by Allan Joyal
Koristal smiled. “We can talk outside if you can still manifest. My friends are right this place is too dangerous to hang out and talk in.”
Roquel said nothing. The experienced warrior just charged through the swirling image of a mass of maggots. The dungeon avatar howled again in frustrated rage as Faestari nodded.
“I think there will be enough free mana to allow you to manifest outside for a short time. It’s the best I can offer,” Faestari said trying to be helpful.
“The day I want to hear any advice from you will be the day I ask an adventurer to destroy me,” the mass of maggots growled. “You are a disgrace to all dungeons.”
Faestari tried to keep her anger and fear from showing on her face. She just nodded and then faded from the chamber as Koristal ran through the mass of maggots.
Koristal exited the room to see Gee’if and Kalacho waiting with Roquel. Kalacho immediately pointed to the right. “That way to the exit.”
“We should wait for Faestari,” Koristal said with a quick glance back into the kobold birthing area.
“Those dungeons didn’t want to talk to her,” Roquel said. “Let’s get outside and see what they wanted with us.”
Roquel’s words were cut off by a shaking of the tunnel. A huge crack opened up a bit deeper into the complex and they could see an angry orange glow as a cloud of steam began to billow up out of the crevasse.
“Let’s get running,” Gee’if said in a voice that somehow managed to express panic and calm at the same time. The others said nothing as they joined him in running towards the surface of the mountain.
Faestari’s avatar flickered into sight as they reached the entrance chamber where they had first fought kobolds in the tunnel. There were a few injured kobolds there howling in agony as they attempted to crawl to the entrance.
“Kori, I know you want to help, but the entrance is collapsing. We don’t have time,” Faestari said. “and don’t try to carry one out, there’s no way you’ll get through with how narrow the passage is becoming.”
Koristal nodded sadly. “May Cuan Bi grant them a peaceful rest. If they cannot live a life of peace on this world, may their trip to the spirit world be blessed.”
No more was said as Faestari led the quartet through the narrow passage to the surface. It was much smaller than it had been only a few short hours before and some of the rocks were cracked and steaming as the group rushed past. Kalacho and Roquel both yipped in pain when their arms came too close to a hot area, but moments later the group was ducking their heads to get through the small opening to the surface.
They emerged to hear cheering. The snow in the area had been churned up and they could see that a mass of bodies had plowed a furrow into the soft powder. It led deeper into the mountains and Koristal immediately heaved a sigh.
“It looks like the soldiers allowed the kobolds to escape. Cuan Bi’s mercy be upon them,” she said proudly.
“I wish I could claim that we intended it that way,” one of the soldiers shouted. “When the kobolds emerged, they barely glanced at us before racing off into the mountains. We would have suffered more injuries than they would had we tried to stop them.”
“Well, they shouldn’t attack as an organized group anytime soon,” Kalacho said. “And if we understand their connection to the dungeon, the ones that were raiding towards Fairview should be dead in a day or two at most. The dungeon was using mana to keep them alive.”
“It’s dead?” the soldier asked as he reached down to help Kalacho climb out of the snowy pit leading to the dungeon.
Gee’if smiled and pointed over at Koristal. “Its gem was shattered by the power of Cuan Bi and the bravery of one of her priestesses. It was a close fight, as the dungeon tried to summon the fire of the volcano to melt us all, but we were victorious.”
The soldier and the villagers behind him all cheered. Roquel carefully placed a hand on Gee’if’s uninjured shoulder. “Thanks for not bringing me up. I’d rather not explain to the people here just how old I am and what I can do.”
“Let’s head back to Oersteglen!” a man shouted. “I’ll pay for the first round of drinks once we get there!”
There was a huge cry from the men. A few pushed forward long enough to slap Kalacho and Gee’if on the back, but the majority were already moving northeast headed out of the valley and towards Fairview.
Kalacho looked at the others, but before anyone spoke, they could feel two powerful spirits. They could not see either dungeon avatar, but the voice of the faceless avatar boomed in their minds. “Now, perhaps we can communicate.”
“Wow,” Kalacho muttered. “I’ve never had someone shout in my brain.”
