by Isaac Winter
"Gods, what was that?" She asked, putting a hand to her head. She swayed slightly and sat down on the grass, making a thump as she did so. "Haven't been caught by one of those attacks in a while." She looked up at me.
"Thanks."
I shrugged. "You're the one with the special herbs. I just had to talk you into giving them to me."
Mabel wrung her hands. "Oh, I hope I didn't do anything too stupid..."
"We can talk about that later," I interrupted. "Tris and Fel are still Charmed. You've got more of this stuff, right?"
"A little, but we'll just have to split it up."
We spent the next few moments grinding roots and pouring little shot-glass sized potions for Tris and Fel. Tris sidled over to us once, waggling her hips much more than usual. I admit, I noticed.
"What are youuuu two doing?" She asked. I rolled my eyes. Man, I couldn't wait till she was back to normal.
"Making a smoothie," I mumbled as I poured the concoction into a vial. "Wanna try some?"
"Don't mind if I do!" She snatched the vial away from me and gulped it down, nearly spilling it in the process. Within moments, her eyes grew wide and she dropped the vial. It landed with a smash. Mabel winced.
"Okay...what the hell just happened?" Yup, that was old Tris.
"The fumes from the dungeon affected your senses, but the Malian Root infusion counteracts it."
"Clever bastards."
I held out a hand. "We still need to, er, 'disinfect' Fel."
"Give it to me." Tris held out her hand. "I'll see to him. You two ready?"
I nodded, and Mabel handed her the last of the potions.
"Well, that was easy," Mabel said with relief, packing her equipment back into her bag. "I really should have been prepared for something like that, being a Naturalist and all...I was just so distracted by the runes."
"You'll do better next time," I said. She nodded. It wasn't so much an encouragement as it was a statement. If any one of us got off our game, all of us could get killed.
"Hey, uh, by the way," I started, rubbing the back of my neck. "Do you happen to know how death works around here?"
Mabel blanched. "I'm hoping I don't have to find out."
I nodded. "Me too, of course. I just don't know how much is at stake. I mean, do we respawn? Do we have to start all over?"
"I prefer to treat each day like it could be my last." She said. "That way, I don't do anything too stupid." The way she eyed me when she said that made me squirm.
I glanced over at Tris and Fel. After what looked like a vicious round of bickering, she'd finally gotten the vile concoction down his throat. Fel coughed and sputtered, heaving forward as he tried to clear his windpipe. "By all the gods," He spat. "What in the Veil was that? Give me those wafers any day!"
"You were poisoned," Tris explained. "The fumes from the dungeon..."
"I never liked dungeons!" Fel grumbled. "Nasty, dirty, smelly places!"
"Didn't your ancestors come from underground?" Tris smirked. "You are a dwarf, after all."
"Yeah, and you don't see me longing to go back there, do you? I prefer the sun, thank you very much." He drew himself up to his full height, which couldn't have been more than four and a half feet.
"A Dwarf that loves the sunlight, now I've seen everything." Mabel smiled and stepped over to the group. "But we should really be going. That Malian Root won't last forever, you know. Let's go down there and get what we came for."
"The sooner we get out of there, the better," Fel agreed.
"For real this time." Tris smiled. "Let's go dungeoneering."
The dungeon yawned open and swallowed us whole as we descended into its depths. While the stairs were made of raw dirt, they didn't crumble or collapse as we traveled downward. In fact, the footprints and packed earth suggested this path had already been well traveled. But by who? Another wayward adventurer, or by the Author himself?
Tris ventured forward with one of her lighting orbs, casting a cool green light on the damp dirt walls. It still smelled like mildew and blood, but at least my party members weren't Charmed anymore. Thank goodness for having a Naturalist nearby. I wondered with a shiver what might happen if someone approached the dungeon without being prepared. I definitely didn't want to stay Charmed for a whole day. Who knew where you'd end up. I pushed the thought from my mind and focused on Tris's light source as we delved deeper down into the cave.
