“Not exactly. That’s why I hurried back,” Julia offered with a grimace, wiping at her forehead. “I think you guys need to see this for yourselves.”
Finn squinted at her, noticing that the hem of her armor was drenched with sweat. “What happened? You look like you just ran a marathon.”
“Well, that’s the thing. It’s sort of hot up ahead.” She shrugged. “But like I said, you two need to see this for yourselves.”
Julia pushed herself from the wall and peered over her shoulder at the tunnel. “Just try to be quiet and use your map to stay a dozen or so feet behind me as we move. I’ll come back and get you when we’re close.” With that warning, she took off down the tunnel, soon disappearing into the shadows.
Finn and Kyyle glanced at each other, sharing the same thought.
“What now?”
***
It hadn’t taken long for Finn to understand why Julia had been covered in sweat.
The tunnel was sweltering. It felt like each step increased the temperature by another degree, and Finn had long since grown accustomed to Kyyle’s increasingly short, gasping breaths as they kept moving forward.
The earth mage seemed more affected by the heat, and Finn could only assume that the fire resistance in his robes was helping to keep him cooler. Although, that raised some interesting questions. For example, had Abbad anticipated this trip down the Abyss, or had he just been assuming Finn would eventually destroy his own gear? And how was Julia faring so well in these inclement conditions?
He supposed he wasn’t destined to receive answers any time soon. Not until they got out of this hellhole, anyway.
On top of the heat, visibility had also become increasingly awful. The farther away from the central chasm they walked, the dimmer it became. The light simply didn’t reflect this far into the adjoining tunnels. After only a few minutes, Finn had been forced to summon Daniel, using the AI’s flickering form to light the way ahead – although he made sure to order the flaming orb to stay well back in case the light accidentally alerted whatever lived in these tunnels.
“Hey,” Julia whispered, appearing in front of them.
Finn had a dagger in his hand instantly, but Kyyle reacted more slowly, barely glancing up and wiping away at the sweat on his brow. When he saw that it was just Julia, the earth mage made the mistake of trying to slump against the nearby wall. He let out a hissing breath as his bare skin touched the rock, the heated stone leaving a red welt on his palm.
“You said it was hot in here, not that we were walking into an oven,” Kyyle groused.
“If this bothers you, then you’re going to hate what’s up ahead,” Julia retorted with a smile despite the sweat running down her cheeks. “It’s positively chilly here in the tunnel.”
Julia’s eyes flitted to Finn, responding to his unspoken question. “This tunnel ends in about 30 feet. From there, it opens up into a medium-sized cavern – maybe 100 feet across – with three adjoining tunnel entrances,” she reported curtly.
Finn nodded as he processed that information. “Enemies?”
“Just one,” Julia replied. “That’s actually why I needed you two. I’m not sure what to make of this thing.” She hesitated, wiping at her forehead to keep the sweat from dripping in her eyes. “Well, that, and I’m pretty sure I can’t kill it on my own.”
Finn raised an eyebrow. His daughter wasn’t usually one for humility. Whatever the hell was in this room was probably going to be tough. They needed to be careful.
He chewed on the inside of his cheek, looking back at the tunnel behind them. It was about ten feet wide, with walls composed of a mixture of glass, stone, and dirt. He’d noticed that the amount of glass had begun to decrease the longer they walked, and the tunnel walls were now comprised of symmetric ridges that ran lengthwise up the stone. He could only assume that the Seer’s temple had sunk into the Abyss after something had melted the sands. Although, that only explained how the chasm had been created.
It did nothing to indicate how this tunnel had been formed…
His fingers gingerly traced the ridges along the wall, taking care to avoid burning himself. This didn’t look like the work of the ambient mana. Nature was a chaotic thing that abhorred symmetry. It almost looked like something had carved this passage through the stone. That realization did little to quiet the worried knot in his stomach. What sort of creature could carve through solid stone?
Finn shook his head. He just had to hope he was wrong.
