by Dante King
“Let’s see how well you taunt me after I tear you apart!” Ralph gripped either side of Puck’s shoulders, and his fingers dug deep into my champions flesh. With an almighty scream and a powerful pulling movement, he ripped Puck in two.
In the last seconds of his life, my champion still had the presence of mind to cast a spell. As his body tore apart, the spell exploded outward and rippled the hallway, into the wounds and veins of the still-standing Sand Pirates. The crossbowman with the half-melted face howled like a lunatic and somehow found his feet. Half-blinded, he raced for the corridor, flickering blood all over my walls. His foot found the trigger for one of my new traps, and the Wall Spike blasted out of the wall. It caught him straight in the neck and smashed him into the opposite wall, breaking his spine and damn near decapitating him. With a satisfying slork sound, the trap retracted and yanked the doomed adventurer back into the wall, his head hanging from his torso by a few strands of meat. The spear of the trap tore itself free, and he crumpled to the floor, a shapeless mass of bloody flesh and broken bone.
Impale, eviscerate, decapitate.
Zagorath was doing all that, and more.
Blood, entrails, and Infernal Essence covered Ralph’s body, the remains of my champion. The Chosen One licked his lips hungrily, and the magic from my champion filtered into the adventurer’s tattoo as the pirates looked on in horror.
What I had failed to do, Ralph had achieved—he’d filled the band with terror.
“I’m going to kill you, Chosen One.” Rather than the sound only echoing inside my jewel, it filled the halls of my dungeon. It was a disembodied voice, and didn’t belong to my elf, but it caused the pirates to jump, and a few weapons clattered to the ground.
Take that Ralph. My dungeon was growing stronger, and I was learning new tricks every day.
“Is it Zagorath who speaks?” Zarrik asked.
“Aye. It seems the dungeon has finally noticed us.” Ralph looked up at the ceiling, as though that was where I was located. “You will be defeated, Zagorath. I will kill your troll, and I will kill your elf. Then I will siphon essence from your jewel, leaving only enough for you to rebuild, and then I will return and take everything from you again.”
Puck’s consciousness swirled back into my jewel as the pirates drank potions and tended to their wounds. Ralph’s lieutenant stepped closer to his leader. “This creature. What did it mean, pleading for your life?”
“It lies,” Ralph hissed, turning on the man, flicking my champion’s blood from his longswords, Puck’s Infernal Essence swirling into his bloodstream, feeding the tempest that raced through his veins. “That’s the nature of this dungeon. It divides, and it conquers the divided. Do you doubt that, Zarrik?”
The lieutenant saw the murder in his leader’s eyes, and wisely backed down. “No.”
“Do you remember what I said about questioning me?” Ralph didn’t even let the other man answer before his twin swords slashed across. Zarrik’s head toppled from his shoulders as blood founded from the severed neck. Ralph finished absorbing the man’s essence before the decapitated head stopped rolling.
The newly-appointed pirate leader had adopted my ‘evil overlord’ schtick, and I started to wonder whether it would be a pity to kill him. He reminded me a little of myself, and I could probably use his drive. The thought went to the back of my mind when Ralph pointed to the corridor with a blood-bathed sword.
“Those traps, they’ve changed,” he said as though he hadn’t just slain one of his own. “They came from the ceiling and floor last time. We’ll proceed as we did before. Carefully.”
The pirates were still under Ralph’s sway, and they followed him into the corridor. Obviously Zarrik had been somehow immune to most of the ring’s mind-altering magic—too bad for him.
Including Ralph, six pirates remained, and they all knew about the traps in the corridor now. They scooped up the leather clothing I’d left on the side-altars and systematically tossed them onto the floor in the corridor. The Wall Spikes weren’t directly under my control—they were the equivalent of a muscle reflexively spasming. I watched with a sinking feeling as the leather fell onto the triggers and the spikes fired from the walls. One, then two and three, before the fourth and final spear cannoned into the corridor, hitting nothing but air.
But I had a second trick up my sleeve. The storm traps crackled invisibly in the corridor, simply waiting for someone to step inside them. They weren’t triggered by movement, or pressure—they simply needed the electrical signals of a flesh-and-blood body.
