by Eric Vall
I hovered closer so that I could hear their conversation. As my invisible presence settled near them, I was met with the long-forgotten scent of a campfire and cooked meat. The smoke rose throughout the cave and mingled with the sweet smell of the women’s perfume. It was… pleasant.
“Well, that was fun,” the fox woman said with a chuckle. Her long and unruly curly hair matched the color of her fur, and the burning campfire gave it the appearance of a mass of glowing embers.
“I agree.” The cat woman giggled, and her eyes gleamed with excitement. “I mean, I didn’t want to kill that guy, but it was really something when he caught on fire. Did you see it?” She made an explosion sound with her mouth and spread her figures to mimic the burst of flames that she had caused.
“We’re not here to have fun, ladies,” Annalíse said with a small smile as she turned her meat over in the fire.
“Right!” Carmedy said through a mouthful of roasted meat. “You said we’re here to prove to all those narrow-minded jerks that women can be adventurers too.”
“Exactly.” The russet-haired swordswoman nodded in agreement.
“Well, I still think it was fun, and it’s been a while since I had any fun,” Rana said as she lay on her back with her arms beneath her head. I drifted by her as she laid down and brushed past her red curls. They were so soft, and the touch brought back ancient memories that I both wanted to forget and wanted more than anything to remember.
“Fun meaning stealing?” Annalíse asked with a wide grin that sent freckles in every direction.
“No, I didn’t mean stealing,” Rana said while lowering her voice to mimic the sword wielder’s raspy tone. “I meant the kind of fun that regular people have. You know, the ‘drinking loads of ale and singing songs’ kind of fun, but yes, stealing is fun too.”
“You’re only making things worse you know,” the tall freckle-faced warrior remarked. “You’re enforcing the stereotype.”
“Well, everyone assumes I’m a thief anyway, so I might as well be,” Rana said as she narrowed her blue eyes at the human woman. “No one trusts fox folk. Everyone thinks we’re thieves, liars, and con artists so I figured I might as well play the part. Carmedy knows what I’m talking about, cat folk are treated just as bad.” She nodded in the direction of the midnight-furred woman across from her.
Carmedy gave no reply and instead quietly pawed through her bundles while muttering to herself.
As I listened silently, I felt a pang of compassion for the women. No one could control what they were born as, and these adventurers had had the misfortune to be born women in a disdainful world. The fox and the cat’s struggles seemed even greater. The universe could be so unkind. I knew this firsthand.
“Hey, Morrigan, care to join our little chat?” Rana said as she craned her neck toward the black-eyed elf who had been whispering to her winged companions. The elf had paid no attention to the discussion that the other three women had been having and had instead been conversing with her ravens.
It could have been my imagination, but I could have sworn that I’d seen the birds’ beaks move… as though they were responding to the elf’s hushed words. The elf and her pets turned their heads in unison to look at Rana.
“Fea, Macha, and I were having a private conversation,” Morrigan said calmly. Both her face and voice were devoid of any emotion, and I was starting to think that was normal for her. “I will pardon your rudeness as we are traveling companions, but please refrain from interrupting us again.” With that, the woman turned back to her ravens and resumed her verbal exchange.
“Ha!” Rana laughed, and she shook her untamed bangs from her right eye. “Alright, queen of darkness. Go ahead and chat it up with your soul munching birds.”
“Did Fea and Macha really eat those goblins’ souls? Did you see it?” Carmedy gasped.
“Oh yeah, sucked them right out like worms from the ground,” the fox said with a loud slurp.
“Rana--” Annalíse groaned and shook her head.
“Well, that’s what happened.” The fox grinned mischievously.
“Anyway,” Annalíse continued. “Carmedy, I recall you expressing concern over the brigand territory we passed.”
“That was one of the things we were talking about before you threw yourself into a pitch-black dungeon,” Rana said under her breath. Annalíse gave her a brief narrow-eyed glance before turning back to Carmedy.
