The Dungeon Con: One Foot in the Grave ( Hank Grave Book 1): One Foot in the Grave (Hank Grave series)

by Marty Myers

  When at last they finished Cronolith insisted on helping Hank absorb a few of the ballast stones essence into his own dungeon core and then they embedded the rest deep in his walls in case he would need to drawl upon their strength, where they set protections upon them just in case someone should come looking for their power. Hank felt immensely refreshed after all of this and returned a part of himself to his mind space to finish learning and practicing the rest of what the grimoire had to offer him.

  Hank said, “ I know you have more to do to set your ship to rights, but first I have something more I would like your help in checking out. Now that I have seen what is left of Skarlock’s pirate fleet I was thinking of discovering what if anything was left of Skarlocks dungeon and his minions.” Cronolith paused before answering. “ We who survived the initial sinking somehow where treated to a mystical view of the sea lords wraith continuing on past us over the seas and then on to destroy Skarlock. I too would look upon it myself now and see if the vision bestowed upon us was a true seeing.”

  Hank checked on Birch and when he saw his progress in acquiring all that he had been sent out for, he summoned him to return to them. Then he called to Alastor to join them and prepared himself. They gathered quickly with Birch simply unloading the supplies and arms he had been sent for in the cavern where it could be sorted out when they returned.

  Hank said, “ okay so this time Cronolith will be joining our scrying to be our guide for we are going to survey what if anything or anyone may be retrievable from the remains of Skarlocks island. Birch and I will go first to the Wreckers Cave to notify them and keep with our bargain and then we shall scry onward.” No one had any questions so Hank possessed Birch, this time though, the process was a bit more uncomfortable for both of them as his aura had changed its composition significantly since the last time they merged and they no longer matched up so close as they had before. Still, they managed it and then Alastor and Hank teleported them to the Wreckers headquarters.

  This time they found only a couple of the Wreckers they had met before still sorting out their previous halls into two piles. As much time had passed since they had abruptly left it was no wonder that many of them had left to sleep or be about other duties. A young man standing by the table startled badly as they appeared before addressing them. “ I am stationed here to work with you tonight if you require it Dungeon Master Hank.” Birch said, “ he prefers just to be called Hank. In any event, we will not need a Wrecker guide for our next search as we have recovered one of the Dark Ones we rescued earlier today who knows the way to our next target. He will be joining us spiritually through our scrying pool.”

  “ Instead we have come so that we may honor our bargain to split any treasure we reclaim with the Wreckers.” So saying Birch found himself a seat at the table and prepared himself to enter into his mindscape and join with the rest. The sentry looked somewhat relieved not to be joining them and began nervously pacing around the cave instead.

  Hank, Birch, Alastor and Cronolith all appeared within the Green Halls Birch used as his central mindscape scene and gathered by the scrying pool. They chanted the activation of the pool and swiftly flew across the seas led by Cronolith to a far distant point where the waters churned and a perpetual storm held sway over the sea. Here the fury of storm and sea marked the grave of Skarlock the firstborn dungeon of the seas.

  They could all sense the sea lords hand within the storm surge and Hank mindful of his promise of caution discussed this with his companions before very carefully and slowly probed the whipping energies at its edges to test if it was harmful to them. He found a bit more than the disruption such stirred up essences would have normally had on their magics and after strengthening and warding their scrying they set forth under the waves to see what might be left.

  Hanks senses where greatly curtailed here. It was as if he was trying to see within a blizzard as the watery essence frothed and bubbled blocking his sight and disrupting his probes. Cronolith mind spoke over the roaring maelstrom. “ We should be close to where the island was now. Skarlock had extended himself into several sea caves upon the eastern coast from his core chambers further inland. He had a nice sheltered bay not too far down the coast as well and he had planned to eventually expand out to the rest of the island and perhaps even into some deep sea caves he had found there.”

  As they continued the search Hank was amazed that they had not even found any sign of the island yet. He had saw the damage the Sea Lord had done to the fleet earlier but wrecking ships was something storms in his own world did from time to time. It seemed to him that destroying a land mass, even an island was on a whole different scale than the sinking of the fleet. They continued forward and downwards looking for some sign.

  Hank discovered another unsettling situation when he realized that although no light really penetrated down here he still couldn’t find much dark essence gathered within the storm. He summoned a bit of his own dark essence out in front of them and watched the watery essence whipping it back and forth within the storm until it was eroded and carried his energies away a little at a time until nothing of it remained. The Lord of the Seas somehow enforced an area here where dark essence was being forced apart and then carried out of the area it seemed.

