Fjorgyn: A Rebel Rises

by RJ Castiglione

  Where the markets on the edge of town saw a significant amount of traffic, the path down to the dungeon was abandoned. A feeling of foreboding pitted itself in my stomach when we left Clifford to finish the trek to the cave's entrance. Clifford was my tank, and I was his healer. I only hope he taught Baridorne well. When we reached the wooden door, we donned our armor. The others oohed and aahed at the quality of my gear. The other healer in our group, a young level 6 Trisian, was most impressed by my staff. They were only given common class items. They each had uncommon rings on, though, earned from previous runs. My second healer was without rings.

  With my armor on and my staff at the ready, I stepped into the dungeon's entrance. Just like last time, the door behind me had disappeared. To leave, we had to finish at least one challenge. "I swear to you, Cilden if I die in here I'm going to spend the next week haunting you. I mean it. If you see something attacking me, you come and rescue me."

  My friend clapped me on the back hard enough to take away a health point and pressed forward. Baridorne took the lead with his shield and sword at the ready. The giant held himself like a man who had seen battle before. Cilden was behind him wielding an iron mace. Moga was next, the little Nissean sneaking along the ground with a bow in his hand. He had an arrow already notched.

  "Have you been in here before?" I asked the other healer. He shook his head quickly, eyes open as wide as they could responding to both darkness and tension.

  "It's okay. You focus on healing Moga and me. I'll focus on you, Baridorne, and Cilden." Before I could get a response from him, Baridorne had already started clanking his sword and shield together. The first wave of rats scurried up the tunnel intent on eating their new prey. Just like last time, eight of them had appeared around the bend. I analyzed as many as I could and saw that their level had increased since I was last here, most likely in response to our higher average level. The creatures lunged forward at Baridorne. Two had already dropped dead, one by his sword and another by Moga's arrow.

  Cilden managed to peel two more off of Baridorne and was swinging his mace at the creatures. He missed most of his swings, but landed one or two hits, costing one rat half of its health. At this point, both Baridorne and Cilden had taken damage. I cast healing seed on them. The second rank of the spell proved much more potent, especially when augmented by my now full wisdom. Each tick of the spell healed for 3hp. Ten seconds expired, and four more rats were dead, most by Baridorne and Moga. One had broken through, though, and jumped over Moga to attack me. These creatures weren't stupid. They knew I prevented them from enjoying their dinner.

  The healer next to me screamed and cast his healing spell on me: a rank one healing prayer. It was a foolish move. I raised my staff and slammed it into the creature like a pro would swing a baseball bat. The rat took a fair amount of damage both from my staff and the wall it crashed into. This gave Moga enough time to draw his dagger and finish it off.

  With the final creature dead and the party still at full health, we pressed on. I analyzed the young man while we walked.

  Name: Peadair Byrne

  Race: Trisian

  Age: 19

  Class: None

  Talent: None

  Level: 6

  Health: 151

  Mana: 152

  Stamina: 151

  Alignment: Undetermined

  Profession: None

  Disposition: Neutral

  Company: None

  He still had his original slave collar. I made a mental note to talk to Clifford and Nila about giving him a replica. We couldn't have our healers suffering from an Intelligence and Wisdom hit when we escaped.

  "Look, Petey." I don't think he liked me playing with his name. That wasn't going to stop me. "Your only heal right now is a direct heal. If you cast it on anyone who has full health, it does nothing. The mana cost might be small. Direct heals are like that. They're slow to cast with a medium mana cost. They can also be completely wasted. There are four of us between you and the monsters. You don't have to worry. If you see Moga and I taking more than-" I paused to review my combat log. "More than 13 points of damage, then you cast it. If we're going to die, you keep casting it over and over again until we're safe or you're out of mana."

  He was still tense although he nodded at me.

  "You'll be okay. Don't worry. This place is easier than a walk in the park."

  A smile formed in the corner of his mouth. A little reassurance goes a long way in this world.

  We went on like this for some time; killing rats and taking names. Petey and I cast a few healing spells. No one took more than 20 to 30 damage at any time. Moga was quick and took no damage whatsoever. We took a break in the central chamber to decide our next move. We agreed to clear each pillar one at a time to maximize experience and reward.