“Yes,” the black cat said quietly, her green eyes filled with concern. “Well, I was thinking… After we get all the treasure and goodies in here, won’t we be easy targets? I mean, we’ll be four women walking through a forest with a donkey and a cart full of enough riches to buy a small continent. Or at least a kingdom.”
I held back a chuckle. These women were indeed bold. Not only had they ventured into my dungeon, they expected to conquer it and leave with a hoard of treasure. Tens of thousands had tried, and none had survived.
Rana responded to the cat’s words with a grin. “I like the way you think. I think I’ll buy myself a kingdom or two and maybe five… no, seven castles. One for every day of the week.” She winked a blue eye at the cat. “But seriously, relax, pussycat. We can easily handle a couple of brainless thugs.” The fox carelessly waved her paw as she spoke. “And even if some lowlife creep somehow managed to steal our hard-earned treasure, I’ll simply steal it all back. Then Morrigan can do her soul-sucking thing, and her birds can have a snack.”
“Yes.” The elf spoke with her usual lack of enthusiasm and carefully brushed aside a few white strands of hair. Evidently, she had deemed this conversation topic worthy of her attention. “It would be most unwise for these… lowlifes to attack us. Should they be foolish enough to do so, Fea and Macha shall devour every fragment of their souls.”
I admired the women’s tenacity. Even though they were all clearly inexperienced, they didn’t seem to have any doubts that they would succeed in their mission. Their words seemed to put Carmedy at ease, and the cat-girl’s slender shoulders relaxed as she released a relieved sigh and gave her companions a small smile. Even if they were a little foolish, my female guests held more confidence than many of the adventurers who had ventured into my dungeon. I listened to the women laugh and talk for a few hours until they began to fall asleep. Once the last of them drifted off, their campfire began to die, and its flames trembled and flickered until it gave its last breath.
I felt for them. These women lived in an unsympathetic world. Against all odds, they had set out to conquer an unconquerable dungeon to prove that they were worthy of the title “adventurer.” And they had surprised me in their fight against my goblins. Between the four of them, they had displayed a fairly decent range of skills and had more or less tortured the yellow-eyed wretches. Not only that, the women had seemed to enjoy it. I decided to let them rest and resume their trial in the morning. After all, I could only attack them while they slept once, and assuming they survived, they would be on guard. No, that wasn’t how this game was played.
Not when I had such intriguing prey, anyway.
Chapter 2
By the time the women had awoken the next morning, I had unsealed the vast cavern’s tunnels. I had plans for the group of female adventurers, and I couldn’t wait to see how my new playthings would fare. As the women re-packed their belongings, they studied the newfound tunnels with confusion.
“What in the…?” the fox called Rana whispered, and she furrowed her red brows at the tunnels. “Where did those come from?”
“That’s a very good question. They certainly weren’t here before,” Annalíse, the human warrior muttered suspiciously.
“Maybe they’re magic tunnels.” Carmedy giggled and swished her black cat tail.
“Magic tunnels? Carmedy, what does that even mean?” Rana chuckled. The other women responded with blank looks and raised eyebrows.
“Maybe they can disappear and then reappear. Or… or maybe every time they disappear, they pop up somewhere else,” the green-
eyed cat said with a wide grin. “Round and round the tunnels go, where they stop, nobody knows!” Carmedy sang and waved her fingers back and forth as if she were directing a choir.
“Whatever you say, pussycat,” Rana said before she burst into laughter. She laughed so hard that her shoulders shook, and her messy curls bounced into a ginger frenzy. Annalíse covered her mouth to suppress a raspy giggle, but Morrigan, the pale elf, simply tilted her hooded head to the side. Her dark eyes darted to each of her glee-stricken companions. Clearly, the amusement had eluded her.
Once the women had cleaned up their camp, they walked toward the unventilated tunnels and glanced at each one curiously. Then the human and the fox held up their torches in an effort to illuminate each of the inky black passageways that lay before them.
“Okay, it looks like there are four different tunnels. Now which one to take?” Annalíse mused as she bit her lip.
