by A F Kay
Ruwen nodded at the thin girl. “I’ll take the right side.”
“Why are you going?” Slib asked Ruwen.
“Because I can see okay in the dark,” Ruwen said.
The fire in Slib’s palm grew bigger and brighter. “Me too.”
Wilken removed the shield off his back and pulled his short sword from its sheath. “You want to enter an unknown room with a flaming hand? If there is anything with a ranged attack in there, you will act as a beacon and shortly after that a pincushion.”
The fire went out in Slib’s palm. “Yes, I agree. The expendable types should go in first.”
Ruwen ignored Slib and pulled up the hood of his cloak, which provided an extra ten percent acuity to all his senses. He activated Owl Eyes, and with the Jaga Wedding Band’s fifteen percent increase, the dark cavern now appeared like twilight.
Ruwen glanced around the cavern but didn’t see any creatures. The ground here looked to be mostly dirt with a few rocks. Short shrubs made it hard to see much, and Ruwen turned back to the wall.
Channeling two Energy to Find Trap, he scanned the area again before easing down the wall. It took him less than thirty seconds to find a similar contraption to the one Big D had activated above. He grasped the large shaker and turned off Owl Eyes, not wanting to blind himself.
Ruwen squinted his eyes, cupped his hands around the shaker, and vigorously shook it. The orb blazed with light, and Ruwen dropped it into the quartz holder. A moment later, the entire room lit up. He smiled and turned to go back to the tunnel entrance.
A giant prairie dog stood on its hind legs and locked gazes with Ruwen. He quickly realized it might have started as a prairie dog, but the dungeon had made some modifications. Its eyes were too large, probably to handle the darkness of the cavern, and what should have been flat teeth great for grass had been turned into fangs. Thick claws perfect for tunneling or ripping open adventurers extended from its paws.
The mutant prairie dog swung its clawed paw at Ruwen.
Chapter 49
Ruwen’s training activated and he blocked the prairie dog’s swipe with his left arm and immediately punched with his right. His punch struck the creature on the nose, and it stumbled backward.
Ruwen grabbed his baton, but before he could remove it from his belt, two crossbow bolts emerged from between the prairie dog’s eyes, and blood spattered Ruwen’s face. The creature collapsed to the ground, and instead of immediately dissolving into the ground like in Blapy, it slowly melted like wax from a burning candle.
Looking up, Ruwen found Sage kneeling twenty feet away and reloading her crossbow. She scanned the room, looking for more creatures. Ruwen used the sleeve of his shirt to wipe the blood off his face as best he could.
Without looking at Ruwen, Sage spoke. “Nice punch, Worker. You spent some time in the warehouse district, I see.”
Ruwen turned his back to the wall and scanned the room as well. How had the prairie dog appeared so quickly? He activated Detect Temperature in case the creatures could make themselves invisible. The slowly melting body shone brightly. Ruwen could just make out the faint heat signature of the dead creature’s footsteps leading from the brush. He toggled off Detect Temperature.
“Thanks,” Ruwen said. “Impressive shot, by the way. Have you ever seen these things before?”
“Well, it’s twenty times bigger than the ones on the farm, but my guess is it came from underground,” Sage said.
The encounter had happened too fast for Ruwen’s Perception to provide any information above the creature. But it might still be in his log. He opened it and checked.
You have struck a Stone Digger, Scout (Level 4)!
Your Fist has done 21 damage (Brawl(20%), Unarmed Combat(8%))!
Sage has critically hit a Stone Digger, Scout (Level 4)!
Sage’s bolt has done 63 damage (Backstab, Bleed, Poison, Pinpoint)!
Sage’s bolt has done 63 damage (Backstab, Bleed, Poison, Pinpoint)!
A Stone Digger, Scout (Level 4) has died!
You have gained 30 (180*(16.7% group modifier)) experience!
Ruwen closed his log. “They’re called Stone Diggers, and how did you fire two bolts so quickly?”
Sage lifted the necklace off her chest. “This necklace is amazing. That Pinpoint ability doubled my damage, and Rapid Fire duplicated my bolt as soon as it left my crossbow.”
