Escape From Litchfield

by Isra Bhuthimethee

  Everyone paused to take in the sight.

  "How are there trees growing here?" Asked Tamara, her eyes filled with wonder as her head darted from side to side to take in all the beauty.

  Arnaud said, "Sunlight and water seem like all the basic ingredients to make a forest." From his expression, he was also excited, but more for the prospect of discovering new plants and animals. Pointing down, he said, "Look! There's another tunnel over there. I think that's our exit. We can easily levitate over."

  Sol agreed.

  Tamara said, "I don't think it will be that easy. I see a lot of water and wind mana crisscrossing the cavern. I don't know what it means, but I have a bad feeling about them."

  Sol said, "I'll volunteer to go first."

  Shaking her head, Tamara vetoed him. "I have the best skills to test the room. I can move the fastest through the air. I have Blink. And most importantly, I can actually see the mana."

  "She's right," said Arnaud. "We can buff her up with stacks of shield spells to keep her safe.

  Sol was uncomfortable for exposing his Oathmaster to danger, but he was too practical to fight her when she was clearly right. He nodded and said, "OK. We can Shield her and replenish the buff as they expire. Shield has a long range."

  Nodding with satisfaction, she said, "Buff me up!"

  The mages stacked 10 stacks of Shield, resist elements, and one Az's Shield Sphere on the half-elf.

  Tamara grinned after the buffing session, excited to finally play with her improvised flight spell with enough room to go all out. "Wish me luck! I'm off!" With a slight pause to listen to the luck wishing, she collected her natural gravity and flame blasted herself into the cavern.

  The web of mana was less dense near the tunnel, so she started by speeding through a nearby isolated strand of water mana. "Whooosh!" A column of water smashed along the path of the mana strand. If Tamara had been slow, she would have been caught in the stream and rocketed into the ground, possibly triggering dozens of strands. As she watched, other connected strands triggered, launching waves of different mana splashing the web.

  Arnaud whistled, "How are we getting past this?"

  Tamara replied, "We should run more tests before we jump to conclusions."

  Arnaud launched a Fireball through the space, triggering dozens of mana strands to go off. Many of the strands had power surging along the strand path, but some created fields of destruction or projectiles. "The backlash is incredible. But I think we can take a path through the forest. It looks relatively clear."

  "I think there may be another way. Let's keep testing the strands." Tamara flung out one of her daggers to see what a physical object would do to the strands. As expected, the dagger triggered the strand it touched and was sent hurtling into the ground by a high pressure water burst.

  "These strands may look like they are sending out random attacks, but there's a pattern to them. Since I can see the strands themselves, I can tell that the strands are sending out magic using their natural element. I should be able to dodge and counter my way to the exit."

  Arnaud nodded and said, "So how will that help us if you can get across?"

  "I can carry everyone across."

  Arnaud stared at Tamara at a loss for words. "No. I won't be carried. I'll take the ground path."

  Sol watched the two arguing back and forth for several minutes. Moving between the two, he said, "We can't do both at the same time, but it would be dangerous to do it at different times. Let's put it to a vote."

  Arnaud shook his head. "No. I already know you're going to support her. How about random chance? We have Tamara write down a number between 1 and 100. You and I guess a number and the closest to Tamara's number will win."

  "Agreed."

  Tamara nodded her head. "Sounds good."

  Tamara wrote down her number.

  Arnaud guessed, "77".

  Sol guessed "43".

  Arnaud smirked and turned to Tamara and extended his hand out. "Well? Hand over the results."

  The half-elf handed over the results. "I put down 40, so Sol wins."

  "Drat! Lost again. I concede my defeat." Arnaud nodded to Sol.

  Satisfied that the situation was handled, Tamara went back to memorizing the best route to the exit.

  [Tamara: Bob89, did you record the web?]

  [Bob89: Yes. I have it. I've modeled a path for you. Remember what you learned and you will be fine.]

