by Allan Joyal
Roquel spun to her right. She kicked off the wall and moved behind Kalacho to land on his left. The veteran fighter stepped to his right and raised his shield as the charging kobolds slowed down and raised their claws.
The females are still trying to retreat,” Koristal said. “Try to avoid killing them. It’s clear they are innocent in this.”
“I can’t believe the dungeon didn’t do something with them,” Gee’if said as he tried to push the wave of kobolds back. A couple of the larger males reached out over the females and clawed as his shield, but the sheer number of bodies between the fighters prevented them from reaching the adventurer.
“The avatar is gathering mana!” Faestari said as the stone started to glow brightly.
Kalacho charged forward a dozen steps. His shield slammed into the body of a surprised kobold. The impact threw the kobold into the air. It crashed into the body of the kobold avatar with a sickening crack. All the other kobolds in the room froze and turned to look at their leader.
Chapter 31: When the Mana Flows
“Well, that confirms that the dungeon avatar is stone,” Kalacho said worriedly. “How are we supposed to stop it?”
Several of the kobolds that had been guarding the avatar roared and resumed their charge. Four lunged for Kalacho. They grabbed at the adventurer’s shield as Roquel rushed forward.
The female adventurer kicked out at the nearest kobold. The visible part of her thigh was covered in glowing veins of mana. The impact on the creature’s shoulder could be heard above the roar of the charging kobolds. Her target crumpled to the ground, knocking another kobold down as it collapsed.
The other two had managed to get a grip on Kalacho’s shield. The adventurer backed up, dragging the duo forward. He thrust his sword at one as the other used the leverage from gripping the shield to reach for the adventurer’s face with its claws.
“Gee’if, I said don’t hurt the females!” Koristal cried out from behind them as four of the small female creatures were thrown into the air.
“I haven’t attacked them. The force is coming from the floor,” Gee’if called out in a panic. “I think the dungeon is doing something with the floor.”
Faestari’s avatar floated into view just behind Koristal. “I’m doing what I can to keep him from directly using his magic on you,” she said in a strained voice.
“You can use magic?” Roquel asked as she smashed another kobold to the ground. The woman’s right leg was covered in blood oozing from a trio of slashes in her side.
“Roquel! You need healing,” Koristal called out. “Fall back.”
“If I move, they take down Kalacho. There are too many,” Roquel said in a tired voice. The old adventurer turned so that her left side faced the kobolds.
“Gee’if can you hold them?” Koristal asked.
The adventurer had placed his right hand behind his shield. The flat of his blade was pressed against the shield as he braced himself against the tide of kobolds coming down the passage. High pitched cries of pain and despair rang out as the press of bodies crushed any kobold that fell down.
Gee’if kept thrusting his shield forward, trying to force the smaller kobolds to the side. He hoped they would press up against the walls and get out of the way of the few adult warriors he could see forcing the females to advance. It appeared to be working until one of the females started to squeal in pain. As she dove forward her fur caught fire and the stone of the wall began to melt.
The temperature in the tunnel started to rise. The kobolds in front of Gee’if broke and started to run away as molten rock broke through the side of the tunnel. Gee’if was forced to frantically retreat as the tunnel began to fill up with lava.
“We need to move!” Gee’if shouted as he stumbled away from the lava. The molten rock seemed to be flowing upward to fill the tunnel as he ran away.
“I can hold it off for a few minutes,” Faestari said.
“How? This isn’t your domain!” Roquel asked as Koristal reached her.
The priestess quickly knelt down to look at the adventurer’s injuries. “May Cuan Bi provide succor and strength,” she said quietly as she pressed her hand to Roquel’s side.
Kalacho grunted. “I can’t advance. There are too many kobolds in the way.”
“The lava and Faestari’s barrier have cleared my side. I’m coming to help,” Gee’if said. “But where is the lava coming from?”
“The dungeon!” Faestari called out. “It’s called on the volcano it created and is burning new lava tubes to try to destroy all of us.”
