Kuo-Toa

"Where to?" Brat casually tossed the key onto the counter.

"Not so fast." Anse turned to Finn. "How's the situation?"

The fortress had fallen, the flooding was severe, the city was in chaos, monsters were everywhere, and many people had died... Finn was monitoring the city in real time. His voice was hoarse. No one could remain unmoved by a disaster like this.

As he listened to Finn's fragmented report, Anse slowly pieced together the scene in his mind.

The southern section of Flying Dragon Bridge and the river embankment had collapsed, blocking half the waterway. But because the city stood on higher ground, the flood had burst through the embankment at the northeastern Dock District and rushed south along the city's eastern edge, leaving the main urban area largely untouched.

But the residents didn't know that. With large numbers of Underdark Creatures appearing near the bridge, people panicked and fled south in a frenzy. A massive stampede broke out, and many ran straight into the floodwaters. The casualties were heavy.

Judging from the terrain, the floodwater would likely flow out of the city to the southeast, skirt Rivington, and join the Sword Sea to the southwest, forming a tributary. The entire city would be trapped in a vast triangle formed by the Chongsa River and the tributary.

"We won't make it!" Finn's mouth twisted, his expression stiff.

The flood was moving too fast. The guild was near the city center, and even if they ran east with all their might, they couldn't get out before it arrived.

"Haah—" Anse sighed up at the sky.

Disaster was always one step ahead of him—but only one step!

"Flame Fist Fortress... is packed with Underdark Creatures." Finn's face tightened as he hurriedly wiped his beard.

"Good thing we didn't stay at the fortress." Brat suddenly felt a lingering fear.

"The Flaming Fist commander must have had a plan, which is why he drove everyone out." Anse sighed. He knew he'd underestimated the man.

He'd thought that having more information from his previous life made him smarter than an actual commander. He was still too young!

The explosives had probably been planted after the main Flaming Fist forces were routed. There'd been enough to ensure the bridge went down. Unfortunately, the torrential rain had caused the southern embankment to collapse too. Otherwise, the plan would've been nearly perfect.

Clearly, the goal had been to stop the Underdark Creatures from heading south, protecting the tens of thousands of people and the farms evacuated to Livington District. They were the foundation of Baldur's Gate. Without people, even if the city were reclaimed, the trade capital would be ruined, with rebuilding nowhere in sight.

Why was the slave trade so rampant across Faerûn and so hard to stamp out? Because population was crucial.

The plan was good, but the people carrying it out had been indecisive, unable to let go of Flying Dragon Bridge. If they'd blown up the northern section of the bridge earlier, things wouldn't have turned out like this.

The group reached the hall entrance. Faint screams and shouts drifted in on the wind, and the air carried a faint smell of blood.

"Get ready to fight. Gray Hawk, keep a close eye on what's happening in the city." They had no idea what might happen if they stayed here. Anse hated being passive.

They had plenty of supplies, and the farms west of the city or the wilderness would be good options. There were plenty of fishing villages along the West Coast, so they'd find a way to leave.

Brat pulled up his hood, raised his shield in his left hand, and held his sword in his right, his expression grim.

Finn readied his Longbow, adjusted his quiver, then gave Anse a slight nod.

"Let's go—"

Anse stepped through the guild doors and straight into the storm.

Brat and Finn quickly caught up, flanking him front and back.

They'd lost some time at the guild, and the crowds on Middle Street had thinned considerably, but wave after wave of people were still running south in a panic.

The whole city was in chaos, wreckage littered the streets, and many people didn't even know what was happening. They simply followed the crowd and ran blindly.

The group splashed through the floodwater, heading north along Middle Street for a hundred yards before turning left into a narrow lane.

They hadn't gone far when a jumble of footsteps and shouts came rushing toward them.

"Run! There are monsters..."

"Help—"

"..."

Anse and Brat exchanged a glance, both alarmed. How many Underdark Creatures had come through? Why were they even in the city center?

