by Sean Oswald
Mira chimed in, “It has something to do with moving from one place to another.”
Gunidar’s head shot up as he whipped it around to look at Mira. Jackson felt a shiver run down his spine, and his hands tightened into fists as he felt protective of his sister. “How would you know that? Mastery of runes isn’t something that a child your age could possibly have obtained.”
Jackson, having been the recipient of her taunting far too often, recognized the glint in Mira’s eyes and the singsong tone in her voice as she answered, “I can’t read runes, but I can read magic.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” both Gunidar and Tode asked simultaneously. Jackson saw his mom take a step closer to his sister as everyone’s intensity increased.
“I can sense the mana which is embedded in the runes just like I can when a spell is being cast. The feeling is more faint and harder to read, so I had to focus more.”
“Any caster with enough skill can sense mana, but how could you identify the type of spell after looking at it for less than a minute?” Gunidar asked.
“This is just part of my class. It has become easier and easier as I have leveled up and practiced. I don’t know how to explain it to you any better than that,” Mira snapped.
Jackson saw the way Mira looked away as she spoke. He knew his sister well enough to know that she was holding something back, but if she didn’t want to speak up, he certainly wasn’t going to bust her chops for annoying the royal mage.
“We can talk magic theory later. Right now, I just want to know if the boys have any ideas about how we are supposed to progress forward,” Dave said to put an end to the talk.
Tabor locked eyes with Jackson, and they both nodded. Tabor explained, “In order to move on, we will have to put an equal amount into each of the circles. I just don’t know what to put in the circles.”
“It could be equal weight or numbers or something to do with the elements,” Jackson added.
“If the magic around the circles is for transportation, then I’m guessing that we are supposed to split the raid up into each of the circles in order to progress on,” Dave said.
“Wait, you want us to split up, Dave? We can’t do that,” Emily protested.
“It appears that the dungeon was prepared in that way. The prior wing of the dungeon was stronger than what existed before but nothing that a prepared party of twelve couldn’t handle. I have to think that if the dungeon is saying we have to split up, then the challenges we will face are likely to be of an appropriate challenge level.”
Tode coughed. Once everyone looked at him, he said, “Not that I want to get in the middle of a family dispute, but dungeons are traditionally built around an inherent fairness. So, while a dungeon is never safe, they are always beatable.”
“This could actually make sense. Instead of the elements being part of the doorway, they could explain what we can expect on the other side,” Gunidar added.
Suddenly, Mira gasped. “Does anyone else have a countdown going on your character sheet?”
A round of startled responses filled the room only to be silenced as everyone’s eyes glazed over briefly as they looked at their own sheets. Jackson saw it and then clicked to see if he could gain more information.
Random sorting in:
7:21
7:20
7:19
7:18
Hmm it was definitely a countdown. Did this mean that if they didn’t figure out the puzzle within the time period, that they would fail it? Or what did it mean by random sorting? Sorting into groups? Jackson looked to see if one of the adults would know the answer.
“Baron Murkwood, I have to say that this dungeon of yours is going to draw every adventurer to it. I know I’m intrigued. Not only does it have puzzles to figure out but also ones with time limits,” Tode was obviously excited.
“I can understand your excitement …” Dave began only to be interrupted by Emily whose voice was raised both in volume and octave She said, “Well I can’t. This isn’t a game. Dammit.” Jackson’s eyes bulged. He had never heard his mother curse before.
Emily continued, “I will not let this dungeon randomly split us up. What if the boys get stuck in a group by themselves or something like that? So figure this out. Now.” The last part she spoke with an air of panic seemingly directed at Dave.
“Well this is no longer an academic problem but a survival one,” Dave began, “We don’t have enough information, so we are going to have to make some assumptions.”
“You mean guesses,” Gunidar said.
“Not helpful,” Baron Eikhorn said to the royal mage.
“Fine, guesses, but educated guesses,” Dave said while glaring at the royal mage as if tempting him to interrupt again. The man looked nonplussed but didn’t say anything. “First, we are going to assume that in order to finish this puzzle, we will have to split into four groups. Each of those groups will go into one of the circles on the floor, and we are going to assume that they will then be teleported to the next portion of the dungeon. We are also going to assume that each of the circles represents one of the four elements and that the part of the dungeon that they are teleported to will be themed around that element.”
Jackson thought it made sense; it was like something you might find in a game, and none of the others seemed to have a better opinion as they were all nodding along.
His dad continued, “My final assumption is that the way we are to split up is by number. So that means, three of us will have to go in each circle.”
After that, there was an argument about if that was the way to satisfy the riddle. Once the argument had gone on for over two minutes, Jackson tapped his dad’s arm and said, “Three minutes left.”
Dave slammed one hand down into the other to drive home his word. “There is no more time for this. We are going with those assumptions. There may be other ways to handle this, but for now, that is what we are doing. The only question is how we split up the raid.”
“We can send one of the guild members with each group as guides, and we probably need to split the three who are capable of healing into different groups” Tode said.