  A hidden door slid open when we activated the tank pillar. We entered an underground cavern that was about one-hundred feet deep and thirty feet wide. Torches brightened the sides of the cave. In the distance, I heard a rumble. As Clifford promised, a large rock monster thudded towards us, moving painfully slow. Each time its foot struck the ground, the chamber shook a bit, echoes of the thud filling the room. Baridorne charged at the creature. It had begun launching rocks at us, each of us spending most of our time dodging.

  Baridorne met the creature head on, slamming his shield into its torso. 10% of Baridorne's stamina vanished. With only one foot on the ground at the time, it lost its balance and stumbled ten feet back only to be met by Baridorne's shield again. Half-giant met rock monster with equal ferocity. The monster's bellows clashed with my friend's roar. It lifted its large arms and slammed into Baridorne's back, causing him to cave to his knees slightly. He maintained his footing and the creature began sliding back to the end of the cave. Cilden and Moga were picking up stray rocks and throwing it at the monster's head. Petey and I stayed back healing Baridorne every time he took a hit. Each direct heal gave him the boost he needed to push on. Each pulse of my healing seed kept his knees from hitting the ground.

  The half-giant pushed like a professional football player. The edge of the cliff was only fifteen feet away. Then it was ten feet. Then it was five feet. Baridorne was almost out of stamina. I knew it would be close. Moga and Cilden might have had to finish if I didn't have my trusty staff.

  Baridorne dropped to one knee having lost his balance, and the rock monster gained some ground. Before taking a full step, it’s oversized head met the end of my staff. I triggered the enchant, and the creature's head launched backward taking its body with it, roaring in agony as it shattered against the rocks below.

  I knelt down next to Baridorne; the gentle giant exhausted from his sumo match. Despite being three times my weight, I lifted his dead arm around my shoulder and helped him to his feet.

  "Thanks, friend. That was a bit tougher than last time."

  He bent down to scoop up a small pile of loot that was on the ground where the creature had fallen: a ring granting him +2 to strength, a necklace that boosted his stamina, and a sheild—the same shield he currently had.

  We allowed our stamina and mana to regenerate before moving onto the melee damage challenge. A new door opened up revealing a crude underground village. Straw huts surrounded a fire pit. There was a rat roasting on a spit above the flames. Moss and slime covered the walls of the small room. On the far end of the village, there were a few holes in the wall.

  "Once we step in the settlement, things might get a little crazy. We learned last time that the goblins are stupid. They won't attack you two." Cilden pointed at Petey and me. "So just don't, you know, punch any of them in the face."

  The room began to rumble. Screams poured into the makeshift village from the three holes opposite us. Before I could raise my staff, roughly twenty goblins stormed into the room. They were equipped with crude stone daggers, were mostly naked, and were of low health and low level. Baridorne drew the attention of about half of the attackers. They started pounding on him. Their daggers ei
ther shattered or fell out of their hands, unable to pierce his armor. He was taking health damage, but it was nothing my healing seed couldn't handle.

  Cilden and Moga had transformed completely, skirting behind the group and stabbing the creatures in the back or beating them over the head. This was the challenge for them. It took two hits per goblin to bring them down. A few turned to rage when their comrades died and began attacking anything they saw, including one another. Two had broken towards Petey and me, running in a straight line. I raised my staff and activated the enchantment. Both of them took the hit. One launched backward and slammed into the ground. The other slid a few feet back before attacking again, swinging his stone dagger in great arcs. I stumbled to the side when his dagger sliced my arm. Seeing me injured, Petey stepped forward with a knife and plunged it into the creature's stomach. Blood gushed out of the goblin, coating Petey’s arm in a putrid green slime. The goblin collapsed to the ground having died from my staff strike and my new friend's courageous assault.

  "Will you?" I asked him, raising my injured arm.

  He took two seconds to cast the healing spell. Where healing seed sprouted vines that absorbed into the body, his spell was like a white poultice encompassing the wound. When the light faded, my skin was left unbroken. Only the bloodstains remained.

