The Dreadful Hunt

by J. E. Thompson

  “Those are arrows, elf.”

  “Oh, cool! I need arrows.”

  Kaylin rose to her feet, wobbling in position until she steadied herself.

  “Let’s go!”

  “Are you sure—”

  Vexx fell silent as Kaylin bounded forward. A wickedly sharp cleaver sliced down from the ceiling, barely missing her armor as she charged past. Shy and Vexx cautiously weaved past it as it trembled in place. The succubus suddenly started laughing, and Vexx glanced backward for any threats.

  “Your britches are falling down, elf!”

  “What?” Kaylin’s echoing voice boomed. She paused, bending down to pull up her armored greaves as they slid down. A blast of fire magic soared by just above Kaylin, radiating intense heat as she concentrated on hauling her armor back up. Just as the fire trap faded away, Kaylin straightened.

  “Got real hot all of a sudden,” she thought aloud, then she moved forward toward a solid metal door. She banged into it with a clang, her visor squeaking as she struggled to raise it. “I can’t see a damn thing in this,” Kaylin muttered.

  “Stopped by a door after all that,” Shyola shook her head.

  “A magical door,” the door replied cheerfully.

  “Shit!” Shyola yelped, stepping back. “Oh, you startled me.”

  “Never fear, humans! It has been centuries since anyone has made it here! Let’s play a game, shall we?”

  “No,” Kaylin said, stepping up to the door and scraping at it with her gauntlets. “Where’s the handle? Open up!”

  “Haha!” the magical door let out a strained chortle. “Seriously, though, don’t do that. You need to solve a riddle.”

  “I hate riddles,” Vexx said, banging on the magical door with his wolf-head staff. “I could try blasting it, but with this cursed staff, who knows what would happen.”

  “I think my whip could—”

  “Just solve the riddle!” the magical door shouted, its enchanted voice echoing down the corridor. “Sorry, but…seriously. Alright? The more you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?”

  A strained silence fell.

  “Souls,” Shy snapped.

  “No.”

  “Gold?” Vexx attempted.

  “No.”

  “Beads.”

  “N—what?”

  “You know!” Kaylin said excitedly. “Every time I grab a bead, I always drop at least one more. That’s why I can’t make jewelry anymore.”

  The dungeoneers stood in silence as the magical door struggled to find a suitable answer.

  “Like I said, Master, I think I can cut through this with my whip,” Shy suggested. “Stand back, Kaylin.”

  “It’s footsteps!” the magical door shouted. “Footsteps! The more you take, the more you leave behind. What is wrong with you people?”

  “No, I always keep my footsteps on my feet,” Kaylin glared at the door, slamming a gauntleted fist into the magical door. “Open up!”

  A squeaking sound filled the corridor as the magical door begrudgingly swung open.

  “I have waited centuries,” it grumbled to itself, “looking to test any visitors for signs of exceptional intelligence. Centuries wasted! It was all in vain.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Shy said, squeezing past Kaylin and hurrying ahead. “We were intelligent enough to make you open. Oh, look at all this treasure!”

  Vexx strained forward, waiting impatiently as Kaylin slowly clanked into the treasure room. Row upon row of potions sparkled, but they were nothing compared to the wooden chests below.

  Shy opened them one by one.

  “All unlocked!” she said excitedly. “Oh, look at all this gold!”

  Kaylin staggered forward, wrenching her helmet off. “I can’t stand being in this anymore,” she grumbled, tossing the oversized armor aside and grimacing as a few of the arrows embedded in the armor scraped her arm.

  But Vexx ignored her, instead scooping all the treasures that he could into his rucksack. Before long, all the chests were empty, and he winced as he settled his rucksack over his shoulder.

  “Ooh, I’m a bit overloaded…but I’m not leaving all this behind.”

  “Kaylin, look at this one,” Shyola said, sliding an open chest across toward the elf. “Scale mail and a recurve bow! Looks like it was meant for an archer.”

  “Oh, good!” Kaylin called out, grabbing an orange potion. She took a long swig of it and tossed it aside. “Excellent, that will do just fine.”

