A Monster Life

84 - Troubles with Hare and Bats

Elyta looked down the centre of the spiral staircase. 'Why do I feel like we should've reached the top floor three times over by now?'

Tarrence stepped onto the next wide and dark floor, as empty as all the others they had passed on the way up. 'Distortion magic. That's why these floors look empty and the tower shorter than it really is.' He noticed Gigacks staring into the emptiness.

The lich glanced at him. 'We're not alone.'

'Not totally unexpected.' Tarrence said and looked around. 'Now that we know someone is here, might as well bring it all out into the open.'

Gigacks took out two mana stones and chanted softly as he gripped them.

Muni's ears twitched as cracks appeared in the air around them and revealed visions of the real interior of the tower through the widening breaches of the illusion. Stone walls, eternally lit torches, half broken furniture, rusty weapons and tools became visible to the naked eye.

Elyta peered at stalls in the larger passages connected to the empty square surrounding the staircase. 'This tower must have been a complete vertical city. There are shops and homes as far as I can tell.'

'Impenetrable by an enemy as long as the walls stand.' said Muni. 'Only with less sky to enjoy looking up into.'

The clinking of the depleted stones on the floor when Gigacks dropped them echoed in the silent surroundings. 'Done.'

All four sensed the change in the air, and Muni drew his sword. 'I feel a lot of trouble coming.'

It began with a distant murmur all around them, then quickly grew into a cacophony of ragged screams and rapid running footsteps. Undead and decayed apes burst from the passages.

'Run!' said Tarrence and rushed up the steps.

'Can't you control those dead things!?' said Muni to Gigacks, thinking he might have preferred spiders chasing him.

Gigacks spread a volley of fire and ice projectiles toward the wild apes at the base of the stairs. 'They're not dead. Just not alive.'

Dispelling the illusionary cloak also revealed the real state of the stairs. Rubble lay on them and some parts were broken off, hindering the party in their run up them. Muni pushed a large stone piece balancing barely on some rubble underneath. It rolled noisily down the steps and crushed several of the enraged apes before rolling over the side in the middle and taking some with it in its fall into the darkness below. Elyta followed up the confusion by shooting more of the apes in front, while Gigacks took out others with another salvo of fire and ice projectiles.

The rush of apes only stalled for the brief time it took for the next in line to crawl over and toss aside their dead, and continue their demented pursuit and angry cries.

'How can we stop them!?' asked Muni as they hastily climbed over a slender column resting across the stairs.

As if to answer his question, the noise from the apes died down.

The party slowed down and looked back at the apes grunting and swaying nervously, with some stepping forward for a moment, only to skittishly move back to the group.

Muni gazed at the unexpected sight. 'What the?'

Elyta peered around at the shadowy surroundings. 'They are afraid of something even worse than them.'

Tarrence turned around and squinted at a black shadow in the dark above them. 'This is interesting.'

The other three looked up as a light grey female demon hare leaned forward into the light of a torch. 'Which one of you is the strongest fighter?'