Into the Darkness: A Fantasy LitRPG Adventure (Axe Druid Book 4)

by Christopher Johns

  “Looks like we will be teaching you how to swim too,” I heard Muu mutter as Fainnir sputtered and coughed up water.

  Fainnir cleared his lungs and held out his right hand. He grabbed the air and yanked it back. A shifting of stone and a grating sound rang out behind me.

  I smiled at the boy and ruffled his soaked brown hair. “Go sit by the fire for a bit after you get yourself dried off. Ask Maebe to help you get rid of the water.”

  He nodded silently, and awkwardly stood to slosh toward her.

  I turned and walked back out onto the water and checked over the wall. Maebe had been right; there was something glittering in the stone. It was an odd color that I couldn’t place, a reddish hue, maybe? But that didn’t mean it was all that rare, right? We were only three point five floors into this place.

  I touched it, then looked over at Pebble. “Hey, can you tell us what this is?”

  He glanced from me to Fainnir, who made a shooing motion as Maebe used shadows to wick away the water.

  “I can try.” He sank into the ground and disappeared for a few moments before returning with a chunk of the metal in his hand. “I don’t know what it is, but I can bring you more if you like.”

  “How big is the vein?” I asked cautiously.

  “It is not large compared to the veins of ore and materials that I saw below us.” He seemed to think for a moment then shrugged. “Roughly a hundredth of the size of some of those.”

  “That could be anything, but can you get to them?” Jaken frowned and called from the water’s edge, but Pebble shook his head.

  “No, there is a barrier between the ‘floors.’” Pebble pointed up. “I can venture up, but not down. There are some poor-quality stones and gems in the area, but they are hardly worth the effort to retrieve them.’

  “Then just what you can retrieve from here is fine, thank you, Pebble.” I smiled at the elemental, then walked back toward the shore of the small pond.

  “Let’s rest and get our thoughts together before we have that discussion, eh Fainnir?” I called over to him, and he looked relieved as he sat near the fire and Yohsuke.

  Chapter Fifteen

  We sat in silence while I collected my thoughts, and the others went about whatever they might. Finally, I felt I knew how I wanted to approach this.

  “Fainnir, Maebe and Yoh, if you three could join me over by the water?” I stood and stepped over to the water to sit down again, waiting for those I had verbally tapped to join me. While I waited, I sent a thought to the others, I understand you all care, but you will all have many chances to impart wisdom and insight as we travel. For now, this is something that we need to do to gauge how Fainnir needs to be trained and how he can be his best self moving forward. He isn’t us, and he hasn’t had to deal with the evils we have up to this point. Please, let us find out what we will, and we can all discuss it later.

  The others turned toward me, and almost as if on cue, nodded once together. Chills ran down my spine, and I closed my eyes and focused on controlling my nerves. I cared about this kid, this young man, and I wanted him to be better off than we had been. Than I had ever been.

  My paternal instincts kicked in hard, and it was a bitch to beat back. I missed my son, and here I was with someone else’s kid. Shit.

  As Maebe sat to the left of me, Yohsuke sat down on the opposite side of her on my right. Finally, Fainnir trudged over to sit in front of us. Trepidation in each of his movements. Pebble joined him but was content to just stand at his back for the time being.

  “First of all, relax.” Yohsuke beat me to the punch, gently reaching out and tapping the ground in front of us to get the dwarf’s attention. Fainnir glanced up shyly and looked at us. “I think I speak for everyone when I say that there isn’t one swinging dick, or uh... lady here who isn’t proud as hell to have you with us. And from what I saw out there? We’re all damned proud of you, Fainnir, and I’ve only known you for a short time. Listen to what we have to say with an open mind and an open heart—know that this is how we want to help you and that we care. Okay?”

  Fainnir seemed to take heart in what my brother had so gruffly put. But that was Yoh, gruff, blunt and in your face. But the bastard had a heart of pure gold, and I’d fight at his side through hell and high water.

