The Explorer's League caravan, under Captain Stonebeard's gruff command, had been making steady, if tense, progress since altering its route. Drake walked near the center of the convoy, his [Initiate's Twin Blades] sheathed but his senses on high alert. The information he'd provided about a potential shadowing group had led them onto this older, more difficult northern passage through the Broken Spire Hills. The terrain was rougher, slowing the wagons, but Captain Stonebeard clearly felt the increased defensibility was worth the delay. For hours, [Relic Hunter] had picked up nothing beyond the usual ambient Mana traces and signs of local wildlife. The feeling of being watched had lessened, but Drake didn't let his guard down.
Late in the afternoon of their second day since the Howler attack, their altered route, guided by Stonebeard's ancient charts and occasionally cross-referenced by Drake's own [Cartographer's Route Maps], led them towards a long, narrow canyon marked on the maps as the "Redstone Defile." Its towering, rust-colored rock walls pressed in on either side, creating a natural chokepoint. The path at the bottom was barely wide enough for two wagons abreast, and the cliffs above were riddled with shadowed alcoves and overhangs – perfect ambush territory.
"This place is a deathtrap. If that group shadowing us is still around and anticipated this route change, this is where they'd hit us."
Captain Stonebeard clearly felt the same. He called a halt just before the defile's entrance, sending his most experienced outriders ahead to scout. The caravan waited, an uneasy silence settling over the passengers and guards alike. The outriders returned after twenty minutes, reporting no obvious signs of ambush within the first half-mile of the defile.
"Looks clear for now," Stonebeard announced, though his voice lacked conviction. "But stay sharp, everyone. Eyes up. This pass has a bad reputation for a reason. We move through at best speed, tight formation."
The caravan began to move forward again, slowly entering the shadowed maw of the Redstone Defile. The light dimmed as the high canyon walls blotted out the afternoon sun. The only sounds were the creak of wagon wheels, the clink of harness, the nervous shuffling of feet, and the wind whistling eerily through the rock formations above. Drake kept [Relic Hunter] at maximum sensitivity, the stamina drain a necessary cost, his eyes constantly scanning the cliff tops and the shadowed recesses along the canyon floor.
They were perhaps a quarter of the way through the defile, the narrowest point, when [Relic Hunter] suddenly flared in Drake's perception. Not a strong, obvious magical ward, but multiple faint, rapidly coalescing hostile intent signatures from the cliffs above on both sides, and a larger cluster of them concealed behind a rockslide further down the canyon floor, directly in their path. Simultaneously, he picked up the almost imperceptible glint of metal reflecting sunlight from a high ledge, and the faint scent of something acrid, like alchemical fire preparations.
"Ambush! Above and ahead! Players and… something else, more disciplined signatures from the ground!"
"AMBUSH!" Drake roared, his voice cutting through the tense silence an instant before all hell broke loose. "Cliffs, both sides! Heavy force blocking the path ahead!"
Captain Stonebeard reacted instantly to Drake's warning, his own instincts clearly screaming the same. "CIRCLE THE WAGONS! ARCHERS, RETURN FIRE! SHIELDS UP!"
But the enemy was already in motion. The first volley was devastating. A hail of arrows, interspersed with crackling bolts of frost and fire magic, rained down from players concealed on the cliff ledges above. Screams erupted as several League guards were hit, one falling from his horse with an arrow sprouting from his shoulder. One of the lead wagons lurched as its draft animals, struck by spells, reared in panic.
<< Player [Seraphina] casts [Ice Lance]! >>
<< Player [Whisperwind] casts [Crippling Shot]! >>
Simultaneously, from behind the rockslide that blocked the canyon further down, a disciplined line of armored figures charged forward – at least twenty Argent Excavator Legionaries (Level 35-38 NPCs), their silver-and-grey uniforms and standardized tower shields and shortswords instantly recognizable. They moved with military precision, forming a shield wall to block the caravan's advance, while others began to fan out, attempting to flank the forming defensive circle. And leading them, his twin blades already drawn, his distinctive Marauder-class armor glinting, was Commander Vorlag (Level 28 Player).
"This isn't a random bandit attack; this is a planned military-style assault."
The Explorer's League guards, though outnumbered and initially caught by surprise despite Drake's last-second warning, reacted with veteran discipline. They quickly formed a defensive circle around the wagons and the terrified passengers, their shields interlocked, crossbows firing upwards at the cliff-top ambushers. The League mages began chanting, throwing up shimmering barriers of protective energy that deflected some of the incoming spells.
<< Explorer's League Defender casts [Shield Wall]! >>
<< Explorer's League Mage casts [Fire Ward]! >>
Drake drew his [Initiate's Twin Blades], the faint purple enchantment glow pulsing with readiness. He ignored the ranged attackers for now; the immediate threat was the charging line of Legionaries and Players. He saw Vorlag directing his players – Kael the Rogue, Grak the Berserker, and others from the "Steel Vipers" squad – who were now leaping and sliding down the scree slopes from the cliffs to join the ground assault, their movements agile and predatory.
This was a coordinated, multi-pronged attack by a powerful, well-equipped force of high-level players and disciplined NPC soldiers. It was far more dangerous than the frenzied Howlers or the disorganized bandits he'd faced before.
"They knew we'd come this way, or got here incredibly fast. This is bad. Our guards are good, but they're outnumbered and out-leveled by those Legionaries. And Vorlag's player team is elite."
He saw Captain Stonebeard bellowing orders, his massive two-handed axe already stained as he cleaved through the first Legionary to reach their line. The fight for survival in the Redstone Defile had begun, and Drake knew his own perfected skills and the devastating power of the [Twin Soul Bladesworn] would be tested to their absolute limit if any of them were to see the other side of this ambush. The shadows on the trail had finally, and violently, revealed themselves.