Enlightened Empire

Chapter 406: Termites

Drip Bang Drip Aaah! Boom Crash

Charge! Grrr Boom Drip Nooo!

Splash Aaah! Drip Bang Hold! Woof

Did I hear a dog?

No that couldn't be right. Making out any sounds within this mess was impossible. A vile cacophony of noise was already assaulting Taki's ears, and now he was even imagining things. As usual, he tried to concentrate on a single sound, to isolate one so he could confirm whether or not what he had heard was true.

Drip Bang Over here! Drip Grrr Boom!

Splash! Retreat! Drip

Yet this time, it just wouldn't work. No matter how hard he tried, his attempts to concentrate only gave him a headache. Over the past two weeks, the soundscape of the underground tunnel had turned into indecipherable chaos. There was no saving it anymore, since the underground battlefield had been completely transformed over such a short period of time.

Ever since their first encounter underground, the two armies had invested more and more manpower into tunnel construction. At first, Saniya's troops had been slow and careful, investing not too much to keep their tunneling operations a secret from Antila's defenders. Now that they had been uncovered, there was no more reason to hide, so they simply increased the number of men and underground routes.

At the same, Antila's defenders now knew of their plans, and they knew that their defeat would be sealed if they didn't prevent the tunneling work. Thus, they threw everything they had left into the dark holes of the underground in order to prevent the worst result.

After a massive transformation from both sides, the tunnels which used to be so well-planned and orderly had become unrecognizable in a short period of time. While before, they had tunneled like moles, now both sides were burrowing like termites. After weeks of fighting between the two sides, their respective actions had led to an ever-escalating underground arms race.

As part of their new defensive tactics against foreign interference, every tunnel dug by Saniya had to be accompanied by a much smaller side-tunnel. Such an additional tunnel would act as a shield. In case of a breakthrough accompanied by flooding, the side tunnel would flood first and leave plenty of time to retreat the forces in the main tunnel. In case of a breakthrough with warriors, the side tunnel would trap any would-be attackers inside, making them easy to surround and eliminate.

However, their enemies had soon responded to these new measures and started to build multiple tunnels as well, to flank their prepared positions. Then, some of the half-collapsed tunnels from previous engagements were also used to reconnect with the new ones, to open up avenues of retreat and attack for Saniya's troops. All the while, Antila's troops had built several fake entrances, which were meant to lure a small number of Saniya's warriors inside Antila's walls and then collapse the whole corridor from above. It was a tactic that had only yielded significant results once, but it had also prevented stronger counterattacks through the existing tunnels of Antila from Saniya's conservative commander.

After all of these moves and counter-moves, the few, simple routes underneath Antila had turned into a giant, chaotic maze. Taki was sure that only General Scolo, with his room full of underground maps, still fully understood what was going on down here. Even a scout like him, who had spent every day underground since the start of their construction, would sometimes get lost in the minor routes.

Within this labyrinthine construct, the sounds of fighting, the sounds of water, the sounds of the exhausted workers all combined to create a formless noise that even Taki's great ears got lost in. By now, his greatest talent was completely useless.

Even though his talents had ceased to be useful, he was still assigned to the tunneling crews. Maybe his commander had simply forgotten where he was in the chaos, or maybe he was too busy solving problems to bother with a minor role like him, but either way, Taki had been stuck down here.

After days of inactivity, he had been sent on an important and meaningful mission, for this underground hell would soon disappear in violent glory, and him and all the other soldiers would finally be able to go home. Because as of two hours ago, their tunnels had finally reached the stone foundations of Antila's walls.

Thus motivated by his work, Taki tried to filter out the constant noise in his ears and simply looked down into the dark gray mud that rose up his boots. Although its color was hard to discern in the dim light of the oil lamps, it still reflected the battlefield as a whole. Everything was dirt and water and blood, a hellish place, where only the strongest minds would prevail.

When he was stuck in his thoughts, he stumbled, maybe on a rock, or on a deeper puddle within the mud. He really couldn't tell, since his feet had long gone numb from the cold. Somehow, he held onto the wall with one hand to prevent his fall. At the same time, he held the barrel on his back with the other, wedging it between his body and the wall.

That was close.

Cold sweat dripped from his brow and into the mud down below. If he let go of the barrel, it might get wet, and then the powder inside would be useless. Now that they had reached the walls, there was only one thing left to do: Pile up a mountain of gunpowder, and then blow up the foundations.

Since he was a scout who had been down here for weeks and knew the tunnels better than most, he had been given the orders to help carry the barrels. He hadn't complained about his new assignment, since at least he would be useful again. Of course there were also workers and soldiers who had been in these tunnels with him all this time, but both still had their duties. Unlike the useless Taki, the soldiers especially were fighting hard so that the scout could fulfill his mission.

Somewhere to his right, the noise was even louder than elsewhere. Not only was the sound louder, it was also more intense, with far more human screams than anywhere else. If his ears hadn't completely given up on him, Saniya's troops were protecting the side tunnels again, and it seemed like the fighting was intense. However, the sounds were muffled, and far away, so it seemed like the main tunnel was still safe for now.

Even so, he reflexively looked down at the signal flare stuck in his waistband. Normally, it would be used to signal for help if he encountered danger during his scouting runs. Down here, it was completely useless. Down here, he would have to survive on his own.

