Interlude 144.2 - The Field of Battle
The group rearranged their formation and began their march down the hallway. Ruckanos saw nothing but a sunlit field of flowers beyond the end of the tunnel. Had this been a normal Tower, he might have thought it suspicious, or possibly a rest zone. With this Tower…he guessed the imposter just put a random field of flowers haphazardly, wasting an entire room choice on what was likely a useless decoration of a room.
But then, the captain stopped. Ruckanos only heard a light buzzing noise before the captain shouted.
“Brace!”
The lead guards raised their shields just as five bees flew down in front of the entrance, larger than any bee Ruckanos had ever seen, as large as his hand even. They did not make their way inside the tunnels, but hovered in place and swung their abdomens forward. A cone of liquid shot from each bee.
Thanks to the captain’s quick reaction, most of the liquid splashed against the guards’ metal shields. However, some flew past and landed on one of the guard’s face. For a moment, he just dabbed at his face.
And then he started screaming. The captain motioned and the other guards pulled him off the line to the few mages who knew a bit of healing magic. One of the mages managed to retaliate with a quick fireball but the bees flew away from the entrance long before it arrived. As soon as the danger had passed, the bees returned and launched another spray. One guard lifted his shield high to protect his face and got his legs drenched. He lasted a moment longer before the poison sunk into his clothes, and then he started screaming too.
The captain motioned forward.
“Move out!”
The guards began a brisk march forward while the mages tried to cover them. The bee monsters were too quick and too far away, but the spells at least bought them some time.