Regardless, they needed to be prepared for the worst.
“Kyyle,” Finn said softly.
The earth mage glanced at him wearily. “You’re going to send me into the oven room up ahead, aren’t you?”
Finn gave him a weary smile. “Not quite. Good news, I actually want you to head back down the tunnel. I need you to build some defenses and be ready to wall off the tunnel if we need to make a run for it.”
Kyyle was now eyeing the passage with an appraising expression. “I could maybe taper the walls and build a pit trap in front of it,” he offered. He glanced at Julia. “How big is this thing?”
“Pretty damn big,” she grunted. “If we need to retreat, it’s safe to assume that it’ll fill this tunnel, so don’t skimp on the pit. It needs to be deep and wide. With Finn’s blades, we can make it across either way.”
“Okay, I’m on it then.” He gave a curt nod before heading back down the tunnel. Finn couldn’t help but notice that he was moving faster now, likely eager to get away from the heat.
“Alright,” Finn said, waving at Julia to lead the way, and dismissing Daniel – they couldn’t afford to let the AI’s flaming form give them away. “Let’s see what we’re dealing with.”
His daughter obliged him, leading the way down the passage. Her silhouette was barely visible ahead of Finn as she stepped forward with care, feeling out the ground for loose pebbles or dirt before placing her weight on each foot. They kept near the wall, touching the warm stone lightly with their fingers and using the surface to guide them forward in the darkness.
Less than a minute later, Julia slowed and raised a hand. They came to a halt.
The tunnel curved up ahead, and Finn could see a faint orange glow drifting around the corner. Julia glanced back at him, making a quick gesture with her fingers in the simple code they had developed during their time in the Mage Guild.
Quiet.
As though he needed to be reminded.
The pair inched forward now, and Finn soon managed to glimpse around the corner, keeping his body well within the shadows of the tunnel.
Holy shit, he thought, standing there frozen in surprise.
The tunnel did indeed open into a roughly circular cavern with several adjoining passages. Except Julia had forgotten to mention the pool of lava that lingered against the far wall, the substance welling from the floor. She had also failed to mention the many clusters of crystals that were embedded in the floor, walls, and ceiling. The gems pulsed with an ominous red-and-orange glow – the smallest crystals the size of his index finger.
And she had definitely failed to describe the creature in the center of the room.
The best analogy Finn could think of was an ant: six legs, segregated torso, and waving antenna. Although, that’s where the similarities ended. In contrast to its earthly cousins, this creature was about eight feet long, easily rivaling the beetles they had ridden out here.
Its body was comprised of thick, almost-metallic panels of reddish-brown chitin. Atop this surface seemed to be a second darker layer. Although Finn supposed that could have been the poor lighting. It also looked like a handful of the red and orange crystals that adorned the walls of the cave were embedded in the ant’s back – the gems flaring with a strong light.
To top it off, the ant’s entire body was coated in a fine layer of orange flame, the heat causing the air around it to ripple and warp. The effect was rather imposing – a massive, heavily armored insect bathed in flames.
Fire A
nt Worker – Level ???
Health – Unknown
Mana – Unknown
Equipment – Unknown
Resistances – Unknown
Well, that doesn’t help at all, Finn thought to himself.
Since he had been trapped in the Mage Guild, Finn didn’t have any real experience fighting this world’s native creatures – only encountering the occasional beast or monster during the Duels. However, his guess was that the insect must be a much higher level than him for all its information to be marked out, particularly its level. Perhaps they would gain more details once they had killed a few.
Assuming that they could kill the creature.
As Finn watched the ant, it ambled over to the lake of lava and dipped its mandibles into the substance without any hesitation. Instead of melting the chitin, the ant’s mouth began to glow with a bright-red light.
So, it’s safe to assume it’s resistant to fire, Finn thought. Although, he supposed the flame aura might have also been an obvious giveaway. Fucking perfect.