Ruwen remembered Pinpoint, and that using Weakness first would have quadrupled her damage. She probably already knew that and just hadn’t had the time to use Weakness. The Stone Digger had come out of nowhere.
Ruwen and Sage reached the tunnel where their group stood and backed into it.
“What happened?” Vamor asked.
“Level four Stone Digger Scout,” Ruwen said. “It surprised me, but Sage took care of it.”
“Of course it surprised you,” Slib said. “You’re dumb and worthless.”
Yaja stepped between them. She smelled like strawberries, and her delicate features made her seem younger than sixteen. “Whatever enmity lies between the two of you, please, for the sake of the group, leave it be while we are here. Your behavior endangers us all.”
Like most Merchants, she had naturally high Charisma, and Ruwen felt the impact of it. His shoulders relaxed, and he found he wanted to please the young woman by doing what she asked. Big D had a similar effect on him, only ten times stronger.
“Of course,” Ruwen said.
Slib didn’t say anything, but he stepped back.
“Thank you,” Yaja said.
Merchants were experts at manipulation and persuasion. In here, Yaja could use those abilities as a weapon. If they encountered more creatures than the group could handle, Yaja would be able to distract them, holding them enthralled by the power of her spells, which would amplify the power of her Charisma.
“Good job getting the cavern lit,” Wilken said. “My night vision is garbage.”
Ruwen nodded his acceptance. “Sage thinks they’re underground and I agree. We should look for –”
“Look for your courage, you coward,” Slib said. “With my power, there is nothing to fear here.”
With that, Slib marched into the room.
Wilken cursed and quickly followed with Vamor right behind.
“That guy is a problem,” Yaja said.
A short scream reached them, and Slib’s Health bar dropped by a quarter. Ruwen followed Sage and Yaja into the room. Ten feet in front of them, Wilken held his shield up and pointed his sword outward. Vamor knelt behind the Fighter, near a clump of scrub brush, and stared down into a hole. Sage, Yaja, and Ruwen quickly walked over.
“A trap!” Slib whined. He caught sight of Sage and pointed up at her from the hole he had fallen in. “Aren’t you supposed to find traps? You useless arrow chucker.”
Ruwen stated the obvious. “It isn’t a trap. You fell into an entrance. That’s why you shouldn’t rush into the unknown.”
Slib responded with a raised voice. “Don’t tell me what to do! I’m level three already. I’ve spent time fighting in the forest with a real party. They knew how to do their job. Which is to protect me, the most valuable member. Now pull me out of this trap!”
Slib tried to stand but collapsed in pain, and his Health dropped another ten points. “I think I twisted my ankle. Healer!”
Everyone looked down at Slib, but no one dropped down to help him. In fact, after a few seconds, Ruwen realized no one knew what to do. He didn’t want to be in charge, but he decided to offer some suggestions.
Ruwen turned to Vamor. “Do you prefer healing or fighting?”
“I want to be a sword for Uru,” Vamor said.
Ruwen nodded at Vamor. “I’ll handle the healing then until I’m out of Mana. My heals are contact only though, so if I need help, I’ll yell the name of the person that needs healing. You can target them by focusing on their portrait and directing the heal there.”
“Thank you, Ruwen,” Vamor said.
> Ruwen continued. “Since it looks like we’ll be underground, I suggest Sage lead, with Wilken following. Yaja should come next to provide crowd control if needed. The Mage will follow Yaja to provide damage from a safe location. Then I’ll go and finally Vamor to keep us safe from rear attacks. Which I think will be numerous if what I just experienced holds true.”
“That is a good plan,” Wilken said.
“Have you done this before?” Yaja asked.
Ruwen looked uncomfortable. “I read a lot.”
Slib spoke up from down in the hole. “The idiot literally lived in the library after his traitor par—”
Ruwen jumped down in the hole, grabbed Slib’s robe, and jerked him forward.
Ruwen spoke in a harsh whisper. “Insult me all you want. But I won’t tolerate you spreading lies about my parents.”