  “Kaylin,” Vexx said, looking at the empty potion bottle warily. “Why did you just drink that?”

  “Huh? I cut myself on these arrows, so I needed a healing potion.”

  “Yeah, but…that was orange, not red. It isn’t a healing potion.”

  “Hmm…” Kaylin winced as she patted the cut on her arm. “You’re right,” she admitted.

  “And that’s been bottled for centuries…”

  “I’m feeling a bit…queasy…”

  Kaylin burped suddenly, instantly disappearing. The recurve bow hovered in the air, and Shyola let out a delighted cackle.

  “You drank an invisibility potion, you moron!”

  “What? Oh…”

  Vexx scratched at his head, seeing the bow hovering in place and moving as Kaylin turned around. The scale armor lifted up in the air.

  “Well, that could still be useful,” Vexx admitted. “We need to sneak our way out, after all.” He scanned the rest of the potions for any more orange ones but didn’t see any. He grabbed a few multihued potions and placed them in his already heavy rucksack.

  Doctor Fansee might pay me for these when we see him again.

  “You’re the only one who can’t go invisible,” Shyola teased.

  “Yeah!” the hovering assemblage of scale metal armor agreed.

  “Kaylin, you can’t wear that,” Vexx said. “It’s totally visible.”

  “Oh…but I just got this!”

  “Look, I’ll carry everything,” Vexx muttered, already knowing he was going to regret it. “Hand the mail over, and I’ll give it back to you when we’re safe.”

  The metal slid down to the ground. “And the rucksack too?”

  “Well…” Vexx trailed off, wondering how much he could carry. He scanned the old potions once again. “Shy…do you think this one is a potion of strength?”

  “Hmm?” She looked over. “Let me take a whiff,” she said, uncorking the bottle. “Ooh…that’s kind of foul…but yeah, probably.”

  “Probably?”

  “They didn’t standardize colors like that back in the old days,” Shy said. “And it might have spoiled. But just because something is trapped for centuries doesn’t mean that it’s bad. Come on, drink it! Then we can take all this back and have a party to remember.” She paused thoughtfully. “Or one to forget. Either way.”

  “Fair enough,” Vexx said, taking a long swallow. He finished the potion, gagging at the taste, and he tossed the empty bottle into the corner of the room. He straightened, easily hefting the two rucksacks along with his weighty coin purse, and he wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. “Wonderful, it actually was a strength potion. How long do you think this lasts?”

  In the distance, he thought he heard more war horns. And when he concentrated, he definitely heard some skittering.

  “Vexx…” Kaylin said in a warning tone, though she was invisible.

  Shyola disappeared at once.

  “Just follow our lead,” Shy said as she moved past. “We’ll guide you out!”

  Evading The Dragon Cult

  Vexx hurried through the ruins, ducking behind an ancient column. Slowly, quietly, two Lizardmen stalked past with their tridents at the ready. They didn’t notice him as they made their way toward the emptied treasure room.

  “To the left, then forward a hundred paces.”

  Vexx nearly jumped from the warm breath that tickled his ear. He nodded, moving forward and following Shyola’s whispered instructions. Beams of sunlight cut through from o
utside.

  “To the ruined fountain up ahead, then we’ll make our way out.”

  Vexx picked up the pace and ran toward where the ruins fell apart to reveal the interior of the fort.

  A girlish squeal echoed through the corridor, and a rock skittered across the floor.

  “Dammit! I tripped,” Kaylin whispered furiously.

  “Be careful, elf!” Shy hissed.

  “It’s hard to see where you’re walking when you’re invisible,” she sniffed.

  A snort broke the silence.

  Vexx darted forward, ducking behind cover just as two more patrolling Lizardmen crept by, looking around for whatever had made that sound.

  The Lizardmen stepped past him, moving their tridents from right to left as they sifted through the rubble. Then Kaylin burped, and suddenly, she was visible; naked and startled as the Lizardmen glanced over. She burped again, turning invisible once more, just as two gobs of acidic spit soared toward where she stood.

  “Damn, that was close!” her voice echoed, and Vexx could hear skittering as the Lizardmen started searching for her.

  He felt a tug on his sleeve.

