by Atlas Kane
“We have no Available Mana. Is there anything I can do that does not need mana? There is a sick villager who needs healing. Is that possible?”
Micah’s voice answered immediately. “Negative, Caderick Shelby Clarke. Healing a sick or wounded citizen costs a base total of 50 Available Mana. Insufficient energy.”
“So I can’t build a new building or erect a safety dome either?”
“Anti-antagonistic Force Shield costs a minimum of 500 Available Mana. Each construction project requires significant mana as well. I am sorry, Caderick Shelby Clarke, but the answer is no.”
He sighed, not wanting to see the look of disappointment mirrored in Minda’s face. He asked the only other question that seemed relevant. “Micah, where do the stairs lead to?”
“The Camp Casmeer Township has the luxury of a resident dungeon. Even Tanrial is not equipped with such an accommodation. However, the training grounds there provide an equally beneficial if not distinct service.”
Now that might be something, he thought, his hopes mounting slightly. “What purpose do the dungeon and training grounds provide?”
“The dungeon has seven descending levels. Each one contains monsters of increasing power and prowess. It is one of the most efficient ways to level up. Would you like to enter level one of the dungeon now?”
Cade glanced to Minda. “I don’t know. Do we want to enter the dungeon?”
She grinned in response, but he could see the same hint of restraint in her gaze. It was not the right time to take a gamble, especially not with only the two of them present.
Having been assured there was no danger of the monsters leaving the dungeon and possibly ambushing them later, Cade found the discipline to walk away from the great mystery resting just below the floor they were standing upon.
They walked back to camp where Ketzal and Bellows had finished gouging out the trenches for their fortifications. Cade and Minda held back the news until after the first section of palisade had been constructed. It was long, hard work, and it was afternoon when the group took a break, diving into the pool and ridding themselves of sweat and grime.
Satemi’s skin glowed in the sun, a lazy smile seeming always a breath away. Cade felt the same sense of elation. A single night with Ketzal was good for us both, he mused, watching the woman dart a hand through the water and splash Minda.
This caused a bit of a ruckus until Gemma approached them. The laughter died down as everyone turned to see the woman striding up, naked and savage as she deposited the carcass of a massive snake on the ground, its heavy coils falling to the earth like bags of rice. Crimson blood spilled across her chest and shoulder, and though she looked fatigued, the woman looked capable of killing any one of them.
Then she smiled shyly, a hand held out above her kill. “Is this a nice beast to eat in your world?”
Minda herself darted out of the water, gripping Gemma by the elbow, and pulled her into the pool. At first, Gemma seemed hesitant. She eyed the water suspiciously, as if it were poison or some form of danger. But when her feet splashed in, she dabbled them about a moment, making a few tiny waves.
A wild grin split her scowl in two, and Gemma ran after Minda. The woman dove in only to sputter up once more. She obviously lacked the skill to swim, but she found her footing once more. When Minda splashed water up into her face, the last of the tension between the two melted away.
Eventually, Satemi dried herself and announced that there was much more work to be done before they could rest for the evening.
Stepping out of the pool, their leather clothes dripping freely, Cade figured the time was perfect.
“So, Minda and I used the Mana Shard to reboot the Town Interface. As we’d feared, there’s nothing we can do as it took all of the mana to power the system back on. However, we do have one piece of information. Minda, would you do the honors?”
Satemi scowled. “Come on now, guys, don’t hold back. Spit it out already. Find any treasure? Recovered a lost soul weapon?”
“Camp Casmeer is home to its very own dungeon. And the first level is open and ready to explore. We were tempted to go ourselves, but it seemed smart to wait until we have backup,” Minda said, grinning with suppressed excitement.
Ketzal’s eyes grew wide. “A dungeon? Foul constructs. We do not want to enter a dungeon. Who knows what beasts we might find!”
“I think that’s the point, Ketzal. And do not worry, you may stay at camp if you’d like. But Micah, the Town Interface demon, said the dungeon’s express purpose is to allow us the opportunity to level up. The fortifications are important, and we will build them, Satemi. Pablo has agreed to act as scout and let us know if any forces leave Tanrial. But more important than palisades is the power that leveling will bring.”
Cade waited, feeling the tension in the air like a taut bowstring.
“I don’t get to tell anyone else their business, but I think we should send a party down to kill us some monsters and gain a level or two. And I think we should do so first thing in the morning.”
12
The Double D Dungeon
Camp Casmeer managed to build two more sections of palisade before night fell and the labor became dangerous. Satemi designed their fortifications to slow any assault that was made up the earthen ramp that led up to the camp’s main platform. The bottom three palisades were staggered, which would force any attackers to weave around each blockade. At the top of the ramp, where it was most narrow, two sets of palisades would be set down side by side, acting to pinch off an attack.
This would even the odds slightly if, or when, an army came for them.
Yet it wasn’t foolproof, and if their few numbers were to count, they’d need to level up.
Ketzal remained with Sholl. She was most suited to the task for one. But she also seemed to have an aversion to the dungeon. Whatever torturous realities she’d been exposed to in her previous world were insurmountable.
