by TJ Reynolds
Tela wailed, producing a sound of pure grief. What the woman did next, however, was an action Rhona would never be able to forget.
Trading blows with another Brintoshi horseman, Tela blocked an attack then followed it by throwing her blade at the man. A highly unconventional move, the Brintoshi was just as surprised as Rhona. The short sword cut deep into the man’s neck, but didn’t kill him outright.
Still, he turned from Tela and galloped away toward safety, hand clutching his bleeding wound.
Tela retrieved her bow then, and reining in her horse, stared at Hastings and his men.
Or is she staring at Royar? Rhona wondered.
The man’s eyes were pure and concentrated sadness. But in that gaze existed a clear and morbid request. He gave a single, curt nod, expecting Tela to interpret the rest.
Tela screamed, her voice breaking across the hill top like a banshee’s cry. Hoisting her bow, she took aim.
Hastings issued a few orders, and his soldiers spread out, expecting a desperate charge. The sneer on his face alone made Rhona consider the action.
Instead, Tela loosed her arrow.
Straight and true, the arrow sunk into Royar’s chest, just an inch to the left of his sternum.
The man’s mouth and eyes gaped briefly, but only gratitude and endless love were in his gaze when he fell.
Tela held up her bow and fired a few more arrows at Hastings’ men, but she didn’t stay to fight. The ranger turned to Rhona and beckoned her. “Ride, daughter of Brintosh! Ride with me or die this very day!”
In a flash, the ranger spurred her horse away from the soldiers, cutting a path across the hilltop.
One foolish soldier stepped in her way. A moment later, an arrow sprouted from his eye. And with little other recourse, Rhona found herself racing behind the woman.
An immense pressure slammed against her Iron Mind fortification. So hard and precise was the mental strike, that Rhona nearly lost her seat.
Instead, she closed her eyes, trusting to Honor. She felt his body undulating beneath her as they stole across the hilltop.
I know where your friends are, Hastings said in a malicious voice. And when I find you all hiding in that miserable keep, I’ll kill you last of all.
She didn’t answer.
She barely had the strength to resist.
Rhona clutched Honor’s saddle as the horse followed Tela. Her belly flipped as Honor dove down a steep incline, taking them down the opposite side of their once-valiant hill.
Slowly, the sound of Honor’s pounding hooves and her own desperate heart replaced the screams of dying men.
Even when she knew the danger had passed, Rhona kept her eyes closed.
She didn’t want to live in a world where a man like Royar had to be killed by his dearest lover.
Thinking of his courage, though, bolstered her own.
Rhona breathed in deeply, then rose up and faced the world. Tela bobbed before her, riding half standing, her cloak billowing behind her like a haunted shadow.
Stealing a glance behind her, Rhona saw distant figures chasing them, but they were too far away. The Brintoshi war horses didn’t have the speed Honor had, nor could they match the spritely horses of Hintar in such open terrain.
They were safe, for now.
Finally, when she’d calmed her nerves and forced her hands to quit shaking, Rhona made a solemn oath. She thought of Imogen, dead and broken. And she remembered feeling helpless as Hastings clutched the base of her skull in his foul gauntlet.
Most of all, Rhona thought of Royar’s tired and helpless eyes the moment Tela’s arrow punctured his heart.
I’ll kill that monster or die trying, she swore, gripping her reins in white hands.
I deserve no better fate until that man is gone.
33
Too Much Heart, Too Little Tolerance
Kai
“I will repay you, Dragon Kai,” the war chief said, refusing to lift his forehead from the stone floor of the cave.
“There’s no need. Please, we’ve reason to celebrate, but this isn’t necessary.”
Kai cleared his throat, and trying a different approach, urged Kotsi to consider their location. “Let’s agree to discuss the matter when we are safely back at the village. For now, I say we explore the nest and then leave.”
Kotsi’s head bobbed as he rose up from his position. “Wisdom. Wisdom, indeed. Sora! Recon and report!”
