by TJ Reynolds
Imogen joined them once more, having completed enough of her tasks to justify a break. Kai lit a fire, and Imogen summoned a few hares that Rhona quickly dispatched and began to clean. A proper feast was held, and Ban noted with great pleasure how close he and his dragon had grown to their new allies.
The celebration didn’t last long, however, and soon they all fell asleep. Ban was thankful for he was given an opportunity to return to his dungeon and focus on the ongoing ascension.
Unlike men and dragons, Earth Cores spent a longer time ascending. Forming new connections in his core, Ban worked at making himself larger and denser at the same time. It was exhausting work, but immensely gratifying.
He was about to return to his champion’s body, having finished with the arduous task, when his mind spun down an endless tunnel. When the world righted itself once more, Ban received the most precious gift possible.
Bancroft. You’ve done much good in your short life. I believe you’ve earned some recognition, Briga said in a voice of flowing water. Yorick gave everything for the same cause, and soon you will learn what he bought with his sacrifice. For now, though, I will give you some of the memories you’ve lost. Enjoy.
Before he could reply, the goddess was gone, and again, his surrounding twisted and warped. Then, as fast as snowflakes in a blizzard, memories of time spent with Yorick flooded through his core.
If he could weep, he would, but instead, Ban simply gaped in wonder. His core throbbed with emotions, and still, the memories flooded him.
At last, his final night with Yorick came back to him. It was a simple memory, and yet, priceless.
I’ll have you know, Bancroft, I’ve dined with kings and courtesans, visited the elves and enjoyed the company of too many keen minds to count. And none, Bancroft, none I hold so dear as you.
His master’s face, handsome and wise yet untouched by age, faded at last.
When he woke back in his champion’s body, it was morning, and his friends were already awake. He told them of his gifts, and Imogen acknowledged how amazing Briga’s gift had been.
Rhona sighed, standing up and dusting herself off. I’m sorry to say this, but my journey is not over. I know what the gods have said, but I don’t feel I’m done here. Hintar awaits.
The young woman glanced around uncomfortably, so Ban stepped in to alleviate her predicament. You’ll not have to go alone, Rhona. I have it on good authority that a particularly nasty group of soldiers might be headed my way. The Vermillion Guard, that is, and though I’m more powerful than ever, I doubt I’ll have the strength to face them. It’s time we leave as well.
The Vermillion Guard! If any of us want to live, we’d better leave, but how is that possible, Ban? Aren’t you stuck in your dungeon? Rhona replied, concern in her every thought.
No. I can pick up and leave, though it will mean leaving all of my ether and resources behind. You two can carry me on until we’ve reached a more amiable location. Then I’ll simply rebuild!
A dozen more questions followed, each that Ban answered faithfully. When at last they’d all decided their course, Imogen took hold of the conversation.
As I’m sure Bancroft has mentioned, a newly healed dungeon has more than a few challenges regarding memory. I once had a vast library, an armory to outfit three dozen knights, and a vault filled with treasures. I can only remember a little of what I once was. Yet I feel I have found sufficient rewards for you two.
Ban brimmed with pride to see not only Kai but Rhona also insist that such rewards weren’t necessary. Imogen shoved aside their refusals. Quiet, the both of you. I will give you gifts, and if you come to learn anything of dungeons, it will be that we relish such opportunities. Now, do pay attention. Rhona, please accept this bracelet.
As the dungeon spoke a circlet of blue and white formed before her. The warrior picked it up and slipped it over her wrist, the band shrinking to fit as she did so.
I knew many fierce monks who walked the same path you do, Rhona. I know you may not carry sword or shield to defend yourself or aid your attacks. But you may use a ward, the dungeon instructed. If you activate this bracelet, it will project a ward of water ether to protect you from harm. It reduces damage taken but does not eliminate it entirely. This will allow you a much greater degree of control each time you sacrifice your body to harm.
Rhona touched the stone, tracing her fingers along its edge. Thank you, Imogen. I’ll use it wisely.
