Mika was examining the door as well, but his gaze was fixated on a small, strangely shaped keyhole worked into the center of the doors frame. Not even thirty seconds had passed since we’d entered the dungeon and he was already at work, kneeling next to the door with a set of strange looking tools in his hand.
“Uh, Mika,” I said. “What are you doing?”
He looked up at me, tools dangling from between his pressed lips as he mumbled, “Picking the lock?”
Kjara coughed and gestured towards the large pack leaning against the left hand wall. “Don’t you think we should… you know, find out what the door says first, or maybe look through the gear that Kaluitep left for us?”
He shrugged, his eyes slowly turning back to the intricate keyhole. “I can listen and work at the same time,” he said and inserted a small pick into the keyhole. “Well?”
I shook my head and read the inscription out loud, watching the dýrafólk do his thing.
Mika inserted another tool into the lock and twisted. There was a loud clank as something within the door disengaged accompanied by a soft hiss. Mika yanked his hand back and glared at the large bronze needle embedded in the meat at the base of his thumb.
I was close enough to see the blueish green liquid mingling with the dýrafólk’s red blood as it dripped onto the stone floor, so it wasn’t that much of a surprise when a poisoned icon appeared next to his health bar in the party window.
He clenched his chest and fell to the ground, choking and coughing on a thick, yellowish froth that was pouring from his nose and mouth. Each attempted breath sent globs of the nasty substance to splatter over the floor.
I cursed and dropped to my knees, casting Purifying Touch on the little man as quickly as I could. The fiery healing magic surged through his veins to burn out whatever poison was at work.
Mika’s choking gurgles intensified as the pain from the poison was joined by that of his boiling blood. The poison was a powerful one, and it took almost my entire mana pool to counteract it.
*** Congratulations! You have gained a better understanding of the Purifying Touch spell! Rank 3 Achieved! ***
When the poison icon finally disappeared, I sat back and felt my shoulders sag in exhaustion.
Kjara just stood there shaking her head at the two of us. “Are you guys done messing around?”
“Hey,” I said. “I was just-”
The look she gave me said it would be smarter to stop right there, so I did.
While Mika silently reflected upon his mistake, I joined Kjara to examine the gear Kaluitep had so thoughtfully provided.
She reached into the main pack and took out a small pile of items including three smaller bags that were addressed to us individually.
Most of the provided gear was standard dungeon diving stuff. There were provisions… sort of.
The Hierophant had packed us a small bundle of beef jerky and three water skins, but the skins were empty. There were some general tools that might be useful, but since I had no clue how to use them, I didn’t bother taking any.
When Mika finally joined us, his expression upon seeing the miscellaneous gear was much different. He grinned eagerly as he scooped up a grappling hook and a crowbar and added them to his own backpack along with a long coil of rope and some steel spikes.
He saw me watching him and grinned. He patted the crowbar and said, “Skeleton key,” and raised the grapple. “Fire escape.”
Kjara picked up a small book from the pile and looked it over. “Either of you have any general skill points free?” she asked. “It’s a skill book that’ll teach you Swimming.”
I chuckled and both Mika and Kjara looked at me questioningly.
“I do. Is it a single use thing? Or can we all use it?” I asked.
Kjara shrugged. “Doesn’t say. I don’t have any points free anyhow. What about you, Mika?”
The dýrafólk just shook his head. “No, I’ve got too many skills to let any points sit,” he said with a weary sigh before turning to me. “How do you have points left?”
I tried to avoid the question and started opening the small bag. “I wonder what’s in here?”
Kjara looked at me with wide eyes. “I can’t believe you’re still hoarding points,” she said. “How many do you unspent right now?”
I looked up and gave her my most dashing smile. “I actually did spend most of my points. I only saved one general and one divine in case of emergencies. I could use the book, but we’re in a desert. I don’t think I really need to know how to swim right now. If the situation comes up where we need it, I’ll use the book, but for now, let me keep the piddling remains of my once vast hoard.”
She just shook her head and sighed before handing out the smaller packages.
The first thing I saw when I looked into my package had me cracking up.
Both of my companions turned to stare at me, which make me laugh even harder.
Trying to control myself, I pulled out the item in question and held it up to them: A bronze key that looked perfectly matched to the lock that had almost sent Mika to respawn.
Mika started grumbling as I pulled out the second item, a short note that I struggled to read through my laughter. “Adept K… Kheph. This… is the k..key for the tomb entrance.”
I read the next line and then doubled over laughing again. When I could speak, I continued, “The door is trapped, so be wary. To disarm the trap, push they key further into the door after disengaging the lock. This should keep you from a painful death. Signed, Hierophant Kaluitep.”
My ribs were sore from laughing, and it was hard to keep a straight face with the look on Mika’s face. But damn it was funny. If we had listened to Kjara and taken things slow, the poor guy would have been spared quite the painful experience.
Kjara unpacked her own bag, taking out a small book and several major healing and stamina potions.
Mika’s bag had a book as well, with the same assortment of potions and a set of complex looking lockpicks.
In addition to the key and note, my care package had three moderate mana potions and a rolled up scroll. I added the potions to my belt pouch as I unrolled the scroll and started to read.