“Humans require a firm voice,” the Great Dungeon said dismissively. “You are ephemeral beings with no vision. If it wasn’t for your greed and cupidity, you would be lower than the kobolds you terrified.”
Kalacho shook his head, but said nothing until the last of the villagers had headed out. Gee’if watched them go as Koristal looked over his injured shoulder. “They will send someone back to find us.”
“I don’t think the dungeons want to kill us,” Roquel said. “And I’m not sure they could. Even that mad dungeon couldn’t do more than enhance his own creatures outside its domain.”
“You’re right,” the voice of the maggot avatar hissed. “We came with a proposition. One about that rogue dungeon who led you here.”
Roquel raised a hand. “I can already guess, and I’m not going to anger the man who offered me a home.”
“Who? Perhaps he’ll be amenable to what we ask,” the voice asked.
“Why do you want something done to Faestari?” Gee’if asked. “I can’t think of a single adventurer who has visited her dungeon that would find anything wrong with her.”
“Talking to adventurers,” the Great Dungeon said with a loud huff. “Do you know that in all my time awakened, she is the only dungeon I’ve heard of to talk to the adventurers entering.”
“You’re talking to us,” Koristal said. “And she’s very careful in what she tells us. Nothing we learn would help us in another dungeon. She’s very careful about that.”
“She shouldn’t do it at all,” the maggot avatar’s voice hissed out. “We need her to be silenced.”
“Why?” Koristal asked. “And who appointed you to be the ones to tell us what to do?”
“We won’t be threatened again!” the maggot avatar’s voice thundered across the valley. Several avalanches could be heard in the distance as the echo faded.
“No one threatened you,” Gee’if said. “In fact, Faestari is probably the best thing to happen to all dungeons. While she isn’t going to reveal your secrets. She has helped us understand why some of the rules were put into place. I think you’ll find that adventurers who learn by attempting her cavern won’t try to sneak into your monster lairs and will be more careful about what spells they cast.”
“What?” the Great Dungeon asked. “You expect me to believe that that ignorant dungeon that actually helps adventurers can help me?”
“Not directly,” Kalacho said. “I’m not going to say that people aren’t going to talk. We already have speculated about how things work in dungeons we haven’t visited. And we do compare what we know about Faestari’s dungeon and those we might find. But the main thing that we do communicate is that we all need to be far more careful when we delve. We have learned from Faestari just how important leaving monster breeding grounds alone.”
“That’s not the problem,” the maggot avatar hissed. “She’ll teach you how to directly touch our domains.”
“No, she won’t,” Roquel said. “She dislikes wizards and has made it clear that no wizard shall enter her domain to examine how the mana flows. She allows delvers with magical skills to enter and challenge the creatures that live within the caverns, but I know she’s adjusted her domain borders to block any magical probes.”
“And yet, she’s run away to allow you to defend her,” the Great Dungeo
n said.
“I think she doesn’t want to use her power to maintain an avatar here,” Koristal said. “She had to have used quite a bit of power keeping the lava off us after the other dungeon tried to use it to kill us.”
Kalacho nodded. “And I can tell you now, none of us is going to act directly against Faestari as long as she remains the gentle and caring being she is.”
“Not for two arrogant dungeons like you are,” Roquel said. “I don’t even know where your dungeons are, but I can say that right now, no one is interested in destroying you.”
“Destroy her, or we will find others to make the attempt,” the Great Dungeon said. “You were willing to destroy this one.”
“This one was a danger to the people living around it,” Gee’if said. “Now, we need to be going or others will start looking for us.”
“Remember what we’ve said,” the maggot avatar said as it faded away.
The Great Dungeon’s avatar faded a moment later. Roquel stood there glaring at the spot it has occupied as the others gathered up their gear and made sure they were ready to travel.
“What should we do?” Kalacho asked sadly. “Without the treasures coming from the dungeon, I don’t think Dared can make his town work.”
“We return to the dungeon and warn everyone. It looks like we’ll be fighting to protect the dungeon over the next year. And we’ll have to see if there is a way to get the other dungeons to back down on their desire to see her eliminated,” Roquel said.
Gee’if just nodded as he held up Roquel’s skis. “In that case, let’s go. The sooner we return, the sooner we can act.”