“Move up,” I told Abby and Bertha. “Stick to the shadows, take a position behind the pillars a few strides from the corridor. Strike down any surviving pirates and force as many as you can back through. If they don’t trigger my traps now, then they will then.”
The half-troll took the left, and the elemental took the right, her blue mantle and pale skin bathed in the scarlet and azure light of our cores. My War Troll was silent, stalking like some feline predator, her darker skin a greater advantage when moving in the shadows. The two champions hovered behind a pair of pillars, and anticipation flickered as the Sand Pirates began to inch their way through the corridor, their eyes searching for other triggers.
But they didn’t see the Paralysis Rings.
Ralph stepped inside the first, and lightning lanced up into his feet, causing him to spasm and curse. Before the Storm trap could cause him to seize up entirely and step on a Wall Spike trigger, he lunged and planted a foot on the wall. With a burst of speed, he rocketed along the wall like some kind of speedy superhero. Even Bertha—her reflexes sharpened by her new form and her enchanted weapon—couldn’t stop him from blasting out of the corridor, sliding over the obsidian, and out of reach of her flashing poleaxe. The other adventurers followed Ralph with a slower and less flashy trick, using the walls to bypass my Paralysis Rings.
I was going to need to adapt to this - it wasn’t the game plan.
Abby’s hands crackled with lightning as she stepped out from her hiding place and caught a crossbowman in the chest. Electricity exploded from his body and hurled him back into the corridor. The hapless Sand Pirate triggered a trap as he bounced on the tiles, and a Wall Spike impaled him before he could bounce a second time.
I summoned Von Dominus, and he materialized out of the suddenly-liquid obsidian floor and stood before the grinning face of Lilith’s likeness. I transferred my consciousness to the elf and leaped off the dais, bare-chested and feeling the bloodlust building. My champions danced in sync, turning back into the shadows, racing around the pillars, and kiting the adventurers after them. Abby moved like lightning, her hair a halo of golden-brown and her eyes shimmering with blue energy. Her feet barely seemed to touch the ground. She was fast, faster even than Bertha. The champions came to my side, and before I could even ask her, my half-troll champion drew her dagger and tossed it to me.
My elvish reflexes had me catch it out of the air without so much as a thought. I spun the dagger into a reverse grip as the speed of the sigil flooded my body. Bertha’s poleaxe spun in her hands, a blur of troll steel and honeywood while Abby’s eyes blazed as the power of Ciryli crackled through her.
The pirate gathered in the centre of the First Floor, fanning out behind Ralph as he halted and laid his eyes on me. Hatred blazed through his gaze, fed by Infernal essence and the death of his men. But he didn’t sprint into battle, driven by grief and impotent rage as before. No, the kid at least had some sense of the gravity of the situation.
Excitement, anticipation, and trepidation swam through my blood. These adventurers were too cunning, too strong-willed to be swayed by my Enthrall ability. It’d been far too difficult to ensnare a half-idiot half-orc. These Sand Pirates could only be swayed by one thing - a hunger for Infernal Essence, and violent, bloody combat.
I could appreciate that.
“Abby,” I whispered. “How about you show them a little something?”
The Storm avatar smiled as a deafe
ning boom erupted from her, and then her entire body was covered in lighting. The First Floor illuminated from her electric glow, and the carvings on the walls seemed even more sinister in the ethereal light.
“That’s definitely a Storm champion,” the mountain-man said in awe.
“I don’t care what it is,” Ralph said as we faced off. “We’ll take its essence.”
I took a step forward, relishing the tension, feeding on it. “I see you’ve made it to the First Floor, Chosen One.” A smile curled over my face and before my fangs while my smooth elvish voice echoed impressively through the pillars. “And, as our prior agreement dictated, you brought yet more willing and eager meals for me to consume.”
The Sand Pirates shifted uneasily at my words and glanced at their leader, but Ralph didn’t so much as blink. He stepped into the open, hate and essence blazing in his eyes. I spun my dagger easily in my hand, feeling its own power build as the space between us gradually lessened. But Ralph was taking his time, still wary of the champions at my back and of any traps I could’ve laid for him.
