Trial and Flame

by Kevin Murphy

  The others looked ahead to where Melee pointed. The core crawlers had been covering another passageway leading to the left.

  “Well, well,” said Roth. “What do we have here?”

  “A secret passage? Or, at the very least, one that happened to be hidden,” said Mina.

  “Cool. Thought so,” Melee said, putting her arm back down and fully relaxing. “You guys wanna check it out?”

  “The minute I don’t feel up to check out a secret passage, you’d better slap me,” Roth said.

  “Sign me up for that, too,” said Dakkon. “Might not be much of a secret passage down here, though. It’s hard to tell from a glance, but it seems like just another path.”

  “All right, Melee. Up we go,” Mina said as she grabbed her prone friend’s arm and yanked her upwards. “You can’t still be tired after my spells.”

  “Sometimes it’s just nice to lie down, y’know?” Melee said with a wink and a grin.

  Chapter 11: Progress

  Unlike the straight path they had just followed, the newly uncovered route was more akin to all the others that they’d seen. Curving gradually to the left, the passageway ended in another straight tunnel.

  After taking another left then walking down the straight path, the group returned to the center hub where their directional rope-and-ice marker stood. Roth hacked a new notch into the marker, indicating where they’d exited from, then they re-entered the second straight tunnel. They walked back to the passage which they had uncovered after clearing out spiders, then—once they walked roughly the same distance again—they came across another patch of rugged crystal on the left-hand wall.

  Before the fight could be initiated, Dakkon raised a warding hand to make sure the others wouldn’t start before he’d had a chance to investigate more closely. Now that he knew what they were, he wanted to take a better look at the spiders. He approached carefully so as not to disturb them. Their bodies appeared to be so well interlaced it was difficult to tell where one ended and the next began, though there were hints of cracks and fissures everywhere. Using Thermal Sight, he examined their crystal bodies at-rest, but their forms were the exact temperature of the caves around them, giving him no useful information aside from the reassurance that he hadn’t been negligent in spotting their body heat before.

  Walking back to the group, Dakkon asked, “Same plan as before?” When no one had any objections, they got into position. “Fire away, Cline.”

  Cline’s first arrow resulted in a surge of experience points as it ripped through the unprepared spiders, causing Dakkon to level up. His second arrow claimed just as many lives before the crystalline critters had the misfortune of getting within range of Roth and Melee. The two’s teamwork was a sight to behold. Roth’s cover of Melee’s left side was practically flawless, and when too many spiders got close, Melee unleashed her yell which stunned everything around her—snatching fairly simple victory from what might otherwise have been many-legged defeat.

  Dakkon felt even less useful in the second fight. Though Melee’s right flank had been exposed, it wasn’t guardable so long as she was swinging around her huge sword. That time around, he’d only been able to help after Melee stunned the spiders, giving him an opportunity to finish off four while they were dazed.

  Though frustrated by how little he was contributing, Dakkon didn’t let it get to him. He just needed to think of a way to increase the group’s efficiency even further.

  “If only I could force the spiders to run in a straight line so Cline could hit more. That way, they wouldn’t have a chance to rain down all over Roth and Melee…” Dakkon thought, but the only obvious way he could think of corralling the creatures involved using the very water which they were trying to conserve. He didn’t have a good solution, but he’d at least try drawing some lanes with Burning Sigil to see how the bugs would react.

  “So, do we go left again?” Cline asked. “If we hit another straight tunnel, I’m pretty sure left there will take us back to the hub-room again.”

  “I suppose we’d better,” said Mina. “If we find out this whole place is laid out like the spokes of a wheel, then that’s something, anyway.”

  The group moved forward into the new left path that they’d opened up behind where the spider wall had been. Like before, the uncovered path bent slightly to the left. This time, however, the once-blocked passage wasn’t empty.

