Alex followed close behind the group as they ran, feeling his connection with Mage grow closer and getting a grim update of their situation.

“I’m out of mana, and they’re pushing us further and further into the tunnels. I don’t know the way well enough to even tell where we’re going.”

I can still feel the link’s direction, so just focus on trying to keep them alive.

“They’re finally starting to fight back,” Mage said. “We’re pushed into a dead end, there’s a spitting shaft, but several of them are blocking it off. We have to make a stand here. You need to make it fast.”

“Shit,” Alex said. “Robert, we’ve got to go faster. The survivors are cornered and fighting.”

Already moving as fast as they could through the twisting, uneven terrain of the descending mines, the news only made them more tense, but hearing that there were survivors fighting for their lives gave them a goal to fight for. A reason to push faster.

Alex pulled a mana stone from his ring and drew on its power to refill his reserves. He had a larger pool with his mental and magical stats from Warrior returned to his main body, but they had been largely exhausted when the clone was destroyed. The constant use of a [Feather Step] was draining his mana to levels that would leave him exposed in any upcoming encounter.

It took several excruciating minutes of travel for the group to reach the hollow vein where the camp had been.

What awaited them there was difficult to process, even for Alex, who shared only a tenuous connection with the Koru'qai, one born from their oppression and a desire to fight tyranny like Kinley's.

The scene of the camp was unlike anything he’d seen. His momentum carried his reduced weight several feet into the cavern before his boots touched down and he slid to a stop. Robert, Aisha, and the others continued in immediately moved to the nearest injured Koru’qai.

Most of those on the ground here were injured, as if their attackers hadn’t bothered to finish them off, only doing enough damage to put them out of the fight before continuing on.

The smell and sounds were awful, a mix of feces, blood, and cries for aid. The worst part of it was that he knew he had to keep the group moving.

Alex rushed to Robert, who was kneeling beside one of the few dead Koru'qai. The body lay side by side with two humans from the freed group. With a pang of recognition, Alex recognized Droq'shan.

“Robert… We need to keep moving. You can leave one or two people here to look after the injured, but there are still people fighting. You can use these—”

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Aisha’s voice sounded from behind him.

Turning, Alex saw the tears in her eyes and the blood on her clothes.

“You just want us to leave them here like this? Why the hell are you even here?”

Before they could begin to shift, he clamped down on his emotions, feeling a calming sense of detachment pass over his mind.

“I’m here because you all but invited me to be here and insisted on coming back in with me.” He looked at the injured people around them. “What can you do to help these people?”

She winced at his words. “I can do something. They need help, I can… I can…”

Alex shook his head. “You’re no healer, Aisha. You and Robert keep preaching decisiveness to me, and harping on the idea of acting without overthinking… well, you guys need to act right now. You might not be a healer, but you are a strong fighter. There are people still alive deeper in the mines, and they need your help.”

There was a quiet moment before he saw her, and Robert’s demeanor change. He watched them mentally gather themselves, shoulders straightening and fists clenching.

“You’re right,” Robert said. “Go get the others and bring anyone else who’s fit enough to fight.”

Aisha moved quickly, a new purpose driving her past the grief.

“Thank you.” Robert had turned to him and was watching him. “You’re right about what you said. But please, give her a little grace. I can’t even describe what she went through down here, and as great a fighter and duelist as she is, she’s no soldier. None of us is used to this kind of death. A kill or a lost friend in the arena? That happens. But this…?” He rubbed his face, only to realize that his hand still had Droq’shan’s blood on it. Using his shirt, he wiped the smear away and swallowed emotions that threatened to rise.

Alex asked the question nagging at his mind while they waited. “How did this happen? There were enough Koru here to fight off pretty much any number of humans that Kinley would have just patrolling around, right? Do you think he sent a larger force?”

“There’s no way to know. But no, it wouldn’t take a large force to do this. The Koru’qai are a passive people. While they’re great fighters, their entire culture revolves around dueling and respect for other fighters. Droq’shan didn’t ever understand the needless brutality of Kinley or his men, and he didn’t understand why there was suddenly daily death in the arena.”

“So they didn’t fight back? Why? Surely, once Kinley’s men started killing them, even the helpless, others would fight. They were here, in the hollow vein. Their magic should have worked— at least better than when they’re in the city.” Alex’s head spun at the thought of the Koru not fighting back and Kinley’s men simply walking through and continuing to murder or maim the Rift natives.

