“They’ll send a messenger familiar down in a moment,” Groz said in a grumpy tone. “So boss, we spawning the blimp?”
I sighed in frustration. Our Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) was clear, if those banners went yellow, we fled home. And yet, the blimp was watching something to the east without dropping red flags. I turned to Gemini.
“Thoughts?” I asked, frowning at the yellow streamers.
“Could be a million different things,” the celestial said in an even tone. A mini dragon spawned around Gemini’s shoulders. She talked to the pet in a loving tone and it shot off. I raised an eyebrow and she shrugged. A pigeon flapped for Groz, telling me there was going to be news.
I glanced around looking for Dib or Jason. One of Jason’s runners was nearby. While Groz digested the news from the blimp I waved the scout over.
The orc ran to me and said, “How may I help, Sir?”
“The ground scouts see anything?” I asked.
“No Sir, but the air scouts were debating something and Dib himself went to check it out.”
“I want an update from them,” I ordered. He nodded and ran off to try to find my air scouts.
“Aye, it's a bit troubling. Be best if ya spawn yer ship,” Groz said and that's enough from me.
I turned to an empty farm field, summoning the blimp. The airship created a magical moment as it leaped into creation instantly. A whoosh of air washed over us from the arrival of the craft. When I spun back to the group Groz handed me a note.
“Enemy armada on the horizon. Fighting over something. Recommend evacuation, requesting orders,” I read out loud. Hmm… “Flag them to me I think I have an idea.”
The scratching at my beard gave Zoey pause. “Care to share,” she asked.
“Uh… no. Not really.” I said and she pouted. Ha!
“About what I expected,” Kata said with an eye roll. “You're going to fight the boss while the unit loads up?”
“Makes sense,” I grumbled. “Not like the entire unit can load up before I kill some bears.”
The wyvern Gemini sent off returned with a casual flight to her shoulders. There was a squeaking talk from the pet that made zero sense to me. She talked in whispered tones for a few sentences and then fed the pet a block of cheese. There was a purr and into her body the pet returned.
“The Justicars are here, with an armada and they have a local city surrounded about an hour east of here. When you siege cities like these it’s normally a transfer of power with taxes feeding new overlords. Unless the defenders think they can win…”
“Do I have time to beat this Beargor?” I asked and she nodded.
“Perfect, get me out of the castle when all the defenders despawn. I will get one of them to kneel,” I said with a cocky grin.
“The physical blimp is landing,” Groz said, letting me know the time was now.
“Wait, who’s going with you?” Zoey asked and I shrugged. “I take it you're dropping into the castle?”
“Yeah but Kor is down.”
“I got the mummy not on cooldown, I need more orbs…” She said, batting her eyelashes. “I will go with you.”
“No, I got this,” I said confidently. “It will lend more authenticity to my challenge if I go in alone. Plus if I use my physical superiority I can run at god tier speeds.”
Gemini sighed, wanting to say something but held herself back. She bit her tongue with a frown and kissed my cheek. Zoey and Kata smooched my lips goodbye and the moment the small blimp touched down I boarded the wooden machine.
My creaking steps led me beyond scouts using telescopes out of port openings. I smirked at their casual bantering knowing there was little to see at the moment. My fast pace led me to the bridge which was super easy to find on this tiny vessel. I saw a trio of dvaren I didn’t know sitting at control stations.
“Spare glider?” I asked and a wall hanging kit was pointed at. “Take me above the castle.”
“The castle where the fighting is happening above, or the boss one here?” The dvaren in the captain’s chair asked.
“That one right there,” I said pointing to the drab castle not more than a mile away.
The co-pilot rang a bell. A second bell rang back. “What does that do?” I asked with an inquisitive tone.
“Tells the ramp agent we’re moving. If the ramp is occupied, no bell, and we wait until it rings back,” the captain said while the pilot lifted us off the ground. “Won’t take more than a minute, might as well head to the back.”
“Cheers, thanks captain,” I said leaving the bridge.
