Unconquered Tower

FIFTY

Tev handed out cheap scarves and goggles to everyone. Once she had dropped her obvious lines, she had become a task master to get them moving again. She drove the lizards herself, a whip cracking above their heads as they began to move. In moments the air was screaming and Roan couldn’t hear himself think.

The goggles cut down on the glare and kept the sand from stinging his eyes. As the front leading ship he didn’t have to worry about dust as much as the others behind him did, but there was plenty of naturally occurring dust that stung any exposed skin. With how strong he’d grown Roan didn’t worry about injury, but the nettling sensation of grit hitting him was irritating.

Nothing happened for the first two hours. Roan folded his legs and sat on the deck, watching the flat lands all around them. There would be danger out here, it was the tower after all, but Roan didn’t know how they would be approached. The Deadlands were just that. Dead.

No hills, no vegetation, not even sand dunes like a typical desert. Just flat sun-baked dirt. Unless there were giant worms living underground.

“It would make sense for the threat to be coming underground. Whatever the corruption is, it's in the depths of the planet. But what is this plot telling us? Did this happen somewhere and is it like a warning to others?” Roan had nothing but time to think as they flew on.

Tev had given him information, but it was more confirmation to what he had already suspected. There were a few pieces that slid in near perfectly for what he wanted. The first floor was a timeline or close to it of an event that involved corruption that should end with the dragon progenitor as the floor boss.

Roan thought of his fight with the general and what a struggle it had been even with the mob having taken massive damage. A pale imitation of the Progenitor apparently. The entire parties growth had been explosive, but Roan knew they needed more. He’d built his base around being a sturdy front line fighter, but he needed to upgrade himself into a true killer.

“Tev, where are we going?” Roan had to scream to be heard from even feet away. The mob turned and looked back at him, completely covered in her scarf and goggles.

“It is too dangerous to move at night. We will stop at the Fond’asal Sanctuary. It is a common stopping place for most travelers,” Tev said.

“Taoya, found where we get Market access. Might be able to meet up with the others as well!” Roan told the man. Taoya nodded, not bothering to try to speak over the roar of the wind.

Roan sighed and looked up. The sky was bright blue, so clear that it bordered on white aside from the black clouds in the distance. The clouds were drifting on the wind heading toward them.

“What is going to be the threat on this level? Last one was the horde, first was undead skeletons. Nothing really tracking in a progression manner aside from them getting stronger.”

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Those clouds were moving swiftly. Roan knew how violent the storms in the desert could get. He hoped there was somewhere they could shelter before the winds and rain found them. Last thing he wanted was to be soaking wet.

“There haven't been any true environmental threats yet. Towers are meant to test you completely. Maybe that will be this level?” It would be frustrating as they’d be forced to use their accrued credits on survival gear or skills without a way to earn them back.

“No, there’s have to be a way of us earning more credits back? Maybe an hourly survival bonus?” Those black clouds weren’t as thick as he had thought. They were wispy, bits of light shining through.

Roan stopped and blinked before focusing on the clouds. They weren’t clouds at all. Thousands of flapping wings formed the cloud. He could slap himself he felt so stupid.

“Taoya! Above us!” Roan yelled pointing toward the cloud.

“Shit.” Taoya crouched down and started to shadowbox. It was weird, his movements were crisp but slow, like he was punching through water. The sparks began to build quickly though and Roan realized Taoya was stealing his own momentum to charge himself.

“That’s pretty smart,” Roan muttered before turning his attention to the cloud. They had a few minutes before they got close. He rushed over to the knot of fighters sitting on the deck, huddled together and talking. Roan didn’t know who was in charge of their small team, but he pointed up at the cloud and they all stood and drew their weapons.

Roan rushed back over to Tev and warned her of the cloud. The mob looked over towards them and nodded solemnly.

“You shall earn your pay today. Dreadhawks are fierce!” Tev didn’t bother to warn him what a Dreadhawk was, but Roan didn’t like the name. Anything with dread in its name was likely to not be a fun experience.

“Stay down and keep us moving! How far until we reach the Fond’asal Sanctuary?" Roan asked

“Another hour!” Tev yelled back.

“That’s not great,” Roan groaned. An hour of fighting a flying foe was not going to be easy. Being able to cast a skill like fireball would be helpful right around now. Roan readied himself, glad he had the range of the polearm.

The cloud had cut the distance enough that Roan could make out the individual shapes of the Dreadhawks. Whatever they were, they did not look like a hawk at all. There were no feathers on their leathery wings, each of the Dreadhawks having two pairs of them. They were large as a man, their bodies bloated and covered in leaking sores.

“They’re corrupted!” Roan warned, but his words were stolen by the howling winds. The minutes passed slowly, every second feeling as if it was twice as long as the last. Taoya was now awash in sparks of momentum, a pained look on his face. The other fighters were scattered on the deck, all of them looking up.

Closer and closer they came. Each flap of their wings pushing them forth. They started to spread out, forming a line parallel to the convoy. They would hit all of the ships at the same exact time. Roan could only hope the others were ready to deal with the threat.

The first of the Dreadhawks wings snapped shut flat to its bulbous belly and it fell like a rock. Roan watched it angle toward them, its stomach rapidly compressing until it was thin. Its speed increased, falling even faster and aimed directly to intercept Roan’s ship.

Stumpy legs came forward, curved claws outstretched in a grasping motion. It hardly slowed as it came toward them, aiming itself for Tev. Whatever drove the monsters, there was some intelligence there if it knew who the driver was. Roan edged closer to her and cocked his polearm back like it was a baseball bat.

Dreadspire wings burst open and its momentum stopped dead in the air. The ship kept going and the corrupted beast hit the back of the ship rather than the front of it. A muffled scream came from one of the climbers but the Dreadhawk’s wings were already flapping, carrying its prey off the boat before anyone could react.