by Drew Jager
"I know, Sweetie. Just hold it a little longer, they're nearly gone." Apparently, Sol had reached his limit on his transformation. It took a small amount of mana for him to change his appearance, but he was still a child. He could only hold the form he had created for a few minutes at most, and he must have dislodged the Silk cloth that was in his hair while fidgeting.
All the Adventurers shoulders relaxed after a moment of silence. "Let's... get out of here." Lana suggested.
"Sounds good." Wren nodded vigorously.
Michael squinted towards the Crawl room, towards Sol. Then he shrugged his shoulders, and let Wren use him as a crutch. "Sounds perfect." He was still cradling his new staff, tossing affectionate glances towards it whenever he could.
Once they had closed the door behind them, Sol let out a small sigh. His legs split apart, and his arms reformed from the wood of his torso. He let out a small yawn, and stretched his limbs out. Bel was whispering praise to him, and Will kept a close eye on the Party.
Every step they took, the floor of his Dungeon was splattered with droplets of blood. It astounded him that his Monsters had actually been killed, but he could see just how far the Party had had to go to accomplish their feat. He wouldn't commend their efforts, but he did have a small amount of respect for them now.
They had returned to the Flower room, and were crossing the small strip of land that connected the Silverbark tree to the lake, when his plan was put into motion.
He had the image back up on his Crawl for Bel and Sol to see, the same image he had shown her earlier. The final Dungeon Serpent, waiting patiently under the water. Only his nose was above the surface, the rest of his body lurked underneath.
His Monster had waited patiently for his time to strike earlier, but the opportunity had never presented itself. It had been too slow to assist the Troop, and there was no way for him to enter Grizzly's room. Now, though, the Adventurers were completely unaware.
All three were halfway across the thin strip of land, when a Serpent nearly 4ft long shot up out of the small lake. Droplets of water sprayed into the air, and all three Adventurers involuntarily flinched. The Serpent was aimed directly for the Cleric, the weakest of the three.He may have had to assist the Dwarf in walking, but his blood loss had left him nearly unconscious.
All three Adventurers were strong, there was no denying it. They were nowhere near their peak strength now, though. Will watched in unrestrained glee as his Serpent latched onto the wounded left side of the Cleric, and dragged him down into the water. The area his body fell into was instantly dyed red, and Will felt no doubt he had managed to end the miserable Human's life.
"Oh, for fucks sake." Lana said, pulling her sword free. She jumped in after him without hesitation. Wren was on the ground now, his support gone. He was trying to form a spell, but he didn't seem able to gather the mana to do so.
He's finally exhausted himself.
The water was violently shaking from the underwater fight, and Will could not tell what was happening beneath the surface. It wasn't until he started seeing chunks of his Serpent bobbing at the top of the water he began to worry. Surely, his Monster had managed to at least finish the cowardly Cleric off?
He saw the body of Michael float to the surface, face down and unresponsive.
Yes!
He felt no mana rush to his Crawl, though. Whenever he had killed a Two-legs, their mana always came to him immediately after their death.
Not dead.
Lana appeared next, gasping for air. Her sword was still coated in blood, but was quickly being washed off in the water. She dragged the unconscious Michael to the surface, and yelled. "Wren! We need to get to Holly!"
"I know! Take him to her, I'll only slow you down." Will expected her to refuse, but she nodded once. She tossed the Human on her shoulder, and started running towards the exit. She was dripping water, and blood, so she really wasn't moving very fast. Whose blood it was, he was unsure. Clearly, his Serpent was not meant for underwater fighting.
So close...
The Dwarf watched them both leave, and he sat back on his butt. He stared towards them, through half closed eyes. Then a small splash sounded out again, and the Clerics newly acquired staff bobbed to the surface.
Wren smiled, and grabbed the weapon. He used it similar to how Michael had been, as a cane. He hobbled after his teammates, moaning with every step.
When the two Humans had gotten past the Jungle room, and some very shocked Miners, Will heard another shout. It was that obscenely large Human, who was nearly the same size as that disgusting mutant. She was freely crying, and picked Michael off the shoulder of the woman.
Bel said her name was Holly.
The other guardian of his entrance appeared, the small Two-legs who reminded him of a beast. He had seen a few of their kind in his Dungeon from previous Adventuring Parties, and had even managed to kill one. The red eared Beast-women impatiently tapped her foot at the entrance of his Dungeon, and stopped when she spotted Wren. She went over and carried him like a mother would a child. He grumbled something about dignity, but she ignored him until he had been brought outside of the Dungeon. The Miners took that as their cue, and left as well. Soon, all the Adventurers had exited his home, and he could feel control return to him.
He felt each and every one of his Monsters returns from the dead, and watched as their bodies reformed out of his golden-green mana. Verne appeared back in his room, and Grizzly in his cave. The sisters under their tree, and the Howlers in the branches. The three Serpents appeared from the connecting tunnels, and all of his Monsters were now back to their original positions.