The quick walk to the main compartment showed the dvaren back to scouting out the port windows. A thunk noise sounded with each heavy step and the interior smelled of freshly cut wood. The beams as well as the storage doors were a lighter ashen color than the rest of the rich brown interior.
This must have been a recently finished blimp. I was impressed by the craftsmanship even ingrained detail into the doors, port covers, and lamp hangers. No one paid me any mind while they worked their stations.
A quick peek out an empty port showed we were already over the castle. Well, shit, might as well get ready to jump then. I trotted to the back of the ship which had the ramp down. At only a thousand feet it would be a tight drop but…
I never slowed as I walked for the dropped ramp. I waved at a shocked troll who was in charge of operating the ramp. His eyes told me he thought I was crazy jumping out of the blimp at this altitude.
My arms tucked to my side and I gained airspeed while heading for the castle. The glider triggered open and the flaps halted my rapid descent. I flared the angle to bleed off airspeed, turning tight circles helped the process. When I slowed enough, I returned to angle for a landing in the castle courtyard.
“I challenge Beargor for the right to this dungeon!” I commanded as the guards ran for my landing spot. They didn’t slow or acknowledge my words. “I defeated the four villages and am here to challenge Beargor!”
This time one unit diverted to head into the castle. My feet touched down against the soft grass of the courtyard. An arrow whizzed into my shoulder, flaring intense pain through my body. I return the glider to its bag, my legs pumping for the asshole who shot me. The other archers had been told to halt firing because they stood there with weapons at the half ready.
I reached the brown bear and instead of killing him, I slammed a fist into his guts. When he doubled over I left him for the interior of the castle. An area heal pushed the arrow out of my flesh with a plop sound; it clattered behind me as I walked like a man on a mission.
The stunned bears eyed me with seething hatred. Whatever they were saying to each other in bear gibberish, I ignored. I stomped up the castle steps passing wide open, double doors. The bears apparently were big on statues and renderings of ancient past warriors. I must have passed a hundred renderings of warrior bears, and even a few proud females.
I will never openly admit that I became lost, but… maybe I did. I could have sworn the throne room would have veered left, and was obviously wrong. When I startled a bear in a maid’s outfit she shrieked. That did the trick, a grumbling bear led me away from the kitchens I found myself in.
I followed the brown bear that stood as tall as a grizzly on its hind legs. The gate of its walk was odd, but I’d seen these lumbering giants run, and I knew it wasn’t something to underestimate. The scout wore a crossbow off the hip, a bow on the back, and a four foot sword on the right hip. Each glare at me spoke of violence that I returned with a big dumb smile. I was led beyond more paintings, larger, and grander in scale this time.
We crossed a threshold with dual guards on each side. Beargor had the most unique throne room I’d ever seen.
There was a cavernous back wall, with an elevated comfy nest at the pinnacle. The side of the room held dens of sorts for his nobles. The onlookers raised interested heads at my arrival. I saw three bears sitting at a table reviewing paperwor
k of all things.
The big man himself was curled up around four lady bears with tan colored fur that contrasted his bright white. He rose to stand almost double my height when I approached.
“You dare defile my sacred dungeon!” Beargor said and I exhaled my worry that he wasn’t going to be able to speak the same language. Obviously a game mechanic was in play.
“Yes! You will kneel!” I commanded with a charming smirk.
He laughed, like a lot. I was somewhat expecting this because his main army still stood.
“You’re a puny human, I’ve eaten your female kind bigger than you,” Beargor said with a hearty laugh. His chuckling echoed across the throne room, triggering his minions to join him.
“You laugh when you should cower. I challenge you, Beargor the Bearish to the rights to this castle. Shall I win, you will submit,” I demanded.
“And if I win, I get to keep your pretty staff. A healer challenging me, this is a first. Defeat my three lieutenants first and then you can fight me. That is the only way I will honor your deal,” Beargor said with a nod.
“I accept.”
“Fool,” Beargor chuckled and I watched him head back to his comfy nest with the babes.
