Dungeons of the Crooked Mountains

by Alexey Osadchuk

  - Flexibility: 41/75

  - Health: 50/50

  - Endurance: 36.8/50

  - Life supply: 313/550

  - Energy supply: 295/418

  - Scale armor: 25/25

  - Defense: 250/250

  - Damage: +98.5…+242.9

  And some of the abilities and skills caught my eye once again.

  - Bite: 17/25

  - Paw swipe: 22/25

  - Pounce: 4/5

  - Animal regeneration: 10/10

  - Hunter: 17.8/25

  - Fisher: 8.8/25

  - Resistance to Hexapod poison: 7/25

  His wet nose gently poking my hand distracted me from reading. I glanced at the harn. He was sitting opposite me and closely watching my every movement. And his armor scales had changed slightly. They were bigger and thicker. On his chest and stomach, they’d grown noticeably darker.

  “What?” I asked.

  A message appeared before my eyes that made me gape in astonishment...

  “Fish! Hunger.”

  “I don’t get it...” I whispered, batting my eyes foolishly at the harn.

  “Fish. Hunger,” came the same message again.

  What does this mean?! We can talk like this?! For crying out loud!

  I sank down wearily to the ground and closed my eyes. A nice little start...

  A moment later, I felt impatient hot breath on my face. There were no more messages, but it was already clear what this buzzard wanted.

  I raised my head and tossed a gaze toward the bay. Lungfish. Six or seven of them.

  I looked at the harn.

  “Ready?”

  He just licked my face and stole up quietly to his previous position. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that he was no longer shivering at all. Regeneration is already paying dividends.

  * * *

  It’s day two of our stay on the banks of the underground river. Ah yeah. I now know it is not a lake, but a river. The harn told me. Our uncanny mental connection occasionally transmitted his knowledge to me. That beyond all doubt useful ability informed me that the river runs many miles west to south-east into the body of the mountain like a giant vein. I was surprised at how huge my new friend’s hunting range was.

  Beyond that, I discovered why the harn had come here after the battle with the hexapod. Not far from the water, there was a small cave fifteen feet up the stone wall, which served as my pet’s den. That was where he was crawling to when he almost died, hoping he could wait it out there. It was hard but, in the end, I also made it up there. And now is the second day in a row we’ve spent the night up here.

  The day I found out about the cave, I realized one very simple truth — if Gorgie hadn’t encountered the hexapod, I’d be dead meat. The arrow was leading me right to his den. Even if he wasn’t there at the time, he would have been able to smell me and track me down later...

  After the improvement, the harn needed not ten fish as I calculated before but a whole fifteen. I think it was because of his increased armor figures. The thicker scales required more resources from his body.

  With time, the lungfish started coming less and less often, and by evening of day two, they’d completely stopped. Either their school had swum further up or down the river or they had figured out that none of their pals ever returned from “our” inlet.

  In the end, we caught twenty more fish, fifteen of which went straight down Gorgie’s throat. And that was not counting the guts and bones he wolfed down after my barbaric cleaning.

  The loot from that allowed me to raise the harn’s corresponding characteristics by four points. Except for Wisdom and Mind. And in some way Intuition. It now glowed with its maximum value of five.

  I already had enough esses to bring him up to level six. But I didn’t give in to the temptation. There’s no rush.

  The lack of fish was something of a signal. Clearly we’d had all the fishing success this place could offer. Time to pick up and get moving.

  I decided not to wait until morning. The meager amount of meat I was able to set aside wouldn’t last us long.

  “Well, buddy,” I said to the harn, hanging the knapsack on my shoulder. “Say goodbye to your home. It’s time for us to be moving on...”

  Gorgie didn’t even bat an eye. Either he didn’t really understand that we’d most likely never be coming back here or his loyalty to his master had squeezed out all other feelings.

  When the harn got out of the den, I turned around one last time. I bet I’ll think back on this place often. If I don’t die, of course. Heh... Miri mentioned at some point that the caverns never let you go without a fight. Maybe this was exactly what she had in mind?

  And I was back to the travelling routine. Caves gave way to tunnels, then tunnels turned to caves. Only now, with the harn at my side, it didn’t feel like such a hopeless journey. In fact, I’ll take it further. I had hope.

  The whole way, there were two desires struggling in my soul. I wanted unbearably to get to the surface. Thankfully with a guide like Gorgie, finding my way back wasn’t such a hopeless endeavor. In fact, he knew approximately the way to go...

  But I did have another wish... To reach the mysterious temple of the Ancients. There must have been a reason a person like Skorx had devoted so many years to searching for it. And only the gods know how many people had died in pursuit of his goal. I’m not gonna lie - I was very afraid. But at the same time something was telling me I would find answers to questions about myself. Beyond that, not even two weeks had passed and I had already made it further than anyone Skorx sent. Yes, what can I say...? I was practically being led by the hand... I imagine the Marked One would give anything for a chance like this.