“Your reign ends here, Elf. Zagorath will fall with you.”
I cocked my head, my arrogant smirk widening. “Oh?”
“Your traps have failed. Your minions have fallen. You and your bluster is all for nought. I will absorb you essence and take what remains from your jewel. Tell me, Elf, how much resides in your core?” The question carried an erratic note, as though it was coming from an addict demanding the last ounce from his dealer.
My chuckle echoed through the chamber again, accompanied by the crackling of Abby’s lightning-charged fingertips.
“An ocean,” I answered him easily, and I saw the Sand Pirates’ faces snap toward the plinth where my dungeon heart resided glowing a deep red beside Abby’s.
The pirates only seemed to notice the presence of an additional core now, and they whispered among themselves greedily, too quiet for me to make out their words. My core, and now Abby’s jewel, was working as intended—an irresistible prize that would lead adventures ever deeper into my dungeon, unaware that they would be unable to snatch it. My Spring Trap beneath the cradle prevented that from happening, and even then, they would first have to defeat my champions and my avatar.
“You failed in your first attempt, Ralph Kraus. And now you are drunk on essence. Unlike your pitiful mortal form, I can consume as much as I like, with no side-effects. I can see the madness in your eyes, and I don’t doubt you will give your life just for a taste of what lies within my core.”
“I am no lunatic, nor am I driven mad by a desire for essence,” Ralph protested, but it was clear he didn't believe his own words. “I seek revenge for Alaxon!”
“Say what you wish. Console yourself with lies. I don’t care. Your friends will fall. I will drink of their blood and dissolve their bones to dust. Their bones will be displayed on my walls as trophies, their weapons forged anew to reward future adventurers wise enough to flee where you did not.”
Ralph stepped forward, more quickly now. Bertha and Abby tensed, ready to snap forward and overpower him before he could get in range. I raised a hand, and they relaxed a little, but remained on the front foot.
“Pirates of the Black Sands!” Ralph roared. “Charge!”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Ralph rushed forward with incredible speed, closing the distance between us in a second. I jumped back, out of the range of his twin swords as Abby and Bertha blurred toward the pirates. While I twisted and dodged Ralph’s attacks, lightning lanced from my Storm champion’s fingertips and blasted a pirate before he could gut her with spear.
“You’re losing focus, Elf,” Ralph said as he slashed both weapons.
I darted behind a pillar, and the blades crashed against the stone with a screech like nails on a chalkboard. Bertha rushed past me and kicked Ralph in the side. He dropped to the ground, but the War Troll’s killing blow was prevented when a scimitar-wielding pirate charged into her. His shoulder pounded into her side, and she tumbled as Ralph leaped to his feet.
Ralph was upon me, his swords lancing toward my elf’s bare chest. I bent over almost double to avoid the whirring blades, and my opponent was keeping me at bay so I couldn’t attack with my dagger. A spear would have come in handy right about now, but I preferred a drawn-out duel to a swift execution anyway. I’d experienced the power of feeding upon a corpse before, so I darted away from Ralph with my Swiftness sigil pumping speed through my body.
“You run, Elf?” Ralph cackled as he chased me, and I weaved around the pillars until I lost him.
Then I found my prey—a spearman harassing Abby. He jumped behind a stone column when my elemental launched a lightning bolt, and then he leaped back out and jabbed his spear. Before he could complete the move, I sprang forward, and my dagger found his shoulder. The blade ripped through leather and penetrated his arm-joint. He screamed and released his spear, but then a gloved fist flew toward me. I twisted aside, and the fist grazed my neck. I wrapped my arm around him in a chokehold while the dagger in my other hand slashed his throat. I gripped his bleeding form and drained every drop of his blood from the open wound.
The enchantments that had empowered his attacks now ran through my bloodstream, but I knew from experience that the magic would wear off in a short time. I scanned the chamber for any sign of Ralph and saw Abby blur to my right. She jolted another pirate before he could pounce on me, ozone filling the air. The bastard fell back, but Ralph suddenly cut him in two as he charged toward me.