“You’d be safe,” Roquel said with a snort as she moved forward. The veteran adventurer was throwing punches and kicks as she moved to relieve Kalacho. The kobolds howled in anger as her attack forced them to retreat.
“Only if that dungeon doesn’t figure out how to try to chain me. I used a technique to capture and drain his avatar once,” Faestari said worriedly as Gee’if ran past her. She looked back towards their exit to see that the lava flow had burned a new hole in the floor. The glow of the molten stone showed that the kobolds on that side had retreated to the nearest intersection where they were setting up a defense against the group escaping.
Koristal stepped back from where she had healed Roquel and gazed down the hallway. “I hope we have another route we can use to exit this place.”
“Let’s see if we can finish what we came for,” Gee’if called.
Kalacho glanced to his left as Gee’if stepped up next to him. “There are only a few more enhanced kobolds. Think you can hold them off for a moment? I think I can get to the avatar.”
Gee’if nodded. “Make it a quick thrust. I won’t be able to follow up and rescue you.”
Kalacho raised his shield and brought it down on the arms of a kobold that tried to duck under it. The force drove the kobold to the ground and Kalacho immediately kicked the monster in the head before stepping forward.
“Don’t!” Roquel shouted vainly as she lunged forward trying to grab at the adventurer. She missed and was assailed by two kobolds. The kobolds forced her against the wall of the cavern as Kalacho approached the avatar.
The avatar was looking back down the passage and barking something. There was a roaring sound echoing through the hallways that appeared to be worrying it. Kalacho smiled at the distraction and brought his sword down on the creature’s left arm.
The sword Kalacho was using shattered. The kobolds guarding the avatar roared in fury and lunged at Kalacho as the man dropped the useless hilt and retreated. He put both hands on his shield as the kobolds tore at it trying to claw him.
Gee’if tried to slide closer to Kalacho, but the avatar bounded forward swinging its empty hand like a club. Gee’if had to dive away from the punch opening up a gap that the dungeon avatar charged through.
Koristal screamed in terror. She raised both her hands up and a faint shield appeared. The shield repelled the avatar. It stumbled backwards with a cry of dismay as Kalacho and Gee’if desperately tried to close up the gap before additional kobolds rushed through.
The duo managed to stop the kobolds, but the avatar turned back and roared. His followers began barking loudly. “He’ll tear us apart if we leave him behind us,” Kalacho said worriedly.
Roquel leapt towards the kobold avatar. It stood there with its left arm outstretched, but the experienced adventurer ducked under the arm and landed a heavy kick on the chest of the creature. The kick lifted it from the floor and drove it back against the wall with a crash of stone on stone.
Gee’if and Kalacho backed up rapidly until the avatar was once again in front of them. The dog-faced statue glared at them with unblinking eyes as Kalacho pulled a dagger from behind his back.
“That isn’t going to allow you to harm the avatar,” Gee’if said. “And I don’t have anything that will harm him either.”
The avatar roared as it watched the adventurers. “Bad, bad. You come to kill. You come to slay. My people. I protect. You won’t kill.”
“It thinks we’re after the kobolds and is saying it will defend them,” Koristal said.
The ceiling above them was starting to glow. The hallway was rapidly becoming hot.
“Damn,” Roquel said. “It’s summoning more lava. Gee’if, Kalcho, we need to charge and force him back. Faestari, can’t you stop him?”
“Not without burning mana. I can channel a little since we are inside a dungeon’s domain, but he’s got far more control than I do here. I’m able to shield you from direct attacks, but that’s about it,” Faestari said in a tired voice.
“You heard her,” Koristal said. “Raise your shields.”
Gee’if and Kalacho raised their shields up. The kobold avatar gave a bark of dismay and then began retreating down the tunnel. “Charge!” Gee’if shouted as the monster continued to back away.
The group could hear kobold howls of fear as the two fighters began to trot forward. One brave kobold rushed forward to shield the avatar. Gee’if knocked it down before it could attack. Kalacho followed up by slamming the point on the bottom of his shield into the creature’s neck. The crack of bones breaking could be heard echoing in the tunnels.