The three henchmen or henchbears stood at once and I pretended to stomp a foot in irritation. A three versus one was actually for the best. I needed to end this quickly. There were two brown bears and a towering white bear that entered the main open space. Magic left a staff of an old black bear from a comfy perch.
Walls enclosed us, giving a defined fighting arena. A gong sounded and the trio bunched up. I charged, and the opponents snarled with tooth grins. I poured physical superiority into my being. I was double the levels of these three and enhanced by magic. My victory needed to be a clean win without revealing too much to Beargor, so I went in with only a staff.
The white bear leaped forward from the archers to try his luck at killing me. The snarling bear wielded a greataxe, not too different from my one back home. His long legs quickly carried him to me. I tossed my staff to the floor when he applied a mighty swing for my torso. My lunge into his guard let me catch the shaft, the powerful blow skidding my feet backwards as we fought for dominance over the weapon.
I gave the slightest of tugs. He jerked the weapon back as anticipated. I yanked with all my magical might. The weapon was torn from his grasp and he crashed into a wooden wall from my jerk. Arrows twanged for my chest that I rolled from.
These archers were professionals. They were reloaded with nocked arrows the moment I excited my tumble. My hands dropped the axe to roll for the staff. An arrow sunk into my hip, another scoring off my shoulder blade on my back.
My hand wrapped the staff and I cast a heal while closing on the archers. They knew I was too close, their eyes fluttering to the fallen white bear. I couldn’t risk a glance but their eyes told me he was recovering. The first brown bear went to withdraw a sword.
The staff lanced out crushing the rib cage, a loud crack echoing across the den. When I turned to the other brown bear, I saw darting eyes shifting to something behind me. I spun to the side.
I maniacally laughed at the results of the simple maneuver. The spot I had been was now occupied by the white bear who held a long sword that was buried deep in his ally. The duo were stunned by the sudden turn of events. I lunged at the white bear. Using a fist I empowered a punch against its femur. There was an echoing snap, followed by a painful roar.
In my mind, the fight was over. Brown bear one struggled to breath, bear two was dead from his ally, and the white bear was unable to keep up with my spin. My swift feet carried me to the spine of the white bear where I broke his back with a swift punch.
Magic crept down and the walls were removed. Two of the three lieutenants were still breathing but certainly unable to keep fighting. Beargor frowned at seeing the defeat of his lesser kin.
“Luck, that has to be it. Probably luck. I’d thought I’d tricked you there. But now I definitely did with this one. You won’t defeat me without killing me. I’ll never kneel to you,” Beargor proclaimed.
I snickered, performing a slight bow, and said, “You don’t have to kneel, only submit.”
“What’s that mean?” The big bear stood, heading over to an armory section of his den. I watched him gearing into heavy infantry armor. I smiled knowing the thick sheets of metal his mates were covering him with would hurt, not help him. A mace fit for an ogre rested in his big hands. “Scared to talk?”
“Uh… Beargor I would submit now. No harm in admitting when a warrior selected by the creator to bring about change is at your door,” I said with a shrug.
“I do sense it, the fact that I can quit this dungeon to adventure as a warrior bear on fields of battle across the universe. There is a hidden appeal. Yet, you didn’t defeat my army,” Beargor grumbled.
“Hey, I’m short on time, there is an invasion happening on the planet. I thought about taking the long route but here we are. You almost ready?” I asked with a snarky tone. “I can fight your mates if you're scared.”
“Ha, these four bearinsas are apparently more warrior than my lackeys. I’m ready, Borin, seal us in,” Beargor said and the mage lifted the walls.
There was a chime and I altered strategies. My left hand cast a heal and my right spawned a spear. Beargor scoffed and rightfully so. His armor was meant to handle sharp pointy things, just not the kind flung by a demi god with enhanced powers.
I cocked the weapon back while crying out in anger. I wanted this farce over. My muscles bulged, tensed, and rocketed the spear from my hand to his left knee. The force applied was so powerful the magical walls were flung back. My eardrums bleed freely only to repair rapidly from my healing.