  Tamara used her Steal Gravity skill to lighten Sol and Arnaud. She summoned her cloak and tied it around her waist, leaving the ends for the men to clasp. "Grab my cloak and hold me tight as I fly across. Keep in mind that I must keep my hands free to steer. Having my feet free may be wise as well."

  The men nodded as they grabbed her cloak. Sol tied his end to his utility belt. Arnaud followed suit. The three of them hanging onto Tamara was a bit awkward, but despite their mage background, they were fit.

  "Ready to head out?" Asked Tamara.

  Nods from the men were enough confirmation for Tamara to blast her Flame spell out. The group flew into the air and quickly gained speed. The mana web was a powerful defense, but it did have some weaknesses that Tamara planned to exploit. The powerful mana pulses generally traced down the web link, which told Tamara where the mana was headed. Also, the pulses weren't instant, there was a small delay as the mana travelled. And lastly, the web had large enough gaps that they could usually travel through the spaces between threads easily. The main problem comes if the web gets tripped. Mana will surge down the web and all the attached mana links. Worse still was how the original link would often trip a sister link that eventually retriped the original link at a different juncture.

  Bob89 scrolled the symbols across her HUD and she synched up to her haste song. Flying required a more complex pattern because, in addition to the normal directions, there was an up and down. They navigated this difficulty by switching from foot movement to hand movement. Her Flame pulses were timed to the beat and Bob89 calculated her movement based on the pulses of motion. Because they were weightless, traveling with three people wasn't that much more difficult than doing it with one. The issue was trying to fit three people through the web.

  Tamara entered the web. Because of the men, she had to move through the webbing oddly for the tight squeezes. Sometimes she went through sideways, and sometimes she had to do sudden drops or rises. As she made her way through the web, she grew more confident. She went faster. For the truly tight webbing, she was often forced to throw the men through and catch them. Ultimately that speed was what saved them.

  The problems began when they reached the center of the cavern. The web of mana began to twist and turn as they approached, apparently, they were sensitive to mana wielders or perhaps it was something else. Having no choice, Tamara used her speed to weave through, but as she advanced the strands became more erratic. One third of the cavern was left when she hit a mana strand. The moment she triggered it, she channeled her mana full blast into her Dual Flame spell. They blasted through the distance, Bob89 had shifted her HUD symbols to a large arrow showing the path. She was moving like a snake, jinking up, down, left, right at a moment's notice. Despite her maneuvering, they were splashed with powerful blasts of magic. Her Sphere Shield took the brunt of the impact, wearing it down into scraps. As the exit came into view, she was hit by a powerful magma blast that blew through her Sphere Shield, bit deeply into her mana shield, and threw them into the ledge leading into the exit passageway. Sol and Arnaud lost their grip and tumbled into the passageway. Tamara, on the other hand, smashed into the cliff wall and barely grabbed onto the edge of the ledge. She hung there, gritting her teeth against the pain and fighting unconsciousness.

  Sol recovered first and grabbed Tamara's wrist. "Tamara. Can you hear me? I need your help to get you up. We're both not in our best condition right now. But we need to get moving. Grab onto my hands and use your legs to help push you up. Can you do that?"

  Tamara didn't respond, but one at a time her
hands grabbed ahold of the dark elf. Sol pulled up, while Tamara clambered up the cliff to the ledge.

  Arnaud shouted, "MOVE MOVE"

  Tamara and Sol used each other to slowly walk in a drunken, stumbling manner to the exit. Ignoring whatever had spooked the mage. A roar filled the passageway. Seconds later, the party was swept up in a torrent of water that dragged them out to the safe zone before receding into the rocks.

  Wet, tired, and beaten. Tamara passed out.

  Tamara gained 5 levels in Beat Dance Battle and now it is 22

  ***

  Tamara was drenched in water. Shaking her head, she glared defiantly at Jenny. "We're here again. Let's skip the torture session and pretend we did it." The room was different but had similar features as the last time she was transported. Several strap-down tables like the one she was occupying were lined in a row, waiting for more victims. This model of table had an incredibly bright rune lamp. The straps were snug but not disrupting her blood circulation.

