Adventures on Terra - Book 2: Escape

by R. A. Mejia

  Koorb tells Mary, “That ring will resize itself for the wearer, so it should shrink itself to fit your finger. It also has a magical enhancement I think you’ll like.”

  Mary uses both her hands to pick the ring out of the wooden box, and I feel my eyebrows raise in amazement as the ring shrinks in her hands. When the object stops shrinking it’s just the right size for her fairy fingers. She slips it onto the index finger of her right hand, and I see her eyes lose focus as she looks at the properties of the item. When she’s finished, she flies straight up into the air with a cry of joy and flies over to Koorb. She gives him a kiss on the cheek and yells, “Thank you!”

  Kitsune, who looks intrigued by the outburst from Mary, asks, “What does the ring do?”

  Instead of telling us, Mary pokes at something in the air, and a notification box appears. We crowd around Mary to read what it says.

  Ring of the Summoner

  This ring has been magically enhanced by Aleph craftsmen to aide in the summoning of creatures. Its magical properties increase the time a summoned creature can exist on this plane by a factor of ten.

  Effect: Any creature summoned by the wearer of this ring will have the maximum time it is able to exist on this plane increased by a multiple of ten. For example, if a creature is normally able to exist on this plane for ten minutes, it will now be able to exist here for one hundred minutes.

  After seeing the properties of Mary’s new ring each of us quickly unwraps the package Koorb gave us.

  Kitsune opens her gift and shows off a stretchy, black, body suit. After she read the description, she tells us that it’s a type of armor that she can wear under her Kimono. It’ll provide extra protection without restricting her movement or interfering with her spell casting.

  Vrax gets a pair of gloves with sharp looking studs around the knuckles. He tells us that the gloves cause extra damage to punches and hurt the undead more. I ask him to show me the item description.

  Gloves of minor undead bane

  These gloves were designed for unarmed fighters who also combat the undead. A rare situation. However, they add a small amount of extra damage to each punch, they do even more damage against the undead.

  Effect: 2% extra damage to all [Unarmed Combat] attacks. An additional 10% damage to the undead.

  I nod in appreciation at the gift. Vrax was rather frustrated in this dungeon that he wasn’t able to deal much damage to the undead.

  My gift is knowledge. The oddly shaped package I was given turns out to be not one item but multiple ones. There’s one large crystal that glows and a dozen small ones, each the size of a dime. The larger glowing one is another knowledge crystal. When I touch it, it reveals itself to be one for the skill [Crystal Programing]. I don’t immediately activate the crystal since I’m not sure what it will do to me.

  I look up at the standing dungeon master and ask, “This crystal says it will teach me [Crystal Programming], what’s that?”

  Koorb raises his hand and points to the various crystals embedded in the walls of the room and says, “It’s part of the magic that the Aleph were best known for. They developed a specialized type of skill that let them use crystals and gems as both a type of power supply and place to store magical instructions. That’s how they were able to create such unique artifacts. I’m not able to use the crystals myself so I don’t know exactly what it will show you, but you seemed interested in the Aleph magic and thought this beginner knowledge crystal on the subject would suit you. Do you not like it?”

  I can’t help but smile as our undead host describes what the crystal will do. When he finishes I quickly answer, “The knowledge crystal will teach me a new type of magic? Of course, I like it. Thank you very much for the gift.”

  I grab the crystal from where I had placed it on the table. I’m vaguely aware of Mary saying something, but I’m so focused on the knowledge available to me that I ignore whatever she’s saying and activate the knowledge crystal.

  My mind is flooded with images, sounds, schematics, and knowledge. I can feel a buildup of pressure as I come to understand what a crystal is. The crystal structure is a description of the ordered arrangement of atoms, ions or molecules in a crystalline material. The arrangement of these structures determines properties such as hardness, cleavage, fracture, specific gravity, and external shape. As the information continues to pour into my mind, I understand that there are many different crystal structures that are found naturally. They revolve around geometric patterns and axis. Names such as isometric, tetragonal, and orthorhombic pour into my mind, and I understand the differences between them all. The magical theory behind the Aleph magic essentially allowed them to alter these crystalline structures to enhance the properties of a crystal or gem, or give them entirely new properties. It explains how a crystal can be modified so that it’s hard enough to be used as a smithing hammer, or how a gem can be changed to store mana, or how a crystal can be modified to hold magical instructions. My head feels like it’s about to burst when it all finally ends and everything goes dark.

  When I wake up, I find Mary hovering over me, a scowl on her face. She yells, “I told you to wait till we were somewhere you could pass out!”

  I wince at the pain her yelling causes my ears but respond, “Sorry. I didn’t mean to inconvenience you.” Finding myself lying on the couch in the dungeon masters living room, I sit up and see not only the members of my own group looking at me but also the dungeon level bosses, Wendy Wight, Stevie Shadows, and Royal Ryan. I smile sheepishly at them.

