Chương 12: Chapter Twelve: Speed Bump

TWELVE They exited together out of the safe room, the nausea less extreme this time. Roan couldn't tell if it was because of how little he had in his stomach, or that he was getting used to it. Taoya was the first through the portal and power was already starting to collect around him. Everyone held their breath as they stared at the coffins and there was a collective sigh of relief as the coffins stayed sealed.

"Alright, from what we know the skeletons won't exit their hallways. We'll work in shifts and focus on clearing them. We'll rotate in so we all get some points. If you're not fighting then we rest or help collect weapons," Darren instructed. Roan groaned internally as he remembered the long knives he'd secured but hadn't sold. They were still sitting on the grass of the hill where he'd set them down.

"Taoya will go first. He wants Roan and Moira with him as his trio. Get together in trios and we'll start rotations," Darren said and Roan couldn't hide his surprise at the powerful sect member wanting him on his team.

"No need to look surprised. You're good. I'll go first, Moira collects my loot, you rest. Then Moira fights, you collect loot, I rest. Then you fight and I collect loot and Moira rests. Nice, simple, system. We do it a few times and then sit down to let the others go!" Taoya was a well of vibrant life as he smiled and slapped Roan on the shoulder.

"Can we start where I started? There's plenty of weapons over there that I wasn't able to get," Roan asked, pointing out where he'd fought the skeletons.

"Of course. Moira, are you ready?"

"Let's get going, big guy," Moira said, her voice serious as she crouched down like a sprinter in their blocks. Taoya laughed again and then charged, a burst of speed that shouldn't have been possible for a man that big. He hit the line of skeletons like a train and sent chunks of bone flying down the hall as he began to punch and kick, energy rapidly building around him. When Roan had fought he'd been stuck in at the entrance, unable to push into the hallway as the weight of the crowd had refused to yield.

Taoya didn't have that problem. The man bowled through them, never slowing as he created space for Moira to dart in. She didn't try to search for anything, just throwing items over her shoulder and out of the alleyway. Roan didn't stand around and rest, he started to sort items out as she worked. The vast majority of what she threw was trash. Broken bits of bones, scraps of cloth, bits of metal armor, but there were a few nice pieces.

Mostly weapons, the long curved knives that the poor-grade skeletons seemed to prefer, but also a few pieces of jewelry stuck on fingers or necklaces like he'd already found. All these Roan set in a pile off to a side until Moira started tossing bones that weren't split but splintered, the transition from Roan's axes to Taoya's fists. He couldn't help but feel a hint of jealousy as the second pile grew faster than his had.

Taoya was cruising through the skeletons, none of them able to withstand a single blow as power began to crackle around Taoya again, sparks of lightning leaping from his skin.

"I'm going to need my break! Moira, you ready?" Roan felt his eyebrows rise up as he realized the big man hadn't lasted long, only a few minutes before he was done. An analytical part of his mind started to work on how the man's bloodline worked. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation." Collects kinetic energy. The lighting around him is excess? More than he can hold or is it energizing him?

He lasted longer earlier, does his exhaustion lower how much he can hold?" If anything it just created more questions for him." Those bloodlines are powerful. I wonder how strong those Taoya consider talented are?" Taoya set his stance and squared up against an unfortunate skeleton. Power rushed from around his large frame and condensed into his fist as he punched forward.

A pulse of power funneled from his fist and skeletons blew apart, chunks of bone and metal blasted backward as Taoya sagged, staggering backward as Moira rushed forward. Roan hadn't seen the medic fight and was surprised when she pulled out a silver club with a flick of her wrist. He didn't remember seeing anything like that in the rabbit's room. She had a few moments of peace as the skeletons rushed to fill the gap left by the kinetic strike.

Taoya staggered past him and slumped to the ground, breathing heavily as he lifted his thumb up in a weak sign of being fine. If he wasn't trembling it would have come off better. Roan couldn't wait for Taoya to feel better, there was a mountain of goods to throw out of the hallway. Entering the hallway felt good. After over an hour of fighting to make it one step in, it felt almost surreal to leap over the line and into the hall as Moira began to fight.

Her club flashed and glowed with power and Roan suspected it wasn't a normal club that she was using. Then he ducked his head and did his job as he threw the remnants of the skeletons out of the alleyway and toward where Taoya was laying down.

"Careful, you hit me." Taoya didn't even raise his voice as a jawbone bounced off his head.

"I will last longer than he did, but I don't have a way to disengage. You'll have to be ready," Moira said in measured breaths. Roan didn't bother to reply, just focused on throwing more of the weapons and gear out into the hallway. Every now and then he would risk looking up to see how Moira was faring. She fought with brutal practicality. There were no special moves or flourish to her attacks. She didn't feint or do anything besides attacking in the most efficient way possible.

Skeletons slumped to the ground with splintered skulls as she held her ground. Roan checked the graves, taking the time to look over the empty spaces and felt his stomach lurch in greed as he saw a flower in the corner. The trend of them growing continued even here in the poor-grade sections. Roan wondered if his newfound allies would know about harvesting the flowers and other goods, or if he could profit from them.

"Alright, you ready?" Moira asked, breathing heavily as Roan realized it had been several minutes already. He'd been throwing a constant stream of weapons and gear behind him and hadn't noticed her slowing down.

"Rotate when ready," Roan said as he got to his feet, pulling the axes to his hands. Moira jumped backward and Roan turned sideways to let her pass as she backpedaled, never taking her eyes from the skeletons. The moment she went by, Roan was turning and bringing the axe around. It felt comfortable as he fell into the rhythm he'd established earlier in the day. Dodge, attack, clear the zone, reset, repeat. With the time he'd rested and the food in his belly, he lasted longer.

Ten skeletons in a row over the space of six minutes he managed to hold the corridor.

"Taoya, you ready? Taoya?" Roan's words drifted off as he heard the clash of steel behind him. Cursing he jumped backward and risked a look and felt his stomach drop as he saw one of the great coffin's lids had opened, the monstrous hand of a giant gripping the edge as it pulled itself free and into their unready backlines.