  “Come on,” Kaylin whispered. Together, they sprinted away from the ruins and toward the ancient fountain. Shyola suddenly appeared on the top, standing proud and tall like a regal statue, even as she glared sternly down at the two other dungeoneers. “Took you long enough. Look, it’s a straight shot to the fishing boat and then we can get out of here.”

  “I’m with you,” Vexx panted, and Kaylin burped again, materializing out of nowhere.

  She blinked over at Vexx, blushing furiously, then she shielded her body.

  “Um…I want my armor now.”

  Wordlessly, Vexx handed it over, and Kaylin quickly put her new scale mail armor back on. It seemed to suit her well enough, along with the recurve bow she quickly strung.

  “Come on, come on, let’s go!” she insisted. Shyola led the way as they bounded forward. Pollen drifted through the air, mixing with the pungent odors of the swamp as they worked their way through the marshes along the edges of the ruined fort. Kaylin sneezed, disappearing again, and Vexx watched in fascination as a set of armor appeared to be running beside a floating recurve bow.

  “Bless you,” Vexx mumbled as they hurried through the jungle.

  “I don’t think that’s good enough, Vexx.” Kaylin frowned at him. “I’m pretty sure removing a curse takes a lot more than just that.”

  “I…never mind,” Vexx sighed. They continued at a steady pace, the rucksacks growing heavier as they closed the distance to their boat, and Vexx’s shoulder began to ache. “How long do these old Imperial potions usually last?” he complained as he rubbed his shoulder, still keeping pace with the other dungeoneers. “I think it’s wearing off.”

  “Go as far as you can,” Shy said, instantly hurrying forward. “It’s not that far to the boat.”

  “Yeah, but…” Vexx felt his lungs burning as his legs pumped against the ground. “It’s definitely wearing off…”

  “Does that mean my invisibility potion is going away too?” Kaylin asked, sneezing again as they rushed past a grove of enormous flowers. She disappeared once more.

  “Not just yet, it isn’t,” Shy said as they approached the heights overlooking the cove where they had docked their fishing boat. “Just keep…”

  The succubus trailed off, coming to a sudden stop as she reached the heights. When the others joined her, they immediately saw the reason. Ranks of Lizardfolk were assembled on the beach, chanting away as one of the docked rafts burst into flame. A Lizardman mage casually strolled to another, extending his scepter and firing off a blast of magic that engulfed the boat in flames.

  “Dammit,” Shyola said softly as she stood there.

  “What are they chanting?” Vexx asked.

  Shyola closed her eyes as the chanting echoed in the distance. Most of the Lizardfolk knelt down, joining the cult ceremony, but more than a few patrolled around the edges. That was far too many for them to fight, especially with Vexx’s cursed staff.

  “They’re sacrificing the souls of these ‘adventurers’ who dared to step ashore,” Shyola said after a moment. “And granting protection to their ‘sister island’ where the…egg…awaits.” Her eyes widened, and she looked at Vexx. “Egg? Do they really mean…”

  “So, it’s on another island,” Vexx said, grinning at the succubus. “And unless it was hidden on the others, that means there’s really only one possibility! We have to go back to Blackscale Island.”

  “Right…but how do we make it off this island?” Kaylin asked, still invisible.

  Vexx was getting used to seeing a suit of armor hovering in place beside him.

  “That’s no good,” Shy sighed. “If you’re going to be invisible, you have to dress for the occasion. Like me.”

  “Is that why you wear almost nothing at all?”

  “It’s one of the reasons.”

  “Hmm…hold this for me, Vexx,” Kaylin said, the scale armor coming off piece after piece.

  “I can’t carry all this forever,” Vexx moaned, accepting her recurve bow and scale mail. “But this will have to do. At least the two of you can make your way to the boat. And then…” He glanced around. “I can…cover you from up here and load up along the beach there,” he said hesitantly, pointing to a narrow strip of sandy soil where none of the boats had dared to dock. He wavered as the rucksacks dug into his shoulder. “I’ll go unload those now. Just be quick about it, alright?”

  “Of course,” Shyola said, disappearing along with Kaylin. “One way or another, we’re getting off this damn island.”