Cade gave Gemma a few supplies to store in her Inventory. A Staunching Poultice, Healing Tincture, a spare waterskin, and some of their dried rations. Minda gave her a spare torch and flint. If we somehow get separated, nobody should be without the basics, Cade thought. They ate a big breakfast and marched toward the tunnel where the dungeon waited.
Minda and Satemi took point, and Gemma and Cade walked behind. No creatures met them in the forest, and other than Micah buzzing out a quick hello, their trip was uneventful.
Lighting their torches, the group descended the steps and entered the first level of the dungeon.
Knowing Antinium and the glorious city of Tanrial at its heart, Cade rolled his eyes when they made it to the bottom of the elaborate stairs. Not only was it bright enough to see down here, but the dungeon was stylized in the same gilded glory everything else was. They snuffed their torches and looked around.
A wide room big enough to host a cozy wedding reception opened up around the base of the stairs, its ceiling twelve feet high at least, and all around its edges, a band of gold metal poured light upwards illuminating everything. It was empty but for two long benches carved out of the walls on either side, and what appeared to be a weapon’s rack. It too was empty.
Beyond the benches, at the far end of the hall, a massive door stood. It was flung wide open, only blackness looming behind. As they walked closer, Cade made out a detail that was barely discernible. When he was within five feet he could finally see what it was. A sheer layer of pale-blue energy shimmered over the opening. Must be a force shield like the one that surrounds Antinium, he thought.
Experimentally, he reached out a finger and tried to touch it. He passed right through, and only a cold chill ran over his skin.
“Okay, so it seems good and dark in there. Torches again?” he asked.
Satemi answered. “Torches in every hand can be a burden. Let me take lead, and Cade, you can bear a torch behind me. Use the explosive end of your axe and you should be just fine. Minda, you should bear the second torch as you can cast your spel
ls with one hand. Gemma needs both if she is to use her bow.”
Nobody argued, just listened to the cold logic of Satemi the General of Casmeer.
And then they stepped through the shield and into a hazy half-darkness.
Other lights existed in the dungeon proper as well, but they were dim and far and few between. The chamber no longer had the clean and geometrical shape of the room above, but was carved out of the stone itself, and the floor was dry soil.
The passageway they headed down was wide, so wide that occasionally, the torches failed to penetrate every shadow. Cade made them move slow, whispering in Satemi’s ear that they should clear every nook and cranny before moving on. In a space this dark and vast, it wasn’t possible to ensure that nothing got behind your position. Yet he could ensure they did their best to avoid that.
They zig-zagged across a huge room that was vaguely ovoid. Each pass had Cade brimming with nerves, but each pass they ended up facing rough-hewn stone once more.
After a few minutes of doing such, as the room came to a place where it seemed widest, Satemi discovered something truly disturbing. As the torch flickered closer to the wall, she pointed out the black maw of a small tunnel leading away into the mountain. It was big enough for them to crawl through, if they were stupid enough to try. Shaking his head, Cade gestured for them to leave it be and keep going.
Knowing now that their enemies could circumvent their party easily was not a nice feeling. They moved slowly, Gemma with bow poised and ready to draw in an instant, Minda staff in hand. Both of them crept sideways, their attention focused to the rear and side of their party. Satemi watched only ahead, and Cade kept a look out for anything to their flanks. It was the best they could do for now.
Thankfully, the first beast to attack them telegraphed its assault with a dry and rasping scream. The sound was something like wind blowing through a chink in a stone wall but magnified several times over. Cade turned and saw a tiny monster sprinting toward them. It seemed to be holding several long daggers in each hand, and though it ran upright, Cade couldn’t discern its head for the odd assortment of brambles it wore for a crown.
He used Double Tap, two mana bullets punching into the creature’s chest and slowing it. Satemi swept out her sword to finish it. The blade thunked hard into the monster’s flesh, sticking there. Their attacker flailed on the ground awhile but died soon after.
Satemi tugged at her sword, eventually resorting to pinioning her foot against the thing's chest to tear it free. Cade examined their tiny, new foe.
Dryadic Terror
Level 3
Dungeon Humanoid Minion
“Dryadic?” Cade wondered aloud, holding the torch above the beast’s face. He saw that its hand full of knives were really long and pointing fingers, each over a foot long. Each hand had ten such dagger fingers to its name, and he knew that should it have reached them, the pointy appendages would have done serious damage. Its face was little more than a gaping hole in the shriveled wood of its hide, and two beady black eyes. What had confused him was the dryad’s nest of foliage that decorated its scalp.
Shrugging, Cade said only, “If it is only these we have to worry about, I think we should be fine. A swarm though might get ugly.”
“Already looks ugly enough for my taste,” Minda pointed out, referring to the beast’s disturbing visage.
Chick’s got a point, Cade thought, then placed his hand on the monster’s chest and looted it.
5 Elderwood Branches
1 Small Elderwood Heart
“Let’s keep going then,” Cade whispered, not sure what to make of their loot. He hoped they could use it in some recipe or as a crafting resource, but that was a problem they could figure out later.