  Hank made sure to reinforce their scrying protections again before he carried on. Hank began to be concerned the storm might be more dangerous to them than he had first thought. He resolved to not spend too much longer within the storm if they did not find anything. Hank still could not sense anything here other than the storm when Cronolith spoke up. “ I believe we are being misled by this storm. I have navigated through many storms at sea in my time both mundane and otherwise and this has something more unusual about it than most.” “ What do you mean,” Hank asked? “ I mean I don’t think we are actually moving our scrying any deeper into the storm,” Cronolith said. “ I think we are being tricked into holding roughly the same spot against the currents and storm surges here while some bit of magic deceives our senses into thinking otherwise. If this were to continue and we were physically there we could become victims of the storm, or more likely we would give up and flee the effects of the storm without finding anything. Even with just scrying the area, it will sap our strength until our casting fails or we manage to withdraw it.”

  “ This was probably set here to stop any of the Darks minions from investigating this site when Skarlock was first destroyed.” Hank could see where that made sense. Even after knowing what might be going on, he still could not perceive the exact method of the magic that was affecting them in this mess. “ So what do we do about it,” Hank said. Cronolith replied, “ by casting a beacon spell here at our present location and then forging ahead away from it until our sense of it begins to fade before we make another we can try navigating through this. Then he set actions to words and he took them further in and then cast another beacon and using the two he had established he forced their way forward once more into the storm.

  Hank could feel the storm resisting their efforts now at every turn. They should be passing through with ease but it was almost as hard as if they were actually there physically struggling against the currents. After the casting of the tenth beacon, Hank was wondering how much further they could really force their way onward through the worsening storm. The beacons would eventually be worn away themselves as their dark essence was carried away and then they would be lost in the storm.

  Thinking about it instead he said to Cronolith, “ could we maybe recast our scrying or the beacons and insulate them with water essence instead of our dark power which can not last too much longer in here. Or maybe even combine the two with a shell or ward of water on the edges of our magic?” Cronolith said, “ That might be possible if we have enough control. It will make the castings of the scrying more complex to carry out though.” He began a new beacon and when he was finished casting it, it was apparent how much better it was able to withstand the storm. Alastor had no water essence whatsoever and so
when they recast their scrying he took a supporting position within their circle. Once they had successfully shielded their scrying with their water essence the storm’s intensity began to die off and while it didn’t stop entirely the conditions improved. Their senses and probes became clearer too. Hank advanced their scrying viewpoint much further into the storm now that they were not so hard pressed.

  He thought he had finally found something when a massive presence came out of the storm right on top of them. It looked like a huge white whale in form but its aura was nearly as impressive as the storm’s and Hank was pretty sure he was meeting the architect of the storm itself. An enormous eye pinned them under its gaze before a loud voice spoke over the storm. “What have we here. Dark ones masquerading as denizen’s of the deep seas.” The Whales aura pulsed with impressive amounts of water and light essences mixing and then separating in a mesmerizing pattern who’s purpose Hank could not discern. Hank felt himself almost hypnotized by the light before he felt a portion of his aura flare and flicker with the Sea Lords Mark which was all the hint he needed to hurry up and identify themselves.

  He quickly replied to the guardian. “No, your lordship,” he said we are Wreckers wishing to take a look at the remains of Skarlock’s dungeon if it is allowed.” The beast snorted blowing out a water spout. The whale said, “ it has been many years since I have had any serious explorers attempt to pick over Skarlock’s carcass. Most turn back after struggling with the storm or are lost forever within it. Fewer still manage to press on and see me before failing in their task. The Whale loomed over them and their viewpoint before sighing and proclaiming Wreckers are allowed to pass by my post.” Then he said be warned there are yet dangers lurking ahead and any breaking of the bargain you have struck will be your last deed Dark Ones.” Hank hurried to pass by the whales immense bulk and focused once more on trying to find anything at all left of the dungeons remains or the island it had occupied.

  They forged ahead but had almost past through the entire area Cronolith thought the island once occupied before they found a small outcrop of rock rising out of the waves. It was a bare red ravaged spike of stone that held no hint of having ever been anything grander. Hank moved their view downwards under the waves and followed the slowly widening spire hundreds of feet downwards in their quest to find Skarlocks remains. Nothing else was visible other than the red rocky column and so he studied it. Looking at it here it was much smoother and more regular than what was above. Hank thought the reddish stone seemed weird. For one thing, he didn’t recognize the type of stone it was. What he could see was that it was claimed by Manuck the Sea Lord as his mighty essence filled the entire stone.

  The spire was slightly angled as it descended to the sea bottom. As they descended Hank could make out the jumbled remains of chunks of the island scattered below them. The stone column led directly into a mighty jagged stony bowl-shaped depression where it took on a more pointed shape and Hanks mental image of the spire changed into an incomprehensibly huge javelin or spear stabbed right into the heart of Skarlock’s lair.

  He could hardly imagine it. He could feel the shock from his fellows as they too realized what they were actually seeing before them. Truly Hank could not imagine a battle between the Lords if this was an example of the weapons they wielded. Hank despaired of anyone or anything having survived destruction upon such a massive scale. Nonetheless, he sent out a call to the Darkness to see if any remained. After a minute with no response, he tried again, increasing its power and range. Again no answering call was heard.

