Trenk rushed forward with his sword that he picked back up from nearby where he had fallen and started laying into the Lich when there was an opening. Small chunks of its Vitality were quickly chipped away, but it still wasn’t enough; soon after that, though, arrows thudded into the King in quick succession, taking even more off of its Vitality. A few seconds later, a channeled Light Explosion erupted where the Lich was centered; though it tried to escape, the constant barrage of attacks from all sides by Fred’s Squirrel and his smaller defenders kept it in place, until the Light-based attack finally finished the job.
Refelynn’s channeled spell had also destroyed Fred’s damaged Bones of the Earth Squirrel from sheer proximity, and it disappeared along with the other defenders he had created. As the spell fizzled out, the silence echoed throughout the now-open-to-the-outside-world room and Fred realized that Regnark had stopped screaming after the Lich King had been taken down.
Metlin had finally gained enough presence of mind to heal the big man who had collapsed on his face following the attack. He tried once, twice, and then a third time to land a healing spell on Regnark…but nothing happened.
The large, fur-covered man – the first human, and the first friend, that Fred had ever met – lay on the floor of the Dark dungeon…silent and unmoving.
Chapter 31
“I’m so sorry, I tried to get to him in time, but…” Metlin said, obvious sorrow in his face. He stood with the others in a circle around the fallen form of Regnark, which Fred had confirmed had perished just before the Lich King was killed. He couldn’t fault them for the effort; he just wished that there was something else that he could’ve done to prevent everything from happening.
Fred felt a great pain in his chest as he worked on removing the rock covering his body, using the Unconverted Mana to eliminate it from above him. When he really looked at it for the first time, he saw how lucky he was that his entire body wasn’t squished flat by multiple tons of solid rock; and like what Deecy had said when he first met her, there wasn’t going to be any coming back from that, Dungeon Core or no Dungeon Core.
His lower half was remarkably intact, with only a few fractures to his upper leg bones – though his flesh was in rough shape. Fortunately, the way the rock had been crushing him had numbed all of the nerves, so he didn’t feel any pain right away. Once he started to pump healing spells into them using his Adventurer Power, then it started to hurt. Luckily, the pain faded over the next minute as his body healed from the damage, so by the time he was done, he was able to stand up and walk without pain.
Well, all but the pain in his heart.
The crevice that hid the Core Room was blown apart, though there had been a collapse that sealed most of it up again. Fred used more of his Unconverted Mana to clear the way, which was made much easier the more he removed. Halfway through the tunnel he was making, he discovered something small that his Mana couldn’t clear away, so he curiously picked it up and, shrugging, put it in his pocket. In less than a minute, he was all the way through, and the other group stared at him in shock.
“I-I thought you were dead. I didn’t think anyone could’ve survived that explosion, especially since it appeared to come from where you had gone,” Trenk said, surprise and perhaps a little bit of fear on his face.
“Yes, well, I’m a bit harder to keep down than that. Sorry about the explosion – the Dark Core ended up killing herself accidentally,” Fred told them distractedly, as he stared at the body of his friend.
“Wait…did you just say the Core was destroyed? Don’t you know what that means? They’re going to kill everyone…” Metlin said, to the consternation of his other group members.
Eisa came up beside Fred and wrapped her arms around his waist, as she addressed the others. “I wouldn’t worry about that too much; they’ll probably be after Fred and me more than you and the other towns around here – we’ve got a bit of a history.” That didn’t seem to mollify them too much, but they seemed to at least believe that they weren’t going to be hunted down and killed for their participation. “And don’t worry about the explosion, Fred…I’m sorry I couldn’t heal him anymore. I was out of Power and Mana…I felt so useless.”
“It’s not your fault; it’s not any of your fault that this happened—”
Suddenly, the ground shook and they could all hear the sound of stone cracking against stone, as the rest of the dungeon started to collapse. It lasted for almost a minute before it grew so distant that they couldn’t feel or hear it anymore, though Fred saw through his Territorial Sight that it had finished its collapse another few seconds later. Along with the collapse, hundreds of undead reinforcements that had been trapped outside the last room were crushed in the process – and left behind a veritable pond of Dark Mana as they dissipated.
Something at the edge of his territory caught his attention, and he expanded his view to look even farther away. There was a small army of undead just inside the border of his territory that were holding back the approaching Earth defenders, though they were being slowly overwhelmed. He couldn’t specifically see anything farther out than that, but he was almost positive that his plan had worked, and that they had turned away from the town of Death’s March when his territory sprung into existence. Of course, that also meant that they were heading in Fred’s direction.
And, unfortunately, he didn’t think it would be long until the other Dark Cores nearby pieced everything together and discovered that he had destroyed one of their number. Fred even thought it was possible that they might join in the hunt for him – not necessarily as allies but possibly allowing them through without hindrance. He was making enemies to the left and right, and it seemed like everything was closing in on him.
But there was still something else he had to do.