  The ceiling about midway through the connecting tunnel featured another circular patch of rough crystal. In the center of the patch, there was a single, longer and more massive crystal hanging down about two meters like an oversized stalactite. The end of the large, cylindrical crystal boule pulsed with a faintly emanating green light. They’d clearly found something new, and so far every new thing that they’d experienced below the mines had spelled trouble for them.

  “What do you think that big thing is? A new enemy?” Roth asked.

  “Hard to say,” said Melee. “Could just be a crystal…”

  “It’s glowing green… Dakkon can you take a look at it?” Roth asked before turning to Mina and Cline. “How’s our mana looking you two?”

  “80 percent,” said Mina.

  “I’m tapped out,” said Cline. “Three percent. I’m going to need a break before—”

  As Dakkon activated his thermal vision, the hanging crystal shuddered, drawing everyone’s attention.

  Dakkon couldn’t see anything that looked like the emission of heat with his Thermal Sight skill, but the crystal’s faint light did seem to be glowing more intensely. Once he turned off his skill, Dakkon could see the glow was not only brighter than it had been before, but that it had also begun to flicker.

  “I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Cline said as the green light flickered fully on then off, faster and faster.

  “I think we should retreat for now,” said Dakkon, quickly. “It’ll be safer if we come back after w—”

  Dakkon couldn’t finish his sentence. Once the hanging crystal’s tip flashed so rapidly that its light appeared to be steadily-on, it shot a finger-width beam of green light at the patch of skin between his eyes. Having no way to react to such a fast and unexpected attack, the impact sent him toppling backward—head over heels—to the ground.

  [You have been critically blasted for 640 damage! Remaining HP 110/750]

  [You have been stunned! While stunned you will be unable to take actions!]

  “Dakkon!” Roth and Mina jointly cried out in surprise while the other two readied their weapons.

  The rough crystal patch on the ceiling that encircled the glowing stalactite stirred to life. Scores of crystalline legs twitched and freed themselves, briefly stretching before they began to revolve and churn around the larger central crystal. Soon after the smaller core crawlers began to move, the long, spindly legs of the green-lit crystal could be seen unfolding themselves to dislodge from the ceiling where it hung.

  “Double back to the straight tunnel!” Roth called out.

  When the disoriented Dakkon didn’t move, Melee bent down and grabbed him, tossing him over her shoulder then running right behind Mina and Cline. Taking a quick right—back into the straight corridor—they fled down the familiar path. A heavy-sounding *thud* resounded from the passage behind them, then the sounds of skittering and scraping flooded through the tunnels. It was as though a mass of hardened arachnids was rushing at them from all sides.

  Dakkon pushed himself free of Melee’s shoulder and landed back on his feet. While he’d been stunned, losing all control had resulted in a fleeting sense of panic much more worrying than any damage he’d sustained. As soon as the jarring condition was gone, though, he regained full control over himself. He wasn’t sure if the others understood exactly what had happened to him or not, but he needed to warn them before someone else got stunned.

  “Don’t let that beam hit you, if you can help it,” Dakkon said. “Or at least, try to cover your head. Thanks, Melee. I couldn’t do anything.”

  “Tha
nk me later, dude,” Melee said. “Now would be a good time for one of us to whip some fancy new trick out of their ass.” She pointed at the crystal spiders rounding the bend into the straight tunnel where they stood.

  Towering a full person taller than its companions, the mobile crystal turret swung itself around the corner. Its movement looked erratic. As it walked, it tilted from side to side with an unnatural, hefty sway—seeming as though it were unfamiliar with operating the strange mass of its own, unwieldy body.

  Cline and Roth pelted the small spiders one at a time while moving away from the swelling force. Rather than an all-out chase as they’d given before, the core crawlers seemed intent to stick near the lumbering crystal form, eerily revolving around it while always facing forward.

  Mina clutched her beads and began to chant in order to heal Dakkon before the spiders could get any closer. As she began to cast, the crystal spire stopped walking and its apex began to blink. The flickering grew quicker and quicker until, immediately after Mina covered Dakkon with healing blue light, a beam with pinpoint accuracy blasted her hands apart and snapped the strand of beads she used as a focus, flinging polished stones everywhere.

