Depths of Camlan

by A. T. Gilbert

  And soon we have to. After ten or fifteen minutes of walking unimpeded, Callidus stops. A few feet ahead of him the rock ledge ends. As hard as I stare, I don’t see any indication of a magical glow. No Power Perception signals at all. Each of us spends time looking around the rock, wall, water and ravine around where the ledge ends, but there’s nothing to indicate an alternative way to cross the river In fact, the ledge on the other side is directly opposite us. We would only need to wade straight across.

  “This feels too easy,” Erinocalypse says. “There’s got to be more to this.”

  “Well, there probably is, darlin’. But we won’t know just standin’ here.” TexBadass pats her awkwardly on her back.

  She freezes with a panicked look in her eye, holding herself awkwardly until he stops. I suppress a smile.

  Callidus stands at the edge of the water and looks down. “There are stones here. All the way across, it looks like. A path is pretty clearly laid out for us.”

  “Too easy,” Erinocalypse repeats.

  “Well. Here we go,” Callidus says as he activates Stealth and disappears.

  By watching closely, I can see where he steps, where the water is forced to divert around him. Since he’s stepping on the rocks, the water isn’t any higher than his knee or so. We wait till he pops back into view on the other side of the river.

  He shrugs.

  “Okay,” SteelFeather says. “My turn.”

  For all his casualness, I notice his sword and shield are equipped; he’s not letting his guard down.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  SteelFeather steps into the water, with Balderdash13 not far behind. Where they’re walking the water only comes up to their knees, but after two steps Balderdash13 slips and falls into the water, all the way up to her chest. SteelFeather offers her a hand to climb back up to the stepping stones. As she clambers up behind I notice the river just upstream from them begin to churn. I tap Erinocalypse's arm and point—I don't want to be the only one ready to attack whatever is about to pop out of the water.

  At first it just looks like the river water is moving around more stepping stones. A wide, smooth pink-gray surface is just under the surface of the water, and I examine what we’re dealing with.

  Name: King Blood Worm

  Level: 29

  Description: Living in the shallow water at the top of White Rock Ravine, the King Blood Worm does not like to be disturbed. Watch out for its proboscis and venomous teeth.

  “Oh gross.” How big is a level twenty-nine worm?

  “You guys. Move,” Erinocalypse calls to them. “Now. On your right. Upstream.”

  Her warning comes just in time. The two warriors turn to look just as the Blood Worm fully breaks the surface. The worm lumbers out of the water, its smooth pink-gray skin making me wonder exactly how this creature is dangerous at all. I don’t even see any eyes. Nevertheless, I equip my bow and arrow and keep my attention on the front of the worm. Even though the river is up to Balderdash13’s chest here, it must be fairly shallow for the worm. That thing must have just been lurking right under the surface, waiting for someone to disturb it.

  Enhancement received: Bubble of Protection

  Description: You will sustain -5% damage for the next sixty seconds

  Erinocalypse casts the protective spell over all of us and the tanks pause in their crossing to face the worm head-on.

  Even watching the monster as closely as I do, I miss any indication of an attack. It’s still fifteen feet upstream from SteelFeather and Balderdash13 when it opens what I can only assume is its mouth and throws its proboscis at them. A long, fleshy, purpley appendage groping toward them. The revolting thing moves faster than I expect and the four giant teeth at the end of it, like a grappling hook searching for something to hold on to, pull SteelFeather’s feet out from under him before I can get off a shot.

  His health plummets but TexBadass has a spell ready.

  “Venom.”

  Erinocalypse nods and aims her fire bolt spell at the proboscis. The worm drops the player and sucks its appendage back in.

  “What. The. Hell.”

  “Don’t take your eyes off it,” she scolds me.

  I loose one tentative arrow into the side of the worm. Looking at the monster’s health bar, I can’t even tell I hit it. There’s a red flash of light to indicate contact, but it’s barely anything. At this level, I probably would need to shoot it fourteen thousand times to even make a dent. That worm-skin is deceptively tough. There is a purple blood stripe down the length of its body that makes me wonder if that part of the outer armor is thinner or more vulnerable than the rest. If the blood is so close to its skin surface maybe I can injure it there. I take aim again and shoot for that tentatively vulnerable strip.