Bel flew out immediately towards Verne's room, and Sol had already left his spot on the shelves. The small Treant was sprinting towards Grizzly's cave.
Until next time, Two-legs.
* * *
Inside the Infirmary, located next to the Adventuring Guild Outpost.
"Get back, foul woman! Leave me to my healing in peace!" Wren shouted towards Holly.
She just clucked her tongue, and with a small smile, flipped him onto his stomach. He grunted in pain, as she was now poking his injured leg. Her healing had fixed his bones easily enough, but the muscles were still sore.
"How does it feel here" She asked, poking his inner thigh with a heavy finger.
"Any closer, and you need to buy me dinner first." He mumbled; voice muffled by the bedsheets under his face.
Just then, the bed started shaking. All the other patients in the Infirmary quieted, and Wren felt Holly's touch disappear from his leg.
He realized the bed wasn't shaking, the floor was. Soon, he heard steps approaching his bedside. From his vantage point, he saw legs as thick around as his waist. A voice he was all too familiar with sounded out, and it commanded his attention.
"How are they, Holly?"
"Stable. The boy, Michael, was near death when he exited. He is sleeping a few cots over; rest is all he needs now. This one got out with just a broken leg, and some new bruises. Lana had a few cuts, but is otherwise healthy."
A short pause, and he spoke again. Wren had tried to sit up to face him, but his legs were too sore to move. "Is he conscious enough to report?"
He heard Holly click her tongue, and sigh. "Keep it short. He still needs to rest." She grabbed him by the shoulders, and put him into a sitting position on the bed cot. He was now eye level with the Guild Officers waist.
Brian stared down at him with a neutral expression, and looked expectantly towards him. Wren was confused for a moment, then understood. "Oh. Yes sir, Wren Giltrell reporting in."
All the other Adventurers in the Infirmary were dead silent, clearly listening in. Whatever he said was going to become common knowledge in the town within the hour. He wasn't sure if this was intentional or not by the Guild Officer, but he wasn't going to say no to this man.
Brian motioned for him to get on with it. "Tell me about your Boss encounter."
"Yes sir. I can now confirm the boss is
an Imbued Bear, nearing 10ft of height. I would say it is twice the size of the native bears in this Forest. Dark brown fur, gold eyes, and fangs as long as my arm. The Boss also has an Earth Affinity." At this, all of the Adventurers in the room began chattering in hushed tones. Brian turned his attention towards the loudest of the patients, and the man visibly withered under his gaze. All the other injured kept quiet after that.
"The Boss had control over the earth in the room, and used an ability similar to Earth Wave." Earth Wave was the same spell Lana had. Brian raised an eyebrow at this. "He also used another. Unfortunately, I am unfamiliar with it's name. Pillars of earth were shot from the ground in a direct line. It was this, that broke my leg." He shuddered at the memory of being sent sailing into the air.
"While I recovered from the Earth Wave attack, the Boss moved in to finish me off. It was then, that Michael saved me." He thought back to what had happened, and still couldn't believe frail Michael had actually stepped in to protect his life.
"Is that why he is now bleeding all over my Infirmary?" Brian asked.
"Yes sir, he took a swipe from the Boss. He used his final Heal to keep himself alive afterwards, and that was why my leg was still broken when we left the Dungeon." He replied sullenly. He still hadn't thanked the boy for saving his life. He decided to do so once he woke.
"Where was Lana during this?"
"She had been knocked into the river in the center of the room, during the Earth Wave attack. After injuring Michael, the Boss focused on me. He broke my leg with the Pillar attack, and would have bitten my head off if the two did not save me. Lana stabbed the bear's neck, and I scored a hit into the beast's eye. Michael finished it off with a final attack, and the Boss died from the wounds. Afterwards; we paid our respects to the Crawl, and left." He finished his recollection of the Dungeon Dive, slightly shaking at the memories.
"What your saying is; the only reason you three survived, was because you got lucky?" He said with a raised eyebrow. He wasn't really asking, and said it more as a statement.
"Yes." He replied gravely.
Brian nodded at this, and let out a small huff. Papers near his bedside fluttered from the burst of air, and Wren finally garnered the courage to look into the Guild Officer's eyes.
He was looking down at him, face impassive. "Good enough. Your next dive is in a few days, report back to Joy when you are ready to return to the Dungeon."
"Y-Yes sir." He shakily replied. He couldn't believe that was the response the man had.
The room shuddered as the Guild Officer exited the Infirmary, and all the patients resumed their whispering. Many looked towards him with strange looks. Some seemed annoyed at his luck, others directed pitiful gazes in his direction. Most, however, gave him looks of respect. The first Adventurers to kill the Dungeon Boss was a hotly discussed topic in the town, and he had just increased the popularity of his Dungeon Party greatly.
Soon, many of the patients hobbled over to his bedside to ask questions about his dive, and he gave them small smiles as he recounted the tale. He cast one final glance towards Michael, who was still sleeping, and sent a silent thought of thanks towards the boy.
