?”

“Oh, a few days. Seems to be a decently large hive, only the drones have come up so far.”

I nodded in thanks. I wasn’t planning on sticking around for a few months until the hive exhausted itself against the defenders, assuming they lasted that long. Nor was I willing to fight off a million bugs just to get a few stat points. I decided not to even mention it to Ska, knowing that crazy bastard he would want to test his luck.

The night was awful and sleep eluded me as every few hours the fort would come alive to kill off another wave of the dewgon. It seemed like the mohai were familiar with the creatures as they dealt with them very efficiently. Even the corpses were shoved into the darkness by earth mages.

The next day the nervous caravan waited while the sounds of battle raged outside the walls. As soon as it went quiet, the gate by the bridge opened.

“Good luck,” the guard said as the remaining members of the caravan rushed across the bridge.

A quarter of the caravan fled during the night, breaking their tokens and leaving everything behind. The mohai of the fort claimed the abandoned property as recompense and nobody disputed the claim.

Once again we entered a dark tunnel and I was beginning to wonder if this trip was even worth it. I certainly planned on giving the residents of Earth a better way to bypass this mountain chain. Not being able to claim the horde dungeon was a bummer but it would be gone before the swarm disappeared and we made our way back in this direction, seeing as Fiona activated it by going inside.

It was probably for the best. This way the mohai wouldn’t be overrun or exhausted by having to continuously fight for months on end as the dungeon poured more and more creatures out.

The tunnel abruptly ended after less than an hour of travel, opening into a massive cave filled with glowing moss and all types of plants. The cave was so large that clouds concealed the ceiling and a light but steady drip of rain fell from above.

If it wasn’t for the horrifying creatures and possibly deadly plants, I might be overwhelmed with awe at the sight. I couldn’t even see the far end of the cavern as it faded into the distance. A path had been cleared through the dense vegetation though.

Cautiously the caravan moved forward. Everyone had witnessed the horrors that lurked down here and nobody wanted to be the next victim. Ska turned out to be the best asset we had. He spotted and dealt with over a dozen dangerous critters before they could even make it to the caravan.

I was a bit jealous and annoyed but I quickly calmed down. The creatures were between level ten and twelve. I doubted if I cleared this entire cavern that I would level from it, so I let him do his thing.

I also let the fire mages deal with the dangerous plant life along our path. They could benefit from the experience more than me.

The trip through the expansive cavern took a full day. If I had to guess the cavern extended twenty miles. It wasn’t a straight shot east though. Instead, it curved north about a quarter of the way through. All of the fighting allowed Ska to hit level eighteen though, so that was at least one positive.

The next fortress we arrived at was called Fort Blue Lake. As always, aptly named for the neon blue lake it faced. We had to steer clear of the lake as toxic mist wafted up from it. Thankfully there was no breeze underground to send the toxic cloud our way. Still, most of the caravan couldn’t wait to get far away from the area.

Halfway through the journey, we arrived at Mid Point. A town situated in another cavern. This one wasn’t nearly as large as the forest one though.

We entered through the gate, greeted by the sight of thousands of mohai, going about their daily lives. Another caravan was getting ready to exit and head east, and they watched our weary faces, giving us solemn nods as we passed.

Everyone was dead tired from the first leg of the trip and we would be recuperating in the town for two days. It would add time to the journey but nobody could keep going if we didn’t stop for rest. Even Ska and I were exhausted by this point.

“Meet at the East gate in two days or be left behind,” the caravan leader stated flatly.

A few people grumbled. But they knew, to be left behind was to lose everything.