  The King Blood Worm flinches away from our side of the river. Not a lot—it doesn’t even bother to turn and attack us—but enough for me to know I hurt it. With Erinocalypse and I attacking from the side and SteelFeather and Balderdash13 attacking from the front, we can hopefully take this guy down.

  I worry about Callidus. His weapon and training mean he needs to get really close to the monster to land a hit and I wonder if it’s even worth it.

  At the front of the worm, the dangerous proboscis is hidden again, but in its place is a small, sensing appendage, feeling around the water and the stepping stones. Balderdash13 hops over it, as it comes toward her, but the resulting splash indicates her presence just as much as if he had reached down to pet the monster.

  It withdraws and the two warriors exchange a worried glance.

  “Stay ready,” Erinocalypse calls to the group.

  SteelFeather has gotten to his feet again, health points full. TexBadass looks like he has a spell prepared. I suppose we’re as ready as we’re going to be considering we have no way of knowing when the King Blood Worm will attack.

  “SirAsh3r, fire at the side again.”

  “You’re sure? You want to provoke it?”

  Erinocalypse nods.

  I aim at the more sensitive, less armored bit near the … head? Front? Whatever it is—near the part of the worm that shoots out a venom-laden grappling hook. As my arrow embeds in its side, the proboscis shoots forward again. This time Balderdash13 darts out of the way while SteelFeather lands a hit. The worm thrashes and attacks again, but blindly, missing both tanks entirely.

  Erinocalypse aims her spell for the end of the end of the worm, the part that is sensitive enough to feel its surroundings and prey. I shoot another arrow at the proboscis itself, hoping the point will embed and be dragged back into the body, causing damage on the inside.

  But that doesn’t happen. The blood worm lashes out again and this time SteelFeather isn’t fast enough. The worm only manages to dig one of its teeth into the solid flesh of SteelFeather’s thigh, but that’s enough to weaken him. The warrior falls off the stepping stones into the water behind him. All of us hold our breath, waiting for him to resurface. The worm continues to attack Balderdash13 who, fortunately, is having some luck injuring it.

  Without any discussion or instruction, Callidus jumps into the water where SteelFeather disappeared. It’s only up to his chest, so he can easily make a couple forays under the water to locate our fallen tank. He drags a coughing and sputtering SteelFeather to the surface. As soon as SteelFeather is within sight, TexBadass restores his health with a well-aimed spell.

  In the midst of this rescue, the King Blood Worm retreats, leaving Balderdash13 breathless and worn. I check the worm’s health bar and realize it’s already down by half.

  “Whoa. Do you see that? What do you think worked?”

  Erinocalypse shakes her head. “No idea. We’ll just have to keep doing it again. Once SteelFeather is ready, I want you to shoot it in the side again.”

  But the worm doesn’t wait for SteelFeather to recover. The proboscis shoots out again, seeking a victim.

  “Shoot it!”

  Two, three arrows lodge into the pink fleshy appendage whil
e it gropes around for one of the tanks. More and more of its health drains away. The worm is slower now, leaving its proboscis out as a target for longer. I shoot another arrow, aiming for the sensitive webbing between its teeth. After a small recoil, the blood worm settles back into the water, only half-heartedly continuing to seek out the tanks.

  “You’ve almost got it now. Come on,” TexBadass cheers us on.

  Next to me Erinocalypse prepares a more elaborate spell, something that takes more time than she has had in earlier battles. I shoot another arrow at the worm just before Erin lets loose a solid blast of freezing energy. The water drops on the surface of the worm’s skin freeze to it. The surface of the river surrounding it freezes, holding the monster in place.

  “Ha!” SteelFeather laughs triumphantly as he scrambles to his feet, discarding his shield and using both hands to raise his sword high above his head.

  “Yes!” Balderdash13 calls.