  Vrax walks up to where I’m sitting and takes my face in his three fingered hands and examines me intently. He turns my face left, then right, then he pulls my lower eyelid down and looks at my eyeballs. After humoring him for a minute, I grab his hands and force him to release me, then say, “I’m fine Vrax. This happened last time too, remember? Those knowledge crystals pack a lot of information into the brain all at once.” He gives a concerned look but nods once and sits next to me on the couch.

  The voice of the dungeon master diverts everyone's attention from me, “Oh, good. Armon, you’re awake again.” I see Wendy and Stevie move to make way for the dungeon master. He walks from the kitchen past them and stands in the middle of the living room and continues, “While you were resting, we gave your kobold friend enough food to last you for the next four days.” Gesturing behind him he adds, “Wendy, Ryan, and Stevie have come down to wish you all a safe journey.”

  I guess this is it then. We’re actually leaving. I stand up and hold my hand out to the dungeon master. He takes it in a firm grip and shakes it. That gesture seems to be some signal because the level bosses and my group all start to hug, shake hands, and give their goodbyes. After all the hugs are finished, the dungeon master tells me he has one more gift for us.

  Instruments appear in the hands of the three level bosses, and a stand with a crystal microphone appears before the dungeon master. Together, they play a rousing goodbye song for us as we walk up the stairs to the surface.

  Chapter 5.1

  Holy Toledo, there are a lot of stairs to get up a mountain. I mean you don’t realize it as you descend one floor at a time. However, climbing what must be at least five hundred steps, is a pain in the butt. I mean that too. My butt muscles are super sore when I finally see daylight and walk into the open mountain air. The sun is directly above me in a beautiful baby blue sky dotted with streaks of fluffy white clouds. For a moment, I appreciate the stiff breeze cooling the sweat streaming off me, enjoy the warmth of the sun high above, and the view of the barren mountains around me.

  I feel someone poke me in the back, interrupting my serene moment, and I move to the side to let the rest of my party out of the mountain. Coming out of the passageway behind me, I see a tired looking Vrax and Kitsune. Following them, is Mary, who lazily yawns as she exits the passageway on the back of her summoned wolf. Taking advantage of her new ability to summon Mr. Snuggle Butt for extended periods of time, she summoned him at the bottom of the m
ountain and rode him up the entire flight of stairs. As I lean against a boulder to rest, I give Mary the stink eye. Still riding her wolf, Mary notices my look, and instead of getting angry or offended, she just smiles innocently and winks at me. She got such a cheat ability with that ring.

  While we rest and recover our stamina, the four of us discuss what to do next. Looking up at the retreating sun, Kitsune suggests we find a place to rest for the day. Vrax wants to get moving again, and my gut agrees with him. However, I propose that we send Mary, the only one of us that can fly, scouting. We have no idea where we are and just traveling in some random direction will only get us more lost. We need to get to the main road that will lead us to Monstrum. Mary reluctantly agrees and releases Mr. Snuggle Butt, and he disappears in a puff of smoke. She flies straight up into the air and disappears from view.

  Mary returns an hour later with news that the main road is west of our current position. Unfortunately, she also informs us that there’s no straight path from we’re at to the main road. We’ll have to climb down this part of the mountain and follow windy trails to reach it.

  For the next two days, we help each other down the mountain. Occasionally we have to scale sheer cliff walls to get to the next trail. Vrax and I have a decent [Climbing] skill and Mary can just fly down. Kitsune needs more assistance to get down the mountain then the rest of us, and occasionally I have to create hand and footholds using the arcane symbols for ‘remove’ ‘earth.' It’s rather cool to be able to climb down the mountain like this. I would never have thought to use my spellwriting this way if I hadn’t been forced to improvise in the dungeon. At night we rest by a fire and eat the food prepared by Koorb. Usually dried fish, mole meat, and mushrooms, of course. We play cards to pass the time and reminisce about the dungeon. We all agree that our journey down the mountains isn’t easy, but it’s not nearly as challenging as the Dungeon Warrior course.

  When we rest at night, I’m able to take some time to sort through all the new information that was downloaded into my mind by the knowledge crystals. It was an intense experience to gain that much information all at once. There’s a lot of information to sort through. I experiment with the skill for [Crystal Programing] on the low level dime sized crystals the dungeon master gave me as a parting gift. From the information imparted by the knowledge crystal, I understand that these objects are meant to be used by students to practice their skills. It requires an extensive amount of visualization to change the crystalline structure of even these simple practice crystals. I first have to infuse the entire crystal with my mana, which isn’t hard for me since I’ve been practicing how to control my mana for a while now. Then once the crystal is infused with my mana, I have to use it to map out the current crystal’s structure. The process just takes time and practice. It’s a bit like being blindfolded and handed an object, then told to draw a picture based on what you felt. These practice crystals are like simple block shapes children play with. Cubes, Spheres, and Pyramids. I understand that any crystals and gems I find out in the world won’t be nearly as straightforward to map. Mapping them will be like being handed a small statue and being asked to create a replica just from your sense of touch. Still, we all have to start somewhere. Even the simple crystalline structures within the practice crystals are challenging at first. The information from the knowledge crystal helps me identify their internal makeup, but it’s still a challenge to map those structures in three dimensions. However, by the time we reach the main road, I’m able to successfully call up each crystal’s internal structure in my mind. Now, while each of the practice crystals is outwardly similar, they feel unique to me since I’ve mapped their internal structure.

