Dungeon Corp- Crypts of Phanos

by Jaxon Reed

Nessa trembled. She didn’t feel like casting Rested State. But she dutifully waved a hand and cast the spell. It seemed weak, like the light, but it made everybody feel a bit better.

  Percel said, “Good. Now, be on yer guard. The primary monster on this level is a gargantuan gheist snake by the name of Ofis.”

  “Primary monster?” Tawny said.

  Percel nodded. “Aye. Each dungeon has a primary monster, usually residing at its deepest levels.”

  “And how do you know of this . . . Ofis?”

  Percel shrugged, modestly. He said, “I’ve met him before. Come along, now. We’re not far from the gateway to the Abysmal Vaults.”

  He broke off the conversation and marched down the tunnel, the Globe of Light sailing ahead.

  After several minutes, Percel called a halt again.

  He said, “Pull the light back to us, Tawny.”

  She made a beckoning motion to the globe and it floated back. Ahead, they could see an intersection where another tunnel crossed paths with the one they were in.

  Tawny said, “What’s the problem?”

  “Sometimes, Ofis likes to rest at cross tunnels like this. I want to approach it carefully. Everyone ready.”

  He advanced slowly, his blade drawn. Erik followed closely on his right. Tawny came next, with a Fireball spell ready on her fingertips. Toby followed with a big silly smile on his face, and Nessa brought up the rear with an arrow nocked in her bow.

  “Should we even have the light?” Erik said. “Will that let this . . . gargantuan snake know we’re here?”

  “He already knows we’re here, I’m sure, lad,” Percel said.

  Erik’s brows shot up and he gulped nervously.

  Percel continued. “It’s to our advantage to see. I just want to make sure he’s not waiting to surprise us.”

  The party crept forward, approaching the intersection carefully.

  Percel peeked around the corner, then looked the other way. He turned back to the others and smiled.

  “He’s not here. That’s good!”

  Down the tunnel to the left they heard an eerie hiss in the distance.

  Then a voice moaned from the dark, “Perccccelllllll . . . Perccccccellllll you have returnedddd . . .”

  Percel turned and looked down the tunnel to the left.

  “Alright, it came from over there. We need to go this way.”

  He pointed straight ahead.

  “Come along. Run!”

  He darted away, leaving the others behind.

  Nessa, Tawny and Erik looked at each other.

  Nessa said, “Come on!” and ran after Percel.

  The others followed. Toby brought up the rear, his huge feet slapping against the dirt floor. He wore a stupid grin on his face as he jogged to keep up.

  The ghostly voice came from behind them again.

  “Perccccelllll! What food have you broughtttt me thissssss time? I sssssssmellllll ellllfffffffffff . . .”

  The voice sent shivers down their spines. Everyone ran faster.

  “How much . . . farther?” Erik said between huffs.

  “Not far!” Percel said, without bothering to look back.

  The voice grew much louder.

  “Mmmmm whatttt dainttty mmmmorsssssssellllssssssss!”

  Erik risked a look over his shoulder. He yelped in surprise. The pale white face of a huge snake filled the entire tunnel. Hazy pink eyes stared at him and a huge forked tongue flickered out and in.

  His own face paled and he ran faster, passing Percel in the tunnel.

  “Almost there!” Percel yelled. They turned in a bend and the way opened up into a large circular room.

  In the center, a squat marble column sat alone. Plain and unadorned, it looked pitted with age, but it stood no more than four feet high and a foot in circumference.

  “Don’t stop!” Percel said, “Run and touch it!”

  The party raced for the center of the room and the squat solitary column. The men led the charge, followed by the women.

  Toby came in last, looking behind him as he ran. His mouth hung open at the sight of the giant snake.

  Ofis’s head burst into the room followed by a long, ghostly white body. He reared up in the expanded space and opened a fang-filled mouth, preparing to strike.

  Erik looked back and up and in a split second one thought crossed his mind: We’re not going to make it.

  Toby looked up wide-eyed at the apparition. He pulled his sword out and pointed it up as the fangs came down at him.