“I can’t speak for Baron Murkwood or his lady wife, but I don’t know any of you well enough to trust my son to one of you. I’m not saying you have done anything suspicious, but in battle, implicitly trusting the men on either side of you is just as important as experience. I also won’t let my son go anywhere without me. So Gunidar, Tabor and I will be the first group.” Steffen said.
“But you won’t have a healer …” Tode began.
“One of the groups has to be without a healer. Both Gunidar and I have a fair number of healing potions. Besides that, I have nearly thirty years of combat experience on the western border, and the royal mage is capable of more than he has shown so far.”
Dave cut off more debate saying, “Fine, that is one group, and the Adventurer’s Guild will make up the second group.”
“You don’t trust us either?” Tode asked, face aghast.
“I agree that you have shown yourselves to be competent and knowledgeable, but the numbers just break down like this. My wife and I are not going to let our kids go without us, and both Daichi and Rak’kar are sworn bodyguards to my wife.”
Jackson listened intently as his mother and father started to talk like no one else was present. His mom started, “I don’t like this. Not one bit. This dungeon has something against me. I guess Mira and I won’t be able to stay together, so you keep her with you to heal you, and I will keep Jackson with me. Daichi can come with us for protection, and Rak’kar can go with you two.”
“That doesn’t make any sense honey. You and Mira are the only healers, so yeah you can’t be together, but as strong as Daichi is, he isn’t a tank. Rak’kar could go with you and Daichi with me. Hmm … or maybe both the kids could go with me and your two guards could go with you. That way I wouldn’t be as worried about you being safe.”
“It isn’t about me, it’s ab
out what’s best for the kids,” Emily responded.
“Yes, well just like each group needs a healer, each group also needs a tank. With my class in place now, I am likely the best tank here.”
“Oh get over yourself. I am happy for you and all that, but you keep acting arrogant. What happened to a little humility?” Emily asked.
Jackson saw that look on his dad’s face that meant a blow up was coming. Over the years, it always seemed like his mom got her way, but every so often, his dad would dig in and fireworks would ensue.
Before Dave could say anything though, Mira spoke up, “Why don’t I go with Daichi and Rak’kar, and that way, both of you can keep an eye on Jackson.”
Jackson waited for the hidden barb or sarcastic comment about him needing to be babysat, but it never came. Mira was acting like the new her, the one he wasn’t yet used to.
“No, I want both of you to be with either your father or I,” Emily said.
“Pardon me, my Lady, but we are under a time limit. Your eldest is correct, that would be the best splitting of our capabilities. I am not a tank, and Rak’kar, while able to take a hit, doesn’t have as much defense as your husband. Loathe as I am to leave your side, this seems to be a fair compromise.”
Jackson held his breath as he waited for his mom to answer. “Fine whatever, but you two better protect her just like she was me.”
“Of course, my Lady. Not only because you order it, but because I find myself growing fond of your family. Perhaps I am becoming sentimental in my old age,” Daichi said, showing his perfect, white teeth in a smile.
“Your heifer will be safe with me,” Rak’kar added.
Mira glared at both the minotaur and Jackson, who couldn’t help but chortle briefly at the unintended insult. “If you keep calling me a cow, one of us is going to end up dead.”
The minotaur only stared back. His features were too alien to make out what his facial expression meant. Jackson could only wonder if that was the way a bull looked when it was amused.
“If the family drama is over, we only have two minutes to decide which element each group is going to take,” Tode blurted out.
“Our group would like to take earth. Master Gunidar is especially skilled in spells that deal with that element, if I remember correctly,” Steffen said as the royal mage nodded in confirmation.
“Okay, move your group to that circle,” Dave instructed. “Anyone else have a preference?”
“Can we do air? I feel very comfortable with that with my balance skill?” Mira asked.
“Um okay, I guess,” Dave replied as the monk added, “That makes sense to me. Air creatures tend to be fast, and that is something I am well equipped to deal with.”
Tode said, “You chose which one you want, and we will take the other, but hurry. There is less than a minute left.”
Jackson watched his dad waiting to see which circle he was supposed to move to. “Fire, because I sure as heck don’t wanna end up in an underwater zone.”
With that, the three Nelsons stepped into the red circle while the guild members stepped into the blue circle. As they were being whisked away by the spatial magic, Jackson heard Ro’Billo swearing, “Ye be knowing that dwarves don’t swim richt?”
This was similar to the times that Jackson had experienced a teleport scroll, but far less … less gut wrenching. Less of a feeling of being torn into pieces and reassembled. This felt more akin to a bumpy elevator ride. Then suddenly, they were in a different place.
Jump left! Jackson heard the command as clear as day from a voice that brooked no refusal, so he jumped left. Just as he did, a small orangish ball of fire shot past him and struck the wall behind where he had been standing with a ‘skoosh’ sound. He turned and saw his parents had both been hit by a similar ball of fire. Dad didn’t seem to be bothered by it, but his mom cried out in pain, and instinctively, Jackson jumped back to her side.