A complex series of spell glyphs was drawn out in detail with a description of the spell in the margins. As I studied the construct, I felt a small bubble of information flow towards my memory, pausing just at the edge of my awareness.
*** Would you like to spend one Divine Skill Point to learn the Create Food and Water spell? (Y/N) ***
I only had one point left in that category, but a new spell was a new spell, and the empty waterskins weren’t going to do much to slake our thirst, so I indicated yes, and steadied myself as the rest of the knowledge needed to make use of the spell flowed into my mind.
The scroll turned to dust unnoticed in my hands as my brain began to process the new info, my Spellcrafting skill kicking into overdrive to categorize the various pieces of the spell.
For something with such a simplistic sounding function, the spell-form was incredibly complex. Glyphs for life, fire, water, earth, summoning, and a slew of specialized linking symbols necessary to make the whole thing work all fit together into an intricate puzzle that would bring food and water out of nothing.
My brain raced over the spell-form, but trying to break down all the various energy flows and potentials started to give me a headache.
A sharp pain in my arm brought my attention back to the physical where Kjara and Mika were both yelling and prodding me to get my attention. Apparently actual damage had finally snapped me out of it.
I shook my head and looked at my companions. “Sorry. My brain just fell down a rabbit hole trying to process this new spell that Kaluitep sent me.”
“Hope it’s something useful at least,” Mika said.
“Depends,” I answered. “I think it’s useful, although I’ll hold off my final judgment until I taste the results.”
“Taste?” Kjara asked with a confused expression o
n her face.
“Yeah, taste,” I said. “I just learned Create Food and Water. I’ll have to do some testing to see if the food I can conjure has any buffs, but it should keep us clear of the Starvation and Dehydration debuffs… and I think that I might be able to do something with these glyphs too...”
“Other than exploding your head, you mean?” Kjara asked with a smile.
I chuckled. “Yeah, other than that.”
Mika held up the small book he’d taken from his own package and sighed, “Another skill manual that I don’t have the points to use.”
“Anything good?” Kjara asked.
He grinned. “Yeah, it’s for a skill called Disabling Strike. From what I can tell it’s useful for taking out an enemy limb for a bit, but that’s all I can tell from the preview. What’s yours?”
“It’s a new skill that chains off of my Flashing Blade AOE called Dervish. If I crit against one of my opponents, I can immediately use the skill to do another AOE attack for free. Next level…”
I snickered and made sure I was out of easy reach as I commented, “Yeah, too bad you don’t have any skill points saved up.”
She gave me a resigned look. “Fine. I will admit that this one time you have a point. But just this once!”
I grinned and said, “As you wish,” in my best Princess Bride impression.
We divvied up the rest of useful supplies and I used my newfound spell to fill the waterskins so we could begin our delve properly hydrated.
The key fit perfectly in the door, and when we followed Kaluitep’s instructions the lock clicked open without a repeat of Mika’s frothy adventure.
…
13
Mika took point, leading the way into the tomb proper. After his experience with the trap on the door we had all agreed that being extra cautious was wise. It was slow going, but much better than getting caught in whatever deadly traps the devs had planned for the dungeon.
Our caution was rewarded almost right away when Mika found something halfway down the tunnel. He waved for us to stop and went to work disarming a trap tied to an invisible (to me) pressure plate set into the floor.
He cautiously drew out what looked like a flat head screwdriver and wedged it under the plate. With a deft twist of the wrist, a thin plate popped free revealing a series of gears and other gizmos.
The dýrafólk studied the contraption for a second and then nodded to himself and took out a small pair of pliers from his belt pouch and went to work on the contraption. Seconds later there was a soft click as a piece of the mechanism came free, and Mika pocketed his tools and waved us forward.
About twenty feet past our almost date with some sort of horrible death, the hallway opened into a large room. High above, the ceiling was painted to resemble a brightly lit day, but in place of the sun there was an opening from which a beam of actual sunlight emerged, forming a bright column in the center of the room.
Looking up into the hole I could see a brightly polished mirror reflecting the light, similar to those in the entry room above, likely the final piece of an intricate network maintained by the hard work of a small boy named Aziz.
The ceiling itself was supported by four stone columns carved to resemble Saa women raising their arms in prayer. The statues themselves were very well maintained, and there was no sign of any of the ravages of time one would expect in an ancient tomb.
Another large golden door stood directly across the room, flanked on either side by a line of stone sarcophagi that stood against the wall, as well as the walls to our right and left.
Mika moved slowly into the room, keeping up his vigilant watch while we followed in his wake. As soon as we all crossed the threshold into the room, a shimmering figure flickered into existence in the center of the column of light.
The figure was a well-built Saa man wearing a suite of bronze armor with a wide golden usekh engraved with imagery that my lore databanks identified as appropriate for the servants of Asah and Aset.
“Halt,” the figure said, its voice reverberating throughout the chamber. “None shall disturb the resting place of our lord, Asah. Turn back now or meet your doom.”
Mika slowly crept backwards and Kjara looked at me expectantly.
I squared my shoulders and approached the image. “Greetings, guardian. We have come to recover that which was hidden in place of your lord. I ask that you grant us passage as we mean no harm.”