  Vexx managed to drag the rucksacks toward the small beach before his strength potion completely wore off and left him staggering out onto the sand. He grunted, rising to his feet and opting to drag them one by one to where the gentle tide lapped against the sand. He shook out his sore shoulder, creeping back up the ridge line and praying for their success.

  The chanting of the Dragon Cult was still continuing at that same, unhurried pace when Vexx arrived. He stared down, hoping against hope that their boat hadn’t been destroyed. The fire mage continued leisurely walking along the water’s edge, raising a scepter high, and he conjured another spurt of fire. Then he continued toward a boat Vexx now recognized as their own. Vexx raised his own cursed staff, wondering if he should risk a shot, but he knew that even with his old staff, it would have been a difficult shot. It certainly didn’t help that these Lizardfolk were highly resistant to fire.

  Instead, he watched in silence as the mage’s arm was sliced apart, then blood suddenly spurted from its neck. The Lizardman collapsed to the ground, and still, the chanting cultists didn’t notice. Vexx grinned as he distantly saw a few specks of blood bounding over to the fishing boat just as it rocked back out to sea. The rope was pulled away as if by magic, and for a moment, it looked as if they were just about in the clear.

  But only for a moment.

  A war horn sounded, breaking the steady chanting, and all at once, the Lizardfolk rose to their feet like an angry hive of insects. They turned as one to see the fishing boat struggling to leave, and already, a few arrows soared outward, shot by Lizard folk archers. Vexx aimed his staff outward, knowing that the cursed wolf-head staff would likely miss his target, so he purposefully kept it unfocused.

  “Ethereal Screech!”

  The blast of netherworldly skulls rocked him back, nearly throwing him off his feet as the cursed staff shuddered in his grip. The exploding skulls smashed into the Lizardfolk below, unaimed but still as effective as any of his other magical strikes. A few blasted the Lizardfolk apart, though most of the skulls simply sprayed them with sand.

  Vexx followed it up with volley after volley of fireballs, and their arrow fire slackened as the Lizard folk looked up the ridge line to see their new threat. Vexx sank down to his knees as he quickly exhausted his magical energy through the flurry of fireballs. His temples throbbed, and he downe
d a mana potion. He tossed the vial aside and struggled to his feet.

  In the distance, their fishing boat was circling around to meet him at their pre-arranged destination. Vexx resolved to not be late. He hurried back even as an ineptly aimed fireball smashed into a nearby bush and nearly caught the hem of his robe. A few arrows soared overhead, but he had the advantage of surprise and elevation, and most of them fell short. He staggered through the undergrowth, feeling his magical energy returning, though he was still physically exhausted from carrying the two weighty rucksacks. He reached the fallen rucksacks, waiting impatiently for the fishing boat, and turned around to face the ridgeline.

  The seconds felt like an eternity.

  Finally, the first Lizardmen came from above, rushing down the hill with their tridents while Vexx waited in the small cove. He tried to greet them with precisely aimed fireballs, but the first two soared in different directions midway through their flight, and Vexx opted not to follow them up with any more of them. Instead, he merely stood there, biding his time as his stamina returned, waiting to see who would get to the beach first.

  He risked a glance outward, seeing the faint outline of the fishing boat racing toward him, then looked back in time to step away from a glob of acidic spit. The acrid substance splashed on the sand, sizzling away, and it was followed by two more, which Vexx evaded in rapid succession. Finally, he whipped his staff forward, blasting an Ethereal Screech which pounded the slope with detonating skulls. Although more missed than seemed possible, it was enough to fell a handful of the closest creatures and stagger the rest.

  “We’re here!”

  Vexx splashed the area with a whirling burst of Scorching Fireballs, lighting the area on fire, then turned to grab a rucksack. A wad of goo splattered on his robes and sizzled on Kaylin’s rucksack. He grabbed his own, jerking it aside, then watched with mounting horror as another spray of goo landed on Kaylin’s pack. It was already hissing and bubbling. The coins melted and mixed with the burst potions, which gurgled and produced multicolored smoke.

  There was nothing for it.