Friend…yes. He raised a hand and brought it crashing down into the ground, shattering the limb less than five feet from me, and I jumped damned near out of my skin, but I stayed still. You do not fear me, or reprisal for taking power from me.
The shattered limb now looked more like a hand made of platinum, significantly smaller so that he could put it onto my shoulder.
“I didn’t mean to take from you, Great One, only that your strength may shine onto your champion and through his weapon.” Had that been what I had done by cycling the mana around that mark?
Pebble confirms this even now, as he holds this weapon in his grip. It is a magnificent weapon, and I am proud to have my child wield it.
“It’s far from the best thing that we could give him, we had an idea for a staff and axe combination that I thought might be a good fit for him when he understands his power a little more.” The elemental was silent, so I thought to explain. “It would really just be an axe that amplifies his natural magic that he gains through you, kind of like what I did, but way better.”
The platinum hand on my shoulder grasped me almost-painfully tight. You would do all of this for him?
“How many times have you and your brothers and sisters stepped into the gap for my friends and me?” I couldn’t help the grin on my face as I patted his hand. “You give us power and respect where sometimes we hadn’t earned it. And when we do earn it, the rewards are great. But like I said, I’m helping out my friends—that includes you. If I may be so bold?”
Friends. I am proud of the work you have done, but it is not quite complete. The grating in my mind took on a pleasant tone, softening greatly. Tell Fainnir and my child to hold the weapon together, and strike it against the stone wall nearest the largest cap. There you will find further assistance in making this weapon greater, friend druid.
“Please, my friends call me Zeke.” He stood and loomed over me, his mouth attempting the word without sound first.
Zeke. Do this, friend Zeke, and continue to guard over my champion, and I will be happier all the more to reward you and those you hold dear. There was a great rumbling and trembling that felt like the world itself was about to split in two that stopped after a moment. A show of good faith and my support. The mountain nearest your village holds greater quality veins of ore and gems. Enjoy.
“Thank you, Great One, Shaker of the Ground.” I bowed my head, not being able to help the boyish grin I still had on my face.
Friends. Call me, Gorumbal. My head whipped up, and my eyes opened wide. Fainnir is ready to summon my stronger children. Tell him to have faith, and he will be cared for. Goodbye, friend Zeke. May your path be wide to fit all those who walk with you, and the mountain you tread accepting. Be stronger than the stone.
I blinked once more and opened my eyes in the cavern that we had been in with my friends staring at me.
“You cool?” Yohsuke asked worriedly as he glanced over me.
“Never better.” I glanced over at Pebble, who seemed to regard me differently. “Go get Fainnir.”
“Yes, stone friend.” Pebble tottered away quickly as I stood and scanned the area.
This place was weird, it was full of fungi. Large, hulking mushrooms and patches of smaller ones growing from the bottom of them grew all around us. The stone walls weren’t really slick, but it was a little damp and cool, but not musty like you might expect.
I found the “cap” I had to be looking for. A large mushroom that looked like a golden crown on a scepter of white and silver patches. Smaller red and green ones surrounded it on all sides, and the stone wall was visible. Good.
Pebble dragged a confused looking Fainnir behind him, and when the dwarf laid eyes on Behemoth, his eyes widened.
“What’s that?” He squeaked in awe.
“This is the beginning of a gift, but I have other news first.” The others had gathered around as well, so I spoke to everyone as I continued, “First, there has been a shift in the world, and the Earth primordial has sent a lot of love to the mountain near the village. It’s going to be a material rich site if we want to cash in on it, so we need to get word to the others. Maebe, you want to send the message to Vrawn and Vilmas?”
“I would be delighted to after this is all concluded and before our next lesson.” Maebe took the raven from my hand, and I looked to Fainnir, but her voice stopped me, “You may want to speak to her as well.”
I turned back to her, accepting that I might sound like an ass at this moment, “I know, and I would like to, but this needs to happen now. I’ll try later.”
She nodded, a little less accepting than I had hoped, but I needed to focus and turned back to Fainnir.