I kept my eyes peeled for anything that looked like a trap since I had the best Night Vision. With Tris's help, we were able to identify two tripwires and a looming spike trap. In the meantime, my trap-detecting skills leveled up.
> New Skill Unlocked: Trap Detection.
Look closer, and see what others cannot.
> New Skill Unlocked: Trap Disarm.
The red wire, or the blue wire? Eh, cut both.
Fel and Mabel walked not far behind us, keeping a wary eye open for any intruders. We hadn't run into trouble yet, save for the traps, but I didn't expect it to stay like that for long.
We came out into a larger, circular room with a fountain in the middle. Cool, glistening water dribbled over the sides and onto the floor, the pattering of the drops on the dirt making a steady thrum against the ground. It was a little brighter here, though I couldn't discern the light source. I could see reflections of light in the water droplets as they fell.
I was really thirsty after using the last of my water to create the Malian Root infusion, but I wasn't stupid. Drinking from a sketchy fountain in a dungeon was just asking for some dire fate to befall you.
"What do we do now?" Tris asked, looking around. The walls were bare, but not smoothed out like the tunnel had been. They wore rougher, with patches of moss growing up the walls and onto the ceilings. It looked almost like...
I shuddered.
Claw marks.
The air was heavy with a damp, moldy smell that made my stomach turn.
"Nobody touch anything," I said. There had to be some kind of trigger around here. All this open space, the fountain, and no other clues? Yeah, this was definitely a boss battle, or something very close to it.
"Are you sure we went the right way?" Tris asked and pulled up her map again. She frowned as she panned and zoomed, but came to the same conclusion I had. "Weird. It says we're in the right spot, but where is the--"
A sudden crackling sound cut off her words as the fountain thundered and shook. The ceramic holding it aloft crumbled, large remnants tumbling to the ground with a crash. Water spewed out from all sides, gushing faster and faster as the room began to flood.
"What the hell!" Fel yelled, scuttling backwards. "What did you do?"
"I didn't do anything!" I cried over the roar of the water. My boots soaked through and the water wrapped its icy tendrils around my toes. I shivered. This couldn't bode well. "It just started flooding!"
I tried to peer closer at the fountain, to see where all the water was coming from, but I got a face full of spray. I cursed and drew back, wiping my eyes.
"Out of my way," Tris said, elbowing me to the side without asking for permission. The air rushed out of me and I stumbled to keep my balance. I was about to retort when I saw the mechanical goggles around her face and her mouth set in a grim line of determination. Tris was in Mechanical mode, and she meant business.
She held her hands over the spray and muttered a few words, slowing the rush of water but not diminishing it completely. She stood firm, however. The water battered at her from all sides but she didn't relent, holding her hands in a predetermined position and chanting the words to a spell. "Mabel, with me!" She called.
Mabel nodded and stepped forward, squinting against the spray.
"The rest of you, don't just stand there!" She yelled. Her voice came out as a garble as water flooded into her mouth.
> Warning! The Fountain of Ezreth deals water and poison damage if you remain exposed to its depths for too long. Find a way out of the room, and quickly!
"I'm going to check for
exits!" I barked. "Fel, watch my back!"
He drew his axe and rounded, following my footsteps. I slogged through the water which had already began to soak through my boots. The icy tendrils wrapped themselves around my toes. Much more of this, and it would be hard to move. I was no stranger to frostbite, sadly. Got a bad bout of it when we got snowed in as a kid. Stupid me thought it was a good idea to run outside without bundling up first. Yeah, I learned after that.
The tunnel we'd entered through was no longer passable, blocked by a cascade of rocks and sand as the fountain continued to spill water into the room. It's almost as if someone wanted to keep us here...
The Author.
"We mean you no harm!" I yelled to the air, throwing my hands up. "We just want to talk!"
"What are you doing?" Mabel yelled over the cacophony. "He's not here!"
