by Wolfe Locke
The monster pushed away from the table and a counter that it had been pent up against and was just about ready to come at John again when the growls started.
John smiled as the Gluttonous King looked into soulless eyes and saw only hunger reflected. He enjoyed seeing a look of fear pass over the monster’s face as the unworthy all began to advance.
They could not truly see him, but they could smell him. They could now smell the blood that seeped from his body, and they longed for it. These were no longer people. They were animals, driven by the most basic desire of the living. The most basic need.
The need to feed.
“What do you all think you’re doing?” the king said shakily as he struggled to back away from the growling unworthy. “I am your king, and I command you to strike down this insolent man who has come against me.”
The command fell on deaf ears. The unworthy had spent so much time feeding the abhorrent existence that was the Gluttonous King while they lived off of rats, bugs, and whatever scraps he deigned to give them. Now, here he was bleeding and vulnerable.
Without a word, the unworthy swarmed their king. He screamed, trying to bat them away with his heavy hands and arms, while others he seized in his oversized fists and brought up to his mouth, biting off their heads. He managed to kill more than a few, but there were too many.
They tore chunks of bloody flesh with each attack from their yellowed claws and with their bare teeth. To his credit, the king didn’t appear to be so easily defeated.
“Fine.” He roared. “You think to make a meal out of me? Let me show you how it is done.”
The king grabbed the closest unworthy, but rather than raise it to his mouth like before, his entire stomach opened, revealing rows and rows of sharp teeth in a gaping maw and tossed the unworthy in.
What followed was a fight of hunger and survival.
John was completely forgotten as the Gluttonous King and the unworthy struggled against each other. While the unworthy had numbers on their side, the king had the unnatural ability to ignore the wounds they inflicted upon him. At times, John was sure that the Gluttonous King was regenerating with each kill.
Eventually, there were only three unworthy standing against the king, who was unwavering. He bled from countless bites and scratches, but he still stood strong. John’s plan had failed. Once the last of the unworthy were dispatched, he would turn his insatiable hunger toward John.
John cast his eyes about the kitchen, searching for another way, and his eyes landed on the still-simmering pot.
It was truly massive. The whole pot was even big enough to hold something as vast as the king.
Another idea began to form in John’s mind. If he could lure the king into the pot, or at least near it, maybe he could dispatch him once and for all.
There were only two unworthy left now, and as John watched, the king delivered a blow to one of them that made its spine snap audibly. It lay on the ground, twitching.
The last unworthy, seeing that there was no hope, made the wise choice to flee. It ran into the cage and cowered in the corner, just like those who it had tormented.
Finally, the Gluttonous King turned his eyes toward John. A look of pure hate and malice reflected within.
"You. This is all your fault. I've lost my servants! Who will prepare my meals now?" The king bellowed.
"There will be no more meals for you." John said.
"Oh, I think there will be at least a couple more. First, I will tear you limb from limb, and then I will carve your flesh and eat it in strips. Then it will be the girl's turn."
The king began to amble toward John, hunger and anger burning hot in his eyes.
How am I supposed to push him into the pot? Or tip it over on him? Would that even work? I saw him take so much damage already, yet he still came on like a storm. Jack shook the thoughts from his mind. I can't allow myself to get distracted.
Then, a voice from the banquet hall called out the answer.
"His hand! Aim for the ring on his left hand!"
The voice came from the woman whom John had saved. He hadn't even noticed it before, but now John saw the ring that she was referring to. It was a band of silver that wound around the king’s finger, though the band was almost impossible to see with the bloated finger it was attached to.
“You devilish wench!” snarled the king. “Your death will be so much sweeter when the screaming starts. .”
The king's response told John all he needed to know. It must have been the ring that was giving him this unnatural ability to resist damage.
Now, he had a target. If he could get rid of that ring, he could turn the tide of this fight.
Now that the king knew his weakness was exposed, he was more defensive. He and John circled each other around the kitchen, the massive boiling pot in the center.
Finally, John launched himself at the king, his blessed axes at the ready. John was determined to end things once and for all.
The king lashed out with his right arm, the one that did not bear the ring.
John slid under the oversized arm and hopped up when he was closer, knowing that he’d get but one chance to take the ring. John slashed down with his blessed axes.
The king bellowed and savagely counterattacked with a haymaker that struck John center of the chest. John took the full force of the blow, several of his ribs snapping. He crashed into the boiling pot and sustained a burn across his back before dropping to the floor.
"You foolish man. Did you truly think you could best me? I am a god in this place. You will never leave, not even death will release you.” The king promised.
John couldn’t respond with words. He was having trouble breathing through his broken ribs. Instead, he held up his hand and allowed the ring to catch the light.