“Your patron has stated that it’s time to summon one of his stronger children.” I could see the trepidation on his face as he looked over to Pebble. “He has asked that you have faith. I don’t know what that means exactly, but he’s never steered me wrong, and I trust him. You should too.”
Before Fainnir could say anything, I held Behemoth out to both of them. “Both of you are to take this weapon and strike the stone here behind me. Do it together.”
Fainnir held the weapon with reverence and took it in his left hand as he turned to Pebble. “Back to back?”
Pebble shrugged and put his back to Fainnir’s once they were closer to the wall and put his nubby hand on the item.
“One. Two. Three!” Fainnir and Pebble reached out and struck the wall with Behemoth. A clang of metal against stone, and then nothing.
“Maybe we need to whack it again?” Fainnir wondered out loud as he pulled the weapon back to do so.
“Patience, young one,” A voice tumbled through the air. We looked around, and a cracking sound and a shift shook us. All who stood fell to their knees and witnessed the sundering of the earthen wall next to the kingly cap.
A pair of large, glowing-crimson eyes blinked at us from the crevice. It reminded me of the axe’s description, and that had me a little worried.
The sound of something large scenting the air reached me as a great horned head breached the tear in the stone.
“I am not so easily moved as I would have been centuries past,” the figure stated, the deep baritone of it sounded like a landslide.
The eyes glared only at Fainnir as the second half of the creature, easily the same size as Gorumbal or larger came through and moved past us. His dense muscular arms made the ground quake even more with each heavy step, and his chest and back rippled with the same powerful strength.
A bestial snout topped by a deep black nose and heavy scarring along the ridge of it scented the air once more before Fainnir, the red eyes almost blocked by the thick black horns jutting six feet from the skull like the horns of a bull, blinked curiously at the diminutive form before him. While I appreciated the size of this monster, I noted small, oddly-spaced growths sprouting from them that looked like bone-like protrusions and his deep royal purple fur covered in dirt.
This was a magnificent beast.
“Ah, so you are the one that the whispers seem to hold in high regard.” the hot breath roiled from his mouth, almost like a dense fog that seemed to encompass all of us.
Behemoth level 76
There were rows of buffs under his name and health bar that trailed off until I realized that he was speaking again.
“…yourself worthy, child?”
Fainnir, stared up from his rump with his weapon almost forgotten in his hand at his side, his mouth opening, then shutting in silence.
“How long has it been since I have eaten, I wonder?” Drops of saliva flecked the ground as thick bands of the liquid dribbled from the sides of the behemoth’s mouth. “All of these morsels to take as recompense for my wasted time.”
My friends and I readied for an attack, my preparation being to cast Aspect of the Ursolon and readying Magus Bane.
The behemoth’s large head shifted, only a little, with teeth bared and eyes wandering slowly over all of us.
Stone shook on
ce more, and it felt like the roof of the place would fall to crush us.
“No!” Fainnir barked and stood, his knees quivered, and his teeth chattered. I could see a wet spot having started on his thigh. I couldn’t blame him. “I…if ye feel ye’ve wasted yer time, then ye can have me! They got nothin’ to do with it!”
The behemoth’s head ducked down swiftly until a single, glowing red globe stared widely into the dwarf’s face from a foot away. “You would stand, coward? I see no threat here. Time to eat.”
The beast raised a paw and began to move away, toward me, his jaws opening wide with teeth shining against the light.
“I would fight!” Fainnir roared and stamped his foot. “Pebble, to me!”
Earthen Spears erupted in front of the behemoth and snapped the creature’s mouth shut.
Fainnir leapt forward, Behemoth flashing toward and scored a small slash against the beast’s hide.
“Fainnir, stop!” Pebble cried and burst from the ground with his arms outstretched to fend off a blow.
“Yes!” The creature growled triumphantly, he tossed his head the air, and I had to dive to the side to avoid being gored. “Yes, puny dwarf. Reach into the bowels of your soul, face your foes as you just have, and all will kneel to your might!”
