Descend- First Steps

by David Burke

  He had finally requested authorization to intervene and cleanse the contaminated cluster as he called it. S’vanth had come back less than a quarter cycle later with the decision of the oversight committee. A’snkarnt didn’t smile. The trait had been genetically muted in the race even before their dire war with the Forlorn had begun. Still D’varn would have sworn that S’vanth was gleeful in his response.

  “The committee has determined that it would be best to let this work itself out naturally. They listened to your recommendations about the homicidal hooman M1789 and have decided that this will either show the failure of the experiment or will produce the strongest breeding stock.”

  D’varn wished that it was permissible to fire his pod’s particle weapon at S’vanth, not to kill him. Murder was such a counterproductive action for a species but that didn’t mean that he didn’t want to take some form of demonstrative action that would show exactly how strongly he was upset by the liaison’s words. Instead he turned his frustration inward and began to look at ways to counteract the hostility of these few which threatened to ruin his experiment. He was determined to salvage his experiment despite the instructions of the council.

  Chapter 37 - Forging a Team

  Everyone was silent for a moment as they considered the implications of their conversation. It was one thing to be trapped here, it was another thing to delve into what that meant. Jay didn’t want to feel trapped. He wanted to believe that they had a way out of this and were not simply rats running through a maze. Sure maybe the rat completes one maze but then the scientist just puts him into another one. He needed to feel like the messages he was getting in his dreams showed that there was a way to break out of the maze.

  Looking around he could tell that they must all be having their own versions of these thoughts. In some ways it had to be worse for them. The logical conclusions pointed out by Meikiyo and the others made it clear that the girls were probably expected to be used to breed. Modern society at least in the US had focused on the independence of women from men and their ability to follow any career path that they wanted. More than that, these women with him were intelligent, talented, and all would have had bright futures back home.

  For them to be reduced to their biological processes must have felt belittling to them. Jay didn’t want any of them to feel like he was part of the process that was keeping them down. He was already growing to value all of them and what they had discovered with the spear shaft seemed ground-breaking to him.

  He also wasn’t naive enough to believe that they had complete control of the situation. If the world around them could be reset every day and their emotions played with by chemicals they had no choice but to ingest then it was hard not to feel a bit overwhelmed. That was why it was time to focus.

  That was perhaps what the voice meant all along. Focus on what he could control. Don’t necessarily ignore the other aspects but don’t let them be in the forefront of his mind. It was up to him and he was gonna figure this out. He was gonna find out who was behind this and prove that the human race was more capable than they thought.

  “So how do you want to do this?” Jay asked, pointing to the spearhead. His question accomplished its purpose of drawing everyone out of their own thoughts.

  “Well that’s gonna be a bit tricky. I am pretty sure that I will be able to shape the metal with my pyrokinesis,” Meikiyo replied.

  “That seems logical, your flames are pretty intense, but just cause you can heat the metal doesn’t mean you can shape it and I’m not sure what we could hold it in that could bear the heat,” Jay said, thinking out loud.

  “I’m pretty sure that any plant creation I make would not hold up to even half of the heat necessary to forge metal,” Huong added worriedly.

  “I said it would be tricky, not the heating the metal part. That is the easy part. It’s the holding it part, but I think I can hold it in my hand and shape it like clay.”

  “There is no way you would be able to endure that kind of pain or that your regeneration could keep up with that. We will just have to find a way to fight without the spear,” Jay protested.

  “You mistake what I am saying. I think in my Fire Form that I will be able to hold the hot metal.”

  “That is so cool. I can’t wait to see it.”

  “Um… so, well that is the difficult part.” Meikiyo clearly got nervous about what she had to say.

  “Just spit it out,” Amelia said.

  “I’ve only practiced it naked before. I’m not sure if I can do it with my clothes on. I mean I don’t know if it will convert the clothes like it does me or if it will burn them off.”

  Jay wanted to laugh but controlled himself. After all the tension of life-and-death struggles and finding out that so much of this was beyond their control, the fear of being seen naked was still a big issue to Meikiyo. “Don’t worry, I will just look away.”

  “It isn’t that simple though because she is going to need you to cool the spear tip off in the water. So unless you want her throwing red-hot metal at you while your back is turned then that won’t solve the problem,” Huong said.

  Jay kinda cringed as it almost sounded like Amelia was rubbing off on Huong, but he would have to deal with it. “I would have bought you a change of clothes at the terminal before we came into the dungeon if I had known this was an issue.”

  “Just didn’t think about it,” Meikiyo replied.

  “I want to respect your privacy and all, so we can just do without the weapon,” Jay said.

  “And there he goes again, being a noble boy scout that is gonna get us all killed,” Amelia snapped. “If she has to show off her tatas to you so we can beat this quest then so be it.”