  [You have been healed for 355 hit points. Remaining HP 465/750]

  Mina was thrown back, but her movements told her companions that she hadn’t been stunned.

  “Mina!” Dakkon called out to her. “Your beads—"

  “I’ll be all right,” said Mina through gritted teeth. “Just keep picking them off so we can focus on the big guy.”

  The unbalanced crystalline being began to wobble forward again, amidst a vortex of its smaller companions. Despite its awkward gait, the thing wasn’t slow in its advance. Every swing of its structure from one side to the other surged it forward, testing the limits of how quickly the smaller core crawlers could keep pace with it. After each lurch forward, the large crystal paused only briefly before swinging back the other way.

  “My mana doesn’t seem like it’s too important here,” Dakkon said. “Maybe I can use the big spell to punch through their resistances!”

  Dakkon shot water from his Dousebinders at the wall to his side in order to build another brace for his strongest attack—the massive column of raging flame he could maintain for only a few seconds. As he began to freeze the water in place, the approaching crystal giant stopped moving and the peak of its form began to blink green once again.

  “Watch out!” Roth said, jumping in front of Dakkon.

  Roth intercepted the beam that had been intended for his teammate, striking him in the center of his mass. The concussive force of the strange beam caused Roth to choke for air as the wind was knocked out of him, but—through the warrior’s tenacity—he managed to stay on his feet.

  Dakkon halted his preparation of the ice-brace as Roth grabbed his arm. The large crystal shambler began its pursuit once again.

  “I think… it goes… for spells,” Roth managed in-between gasps for air.

  Dakkon nodded to show he understood.

  “Right!” Melee shouted. “Muscle it is! Whatever you do, girl, don’t cast another spell, you hear me!”

  The beam had hurt Dakkon and Roth, no doubt, but Mina was no front-line fighter. Her health sat at 62 percent. If another beam were to strike her in a more critical location, such as her throat or temple, her survival would not be a sure thing.

  Roth quickly ran through his small supply of javelins, making Cline the primary attacking force as the party backed up closer to the central hub, trying to keep some distance between the crystal critters and themselves.

  “I’ve got an idea,” said Cline while he fired yet another arrow at the dwindling number of core crawlers that still circled around the larger threat. “Mina do you need your beads to heal?”

  “No, but I’ll need them to heal faster than that thing can shoot,” she said, then added after a pause… “…I’ve got an older set I can use.”

  Cline fired another arrow. “You guys want to try something risky?”

  “Spit it out, already,” Melee said. “We’ll need to run down another hallway if this keeps up.”

  “I want Mina to try to heal herself,” said Cline. “I’ll try to shoot the blinking part of the crystal right before it fires.”

  “What!” exclaimed Melee, worried about her injured friend’s ability to take another blast.

  “You think you can hit it?” asked Roth.

  “Are you kidding? Of course!” exclaimed Cline.

  “No, that sounds like a good idea,” agreed Mina as she pulled another strand of beads from her satchel. “Say when and I’ll start.”

  Melee shuffled over to position herself beside her close friend.

  “All right!” shouted Cline. “Do it!”

  Mina clenched her second strand of beads between her fingers and stroked them as she began to chant. The trundling crystal stopped moving forward and its highest point began to pulse green. Just before it was ready to fire, Cline released a regularly-powered piercing arrow.

  Cline’s arrow was on path—its timing without flaw. It would arrive just before the crystal-being fired its beam, but when the arrow was due to strike, the creature shifted erratically—dodging the arrow with mechanical precision then letting loose its charged beam.

  Melee, having suspected the worst even before the arrow was dodged, stood in front of Mina with her two-handed sword’s flat side held forward and braced to lessen the impact of the impending blow. Her sword was made of stronger stuff than Mina’s strand of beads and held together, but the curious force behind the beam caused Melee’s sizable weapon to slam back against her head and to be flung from her grasp.