  Thanks, brother. His slight nod let me know he had heard me, and I regarded Fainnir. “Like my brother said, we are all thrilled to have you with us. And as I said earlier—I am at fault. I should be asking you how you want to fight. I am probably the furthest thing from a traditional druid, yet I gripe at you for thinking like a normal dwarf. That’s hardly fair of me. So, what I would like to ask you, is what do you want to do, Fainnir?”

  He looked stricken at the question, blinking and looking down into his hands in contemplative silence.

  “Your people are warriors of ferocious tenacity and honorable almost to a fault, Fainnir.” His head whipped up, indignant horror on his features, but I stopped him with a raised palm. “I’m not saying that like it’s a bad thing that they are such amazing warriors, or that they hold to their ways and their Way so fervently. I am proud to be counted among them, same as you. And though I have to make… horrible decisions at times as to how to proceed forward, I try to think like the dwarves I know when I can.

  “Seeing you back there, realizing that you had so thoughtfully tried to avoid true bloodshed opened my eyes to how you may feel. To how your sense of honor and ideas of honorable combat may come into play.” His gaze was downcast again, and I knew that I had struck a nerve. “Your entire life, you learned that to face your foe in honorable combat was the epitome of what it meant to be a dwarf. That anything less than that was dishonorable and sometimes seen as murder, perhaps?”

  His gaze drifted up, though his head hung low. “Aye.”

  “Why do you think that is?” He looked confused, so I added to the question a bit. “Why did you feel like some of the things we did today weren’t right? Before you speak, I want you to know that you are not to lie because you think we might grow angry or be insulted by your answer. Okay?”

  He nodded as he thought, finally sighing and raising his head to speak to us, “It were because what we did was too easy. We didn’t give them a chance to fight. We came in killin’ from the moment we set foot in this place, and they stood no chance. Now, when I went in to fight that spider, I thought that a fair fight, I wanted to gauge me own strength, but I failed. I could’a died. If I’d been on me own, I would’a died.”

  When none of us said anything, he continued on, “The rats stood no chance. Just rounded ‘em up like cattle to slaughter. And those moles? Just murdered.”

  “Okay.” I nodded and narrowed my eyes at him. “Do you think you could’ve fought those moles on your own?”—he stammered a bit, not sure how to really answer, so I pressed on— “What about me? Do you think you could fight me and win? How about Yohsuke?”

  Fainnir seemed thoroughly flustered with my questions, so I smacked the ground, “Speak!”

  “No!” He howled, tears streaming from his eyes, at long last. “No! A thousand times, no! I’d have died out there, an’ ye be knowin’ it!”

  I growled. “That’s right! That is exactly right.” I lowered my voice to a harsh whisper. “You would have died. If those rats had half a chance against you, they would have swarmed you, and you likely would have died. If those moles had come at you more than one at a time, you would have died. If you were to face any of us, we would kill you. Why do you think I ask you these questions, Fainnir?”

  He sniffed and ran his arm over his face, hiccuping once, then again before answering, “I don’ know.”

  I pressed on. “You do, but you don’t want to admit it to yourself.”

  More tears fell as he sat in contemplation, Yohsuke reached out through our earrings. I don’t know man, I don’t think he’s getting it.

  I shook my head, and we waited. When Fainnir’s tears abated a little, I asked again, “Why do you think I asked yo
u these questions, Fainnir?”

  “To show me that I’m weak.” He looked to be on the verge of tears again.

  “No, to show you where your truest strength is.” I leaned forward and flicked him on his forehead. He grunted, and his hands covered the smarting area. “The way you handled those rats was nothing short of beautiful, skillful, and efficient. Now, I tell you that all these things would probably kill you because if you went into the fight thinking to give them the chance to kill you—they would take it and run.”

  “But that’s the honorable thing to do!” He insisted with a confused expression I was growing accustomed to seeing on his face.

  “No, it’s the stupid thing to do.” He frowned and looked damned-near mutinous. “Those moles would have worn you down and killed you. That fox could have torn you apart if it hadn’t been for Pebble. Or your good heart. It’s okay to want to give things a chance in certain circumstances, but I can guarantee you that any foe in here is likely to kill you and feel nothing but joy by it. And it would be because you thought that they would be honorable, too.”

