From that altitude, the group had a clear line as far as the eye could see. The light from the moon painted the scenery silver, leaving deep black lines on the horizon and wherever a shadow was cast.
“What’s the m- Oh shit!” Tista shapeshifted her eyes and then opened the remaining five to get a better grasp of the situation.
“What?” Raagu asked in annoyance. “We have just left the camp and the enemy is hours away. Are you telling me someone else is going to attack us?”
“Allegedly hours away.” Friya’s eyesight was no better than a regular Awakened but her Scope spell worked better than a binocular, opening two small dimensional holes that allowed her to see from kilometers of distance. “Look.”
She moved the entry point in front of the human representative who had to move her eyes back and forth from the dimensional fissure to make sure it wasn’t some stupid prank.
The blackness at the horizon was no shadow but a marching band of living beings so tightly packed that even with Friya’s spell it was hard to discern where one creature finished and another started.
The roiling mass of limbs and heads formed a compact front that moved like clockwork, as if the monsters followed the rhythm of war drums only they could hear.
Whenever one of them failed to keep up due to strain and fatigue, they would be pushed down by those right behind them. The fallen were stomped to death, their bones broken and their meat tenderized until it became a quick meal for the backlines.
Nothing went to waste, the dead were just fuel for the living war engine of the monster tide. There was no gap in their formation, with creatures of different races and heights marching side by side at a different pace that depended on the length of their limbs.
The tallest ones walked while the shortest, like the goblins, had to run. From a distance, it really looked like a tidal wave had crashed ashore and invaded the mainland.
The monster tide advanced with the smooth flow of water spilling over the ground, with different colored patches of hair for foam and tall creatures that stood out like waves amid the rest.
“How is this possible?” Raagu blurted out in surprise.
“I have no clue.” Lith replied. “All I can tell you is that two days ago I witnessed the Black Tide myself and it was still roaming around the Fringe of Medolin. Is there a fallen race I’m not aware of that is capable of using dimensional magic?”
“No, there’s not.” The human representative shook her head. “Most monsters can’t use magic at all, that’s why they are called fallen. Only the lucky ones can use chore magic, let alone a complex discipline like dimensional magic.”
Raagu too found the speed with which the Black Tide had reached them absurd. Lith lying to her would have made more sense and been easier to accept.
‘Yet as deceptive Verhen is, there is one constant that makes him a reliable ally.’ She thought. ‘He would never put his wife in danger nor would he compromise the mission since the Royals are going to involve him in any future attempt anyway.’
“How far are we from the Wayfinder and how long does the Black Tide need to reach the camp?” Lith asked.
“Less than twenty kilometers.” Friya replied, using the dimensional coordinates of the Home Stone to gauge the distance. “As for the how long, normally I’d say one hour and a half but at this speed, the monster tide would have needed weeks, not days to get here.
“Until we find out how the monsters can travel so fast, any estimate is a gamble.”
“You stay here and alert the main camp.” Raagu weaved her spells as fast as she could. “We’ll make sure that the monster tide stays away until our allies are done with the evacuation.”
Friya hated to be left behind but she knew that Raagu was right and stepped off Lith’s back. If the leaders from Zelex, Setraliie, and Medolin didn’t get back to their people alive, the frail alliance with the Kingdom would have crumbled.
The party would have looked like a trick to lure them away and kill them, no matter what explanation anyone would give.
‘I wouldn’t believe the story about the monster tide covering thousands of kilometers in two days if I wasn’t seeing this with my own eyes.’ She thought while taking her communication amulet out of her dimensional item and alerting Orion of the impending threat.
“Ask them if they need help.” Farg said while mobilizing the Hands of Fate. “With the DoLoreans we can be there in minutes.”
“And how do you plan on recovering them once we are on the run?” Orion replied. “We need them here to ensure cover fire in case whatever brought our enemies so close takes them straight to our doorstep.”
‘Is there anything we can do, Dusk?’ Kelia asked.
‘Green core, no bloodline abilities, no steed.’ He telepathically shrugged. ‘I’m sorry, but we wouldn’t last long even as bait.’
***
Far away enough to be sure that his cloaking devices would allow him to escape being detected, Orpal looked in amusement at the fruits of his plan.
After fooling Thaymos into taking action and relaying to him the position of the Wayfinder, the Dead King had helped the Eternal Fortress however he could to expedite the voyage.
Moonlight could open Warp Steps leading to hundreds of kilometers away but moving the Black Tide that way would have taken too long. Orpal had opted for mapping the mana geysers between the lost city and its destination so that Thaymos could recover his strength quickly.
“Look at them. They have no idea what’s going on. They are like ants, too stupid to understand that they are walking in the palm my hand. All I need to do is clench my fingers to crush them.” He said. “Admit it. Contacting the old fart was a stroke of genius.”
Night watched the Black Tide clashing against the mages from Garlen without saying a word.
“Are you giving me the cold shoulder because you don’t agree with me or you can’t even give me your opinion because it would count as indirect help?” He asked in annoyance.
“The latter.” Night’s voice was filled with unbridled fury.
There were so many things that she wanted to do and say.
She yearned to scold Orpal for his arrogance and join the battle herself. Even with her host’s weak body and core, her power and battle experience were more than enough to kill a bright violet cored Awakened with a surprise attack.
Yet her body and mind were bound by invisible chains that kept her from stating the obvious and take charge to correct Orpal’s mistakes. Every time Baba Yaga’s seal robbed Night of her free will, she hated her mother and Lith more.
The problem was that the seal also kept her from harming them so she could only vent her frustration on Orpal or innocent victims.
“I know what you are thinking. Now that I’ve brought Leech away from the little bitch, there’s no Guardian protecting him.”