“Ooh, I know!” Carmedy said excitedly. “Eenie meanie--”
“Uh, Carmedy, I think this situation calls for a little more deliberation than that,” Rana said with a chuckle. “We’re in a pitch-black dungeon filled with crazy disgusting monsters. Plus, there’s treasure at stake here, not to mention our lives. So let’s be a bit choosier, huh?”
“Well, what should we do then?” the cat asked as she cocked her head to the side and peered at each of the tunnels in turn.
“Perhaps Fea and Macha can be of some use,” Morrigan said with her usual nonchalance. The women turned to the pale elf and then each glanced briefly at Morrigan’s pets in disbelief. I too was surprised. Not only by her suggestion, but also by the fact that the white-haired woman had actually joined the conversation.
“How?” Annalíse asked, and her freckled face scrunched into confusion.
“Yeah, I don’t get it,” Carmedy chimed in. Rana nodded slowly in agreement.
“I can send them ahead to survey the tunnels. Fea and Macha are able to see in the darkness. I share their vision, and thus their ability to see through the shadows.” The other women blinked rapidly, and I was as shocked as they were. I had come across many elves in my time, and none of the pale pointy-eared beings I had met had possessed such an ability.
“But-but why didn’t you tell me this before?” Annalíse sputtered as she threw up her hands in annoyance. “That would have saved us a ton of time earlier.”
“You did not ask for my assistance,” the obsidian-eyed elf said simply. “When you entered this cave, you did so without forming a plan or consulting us.” She gestured at her two ravens before swinging her hand around to indicate the fox and cat. “You made it quite clear that you had dubbed yourself the leader of our group, and your hastiness once again proved to be--”
“Alright, Morrigan, you proved your point.” The swordswoman sighed as she pinched the bridge of her freckled nose. “Can you please just send your ravens?”
“Certainly.” The elf nodded, turned to each of her ravens, and whispered something to them. The birds immediately rose from her shoulders and plunged into the first two tunnels. As soon as her black feathered companions had entered, the red mage marking on the elf’s forehead began to glow and pulse in a steady, ruby-stained rhythm. I watched intently as the woman’s eyes were enveloped in blackness while she stared blankly in the direction of the tunnels that her ravens had chosen. She stood completely still and totally silent.
As I soundlessly observed the she-elf, I recalled the little trick that she had used on my goblin. It was known as soul exorcism. As a deity skilled in the ways of necromancy, I was not only familiar with the technique but had made frequent use of it once upon a time. I had also heard of this shared sight. Both this and soul exorcism were skills known only to those who practiced dark magic.
“Wow, that’s so neat,” Carmedy purred with amusement. She moved closer to the black-hooded elf, and she glanced in fascination back and forth between the elf’s wholly black eyes and glowing red tattoo.
Rana shrugged. “Not to mention creepy, but hey, that’s Morrigan for you. The girl lives and breathes creepy. But I have to admit it is pretty--”
“Shh,” Annalíse interrupted with a hiss. The two ravens returned within minutes and swooped into the remaining two tunnels without hesitation. After a few more moments, the elf’s mage marking stopped glowing, and she closed her eyes. When she opened them, the whites of her eyes had returned. The woman slowly raised one hand and pointed to the third tunnel, and as she did, I realized that her pale hand was covered in markings similar to the one on her forehead.
“This one,” Morrigan said without any explanation. “Let us proceed into the tunnel, Fea and Macha will be able to find me.”
How had Morrigan come to possess these abilities? Beings versed in dark magic were typically underdark deities such as myself or mages. For whatever reason, she did have the markings of a mage, but she couldn’t possibly be one. To my recollection, elves were not permitted to practice dark magic, but perhaps this had changed since I had last been aware. After all, I had been asleep for a few hundred years and had awoken to a fox woman and a cat-human hybrid. And yet, Morrigan had those markings. They were obviously real, and she had displayed skill in dark magic. I didn’t know why, but this strange white-haired woman seemed to possess what I needed. I had no use for the other female adventurers, but this woman... maybe, just maybe she could be the one to free me.