  Hank grimly took them down into the almost unrecognizable ruins. He found hardly any dark essence left anywhere among the blasted rock and rubble. He used the sea lords weapon as a guide to spiral out from the impact site. They found very little that was even identifiable. Well, Hank thought I had to strike out sometime. After all having survivors here might have been bad for Manuck and the statement he had made with Skarlocks destruction. Hank asked Cronolith if he had any ideas. “ No Hank I think you are right,” he said, “ that there is likely no survivors here. I have not even found one piece of bone anywhere here. It is possible that Manuck brought in sharks and other scavengers to ensure not even scraps of anyone remained.”

  Hank continued the search and found just a few small scraps of precious metals which he only gathered up to keep his bargain with the Wreckers after the mighty whales warning. After going out almost a mile Hank could no longer even find any sign of Skarlock or the island so he returned to the spire and decided to check one last hunch before they gave up and left.

  He carefully approached the spire and tried passing straight down under the impact point. The rock here was crazed, fused and fissured as if it had been crushed, melted and then cracked apart repeatedly. It also seemed devoid of any essence what so ever. Hank continued through it uneasily until he was directly below the Sea Lords spear point. Being here felt like putting his head in a guillotine or stepping in front of an onrushing train and it took a couple tries before he managed to maneuver himself into position right under it. There he found a cracked spherical crystal about the size of a golf ball very dimly lit from within by a bare whisper of darkness, water a few other trace essences.

  Hank didn’t know what it was he was looking at before Cronolith said in a hushed voice, “ its a shard of the remains of Skarlock’s dungeon heart stone.” Hank looked closer and saw a tiny weak shadowed twin of his own Gordian’s knot floating inside the heart stone. He said, “ does this mean Skarlock is still here?” “ No,” Cronolith said sadly, “ his soul and his familiar were obliterated entirely or cut off from the stone when the Sea Lord’s Weapon destroyed the rest of him. Its a mystery to me why even this much of it remains. This crystal is more like a flawed empty dungeon seed. It is without a soul or spirit now. It may be damaged in other ways as well. I cant tell for sure without much more study. I only saw Skarlocks dungeon heart once, but it was much much bigger than this. I would guess that either it has shrunken as whatever dissipates dark essences down here has eroded it away or that this is but a fragment of the larger stone that somehow managed to survive the rest of the crystal’s destruction and then partially reformed in its aftermath. It is not Skarlock but it still may prove useful to you in some manner as a foci or in some other manner.”

  After much study Cronolithe said, “ the ritual inside of it appears to be intact.” Hank said in a subdued voice, “ so why is it I don’t seem to have such a crystal within me?” “ Well, Alastor spoke up, “ that is because in your case the crystal hasn’t been allowed to form over the central knot of the ritual’s weave of magics. Instead, The Darkness has your soul hanging in limbo still connected to and sustaining your old body while he prepares it for receiving and then housing the Dark Prince’s soul. You’re still being held in a state of flux until you have served this purpose.” Hank was glum for a moment at hearing this news before shrugging it off and focusing once more upon the crystal before him.

  He decided it fit his definition of Dark remains and carefully seeing no sign of Manucks aura upon it he claimed it. Preparing to teleport it home. But something happened when he claimed it, he felt a connection spring up immediately between himself and the stone. At first, he was worried that it had latched onto his core because he didn’t have a crystal of his own and that he should have took more precautions to safeguard himself before touching it. But checking himself over he found his silver cord still leading back to his own dungeon and not into the small crystal before him. Instead, it seemed like some other connection had formed that was weakly drawing upon his essence to sustain and grow itself. Hank felt relieved at seeing this for some reason and like he needed to protect it and keep it somewhere very safe so he made some room and teleported it back to his dungeon and placed it right next to Llywelyn’s dungeon stone. It felt right somehow and he didn’t question it.

  “ There are no survivors of Skarlock’s destruction,” he said. “ Our time is growing short, we need to return to the Wreckers an
d find some more recruits while we can.” Then Hank shut down their scrying and took his team away from the desolated region where a dungeon once stood. Somewhere nearby out in the storm swept sea the white whale grinned in contentment.

  When Hanks consciousness returned to the Wreckers cave he found the same young man sitting at the table dispiritedly pushing around the small pile of bits of silver and gold he had sent back from their latest search. Hank said, “ we found almost nothing left of Skarlock or the island. These little bits were the largest pieces we could find. Manuck truly wiped him and his dungeon from the sea.” Hank said, “ I am running very short on time right now. I may be able to make one last dive to search before I must return to my dungeon for a while. Have you or your people come up with any other good sites to suggest?” The young man said, “ I am afraid that everyone of importance has been called away to a meeting right now.”

  “ I know the other wreckers have heard of you and your bargain with us and are growing jealous of our enclave. They want to have you go to their own locations and have the chance to split the treasures you find with them as well.” Hank said, “ I am willing to work with the other groups of Wreckers, but right now I do not have the time to change sites and go through introductions to new groups of people. I have to hurry to keep up with the demands the Darkness places upon me.”