A group of civilians suddenly burst out of an alley ahead. Seeing Anse and the others with a glowing staff, they lit up with hope and ran toward them, jostling to be first.

"Back, back! Keep your distance." Anse waved them off, retreating quickly with the crowd. He tossed his backpack into a corner.

With no idea what was going on, he had no intention of fighting monsters at close quarters in the street.

The group had barely backed up thirty or forty feet when six or seven short, dark figures rushed out of the dim alley. They were about four or five feet tall, with hunched backs, stooped waists, and enormous heads.

Anse focused on them, and his heart gave a jolt.

"Kuo-Toa! How'd they end up working with Gray Dwarves?!"

Kuo-Toa had once spread across the coasts and islands of the surface world, but long ago humans and other surface-dwelling peoples had driven them underground.

Like the Gray Dwarves, they'd once been enslaved by Mind Flayers. But unlike the Gray Dwarves, they'd been abandoned, probably because... they weren't much use.

"Ha!" Brat didn't know what a Kuo-Toa was. He let out a fierce yell, turned sideways, and planted himself at the front with his shield, his sword ready in his right hand.

"Whoosh—"

An arrow cut through the night, its tip piercing the drizzle. A swirling gust formed a tiny cone of mist around it as it struck a Kuo-Toa in the head.

The creature toppled backward with a thud, its blood staining the water.

"Prismatic Sphere!"

Lightning!

Anse swung his staff. A blue orb of energy streaked away, trailing light as it slammed into the Kuo-Toa.

The lead Kuo-Toa raised an iron fork across his chest. The next instant, the orb exploded. Lightning coursed through his body, scorching his skin and locking his muscles. He collapsed rigidly to the ground.

Amid the crackling blasts, the orb jumped again, striking another Kuo-Toa in the side. It detonated with a roar.

The lightning traveled through the Kuo-Toa's body into the filthy water beneath him. Electricity spread, and every Kuo-Toa stiffened and staggered to the ground.

"Idiots. Don't you know metal conducts electricity?" Anse's lips curled slightly.

[You cast Prismatic Sphere on Kuo-Toa... Kuo-Toa is hit, takes 18 lightning damage, critical hit, target dies, gain 50 Combat Experience]

[You cast Prismatic Sphere on Kuo-Toa... Kuo-Toa is hit, takes 12 lightning damage, current HP 5/17]

With splashes flying beneath his boots, Brat seized the chance to charge.

"Whoosh, whoosh—"

Two arrows flew over him one after the other, striking the fallen Kuo-Toa. Their piercing cries rang out in quick succession.

The two surviving Kuo-Toa had only just gotten to their feet when Brat reached them. He slammed one away with his shield, then thrust his sword into the other's dead-fish eyes and out through the back of his head.

[Target dies, gain 21 Combat Experience]

Anse stopped casting. Before he could even land a finishing blow, the fight was over.

Of the seven Kuo-Toa, he'd killed one and badly wounded another. Finn had taken out three, and Brat had finished off the rest with quick, clean strikes.

Brat checked the area and, once he was sure no monsters were still alive, turned and gave Anse a thumbs-up.

For the first time, he understood why spellcasters were so revered. A single first-level spell, combined with the terrain and conditions, could control the battlefield and make an otherwise difficult fight seem easy.

"Haha, they were just a bunch of nobodies. Let's clean up and—"

As he spoke, Anse felt a chill at his back. From the corner of his eye, he caught a flash of ghostly blue sweeping toward his neck from the side.

His whole body tensed, terror surging through him. Instinctively, he activated Shield Spell.

The blade flashed closer. At the critical moment, an invisible force-field shield appeared in front of it.

"Clang—"

The shield flickered, then shattered with a bang.

Anse lunged forward and rolled awkwardly through the mud, putting six feet between them. His heart hammered. He could still feel the cold touch of the dagger as it had grazed his cloak.

There was no time to feel relieved. He turned to look. A short, cloaked figure had appeared where there had been nothing before, a ghostly blue Xenodagger gripped in his hand.