Their Health bars plummeted, only one surviving the first attack until a rock golem’s fist slammed into its face.
“Wow, that’s really nasty but effective.” Dave looked at the creations, which were already moving ahead again.
“It might be an idea at researchimg some magic that will make it harder to detect them. Ambushes are obviously a strong suit,” Malsour said.
“Well, if you’ve got the materials, then I’m willing to learn.” Suzy smiled, proud of her achievements.
She’s only been in the game for a few months, but she’s jumped up her stat points in leaps and bounds. She’s been faster than me in gaining levels and that Willpower training must have been hell. Dave shuddered, thinking of his own experiences with it.
“Well, let’s see what the rest of this dungeon has.” Induca’s smile was hungry, a true Player’s smile, excited to jump into danger for the possibility of big rewards.
Dave smiled and followed the creations.
They ran into three other groups of kobolds wandering around in the cave-like area of the dungeon.
Dave fired arrows into the kobolds that walked into Suzy’s ambushes. Induca and Malsour held their spells, letting Dave and Suzy rack up experience and get used to their different skills.
“Well, seems this is paying off.” Dave looked at a new notification that popped up as he killed his third kobold with his bow.
Active Skill: Archery
Level: Journeyman Level 7
Effect: Critical Hit chance increases by 28%. Ranged targets take 10% increased damage
Cost: 10 Stamina
“I’ll take that.” Dave smiled. He’d been working on smithing for so long that he had forgotten the joys of clearing out a dungeon with a group of friends.
“I hope this place has some more challenging creatures,” Suzy said as her creations reformed. She had two metal and one stone golem, with two metal scouts and one Air creation. “Shame that they can detect my Air creations.”
“You just had to jinx it.” Dave shot Suzy a look.
She simply shrugged it off as her creations started to advance.
“The higher Affinity that creatures have with any magical element, the easier for them to see disturbances. Kobolds with a higher Affinity for Air and Earth will be able to see your creations even if they are hidden, if their Affinity is higher or they have a spell or something at work,” Induca said.
Malsour slowly clapped at Induca’s information.
“What? I’ve picked up a few things as I’ve gone along. You and Gelimah are always trying to educate me on things, as well as Mother.” Induca sighed.
Suzy laughed as Dave smiled, following the creations.
“How is your power consumption?” Malsour asked.
“Well, I can keep this lot going for another forty minutes. Think I might pull the Air creation and the rock golem back. It would give me less ability to change their fighting style mid-battle, but if the kobolds start figuring out where they are, then it’s going to turn into straight-up fights instead of ambushes anyway.”
“We’re leaving the cave part of the dungeon.” Dave sensed an opening up ahead that led to another level.
It looked as if the cave system that they had been walking through broke into another area behind it. With all the runes, Dave couldn’t see what the inside of the structure looked like.
“From the outside, it looks like it is two or three times bigger than this cave area and it looks like it was cut out a lot nicer than this area. Less holes through rock, and more squares and straight edges. I can sense the third area past it and it looks even larger and higher quality,” Dave said.
“Might be a good idea to save your Mana. We might be in here for a while,” Malsour said.
The Air creations came back to Suzy. The slowly swirling air set down on her hand, revealing a malachite container.
“How is the new core working?” Dave asked as she put it away. The golem knelt in front of her, its rocks moving out of the way to reveal its stone core.
“I’m still using just the basics. However, if I can start using the different chambers of the core, I’m kind of scared what it can do. I’m going to need to brush up on my chemistry, though.” Suzy looked to Induca.
“Fine, I’ll give you a hand.” Induca smiled.
Dave noticed the excitement in Suzy’s face as she bit her lip, pulling the core from the stone golem. It fell apart into dirt, sticks, and rocks.
Dave hid his own smile. Interesting, definitely interesting.
They walked through the cave, coming to a larger area. At the end of it, the cave hit a wall of bricks, the bricks having been pulled down to reveal some kind of building beyond it.
“I can’t get anything from my scouts when they go in. I’ll send one of the golems through with orders to return,” Suzy said.
The metal golem turned into a puddle and moved through the open wall. After a few minutes, it came back.
“Seems that it’s clear on the other side; it comes out into some kind of hallway.”
“Well, let’s go check it out.” Dave switched from his bow to a shield and sword, moving through the broken wall and into the lower level of the dungeon.
Chapter 5: Onward and Downward
Abandoned Dungeon
You have made it through the first level of the Dungeon to find ancient Aleph ruins. The Aleph were a race rumored to deal in the mechanical creations of the world. They were reported to be the creators of the teleportation pads. Working deep in the depths of the Earth, their homes and places of work are only accessible by portals and teleportation pads. The cave you traveled through used to be a mine that found the Aleph’s home and awoke its guardian beasts.
Dave read the prompt off to the side of his vision as he continued into the corridor.
There were no rough walls here; instead, the walls had been crafted with precision and care. Light scones illuminated the area. Most of them were broken, leading to large areas of shadow. For the night vision-capable races, it was easy to see through.
Dave heard a screeching noise to his right. He turned to see a party of three kobolds screeching for all they were worth and charging him with their blades. A fourth kobold stepped out, wielding a shovel covered in runes.