The kobold warriors recovered from their various states of disarray the moment Sora’s voice bounced off the cave walls.
A search team was assembled, and as it left, Kai ordered Greg to follow them in case there was danger.
Kai stood opposite Kotsi, and though he wanted to, he couldn’t ignore the affection that roiled off of the kobold war chief. Kotsi searched Kai’s face then examined his armor and glaive.
This is weird, Kai thought. Not that it was great before, but this is definitely weird.
Hoping to distract Kotsi for a time, Kai asked one of the questions that had been bothering him. “The spider queen. She wasn’t always an enemy. Am I right?”
“No! She was queen of the Glass Spiders. Thousands of them, living all throughout the tunnels. But after the infection came, the fungus I mean, none have been safe.”
Kai listened while Kotsi filled in much of the story he hadn’t yet known.
Some time shortly after the fall of the dragons, the mountains shook in rage. With no Earth Cores to contain or repair the damage, life for the Ruby Kobolds had transformed rapidly.
“We did not notice the fungus until it was far too late,” Kotsi explained. “When the queen herself turned, we were forced to focus exclusively on defense. Without your help, Dragon Kai…”
Having returned to the source of his awe, the grizzled war chief trailed off and began once more to study Kai at length.
An excited shout pulled Kai’s attention away, and he followed Kotsi to investigate.
One of the search party members had returned, and the little kobold waved them deeper into the nest. At the back of the tunnel, Kai came upon the rest of the group. All were facing some feature of the cave he couldn’t make out.
When Kai stepped past Greg’s bulky form, and retrieved a torch for himself, he quickly learned what had captivated his companion’s fancy.
The rear wall sloped downward. Where the wall should have met the floor, a pitch-black chasm opened up. The opening was small, only ten feet wide and a few across.
But staring into the abyss pushed at his sense of perspective, and he was overcome with the fear and sensation that he might fall into the pit.
Crouching to the ground, Kai moved closer.
The darkness within the chasm had a liquid quality to it. It looked and felt alive somehow, and Kai was reminded of the terrible presence of the spider queen. Those first haunting moments when she’d activated her fey spell, enthralling them in a second.
He pressed his torch as close as he could, but a queer thing happened when he did. As the flames came within a foot of the darkness, the almost-invisible tendrils of black fungus recoiled.
Then he saw beyond, saw into the thing that was growing in the chasm below. Kai saw the disease for what it was, a hungry blight intent on consuming all in its path.
Kai thought of the Mirin Swamps and the blight that seeped into every plant and pool of water. Could this be the same? If so, is there an end to this sickness?
Perhaps sensing Kai’s thoughts, or worse, hearing them, a voice called out to him like a faint breeze coursing through his mind. Mine. All mine, it said. Everything will be mine.
Chilled to the bone and tempted to retreat, Kai responded. You can’t have everything. Stay where you are or you will be sorry.
The jagged chasm groaned and a pressure similar to what the queen had exuded reached out for him.
Instinctively, Kai held up his glaive and released Flame Spear.
The spell rippled outward, scorching the chasm’s precipice.
Kai blinked, giving his eyes time to recover from the bright flash. His heart raced, and he felt almost as if the thing he’d spoken with had left a layer of residue on his very core.
The voice did not speak again.
Though, distantly, Kai could still feel its foul presence.
The black fungus is acting as its body somehow, Kai thought. And there’s obviously a lot more down there. Too bad there isn’t a way to collapse the whole ravine in on itself and be done with it.
“Let’s get moving,” Kai said, unaware of the authority in his voice. “There’s nothing else for us here. First, let’s see if we can locate any more infected eggs and destroy them all.”
Sora cried out and his squad of kobolds set out searching for the spider queen’s eggs.
Ten minutes later, and the group stood facing a webbed matrix, hundreds of eggs clustered in between.
Hoping he could count on his scaled companions, Kai issued another order. “I want every single egg destroyed. Have your warriors stand back. I can finish the rest.”