"I've got to try something!"
I ran my hands over the dirt walls, my fingernails cresting over slickening mud and dirt. I touched each of the claw marks in turn, looking for something, anything to get us out of this mess. For once, no runes popped out at me. It was just us, the darkness, and the gathering flood.
We were doomed.
The roar of water lessened to a slower dribble and I chanced a glance back at Tris. Through some feat of engineering she'd managed to stop the flow for the time being, but I didn't want to be around when the pressure built up inside.
"It won't last long, but it buys us time," She said, wiping her forehead with a cloth. "All of you, hurry! We're looking for any strange cracks in the walls, any openings or keyholes."
I continued to scour the room. Even with all four of us looking, it could take hours to find anything. The room was huge, and looking over every inch of it for a hidden entrance was no easy feat. Not to mention that a few inches of water now filled the place and made a sticky, sloshing sound whenever we walked. I said a silent prayer that whatever dwelled in these tunnels wouldn't come looking for us.
Somehow, I knew that was futile. After all the racket we made, it was no wonder every creature within miles hadn't heard us by now. They'd come crawling, skittering, slithering this way, searching for the sound of the noise. Searching for their next meal.
With that, and the building pressure of the fountain in the center of the room....yeah, you could say I've had better days.
"We've got company!" Fel yelled to me. The rattle of steel carried over the dripping sounds in the room and echoed off the dungeon walls.
You've got to be kidding me.
19
I tore myself away from my exploring in time to see a harrowing message pop up in my vision.
> Leave Scientiam at once or face the consequences.
The Author
My heart hammered as I read the last few words. The Author. Then it was all true. He was nearby. After searching and fighting and questing this far, we were so close. But the rattling of armor and weapons as they poured toward us?
I'd worry about meeting the Author if we got out of here alive.
I spun around, trying to figure out what direction they were coming from. Earthen blocks sealed off all exits, but I heard a digging and scratching on the other side I couldn't ignore. They were coming through. But hey, if we managed to get past this, at least we'd have an open exit out of this room.
Fel adopted a fighting stance and held his axe ready to strike. Mabel threw up a small Force Shield and started buffing the party. That left Tris and I to deal the main DPS.
"You ready for this?" I called out to her. She still looked exhausted from modifying the fountain, but there was no time to lose.
"I'll make do," She said, and clenched her fists. "I still have a few tricks up my sleeve."
"Look alive, here they come!" Fel bellowed, letting out a mighty war cry.
Small, reptilian creatures poured over the precipice. But these weren't just any regular lizards, oh no. They wore armor, held weapons, and a bloodthirsty gleam in their eye.
"Kobolds!" Tris spat. "Motherfucker!"
I tried to remember what I knew about Kobolds. Scary smart, scary strong, and fast as hell. They had entire underground cities and were always playing politics with other clans. Not unlike the Drow, I mused. Their armor was a mixture of their own concoctions and the leftovers they'd scavenged from dead bodies. Just the thought of it sent a shiver down my spine.
Tris was first on the front line, throwing down a few spike traps right outside the Force Shield's perimeter. She bounded out of the way just in time. Screeching and running toward the shield, they stepped on the spikes first, which snapped like a bear trap and held them immobile. Cursing and cries of pain flew into the air as they flailed around, trying to wrench the trap loose. It was only enough to stop a few of the kobolds, though. There was a whole new wave on its way.
I grabbed the bow from my bag and a couple of arrows.
As I nocked an arrow, I wondered if I could cast a spell and shoot an arrow at the same time. Did that work? I stared down the shaft, allowing my vision to narrow to the fight in front of me. I tried to think of a spell at the same time, but my concentration broke and I ended up sailing an arrow right into the wall.
Okay, should probably practice that some other time.
This time, I was ready. I drew another arrow as quickly as I could, readied, and released. This time the arrow struck true -- it came to rest right in the neck of a screaming kobold who tumbled to the ground, clutching its throat as dark blood stained the ground.