“You don’t seem to mind killing your own,” I said as I weaved under and around the Chosen One’s sword strikes.
“They stand between me and victory. There will be more to add to their ranks. This is destiny!” Ralph sliced at me yet again from my left, his blades streaming the blood of his fellow Pirate while his tattoo drank the essence of his fallen brother.
I raised my dagger and parried his swipe just as his second sword twisted inward, racing toward my bared chest. Remembering Bertha’s move, I ripped my elbow down as the weapon peeled my skin and sliced it open. But I’d still prevented it from sawing into my ribs. Then I leaped into a flying knee shot, catching Ralph under the chin. Even all that strength and speed wasn’t enough for him to shrug it off, and I felt his teeth crunch together before he fell back.
“Essence . . . is ours!” Ralph managed to yell through broken teeth as he took refuge behind the pillars.
My prime target was probably giving himself a good dose of healing potions, and while I didn’t exactly want to give him time to heal, my champions were in desperate need of help. Pirates surrounded Bertha as she struggled to deflect their blows, and her poleaxe could barely swing because they were so close. The half-troll was bleeding, dark blood coursing down over her glowing purple tattoos. I sprinted toward her attackers just as Abby came to assist, and she erupted with lightning that chained from one pirate to another. They managed to shrug off the stun, but it had given Bertha enough time to slip free of their circle.
With renewed strength, Ralph joined the fray, but he’d worked his pirates into such a frenzy that he could barely get past them to swing his swords. He screamed with rage as Bertha twisted her poleaxe breaking the guard of a scimitar-wielding pirate before slicing through his ruined armor and slashing deep into his chest.
Another raced forward, looking to take advantage of that opening, but I hit him from behind like a football frontliner, taking him clean off his feet and driving him into a pillar. The air shot out of his lungs like a cannon, and then my dagger plunged under his arm. I wrenched it free, stabbed him again, and the scent of blood and his Essence swirling through his veins ignited my bloodlust. My blade punctured him again and again, ripping through his ribs and shredding intestines. I rammed my dagger into his jugular vein and drank a mouthful of the fountaining blood to heal my wounds. New power invaded my bloodstream, and I laughed with pure delight.
Ralph was duelling Bertha, driving her back, his rage and his two swords finall
y giving her a fight. Her grin didn’t waver as she parried his blows with vicious ripostes tearing at his armor and forcing him to give ground. Abby whirled away from a Sand Pirate as his flesh cooked and smoked from her sparking fingertip, but I saw the final surviving pirate sprinting toward her—the mountain-man. His footfalls cratered the ground as I raced to intercept him.
The blood from my foes coursed through my veins and provided me additional speed, and I collided with him a second before he would have pulverized Abby’s brains with his warhammer. The impact sent us both to the ground, but he was on top of me in a second. Runes blazed across his armor, and the gauntlets covering his hands blazed with enchantments. They must have all been Might sigils because he had no trouble shifting his weight on top of me and pinning me down. I struggled to plunge my dagger into his chest, and he laughed in my face.
“Foolish elf. It will be the might Razen who slays you this—” The pirate’s eyes suddenly widened as a bolt of high-voltage electricity coursed through him. The energy chained from my opponent and rippled through my body, leaving me stunned.
The mountain-man crashed on top of me, his eyes twitching as he struggled to move. Abby came to me and heaved the pirate off me before she assisted me to my feet. Bertha and Ralph were still locked in battle, and the slight glance was all it took for Razen to jump to his feet and come for me. Before he could close in, Abby unleashed all her power in a final effort.
The entire First Floor shook as shimmering azure light exploded into every corner as she fried the mountain-man. He was flung through the air, avoiding a half dozen pillars before he smashed against the mural of Lilith. His body crashed to the floor and spasmed in what had to be his dying breath. A shattered vial lay next to his corpse, and the spilled liquid turned into a golden mist that surrounded his body.
I turned to Abby, but she was no longer there. I sensed a consciousness over my mind, too weak to communicate, and realized that she had returned to her core after that final effort.