  He flicked his wrist and the blade bit into ectoplasm.

  Ofis pulled back, out of surprise rather than pain.

  Percel skidded to a stop in front of the little column and waved at the others.

  “Touch it and wait for me!”

  Erik placed his hand on top of the column and disappeared. Tawny came next. She reached out and touched it, then popped out of existence. Nessa followed.

  Toby glared up at the giant ghostly snake, waving his sword in defiance. Ofis weaved to the right and left, trying to decide the best angle to try and swallow the elf.

  Seeing this, Percel yelled, “Toby! Touch the pillar so you can leave!”

  Toby glanced back and saw everyone was gone, save Percel who waved desperately at him, beckoning him to come.

  He turned and dashed for the column just as Ofis struck. The tip of the giant snake’s fang ripped Toby’s tunic.

  Ofis reared back for another strike, his giant head swishing through the air.

  Toby dove for the column and touched it . . . and he winked out of sight.

  Percel smiled up at the big snake and slapped his palm down on the stone just as the giant mouth came down over him.

  Chapter 7

  Percel paused to catch his breath and look around. Before him, the other members of the team stood panting. Toby gazed at their new surroundings in wide-eyed wonder.

  Before them, dark shades of black and grey swirled, as if in a fog. The only clear air seemed to be in a circle around the squat marble column.

  “What . . . what is this stuff?” Erik said. “It feels strange.”

  “This is mana," Percel said. "Very concentrated mana, so thick you can see it. This is what fuels all the magic in the dungeons on our world.”

  “The column!” Nessa said, pointing at it. “Is that the same one as . . . back there?”

  Percel shrugged. He said, “It be either the same or its twin, lass. I know not.”

  “Where are we?” Tawny said, trying to peer through the swirling gloom.

  “This,” Percel said, “is the Abysmal Vaults. It connects all the dungeons together and if you can find a portal column, you can come here. Of course, getting out is another matter.”

  “Can’t we just go back through the column?” Erik said, pointing at it.

  “Aye,” Percel said. “Iffen you wish to be eaten by Ofis. Surely he’s wise to that trick, after years of other explorers pulling it on him. I’ve no doubt he’ll be waiting on the other side for a good long while. Nay, lad. Our purpose is to travel to the other dungeon as quickly as possible, and the Abysmal Vaults is the way to do it.

  “Now, two things before we start.”

  Percel reached into his bag and pulled out a long, slender rope. He started with Toby, reaching up and tying it around the big elf’s waist. Then he moved to Nessa and repeated the procedure.

  “The first is no matter what, don’t get separated from the group. If you do, the chances of being trapped down here go up dramatically.”

  He tied Tawny around the middle and moved next to Erik.

  “The second is, we must traverse the depths as quietly as possible. No small talk. No discussion. The slightest word could attract Téras Vathos, the primary down here.”

  “Wait,” Erik said. “There’s a primary monster in the space below all the dungeons?”

  “Correct. Legend has it he is supposed to be the most powerful of them all. So powerful, in fact, that no other monster dares reside
in the vaults, even if they could get here which I doubt. The portal columns seem attuned to people.

  “On the one hand, that makes traversing the depths easier. There’s only one monster to deal with and he’s relatively easy to avoid. You just keep your mouth shut while going through.

  “On the other hand if you can’t avoid him, you’ll almost certainly perish because Téras Vathos is the mightiest of them all. That’s why it’s so important for us not to say a word once we leave the protection of the column.”

  As Percel finished tying the end of the rope to his own waist, Tawny said, “How will we find our way through all this gloomy darkness?”

  Percel tapped the side of his head and said, “I can feel the way. Just as I could sense the general direction in the Crypts of Phanos, I can sense the portal column to the other dungeon down here.

  “Have no fear, lass. I know where to go. And don’t bother with your map spell.”

  “Will magic not work down here? Or, does it attract the primary?”