The kobold dungeon howled in anger and fear. The kobolds accompanying him howled and charged forcing Gee’if and Kalacho to halt their advance.
“We have to get past these guys,” Kalacho said in a strained voice. “Faestari can’t protect us from the other dungeon forever.”
“It doesn’t seem interested in making changes to the tunnels,” Faestari said. “I’m not sure what it knows it can and can’t do.”
“It seems to do very well making the other kobolds stronger,” Gee’if said with a strain as the mass of kobolds pressed against his shield. “Can I get some help here?”
Roquel started to step forward. The kobolds pushing against Gee’if shoved harder. One of the ones in the second row climbed over his kin and dove over Gee’if’s raised shield. Claws raked Gee’if’s shoulder as the kobold dragged him down.
“Gee!” Koristal shouted as Roquel rushed forward.
The veteran dungeon killer’s kicks and punches drove the kobolds back. Two failed to rise as Roquel stepped over Gee’if. The man was clutching his shoulder with both hands. He writhed on the floor attempting to get out from under the bodies covering him.
“If we don’t go on the offensive, these kobolds will overwhelm us. That’s probably how this dungeon keeps the other creatures out. Hey! Why aren’t the kobolds being rushed by whatever they were fighting?” Kalacho asked.
Roquel nodded. “That might not help us much if they do attack. From what Faestari has said the other creatures are better individual fighters than these kobolds. It’s been the numbers of kobolds that allow them to win.”
“Which they are doing now,” Koristal said worried. The young priestess knelt by Gee’if and put her hands on his torn shoulder. “And I’m not going to be able to keep healing you. Cuan Bi is a giving goddess, but soon she’ll expect me to stand on my own.”
Roquel said nothing. A glow burst from her hands. The old dungeon killer began using her punches to launch kobolds into the walls of the tunnel as she advanced on the dungeon avatar.
“Hey!” Kalacho shouted after one of the flailing kobolds nearly hit him. “Don’t send them towards me. I’m trying to cover your flank.”
Roquel ignored the shout. She slammed her left foot into the ground and spun to her right. Her right heel swept three kobolds from her path. The instant she could see a clear path towards the dungeon avatar she charged.
Koristal screamed in impotent fear as the stone kobold stretched out its left arm and took a swipe at the charging woman.
Roquel seemed to bend in half at the waist. She ducked under the swipe causing the stone kobold to stumble forward. The monster’s right arm flailed widely as it tried to avoid falling. Roquel dropped to the ground and then fell onto her back as her left leg kicked upwards.
Her kick was perfectly aimed. The instep of her left foot connected with the arm of the dungeon avatar just in front of its elbow. There was a thunderous crack and the arm and hand separated from the rest of the figure. The kobolds surrounding the avatar howled in panic as the hand flew through the air towards Koristal and Faestari.
Kalacho lunged away from the kobolds he had been fighting. He shoved his shield ahead of him knocking the hand towards the ground. It bounced once and came to a rest just in front of Koristal.
The kobold minions started to yip triumphantly as the stone of the arm began to merge with the floor of the passage. They pressed forward, ignoring Roquel as they attempted to reach their master. The former body was already crumbling as Roquel rolled away and sprang to her feet.
“It’s going to get away!” Gee’if shouted worriedly. He had managed to sit up, but was still clutching his still healing shoulder.
Koristal surprised her fellow dungeon delvers by pulling a small crystal hammer from a pouch. “Cuan Bi, may you lay this troubled spirit to a well-deserved rest!” she shouted as she brought the hammer down. It struck the center of the gem still clutched in the stone arm of the dungeon avatar.
A magical and musical chime of surprising clarity and power ran out. The tunnels shook for a moment drawing bays of dismay from the kobolds.
A whirlwind of light and color spiraled out of the shattered remnants of the gem that Koristal had struck. Faestari gasped.