Without pause, the dungeon continued. And you, Kai, have grown strong, but have a ways to go if you are to become a peer to this fearless monk. I’ve modified a set of pauldrons that match your breastplate. May they aid you in your journey in becoming a mage and a master glavier. They are enchanted to increase movement speed as well as the recharge rate of your Available Ether.
Kai, with the practiced help of Rhona, fixed the new armor in place, and they all took a few moments to appreciate how handsome it made him. The pauldrons looked a bit bulky, but Kai swore they were light and easy to move within.
Finally, as if Imogen had not already outdone herself, a slight tremor shook the ground beneath their feet, and a small chest emerged from the ground.
I have another gift, this one for all of you.
It was simple in form, wood bound with brass, but when Kai opened it, they all gasped in unison. Within lay a stack of books, all of which seemed priceless to Ban. A few appeared to be skill books as well, which were less exciting for his use. Most spectacular were the stack of gleaming Spell Scales.
Ban and Kai thanked Imogen and packed the box away with its priceless treasures.
At last, it was time the two parties broke apart, at least for the time being.
Kai and Rhona had their boots on and equipment slung over their bodies, and poor Honor was weighed down by plenty of baggage to carry.
Imogen offered a most fortunate and unforeseen boon. A small pool of water formed in the stone nearby. It was little more than a puddle, glowing green but otherwise mundane. Please, drink deeply of this water. It will restore your bodies. You can’t take any with you though, for it must be powered within my dungeon.
Ban drank first, and when the liquid came close to his face as he knelt above the pool, he saw tiny motes of verdant energy flitting through the pool. It was cool and refreshing, the taste green and bright like spring grass.
Immediately, his champion’s body coursed with energy, warm as a patch of grass in the afternoon sun.
After performing a short dance, Ban flexed his tiny fists, relishing the sense of bountiful strength.
Rhona laughed. “That good, huh?” she asked, then stooped to drink as well.
When she stood up, Ban could swear that her long hair, braid finally let down to dry, grew before their eyes.
At Imogen’s insistence, they each drank until their bellies were tight. Then Honor emptied the pool of half its contents. His tail and mane grew as well, the red blaze on his chest and fetlocks burning ever brighter.
Pushing the giddy feeling of the draught away, Ban asked their host, Can you send one of your golems to show us the fastest way to the surface?
Of course, Bancroft. But if you can spare another minute, Imogen answered, her voice betraying her own sense of excitement.
A rhythmic scraping sounded behind them, and the group turned to see a vast wolf made of ice and stone. Its fur shone with glinting frost. Imogen continued. This is one of my favorite minions. He’ll take you to the edge of my influence with as much speed as can be hoped for. I’ve opened a path that leads to the swamp above. Farewell for now. May we speak again when you return this way.
As she finished, the great wolf sped away, heading toward the tunnel at the far end of the chamber.
Kai pulled himself up to sit behind Rhona, and Honor trotted in place for a moment, then bolted to catch the white wolf already disappearing up a newly opened tunnel.
With a tremendous burst of speed, Honor carried Kai and Rhona up an impossibly long but gentle incline.
Ban had the impression that Imogen was not only providing them a quicker way out of her dungeon but leading them to the edge of the swamp as well. He sped behind the warhorse and flew on wings empowered by Imogen’s boon.
Eventually, they emerged from the tunnel, the light of a new day breaking around them.
The wolf moved on, and as he raced over the swamp, the land rose and turned solid. Imogen was blessing their progress with every stride. Ban watched from above as they completed a day and half’s journey in a handful of hours.
At the edge of the swamp, the wolf at last crumbled into fragments of ice and stone, but by then, Imogen’s assistance was no longer needed.
When they finally arrived at Ban’s dungeon, they dismounted. He noted that poor Kai looked sick with fear as he walked through the remnants of the soldiers’ camp. Ban related in more depth the battle he had fought, how close it had come, and how the gargen had aided him at the last minute.
We’ll need to give them a few more daggers if possible, Kai said as the group entered the dungeon.