The group came to the end of the long corridor, and the walls closed off to present a narrow space only eight or ten feet wide for them to pass through. Satemi eyed Cade briefly, her gut no doubt screaming ambush as loudly as his own. But there was nothing else to do but inch forward and hope they would be prepared for the next attack.
A vast chamber opened up on the other side, the blackness on all sides too deep to pierce with their torches. It was a terrifying feeling to see such a limited space, but hampering their whole party with torches was a foolish idea. Again they began the zig zag pattern in an attempt to clear the dungeon room a bit at a time. And this time, they didn’t have so far to go.
A similar howling wind scream tore through the air, this time louder and coming from more than one direction.
Cade saw the first group of Dryadic Terrors darting at them from the side, and as his blast staff recharged, he fired an Explosive Shot in their midst. The effect was devastating. Chunks of old, rotted wood flew out in all directions. The dryad the explosive hit burst into flames, exposing the area around it. It was a fortunate accident as well since no less than a dozen more of the monsters were streaming in from all around.
Some were as small as their last attacker, but others were twice as tall and three times as broad in the chest. Their howling screams were unsettling and effectively confused the party members. It was like an old witch had taken on the avatar of a train, then shouted out her laments.
A fiery arrow leapt over Cade’s shoulder, coming from Gemma’s bow he presumed, and ignited the largest dryad in their midst. Its thrashing caught two others aflame as well.
Minda activated her snare skill, the twisting roots surging up from the ground and crushing a dryad to pieces. Then Satemi’s swords glowed crimson and her sweeping attacks cut through a swath of the creatures.
The noise of the attack seemed to die down somewhat, but a green glow at the far end of the tunnel caught Cade’s eye. It was too far away to rush after without inviting disaster, so he watched. Something was casting a spell, that much was obvious. And in a moment, they knew its effect.
A ball the size of a grapefruit flew into the mass of dryad bodies, suffusing their twisted limbs and bodies with green energy. Then the mass of fallen monsters began to move.
Quick and uncanny, the fallen dryads shifted about, locking together and forming an enormous body. It stood, a champion amalgamation that would definitely be making an appearance in Cade’s dreams.
He swallowed hard and inspected what they faced.
Dryadic Conglomerate
Level 7
Dungeon Humanoid Champion
“More fire!” Cade shouted, and again, a burning arrow shot out from Gemma’s bow and sunk into the creature’s chest. It fizzled out immediately. The green energy writhing about the champion’s body extinguished the fire. The extra light filled the chamber as the huge monster strode toward them, its long arms made of three full dryad bodies apiece.
Beyond the monster, Cade spotted a tiny figure, another ball of energy forming in its hands. “Oh, no you don’t, little jerk. Satemi, hold off Frankenstein. I’m gonna handle that guy.” Setting his torch down carefully, Cade took a knee and aimed his blast staff at the dryad’s face. For the first time since gaining his many upgrades, he fired a regular mana bullet. It would not be as devastating, but accuracy was what would matter the most here.
The blue round streaked across the room and sunk into the dryad’s body. It didn’t fall dead, but the spell was interrupted. Cade stood and sprinted toward the creature. Having a twelve-foot energy-infused champion behind him made everything easy to see. The room was thankfully empty other than the little monster before him. Yet even as he ran, it started casting once more. Cade gripped his axe and turned it to utilize the hammer. Just one solid strike and he knew the three-foot bastard would be splinters.
He dropped the hammer down on the dryad’s head in an overhead attack as its spell flung out and into Cade’s chest.
The dryad splintered and died immediately, but Cade stumbled back, blinding pain tearing through his torso. A fell, green light wormed through his sternum, and when he looked down, he saw tiny roots eating away at his flesh.
As manly and powerful as he was, Cade decided it
was a good time to scream.
While he tore at the roots as fast as they formed, the battle raged behind him. Satemi was cursing as she slashed away at the champion, narrowly avoiding its sweeping attacks. Gemma was firing arrow after arrow, having little effect on the beast.
Cade fell to his knees, the roots burying themselves in one of his lungs and working closer to his heart. He spat out blood and nearly fainted. Then Minda was there in front of him, her palm pressing against the knotted mass.
The green light pulled into her hand, and the roots withered and died. “Here, Cade. Drink this!” she shouted, and made him take a Healing Tincture. Immediately, the burn of his wounds ceased somewhat. The effect was minor, but stopped the bleeding in his lungs. The rest was tissue damage.
Taking a handful of her herbs, Cade shoved the bitter treat into his mouth and chewed away.
I need to help out, he thought and tried to stand to his feet. Minda pushed him back down, and shook her head. She strode back toward the flailing giant, her staff held high.
Yet it wasn’t Minda who brought the monster low. Gemma growled, frustration in her voice, and shifted into her tiger form. Her body writhed with angry flames, and she ran at the dryad.
She darted about its form, tearing through its wooden flesh with reckless savagery. And despite the resistance of the green energy, the dryad eventually caught fire and fell to the ground.
For far too long, the beast tried to crawl forward, slowly thrashing against its second and final death. Goosebumps covered Cade’s arms. Now that takes the prize for most potent source of nightmare fuel.
The burning dryad monster had a surprisingly pleasant smell, so the group took a short break to recover their wits and stamina.