“Here, I made a promise and I intend to keep it,” Fred told the other group, as he used some more of his dwindling Power to Conjure up a small – but heavy – sack filled with 50 gold pieces – more than they’d likely earn as a group in a month or more at their Rating. He handed it to Trenk, who was closest to him and looked like he was able to carry it safely; the man in the battered armor just looked shocked as he took the bag without enthusiasm or protestation. “You need to get out of here and head to Death’s March; if the Core was telling the truth, by eliminating her territory, there is now a gap in the barrier protecting the town from the monsters roaming the Plains of Grass at night. I can see that dawn is close enough that they were likely fine for tonight, but by tomorrow night – if the Cores aren’t able to fix the barrier that quickly – everyone should evacuate.”
“Uh…how do we get out of here? It sounds like the entire dungeon just collapsed,” Metlin asked, looking around in confusion.
Fred looked at the far wall and pulled out another large chunk of Unconverted Mana from his Human Core, sending it to start making a long, angled tunnel up to the surface. The opening was in the general direction of the town of Death’s March, though it would come out away from the Earth defender army. It was also only about 3 feet wide and just under 7 feet tall, which would hopefully be stable enough for now. He didn’t have the time or Power to add stone to reinforce it, so that was the best he could supply for now.
“That tunnel should lead you toward the surface in the general direction of the town. Just don’t tarry in there for long – I’m not sure how long it will stay intact – especially if those Earth monsters start rampaging overhead. I angled it so that you should exit the tunnel away from the army but be careful – I can’t see where they are outside of my territory.”
They just stared at Fred for a moment, before Refelynn asked, “Who—no—What are you? None of this makes any sense.”
He didn’t have time to explain everything, especially as Fred, Eisa, and Deecy had to take their exit as well. He told them that and told them to go before it was too late – the Earth defenders were starting to get close. “If we ever meet again, I’ll tell you everything you want to know then – but you�
�ve got to go.”
“Fine, but I’ll hold you to that,” Refelynn said, indicating with a nod of her head that they should head toward the tunnel exit. Before she herself left, however, she asked one more question. “What are you going to do now?”
That’s a good question. He hadn’t really thought about what would happen after he established his territory and got the Earth defenders to focus on him instead of the town of Death’s March. “Do you happen to know where the town of Allroads is?”
“Yes, it’s far to the south and a little west, almost two weeks’ journey by foot. And it’s not a town, it’s a city – probably the largest in this area of the world. Well, technically, it’s the entire land around it, too…but I don’t think I have time to explain it all to you,” Refelynn responded, as she turned away and followed after the rest of her group. She turned around before she entered the tunnel and asked, “By the way, what are you expecting to find in Allroads?”
“Some friends, hopefully. Just some friends.”
Refelynn nodded and disappeared down the tunnel, where Fred used his Territorial Sight to see her quickly catch up to the others, even though they were practically running down the dark tunnel. There’s more to her than I thought.
“What do we do now, Fred? How are we going to outrun that army of Earth monsters heading this way? And, if what you said was true, the Dark Core was destroyed? Then…that means…” Eisa trailed off with obvious worry in her voice.
“Yes, I have a feeling I just made the Dark faction very angry at me, but I didn’t intend to destroy the Core. In fact, I technically didn’t; it was her final actions that precipitated the explosion, but I doubt the others will care about that. Which, as you probably thought, will make getting out of here very difficult,” Fred told them absently, as his attention was being taken up by the skirmish of Dark and Earth defenders spilling over to his territory. “However, I think I have a plan; it’s not going to be fun, but hopefully we’ll be able to survive.”
Both Eisa and Deecy looked dubious – if the Dire Wolf’s expression could be interpreted that way – but Eisa reluctantly said, “Ok, I’ve trusted you this far – what’s the plan?”
Deecy seemed to read his thoughts, and she snorted in response.
* * *
“This isn’t what I had in mind when you said it wouldn’t be fun; you never said anything about torture!” Eisa shouted across to him, her ride bumping along as they practically flew across the ground in their mad dash to escape the converging armies. It wasn’t long after the other group had left that the Dark defenders that had been keeping the Earth army back had stopped their defense and let them through – and now there were two armies heading towards the dungeon they had just left behind.
Whereas the other group’s tunnel had gone basically toward the northeast, the tunnel Fred made for himself and the others went to the southwest. It was a bit larger, as well, because their conveyances were big and needed to be able to run through without getting stuck. Fortunately, he still had a little over 35,000 Unconverted Mana at his disposal even after removing so much dirt and rock in the dungeon, so he was easily able to create it with plenty to spare.
Their rides, on the other hand, took a little bit of doing. Fred had briefly thought about having Eisa create another Crystal Scorpion to transport them, but it was still too big to fit easily through the trees in the Deadlands; it could certainly cut them down with its powerful claws, but that would take time and would leave an obvious trail that even the relatively mindless defenders chasing them could follow. What they needed, instead, was something fast and relatively small in comparison to the large Scorpion.