Already taken care of it, actually. You should have seen Mowie’s face when I did. Gave them twenty daggers in all and a whole heap of cave fish. They’ve only now just tuckered out from the little party they threw last night, Ban explained.
Kai looked around at the first chamber and whistled. You made a lot of little changes, eh? Good work, Ban. If you’d been shivvered again, I wouldn’t have let you live it down.
If you’d have been here, it wouldn’t have been so close! Ban noted, then urged the young man on. You just have to see what I’ve done with my old core room.
Kai was sweet enough to note each of the changes had Ban made in his absence.
Kai and Rhona were especially impressed by the waterfall chasm and the trapdoor. They shuddered when Ban recounted how the man had fallen to his death and been overrun by the gargen below.
I love you, Ban, but you’re getting awfully excited about this killing business, Kai said with a wry grin.
Coming from the man who helped the red-haired invader slay a basilisk and half his spawn!
Ban sent his champion out of the dungeon once more to scout the surrounding area. They needed to be certain how close this Vermillion Guard was. While his champion was away, Ban showed off the converted training room as well, and finally, let the two see his new and improved core.
You’ve grown quite a bit, Ban! It’s a pity we need to leave so soon, Kai said, and Ban pulsed with satisfaction.
Rhona reached out a hand, then paused. I’m sorry, I just--
Go ahead, I don’t mind, the Earth Core said. Rhona first, and then Kai after, both placed their hands on Ban’s core. All three were already connected, but the physical contact made everything sharper and more pronounced.
Incredible! Rhona said. I… I can feel so much from each of you.
After a few moments, they pulled their hands back, and each of them spent a while focusing on exactly where each member of their group began and ended.
Flitting to his champion’s perspective, Ban saw a large force of soldiers, large by his standards anyhow. They were a day’s march from Mindonne but hadn’t shown any signs of marching. There was no rush to leave then, yet when he told the two the news, all thought it wise to head back and spend the night with Imogen instead.
After a midday meal, Kai, with Ban’s insistence, plucked the Earth Core from his pedestal and placed him in a velvet-lined leather bag Ban had crafted. Immediately, he felt his reserves, his connection to his bounty of materials fade away. All of the Progression he’d accumulated was drained as well.
The sensation was terrifying, and he was thankful he was allowed to keep his ascension of Golden 1. Had he been Golden 3, the two levels would have been stripped from him mercilessly.
They walked back out the way they had come, and Ban felt his heart breaking. How long had he been in this mountain? And would his new location be as favorable? He could not answer the question, but he knew he wished his friends to be far away by the time the soldiers arrived.
We’ll need to go slow. The draught Imogen gave us is wearing off and I doubt Honor will want to go trotting around with both of us in tow again, Rhona pointed out, running a hand through her horse’s mane.
It is good we’ll have a second mount, then, though I suppose even a Golden ascended champion may grow tired of carrying a lazy dragon about, Ban said, and when the two asked all the predictable questions, he gave them the most exciting surprise of all.
Before he’d asked Kai to remove his Earth Core, and while he’d still had use of his materials and pool of AE, Ban had absorbed his champion’s old body and produced a new one.
It waited patiently for them as they exited the dungeon.
Kai and Rhona displayed the perfect amount of shock and admiration as they beheld the grandeur of his Stone Houndzard.
As a boss, the beast was as broad as two men and twice as long. Yet now, as a champion, the size had grown exponentially.
“Go shiv a goat, Ban! The thing’s bigger than Honor!” Rhona exclaimed with wide eyes.
The dungeon ignored her breach in propriety and took it as a compliment instead.
“And that’s not all,” Ban boasted in a voice as deep as the gargen’s lair. “Watch this.”
Kai and Rhona took a step back as Ban selected the Metamorphosis option for the first time.
The Stone Houndzard rippled in the air, and it grew long, sleek scales over its ribs and chest. A wicked pair of horns emerged from the side of its skull, and its torso retracted a little, becoming lithe and graceful. The legs extended, and moved under its body a little, which Ban thought might increase its top speed.
