? Grim tried to slam the tower door shut as soon as he realized the situation, both to protect himself and the other delvers who had fled inside. Unfortunately, the rogue delver had noticed him, and it charged forward. He just got clear of the door before it was slammed open, the delver having smashed into it with one shoulder. The sword lashed out in a high arc right at Grim’s neck level, but he ducked the blow, then threw himself to one side, activating Camouflage and vanishing.
? He saw the delver pause, then, apparently confronted with an empty room. He looked in all directions for the silver-haired enemy it had been chasing, but, with no enemies in sight to engage, the other delvers, having run down to the entrance below or through the opposite door to reach safety further down the wall, they seemed unable to decide on the next action.
? It opened its mouth as if to speak, then hesitated again. After a few seconds of silence, it did say something, but not in any human language. It hissed out in Undercommon, “Come, come, little delver. You’ll make a fantastic snack for me. I do so like the odd ones. They taste the best.”
? And then, Grim understood. This wasn’t one of his fellow delvers, but a shade mimic. The monsters had the ability to take on the appearance of anything they drained the life essence of. Meaning that at some point, the delver it resembled had fallen to its ambush tactics, and it was seeking greater prey.
? Grim let a small piece of his spirit reach out and brush against the shade mimic. Level six. Definitely too strong for him to deal with on his own. But if he could get in a lucky shot while invisible… He slowly rose to his feet and drew his daggers, prowling closer along the wall, approaching its back in a wide curving path. He was nearly there when the trapdoor leading further down burst open, and a figure leapt out to challenge the shade mimic.
? “Darrick! Why have you turned against your allies at such a time?”
? The shade mimic that looked like this Darrick delver lunged forward at once, letting out a triumphant hiss at its unsuspecting prey. The other delver narrowly avoided the first swipe of the blade. Turning, the shade mimic prepared to lunge again, then let out a scream of pain and fury. It instinctively knew what was happening and twisted to slash at Grim, but he’d already jumped back, leaving his daggers implanted in its back, one piercing its navel and the other its heart. It thrashed impotently for a few more seconds, trying to hit and kill him to save itself, but eventually collapsed.
? Grim revealed himself as the rush of essence entered him, nearly staggering him with its weight. He looked at the perplexed man and shook his head. “Shade mimic.”
? The truth of his statement was revealed as the body dissolved into a fine black powder. Grim hurriedly scooped up what he could, remembering a lecture from his learning days that said how valuable it was. He wasn’t sure he got it all, but he tucked the sack away nonetheless, then picked up the daggers.
? “Who are you?” The other delver asked. The heraldry over his heart marked him as a member of Marshguard. “I don’t recognize you from the watch roster.”
? Belatedly, he dropped a hand to the hilt of his sword. Grim could have laughed at the irony–challenging the one who’d just saved him, but not the monster who’d killed half a dozen of his colleagues. But instead, he just shook his head and activated Camouflage again, vanishing. He had an inkling as to why Veyra had asked him to keep a close eye on who came and went now. She’d obviously fought a shade mimic in the initial outbreak, or else received a report about their appearance. Such monsters were solitary hunters, but they were never the only one to exist in a dungeon.
? Slipping through the smashed door and onto the wall, Grim cast a glance down at the ground below. Delvers were still fighting the tide of monsters there, and making incredible progress. It looked as if they’d have no trouble in pushing back this attack. Unless, he mentally corrected himself, another shade mimic was able to wreak similar havoc. Grim didn’t think that was likely. It was much easier to notice an ally’s status changing when fighting together. If there were any more of the monsters around, they’d be focusing on infiltrating the city.
? So, reluctantly, he turned his attention to the inside of the city. There was no crowd gathered there now, of course, as they’d rushed out to fight against the immediate threat of monsters rushing the city. But some figures still came and went. He ignored the ones rushing out to fight, instead scrutinizing the injured who retreated from the battle, and those who supported some of them.
? Finding a shade mimic was… surprisingly easy. Each delver he inspected with his spirit flinched at the unexpected touch or reacted in the same way. In spite of his invisibility, they could still feel when his spirit made contact with theirs. Delvers, without question. More than a dozen of them slipped under his watchful eye with a minor shock and a small mutter of surprise, but no other event. Then, as he swept over one woman half-carrying a bloodied man, he felt no reaction from either.
? Cursing, he unslung his bow and drew an arrow back. It was time for his months of training with Fendel to start paying off. He was nowhere near as quick as his mentor would have wanted, but the shade mimic had no warning, and no knowledge of the attack–until the arrow slammed into its back, just a few inches off its heart. It let out a scream just as its fellow had done. The delvers nearby let out cries of surprise at the treacherous shot, many turning to face the wall, looking for the archer.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
? He tried to shoot down the second shade mimic, but it had recognized the danger immediately and tore off to the left and slipped in between a few buildings. It was out of sight before its ally dissolved into black powder. He wanted to chase after it, but knew he’d be better served staying on watch. So instead, he drew in a deep breath and bellowed as loud as he could, “She’s a shade mimic!”