  Before we get to the main road, Mary reminds me what the nice couple in the woods told us about the Monstrum border being closed to humans. I’d forgotten. That instant I activate [Aspect of the Kobold]. All along my body small red scales push their way through my skin covering me in a protective layer of natural armor. It’s a painful process that I’m still not entirely used to. However, with the limited armor I have I’m always glad that I have the ability and it’s saved me from injury on more than one occasion.

  Kitsune’s eyes widen at the sight of scales growing over my skin, “How? Err, why?”

  From the back of the wagon Vrax answers Kitsune’s question, “Armon helped my tribe defeat a terrible enemy, and Elder Xichion used powerful magic to make Armon part of the tribe. He now my brood brother and blessed by our goddess.”

  Kitsune shakes her head in confusion, “I still don’t understand, from what I learned about kobold culture, the ceremony you describe is normally performed when accepting new kobolds into the tribe. Even then it’s described as bonding ceremony, not as something that would change someone like this. I don’t think that I’ve ever read about it performed on a human either though. What kind of favor did you do for them?”

  “I told you, Cherax Quadricarinatus. Mighty red dragon and mother of the tribe blessed my brood brother.” Vrax says to Kitsune as if he’s repeating an obvious truth.

  “I’m not sure how the ceremony was different from what you might have read about Kitsune.” My tone becomes more somber as I explain, “There’s no one to ask either. The Imperare army killed the kobold elder that performed the ritual along with most of the tribe. I’m afraid I can’t answer your questions.”

  Mary interrupts the conversation, “Regardless of their origins, Armon has the perfect disguise to get across the border of Monstrum. He may not pass as a kobold but the scales that cover his body make him look non-human. Which is all we need.”

  Kitsune returns her attention to the road ahead, “That’s true. I’d been wondering what you had up your sleeve to get him across the border. I just thought you’d smuggle him in by hiding him in a haystack in the back of wagon or use some magic spell to turn him invisible.” Her gaze darts and she examines my scaly form for a moment before shrugging. “At least I know now. While I don’t think we should have any problems crossing the border now, I’d like to hear the full story of how you got the ability. ”

  I don’t see why I can’t tell the full story but look to Vrax to make sure he doesn’t have a problem with me talking about it. He doesn’t seem bothered by the conversation, so as we walk, I tell the extended tale. I tell her about the quest I got to deal with a kobold problem, the specist Farmer Fred, meeting Vrax for the first time, learning who was really forcing the kobolds to steal and dealing with the troll, Grumph. Vrax interrupts me several times to embellish what happened, calling me a hero and master tactician. Kitsune laughs at Vrax’s viewpoint but understands the kobold’s desire to adopt me into the tribe. She says that many tribes adopt strong members when their population is threatened. When I think about it, it does make sense. All those kobold females did try to mate with me that night.

  Recounting the events has the unexpected consequence of reminding me of the last time I saw the tribe. I give a weary sigh as I remember what happened to the kobolds. Even though I’d only known them a few months, the tribe of kobolds had welcomed me into their community with open arms and treated me like one of them. I choke up when I think about how quickly they felt like extended family. Vrax has become like a real brother to me, and members of the tribe were like cousins I bonded with but had never met. I wasn’t as close to them as I am to the adventurers that saved and trained me but I was a part of the kobolds’ community. Now that’s gone, and it’s hard to look at the empty place inside of me. So instead I focus on the here and now.

  I inhale deeply, close my eyes, and exhale slowly. I repeat the calming breathing technique two more times before I open my eyes. I can still feel the swirling emotions just below the surface of my consciousness. They threaten to bubble up if I think too long on events of the past but for now, I’m ok.

  I feel small hands wrap around my neck and hear Mary whisper into my ear, “You’ll be ok too. You have us.”

  Those simple words push against the tentative emotional control I th
ought I had and tears threaten to come pouring out. I take another deep breath and push down the pain and sorrow. I don’t know how Mary does it, but her small gesture of support and intuitive understanding give me an emotional boost of strength.

  My left hand wipes the snot from my nose, and I pat Mary’s back as she hugs me to let her know I’m ok.

  “Uh, did you just wipe your boogers on me?” Mary asks.

  In that one moment, the emotional tone shifts and I can’t help but laugh at the question. “I think I did. But it wasn’t on purpose.”

  “Ewwww.” I turn to see her standing on my shoulder spinning around her arms trying to feel her back for signs of mucus. She gives up trying to reach between her shoulder blades and huffs, “I can’t reach back there to clean either. If you weren’t just about to cry, I’d hit you, Armon.”

  “I was not going to cry,” I insist. “I just got some dust in my eyes when you flew over and hugged me is all.”

  “Suurre,” Marys says drawing out the word, “It was ‘dust.'”

  I laugh again and hear a giggle from Kitsune, who’d I’d almost forgot was right next to us.