Getting out of the cave required shovels with a magical barrier over them, as the falling ash had hardened into a layer that would put the average concrete wall to shame, and the layer was over a metre thick.
That didn’t bode well for what was outside, where they found that the trees had been mostly spared from the fire this far from the volcano, but there were still signs of scorching, and the undergrowth was completely gone, so the trees themselves might be dead within the next few months if they couldn’t get water through the ash.
Karl wasn’t certain how porous the newly fallen ash would be, but once they were outside, he realized that the upper layers were all soft black dust, like an upper layer of dirt, and there would likely be things growing here soon enough. If that was the case, the trees would likely be able to grow new roots to survive, even if the ash layer didn’t let much water through.
Doug looked around. “Well, this isn’t as bad as I feared. We’re outside the dead zone, and the ash didn’t burn down the forest around us, though the trees are pretty scorched, and I see that some of them boiled off and exploded.
If we head a few more kilometres, we should be out of the ash entirely, and that will be where we run into Frost Giant reinforcements skirting the destruction. They don’t deal well with heat or Fire Magic, as I’m sure we all remember.”
Hawk laughed in his space. No, they did not like Fire Magic at all.
The combined group made their way forward, now able to keep Rae and Thor out, as the smaller trees were gone, and all the underbrush was buried under the ash. It would make it a bit harder to hide their tracks back to the Dwarven Village, but the Frost Giants would be hesitant to follow them inside anyhow.
They weren’t too concerned about humans finding the place and making a mess, as there weren’t any others reported to be in the area. They were way behind the enemy lines, and the Frost Giants hadn’t been attacking through the ash zone at all, so the scouts stopped where the ash started.
It was the perfect setup for them to hunt. Nobody in the way, nobody to ask questions if they did something strange, or give them trouble about going in a combined group instead of as two separate teams.
Karl sent Hawk up, and the bird immediately found that there were teams of Frost Giants spread out all the way to the horizon, and all headed this way from the city, going for the next section of front line, near where the first explosion had happened.
With the hills and scattered trees, most of the groups couldn’t see each other, so if they timed their attacks right, they wouldn’t even alarm other groups, despite the hundreds of Frost Giants that were spread out through the hills.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, we’re in luck. There are more Frost Giants out there than we know what to do with, and they’re free for the taking. We’re inside their borders without a scout in sight, anything we kill is ours.” Karl announced.
“And what are you planning to gain from this?” Harry Kim, the warrior with the Mackenzie brothers team, asked curiously.
“Hopefully, another smashing tool, or maybe a chopping one. I’ve got a two-handed blade and a Maul from the Giants so far, but I think that there is a chance we can all load up on special weapons before we run out of Frost Giants to kill.” Karl laughed.
Tessa smirked. “Plus, there is a maximum of two Giant Strength type items that a warrior pattern Elite can use. A ring and a bracelet or bracers. You can’t double up on identical items for each arm, they won’t grant you anything, but you can use them with a different effect on the other hand.
I notice that neither you nor Ty have one yet, even though we dumped a bunch of them with the main lines, so we should get you some loot.”
Lotus nodded. “Plus some of the good white cloaks. These things are nice and warm, and they blend in with the snow very well. We might not be the most stealthy, but if they even confuse us with allies for a moment, it can help us get close.”
Karl led the group toward the closest team of ten Frost Giants, who looked like the Ascended type with a Commander in charge.
They met with them just as the Frost Giants reached the bottom of a valley, letting themselves be easily ambushed by the Spider Golems, while Remi got the chance to try out her backpack totem theory.
The totem appeared on Dana’s bag, and for a few seconds, it was spectacular. The totem was firing just as intended. Then Dana moved, and the totem fell to the ground, still working fine, but no longer mobile.
[Noted. They need to be attached or something. But they don’t last long enough. Maybe the Bear lady was right. I should put them at the edge of the fight.] Remi decided.
That was what she did with the second batch, and it worked much better. Three of the Frost Giants turned to face the new threat, and were promptly stabbed through the back by the Spider Golems.
“That’s just brutal.” Tori gasped as she saw the fountain of blue blood from the heart strikes by the Golems.
“Effective though.” Dana agreed.
Even with Hawk up high and scouting for their next target, the fight was over before the second group of Totems faded away, leaving Harry and Bob with smiles on their faces.
“Now that’s the sort of fight that a defensive warrior appreciates. Short and brutal, not drawn out while a Frost Giant kicks my ass.” Bob chuckled.
“It’s certainly an improvement on fighting them while outnumbered. Where is the next group? We might as well keep moving.” Harry agreed.
“This way. Don’t forget to check the corpses for magical items. We will leave the bodies, so we can get as many as possible here today.” Karl reminded them.
In this formation, Thor was moved to support, protecting the clerics and mages, while moving to keep everyone in his Circle of Protection. Ty and Karl stood on the flanks, as they both had bows, while Bob, Harry and Dana’s Golems were the front line, with Rae and her Golems as the ambush attackers. Ophelia moved wherever she felt needed, keeping the warriors from being pressed too hard, or joining the Spider Golems in their attacks from behind.
The second group went much like the first one, but the third they timed incorrectly, and they managed to make a stand on top of a hill, which attracted other Frost Giants, who saw that they were under attack.
“Do we try to fade into the trees, so that those two groups waiting for each other don’t come at us together?” Harry asked as they saw the Frost Giants adjusting their course and speed.
Bob shook his head. “We have the advantage in attack power, we move left and go to them. Hit them just as they’re beginning the search for us, before they can get settled into their roles on the combined team.”
“This one has a Giant strength ring, for whoever needs it.” Tori cut in, and Karl could see the effort it was taking her not to fall into her customary flirting routine. She really was trying to be a proper party member.
Or so he thought. She had slipped and made a suggestive comment to Bob on the second day in the cave. In response, he told her that he didn’t like flirtatious little girls, which was a harsh blow to her ego. But Tori did like big, muscular, stoic men, so she was trying to show him that she wasn’t just some ditsy teen mage.
The end result was that she was turning into a competent team member, so everyone else assumed she really had turned over a new leaf, which made it a small victory all around.
“Same pattern as before. Remi, make sure your Totems are far enough from the group that the Giants can’t just stomp them. We will strike as soon as Rae is in position.” Karl instructed.
Remi could only keep two totems active at a time, but two streams of fireballs while she cast her Chain Lightning was more than enough to put her on even ground with the Ascended Mages in the group.
That was enough for Karl, but Hawk and his opinion that beasts were better teammates than humans had stuck in Remi’s head, and she wanted to prove to Karl that he could rely on her, even if she was still small.