Jeff Inlo - Nightmare's Shad

Unfortunately, doubts still haunted the elf, doubts about where the struggle would lead and where it would end. He knew the delver was tiring of the conflict, losing faith in everything he had ever done. That was wrong, and Lief knew it. He would help Ryson see that, but then he thought of the algors again. What if the delver didn't want his help? What if he refused just as the algors had refused the aid of the dwarves?

The elf apparition focused his thoughts on Ryson Acumen. He knew the delver was heading toward the mountains, heading toward Linda. The struggle would continue for the delver whether he wanted it to or not, that much was certain. Lief could only hope that Ryson would not forget him in the confines of that struggle.

"I will remain inside with you. No harm will come to you, Godson willing." Elese said with a smile that may not have appeared completely forced, but at the very least seemed dampened with uncertainty.

Linda wanted to believe the cliff behemoth who previously saved her and Ryson from the tree rakers, but that was back in the woods when there were only four predators. Linda saw the swarm before Dzeb had hurried her inside the best shelter available-a small hut by the side of a mountain lake. She couldn't manage a guess as to how many caelifera filled the sky, but even at a great distance, they appeared like a driving rain burst of enormous dark droplets.

Cliff behemoths ready to die in order to protect Linda, quickly surrounded the hut. They were large and powerful beings, sturdy defenders with the strength to break mighty oaks in half as if they were nothing but dry twigs. They took their positions without bravado and without menace. Instead, they moved with purpose and dignity. They had agreed to protect Linda, and they would hold to that vow.

Linda could not deny the determination of her protectors anymore than she could deny the power within their bodies. They would do everything possible to keep her safe, even that which was impossible for ordinary humans. She never doubted it for a moment. Having so many willing to defend her should have brought her solace, but she could not deny the coming storm.

It was no goblin horde, no flock of razor crows, no herd of swallits that the slink ghoul sent for her-so many terrors that seemed almost laughable in comparison. Baannat's means of vengeance surpassed her faith in the cliff behemoths. The caelifera formed a swarm of absolute destruction.

Linda knew of locusts before the magic returned, back when the land dealt with calamities of a lesser nature. She heard stories of how a cloud of the insects could strip the plains clean with their voracious appetite. There was often no way to fight, no way to escape. They were a plague-even when they were simple, small insects.

The magic, however, brought with it accented nightmares. It took the difficult and made it impossible. It turned the wicked into pure evil. And it grew common pests into monsters of legendary proportions. The gigantic insects filling the oncoming swarm wanted to find her-to take her. She knew it.

She might have been protected by an army of cliff behemoths, but was she really safe considering what swept across the horizon? Not only did the approaching swarm outnumber the cliff behemoths, they could fly.

The beating of their wings announced their presence as much as their darting shadows danced across the landscape and blotted out the light from above. The distant hum quickly turned into a terrifying buzz that sounded as if the land itself was being torn apart. Linda covered her ears, but she could not hide from the truth.

The swarm was upon them.

It appeared as if the chosen location suited the will of the caelifera. Other areas of the ColadMountains offered narrow passages among the grand peaks, but the cliff behemoths chose to bring Linda to a large, open valley. The majestic walls of mountain rock stood off in the distance. The space offered a stunning view as a sizable lake stretched across most of the valley and reflected the impressive outlines of the surrounding mountains. To the caelifera's advantage, it also allowed for wide air space, giving the giant locusts ample room to move in force.

The defenders, however, took quick action and turned the free space toward their own end. Dozens of cliff behemoths hurled boulders into the air. The crushing force of unyielding rock smashed into the hard shelled bodies of the giant locusts, killing a number of them on impact. Satisfied with the results, more behemoths broke stone from the surrounding mountainside with their thick fingers, and the barrage of boulders grew in size and intensity.

The dark creatures attempted to dodge the projectiles which slowed their forward progress. Their attempts at avoidance intensified the activity within the swarm. The flying rocks and the darting caelifera created an unnerving dance of disorder. The swarm lost any of its cohesiveness and the riotous motion relayed a sense of unbridled insanity.

As the caelifera finally closed upon the shack, behemoths leapt high into the air and took hold of giant wings. They beat on their foes with mighty fists and snapped their necks with quick twists. Despite the enormity of the locusts' bodies, the followers of Godson took hold of three and four at a time and hurled their massive bodies upward and into the heart of the swarm.

The dead insects plummeted from the sky with alarming velocity. Whether tossed aside by massive arms or dropped by careening boulders, a host of locusts lost their ability to remain airborne. They struck the land below like streaking meteors.

Inside the hut, Linda jumped at each sickening crunch of a caelifera crashing to the ground and each booming thud of a giant rock landing nearby. The walls and roof quivered. The very ground beneath her shook as if rattled by tremors. She wondered how long the shack would remain upright around her. She moved to a far corner hoping to avoid injury from the collapse she believed was inevitable.

Elese moved to the center. She was ready to support the entire structure if the need arose. She eyed the ceiling with calm fortitude, as if she waited for Godson to signal her home.

Outside, the other cliff behemoths continued their task with solemn acceptance. They abhorred violence, but they accepted their fate. They viewed themselves as tools for Godson's will, nothing more and nothing less. The land was not created for their benefit, to make their lives easy. Life was a test of faith, a test of character. They believed if Godson didn't want them to enter battle, the battle would not have occurred. Such was their faith that they accepted the surrounding mayhem as part of a greater plan, and it was their choice to be a part of that design.

Even after many caelifera fell, the struggle grew more brutal. The giant locusts were not accustomed to such resistance. They were used to overpowering their foes, lifting prey from the ground and tearing their meals apart at will. These cliff dwellers, however, defied the insect's size and their ferocity. The fury of the battle sent them into a frenzy.

This was the very reason Baannat sent the caelifera to the ColadMountains. He never expected them to defeat the cliff behemoths, they only needed to occupy them. For that purpose, the giant locusts were ideally suited.

As the caelifera became more frantic, the confusion grew. The insects buzzed about in all directions. Some dropped low and darted just above the ground. Others shot high into the sky out of reach for scant seconds only to dive down like suicide missiles. Much of the swarm became a cloud of uncontrollable, directionless rage.

The cliff behemoths fought through the chaos, but they could not monitor all the activity at once. Communication broke down between them and the followers of Godson struck back with a growing sense of frustration. They drifted within the cloud and became independent fighters as opposed to a cohesive set of defenders. Defending the cabin remained their objective, but they failed to notice the entirety of the battlefield.