The kobolds were confused for a moment, but Kai’s intentions soon became clear.
When they’d finished, Kai held his spear aloft.
“Hold, Dragon Kai!” Kotsi said, running forward.
He ducked under a hanging mass of fungus-covered webs. Kai watched the war chief struggle with something, and then emerge with three pristine spider eggs. The silk they were wrapped in had a white, pearlescent sheen.
They had not yet been infected.
“These can help us establish a new nest. We only have one queen left who hasn’t been infected, and she is getting old. I’m ready now.”
Kai expected Kotsi to hand the eggs off to one of his subordinates.
Instead, he handed off his great axe and held them in his arms like priceless treasures.
I’m not one for spider kin, but who am I to judge? I keep an Earth Core, a monk, and a horse as companions.
Everyone backed away before Kai sent another fiery spell into the webbed mess.
The fine layer of black fungus caught first, igniting the spittle dripping from the egg sacs. Finally, the webbing itself caught fire, burning ever brighter.
Disturbingly, a faint screeching came from the myriad egg sacs, and some even writhed in protest. All was quiet soon enough, however, and Sora ordered a retreat.
Thankfully, they’d either scared off any other infected spiders, or those who’d survived had fled.
They were not bothered on the return trip.
Kai’s legs ached, and he felt dizzy with fatigue when he returned to the kobold village.
Tessra greeted the returning party, and the villagers poured out of the fungal-forged homes rejoicing.
“I will admit, Dragon Kai, I feared your whole party would disappear forever,” the chief kobold said as she sat back down on her favorite stone near the fire pit. She wore a wary smile and rubbed her hands.
Kai noticed her eyes running over the drastically diminished war band. “Tell me, did you manage to slay the queen? Or have our losses been in vain?”
Kotsi lunged forward and bowed before Tessra. “The queen is dead thanks to Dragon Kai. His Earth Core champion Greg showed great strength as well even though he speaks little. And look, Tessra, we salvaged three spiders from the ravine itself!”
A cheer rose above the village, and Kai allowed himself a shameless grin.
“Well and good!” Tessra declared, lifting her staff high in the air. “Now quiet, all of you. Form a line and let me purify your bodies. You’ve all been covered in the fungus’ taint.”
Kai was purified first. He wasn’t sure if the chief would simply give them a benign but useless blessing, but when the splash of cold ether struck his body, he heard countless tiny spores burn away. It sounded much like water splashing in a hot pan though he couldn’t feel a thing.
One by one, the party was purified, and then a feast was announced.
Kai found a place to unbuckle his armor and set all his gear aside.
Though Greg didn’t seem to notice, Kai removed his pack from the huge champion anyhow. Then he ordered him to take a seat near the fire.
For a moment, Kai considered reaching out to Ban, informing them of their success. The Earth Core would find out soon enough, however, and when Kotsi handed him a flask of spirits, the night took on its own momentum.
The bonfire grew in size, the kobolds dragging huge planks of dried mushroom stalk and stoking the blaze high.
Soon, Kai was stuffing his face with roasted mushrooms. The meal was satisfying despite a lack of diversity present, and after a few swigs from Kotsi’s flask, Kai finally relaxed.
He watched as the kobolds brought out tiny flutes. They looked like the reed flutes he used to carve and play, but as with almost everything in this underground world, it looked to be made from a shroom stalk.
They played many songs, and at last, Kai gave Ban a nudge.
“What is it, Kai, I was… Oh, well that’s a catchy tune,” Ban said as his mind occupied Greg’s.
The kobolds sitting nearest to the silent champion all recoiled, screeching and interrupting the melody.
Kotsi found the disruption highly entertaining, and offered Ban more of his prized liquor.
Ban took the proffered flask between two massive fingers. Then he sipped it down.
“Incredible! If I told you this tastes a little like coal, would you believe me?”
“I have never eaten coal,” Kotsi replied. “But if it tastes like this maybe I will give it a try.”