He knew which way to go, since he had gone it countless times over the past months. Spurned by the distant danger in his ears, he trudged forward, every closer towards the walls that would end all of their suffering. Yet things could never be this simple in this blasted war.

Out of the darkness, a glint of light shot towards Taki, who stumbled back on reflex. When he looked up, he saw the axe head that had sailed past his neck by a hair.

Blast, how are they here already?

Weren't they still fighting in the side tunnels? How had enemy soldiers made it into the main tunnel to block his path? However, as he looked closer, he realized his mistake. Although the clothes were dirty and hard to identify in the dim light, the attacker in front of him undoubtedly wore the white uniform of Saniya's army.

"Aah! Die, you bastards!" Taki's ally screamed, as he raised his axe once more to attack.

Has he gone mad?

As the man got closer and Taki saw his unfocused eyes flit around the tunnel, he realized that he was exactly right. This wouldn't have been the first warrior Taki saw lose his mind down here.

"Stop! We're on the same side!"

As Taki backed up further, he shouted to bring the man back to his senses, against his better judgment. Of course, it was no use.

"Stop coming! Just die already!" the man screamed, and continued to swing his weapon at imaginary foes.

What now? Taki wondered. The man was clearly confused, but Taki was neither able nor eager to talk it out any further.

Just as he was hesitating, he felt the barrel on his back bump against the tunnel wall.

This is it, no more retreating. Let go of the barrel, and fight back.

He made the decision in a split second. Even if the powder got wet, he could always just return and get a new barrel. For now, his life was more important than his mission. His fingers had just begun to lift away from the wood, when once more, a single sound peeled out of the droning noise.

Grrr!

There really were dogs!

A giant, black beast charged through a side tunnel and leaped onto the confused man's arm. The animal bit down and wouldn't let go.

"Aaaah! Stop!" the confused man screamed in pain, while Taki still stood there with his back to the wall. Where had this dog come from? Who had unleashed it into the tunnels?

Doesn't matter.

Whatever was happening here, he had to get some distance between himself and danger first. Thus, he once more grabbed his barrel firmly, and stepped over the tangled, screaming, and growling bodies. Soon he charged ahead, once more into the darkness, and left behind the screams and growls. Soon, they rejoined the maddening cacophony of the tunnels once again.

There were no more interruptions on the way, so it wasn't long until he reached the end of the path. Before him was a narrow tunnel, dug so freshly that it still hadn't been fashioned with oil lamps at its very end. Through the dim light from the lamps behind, Taki could just about make out the dirty, gray stone at the very end.

There it finally was, Antila's wall, their greatest foe. And before it, his predecessor baggage carriers had already placed half a dozen barrels of gunpowder atop a wooden support that would keep away the water.

"Finally another appears," a relieved voice said. It had come from a man who had stood half-hidden behind the barrels.

"You are?" he asked, as he took a defensive stance, ready to drop the barrel and run at any moment. Although the man wore their uniform, Taki was no longer eager to trust appearances after what had happened earlier.

"I'm chemist Shulla, apprentice to Master Bombasticus, in charge of the explosions here," the young man said. "No one has come for a while, so I was worried. But with your barrel, we should have barely enough. No more time to waste, so put your cargo over there." He pointed at a spot atop another two barrels.

Taki walked over and labored to get his barrel on top of the others. Luckily, Shulla gave him a hand.

"Thank you, master," he finally said, glad to be free of his load.

"Of course. No time for the good part," the man said, as his eyes lingered on the barrels for a few seconds. Only after a while could he tear himself away and look at Taki again. "Now, you stay here for a while, and make sure that the barrels don't get wet, and that no one shows up to ruin our fireworks. Who knows how far away these rubes are now, always so eager to ruin our scientific endeavors."

"Wait, alone?" Taki asked in shock. "What will I do if they show up with more than one man?"

"This master would suggest you improvise," the man said, as he began to fiddle around with the barrels, though Taki couldn't quite see what he was doing in the darkness.

"And what will you do in the meantime, master?" Taki tried again. He couldn't be left here all alone, could he?

"My job," the master replied as he raised a coil of twisted rope in his hand. One end of the rope had been divided into several thinner strands, which then led into the barrels. At the moment, Shulla took another loose end and fed it through the hole atop Taki's barrel as well.

"Now I'll be laying the lute to the outside. Once this blows up, it will consume all the oxygen in the tunnel, and the shock wave will spread a long distance, since the pressure has no easy path to escape. There's a chance that the whole tunnel system will collapse, so I'll have to lay this all the way to the outside. Before the lute's turned on, I'll send someone to bring you out, so don't worry."

Although Taki didn't quite understand, it seemed that this master would have to travel through the chaos of the tunnels. Maybe staying here until the work was done would temporarily be safer.

"Understood, master." Taki said. "I will do my duty."

Thus the scout saluted, and the master nodded his head as he walked back out of the tunnel, the slowly unrolling rope trailing behind him. Meanwhile, Taki nervously stood in front of the barrel and fiddled with the supplies around his waist. Apart from the short dagger he had brought along just in case, there really wasn't anything useful. He couldn't clobber an invader with his telescope or amber glasses, could he?

In the end, he just sat atop a barrel and stared at the empty corridor. From the sounds he could hear, the fighting was still a good bit away from him, which filled him with hope.

After all, he wouldn't have to hold out much longer and their victory would be guaranteed. All he had to do was protect these barrels that no one else knew about. Surely, this would not be a difficult task, would it?