The creature then shuffled over to a nearby wall of the cavern and snapped at the stone, starting at the top and jerking its head downward at a sharp angle. Its heated mandibles carved neatly through the mixture of loose glass, rock, and dirt, creating a long furrow in the wall alongside several others. Judging from the pile of debris on the floor, the ant had been at this for a while. Looking for something perhaps?
The beast paused on the next stroke, its mandibles striking something solid, and the resistance brought its head to a halt. It then began to chew around the unknown obstacle, slowly revealing a vein of what Finn could only assume was a dark metal. It had to be something with a high enough melting point that the ant’s mandibles couldn’t cut into it easily.
As Finn looked on in fascination, the ant moved back to the lava, reheated its mouth, and then shuffled back to the partially revealed mineral vein, moving much more quickly this time. It bit at the metal like a jackhammer, chewing around the dense cluster in short, hard lunges. Once finished, it backed away as Finn looked on in confusion.
The ant charged the metal and slammed down on it with the dense chitin along its forehead. Then it struck again. And again. And again.
On the fourth blow, the metal gave way with a snap, and the dark material hit the ground with a solid thump. Finn could only assume the creature had weakened the metal while its mandibles were heated and then smashed the piece free, demonstrating at least a modicum of intelligence.
Even better, Finn thought dryly. Because it being an insanely high level and resistant to fire wasn’t bad enough…
The ant picked up the ore and carried it over to the shore of the small lava lake. Then the creature settled the dark lump near the surface and began to knead it with its forehead as it heated – continuing the movement even as the metal began to glow and became more malleable. Within seconds, the ant had created a dense ball of super-heated ore about the size of a basketball. It dropped the lump of metal in the corner of the room before shambling back to the lake of magma to begin the process again.
It’s mining the metal, Finn realized. But why? Questions swam through his mind. Why would the ant need the metal? What was it used for? How many more of the creatures were down here? Was there some kind of colony nearby?
Then Finn looked at the walls of the tunnel, noting the familiar symmetric pattern along the surface. He could see now that the ridges seemed about the same width as the ant’s mandibles – confirming his suspicions that the tunnel had been created artificially.
Or are we already inside the colony? Finn wondered, eyes widening. Damn it, we need to get out of here.
He rested a hand on Julia’s shoulder, causing her to start in surprise. Gesturing back down the hallway, he indicated that they should retreat.
But before they could move, the ant paused in its next rotation.
The creature froze, its antenna waving at the air as though it could sense that something was off. Finn and Julia slinked back into the shadows of the tunnel, keeping their movements still in the hope that the ant wouldn’t notice them.
Unfortunately, they weren’t so lucky. The ant seemed to be homing in on their location, tilting its head from side to side and the arc of its antenna becoming shallower and shallower until its head was directly facing Finn and Julia. It was clear from this angle that the creature didn’t have any eyes. Its head was just a smooth, dense plate of chitin.
How can it see then? Can it sense mana? Or maybe just heat?
Although, the answer to that mystery was unimportant at the moment. The ant seemed to be aware that they were standing in the mouth of the tunnel. With little warning, it began to shuffle toward them. Gaining surprising speed as it charged, its feet smashed against the stone floor. Perhaps the eeriest part was the insect’s silence. The ant itself made no roar or sound as it barreled toward them.
“Fight or run?” Julia asked, eyeing the tunnel behind them.
“We need more info—” Finn began.
“Okay, fight it is!” Julia barked out, and then she darted forward, running along the edge of the cavern as daggers materialized in her hands.
The ant changed course as it barreled forward, seeming to sense her. Just before the ant struck, Julia turned and launched herself at the nearby wall, running a few feet up the stone and then kicking off into a backflip.
The ant’s head promptly struck the wall, including a small cluster of the glowing red crystals. As soon as the crystals fractured, an explosion rocked the room, briefly engulfing the ant’s head in flames. The wall of the cavern shuddered, and a cascade of debris bounced off the ant’s back. The creature was momentarily stunned, stumbling in place, and its head listing from side to side.