Finally, the creature’s eyes lit up the pure white of Lumen. Instinctively, Ban knew the champion’s new abilities. Selecting the most impressive of these, he made the beast open its mouth. A thick stream of vibrant energy spewed out and onto the stones before the dungeon.
The attack burned through the rocks, splitting a few with the intense heat.
That’s so delightfully savage, Ban, Kai encouraged. Well done!
Turning their backs on his old home, the group headed back to the swamps. Kai rode atop the upgraded champion, and they chatted amicably on their way.
“Regarding the name of our little group here, of our guild, I’ve been thinking quite a bit,” Ban admitted in his rumbling houndzard voice. “What about The Swamp Squad then? I know, too basic. Then my mind went to Plunderers United. Too obvious, and besides, it isn’t as if we’re registering an official guild or anything. So my best idea is the Muddy Marauders! What do you think? It sounds awfully fierce to me.”
Kai and Rhona laughed, a little too loud for Ban’s taste, but he waited patiently for their response anyhow. “Great names, Ban,” Kai applauded, “but you have it all wrong. This didn’t start with the swamps or with Imogen. It started with you.”
“With me?” Ban replied. “I’m quite flattered, but what are you suggesting? The Bancroft Baddies? I should think not. It seems rather selfish to indulge in such an idea.”
“It isn’t, Ban. If not for you teaching me, training me, and sending me on that lack-witted quest, none of this would have happened. You’re at the center of it all, Ban,” Kai gently reminded his friend. “You are the guild’s core.”
Rhona belly laughed and thrust a triumphant fist in the air. Turning to Kai, she belted out, “That’s it, don’t you see? We’re The Guild Core!”
Kai nodded approvingly and the two-legged members of their party seemed wholly satisfied. Ban was confused to say the least.
“The Guild Core as a name,” the Earth Core insisted, “makes less sense in regard to syntax and proper reason than any number of substitutions. If you insist on the theme, then perhaps we might consider The Core Guild.”
Kai and Rhona took turns comforting the Earth Core until even he came to accept the name of their small but potent guild.
And finally, as the wind blew the smell of the deep swa
mp into Ban’s scaled nose, he detected a change. Imogen had been awake less than a full day, and already, the land seemed to be healing.
Ban shrugged off the silliness of squabbling over the name of their party. It simply didn’t matter.
What they were becoming meant a mountain of gold more.
If the dragons, their Earth Cores, and all the magic and wonders of the old world were dead, it would be up to them to revive them all.
They would wake every dungeon in the Zargan Mountains and find a clutch of dragon eggs to boot.
Somehow, as he bounced around in Kai’s backpack and jogged through a swamp in a houndzard’s body, Ban knew he would live to see the birth of a new age.
Epilogue: Breadcrumbs and Borrowed Time
Hastings
The men and women of the Vermillion Guard broke camp “quick and neat,” as Hastings often said, almost like a company a tenth their size.
They were once the army’s vanguard and were prepared to resume such a role should Brintosh ever ride back to war and glory. Yet rather than let his finest horsemen sit idly in the sprawling fields near Creshon, or risk pointless injury at the end of a tourney lance, his Vermillion Guard had become something else entirely.
Hastings led the world’s finest and most aggressive regiment of scouts.
It was their duty not only to be the eyes of the King’s army but to probe any threats they encountered. The task brought considerable honor to those who served in the Vermillion. It was a coveted position, regardless of the many dangers it incurred.
Normally, they would be harrying the Kaltanese, setting villages on fire and sowing mayhem where they could. All methods of destruction were permitted. There was only one rule they had to abide: don’t get caught.
Colonel Hastings sat atop his horse, surveying the small town of Mindonne from a nearby hill. He wanted to have a look at the surrounding countryside before they set out into the swamp.
It had only been a few weeks since his commanding officer gave him the delightful news that the Guard was to head south, with as much stealth as possible, and begin probing the Hintari defenses.