  Jay started to protest but Meikiyo said with a slight flush to her face, “She is right. We can’t let modesty be the death of us.”

  Amelia grinned and said, “I just wanted to see which one of you would give in first. Don’t worry, I think I have enough control of my shroud to hide just part of her. That way you can still see her hands.”

  “Does that work for you, Meikiyo?” Jay asked.

  She simply nodded and since they had reached the stream, Jay turned around and said, “Let me know when you want me to face you again.” To keep himself busy instead of thinking about the gorgeous girl undressing just a few feet from him he sent out a couple of quick pulses of life sense to check for any danger.

  He didn’t sense anything so he instead started trying to practice his dampening field. He worked at making it more refined until he was creating only a cone-shaped field. By the time he got around to practicing moving it from side to side so that he would be able to deposit the metal spearhead in the water they told him it was okay to turn around.

  When he did he sucked in his breath in response to what he saw. He could see Meikiyo’s head and arms but that was it. Except it wasn’t the Japanese beauty anymore. Now it was like a human torch version of Meikiyo, which only made her seem more exotic to him.

  She was lost in her work and must have been confident in Amelia’s skill because she didn’t act nervous at all about being seen. Jay watched as she worked the metal tip, pouring heat into it until it began to glow red. Then she simply ran her fingers along the edges on each side and started working the metal to a fine tip.

  Somehow she conjured claw-like tips to her fingers which helped her work the edges. It appeared to be harder for her to straighten out the bend in the spearhead but Jay figured that was because the edges were a small focused area and easier to heat enough to move whereas the entire spearhead would normally require a hammer to beat it back into shape.

  After a few minutes of intense concentration she apparently was satisfied with the quality of the work and called out, “Get ready to catch it, Jay.”

  He focused his field and then said he was ready. When the metal flew through the air to him he magnified the field to maximum power and caught the spearhead as it tumbled through the air.

  The field couldn’t stop the
movement entirely, but it slowed it to a crawl. If he had enough PSI he could have kept it in the air for probably a minute before its slow descent finally reached the ground. As it was though he focused his mind on moving the field until it was over the water and then lowered it to drop it into the water.

  A sizzling sound alerted him that he had managed to get it there. He thought about it and wondered if the water would be too cold and might damage the integrity of the spearhead. He shrugged though. None of them were metallurgists or blacksmiths, so they were doing the best they could.

  After a count of 15, Jay reached into the water, while hardening his body. He grabbed the spearhead, which was still hot and hurt to hold but wasn’t glowing red anymore. Pouring energy into both hardening and regeneration, he was able to hold it without taking any injury.

  As the heat faded he let the girls run a finger along it. Before long they had taken it back to affix it to the top of the spear. Huong was able to essentially cause the staff to grow around the tip making sure it was firmly attached. Meanwhile, Amelia added the cloaking effect to the tip and Meikiyo had run off a short distance away to get dressed again.

  Jay worried briefly and sent out a pulse but once again there were no large creatures nearby. All of the noise they were making must be scaring creatures away. From a safety standpoint he supposed that was a good thing, but couldn’t help but worry that it would make completing the quest that much harder.

  A short time later with his new spear in hand the four of them were moving through the forest. Since none of the predators they needed to kill for the quest were nearby they decided to stay together. Every time that they found a creature, Jay would rush ahead to engage it after making sure there was nothing else close by. The girls would follow after it but between his continued awakenings and the new spear, everything was always dead before they even got there.

  “Seriously, this spear rocks. It’s like having a magic weapon. I can’t thank you enough for it,” Jay said when they caught up after his twelfth fight had ended moments after starting.

  “You don’t even need us here. At this rate, I’m afraid we are only slowing you down,” Meikiyo replied.

  “I know we need to be here to heal you but it’s like we are all just the supporting cast to you as the star of the show,” Huong added.

  “Or his harem,” Amelia mumbled under her breath.

  “I’m sorry. I mean this isn’t a game. If it was, I would say let’s take turns. This is life and death. Shouldn’t I be doing this as efficiently as possible?”

  They all nodded but it was clear to Jay that they weren’t happy. After that he started trying to bring the lizats and owlbears back to the party to let the girls get their digs in. It slowed things down but by midafternoon they had already reached 74% of the quest completed.

  These creatures simply didn’t pose any threat to him now. On top of that he had learned his lesson from the night before about not over-extending or breaking a weapon.

  “With a little luck we may be able to finish the quest before dark,” Jay said.

  “I think you are right, but I keep feeling like there must be something more to it,” Amelia replied.

  They had stopped for a quick snack and drink of water and everyone had a chance to offer their input. They had been working in a grid of the area they knew the dungeon covered and Jay was pretty sure that it was about ten miles square. The girls were getting tired and he was afraid that they might run out of steam so he was trying to encourage them.