  He brings down the sword swiftly, cutting off the proboscis and drenching himself with blood. The worm’s final health bar disappears, and we all share in the victory over the boss.

  [+ 350 XP]

  Congratulations! You have reached level 21!

  You have TWO attribute points to distribute

  Name: SirAsh3r

  Level: 20

  Strength: 23

  Intelligence: 24

  Dexterity: 22

  Stamina: 22

  Magic: 23

  Skills: Woodcraft 3, Slash 2, Club 3, Paddle 1, Climbing 1, Stealth 3, Archery 7, Power Perception 1, Backstab 1

  Abilities: Initiative 2, Focus 2

  Professions: Cooking 2

  Affinities: 2% Earth; 16% Water

  Fame: 350

  Achievements: First Explorer of Lake Galavant, First Explorer of Foyle Forest, First Visitor to Allynton, Friend of Water

  Awesome. Now I have two points to distribute, but with all my stats about even the decision is harder. I know I will need to level up my Magic when I am able to use my new bow, so I stick a point there. I allocate the second point to Strength so I can hit harder. As a ranged damage dealer, I've got to make sure I'm actually causing damage.

  “God, I’m exhausted,” Balderdash13 says. She makes her way across to the opposite ledge and sinks down, sitting with her back to the ravine wall and facing the enormous carcass.

  I feel like I didn’t help all that much. I didn’t even take a hit and I’m certainly not exhausted. But my XP points go up just like everyone else’s.

  Congratulations! You have defeated King Blood Worm, the second of four minibosses in White Rock Ravine!

  Reward: Woven Belt

  Description: +2 Intelligence, +1 Magic

  This cavern is your new save point.

  Accept?

  Yes. Awesome. That boost to Magic will come in handy. Even just advancing our save spots reassures me that we can handle this dungeon, even if it is technically above our level.

  “Whoa. Awesome!” From his perch on the other side of the river, SteelFeather admires a new shield. It’s smaller than his old one, but looks sturdier. “You guys. Plus ten percent resistance to fire.”

  “Nice,” Balderdash13 says approvingly. “Check out mine. New fire-resistant boots.” Sitting on the ground, she sticks her legs out in front of her, wiggling her feet ostentatiously and laughing.

  Two of us, at least, receiving fire resistant items is a good sign. I think. I had already assumed we would be up against some fire-related creatures, best to have some way of protecting ourselves.

  But we're still only halfway through the dungeon.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  We finish making our way across the river. The stepping stones are helpful, but we’re still wet up to our knees. The path along the side of the ravine continues but not for very far. After only forty feet, Callidus stops again.

  “Uh. Dead end?”

  “It can’t be.” Erinocalypse pushes her way to the front of the group.

  It kills me to hang back but I don't want to get yelled at again for trying to help when Erin’s just started being nice to me again. Instead, I wait where I am in the back of the group and look at the ravine from where I stand.

  It certainly does seem like a dead end. Ahead of us, the space widens a bit, creating another pool of water like the one we already waded through. In that case, however, it was clear how we were to move forward. Now, all I see is the dark pool. There's no way to tell how deep it is, or what lurks beneath the surface. Even if we did swim through it I don't see anywhere to swim to.

  While I wait, I lean up against the white rock ravine wall, arms crossed over my chest. From this vantage I can see both directions of the water as well as up and out of the ravine. I wonder if this is actually the end. If we’re supposed to climb out somehow. Or maybe the corrupted code has altered the original dungeon layout and neglected to include an exit.

  “Um.” Balderdash13 interrupts my thoughts. “You know your back is going to be all chalky, right?”

  “Damn.” I stand up straight again and pull off my cloak to clean it off. I don’t want to be kicking up dust and sneezing every time I move.

  When I move away from the wall, Balderdash13 stays right where she is, making me push past her. It takes me a second to realize she is still looking at the wall behind me, a thoughtful expression on her face.

  When I turn to see what she is looking at, my jaw drops. Right where I had been leaning, where my cloak rubbed off a layer of dust, is some kind of code message. A cryptogram. A clue. Whatever message or hint we need to move deeper into the dungeon, I think this is it.