“They wouldn’t fight. They have generations of culture drilled into them to respect the strongest. If Kinley or his men come, then they would let it happen,” Robert said, closing his eyes tight after staring at the stain on his shirt.

Wait…

Alex referenced his memories, shared with Mage. On either side of his clone, Koru’qai stood, fighting alongside him. Light green crystals are shown overhead, illuminating the fight and casting an odd tint on the blood and blades there.

“Well, they’re fighting now,” Alex said to Robert.

The older man looked up. “No, that can’t be right.”

“They’re fighting, cornered, right now. We can help them fight.”

A few moments later, Aisha returned with the same three fighters who had accompanied them before, along with two Koru’qai. They were both injured, but the wounds seemed superficial and wouldn’t be enough to stop the large humanoids.

“Here,” Alex said, reaching into his pouch and producing a healing potion. “Use this between the two of you. Aisha, who’s staying behind?”

She looked at him uncertainly for a moment, her previous outburst likely at the forefront of her mind. “Tyler and Racheal. They’re over there.” She pointed back in the direction she’d come.

“Can you give these to them and tell them to use them sparingly. They’ll still have to decide not to use it on some people. Put a little on grievous wounds and have them drink only a sip or two.”

She looked at the three red liquids in the bottles as if they were gold.

He was already shaking his head when she looked back with a question on her face. “I’ve only got one more, and it might be needed for the group we go to save. If there was more to give, I would.”

“Go give it to Tyler and catch up with us,” Robert said.

With that, the group moved deeper into the mines. Alex and Robert led the way. Robert had knowledge of the mine shafts that helped them easily cover the distance to where Alex was sensing his clone’s connection. To his credit, he didn’t ask how Alex knew exactly which direction to go, likely knowing it was a skill of some kind.

Only a minute or so later, they could hear sounds of fighting echoing from the tunnels. The sound alone was hard to follow, but with Alex guiding their way, they continued to close the distance.

As they got closer, Alex stopped to explain the situation. “Martin is fighting with at least ten others. Some humans and some Koru’qai. Do you know how to get into a side passage? They’re in a green cave that seems to have dead-ended, but Martin said there was a side tunnel. If we can join the fight from there, we can hit Kinley’s men from the side and open a route for our people to get out.”

Robert thought on it for a moment before one of the other fighters spoke up. “I know the shaft he’s talking about. I worked in this sector for three months.”

“Kip, come up here. Let’s head out, you move with Alex up front, and I’ll be just behind you.” Robert set a hand on the broad man’s shoulder. “When you hit them, hit them hard.”

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Kip nodded seriously and punched his fist to his chest in the way Alex had seen them do before.

“We’ve got to go. Everyone is flagging, and at this point, Kinley’s men are taking turns to see who will break through the line in the shaft.”

They took off in the direction Kip led, down a steep incline before making a sharp left turn and heading back up a sloping tunnel. It was a tight fit, and they were forced to move in single file at one point, but things widened out once more as the ground leveled out.

The sounds of fighting intensified, and Alex’s heart was already hammering in his chest by the time that Kip looked at him and said, “It’s just around this bend.”

They slowed at Alex’s signal, and he crept forward the few feet to the bend. When he saw that Kinley’s men were in the opening of the shaft, but looking to the right, where Mage and the others were holding their ground, he knew they were in the right place.

“Okay, we’ve got a straight shot at their side. We need to run through the tunnel, but stay quiet. If you start yelling out war cries or something, they’ll have time to turn and meet us head on.”

There was a round of approving nods and grunts.

"We fight as one," Robert said seriously, several of the others echoing the sentiment.

They regrouped and started to jog down the tunnel.

Using both lines of his consciousness, he formed two spell circles, each with a single rune in it. The first was a directional breeze spell, and the other was a directional lightning spell. He made sure that the spell circle for the breeze spell covered most of the tunnel’s width, and just before he and Kip hit the unsuspecting fighters, he activated it.

A percussive blast his the group, sending the nearest three of Kinley’s men rag-dolling into their companions. It looked like a movie explosion had gone off right next to them, causing disorientation and confusion in the middle of the fight.

While stuck in a heap of limbs and struggling to reorient, Alex loosed the lightning spell, the power arcing from one body to the next.

