by Joe Kuster
“Will you be ok if I dispel you for a bit?” he asked Faith.
Finally.
“Uh… so you want me to send you back?” TJ asked, confused.
Better food.
“Oh… do I need to get you something different than fish?” TJ asked, suddenly concerned. She’d been scarfing the fish like she was starving, so he thought he’d picked the right meals for her.
Want demon eyes.
Tasty.
“Uhhh… Off you go, you terrifying little beasty,” TJ muttered.
He didn’t really want to think about the other things she ate. Especially not after he’d caught her snagging a mouthful of werewolf brains after the battle on their trip.
He uttered the words of power and twisted his finger into the pattern he’d committed to memory. The pile of shadows that she’d been formed from dissipated noiselessly.
He looked up to see a pout on Abby’s pretty lips.
“I’ll bring her back as soon as we’re on the other side. I don’t think spells will teleport. I don’t want her left behind. I might not be able to summon her from another location if she’s not in range,” he said.
Abby replied, “Ah. She’s so much like a real cat zat it is easy to forget zese things.”
Rachel reminded the group, “Serina made this sound like a slog. Use your powers sparingly. We might not be able to rest for a while. Rely on your teammates. If you get hemmed in, don’t panic. If you see someone that needs help, remember that we’re working together.”
There were nods from the group. They still hadn’t had time to practice fighting as a team, but they’d at least talked through the roles they would be taking. The quartet linked arms and stepped across the threshold.
A brilliant blue flash engulfed them. TJ felt an intense pressure around them as they were jostled side to side. As the light receded, he could immediately tell they weren’t where they’d been. Not that he knew where they were, just that it wasn’t at the church steps.
The room was about forty feet long and twenty feet wide. Set in the middle of the far wall was a massive steel gate with two gargoyles on either side. All around them, banners with a familiar symbol were draped.
Other than the abundant decorations, they were in, for lack of a better phrase, a classical dungeon. The floors, walls, and ceiling were all made from the same flat gray stone. He’d never been in one, but he’d heard countless tales of them from adventurers. Bold explorers often caught the gaze of the Devas, who then pulled them into his old village. Supposedly his own grandfather from nine generations back had been known as an initiate delver of some sort. Still, much had been lost in translations as those old adventures and descriptions of their crazy inventions made little sense from what was handed down.
Around them, a thin ring of glyphs had been etched into the floor. Another copy of the modified symbol for Timarat filled up the entirety of the circle. The sigils flickered weakly in TJ’s magically enhanced sight.
Looking back, he saw a featureless stone wall. TJ rotated the magic lantern but couldn’t see anything ready to jump out at them. The room itself was pitch black, and he had to assume it had been designed with the ability to see in the dark or perhaps carrying magical lights in mind as there weren’t even wall sconces to hold an oil lamp.
He pondered that tidbit and kicked himself. The streetlights in the city above were magical, and if they had been expensive, they’d have been stolen. That meant they were probably common and cheap, but he hadn’t thought to buy something like it. He had torches in his pack, but rather than fuss with them, he reached out to Abby over their bond. He set about repeating the process he’d done for Rachel. Her body seemed to welcome his touch, and the flesh shaping took almost no effort. She sucked in a sharp breath but didn’t panic. He’d prepared her for the possibility. After a minute, she relaxed and began looking around with a surprised expression on her face.
He briefly checked on Kallista, but she seemed at ease in the complete darkness of the room. In fact, if he had to bet, she had better night vision than he did. After scanning for danger, she eased back her hood and unbuttoned her collar to give herself a better field of view. Her hair was stuck somewhere between jet black with a streak of hot pink, but the black seemed to be slowly winning out.
TJ didn’t waste any time as he summoned Faith. Unfortunately, the spell was a thirsty little bitch. While his pool had grown steadily and his essence had gotten thicker, she still took much of his remaining magic to summon. After a quick round of agreements, he took a proactive sip from everyone’s magic to even them out.