  Yohsuke picked up from where I left off. “There are different kinds of honorable combat out there. You can refuse to use the same dirty tricks as your opponent. You can wait until they’re healed and everything else, sure, but these creatures are all put here to devour you. The majority of them would sooner see you dead than give you time to heal or to rest. Their whole existence is to end yours. Now, outside in the sunlight, do whatever you think best, more power to you. But down here? We have to play for keeps.”

  “What they say, while somewhat confusing, is true.” Maebe allowed, eyeing Yoh and I before looking to Fainnir. “Some people and creatures are as honorable as you may think but when it comes to your survival, honor is an ideal that could get you killed. Especially in the company of those without it. We will show you some of the times and places where it is fine to hold to your beliefs in this ‘honorable combat’ and when survival is king. What we need for you to do is trust that we do these things for a reason and that it is best to use your head.”

  “Well, if that be the case, then how come ye were so happy when all I was doin’ was killin’ things like the rats?” Fainnir scratched his head a bit.

  “Because, Fainnir, that shows that you have the ability to see the situation at hand and do what mages do when the odds are against them—plan.” I smiled at him as I tapped my head. “A mage such as yourself can grow in many ways, and you will get stronger. In any other circumstances against those odds, that would have been a grueling battle, but you were able to use the tools you had. With a little know-how you will use them to devastating effect. It wasn’t cruel—it was smart. Your mind is and always will be your strongest weapon. If you take the time to prepare for a fight, you will be so much better off.”

  He seemed taken aback by what I said but a little happier as he thought it over, then I added, “And that leads me to what I wanted to say to you.”

  He looked apprehensive again, but I smiled sadly. “That fox sensed the good in you. And I think it’s there, too. With what we do, we’ve all been forced to do terrible things, some of us more than others. Those hard choices we had to make were forced to make or were taken on by the thought of necessity tainted us. Made us different. Changed the way we think and see the world around us.”

  He looked more distressed now, good. “But that doesn’t mean that we’re bad people. There will be times in your life where you have to make those hard choices, and when those times arise, I hope that you have the same strength of character and the same conviction to do what you believe is right as you did today. I am beyond proud of you, Fainnir. And I know that Natholdi and Granite would be, too.”

  “Some of those choices would be fightin’ smarter. Like I did earlier then?” He scratched his chin thoughtfully.

  “You catch on quick, kid.” Yohsuke grinned and clapped him on the shoulder.

  “Much more quickly than a certain druid that we all know.” Maebe raised her eyebrows and looked pointedly at me. Fainnir laughed out loud, and I thought I heard a rumble from Pebble too.

  I shook my head and did my best Dangerfield. “No respect, no respect at all.” I eyed Fainnir once more and sighed. “To show you how much I appreciate you using your head, and trying to do what is asked of you, I am going to enchant some items for you. Some, I will take requests on, some I will not. But I will make them today. Before we open that vortex of fun, do you have any questions?”

  He thought, and thought hard before nodding. “Did ye still want to know how I be wantin’ to fight?”

  I could have snapped my own fucking neck at that moment. “Yes.”

  “I wanna fight like a dwarf, and I wanna fight like you, Uncle Zeke.” I blinked at the name. “If it be alright to call ye that, sir.”

  A roar of laughter burst from my mouth. It took me a minute or so to fully be able to breathe, and he looked a little worried. “Yeah, buddy. You can call me Uncle Zeke. Hell, you can call us all uncle if you want. So long as you call Maebe, ‘Auntie Maebe.’”

  “He will call me what?” Maebe rounded on me, and her playful ire pointed at me.

  “Run, boy! Save yours—” I tried to call out and ward him away, but Maebe dove on top of me and dug her fingers into my sides, underarms, and neck, eliciting a screech of both terror and pained laughter from me. When I had almost soiled myself, she lost interest and turned her sights on the dwarven boy who now stood with Muu as a barrier.