  "A little help here, Mike!" Moga cried out, now at half health.

  "Calm down, short stuff. You're fine!" He responded to my light-hearted insult with a growl.

  Petey and I both cast a slew of healing spells. We looked like champions in the next few moments, brilliant white and green light illuminating our friends. When my spell finished blooming, they were all back to full health, and the last goblins were dead. Picking over their bodies, we found their rewards: two rings of health, a necklace granting +2 Agility, and an iron dagger that one goblin had on him, but hadn't used in the fight.

  The third pillar room was about the same. Instead of a village in the center of the chamber, there was a giant gap dividing us from our targets: ten goblins throwing rocks and spears at us. Cilden and Moga attacked them from a distance, the Nissean with his bow and Cilden with any rock he could find to launch at them. Baridorne was laughing when rocks and spears bounced off his armor. Petey and I stood behind him to avoid the projectiles. No one was hurt.

  When the room was cleared, a door opened to our right revealing a chest containing more health rings, a ring of +2 Dexterity, a ring of +2 Wisdom, a bow, and a collection of arrows.

  After an hour of fighting, we were exhausted. We only had one pillar remaining. In my opinion, this was arguably the scariest and most dangerous of them all. We sat in the central chamber and had lunch: bread, cheese, and water. As we waited for our fatigue to reduce, I explained the fight to the others. I explained death freeze and told them not to worry about it. We would heal them through it. I came up with a plan that everyone understood. It involved the minor healing potions I brought with me. I distributed the nine potions I had, offering the two stronger ones from my previous run to Baridorne and the weaker ones to Moga and Cilden. Petey stood on the side of the room opposite me, and we activated the pillar.

  Like last time, the door to the next chamber slammed shut. The room grew cold. The jefat emerged.

  Creature: Jefat

  Creature Type: Dark Spirit

  Level: 13

  Health: 247

  Mana: 236

  The creature was stronger than before but so was I. Baridorne first drew the shadow's attention with noise and sword, clashing his weapon into his shield just as Clifford had done. When it got close, I signaled to the group to attack.

  Cilden, Moga, and Baridorne tossed the healing potions at the creature. The glass shattered and covered it in the healing fluid. It worked. The monster began to screech in response to its health loss. It swung it's arms around in retaliation, striking Baridorne twice and taking off nearly twenty percent of his health. At this point, both Petey and I were planning our next move. While I spent time dual-casting healing seed and preparing to infuse it, he healed Baridorne and launched a second heal at the monster. It also suffered another round of potions-turned-projectiles. I tried to infuse the spell with my mana, focusing on holding some mana back. When I couldn't hold it any longer, I unleashed my restorative splendor and tendrils lashed out at the creature. Its focus turned to me. We were prepared for it. Baridorne and Cilden stood in its way and pushed it into a wall. It didn't attack them. It only wanted to kill me.

  Ten seconds and one magnificent bloom later, the creature faded to dust. The cold dissipated from the room and the giant doors swung open for the final time.

  "I'm never coming back to this place," I said to the others. "It's too cold here."

  They tried to laugh, but their faces had turned pallid and gray. They had never battled a creature of such darkness before.

  My head started to spin when I looked into the next chamber. My vision buckled, like looking through a giant magnifying glass. The others began walking into it while I was left standing at the entrance itself overwhelmed by a sense of foreboding.

  "You should go in without me," I said to Cilden. He nodded, understanding that it was the room where I had died. "And Cilden, don't say his name."

  With the others stepping out of the picture to claim their new prizes, I reviewed the backlog of notifications from the last few fights:

  You have killed a level 6 Cave Rat * 17. +119xp

  You have killed a level 7 Cave Rat * 14. +126xp

  You have killed a level 8 Cave Rat * 15. +150xp

  You have killed a level 9 Cave Rat * 9. +99xp

  You have killed a level 10 Cave Rat * 5. +65xp

  Congratulations! You have reached level 6! You have 2 attribute points to assign. 307xp to next level.

  Congratulations! Your skill with staves has increased to rank 7. .1% additional damage when attacking. .2% additional chance to block.