The women began to make their way quietly to the tunnel that the elf had indicated. Annalíse and Rana lit their torches before disappearing into the darkness. Carmedy followed with Morrigan close behind her.
The strange elf was full of surprises. This unexpected ability had actually saved them as the other tunnels were filled with various traps. I’d watched countless adventurers charge into the tunnels only to fall prey to monsters, pits of poison-dipped spikes, and inescapable labyrinths. My newest guests were unlike any group that had graced my dungeon’s walls. That was good because the fun was only getting started.
As the ultimate underdark deity, I possessed an impressive list of abilities, and one of my favorites was conjuring illusions. While the women had slept, I had come to a decision on how my perilous game would progress and had finally decided to pit them against each other by creating illusions. This visual deception would cause them to believe that the others were each one of the many hideous creatures at my disposal. I had the perfect beast in mind for this particular challenge.
I hovered eagerly over the women’s heads and watched with anticipation as the party made its way down the tunnel. As they reached the tunnel’s exit, Annalíse abruptly halted the group. The path went no further and below them stood a deep cavern filled with masses of rocky, jagged protrusions that jutted out from the floor and ceiling. Water droplets fell from several of the ceiling’s formations and landed in stagnant pools of water that sent soft and lazy echoes off the walls.
“Carmedy, can you give us some light?” Annalíse asked before extinguishing her torch.
Rana followed suit with her own torch. Then the cat woman slipped past them and picked at her various pouches. Within moments, she had tossed another of her small bundles into the open air, and the cave was filled with that now-familiar blue light. One after another, the women carefully picked their way down the cave’s sloped side. After they had each landed on the cavern’s floor, they spread out to explore.
Now would be perfect.
As I conjured up my illusion, and thick gray smoke descended into the atmosphere above the women, I could scarcely contain my excitement. The fun was about to begin.
“What in the--” Rana breathed, horror and disgust dripped from her voice.
“Ugh! What is that thing?” Carmedy screamed. Now that my illusion had been cast, the female adventurers could no longer see one another. Instead, each woman saw her companions as enormous one-eyed serpents.
“Guys? Where are you?” Carmedy cried out as she whirled her head around in every which direction in search of the others. The other women vo
iced similar words, but none of them could hear each other call out. All they could hear were the serpent screeches and hisses that my illusion had created. Many times had I amused myself by watching groups of adventurers attack each other while under the spell of my cloud of turmoil. It was quite a sight to behold, and I wondered if they would fall victim to my attack or figure out a way through it. Both were exciting possibilities, but if I had to choose, I almost hoped they broke through it. If they did not, the game would be over much too soon.
I looked on as Annalíse faced Carmedy and hastily lunged toward the green-eyed cat with her sword poised to attack. Carmedy yelped and began to frantically rummage through her many pouches. She hesitated for a moment and then hurriedly plucked one from her belt and threw it at the ground in front of the swordswoman. Upon impact, the pouch exploded in a thick yellow fog, and the cat sprinted toward the other end of the cavern. Annalíse, who was now surrounded by the lemon-colored fog, reeled back with a raspy shriek and desperately rubbed at her eyes as she coughed and gasped.
“Carmedy, where are you?” Annalíse said between coughs. “Watch where you’re throwing those things!” It seemed as though some sort of harmful gas had erupted from the cat’s bundle. Her tiny cloth sacks had once again proven useful, but I got the impression that she had gotten lucky with her choice. As for Annalíse, it was clear that her rash decisions were a behavioral pattern, and such hasty decisions seemed to get her and the other women into trouble.
“Stay right where you are, don’t even think about moving.” Rana’s sudden outburst broke through my thoughts, and I turned to focus my attention on the other two women. Rana was cautiously circling the pale elf who was still unadorned by her winged, soul-eating pets. Morrigan gazed at the fox, seemingly unbothered by the horrendous serpentine illusion that lay before her. Her eyes began to drown in pitch black, and her mage marking began to glow with crimson brilliance.