With his free hand, Ruwen grabbed the shocked Slib by the neck and squeezed. “Understand?”
Ruwen kept his grip on Slib’s throat and focused on the symbol for Massage. The spell had a two second cast time, and it took that long for Slib to respond.
“Yes,” Slib croaked.
The spell finished, and a thirty flashed on Ruwen’s Mana bar, dropping his total by ten percent. Between all the buffs and the extra hundred Mana from the necklace, Ruwen now had over three hundred Mana. A brown aura pulsed around Slib every second, and Ruwen let go of the Mage.
“Attack a man while he’s injured. You coward piece of trash,” Slib said as he pushed himself to his feet.
“You’re welcome,” Ruwen said.
Ruwen hated that Slib could get under his skin so quickly. But he also felt good about standing up for his parents. The last few days had given him skills and experience that he only now realized had changed him. He wasn’t the same person who Slib so causally bullied before.
“Let’s go,” Ruwen said, making room for the others to jump down.
The rest of the day, for the most part, went well. Ruwen kept up with the healing because the tunnels made it hard for the Stone Diggers to swarm them, and with Wilken in the front and Vamor in the rear, they moved through the warren of tunnels in relative safety.
The only real mishap was when Slib “accidentally” released a Fireball into Ruwen’s back. The Mage must have put every damage boosting skill he had into the spell because the spell critically hit Ruwen for over two hundred points of damage.
Ruwen’s Hooded Pacifist’s Cloak of Wandering triggered and absorbed one hundred fifty points of the damage. If he had still been level two, with standard gear, even with the necklace’s one hundred points of Health, he would have died. Slib looked shocked that Ruwen had survived but quickly berated him for getting in the way of his spell. Ruwen kept a closer eye on Slib after that and avoided any additional accidents.
The time spent in Blapy had ruined Ruwen for any other dungeon. He tried not to compare but couldn’t help himself. Near the end, he even felt sorry for the dungeon.
The loot was almost all Uncommon quality, and only the final boss had a Fine quality item. The level ten Stone Digger Commander had dropped four crossbow bolts, each a different element, which went to Sage. Slib had argued that all the loot should be shared regardless of need, forcing them all to roll a pair of dice Yaja carried. Ruwen, Yaja, Vamor, and Wilken each won a bolt, and each promptly gave it to Sage.
Slib fumed but couldn’t argue. Ruwen contemplated how people like Slib always felt they never had enough, and others like Sift always thought they had too much. Ruwen took this lesson to heart. He never wanted to let greed force him into making a terrible decision. The exact decision people had accused his parents of making. Soon he would be able to prove everyone wrong. Another couple of days here and then he could set off for the Grey Canyon and answers.
In the end, he turned down all the loot and ended up with over seven hundred experience. It didn’t move his total much, but every bit helped.
Experience: 7,436/21,000
Just over a third of the way to level seven. He wondered if maybe the later tunnels might have more challenging creatures that Sift and Hamma could battle with him. It might be worth coming back between dinner and bedtime for a quick exploration.
Ruwen had used the spell Dig to tunnel their way to the surface since the Stone Digger tunnels were too confusing to navigate. They were the last group to arrive back at the entrance, and by the hostile glances, the others had been there a while. Ruwen glanced at his clock: 4:29 PM.
Big D took their necklaces and hung them on her arm with the rest. Ruwen pulled each of the empty boxes from his Inventory, and handed them to the appropriate Class in his group. They all opened the boxes and Big D put the necklaces away. Vamor gave Big D the ring that allowed them to form a group, and the portraits on the right side of Ruwen’s vision disappeared. He wouldn’t miss seeing Slib’s ugly face.
Ruwen put the full boxes back in his Inventory, and then Big D led them into the exit tunnel.
“What do you think of our dungeon?” Big D asked.
Ruwen thought carefully before answering, not wanting to give any clues about Blapy. “It’s a valuable resource like you said.” He thought about the realization he’d had about himself. For lack of a better word, he’d matured. It had felt good to stand up to Slib. And not just the act of it, but the realization he could back up his words with action. Sift and Blapy and even Hamma, had helped to transform Ruwen. “I learned a lot, actually.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Big D said. “What about the necklace? Did you have any epiphanies about your path?”