  “It works to a degree, although it acts strange from what I’ve seen. It’s not . . . useful in many ways, so it’s pointless to try. There’s too much concentrated mana. You would think that would make spells stronger, but it seems that too much all in one place makes spells act all odd. It’s also another reason the primary is so hard to battle here. Mage’s spells are useless, and he’s stronger than any hand weapon a warrior can bring to bear.

  “As for attracting Téras Vathos, the sound of voices once we leave the safety of the column will be what brings him to us. I warn you all again: not a peep. Make no noises from your throat. Let no sound escape your lips. If we do that, we should be fine.”

  He grinned at them all, confidently. Everyone stared back with looks of worry and trepidation. Toby put a finger in his mouth.

  “Right, then. Off we go. We should be through in a matter of minutes. Time and space are compressed down here. We’ll cross a few steps and travel several miles in the world above.”

  He headed toward the gloom and popped out of sight, the rope growing taut until Erik felt compelled to walk forward.

  He too disappeared in the dark swirling mists beyond the bubble around the column. Tawny followed.

  Nessa said, “‘If,’ he said. ‘If we do that’ . . . what should be fine? What if we don’t?” Then she shrugged, walked forward and gave a final look back at Toby before disappearing in the dark mana fog.

  Toby pulled his finger out and furrowed his brows. He took two long steps and followed her.

  They entered a monochromatic world, with varying shades of black nothing swirling around them. Each reacted differently.

  Erik held his hand out, squinting and trying to keep it in focus as wafts of dark floating material made it wax and wane in his sight.

  Tawny tried to look everywhere at once, squinting to see details of her surroundings and perhaps a hint of the landscape. But there was nothing to see besides empty clouds of gray and black mana mist. Some puffs were lighter shades, like smoke from leaves burned in autumn; some were dark as if from a coal fire. To someone steeped in magic, such concentrated mana in heavy amounts felt . . . odd. It was like jumping into a pool of water the first time. She felt overwhelming pressure from all the magical forces surrounding her.

  Nessa stared in wonder, and fought off a strong sense of vertigo. She could not see very far, and it concerned her greatly. She focused on Tawny’s back and marched straight ahead, fervently wishing for this part of their journey to be over. She ignored the way the mana felt and focused only on wading through it.

  Toby smiled at the change in atmosphere. He kept reaching out and trying to grab puffs of dark fog as they floated by.

  Percel followed the ill-defined sense of direction in his head. He knew generally where he wanted to go, and he moved accordingly.

  Time and space were indeed different down here in the Abysmal Vaults, he thought as he walked ahead. Here, mana coalesced at its strongest, streaming into the dungeons and feeding the monsters and magic within.

  From here, too, a competent mage could tap into virtually unlimited mana. Percel did not know how he knew this fact, just as he did not know how his unerring sense of direction could lead him to every dungeon’s portal column. But, he knew. Sufficiently talented mages could tap into this place somehow.

  After walking about ten minutes tied together in the rope chain, Percel sensed they were near where they wanted to be. Ahead, the gray and black fog seemed to lift a bit, and as they drew closer he could make out the dim outline of another squat portal column sitting in an oasis of calm air within the gloom.

  At that moment, Toby tripped on his own two feet while trying to catch a small puff of light gray mana floating over his head.

  “Oof!”

  Everyone froze and slowly turned around. Toby lay flat on his stomach, his hands stretched out on the featureless ground. While he was down and tied to the rope, no one could move any further.

  In the distance they heard a voice, somber, yet piercing. It filled the air.

  “Poios tolmáei? . . . Poios tolmáei?”

  Percel jerked on the rope and made hurrying motions with his free hand.

  Nessa moved to help Toby get up on his feet, causing the others to go back so she would have enough slack.

  Toby stood with a stupid grin on his face.

  Percel made sharper motions to come on.

  The voice came louder now, as if whoever spoke covered a great distance in those few seconds.

  “Poios tolmáei? . . . Poios tolmáei!”

  Percel pulled as hard as he could on the rope. Erik stumbled forward, pulling Tawny. Slowly, all five made headway.