As his familiar’s shadows reformed, he doused the lamp. It would be a lot safer for everyone involved if they didn’t announce their presence. While their sight in the dark was limited in range, it was more reliable than what they’d get from torches. Assuming they didn’t need color vision, even without a speck of additional light, they should be able to navigate or even fight without much fuss.
Rachel studied the religious banners in the room and frowned. “This is the dungeon. Why would it care about the New Order? Dungeons aren’t supposed to do things like this, are they?”
Everyone else exchanged looks of confusion.
“No, I’m sure of it. A series of my father’s books talks about a powerful knight who ventured through every dungeon known to be in the kingdom. The King had him detail his accounts of each. None of the locations were friendly to a specific god or ruler. They were all independent and grew according to their magical affiliation or, if old enough to be self-aware, to their own goals. Much like the divine, their motivations aren’t things mortals would understand. Even if Timarat’s New Order put these here, it should have absorbed them once they left,” she said.
TJ suggested, “It’s literally inside their church grounds. That can’t be a coincidence. Maybe Timarat or his followers figured out how to control it?”
Kallista shivered. “That’s fucking terrifying. Dungeons are supposed to be incredibly powerful. It could swallow the city if it wanted. The fact it’s here and no one knew doesn’t make sense. The mages should have destroyed it the moment they sensed it.”
“Serina said the dungeon had learned to hide in the space between realms. Maybe that has something to do with it,” he suggested.
Rachel replied, “If the church is masking the entrance, the guild might assume the magic is Timarat’s and leave it alone. They wouldn’t go poking into divine powers without reason. However, assuming they somehow control it, it still doesn’t answer why the decorations aren’t the traditional ones. This dungeon is supposed to have been here for a long time, but the New Order sect didn’t pop up until something like five years ago.”
“Isn’t that about when the old Count of Skyridge was charged with treason?” TJ asked.
Rachel tapped her chin and frowned. “Actually, the soldiers he was supposedly building up had something to do with the church. I don’t remember what, but it’s linked. I recall him having a New Order medallion when I last saw him. He seemed rather upset that my father left the church entirely rather than pick a side in their infighting.”
“Does zat mean ze Duchess removing ze old Count from power might be connected to ze new sect?” Abby asked. “If so, we may have stepped into ze middle of their conflict.”
Everyone pondered that in silence for a moment.
“Part of me wants to ask why a god would have an old and new sect anyway, but I’m not sure it really matters. If they are anything like my old captors, they are probably just encouraging the conflict for the entertainment value. Either way, we’ve got to find that soul container thing, and that means we have to find the church’s stash of relics.” Unsure what else to do, TJ stepped off the circular teleportation pedestal.
Everyone else let out a held breath as the sigil on the floor flared for a second.
Kallista whispered, “I hear something.”
They began arranging themselves to face the gate with weapons drawn.
TJ
focused, but couldn’t make out anything over the slamming of his heart. Slowly, he realized that the grinding sound he’d written off as his own teeth-scraping was getting louder. Everyone glanced around, swinging their weapons to and fro, but nothing came from the hallway.
The tension continued to escalate as the sounds and vibrations continued. Then they suddenly stopped.
After ten seconds, TJ began, “What the hell was—”
A loud PING shattered the silence.
Above them, a hidden hatch fell open. Thundering from the newly opened chute in the ceiling, large balls of fur thudded to the ground and spilled out around the group. Each one was the size of a large watermelon and was covered in spikey blond hair. At the front of that fur were two black eyes, and a disturbingly large mouth that accounted for over half their body.
In near unison, their lips peeled back and revealed long rows of angry shark-like teeth.
Eyes wide, TJ smashed his magic into them and swept a path clear to the nearest wall. He then jerked on Abby’s hand. Catching his intent, everyone followed at a sprint as they tried to get some room to defend. Still only twenty feet away, the eaters gnashed and howled in anger. Lacking any limbs to propel themselves, they flexed their massive jaws, causing them to topple forward in a controlled roll.