“I’m going to miss that necklace. I –” Ruwen stopped suddenly as he noticed the icons for Owl Eyes and Glow were still there next to Detect Temperature. Maybe he needed to mentally touch them for them to disappear.
Ruwen put a mental finger on Owl Eyes. Instead of it disappearing, the tunnel brightened, and he squinted, quickly turning it off.
“Are you okay?” Big D asked.
Ruwen nodded. “Just trying to find the words for my disappointment. Having access to all those capabilities was empowering.”
He opened his Profile and switched to the Abilities tab. Everything through level five remained available. Opening the Spells tab, he found every spell still there. It was as if he still wore the necklace. He went back to his Profile and looked at the Mana and Health bars. Both had lost the one hundred extra points. Only the Spells and Abilities tabs looked unaffected.
Ruwen swallowed hard. “Are there any aftereffects from the necklace? I was hoping maybe some of the spells or abilities might linger.”
Big D laughed. “Son, if that were the case, we would put these on every Ascendant as soon as they woke.”
Ruwen reached up and touched his neck, making sure he’d actually removed the necklace.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Big D asked again.
“Yeah, for sure. Just tired from my first dungeon adventure.”
Big D nodded. “I understand. The first time in a dungeon can be traumatic. That’s why it’s best to start in a baby dungeon like this.”
Ruwen thought about his first time fighting in Blapy. Traumatic was an excellent word for it.
They stepped out of the tunnel and into the cold wind of the small clearing.
“Hold up,” Big D said. “Let’s wait for the babysitters to get here.”
A minute later, a group from camp arrived, including Sift and Hamma. They hadn’t had to wait in the cold all day after all.
An idea occurred to him.
Rami? Are you the reason I still know all those spells?
Sorry, I’m still indexing your life into my collection.
That made Ruwen a little uncomfortable, but he had bigger issues.
Well, something happened that shouldn’t have.
Can I look through your memories?
Yes.
Vertigo struck Ruwen as the last nine hours flashed through his mind in a heartbeat, and he leaned against the cold stone of the dungeon wall for support.
Oh, the necklace from before. Rami remained quiet for a few seconds. It wasn’t me. I have an idea, but let me research a little before I answer.
Okay, thank you.
Hamma waved at him, and Ruwen returned it.
Sift flashed him in Shade speak. Emergency.
Ruwen’s heart thudded and he scanned the area for danger. Everything seemed normal and he relaxed a little. Whatever danger Sift had discovered must not be here. Ruwen just wanted to go to his room and experiment with the other necklaces, but it looked like that would have to wait. He wondered what would happen when he put them on.
Chapter 50
Hamma and Ruwen sat on Ruwen’s bed while Sift paced back and forth in front of them. It was the most agitated Ruwen had ever seen his friend.
“Just say it already,” Ruwen said. “You’re making me dizzy.”
Sift stopped and wiped his hands on his pants. He looked down at the floor and muttered something.
“Sift, we couldn’t hear that. What is going on?” Ruwen asked.
Sift took a deep breath and then another before looking at Ruwen. “She’s here.”
“Ky?” Ruwen asked.
“No!” Sift shouted and then took a deep breath. “Lylan.”
Ruwen stood up. “What? Here? Why?”
Sift looked like he might puke. “I’m not sure. I made sure she saw me, but…” Sift stopped and raised his hands.
“She didn’t remember you?” Ruwen whispered.
Sift shook his head.
Ruwen’s left wrist suddenly felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. Blapy had given Ruwen a ring with Lylan’s memories from inside the pyramid. He had never mentioned it to Sift. There hadn’t been a good time. And now he was a little scared of how Sift would react.
“Who is Lylan?” Hamma asked.
Ruwen and Sift both turned to look at Hamma.
“A Shade,” Sift said.
“His girlfriend,” Ruwen said at the same time.
Ruwen and Sift looked at each other.
“Are you two ever on the same page?” Hamma asked.