  For a moment Percel lost sight of the column, and he panicked. But he concentrated, and he could see it again. Somehow it seemed farther away than before. He moved as fast as he could, straining at the rope that held Erik and the others.

  A loud voice now filled the surrounding area with tones of dread. It seemed to pierce their ears and flood their heads, absorbing all thoughts.

  “Enkataleípste óles tis elpídes eseís pou eisérchontai edó!”

  The fog turned solid black. The five ran now, their hearts filled with fear.

  Percel could barely keep the location focused in his mind. Hair on the back of his neck rose as . . . something . . . closed in on them.

  He burst into the circle of clear air surrounding a solitary squat column. He rushed to it, slapped the top and disappeared, the rope cutting off in front of Erik and dropping to the ground.

  Erik hurried and slapped the column, then Tawny, then Nessa.

  Toby ran in last. He cast one horrified glance over his shoulder as something dark and sinister filled the void behind him, solidifying the fog into an evil face.

  Toby screamed and bounded the distance to the column in two long steps.

  He slapped it and disappeared.

  -+-

  On the other side, the portal column stood in the middle of a huge room with a domed ceiling lifting up 100 feet to its crown.

  On all sides surrounding the portal, statues made of white marble, same as the column, were spaced in a grid pattern. Proud warriors stood with swords and shields. Mages crouched, hands spread to cast spells, and various other figures stood in battle poses around the large room.

  Percel sat on the floor, catching his breath and fumbling with the knots to his severed rope.

  “And that is why we don’t say ANYTHING, Toby, while we are in the Abysmal Vaults!”

  Toby’s face melted, his typical good cheer evaporating.

  Nessa said, “It was an accident.”

  “An accident that could have gotten us killed. Thank the Creator I saw the column before he made a noise and summoned Téras Vathos. If not, that thing may well have caught us.”

  “What was it saying?” Erik said. “I couldn’t understand it.”

  Tawny said, “I speak some of the old tongue. I believe the first few times he was saying, ‘Who
dares . . . Who dares?’

  “The second phrase he said is a common one of old. You can still see it written on signs and placards at places you are not supposed to be. It means, ‘Abandon hope, all ye who enter here.’”

  “Hm. That monster must be where they got the saying from,” Erik said. Everyone nodded in agreement.

  Once the ropes were untied, Percel went around and collected them before placing them back in his bag.

  He sighed and looked out into the room of statues.

  “Right. So, I’ve never been in here before, but obviously the statues are trouble.”

  “They’re so pretty,” Nessa said. “And they almost look new.”

  Tawny said, “How do we know they’re trouble? Can’t we just walk out the door? I see it over there.”

  She pointed to a closed double door off in the distance, along the wall of the large dome.

  Percel shook his head. He said, “Portal columns are almost always on the lowest level of a dungeon. The lowest levels are usually the worst. Therefore it stands to reason you have to go through a primary or some other major obstacle before you can reach the portal stone.”

  Tawny lifted her eyebrows. She said. “Ah. Makes sense. So, how are we going to get around these guys? Do you think they’ll come alive and fight us or something?”

  Percel frowned. He said, “I don’t know. I know the Crypts of Phanos fairly well, but this is a new dungeon. I’ve never been here before.”

  “And yet,” Erik said, “you could find its portal stone back there.”

  “Aye, lad. I knew it existed, and I knew I wanted to come here. That’s the way of Dungeon Lords. There may be dozens of other portals down there we passed in the dark that I don’t know about. I wasn’t looking for them. Are you starting to get a handle on how traversing the Vaults works?”

  Erik frowned and said, “Nope.”

  Percel made a dismissive gesture with his hand and turned away in annoyance.

  “Do you think maybe we could try and not touch them?" Tawny said. "Maybe they activate when you touch them or something. We could just make a dash for the door and hope for the best.”

  Percel said, “Aye, we could try. Or they animate as soon as they sense us. Or as soon as the door opens. We won’t know until we go out there. We should assume they will all attack us as soon as we leave the safety of the column.”