?? Luckily for him, the delvers on the ground and those around him on the wall immediately understood. Beside him, each delver promptly swept their spirits around their peers. Four of them turned their weapons on one who was–after a few seconds– revealed to be another mimic. Grim mentally kicked himself for not checking the rest of the figures on the wall. A call went out along the wall, and the sounds of more shrieking rang out as other mimics were discovered and slain.
? On the ground below, two chased after the shade mimic that had run into the alley, while another ran toward Relvan’s gate, intent on warning the others. This half of the city had to go on lockdown to prevent potential spread. Grim was pleased by that and returned to sweeping his attention over anyone who entered the gate. But within a few minutes, it became clear that the defenders had the same idea, and each new figure that entered or exited was treated to a check of their spirits.
? A piercing whistle broke through the sound of the fighting, and Grim looked around for the source of it, then spotted Veyra at the head of a large chunk of delvers, all consisting of his guildmates. She was looking right at him, the glow of her eyes obvious even from this far. She grinned up at him, then made an obvious beckoning gesture. Finally allowing himself to relax and drop his Camouflage, he tipped forward off the wall, ignoring the shout of shock from those at the top who’d seen him for a split second.
? “Very impressive,” Veyra said, once he’d used his last Shadow Dash to reach her. She reached out as if to ruffle his hair, but he ducked her hand. “I saw what you did with the shade mimics. Good reactions.”
? “Thanks,” he replied, allowing a small smile of pride to slip onto his face. It disappeared quickly, however, “You could have told me I was supposed to look out for shade mimics. I was nervous as a cat.”
? “Good,” she replied, that feral grin back in place. “I hope my, ah… friend was of some help to you.”
? The way she mentioned Manos gave Grim the distinct impression that he should avoid using his name. So he was a secret from everyone else then. Curious… Pushing the matter to the back of his mind, he slung his bow back over his shoulder. “So, what’s the plan now?”
? “First, drink this,” she shoved a crystal bottle with a pale blue liquid into his hand. As he downed the mana potion and grimaced at the unfamiliar feeling of his mind rapidly clearing, she jerked a thumb over her shoulder. “Got the dream team together. Everyone but the support staff. We’re taking no chances.”
? Despite knowing that she was part of the support staff, Grim still looked along the lines of gathered figures, searching for Maven. He saw Miranda and Garf standing next to each other, both giving him knowing smirks. A few rows behind, Gerald, their Deputy, had his staff lightly resting across his shoulders, his arms wrapped around them in a casual stance. Indeed, every combat-ready member of the Cartographers was gathered here, ready to work.
? “Get a move on,” Veyra said. Grim wasn’t sure what she meant until about half the team moved ahead. Garf and Miranda both used some elemental skill to grapple to a nearby building, hurling themselves into the air, followed by three others. Gerald simply wove his way between the ranks of his fellows until he was free, then raced towards the gate at a blinding speed. They were clearly moving to put an end to the fight against the monsters that had come to Ironmarsh.
? “As soon as they’re done clearing out this rabble, we’ll form into groups,” Veyra explained to the rest. “Those of you level ten to fifteen, you’ll be operating solo. You know the job. Find a party and lead them to one of the marked dungeons.”
? As she was one of the mentioned group, she leaned over and gave Orren a quick kiss, then sauntered away with the others, leaving only those below level ten. It was a much smaller group. Suddenly, Grim felt a little less comfortable without the strongest members of his guild around to watch over them. He had no time to consider his nerves, though, as Orren stepped up to take his lover’s place.
? “I’ll be joining them, but first, we’ll divide the rest of you into parties. Who here has a cloaking spell?”
? Grim raised his hand, as did a few of the others. Orren nodded at him. “Right. You’re all good enough to operate on your own, as far as the guild is concerned. But you’ll have to form a party, so find some people you can tolerate. Also, you’ll be taking one of these.”
? He held up a fistful of dark green amulets set in wood and hanging on leather cords. The wood settings were inscribed with runes, and Grim could feel the faint magic radiating off of them. Not enough to give away one’s presence to a monster, but enough to recognize them as magic items. He accepted one when Orren held it out, slinging the leather around his neck.
? “Those are Message amulets, as you’re all new, and won’t have had time or funds to get the skill. Simply put a little mana into them, and you can message anyone in the guild. The contacts for the captains are already built in. If you can’t reach any of them, you can contact Gerald or me. But we’ll be overseeing all the activity, so we can’t waste time telling you how to get stinkmud out of your boots.”
? Most of them chuckled at that, but Grim couldn’t share in the humor. “If we can’t contact the captains? Is that likely to happen?”
? “We never expect it to happen,” Orren said, giving him a sly wink. “But you should always be prepared for the worst. Everything else just smells like roses. Except the stinkmud. Don’t step in that if you can help it. It… stinks.”
? More chuckling, and Orren shooed them away before dividing the others into groups of five to six. Grim gave a short nod to a level seven as they rushed past, activating some speed skill. He hung about for a moment, watching the crowds of delvers that had arrived. Like the Cartographers, the other guilds had brought their newest members, and on the street adjacent to theirs, an Ironwatch leader was explaining what was about to happen. He spotted Lucan, his acquaintance from Beastwick, and began walking that way. He knew Lucan’s capabilities better than anyone outside the guild and could use them.