Fainnir, still not realizing that things—at least for now—seemed to have calmed down, was still trying to march forward to attack the beast.
“I’ll die fendin’ ye off, ye long-horned shoe!” He howled, and Pebble pushed him back again. “Get out of ma way ye pesky boot rock, I gotta protect me kin!”
Yohsuke threw a small stone at the dwarf’s chest, and it knocked a little of his bluster aside. “Would you pay attention?”
The dwarf blinked and roared again, his new axe held high as he charged forward. “Storm Company!”
“Oh, that sounds badass!” Jaken hooted just before the behemoth roared so loudly and violently that Fainnir flew into a growth of mushrooms across the room only to land in a pile of spores and pain. His health had dropped by 90%, and he was sorely dazed.
Jaken, Bokaj, and I all buffeted the dwarf with healing energy and turned our sights back on the monster. Muu sidled over to stand between Fainnir and the behemoth.
“The weapon, Zeke!” Pebble called as he raced toward Fainnir. “Give him the axe!”
“I will collect it myself.” The behemoth snorted and attempted to collect the axe, but his horns kept stopping him as they gouged large slits into the soft ground. “You, scaled one. Give the weapon to me.”
“You gonna eat me?” Muu asked in retort, and I fought the urge to scream at him.
“Could you stop me?” The red eyes blinked at him, and Muu thought for a moment.
“No, but I’m really stringy, and I would probably give you gas.” He shrugged and stepped forward to snatch the weapon off the ground then offered it to the monster.
The large head whipped forward and collected the item without severing the arm attached to it. Though the horns had come very close to goring him where he stood.
With the weapon in his toothy maw, the behemoth sat for a moment, closed his eyes in concentration, and hummed deeply from his throat.
After a few minutes, he spat the item onto the ground, saliva splattering the ground as it landed. He licked his chops then began to back into the crevice his entry had made until only his head was visible.
“When he awakens, tell him this. You are worthy so long as you stand for your own righteous cause, and so long as the earth holds you in high regard. Do not forget who you are, what you stand for, or run from the battles you must face, and my bite will be yours. Grow strong.”
He blinked at us, a low growl trickling from his throat. “The dungeon senses my presence and attempts to ensnare me. Be careful moving on. Good luck.”
His bulky head pulled into the darkness, his horns snaking in behind him, and a rumbling pressure sealed the stone.
“That was seriously some S.E. type shit, man,” Yohsuke spoke with a hint of reverence in his tone, but his skin was pale.
“Yeah, it was, I wonder how much the gods took from the worlds they glimpsed from in our culture?” The thought of it forced a chill down my spine and shivered, as Jaken and I bustled toward Fainnir. He was whole and hale, but unconscious.
“He is with father,” Pebble stated, sinking into the ground. “Keep him safe.”
I glanced over at Muu, who shoved me away, and I went to collect Behemoth.
As soon as I touched it, I noted the differences in it.
Behemoth’s Claw
+ 16 to attacks, +13 bonus damage to earth aspected spells
Added Effects: Returns to the wielder’s hand when summoned up to three miles apart.
Blessing of the Behemoth – Randomly adds damage to attacks or a certain debuff to attacked foes. Any wielder deemed unworthy risks detrimental debuffs upon use.
When crashing stone lays low the land and chasms split the skin of the world, the creature who stares out of his nest of stone and bones sees only you, wielder, and pray you be worthy.
Axe created by adept smith Jaken Warmecht and craftsman woodworker Bokaj and enchanted by adept enchanter Zekiel Erebos.
“Well, shit.” I whistled and tossed the weapon to Muu.
He caught it deftly and shouted, “Why the fuck wasn’t this made for me?!”
“Because you suck?” Bokaj smirked, and Muu just narrowed his eyes at the elf. “Mainly because this wasn’t expected.”
“That’s true. I mean, who the fuck would have thought that behemoths would exist here?” Yohsuke still had a note of wonder in his voice but had begun to sit in a meditative position. Maebe had been teaching him and Balmur how to press their awareness into the shadows.