The king faltered. “What? How?”
John removed the ring from the finger he had taken. I got what I needed to get. Lets see how strong you are now.
Without the ring, the king began to deflate almost immediately. The wounds that he had suffered began to take their toll, and he grew pale from blood loss.
With a final effort, the Gluttonous King staggered toward John, intent on taking him down with him. But John wasn’t having it. Even injured as he was, John saw an opportunity. He ran around the king and gave him a push. Without his ring, the king’s legs struggled to support and bear his weight. He tripped, falling forward into the massive boiling pot.
John watched with grim satisfaction as the king met his end and didn’t turn away until the monster’s screaming and thrashing stopped.
You have done well to defeat one who was consumed by their own darkness. More such challenges await you further below. The one known as the Gluttonous King was not alone in his fall from grace.
Chapter 13: She of Temperance
* * *
Can you not smell it? Does your stomach not hunger? The ever-stewing feast that awaits you. Just have a taste, a little sip. Aren’t you hungry? Well, aren’t you? A single taste will take your pain away. Give in. Become like him.
Never. I’ll never be like him.
John was hurting. He was in bad shape. His ribs ached and the way his breathing sounded, John was pretty sure at least one of his ribs was broken and likely pressing against a lung. He hurt too bad to care that he had failed to secure the key to leave.
The key now lay in the pot with the boiling remains of the dead king. Maybe I can fish it out later, but for now. I need to rest. I’m so tired.
He didn’t bother to resist as his eyes began to droop and close.
A feeling of warm calm spread throughout his body, seeming to urge and coax him away from the edge that he was teetering on. His eyes snapped open again as energy coursed through him. Before him was the woman he had saved, her hand on his head. She’s glowing.
The woman’s eyes had been replaced by pools of pale blue light. Her eyes full and blessed by magic. Not
human.
The glow grew brighter as John struggled to focus. The energy that was being pouring into him seeped into every part of his body, and with it a sensation of pain as his ribs were knitted back together and snapped back into place.
When it was done, she stared at him and said, “Thank you traveler, adventurer, hero, for wresting me from the hands of that foul creature. Long have I been imprisoned here.”
“What are you?” John asked in response as he bathed in the ethereal presence. A god?
“I am a sliver of divinity, although my vessel is unaware of my presence. I am a fragment of an ancient god, and it was my ring that gave the Gluttonous King his ability to resist damage to his body. Though it was not I who corrupted him”
“What are you doing here, in this place?” John asked in wonderment.
“Like you, I was trapped here, though now I am bound deeper still within the dungeon. This sliver was my own chance at freedom, and now I once again may try to escape. Now I offer you a gift, that which was stolen from me before, though much of its power has faded with the death of the king who had corrupted it.”
The woman reached down to John’s hand and grabbed the ring. Then, she slid it onto his finger. It closed around it until the ring fit perfectly.
“This is my ring, it is called the Ring of Temperance. It will do for you what it did for the king but once. Though you at least will have my blessing and favor to do so.”
The ring pulsed with a faint blue light, a light that had not been displayed for the king who had worn it.
“Take it, and let it help you on your way further down.” She promised.
“I don’t suppose that you could help me get out of here.” John asked, already knowing the answer.
“Alas, I cannot. If I was but my full being, maybe. But I am just a fragment. My true self lays further below. I would be able to lend you more aid. All I can do is thank you with what I have.”
“What will you do now?” John asked. “Should you travel with me? I can try to take you to the surface.”
“The way is shut to you, but I have my ways. This sliver will leave this place. The force which was keeping it bound has vanished. Continue with my blessing, John Younger.” she said.
With a gesture, the fragment of a god exerted some of her power. From the still steaming pot came the key that would let him through the next door.
“Your challenges have been many and difficult thus far. Know that you have drawn the attention of not just one, but three gods in the course of your journey. Even though one was but a fragment, and the other works toward your destruction. Be wary. It will only get more difficult from here on out.”
Anything else that John was about to say was cut off as the kitchen was flooded with bright white light. John shielded his eyes, and when he opened them again, she was gone.
You have gained my favor. I am the Goddess of Earthly Delights. I have given you a ring with part of my essence within, the Ring of Temperance. This ring greatly increases your durability. You will need it in the floors below.
John Younger grabbed the key out of the air and walked over to the door and unlocked it. I don’t know why this is happening to me, or why I’m here, but I’ll get to the bottom of this. I’ll figure it out. The whims of these old gods were unknown to him.
All John could do was play with the hand that he had been dealt.
John had always been a survivor and he would continue to do so until his very last breath.