There were only a few choices, unfortunately. While Fred thought that one of his new Dark defenders he now had access to could work out, as soon as they left his territory, they would start to degrade and lose Mana – the same way it worked when any other Core sent one outside of its territory. It would take much more Mana than he had access to in order to make some that would last more than a day or two, even with the fallen Dark Mana left behind by the defenders near the border of his territory. All of that added up to a little over 2,000 Dark Mana – which was quite a lot – but it still wasn’t enough to last them long.
However, Dark Mana wasn’t the only thing that had sprung up near his border. While the more powerful Earth defenders were handily holding their own, there were quite a few smaller, weaker ones that had perished in the fighting. With an additional 503 Mana added to what was left over when his Squirrel was killed, they had enough for something more…permanent.
Eisa’s defenders didn’t rely on a territory for permanence – once they were created, they existed until they were killed. With the Crystal Scorpion out as a choice, though, they were only left with two: Stone Golems and Goblin Gnomes. While Stone Golems were actually able to move fairly quickly, they only moved that fast because they compacted themselves into a ball and rolled. Fred couldn’t think of a way to use them to transport anything easily or quickly, so it was up to the other option.
Goblin Gnomes (Level 60)
Vitality: 310
Attack: 62, Knife Stab, Bite
Defense: 61
Respawn: 213 Earth Mana
Just as the giant Rock Beetle and Dark/Earth Squirrel had proved, it sometimes paid off to make a particularly weak defender more powerful. While it wouldn’t survive long against a determined opponent, the main advantage of the Goblin Gnome – both big and small – was its speed. It was a particularly annoying opponent to fight, not because it was powerful, but because it was harder to hit than most others, as it could move quickly. And that advantage was what made the choice for them.
The level increase transformed them from small 2-foot-tall nuisances to 9-foot-tall behemoths. They couldn’t take a lot of damage or dish it out like another, less expensive alternative, but they were fast – and strong. They could easily transport them cradled in their arms like a baby, though the ride was quite bumpy as they ran. Fred was being carried by one, Eisa and Deecy (in her Pup form) was carried by another, and a third ran with Regnark’s body on its back, only slowed a little by the weight of the big man.
The only issue with their transportation, however, was the smell. While the stench of 2-foot-tall Goblin Gnomes was terrible, the rancid odor of 9-foot-tall ones was almost overwhelming. It was almost as bad as the rotting flesh of the undead the Goblins were able to dodge around and escape from, leaving them far behind in their race to leave the Deadlands; again, it was almost as bad, but the difference was negligible because it was persistent. Regardless, it was working, and they were escaping faster than anything could follow.
Fred had left his territory up as long as he could as a beacon for those chasing after him as they ran away; he collapsed the tunnel behind them so their enemies wouldn’t have as much to track when they finally realized he was gone. From what he could see from the stinky arms of the disgusting-looking Goblin Gnome carrying him, there were hordes of both Earth and Dark defenders milling around the dungeon, looking for him. Only seconds before he left his territory and it collapsed, he caught the beginnings of another battle between the two elemental factions as they apparently grew frustrated at the lack of progress.
There was quite a bit of Dark Mana and even some Earth Mana from fallen defenders in his territory that he could’ve absorbed on his way out, but he refrained from doing that. As much as he could’ve used it in the form of Unconverted Mana, he was pretty sure that the defenders looking for them would be able to see the direction where the Mana was sent when he absorbed it; it wasn’t just automatic, and though it would speed across the distance quickly, it still had to travel to him. He would inadvertently be giving them a sign of where they had gone, which would negate their heretofore stealthy escape.
“So, tell me again – why did you bring Regnark’s body? I understand not wanting to leave him for those coming after us to…I don’t know…desecrate…but you can probably just put him down anywhere and bury him
if you want now,” Eisa asked, her voice nasally as she held her nose at the horrendous stink.
Fred looked over at the Goblin Gnome carrying his large friend and patted his pocket, where he felt the shard of a Dark Core inside. “You’ll see, Eisa; you’ll see.”
Part IV – Allroads
Chapter 32
“Wake up, Fred – we’re here.”
Deecy’s voice echoed through Fred’s drifting consciousness, and he struggled to wake up. As soon as he opened his eyes, he was almost blinded by the intense sunlight shining down from the midday sun. Blinking a few times and shading his eyes with his hand, he looked around and saw they were indeed…somewhere.
The journey hadn’t been the most comfortable, nor the most exciting, but if it was anything – it was safe. The journey through and out of the Deadlands had taken three full days of constant running by the Goblin Gnomes – who thankfully didn’t tire – all the while dodging undead that would pop up every once in a while. They couldn’t stop for anything, unfortunately, which meant that they had needed to catch what sleep they could in the jostling embrace of Eisa’s defenders while they continued to run.
While they hadn’t seen any sign of any major opposition – like Earth or Dark armies waiting for them to arrive – they hadn’t let down their guard. Fred thought it was only a matter of time before they were pinpointed going through a territory or two and had defenders on their heels. Thankfully, they finally came to the end of the Dark Cores’ land of the dead trees and were able to breathe a sigh of relief – which immediately became coughs as they inhaled the stink of their conveyances.
Dungeon World 3: A Dungeon Core Experience Page 26