  Congratulations! You have gained rank 10 in Healing Seed II. Your spell has improved to Healing Seed III. Cast this to plant a seed of natural magic in your target to heal them for 3hp per second for 10 seconds. Upon expiration, the target is healed for another 9hp. Mana cost: 25. Cast time: 2.5s Increase the rank of this spell to increase its potency. Can be modified by Wisdom, enchantments, and racial abilities. Can be dispelled.

  ...

  Congratulations! You have gained rank 14 in Healing Seed III.

  Congratulations! Your skill with light armor has increased to rank 5. 0.1% increase in damage mitigation and movement speed.

  Congratulations! Your skill with stalking has increased to rank 7. .1% increase to stealth.

  You have killed a level 13 rock golem. +187xp

  Congratulations! You have gained rank 15 in Healing Seed III. This spell has evolved from Novice Healing Seed III to Apprentice Living Seed I. Cast this to plant a seed of natural magic in your target to heal them for 4hp per second for 10 seconds. Upon expiration, the target is healed for another 10hp. Mana cost: 26. Cast time: 2.5s. Increase the rank of this spell to increase its potency. Can be modified by Wisdom, enchantments, and racial abilities. Can be dispelled.

  You have killed a level 7 goblin * 7. +63xp

  You have killed a level 8 goblin * 5. +55xp

  You have killed a level 9 goblin * 6. +72xp

  You have killed a level 10 goblin * 2. +28xp

  Congratulations! You have reached level 7! You have 4 attribute points to assign. 703xp to next level.

  Congratulations! You have gained rank 16 in Living Seed I.

  Congratulations! Your skill with light armor has increased to rank 6. 0.1% increase in damage mitigation and movement speed.

  Congratulations! Your skill with staves has increased to rank 8. .1% additional damage when attacking. .1% additional chance to block.

  You have killed a level 8 goblin * 5. +55xp

  You have killed a level 9 goblin * 4. +48xp

  You have killed a level 10 goblin. +14xp

  You have killed a le
vel 13 jefat. +198xp

  Congratulations! You have gained rank 17 in Living Seed I.

  Congratulations! You have gained rank 2 in Dual-Casting.

  Congratulations! You have gained rank 3 in Mana Infusion.

  Congratulations! Your rank in Leadership has increased to rank 7!

  I was more than pleased with my progress, taking the opportunity to pull the tome of Nature's Grace from my inventory. I read through the book. Its pages began to turn on their own. The book slammed shut and crumbled to dust, offering me one more notification:

  Congratulations! You have learned a new spell: Novice Nature's Grace I. This spell infuses the wounds of your target with nature magic, healing 3HP per second for 4 seconds. Mana cost: 10. Cast time: 1 second. This cannot be dispelled. Increase this spell in rank to increase the potency.

  Although overwhelmed with notifications, I was pleased with my advancement. I didn't expect to gain two levels in one dungeon run. I did some quick math in my head. When I received my brand, I had 118 health and received 117 damage. When leaving the barrier, I will receive 234 damage to my health in 30 seconds. I now had 190 health. I needed to heal myself for 44HP in less than 30 seconds to prevent myself from dying. My new Living Seed spell healed for 50HP over 10 seconds. Combining this with even a weak healing potion made passing through the barrier as easy as walking from one room to another. I was confident that I no longer needed to commit my points to Constitution. Instead, I split them: two points to intelligence, one point to wisdom, and one point to luck. My mind became more focused. My connection to my source of magic increase after making my selection.

  "Huh," I said aloud after realizing how easy it was to move beyond the barrier, especially with a master's help. Without our plan, though, an escape of hundreds of slaves and a portal out of Elatha would have been impossible. Cilden and the others returned. Petey clutched his find in his hands, struggling to balance all of the items at once. He discovered the same healing spell I had just consumed, a pile of gold, a new uncommon-class staff, and mana and healing potions. I had the others split the potions among themselves. Petey was overjoyed with keeping the staff and spell tome. He shoved it in his inventory, eager to learn it when he hit level 7. I accepted one gold and 30 silver from the group, adding it to my inventory.