Curious though, very curious. John had never met a god before. Now, he had come into contact with multiple gods. Well at least two and a fraction, he supposed.
He moved his shoulders, trying to ease the building tension in his back. John felt like things would continue to spiral out of his control. I never would have thought to prepare for something like this. ´
John descended down the stairs, blessed axes in hand, and the Ring of Temperance on his finger. Once again, his only companion was the sound of his boots on the stone steps. What lay below was unknown, but he would continue. He had no other choice. If he wanted to get to the bottom of this and escape with his life, he would have to keep going. As she said, the way is shut to me.
So, he forged ahead, deeper into the belly of the beast. Always deeper.
Chapter 14: The Place of Bones
* * *
* * *
Complete. You have survived the Halls of the Gluttonous King. Though you are not quite as unscarred as you were before, the experience has left you more cautious. I can see that. This will be something that shapes you.
Hmm… you seemed to have gained some of the fallen Paladin’s wisdom, the agility of the unworthy, and some of the strength and endurance of the Gluttonous King. You did well to resist the compulsion to feed.
STR = 6 > 10
WIT = 1 > 3
END = 7 >15
AGI = 2 > 7
Abilities
*Smite - Upon killing an unclean one, the spirit of what is holy will be stored within your body. Use this power to amplify the holy effect of any attack you should unleash on the unclean.
Ailments
*Fear of the Dark
Equipment
*Blessed Axes, Simple Leather Armor, Sovereign Medallion , Ring of Temperance*
Items
Book: The Book of Keys
Torn Page
Gluttonous Essence x1
Minotaur’s Essence x3
So, I’m stronger, but I don’t really feel it. I feel tired mostly. John Younger was plunged deeper into the dungeon. His footsteps echoing off the increasingly narrow steps of the stairwell. The only source of light he had was the glow from his blessed axes.
Although his encounter with the fragment of the goddess had left his body whole and healthy once more, John had grown weary. This is a lot for anyone. A lesser man would have died already. I’ve been through a lot before, but this is on an entirely different level.
It truly was on another level. John was an adventurer and a warrior. He often found himself in precarious and dangerous situations. But nothing like this, not even once.
So far, his time in this dark dungeon of whatever old gods called it home had become the single most horrible experience of his life. He’d already almost died a handful of times. He had encountered monsters and horrors that he never would have thought existed, much less encountered, and he had been spoken to by several gods, or at least things claiming to be gods.
John felt exhausted, hungry, and cold. They had pushed him to his breaking point more than once, but whenever something happened that made John think this is the end, something else would happen that made him whole. His body had been healed not once, but twice. He only wished that it also worked on his mind. John was feeling exhausted.
Coming so close to death so many times was starting to take a toll on John. He could feel it grating on his nerves, the constant tension rubbing between his shoulder blades with anxious energy. He was on edge. The gods had a cruel way of dealing with those that, unfortunately, had found themselves within their domain. But why I am here? Is it to be a sacrifice or a conqueror? Is it the Regent’s quest? What of the other adventurers? If the challenges that each floor brought him didn’t end in his death, John suspected the strain on his mind would.
But for now, John held on and pushed those thoughts deep within himself. Down he went in the only direction, he could go, further into the abyss and whatever doom awaited him.
On some level, John was beginning to suspect he wasn’t going to make it out alive. But he wasn’t ready yet to stop and submit, to lay down like a dog and die. I won’t give whoever forced me to be here the satisfaction. I refuse to die in this place. I refuse.
“I'll keep going until my body gives out. It'll take more than a few broken bones to stop me." He promised out loud. "I won't die."
I have heard your promise and I am with you. You will not go
forward alone. I will always be with you.
Who? The pale white light from his axes briefly flashed. When it was done, John looked down to find his blessed axes had changed in appearance . The edges appeared sharper, the handle sturdier, and images he couldn't quite make out in the dark adorned the hilts.
What was yours has been changed. May these thrice blessed axes serve you well. You must survive.
"Thank you," John said with a nod. Even with the increased glow, he didn't try to stop and inspect for secret passages or hidden exits. This place has secrets, but none here. None where danger doesn't lurk. It wouldn't be so easy.
John's trusted thrice blessed axes, and the new Ring of Temperance on his finger was the only proof he had so far that he had not been truly only in the dark.
Dark forces and gods are at work here in the dungeon. John could feel it. Their power and blessings hummed in his hands. One blessing bestowing both light and extra damage against monsters, while the ring fortified his body in a way that armor never could.
If the Gluttonous King had been any indication, the Ring of Temperance would help to keep John alive. It would have been helpful in my fight against the minotaurs for sure.