“Who’s up for a scrap?” I called, and Bokaj winked at me. The aspect spell I’d cast beginning to fade and allowed it.
I adjusted my neck, and he and I went to town on each other.
What better way to address the nervous energy that had been coursing through us? Could we have taken him? Not without everything we had and Maebe helping us. Even then, I couldn’t hide the fact that I thought one of us would have gone down. And that was something I wasn’t willing to deal with right away.
***
Fainnir, finally awake and ready to rock after we had spoken to him, was ridiculously excited to move on as the rest of us ate our breakfast.
“I feel as though I could wrestle a bear!” The younger dwarf snarled joyfully, his axe in hand.
The others turned their gazes to me, even Maebe, expectantly, but I just smiled and let the kid have his fun.
“Hey—hey—pay attention, damn it!” Yohsuke said, his voice a bark as he clomped too close to the cooking fire and almost put it out before the toast was done. “I’ll have Zeke sit on you if you don’t pull your head out of your ass.”
“Sorry, Uncle Yoh.” Fainnir hung his head a little, moving away from the fire a bit.
“You going to summon the stronger elemental, so you’re fighting fit, or what?” Fainnir glanced at me and sighed at my question. “You’re ready. Do it. Have some faith.”
Fainnir glanced at Pebble, and the small elemental simply nodded once. “Pebble, go home.”
Pebble’s body fell apart in a pile of rubble that sifted into the ground and disappeared like cotton candy in water.
Fainnir closed his eyes and dispensing with the dramatic phrasing and gestures, stomped his foot three times on the ground, and raised his voice, “Warriors of stone with hearts of steel, come to my voice and make my enemies kneel. I summon you forth and bind you to me, let us form the pact!”
Shifting stone and slight tremors alerted us to a presence, a larger, almost seven-foot-tall stone golem that made Pebble look like a toddler. Craggy stones with veins of iron, steel, and copper flashed in the light of the flames as it moved to stand before Fainnir.
“Thank you for coming, are you willing to partner with me and be my defender?” Fainnir asked politely.<
br />
Ruby protrusions that looked like eyes stared blankly as the creature raised its left hand, and it was actually a hand, until it was palm up and presented to Fainnir.
“Blood from my body to seal the pact.” Fainnir took a belt knife and slit his left palm open with an audible hiss, his HP bar sinking a little as he did so. He placed his palm on the elementals and spoke again, “Blood to stone, stone to stone, and stone to blood, again. You and I are bound, and with the binding, I name you Grav.”
Under the eyes, the rubies shining now with some kind of animated life, a mouth formed, weird and slit-like in creation, and the creature spoke, “I serve, Master.”
We watched, rapt as the veins of metal in the elemental’s body glowed, burning where they were but trickles of the material traveled up the body and down the arm until molten metal reached Fainnir’s hand. The metal coursed over his flesh, his grunt of tolerance evident as it settled and cooled, having taken half his health.
Being an elemental mage was looking to be a little more brutal than I had expected.
Blinking at the exchange, I cast Regrowth on the kid then moved to stand next to the newly-named Grav, so I could see the marking on his hand that stopped and faded just above the wrist. It was a swirling mass of gray, black, and copper that reminded me of a glove, but as I touched Fainnir’s arm, it felt pliable like his actual skin. There was a circle in the middle of the back of his hand where it was just his normal skin color, though.
“There, it be done.” He clapped his hands together, taking a moment to grow accustomed to the new addition to his hands. “Now, to try this. Pebble!”
Grav shrank into the ground, and Pebble sprouted from the spot he had vacated, looking the same as he had before.
“I am pleased to see that it worked,” Pebble observed aloud as he glanced to Fainnir’s hand. “The bonding worked. Excellent. And the summoning costs minimal mana?”
“Just like the big guy said,” Fainnir confirmed, leaving me a question.
“What do you mean, ‘minimal mana?’” I asked, stepping closer.
Into the Darkness: A Fantasy LitRPG Adventure (Axe Druid Book 4) Page 42