  Thus haunted by contradictory feelings, I continued to follow the arrow, which was leading the harn and I farther and farther from the surface. And so I guess I did make my choice, in the end...

  Walking with Gorgie was very reminiscent of the way I used to follow Miri. But there was one little difference - the harn was at home here. He could read the caverns like an open book. To him, every smell, every track was familiar and easy to understand. A few times he even deviated from the arrow’s instructions, skirting dangerous areas but always unfailingly getting us back on track. The arrow only showed direction. It didn’t give a crap about fields full of poisonous thorny plants or paralyzing hexapod spiders. If I hadn’t been lucky enough to meet Gorgie, I’d have become some creature’s lunch a long time ago. And my search would have ended before it really got started.

  But not everything went so smoothly. Sooner or later it had to happen — we were attacked.

  It was a viper. I don’t know why, but the harn couldn’t sense it. The creep probably had some special ability.

  To me, the whole thing felt like a strange fast-paced dream. From somewhere to the side, a toned white body ran over toward the harn. A wide elongated snout with four curved fangs sank its teeth into his scaled side. Or to be more accurate, tried to. The armor hardened at just the right time and deflected the first attack with ease.

  - Attention! White viper (7) has attacked your pet.

  - Poison Bite!

  - It has dealt 170 damage! (absorbed by defense).

  At any rate, that was the last thing the viper managed to do. The harn tore its unarmored snake body into a few pieces in a matter of seconds. I didn’t even have time to hook in a Ram to earn my portion of the loot, it all happened so incredibly fast.

  But that wasn’t all. In theory, there should have been a coldune lurking somewhere nearby. And Gorgie had no problem finding the scavenger. With two lightning-fast jumps, he disappeared among the stones.

  I was expecting to hear the sound of a fight, but nothing happened. After that, I saw the harn’s snout from behind a boulder looking satisfied and caked in blood.

  Once I got the all-clear, I decided to see what exactly it was. I glance behind the stones, realize what I’m seeing and am instantly turned inside out.

  Amongst the stones
, the viper had built itself a nest. But not a regular one, it was right in the stomach of a dead coldune. The creature looked most of all like a gigantic toad and was lying on its back with bony arms flung lifelessly to the sides. Its light gray belly was torn asunder and, inside, the whitish bodies of the viper’s young were writhing around like worms.

  Based on the blood marks, the harn had already eaten a few of them and was now looking inquisitively on, wondering if I was going to join in the feast.

  “No, no,” I whispered, clutching my stomach and taking a step back. “That’s all you, buddy...”

  While my pet champed away loudly, I felt another attack of nausea. I took out the flask and, rinsing out my mouth thoroughly, took a few swallows. Ooh... Much better...

  Just for fun, I opened the harn’s characteristics. Killing the viper earned him four hundred experience points. Beyond that, he somewhat brought up his speed and agility. In our reckoning, it was on the order of one clay tablet. Basically just crumbs...

  But my suspicions were accurate. His tablets are assigned by the Great System. The creature had no say in what to focus on. I praised myself again for not raising his level. Otherwise we wouldn’t have even gotten those crumbs.

  When Gorgie appeared, impossibly satisfied, I realized too late that I made a mistake with the snake den. I should have given it one good Ram. I don’t know what level the baby snakes were, but it was certainly higher than me. I missed out on loot again... Evidence that the harn and I weren’t very well coordinated. Not enough experience fighting side-by-side. But no matter. We’ll try to make up for the shortcoming. We did a good job with the fish after all, right? That meant we’d figure it out for other creatures eventually.

  Gorgie could sense my vexation and rubbed his scaled face on my leg.

  “Yes, yes. I understand, buddy... What matters most is that we’re still alive... I’ll do better next time...”

  When I said that, I didn’t suspect that my skills would be put to the test so soon... In the next cave, we were attacked by megabats.

  The small group of three, peacefully hanging on the ceiling among the stalactites didn’t react to Gorgie at all. But as soon as I emerged from the tunnel, they came to life.

  When I entered the cave, I had already been warned by the harn, so I greeted my flying visitors with a Ram. They were flying in a tight group so they all got hit.

  I see them falling like maple leaves, stunned by the spell. Then Gorgie jumps off after them, and I realize that we’d both never find better levelling partners.

  The big fliers smacked down on the sharp stones almost at once, breaking wings and bones. The harn only needed to finish them off, which he did easily.

  - You have killed Black Megabat (8).

  - Congratulations! You receive:

  - Experience essence (1600).

  - Silver tablet (2).

  - You have killed Black Megabat (8).

  - Congratulations! You receive:

  - Experience essence (1600).

  - Silver tablet (2).