Relief flooded his mind through the bond as Mage and the others saw that help had finally arrived.

Chaotic was the only word Alex could use for the fight that ensued. Robert and the others streamed from the tunnel, pushing just hard enough to create an opening for their own people. Alex shouted at them to come from their right and go down the tunnel they’d just entered through, freeing an escape path.

The Koru’qai grabbed two bodies of their fallen kin, and only three of the humans lived, though the other’s bodies were nowhere to be seen.

Once they were down the tunnel, Alex called out to the rest of the ambushing team. “Pull back, don’t push too far. Robert, pull back to the tunnel opening.”

Kinley’s men had the advantage of numbers. The only reason Mage and the Koru were able to hold off as long as they had was the use of the narrowed tunnel entrance. Alex knew they needed to do the same while giving the injured time to retreat. If they followed their momentum too far, overextending, they’d be killed easily in the open.

Luckily, Robert heard him and was able to pull in most of the fighters, but it was clear that the group had little to no coordination.

Frustration bubbled up in Alex, and he wished he had the rest of his team with him. They’d spent months drilling team movements and coordination for situations just like this.

He pushed the wishful thought away as a sword was thrust toward his midsection, forcing both minds back on the immediate danger.

Order found its way to the group as Alex and Robert coordinated with the rest of their group to pull back to their sloping tunnel they’d emerged from. As they pulled back, Kinley’s men regrouped, though clearly hesitant to push into the fresh line of fighters that was forming.

One shouted command from someone at the back of the uniformed thugs sent them charging forward, yelling for blood.

The fight was a blur. Alex removed his wand and used it in conjunction with his [Spell Storage: Barrier Spell Circle] to hold the line. At one point, he looked to his left and saw Luis there, using a thin, straight sword, but what felt like minutes later, Aisha had replaced him in line.

She darted forward, her short sword finding an opening to the side of a man’s shield, who was looking at Alex warily.

“They need more time,” Robert called from his right.

Alex confirmed with his clone and groaned internally. They were too exhausted.

A grunt and impact could be heard from his right. Staggered, Alex stood to see what had run into him, prepared to grapple with one of Kinely’s fighters. He was shocked to see Robert slumping against him, trying to get his feet under himself.

A spear was lodged into his lower left side, and Alex was certain it was meant for him. He caught the bruiser and pulled him back two steps before setting him down.

One of Robert’s men stepped forward, yelling in anger to fill their two positions in the line.

Aisha looked down in horror, only to have the lapse in concentration lead to a clash of Strength. One of the black-dressed fighters stepped in close and gripped both of her wrists. Normally too fast and slippery to get caught in a grappling contest, Aisha got pulled forward.

Luis struck at the man, but his sword was deflected by a shield.

While restrained, someone struck out at Aisha, slicing a gash across her upper arm and shoulder, hitting her even as she tried to duck the blade.

Alex jumped up, leaving Robert where he lay, and cast a targeted anchor spell circle on her, rooting her in place. At the same time, he reached under her arm and put his hand between her body and the other man’s chest.

The small, directional circle cracked the man’s sternum as the breeze spell went off in such proximity. The wind buffeted Aisha back into him, just as the anchor spell ended, sending them both tumbling back.

They were still exposed in the front line from this position, leaving a semi-conscious Aisha on top of him, her stomach openly exposed to the attackers.

Smelling blood, several of them lunged forward at once.

Using more of his precious mana, Alex cast an area barrier spell around their prone forms. The dome sprang into existence just before the descending blades could reach them.

As soon as the spell ended, Alex rolled to get her under him and blocked a spear thrust with his forearm, barely timing the block to hit the shaft rather than the steel tip.

They’d stalled long enough for the line to reform itself, and enough cover formed for them to regain their feet.

Alex’s heart was pumping so hard he could swear his head was reverberating. Aisha looked at him with wide eyes and gave him a nod, though to her credit, she jumped back into the fray without a second’s hesitation.

Reassessing their situation, Alex thought about how they’d get out of this scrap. They had no long-term plan of retreat other than to hold the choke point until the others could get away.

Then what?

If it were a battle of attrition, Kinley’s men would win. They had the numbers and more fresh fighters to cycle in or out as needed.

Alex felt like he was running out of tricks.