  With her backup beads, Mina had been slower at casting her spell than the crystal turret had been at firing, but thanks to Melee’s intervention, Mina was still able to heal herself.

  “Guys,” said Cline. “I want to try again.”

  “Are you sure?” asked Roth. “That thing dodged your arrow like it was in slow motion!”

  “I wanted to give the arrow extra oomph,” Cline said. “This time, I’ll make sure it homes in on him.”

  “Go for it, blondie,” Melee said as she bent to pick up her sword. She casually cracked her neck, then spat. “I’m ready for it.”

  Cline and Mina exchanged nods, then the druid began to cast a heal on Melee.

  Cline didn’t have enough mana to double-cast the homing shot, so he was left with hoping that a regular one would do the trick. He timed his arrow precisely—right before the beam would be ready to fire, his arrow would strike. Again, the crystal turret swerved its head away to dodge but this time Cline’s arrow wildly changed its trajectory to meet the sudden shift. The arrow struck the crystal just before the beam was fired, causing the shot to veer off-course, missing everyone.

  “Nice one!” yelled Dakkon as Mina’s healing spell worked to restore Melee back to prime condition.

  “Thanks,” Cline said grimly, “but my mana’s completely spent.”

  After the creature’s beam weapon had been struck, it flailed about erratically. The core crawlers that had been sticking with it surged forward independently, no longer tethered to the larger entity’s proximity.

  “Looks like you pissed them off,” Melee said. She grinned wickedly as she ground the hilt of her sword with both fists in anticipation. “My turn.”

  Melee met the crawlers halfway, cleaving six of them with her first, mighty blow and carrying the momentum of her swing around 360 degrees for a second attack which cut down four more. The core crawlers on the floor were no match for her, but they didn’t all choose the low ground.

  Spiders leapt at Melee from all angles to their collective demise as she let loose her powerful yawp, leaving them stunned on the ground. Dakkon and Roth finished off the downed spiders as Melee charged forward at the still-reeling larger crystal threat.

  Almost upon the crystal turret, she leapt forward into the air while bringing down her hefty sword—but the spire-like crystal swung
its head forward, erratically, intercepting Melee mid-flight. The force of the powerful blow knocked her—rolling backwards—nearly all the way back to Dakkon and Roth.

  A quick glance at Melee let her teammates know that while she had been hit hard, she wasn’t in any real danger yet. She had lost nearly a third of her hit points from the attack, but she had also revealed how their foe intended to defend itself. After she slowly got back to her feet, the three melee combatants walked forward to their waiting enemy.

  “Heal Melee!” Dakkon called back.

  When Mina began to cast her spell, the uppermost point of the crystal creature began to pulse its threatening green light. Dakkon took the opportunity to slip behind its translucent form.

  “Hit it!” Roth yelled before he, Melee, and Dakkon buried their weapons into the crystal menace in a powerful concerted strike. Then, the three continued to pummel it until combat messages no longer propagated their chat log and the green light returned to a mild glow.

  [You have stabbed a core defender for 232 damage.]

  [You have stabbed a core defender for 245 damage.]

  [You have stabbed a core defender for 241 damage. Core defender has been slain.]

  [You have gained 555 experience! EXP until next level 261/7,850]

  [You have gained a level! You have 20 free stat points to distribute!]

  “Geez. Could take a hit, couldn’t it?” Melee said with a relieved sigh a few seconds after she’d finished swinging. “Honestly, that went okay. Better than I would’ve guessed right at the start, anyhow.”

  “Same here,” said Dakkon. “It’s awfully convenient these things are so… dumb. It feels like they’re programmed to act in certain ways, and we managed to exploit the weaknesses.”

  “Well, it is a program, right?” said Roth. “Game world and all.”

  “Yeah, I guess, but this is Chronicle we’re talking about. So far, these are the only things I’ve seen that felt less than alive,” Dakkon said. “It’s like they had no instinct for self-preservation. Why would anything just sit there and charge a ranged attack while we wailed on it from all sides?”