Kobold Mage
Level 113
Shit!
Induca blasted them with Fire lances. The air mage sent out wild and panicked wind blades, killing Kobold that lay in their path.
Dave focused on the other kobolds.
Kobold Miner
Level 124
“Well, this will be interesting.” Dave activated his Abscondita armor, his body getting lighter as he rushed to meet the kobold miners.
“Suzy, get your creations in there—have your scouts spread out. With that racket, some of the other kobolds will be sure to arrive soon! Induca, keep that mage suppressed. I will watch the other direction!” Malsour, the leader of their group, said.
Dave met a kobold’s pickaxe with his shield. Without conscious thought, he knocked the pickaxe in just the right way to have it deflected instead of stuck into his shield.
The kobold, confused by how his pick had missed its target, didn’t have time to dodge.
“Huh!” Dave called out, a grunt that all Dwarven shield bearers would understand.
Dave’s sword flashed out, quick and precise. The kobold had enough time to obscure Dave’s thrust, making him hit the creature’s shoulder instead of through his unprotected side.
A less trained shield bearer might have gone to make good on the attack, one who didn’t have the training or Touch of the Land to see through his shield. Dave’s shield rose up. Just as the kobold he’d hit in the shoulder rolled away, his pickaxe’s momentum pulled him to Dave’s side. The third kobold’s shovel slammed into Dave’s shield.
“Arrggh! Mother fucker!” Dave yelled. His muscles bunched as he slammed the shovel away.
The second kobold had been stopped from attacking by t
heir falling friend.
Dave stepped back, giving himself room as the kobolds looked at him. Their eyes glowed red in hatred at Dave and his friends’ trespassing.
Dave saw that his attack on the one kobold had splashed out onto the second. Pickaxe one had taken a ten percent hit and pickaxe two had a five percent hit. Shovel attacker three just looked pissed as he swung at Dave. The others joined in, trying to move into Dave’s blind spot.
Dave hid a smile as he let the pickaxe brothers sneak up on his left side, focusing on shovel dude.
He might only have a shovel, but he’s fast with it and a real big pain in the ass. With my normal enhancements, I’m only just matching him in speed and Agility.
Dave’s shield was there to slam the shovel away every time. Using his Touch of the Land allowed Dave to get the lead time he needed to deflect the attack. Seeing the creature’s muscles bunch as they brought the shovel in for an attack made up for Dave’s slight lack of speed.
Even though he was beating those attacks back, they were hitting with such force that they were chipping away at Dave’s slight Health pool. Dave stabbed and slashed at the kobold, keeping his reach short and deflecting the kobold’s shovel every time.
Pickaxe one swung at him.
Dave was too slow to deflect it; the head of the pickaxe smashed through and hit his arm underneath. Dave grunted, seeing the shovel bastard aiming his weapon at Dave’s head. Dave’s right sword turned into a shield as his left-hand shield turned into a spear; the pickaxe that had been embedded in it fell to the ground.
Stunned kobolds looked at him as he smashed the shovel away, and shoved the spear through the shovel kobold’s chest.
They didn’t have much time to look stunned as two metal golems sprouted from behind them, slamming their metal arms through their unprotected backs.
Dave used soul smith; the spear in his hand expanded out through the kobold. Its Health dropped to zero. Dave broke the conjuration. The metal spikes disappeared as it slumped to the ground. Dave looked at the mage that stared at Dave and his fallen comrades. Its face went pale at the cold smiles on the rest of Dave’s party.
A cold sweat broke out across its forehead as Dave’s right-handed shield turned into a javelin. He planted his foot and threw with all his strength. Images of throwing flashed past his mind’s eye as runes formed on the spear in a near instant before it was released.
The javelin flew true. The mage turned his attention on to Dave, trying to smash it out of the air. The javelin flew to the side of the mage instead of hitting him. The mage started pooling a large spell, looking at Dave with a vicious smile. Its smile turned to shock as a flame lance burned through its chest.
“Got to be more aware of your surroundings, bub.” Induca snapped her fingers. Her flame spear turned from red to blue flames; the mage’s Health plummeted to nothing.
“We’ve got several more kobolds coming from both directions. Dave and I will take the left side; Induca, Suzy—take the right. Suzy, I would suggest calling a few more golems and having the ones you’ve summoned put themselves on the ceiling,” Malsour said.
“Got it. Dave—going to need some juice from your armor,” Suzy said.
“Linking,” Dave said. With a mental command, he connected to the rune necklace that was around Suzy’s neck. It glowed as a connection was formed. She looked to gain energy as she pulled three ebony soccer balls from her bag. Her other metal golems moved up to the ceiling.
Malsour moved his hands around, using words of power to pull metal from the ground around the three metal cores.
Suzy muttered her own words of power as the metal started to change form, turning into metal-looking humanoids, growing in power and strength until they were five feet tall.
Dave conjured a shield in his left hand, calling his rod back to him. It flew to his belt as he pulled out three steel rods with soul gems in their center. Dave held two in his shield-covered hand and held one in his other hand. Shadows covered the steel rods, runes forming down their metal length.