Julia hadn’t stopped moving, using her own momentum and weight to shift to the offensive. She fell downward, holding her blades ahead of her and stabbing at a ridge between the panels of chitin along the ant’s back. Her daggers smashed into the surface with a loud clang – almost as though she had struck a metal shield. The ant’s armor cracked, but it didn’t appear that Julia had managed to hurt it. She immediately kicked off the ant, the aura of flame that coated its body searing the leather of her boots and sending tendrils of smoke curling into the air.
Damn, this thing is tough, Finn thought, his hands already moving through the gestures of Imbue Fire. Although the effort seemed futile. If Julia’s attack had barely cracked its shell, Finn suspected his daggers wouldn’t fare much better.
Even worse, the ant was already shrugging off the explosion, backing away from the wall and beginning to spin back toward them.
“Okay, information gathering over!” Finn shouted at Julia. “Retreat!”
Julia immediately switched course and ran toward the mouth of the tunnel, and the pair were soon barreling back down the hallway. They could already hear the ant thundering through the cavern behind them, and then there was a crash that caused the floor to list and tremble. Finn’s guess was that the insect had smashed into the tunnel wall in its haste.
“Message Kyyle,” Finn managed to gasp as they ran. His hands were occupied with channeling his blades and holding them at the edge of his control range, using them to light the way. If the earth mage had managed to finish building the pit, they were going to need the daggers in a few seconds to make it across.
“Already on it!” Julia said, swiping at the air as she ran.
There was another crash behind them, closer this time. Finn could almost visualize the ant charging haphazardly down the tunnel, slamming into the tunnel walls, but he didn’t spare the time or attention to look behind him. They needed to focus.
“Daniel,” Finn shouted. The AI flashed into existence beside them, racing through the air and leaving a trail of orange flames in his wake.
“Um, what’s going on this time?” Daniel asked, sounding confused. Another crash sounded behind them. “Is something chasing you?”
“Yes,” Finn gasped. “Go ahead and mark the
edge of the pit!”
“Of course!” the AI replied quickly. Then he shot forward into the darkened tunnel, lingering at a spot just in front of them. A moment later, a thin blue line jutted crosswise across the floor. Finn assumed that was the edge of Kyyle’s pit trap.
He and Julia sprinted toward Daniel, feeling the ground vibrate beneath them.
The ant was getting closer.
They pushed themselves harder, their legs pumping, and their breathing ragged.
As they neared the pit, Finn directed his daggers forward, keeping a careful eye on the glowing ring that marked his control range. He had to assume the pit was at least ten feet long. Getting them both across was going to be much more challenging than the trick he had pulled off during his fight with Kyyle.
“Go right,” Finn grunted at Julia.
A brief nod in response.
One blade slammed into either side of the cavern wall, the knives outlined in glowing orange flames. As they neared the edge of the pit, Julia and Finn didn’t slow or hesitate. They leapt into the darkness simultaneously. Their feet both touched a hilt, and they leapt again, running along either side of the tunnel wall.
Finn strained to maintain his balance while also directing the two blades. They retracted from the wall as soon as he and Julia kicked off, speeding forward and slamming into the stone again.
Just in time.
Their feet touched the hilts again.
Except Finn’s aim had been a touch off. It was too much aiming both blades. He felt his ankle twist, throwing off his balance. He tried his best to jump again, but he could see that he wasn’t going to make it. The lip of the pit lingered in front of him, just out of reach.
Fuck. I hope Kyyle didn’t make it that deep.
Finn felt himself beginning to drop into the pit as he saw Julia land on the other side.
At least she made it…
Then his foot slammed into hard stone, a thin walkway drifting out of the wall. Glancing up, he saw Kyyle standing on the other side of the pit between a narrow opening in the stone, eyes glowing a brilliant green and tendrils of emerald energy drifting around his staff. There wasn’t time to thank him. Racing along the narrow ramp, Finn sprinted toward the earth mage and his daughter.
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