The figure turned its gaze to me. “None shall disturb the resting place of our lord, Asah. Turn back now or meet your doom.”
“I am here on the business of Anpu, Lord of the Underworld. We are here to save everyone from the ravages of the Kchil. Please stand aside. We cannot abandon our task,” I responded, hoping to avoid a fight.
The image’s eyes locked upon mine once again as he spoke. “None shall disturb the resting place of our lord, Asah. Turn back now or meet your doom.”
I sighed and moved back to where my companions were waiting. “I think their answering machine is broken. Looks like this place is scripted and doesn’t care what our mission is. You guys ready for a fight? Those sarcophagi have to be there for a reason, right?”
Mika shrugged. “Just give me a warning before you do anything crazy so I can stealth.”
I looked to Kjara and she smiled, “You know it. I’m good to go as soon as you call in Amenhotep.”
Grinning, I brought the spell-form for Summon Legionnaire into my mind, feeding it energy from my divine favor pool. That warm, vitalizing energy flowed through me from my connection to my patron and into the spell, creating a small summoning circle on the ground before me.
Within the circle of light the energy created a swirling cyclone of crimson and gold sand. Like a reverse Thanos Snap, the sand began to come together, shaping itself into large, humanoid form.
As the spell continued, I selected the buff I’d gained upon reaching rank two in the Spectral Legion skill: Aegis of Bone, which granted my summoned companion bonus hit points and defensive stats.
A cloud of what looked like powdered bone and bronze appeared at the outer edges of the summoning circle and was swept up in the cyclone, merging with the spell as it completed construction of the Temple Guardian Amenhotep.
As the spell completed, I snuck a glance at Mika to see his reaction and noticed Kjara doing the same with a mischievous grin on her face.
The dýrafólk did not disappoint. If there was a Guinness world record judge with us, Mika’s reaction to seeing my summoned companion for the first time might have broken the record for the highest vertical jump from a crouched position.
I wasn’t sure what Mika was expecting, but it definitely wasn’t a giant, armor clad mummy staring at him with glowing golden eyes.
Amenhotep was a massive figure. Clad in intricately carved bronze armor and wielding a massive tower shield and khopesh. He was quite a frightening sight. Beneath his armor, every inch of his body was wrapped tightly in dry, linen bandages except for his eyes which shone with a glowing golden light.
The guardian turned to me and bowed his head. “Greetings again Adept. I was beginning to grow restless awaiting your summons. I am eager to begin our quest.”
I nodded in return and gestured to Mika. “Amenhotep, this is Mika, the newest addition to our party.”
The mummy turned his gaze back to Mika and nodded a greeting.
“Mika, meet Amenhotep, Guardian of the Temple of the Restless Dead. And our tank,” I said with a grin, still enjoying the rogue’s skittishness.
“You don’t think you could have warned me?” he said.
Kjara smiled. “Why would we ruin the surprise? Think of it as a sort of initiation. Even Kheph almost wet himself when he first saw him, and he cast the summons!”
“Guilty as charged,” I said with a shrug, and gestured for him to come closer. “Let’s buff up and see what kind of crazy this place has in store.”
I enchanted all of our melee weapons with the Jackal’s Touch spell, giving us a
ll a small increase to damage and critical chance, and we each chowed down on one of my few remaining travel cakes and meat skewers to give us a small boost to our attributes and regen rate.
*** Meat Skewer: +5% HP/MP/SP out of combat regeneration. Duration (8hrs) ***
*** Travel Cake: +1 Constitution, +2% in combat HP regeneration. Duration (4hrs) ***
A bowl of lentil stew would have been nice as well for the wisdom and perception boosts, but without any form of in-game Tupperware I didn’t have any way to carry it with me for field use.
I looked to my companions, and they signaled their readiness. Mika faded from view as he activated his stealth ability while Kjara and Amenhotep and I readied our weapons and got into formation.
Amenhotep raised his shield and took point with Kjara on his right while I followed closely behind, ready to heal or stab as needed.
The figure in the light just watched us as we approached, continuing his pre-recorded spiel. No one’s allowed, we are doomed, yadda, yadda, yadda.
Nothing changed until Amenhotep crossed into the sunlight itself which was when all hell broke loose.
The messenger’s expression instantly transformed from one of calm warning to one of intense rage. His normal Saa features began to morph. His human mouth opened wide in a scream of rage, and then continued to open further, the jawbones popping out of their socket and the flesh stretching until its mouth was almost two feet high.
A cloud of glowing, red-tinged energy poured out of the figure’s maw and spiraled around the room. The image’s body deflated as it the energy rushed forth until it finally disappeared with a slight pop, leaving only the glowing cloud behind.
The energy divided into smaller pieces, each piece sinking into one of the sarcophagi lining the walls, raising small puffs of dust in their wake.
The sarcophagi began to shake and then one by one the lids slid to the side, revealing creatures that looked like Amenhotep’s malnourished second cousins, twice removed. Each clenched a short bronze spear in their left hand and a short sickle-like khopesh in their right.
Heart of the Void: Sosaku Online - Book 2 Page 8