TJ fired his crossbow into one, the bolt going straight through its giant mouth. The arrow went out the backside of the beast and into the monster behind it. Both yowled in pain, but neither stopped their approach.
Rachel and Kallista put their blades to use as they began to cleave at the front row in a rapid series of slashes. Unfortunately, the little bastards were both fast and numerous. One clamped onto the hem of Kallista’s long cloak, only to be sliced in half by the woman’s sword.
Abby pulled her lute into position and began strumming. The melody was slow and halting. After only a few seconds, a hazy blob of magic engulfed their attackers. Instantly, their movements slowed, buying time for everyone to regroup and begin skirting the wall.
TJ loaded one of his orange-tipped bolts and aimed at the center of the group. Not even picking a specific target, he fired.
Each one of his specialty bolts had cost him twenty silver, but he wasn’t disappointed. The streams of sticky fluid that it spewed out in every direction ignited, and the entire center of the mob was turned into a fiery hellscape. The move caught over half the group, but it quickly began filling the room with thick black smoke.
Kallista dodged out of the way in a slash and run maneuver as she tried to flank them. Her form fuzzed and blurred as she moved, but TJ saw her dagger grasped in her tail, stabbing wildly into the mess as she slipped into the smoke and out of view.
Not as nimble, Rachel slashed and parried as she held her ground, standing between Abby and TJ and the throng of biting furballs. One of the beasts rolled forward, trying to swallow Faith whole. It made it as far as getting her halfway into its mouth before she shifted her shadow into monstrous spikes.
The eater tried to chomp down, but it only managed to get the thorns of shadow pressed into its body. Undeterred, another rolled up and tried the same move, with equivalent results. She slashed, killing it, but that just opened her up from another angle as the others dogpiled her. Her sharp stabbing continued as the remaining beasts circled around her and cut off her retreat, ignoring the humanoids.
Her magical bond flared in pain as she completely disappeared under the mound of attackers. A pained yowl and hiss could be heard as she was enveloped. Her magical bond yanked furiously on TJ’s core as she radiated genuine fear.
“Shit, hang in there, Faith!” TJ roared as his fingers began twisting into a spell form.
A black bolt of energy shot from his hand, then another, and another as he hammered down on them. Each arrow splashed upon contact, coating their flesh in a thick black sludge that caused them to wither like grapes turning into raisins.
His kinetic attacks could have done far more damage, but he knew it would hurt his familiar from that distance. He also didn’t have time to delicately apply his telekinesis and peel the attackers off her. TJ broke ranks and began jerking at the eaters’ desiccated bodies as he tried to find her in the pile of corpses.
A sword hissed over his ear as it eviscerated one that had used its jaw to spring into the air. Then another. Rachel and Kallista pressed hard into the remaining enemies as they shifted to protect him.
The moment he had her by the scruff of the neck, he jerked and freed her from the chewing beast she was stuck inside and holding at bay with her shadow constructs. His fingers barely cleared it’s lips as it twisted, nearly taking off his hand.
A whip-like tail wrapped around his middle and jerked him back just in time to avoid two eaters that had managed to spring into the air at head height. Their teeth chomped shut with a clack as they narrowly missed him. Taloned fingers grabbed his collar and flung him to the wall and away from the melee.
He hugged the very bloodied and saliva-covered matted ball of fur that was Faith to his chest as he fed her a steady stream of healing. As soon as his magic touched her, TJ could tell she was a mess. Even dead, the eater’s teeth were razor-sharp, and she’d been squished into the chaos under the force of it all. Her naturally loose skin had rolled with the worst of it, but she’d been slashed open in numerous spots. Her face had been cut open, narrowly missing an eye and tearing one of her ears off entirely.
She’d burned through most of her magic fighting back. Somehow TJ hadn’t considered that her shadows worked like that, but he supposed it made sense. The energy had to come from somewhere.
He cradled her as the bloody gash across her stomach knitted shut. Her ear grew back from a tattered nub. She didn’t say anything, but he could sense the pain in her furry face ease.