My spear splintered the left leg off from the knee down and Beargor fell on his face in his heavy armor. I pounced. A new spear arrived in my hand I stabbed down on his right shoulder, parting the socket with my thrust. There was an echoing pop within the throne room.
Beargor growled, concealing his pain as he tried to spin to face me. I hopped off, letting him complete his maneuver only to slam my spear into his left bicep. With both arms useless he tried to snap at me with his maw, his clacking teeth not even coming close. For good measure I busted his right knee with a baseball bat type of swing.
“Submit,” I said in a soft tone of authority. I stared down at him with a stern glare. I wasn’t even winded and he knew it.
He nodded, the pain in his eyes tortuous. “Promise epic battles, and to spawn us when you can?”
“You’re not going to stay with me, but I can apply those terms to your eventual master,” I said and his eyes glazed over. He nodded before closing his eyes, his body going limp.
Magic engulfed the castle, a blinding light forcing me to cover my eyes. A blue orb rested where the defeated Beargor once laid. “Yes!” I cried out grabbing the orb. I removed my smoke screen and applied the new orb to circle around my core.
I admitted to myself I was in a bit of shock. After months and months of trying to get low tier dungeons to submit I had almost given up. Being an army orb creator was much harder than I thought after my initial success.
A rope slithered down and coiled messily on a nearby balcony. Oh, I guess my ride was ready. I trotted over to the opening to see the enemy armada was on the way here. They were far off still but certainly coming for us.
I clutched the rope, climbing up the thick material. My big arms and proper leg technique had me scurrying up in a hurry. As I wormed my way up the rope the airship climbed steadily. The blimp blacked out what little sunshine was pouring through the clouds, causing me to be unable to see the ramp.
When I reached the top I plied my forearms onto the back ramp that was rising when it should have been flat. This angle was making it almost impossible to get inside. Whatever idiot was making my return harder would certainly pay.
Dib and his aerial recon team were at the back of the blimp. The ramp
kept going up, my confusion became evident. A bell rang not far from Dib. The little bearfrii mouthed “Sorry” while he untied my rope. He yanked the return bell to tell the captain’s crew they were good to go. But I was still outside the ship. His team was winching the ramp closed and either I died or I let go.
“You’ll pay for this,” I shouted at Dib.
“The Justicars pay better,” Dib replied with an assholish grin as I had to let go.
I fell from the blimp as it slipped into a black portal to escape the Justicar armada I was just sacrificed to. I deployed my glider immediately, knowing I was only a few hundred feet up. My eyes were torn from my departing ride home as I flared the glider.
My angle was shit, my airspeed non-existent, and I immediately knew I was going to crash. Yet, the only thing I could think about was how that little fucking bearfrii betrayed me. I had been so good to Dib. Then again, the emotions had seemed fake. The warning signs started to crash through my head.
Yup, he probably was never married. An opportune tag along to any group he could betray with time. Did anyone ever really suspect the cook? No wonder he was such a good scout. I growled in anger at the concept. The fact Beargor’s castle was racing to greet me shifted my focus. I saw a bear pool, yup. That was my best bet.
When I slowed over the body of water I lost all momentum. My glider fluttered in a hard shake until I plummeted the last thirty feet. I cast an area heal all knowing this would probably hurt. I lucked out as I sunk into the water with a huge splash. The pool was deep and I swam for the top, desperate to get out of the chilly water.
My hope was the enemy hadn’t seen me get kicked off my own ride. That was not the case when fast scouting ships zoomed for the castle. Free of the pool I trailed gouts of water. Not good. I ran inside the castle for the kitchens. There was no chance the enemy wouldn’t be able to follow my trail so I did the rational thing any man would do.
I stripped my wet gear and stuck it by the kitchen fires that were still going. There was a stinky rag I dried myself off with, and that was the good part. What caught my eye gave me pause. Hanging on a hook was a dainty maid outfit meant for a bear. I was cold, mostly dry, but cold. I knew I would probably never get my self-crafted shitty robes and leathers later when they dried out.
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