All of it was heavy, but with Dave’s Strength, he barely felt it. He saw that the group of five kobolds headed for them were just a few seconds away.
“One Earth, two Air—the rest are miners.” Dave shifted his stance.
“I’m guessing that your book reading is helping some?” Malsour asked.
“Yeah, it’s like I know how to position myself, keeping me alive with these high-leveled midgets,” Dave said.
“Remember, you were a midget not that long ago.” Malsour smiled.
Dave smiled as the kobolds turned the corner, stepping right onto Malsour’s curse trap, making them vulnerable to magical and physical damage.
Dave launched the javelin with all of his not-so-inconsiderable strength. It flew right into the first Air mage’s shield. Its stunned look turned to rage. It dropped its shield, the javelin falling from the hole it had made in the shield.
Idiot. Dave sent a command to the javelin. The javelin turned into a loose spiky ball as the soul gem overloaded. Metal exploded everywhere, ripping the Air mage apart and taking out one of the miners. The other was hit with metal and stunned.
The other two mages focused on keeping their personal Mana barriers up.
Dave didn’t wait around and hurled his second and third spear. The first hit the Earth mage’s shield; this time it turned into what looked like a mushroom where it had broken into the barrier, exploding and using the barrier to contain its blast. The Air mage sent the second javelin wide. It exploded in mid-air, leaving the second miner at only five percent Health.
Dave held his rods together, forming a bow before the second javelin went off. By the time the second javelin had cleared, he was pulling back an arrow on his compound bow.
The Air mage staggered from the impacts and the death of his three comrades who had been alive mere seconds ago. He looked up, shakily, as an arrow slammed into his chest.
The second miner died from the splash damage earned from Dave’s levels in two-handed.
The mage already had a weak Vitality; Malsour’s curse and Dave’s melee skills put him on his ass for good. His Health bar hit zero before he could hit the floor.
Dave checked his Touch. There were two miners and one mage against Suzy.
Suzy called on her golems hiding in the ceiling. Metal pillars shot down and through the backs of the two miners that Induca had been holding off, freeing Induca to send a fireball at the Earth mage.
It constructed a hasty wall but Induca’s fireball smashed through it and into his barrier. Induca threw another before he had time to recover.
The second broke his barrier and tore a hole through him, dropping his Health to zero. Everyone was breathing heavily as Anna and Deia walked through the hole into the new area.
“So, what did we miss?” Deia asked.
Malsour, Induca, Dave, and Suzy looked at one another before they burst into laughter, relieved to have survived and happy to see the results of their training.
“Quite a bit.” Dave smiled and took a drink from his water skin. “I’ve got about fifteen more coming for us. We can cut them off at this big room up ahead. There’s a whole bunch of runes all over this place to try to keep it secret. These Aleph liked their privacy.”
“The Aleph are one of the odder races and were one of the most technologically advanced. Finding one of their research stations is a rare find,” Anna said.
“History lesson later. For now, let’s try to see if we can’t head off these kobolds.” Deia took command as party leader. “Anna, take point. Everyone else, food and water. Does everyone have their rations?”
Everyone replied in the positive.
“Good, because we may be needing them. There’s lots of exploring to do,” Deia said, clearly excited.
The others smiled, sharing her excitement. Being the first into a dungeon, double the experience, and finding out that it was made by a race of secretive and really smart people; it didn’t get much more exciting t
han that!
“Dave, out in front with Anna and let’s see if we can’t get to meet these kobolds in some place where we can really use magic!”
“Yes, ma’am,” Dave said, half-saluting Deia. She just shook her head in amusement as Dave turned to Anna.
“All right, need to go down this corridor a little bit, then third entrance on our left, and a bit of a drop. Seems that the stairs collapsed, but it’s the biggest room in here, and they’re going to have to come up to it in order to get at us,” Dave said.
“Okay.” Anna held her great sword ready as they moved toward their battleground.
The room had four staircases, one in each corner. Two led deeper into the dungeon and two retreated higher. The party came in from the back-right stairs. Well, there weren’t any stairs, but there was rubble that showed where they’d been.
There were intact stairs on the opposite wall, but that wasn’t what Dave was looking at when he stopped in the balcony that circled the room. There were runes all over the floor, carved into the ground, and filled with silver. Here and there, they had been chipped away to try to get the silver out.
Dave’s eyes moved to the front of the room. Between the descending stairs, there was a complex half-circle of runes. With Dave’s Touch, he was able to see that it was a changing magical circle, able to move runes in and out of formation. Three large boxes jutted out from the second-floor balcony. The two on the sides of the room were enclosed in clear malachite with mangled magical runes.
“Dave, is something wrong?” Deia asked as Dave moved to the large box that faced the large magical formation at the other end of the room.
“Holy shit.” Dave looked over the room and the interfaces that had been picked apart for their materials.
“Dave?” Deia asked.
“Incoming!” Anna said.
“Induca, Malsour, Suzy—in this room here. Dave with me,” Deia said.
For The Guild (Emerilia Book 2) Page 6