He may be the bravest Cleric I've ever met, or the dumbest.
Chapter 22 - Herald and Crawl
* * *
In the Crawl room.
"Time!" He yelled. He focused on Bel, expectantly.
"A new record! You made it all the way to five minutes, Sol." She cheered. He didn't see how she was keeping such an accurate count, but she knew exactly how long it had been. She had an uncanny sense of the passage of time outside the Dungeon, so he figured this wasn't much of a stretch of her powers.
For the past few days after the Party of Adventurers had managed to defeat Grizzly, Sol had taken to training. All he was doing was turning into a tree, as he had when the Two-legs inspected Will's Crawl. The near failure had hit the Treant harder than both of them thought, and he was now practicing with a vengeance.
Ever since that Party left the Dungeon, Sol would go on the top of Grizzly's hill and practice. No other Adventurers had managed to make it to the Boss since the Dwarf's group did a few days ago, so he had the entire Boss room to practice. Grizzly was relaxing nearby, sleeping. At least, he was pretending to. Will could see the giant bear eyes peek open whenever he thought Sol wasn't looking.
His Boss and Mini-Boss were not as dejected as he had expected after their defeat. Instead, he could sense the excitement and anticipation radiating out from them. They wanted a rematch, and he knew they would get it.
Sadly, the groups of Adventurers cycled through his Dungeon for their dives. He figured it would be at least another day or two until he saw them again. That is if they were even strong enough to return again. His Monsters had nearly killed them ten different ways during their last dive.
Bel lay atop Grizzly, cheering the Treant on from the golden-brown fur on his back. "Don't push yourself, baby! You still have lots of growing to do before you need to fight. Take your time, and make us proud!"
Sol just huffed at this, apparently, he didn't like to be reminded of his weakness. Will could empathize since he was virtually powerless without his Monsters. Bel consoled him when he had brought it up, or tried to anyways. She told him that a Dungeon that felt threatened was one of the strongest beings in Bermin, but he had no intention of ever finding out what she meant by that.
Looking at his Herald, questions he had been avoiding resurfaced in his mind. He felt she was, without a doubt, his closest friend and Confidant. She knew nearly everything about him and was a wealth of knowledge for Dungeons. When she didn't forget, anyways. He, however, knew very little about her or her past. He had gathered pieces from conversations in the past, but that was the extent of his knowledge.
He knew she had a mother and some sort of childhood rival named Tay. He also heard her mention a Hall of Fame once, but he shuddered to think what that might entail. He had wanted to ask her about this for quite a while but was nervous about what her response would be.
What if I pry too far, and she takes it personally? What if she gets angry, and decides to leave?
These thoughts circled in his mind, and his Herald called out. "Sweetheart, why are you so quiet? You know it's important to praise your children when they do something good. Is something the matter?"
Huh? Children? Does she mean Sol?
This was his chance, though. Maybe he could just subtly slip his question into the conversation.
A foolproof plan.
"No, nothing's wrong Sweetie. I've just been thinking about... Sol, and what it must be like for him. It can't be easy being the only member of your race, and most likely never have the chance to meet another Treant in his life. I hope it doesn't affect his... upbringing?"
She looked down. A small frown on her face. "Yeah. Maybe when he's older we can help him look for other Treants."
He steeled himself. "That would be nice. What about you, Bel?" He added hastily.
"What about me?" She looked confused.
"Don't you miss the other Guides?"
Now she definitely looked sadder. "Sometimes, yeah. I know it may be a long time before I ever see another of my kind, but that's how it is for us Guides." She looked up at this. "Why do you ask, Will?"
"I just... Um... Well, I just know so little about you, Bel. I was curious about your past."
Yep. Real subtle, Will.
She sighed, and he saw her compose herself. For what, he didn't know. Maybe he should have waited a little longer? They had only known each other for a little over a month.
"I guess it is about time... I'll tell you whatever you want, Will. Just know, I chose you. Okay?"
Now he was definitely worried. "Okay... Whose Tay?" He might as well start off with the lightest of his questions.
She cracked a small smile, and some of the anxiety in her eyes faded. "Tay was, or is, my brother. I haven't talked to him since we bonded, but he would visit me from time to time. He was t
he last Herald to get a Dungeon before me, and he bonded over 40 years ago. He would visit me and mom sometimes. That little brat always teased me for being unevolved." She said this with a face screwed up in anger.
All this did was give him a thousand more questions. "Unevolved?"
"When a Crawl and Herald bond, they both evolve. You were just a piece of mana when we met, and I was a spirit. After we accepted each other, you became the Crawl you are now and I became a Herald."
"You were a spirit? You just looked like a ball of light to me" He remembered seeing Spirits as an available Monster choice during the Torial. Did this mean he could have had an army of Belles!?
"I was. There are hundreds of different types of Spirits, though. I just happened to be the kind that was destined to become a Dungeon's Herald."