Ban and Kotsi started up a conversation revolving around the process of making the alcohol, and Kai assumed the Sunken Keep would have its own distillery in no time.
His body was warm, his muscles relaxed as he stared into the flames before him.
Then he remembered the vortex of ether that he’d absorbed from the fallen queen.
Checking in his EI, he found yet another reason to celebrate.
He’d reached level 3 of Golden.
Considering how to spend his three Attribute Points, Kai reflected on his recent adventures. Intelligence increased the power of his greatest attacks and had too many interwoven benefits to deny.
He added one point to Intelligence immediately.
After he’d selected Constitution last time, Kai had experienced such a sense of well-being and vitality that he nearly did so again. Yet how long had it been since he’d added a point to Strength?
Kai did so, and thought about his final point.
Wisdom and Charisma would both have benefits. At the moment, however, Kai wasn’t exactly much of a leader. Greg followed his mental commands without having to be convinced, so until he ascended to Emerald, Kai decided to delay Charisma.
Then he recalled how tricky fighting in the tunnels had been, and how he’d been injured too often when he might have otherwise dodged or blocked an attack.
So, feeling good about his choices, Kai dropped his final point in Dexterity.
Finalizing the choices, Kai closed his eyes and shuddered. The ecstatic pain of increasing his Attributes was oddly comforting. Though his muscles burned, and his body ached, the sensations were temporary.
Most importantly, he knew what the pain brought about.
Each level up brought more power, more potential, and Kai would never get sick of that.
Satisfied, Kai checked his character status.
__
Family Name: Kaius Unterinan
Alias: Kai
Level: Golden 3
Elemental Affinity: Lumen
Accolades:
Core Mender, Briga’s Ally
Attributes:
Strength - 13 = Base 11 (+2)
Dexterity - 13 = Base 10 (+3)
Constitution - 13 = Base 12 (+1)
Intelligence -18 = Base 9 (+9)
Wisdom -12 = Base 10 (+2)
Charisma
- 12 = Base 7 (+5)
Spells: Flame Spear, Restoring Tide, Confounded Core, Soul Projection, Breeze Step
__
Kai’s thoughts were interrupted when Greg’s harsh laughter crashed like thunder beside him.
Apparently Ban had found one of Kotsi’s many anecdotes amusing. “Well said, Kotsi! I couldn’t agree more. For all I admire men and dragons, they do have a certain smell about them, don’t they?”
More laughter followed, and Kai, the only party to which the comment was relevant, decided to take offense. “And your dark, wet dungeon always smells nice?” he shot back.
Then, pointing to Kotsi himself, noted, “And you, sir, don’t seem to have bathed in a week!”
The war chief’s face fell slack, his bulging eyes searching Kai’s face.
A hush fell over the celebration, and even Tessra turned to see what had happened.
Of course, the grizzled warrior only laughed louder than before, afterward tipping back his head as he took more than a mouthful of alcohol. Overjoyed that he’d disturbed the dragon, Kotsi offered his drink to Ban.
“I don’t suppose it will hurt. Here we go!” Ban cried out as he imitated Kotsi’s enthusiasm.
This should be fun to watch, Kai thought, leaning forward along with the other kobolds. When the Earth Core champion sprayed the air with the offending liquid, some igniting in the flames of the bonfire and flaring up in Greg’s face, the camp practically died from laughter.
Kai clutched his stomach, a cramp already forming in his side. Yet still, he couldn’t stop laughing.
“I have never been more afraid in my life!” Kotsi declared, dropping to a knee as his laughing fit redoubled. “And to think…” Kotsi sputtered between gasps. “I thought he was the dragon!”
By the time the village had calmed down, Tessra was there to remind them all that more sober events were afoot in the world.
“We will continue to drink and be merry. This is a proper way to celebrate a great victory,” the chief said, her voice strong but subdued. “But we will also remember the hundreds of spiders and dozens of kobolds who died not only today but in the months that preceded.”