“You did it,” the young dungeon avatar whispered. “But we should be going. I can already feel the tunnels straining now that the web of mana from the dungeon avatar is gone. The volcano is going to cause these tunnels to collapse.”
“We should try to save the kobolds,” Koristal said firmly as she stood up. “They are victims in this just as much as all the humans who have been raided.”
Right after Koristal finished speaking the kobolds near the group all raced away. Howls could be heard as the dog-men retreated from the small group.
“I think they already know,” Kalacho said. The warrior got to his feet and looked around. “I know that a dungeon is supposed to provide treasure to adventurers, but I get a feeling this one has that backwards as well. Let’s leave, but how? The way we came in is blocked thanks to those lava flows.”
“Follow me,” Faestari said. “I can sense a route we can use. But hurry. The domain is fading and once it’s gone, I won’t be able to maintain this spirit avatar.”
“You have the lead,” Roquel said. “Everyone, let’s not bother with loot. It’s time to be going.”
Chapter 32: Exiting Under a Hostile Glare
The quarter of dungeon killers followed Faestari as she led them deeper into the mountain. At the first turn in the passage she pointed out a shadowy opening.
“This leads to the birthing chambers I saw when I scouted. We’ll enter in the middle and can then return to the surface through the main entrance,” Faestari said.
“How did you find this?” Gee’if asked as Faestari’s spirit flowed through the narrow opening.
“When I scouted some of the female kobolds talked. They didn’t like the dungeon and were smuggling some of their young out of the domain. I knew there had to be a way into the birthing area,” Faestari said. “It’s safe on this side. The females have already taken all the young out.”
“I hope the soldiers refrain from killing the kobolds if they flee deeper into the mountains,” Koristal said sadly as she lay down on the ground and wriggled through the hole in the tunnel wall.
Gee’if grunted as he knelt down and looked at the hole. “I’m not sure the kobolds will be all that successful at surviving the winter. Most of the males were changed by the dungeon, weren’t they? They’ll die now.”
“Slowly,” Faestari said sadly as Koristal grabbed the tattered remnants of Gee’ifs armor vest and pulled him through the hole.
The entire mountain shook. A few stones rolled wildly down the tunnel. Kalacho had to raise his shield and bat one away.
“Go,” Roquel said firmly. “I have
my spirit support. I can survive if a single stone hits me. But we need to hurry.”
Kalacho dropped and somersaulted through the narrow opening. He finished his passage on his hands and knees, and quickly scrambled out of the way. “Clear,” he said loudly.
Roquel appeared through the hole a moment later. “There is lava flowing through that tunnel. Its moving slowly, but we need to get out of here now.”
Faestari pointed to the group’s left. “This way. We should meet another passage leading back to the surface after about fifty paces.”
The group started trotting in the direction Faestari indicated. They could just barely see the opening to the main hallway when two figures appeared in a shimmer of light and a crash of thunder.
Faestari looked up and gasped. She could immediately recognize both figures. One was a faceless body with shrunken arms and legs. She bowed to it as she tried to peek at the other. It was the mass of red maggots she had met at Wynterhold’s during her failed attempt to make peace with the other dungeons.
“So, these adventurers succeeded,” the Great Dungeon proclaimed. “The kobold dungeon is no more and its mana disperses.”
“And I would be remiss if I rewarded them by not leading them to safety,” Faestari said firmly. “May I ask why you have come?”
“Impertinent!” the mass of maggots called out. “You are not who we wished to speak to this day.”
Roquel snorted. “Look I can tell you right now that if we don’t manage to get out of these tunnels before they collapse nothing you say to us will matter. How about you wait until we are outside?”
The Great Dungeon turned as if it was looking over at the other dungeon avatar. “I see that the habits of this young dungeon are contagious. No human would dare to show me such disrespect.”
Gee’if and Kalacho looked at each other and then ran through the maggot avatar. “Forget them!” Gee’if called. “We don’t have much time.”
The spirit field of maggots howled in anger. “No human should ever touch me! A pseudopod formed and lashed out at Gee’if only to pass through the man as he reached the exit to the chamber.