  Amused, Jenny said, "It doesn't work that way, my dear. Just tell me what I want to know. After that, I won't have any reason to keep you here. You'll be free to go."

  Tamara replied, "You have the power of the dungeon, isn't it enough? You can use this power to do so much good if you wanted to."

  Shaking her head, Jenny replied, "You don't understand the sacrifice I made to gain this power. My life was taken away from me. I lost everything. This dungeon was given to me by God to wreak vengeance on the men that did this."

  "I was one of those people you call an ancient. I woke up deep in this dungeon, alone and scared. I had been trapped in a glass cage, stuck in a dream. When I awoke, all my friends and family were taken away from me. After exploring my environment, I was in some sort of lab. I was scared and looking for my family, so I slowly got up. I barely had any strength. Probably been in that cage for years. Somehow, I found the strength to leave the lab, however the lab door locked behind me, I didn't have the access code or the authority to open it. I know now that I was in the medical wing of one of those research stations. Just like the one you have at Hopetown. The layout was similar. There was nothing to eat, so I wandered until I found the exit. And it led me straight to the dungeon core. The core chamber was just outside the base."

  Rapt with attention, Tamara realized that Jenny had stopped speaking. "So. You immediately became the Dungeon Master after stumbling onto the core chamber?"

  Jenny nodded, lost in thought. "More or less. Other trials happened, but I did win the Dungeon Master title while starving and emancipating. The old man guided me. That old bugger put me through so much, but he taught me how to be a warrior. The hard way."

  "What old man?"

  Jenny scowled at Tamara and said, "You managed to lead me down memory lane. I think that will be enough of that for now. Tell me about Bob89."

  Before Jenny could get back into her routine of the exact same questions, Tamara decided to try a different approach. "I heard that the dungeon provides a method to extract information from unwilling prisoners. Why don't you do that?"

  Jenny grew still and looked startled by Tamara's revelation. Then she locked down on her emotions before replying, "What makes you think I'm not? Where did you hear that rumor?"

  "The other prisoners talked about it in whispers. So it's true, isn't it?"

  "You shouldn't believe everything you hear," Jenny replied.

  "You said it yourself, that you would get what you want in the end."

  Jenny smirked. "A slip of the tongue. It means nothing. Anyhow, I really would like you to comply, but since you won't."

  Glok maneuvered a wheeled supply cart. On top were stainless steel tools in a dizzying array of variety, but Tamara only noticed how sharp and blunt the various objects were.

  Glok picked up a random tool and held it up to the light.

  "Ah, yes! The tooth extractor. It's quite versatile. It can be used to extract teeth, and in a jiffy can be used for extracting other things." Jenny admired the shiny tool. "That's my favorite. Let's get started!"

  She nodded to Grok, who immediately relinquished the tool. Jenny walked over and began working on Tamara, who quickly blacked out from pain soon after.

  ***

  Tamara woke up with a loud groan. Her head was throbbing with pain, especially her mouth. As she opened her eyes, the light stabbed her, but she fought through it to take a peek at her surroundings before she was forced to close her eyes. She was still in the same room, but something was different. She felt weak, yet not in complete pain like the other torture sessions.

  Jenny said, "She appears to be normal. Heart rate and stress levels are a bit high."

  Grok said, "Her mana seems to be drained, as expected."

  Jenny and Grok were silently studying her. Alternating their attention between her and a machine that appeared to be telling them about her vital stats. Somehow it could detect her heart rate and mana levels, which weren't available for normal considerations, so it must be a machine with a master level equivalent consideration skill.

  "What did you do to me? I feel different," said Tamara as she wiggled her body around to get used to the odd sensation. It wasn't necessarily bad, just different. She felt like she was empty and tired. Was it some kind of drug? Or something worse?

  Jenny replied, "Oh, how do you feel?"