  “Oh, hell no, kid. She’s coming for you.” Muu tried to pry him off his leg and out in front of him. “She can go through me like a fuckin’ ghost. I don’t want any of that shit.”

  “Is it not a’right for me to call ye tha’ Maebe?” Fainnir squirmed behind Muu’s back nervously.

  Maebe eyed him critically before gracing him with a small grin. “Fine, but the second you let it go to your head, I revoke the right. Do you understand me?”

  “Yes.” He nodded wildly as her eyes narrowed, and she gestured for him to continue, “Auntie Maebe?”

  “Good boy.” She tousled his hair playfully and went on her way toward the darker side of the room. “Come to me, Balmur. We begin one on one training today.”

  Balmur stood excitedly and rushed over until he stood alone with her in a dome of shadows.

  I took a steadying breath, trying to get the urge to continue laughing out of my system, as I waved Fainnir to my side.

  “So, you want to fight like me?” He nodded, and I couldn’t fight the grin on my face. “That means a healthy mix of magic and martial skill. You ready for that?”

  “Since the day I were born!” The dwarf said proudly. Then he stopped his growling and scratched his head bashfully. “Well, the martial skill, aye. Magic still be new.”

  “You use it pretty well, but you don’t use it as instinctively as the rest of us just yet, so that will take some time.” I frowned as I looked over his clothing and gear. His clothes were plain. He wore a simple pair of boots and a belt with a loop for the haft of his double-headed axe. “You need some good, quality mage armor, but sturdier stuff, too.”

  “Well, a lot o’ dwarves wear plate mail, though me da don’t wear any at all,” Fainnir offered helpfully.

  “Magic users sometimes have to use complex motions and move their arms to cast spells, so bulky armor that is hard to move in could be a detriment to you.” I frowned and peered through my inventory. I didn’t have any squishy gear with me. Shit. I called loudly to the others, “Anyone have any un-enchanted robes or anything that I can give to the squish here?”

  “Squish?” The dwarf’s head tilted to the side in confusion at me.

  “It’s an affectionate term for a spellcaster because they normally get squished early in fights if they don’t plan appropriately,” Yohsuke explained as he checked his inventory, then shook his head. “Nada.”

  Jaken held out a cloak that was a muddy brown color. “This is all I have, think it could work?” I shrugged and took
it off his hands with a nod of gratitude.

  “All I have is pants, I would hold off on some truly amazing gear though, Z’,” Bokaj called over as he strummed his guitar-like instrument. “Who knows what kind of gear we could come across while we’re here.”

  That was a good point. So, then, maybe something that would help him to blend in a little better? Or be better defensively? How the hell was I supposed to enchant cloth items?

  I took out my raven and used it to send my question to Shellica. “Hey, Shitty Granny, it’s Zeke. I’m having a bit of a problem here, and I wanted to know how to enchant cloth items, like say a cloak or something? It’s for Fainnir.”

  The spectral copy of the little bird flitted away from us into the stone and was gone. For the minute I had, I pulled out some items I knew how to enchant and set them onto the ground in front of me. That’s when the raven shifted again in my hand, signaling a response from the recipient of the initial message.

  “You stupid lad,” she cackled knowingly. “All you need to do is make your mana into a thread, basically the same concept as engraving, and then you weave it into the item. You’re skilled enough now that you should be able to manage it without screwing up over much. Give the raven to the boy so I can talk to him.”

  I grinned at the sound of her voice and handed the item to Fainnir. “Shellica wants to talk to you. Focus on the raven, feed it a hundred mana, and then speak to it. She will get the message. Go away so I can focus. And do not lose that item.”

  He bobbed his head and swiftly bustled away, jabbering at the item almost as soon as he was standing.

  Then I set about the items I was comfortable with. My materials were good, well-made, and cared for. Perfect for what I had in mind.

  First thing I did was make him a caster’s best friend, a Ring of Storing. Simple fare holds a single spell to be unleashed at the caster’s will with no current cost to their mana reserves. The cost came out at the initial casting so that it would be stored. Easily done and for a pitiable amount of mana that was hardly worth mentioning.