  EZ XZGP QZCHLCO, ALDD MPWZH ESP CZNV

  “Erin. Tex,” Balderdash13 calls, bringing the rest of the team to see what we uncovered. “How are you with code breaking?”

  Slightly to the left of the cryptogram I see a faint glow, my Power Perception giving me more clues. Using the side of my fist, I rub off the layer of dust.

  [A + 11 = L]

  “Is that a key?” SteelFeather asks, peering over my shoulder.

  “It’s part of a key, at least. Keep looking for more.”

  We scour this side of the ravine, rubbing our hands raw looking for more clues to decrypt the message, but don’t find any. Once again, I wonder how much the code has changed this part of the game from what was originally created. I return to the cryptogram and stare at it for a bit, willing the solution to pop into my mind. Strange that it doesn’t work.

  [A + 11 = L]

  Oh. Wait. A, B, C … I count off the letters on my fingers, A plus eleven. If I’m counting right, L should be the twelfth letter of the alphabet. So this clue is just telling us the code can be broken with a simple letter shift? I would really prefer a pen and paper to work on this, but in their absence I open up my game messages and use blank new message to begin the decryption, counting out the alphabet and filling in letters.

  “A letter shift cypher? Is it that easy?” Erinocalypse asks.

  “Easy? So if A is L, then maybe B is M, C is N and so on?” Balderdash13 mutters to herself before looking at me. “Does that sound right?”

  “That’s my guess. So, you see there are two Ls. Here and here.” I point them out. “Those two words would have As in them.”

  I see two Ls, one M, one N. Once I quit talking my way through it and just work on solving it, the translation goes much faster. I am so freaking glad this phrase isn’t longer. If I’m wrong about the cypher this could take forever.

  “I think I got it, you guys,” I say. I look up to see the rest of my group each in various stages of thought, counting on their fingers, or eyes glazed over reading their internal game screens. Only Callidus isn’t even trying; he leans against the rock face picking at a small crack and waits for someone else to tell him what to do.

  “Luckily figuring out the code wasn’t too hard, and when I translate it I get ’TO MOVE FORWARD, PASS BELOW THE ROCK.’”

  “Below the rock?” Erinocalpyse spins around and looks at th
e rock wall at the end of the ravine.

  I search over the surface of the water, along the sheer rock that ends the ravine. What would be below it? Do we need to go underground? Or just under the water? I activate Power Perception and focus harder, trying to see past the surface of the pool. There’s the faintest glow, barely. Maybe I’m imagining it.

  “Okay, hear me out,” I begin. “Where do we think the water is coming from? There’s no waterfall here, right? So it must be starting from somewhere deep in the rock, like a spring. What if there’s a way that the water is coming out from under the rock and that’s the way we get past?”

  “Through the pool?” TexBadass clarifies.

  “Swimming?” SteelFeather’s face pales.

  The six of us turn to further examine the pool in front of us. Callidus picks up a stone from near his feet and tosses it in. The heavy thunk we hear when it breaks the surface of the water makes me wonder how deep this really goes. How deep, how cold, and how far will we have to swim.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  “So …” TexBadass begins. “Any of y’all secretly a lifeguard or something?”

  The six of us all stand shoulder to shoulder on the edge of the rock, staring at the pool of water and wall ahead of us. This will have to be a leap of faith. There’s no way to know how long we’ll need to be underwater to get past the wall to whatever waits on the other side. It may be three feet. It may be thirty.

  “I’ll go first,” I say quietly.

  “You?” TexBadass clarifies.

  “I’ll go first,” I repeat, more loudly this time. “I have plus sixteen percent Water affinity in the game, and apparently am considered a Friend of Water so unless one of you has higher I think that’s the best advantage we have.”

  They shake their heads, murmuring no. While I stow my weapons and prepare to jump in the water. I consider removing my cloak to make myself lighter, but I need the armor. Who knows what I’ll swim into on the other side.