  "I am feeling drained. Least amount of energy that I've ever felt."

  Jenny and Glok exchanged significant glances, even as the human torturer nodded thoughtfully.

  "We've given you new magic draining chains. Your mana will no longer recover through rest or meditation."

  Magic draining chains. Her plans to break the chains might not work anymore. How was she going to fight? She used magic all the time during battles, from fireballs to keeping the mobs from running. At least her stealth should still work. She had good weapons and armor, so it might not be too bad. But her effectiveness just plummeted.

  Frustrated with the situation, Tamara asked, "If you want me dead, why don't you just kill me? Instead of letting the dungeon kill me for you, I'm right here." Glaring at Jenny in defiance, she waited for the woman to respond.

  Jenny began laughing. It started slow but grew until she was practically falling on the ground. "You entertain me! I'll give you that!" She walked up close until their faces were inches apart. "You will tell me how to get into the base. Either willingly or not. It doesn't matter in the end, because I always get what I want. Just tell me, and I'll set you free.

  "Tamara didn't let Jenny intimidate her. She kept eye contact, making sure to not blink. She knew this was risky to provoke Jenny. The unblinking stare would either challenge her or piss her off. Either way, Jenny might let something slip that gets her out of this mess. "Are you saying that I can be turned into some sort of undead that will tell you what you want?"

  Smirking, Jenny nodded. "Yes. Once you die, you'll be happy to tell me how you do the things you do. After that, you will show me how it's done. Then we'll be completely unstoppable."

  "Why do you say we? I'm not one of your lackeys."

  "If you die, you will be."

  "Good reason not to die!" Spittle flew out of Tamara's mouth as she fainted.

  ***

  "Tamara wake up! We've got trouble!" Said Sol as he shook her urgently.

  For a moment, she thought she was back in the torture session again, but Sol was here. But they should be in a safe zone. Her chains! Looking down at the chains, she realized that she was still wearing the magic draining version -- that was why she was so tired. Sol was still shaking her and trying to get her attention. It took a minute, but she focused on the dark elf. "What's going on? Aren't we in a safe zone?"

  Relieved that he finally got her attention, Sol visibly calmed down. "We had a wanderer attack us. Myst was on it and woke everyone up, except for you. We took care of the wanderer, but this could be bad. The implication of the dungeon violating the safe zone was not good. Traditionally, no monsters were supposed to attac
k at the exit portal. With respawn times of one hour, if the dungeon had changed to disallow safe zones, we could be in big trouble unless we could adapt to one hour naps.

  Shaking the weariness from her body, she said. "I'm up! So the safe zone is gone?" They were on level 20, and the mobs had an average level of 50. Wandering monsters at low levels was usually not a big problem. They can be killed and controlled easily. That changed when the wanderer was a higher level than you. Higher level monsters could resist damage, spells, and techniques. That meant that a wanderer that retreated could cause huge problems if it resisted stuns or slows and brought friends back.

  Sighing, she said, "I've got more bad news. My chains are now draining my mana."

  "What happened?" Asked Sol. Both Sol and Arnaud looked gravely concerned at her condition. They were deep in the dungeon with a less than full party. It was true that they were making great progress, but they used all of their abilities. With Tamara's magic out of the equation, they may not be able to finish the dungeon.

  "Jenny happened. The dungeon master has been summoning me to her torture chamber for special sessions. Somehow she knows what's going on with us, and she wasn't pleased that we weren't dying. She decided to add a handicap to us."

  Sol nodded. "Everything makes sense now." He examined the chains, casting several spells at them. "The chains seem to be resistant to magic and physical force. They will be hard to take off."

  "How do you think she's tracking us?" Asked Tamara.

  Arnaud replied, "This entire place is a jailer's best friend. Everything is monitored. The dungeon tracks all loot dropped. What monsters are killed, by whom, and how they were hurt. As far as I know, the Master can view any interaction, no matter how large or small, since they took control of the dungeon."

  "You mean in real time only, right?"