Kallista hissed. “Damn it, we put you in the back for a reason!” She swung her dagger down with her tail and skewered the last one. She then jerked violently on their magical bond as she glared at him. “You’ve got my life anchored to you, asshole. Don’t get me killed.”
He bit back his retort and gently placed Faith on the ground. The cat lightly bumped her head into his shin, then locked her golden eyes on Kallista. The thief’s face twisted, and she took a half step back. No doubt remembering Faith in spider form.
Heart still hammering in his chest, TJ glanced around to confirm nothing else was moving aside from the crackling flames from his fire arrow. “I knew you’d have my back, and I couldn’t let Faith die. Just like you worry about me, if she dies, we’re all toast. It’s hard to explain, other than deity level bullshit.”
Realm Anchor.
You should worship me.
Chapter 31
Rachel somberly ran a finger over the etchings on the wall. Over three thousand names adorned the memorial, each one expertly chiseled under the dedication.
“To those who fell to our foolish eagerness, and the treachery of the nobility. Let us never forget Amalay and the blight we unleashed. May Timarat forgive us and grant our victims peace.”
Next to each name was their age. A quick glance showed that the bulk of the victims had been women and children. It listed Timarat’s priests and the nobility that had taken part in the battle to the side. Whatever they had done had claimed the lives of the entire city.
Rachel found her father’s name near the bottom and stared at it for a long time. She gave a defeated sigh before finally looking away.
“My father wouldn’t have been in charge, but he was there. If they released a magical plague, he’d have been the one to carry the orders to the priests. I have to guess the nobility claimed the city was empty of everyone but rebels.” She cursed softly and stood. “But that doesn’t change what we have to do.”
TJ gave her shoulder a squeeze. “Timarat was still the one that allowed the priests to cast the spell.”
“Maybe. But if they hadn’t, my father’s men would have been ordered to go door to door killing everyone with spears and swords,” she said.
Kallista nodded. “Shit’s fucked. It’s always been fucked. It’ll always be fucked.”
“Doesn’t make it any less wrong,” Rachel replied.
TJ gave a grumbling sigh. “Ugh. It doesn’t change a thing. The churches have probably been undercutting the Duchess to destabilize Ardsville, and she’s probably been cracking down on them where she can. In the end, it doesn’t matter. We need to free the herald. Once we do that, if we can find a way to anchor Serina, then we need to do it.”
Kallista gave a short nod of her head. “I’ve checked every inch of this place. All we’ve got are the inscriptions on the gate that no one can read.”
“TJ, could you please cast ze language spell on me?” Abby asked.
Looking over, he followed her eyes to the engravings on the gate. There was no sign of a keyhole or other way of opening it. It was an unyielding slab of steel with lots of reinforcements, so knocking it down was unlikely.
They’d pressed and pulled every part of the gargoyles already, but they hadn’t revealed any sort of secret lever. So far, the only hint they had was the strange writing in the middle of the metal. After a quick glance to confirm it was still gibberish, TJ brushed his finger along Abby’s shoulder and kicked off the minor bit of mental magic.
Running her finger over the text, she sighed. “I can read it, but zis doesn’t make sense.”
“What’s it say?” Rachel asked.
Abby scrunched up her face. “The more you take, the more you leave behind.”
“Oh, that’d be footsteps,” TJ said.
Without warning, a grinding filled the room, and the thick steel gate that blocked the way began to sink into the floor. Once out of the way, it revealed another identical barrier only a few feet from the first.
TJ groaned. “Ugh. I can’t believe this is really a thing. I thought adventurers that came in from other worlds just made that bullshit up.”
Rachel asked, “What is it? I’ve never heard of anything like this.”
“It’s a hall of riddles. If that one is any indication, they assumed the odd-ball language would be the main trick and then only used common puzzles. A few of the guys I drank with back home would challenge people to riddles to get free beer. Pretty sure I’ve heard every trivia question ever made at least a dozen times. No idea who The Buddy of Holly is, but I know the year he died and all of his hit songs.” TJ couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the memory. “Bards are weird that way.”