“Cover your mom!” Dave instructed and this time it was clear that the command had come from his father. Who had given the warning? Jackson pondered but didn’t have time to dedicate any mental energy to it. He rushed to his mom, and he took in the scene around him. The smooth stone walls were gone, and instead, there were vine covered roughhewn walls of rock. In fact, the vines appeared to be growing out of the stone, cracking it in places. The sides of the walls were about fifteen feet to either side of the red circle they were standing in. At various spots along the wall, there were sconces filled with smoky torches. Most notably though were the four creatures jumping excitedly from foot to foot about thirty feet in front of them and closing.
Jackson had seen the lesser treants of the Murkwood, and these looked more like shrubs compared to trees. Yet they were goblin sized with arms and legs, and extending out from all over their bodies were barren branches with bright red tips, sort of like coals. Their mouths were wide and full of jagged teeth, and their slanted eyes burned with the same ember-like fire. Out of their goblin-like ears grew tufts of small branches covered in buds rather than the patches of hair that Krinnk had. As they moved forward, they let out a never-ceasing stream of cackling. “Kill, burn, tear.” The cry repeated over and over as if they were on auto repeat.
Jackson’s view of the approaching creatures was blocked by his dad who stood in front as firm as a wall. Behind him, mom looked wounded and Jackson was proud to stand between her and the monsters. Dad was casting a spell, and mom was cradling her arm. A quick glance told Jackson it was badly burned.
The next small ball of fire was hurled at them passed through a screen of magical energy that disrupted the air and cracked with electrical energy. The defense didn’t stop the attack but slowed it enough that Dave’s sword was able to knock it out of the air. Without stopping, they continued forward, and Jackson’s father had already launched into a second spell.
All of the observations took less than two seconds, and by that time, Jackson’s arm was around his mom, and he pulled her back behind dad. “I’ve got you,” he said reassuringly and followed up with, “Can you heal that?”
Through clenched teeth, Emily responded, “Yes, but are you hurt? I saw a ball of fire coming at you too. I’m so sorry. I couldn’t get there in time.”
Jackson couldn’t help but feel that his mother was being silly. Here she was worrying about him like he was some helpless child. He wondered how many of the tears streaming down her face were in response to her pain and how many were from worry about him. A completely unfounded worry. “No, mom. I jumped out of the way when you told me to. I didn’t get hurt at all. Besides, let me protect you.”
He felt her eyes upon him scanning him up and down to make sure that he was telling the truth. Apparently satisfied, she quickly transitioned to casting a spell, and golden aura suffused not only her burnt arm but also dad’s body. Cool, didn’t know she could heal two people at one time. He also realized that his parents could probably do many things now that he didn’t know about.
Then everything seemed to happen at once. Dave stomped as he finished casting Minor Force Stomp. A sound like distant thunder was heard as a force wave shot forward into the four attackers who had almost closed on them. Two lost their feet and ended up rolling around on the ground trying to get back up but were impeded by the branches extending off their body. A third charged into the still present magical barrier and then, a second later, into Dave’s sword.
At this point, Jackson lost sight of what his dad was doing as the fourth shrubbery-like creature managed to get past the barrier and was headed straight for his mom. Something snapped in him as he roared, “Leave my mom alone!” He stepped to intercept the oncoming monster and didn’t even notice the way his motion was smooth and effortless. All he saw was an opening in the branches protruding from the creature. He slammed one hand (10) and then, in rhythm, another into the bark-like skin for a critical hit. (29)
The punches were not enough to kill the creature, but they did knock it off its intended path. Jackson followed. Don’t give it time to ge
t up. He kept punching it. He was able to pin the creature to the floor so that each of his blows pounded the creature against the rock floor, but he didn’t escape unscathed. Rattled as the creature was, it screeched in pain with each blow and lashed out blindly with the searing hot tips of its many branches. They slashed against him, doing little damage when they hit his leather armor but leaving burn marks whenever they hit his bare skin. Afraid of being blinded, Jackson closed his eyes as he continued to pummel the creature.
If it were not for the beatings he had taken at the hands of his classmates over the past weeks, he would have given up, fallen to the ground, and cried. But now, he was accustomed to pain. It wasn’t as if he liked it, just that he was inured to it. Each burn only caused a few points of damage, but it was adding up, and even with his ring of health, he didn’t know who would drop first, him or the beast. Then he felt a warmth well up within him as his mom’s regeneration spell settled onto him, and he gained health faster than he lost it.
Finally, he heard a voice calling out to him, “Stop! Stop Jackson! It’s dead. You can stop.” Lost in the moment, he almost ignored it, but the third time, he let his name sink in, and he listened to the words. Looking down, the creature under him was pulverized. Green blood covered his fists, and the beast looked more like a soggy log than a living being.
The fog of battle cleared from his mind. “I’m sorry,” he said to his parents.
They both looked at him before his dad said, “No, I’m proud of you, son. You jumped in to protect your mother.”
“Don’t encourage him, Dave.”
“We talked about this, Emily. This isn’t Earth. In Eloria, he has to learn to fight. The only path to safety is through might.”
“I haven’t conceded that yet.”
“So, you have a better option?”
“Well, no, but that doesn’t mean I am giving up. I’m not like you, drunk on power.”
Jackson searched for a way to break up the argument. “I got some notifications. From what I can tell, the creature’s skin protects them from the first 10 points of damage. It is like my toughness skill.”