His eyes scanned the tunnels and thought of what could buy them time.

The idea hit him as he looked at the wall of brave fighters.

I need another wall.

He checked his spatial storage and found the camping anchor stones he’d created for a portable barrier while traveling.

Weighing the loss in an instant, he moved away from the fighters, down the tunnel a short way. Just before the space narrowed to a single-file crossing, he dropped the heavy anchor stones from his bracer to the ground.

Two fit at the base of the tunnel without issue, and would act as the lower guide to the barrier wall.

The problem came when he looked at placing the other two anchors. They were meant to sit in a square on the ground, not to be placed vertically on a wall. There was no way to get them into the ceiling or the side of the tunnel to close off the barrier and create a mana net across the opening.

Panic filled him for a moment before he clamped on the feeling and pushed aside the part of his mind that felt pressure at the screams of allies and the clashing of blades.

He ran through scenarios with his rapid speed of thought. Anchoring the stones to the wall with a spell circle might work, but not for long. Once the spell wore off, the anchors would fall and break the net.

There were tools in his ring to carve the few runes into the stone directly, but it would take too much time to do each rune individually, and his calm might realize his shaking hands might struggle to form the proper lines.

Recognizing the problems showed him the solution.

Alex grabbed another mana stone and let it fall to the ground before stomping it under the heel of his boot. He let mana threads spill from his hands and form into solid strands and spider out to either upper corner of the tunnel.

He closed his eyes and focused all of his mind on the task at hand, even going as far as to pull back Mage’s line of consciousness temporarily.

The clone slumped against a tunnel wall, most of their group still retreating.

With three lines of thought, Alex set to work as quickly as he could. One mind focused on the left side, while the other focused on the right. His main mind monitored both and thought about how to make the threads more efficient.

The tips of each thread worked to scrape and scratch away at the stone walls. They made small scratches at such a rapid rate, fluttering back and forth, that divots began to appear in the proper shape.

But it was too slow, and he knew it.

His mind went back to the drill he’d purchased and been using to create his own enchantments.

Mimicking the tool, he focused on twisting his threads. It was an odd sensation and one he hadn’t ever done before, but as they wound tighter and tighter, he could feel the tension in the solid strands building.

His mind went back to his school days and twisting a rubber band many times over, and being fascinated by how it would spin rapidly to return to its normal state.

He replicated that with his [Mana Thread] skill. Once pressure had built, he let it go, allowing the tip of the thread to spin at an extreme rate. As it did so, he pushed the magical thread into the wall and watched as it ate into the stone.

He ignored the notification and set to work. While the spinning motion of the threads didn’t last long, his previous advancement of the skill allowed him to create many, many threads at once. So while one worked, he was already spinning up several others, ready to take its place as the first lost its momentum.

Dozens of tendrils of mana worked in unison, his mind a conductor to their orchestra. Faster than any enchanting he’d done, Alex completed the anchor enchantments.

He opened his eyes, confident that they were flawless. His magical control was hundreds of times more potent than his manual dexterity, and he’d spent countless hours refining the shapes of those runes in the past months.

“Aisha, Luis, grab Robert. Fall back to me!” he called to the group. When they didn’t react, continuing to fight on their last legs, he jogged forward and physically had to begin pulling and tugging at them while casting spells to cover their retreat.

Once the fighting trance had been broken, the escapees were able to group up and begin their fighting retreat. Before withdrawing, he dismissed Mage completely and swept both the set of clothes and the mask into his spatial item.

The choke point helped them here, as even when Kinley’s men realized they were retreating, only two or three could attempt to follow them at once down the narrow space.

Several frantic moments later, they’d crossed his threshold, and he activated the warding net. It activated without issue, giving them a wall of protection as sturdy as the mountain they were under.

“Come on, we’ve got to catch up to the others.” Alex slid under Robert’s other arm, sharing the burden with Luis. Aisha’s arm was too badly cut to lend a helping hand, and she gave him an appreciative look.

“They’ll be coming for us now,” she said. “They know we’re down here in the mines after the attempt to break out the others and now finding the Koru refuge in the hollow vein.”

“I know,” Alex said, feeling the adrenaline from the battle begin to fade at the same time a pit formed in his stomach. They really only had two options from here, and he knew that the choice would be hard.

Stay and fight, or retreat with those who still live.