  - You have killed Black Megabat (8).

  - Congratulations! You receive:

  - Experience essence (1600).

  - Silver tablet (2).

  The harn was inundated with experience, almost two thousand points. Also, beyond Speed and Agility, his Strength also came up a good bit. What was more, Gorgie’s Hunter skill kicked in on one of the megabats, giving a higher chance of dropping bonus resources.

  - Attention! Your pet has discovered:

  - Red eye of Black Megabat (1).

  When I got nearer the scene of the slaughter, I had to pinch my nose with my hand. The bodies of the megabats smelled unbearably of rotten fish mixed with something gnarly and stinky. Even a ravenous eater like the harn would turn his nose up at this nasty stuff.

  I hunched over the creature from the message and looked closer. One eye really was red. The other was black as coal. Just like the other ones’ eyes.

  I read the short description.

  - Red Eye of Black Megabat.

  - Type: Alchemy ingredient.

  - Rarity: Common.

  - Requirements:

  - Butchery — 8.

  I see. I wasn’t gonna get anything here. Eight wasn’t all that high for a normal hunter. But with my zero, I might as well not even try. I’ll just get my hands dirty for no good reason.

  When I got up, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Gorgie hopping. The scales on the back of his neck were standing on end, his triangular ears pressed down and his mouth bristling with yellow fangs.

  The message that followed made my heart beat at a frenetic pace.

  “Danger! Evil! Fast! Hungry!”

  Not asking pointless questions, I hurried to follow my panicking harn out of the cave.

  Gorgie was clearly nervous. The scales on his whole body were vibrating periodically. I hadn’t seen him this way before. Something had him seriously afraid. And by the looks of things, something was probably tracking us. At the very least that was how I interpreted my pet’s emotions.

  The fairly long tunnel suddenly ended in a broad ledge reminiscent of a giant tongue. And beneath it was a dark chasm. The arrow was pointing right, toward a wall with more ledges leading down. That means we should go down...

  When we reached the precipice, I heard a blood-chilling hiss behind me...

  Our pursuer was still in the tunnel, but I could tell we’d been caught up to...

  Okay, we’ll have to hunker down here. I take a look around. That spot there will do. From the wall to the end of the ledge is a few yards. If I can get a good Ram off, there’s a chance of sending the unknown enemy flying into the abyss.

  I stood next to the wall and quickly activated Lair. Three hundred points of protection is nothing, but it is my last line of defense.

  I glanced at the harn.

  “Alright, it’s time...”

  We can’t afford to wait to level you any longer. Every characteristic point could be the deciding factor in this battle.

  - Attention! Your pet has reached level 6!

  - Free characteristics: 3.

  Look at that! I was also allowed to spend his bonus points. So then, together with the silvers, that gives me nine points. I throw all five right into armor. Defense is again at maximum — three hundred points. I still had to decide between forty points of damage or the same into life supply... Every point could be key in both places. Strangely, the harn gave me a hint. He was insistent I increase his damage...

  “Okay,” I whispered.

  I put the two tablets into Jump, raising the ability to the ceiling. I’ll pop the rest into Bite. After that, I tossed the remaining stones into Intuition, which was just one away from its ceiling.

  Okay... I can’t do anything else...

  A moment later, when the unknown creature jumped out of the gaping tunnel, a treacherous thought came to mind...

  By the looks of things, all our preparations were in vain...

  Chapter 18

  ALL THAT TIME, we had one of the most dangerous monsters of the caverns trailing us — a thorntail. A kind of lizard, they aren’t very big but they move fast. It looked somehow like the southern monitor, a creature I’d once seen at a market in Orchus. Though truth be told, the thorntail was three times bigger.

  Quickly scampering on its clawed feet, it ran out of the tunnel and stopped with its head outstretched and pointed up. It had a long split-tipped tongue constantly slithering in and out between its sharp teeth.

  In fact, the monitor at the market did the same thing. Its master explained that the big lizard was doing that to taste the air.

  The delay gave me time to get a better look at our enemy. It had a flexible scaled body, powerful clawed feet, and a long tail with a short spike on the end. It had the same coloration as my harn. It was at level eleven, which could be a death sentence for us. But honestly, Gorgie didn’t share my pessimism. In fact, he was raring to rip off as big a chunk of this creature’s body
as possible.

  The beasts exchanged ominous “greetings.” The harn gave a warning roar. The lizard responded with a loud hiss.

  As soon as I wondered what to expect from the thorntail, I got an immediate but vague answer from the harn. As it turns out, my pet already had some tangential experience with this lizard’s kind. Its preferred tactic is lightning-fast bites and swiping its spiked tail.

  Basically, Gorgie was in a hopeful mood right up until the thorntail disappeared in thin air... My pet did not see that coming. And a second later it appeared right behind him. Oh gods! It also has magic!