I felt a thrill of excitement down my spine as I watched the kobold die, flailing and screaming on the ground as his lifeblood spilled out. Here in the Veil, I had the power to give or take life. My head swum like I was drunk. This wasn't me. Or at least, not the old me. Since when did Winston Beckett get off on killing? I gulped.
I was no longer Winston Beckett. That man was gone.
I could write it off as the heat of battle, but that feeling...it was addictive. And I wanted more.
So I let out a yell, drew another arrow, and rained death upon the kobold army.
It was a long, bloody battle. My HP, Mana, and Stamina whittled away as I fought, but it didn't matter. I was high on bloodlust, and each time I saw the light fade from a kobold's eyes, I got a rush that spurred me on to seek more. It was like a drug, both the best and worst kind. And I was powerless to stop it.
I moved swiftly, gracefully even, dealing death with bow and dagger. Kobolds fell left and right to Fel's axe, Tris's bombs and traps, and even Mabel chipped in with her Summon Sapling skill once the Force Shield fell.
The smell of blood hung heavy in the air and the clash of steel was the only sound that mattered. I threw myself into my dirty, deadly work, and with all four of us working in tandem it wasn't long before the last kobold fell.
The next moments of silence hit me like a freight train. The rush of adrenaline and bloodlust wore off slowly, like coming down from the best high of your life. What the hell was that? I peered through the archway the kobolds had carved out. No skittering creatures. No more fighting. No more blood.
It was over.
Now that I had a moment to breathe, I checked my notifications. They'd sprung up left and right while fighting, but I ignored them all. Nothing could break my concentration once I was in the zone.
Status: Bloodlust.
Even Drow that choose the path of light must reconcile the darkness within. Bloodlust makes you temporarily immune to pain and buffs your attack and perception skills. While it can be a highly effective state of consciousness in times of duress, take care that you do not lose yourself in the process.
I shivered. So that's what that was. Well noted. The last vestiges of bloodlust eked out and I was left feeling tired, sore, and utterly empty.
I checked the rest of the notifications, trying to distract myself from all the dead bodies heaped nearby. Sure, they were kobolds, but...
Now was so not the time for moral quandaries.
> Kobold Horde defeated!
+5
11 XP.
> Skill Short Blades is now level: 4
> Skill Archery is now level: 3
> Skill Dodge is now level: 3
> Skill Acrobatics is now level: 2
Not a bad result at all! I noticed that when I reached level 5 in a skill, I could choose a bonus ability to go with it. It almost made me want to go stab some more stuff so I could hit level 5 with Short Blades. But as I reopened my Quest Log, the gravity of the moment washed over me all over again.
> You've defeated the defenders of this level of the dungeon. Follow their lead, and you may find the answers you seek...
I swiped it all away and went to check on my party members.
"How you holding up?" I asked Mabel first.
"Meditating," was her only answer.
I shrugged and continued on. "Fel?"
"Cael!" He breathed. "I've never seen you fight like that! You must have been training."
I shrugged. "Guess I've learned a thing or two." Even though a Drow's nature was probably common knowledge, I didn't want to let on how much the battle had affected me.
Fel clapped me on the back, nodding. "Good man. We'll make a fighter of you yet."
I smiled and walked over to Tris. She stooped low, grabbing every item she could off the fallen kobolds. Not a bad idea, really. "Grave robbing, are you?"
"It's only a grave if they're buried," She shrugged. "Figured I should get something for all my troubles, right? That fight was a bitch and a half. Loot is shit, though." She shoved a few more items in her bag and stood.
"At least you got some XP out of it?" I offered, trying to hide my disappointment. A sweet loot drop would be nice right about now.
"Not a bad number, but at my level, I'm gonna need a lot more than that. That blockage on the drain isn't going to last much longer, let's scurry out of here while we have a chance."
I'd nearly forgotten. "You're right. Shall we?"