  “I actually like this,” Meikiyo said abruptly. Everyone turned to look at her unsure of what her meaning was. “Never before have I felt like I was on a team like this. I was always a bit on the outside, I guess you would say. Kinda the quiet girl. Today though I feel like we have worked together. I feel valued.”

  “For sure, what you did with the spear this morning was amazing. We wouldn’t be moving nearly so fast if I didn’t have this bad boy.”

  “It’s more than that though. I feel like the three of you value my opinion. I was very nervous when I asked to join you. I simply wanted to overcome my fear. Now I am so glad that I did join you. This is making me into more. Not sure how to say that other than I am just becoming more than I was before.”

  “We are all glad to have you here and I think I know what you mean. I had my reasons for wanting to join but now I see that there is a connection between all of us,” Huong said as she gave her Japanese teammate a hug.

  “And I think I get what you mean about being better. Each time that I experience one of those awakenings, I feel different. Then when I push myself, it starts to feel natural. I would say that all of us are changing into something better.” Amelia smiled as she spoke but then catching them all looking at her she added, “Except for doofus over there, he is always going to be a bonehead boy scout.”

  “We all like you too, Amelia,” Jay said. “Oh and if you think you are feeling a change now, wait till you cross the threshold.”

  Chapter 38 - Last Chance

  Long after the sunset, Jay and the others were finally back up in their platform. He cursed his luck for the quest completion meter continued to sit at 99%. No matter where they had looked or what skills they had attempted to use, they had been unable to find the last creature that they needed to kill in order to clear this floor and complete quest 1.2.

  Jay had wanted to keep searching all night but after all of them had slipped multiple times and sustained small cuts and bruises the girls outvoted him and decided that they would rest until dawn and then begin the search again hoping to complete it before what they were now calling the reset.

  He was less worried because simple falls couldn’t cause him injury anymore. His body had progressed beyond that. Still he was part of a team now. The day of working together as much as the mutually shared frustrations at not being able to find the last 1% had helped to make them a team.

  Beyond that he was incredibly impressed by the ingenuity that each of them continued to display. The spear that lay next to him as he was trying to fall asleep was only one indication of just what they might be able to create in the future. More than anything, that encouraged him that there was a way to survive or even escape from this trap of a test.

  Now though because he had exerted the most energy during the day he was told in no uncertain terms by Amelia that he would sleep till dawn and be refreshed for a new day. When he asked about the girls he was told that they would sleep in shifts and train the rest of the time. Even his objection that it wasn’t safe fell on deaf ears because as Huong had pointed out, he had wiped out 99% of the predators during the day.

  A part of him hoped and another part of him worried that the sleeping in shifts thing was just a way for them to get one on one time with him. If Jay was honest with himself, he would not have been able to turn any of them down. He found all of them intoxicating even if a small part of him worried that he was taking advantage of the situation.

  The odd thing was that throughout the day each of them including Jay himself had commented that they felt as though the effect of the chemical in the water was lessening on them. Jay honestly didn’t feel any of the uncontrollable urges towards the girls that he had before, not that he didn’t have normal 22-year-old guy urges when surrounded by a group of hot girls.

  The realization was a bit disconcerting to him. He was honestly glad that it was happening but he was gonna miss the eager attention he had been getting for the past four days.

  As they talked about it, the ultimate conclusion that they came to was that as they leveled the stimulants must have a decreasing impact on them. They of course couldn’t tell if the amount of the chemical had been decreased or if the extended time in the dungeon was responsible for their clearer mind.

  As he thought about all of this as well as trying to figure out what to do about finishing the quest as soon as the sun was up, he heard one of the girls come and sit next to him. His eyes were closed so he assumed they thought he was asleep.
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br />   Amelia’s voice broke that misconception, “You can’t fool me. I’ve seen how you breathe when you are asleep.”

  Jay turned his head towards her and smiled as he opened his eyes. “Oh sorry, tons on my mind now.”

  “Yeah but we all agreed that you needed your sleep. I understand how worried you are about finishing this quest and all, but you need to be fresh in the morning.”

  “Yes, Mom.”

  “Oh don’t try and be funny, you are more the Boy Scout type. It just doesn’t work for you,” Amelia replied.

  “So you over here to help me fall asleep?” Jay asked, trying to tease her in a different way.

  “Nope, we all agreed you need your sleep. I just wanted to check on you and remind you that this doesn’t all rest on you. It may be Team Jay but you aren’t the only part of the team. We will all work to find a way to finish this quest. Your part right now is getting your sleep so you can be at your best.”

  Jay must have looked crestfallen because she said, “Don’t pout, you’ve gotten lucky enough in the past few days to tide you over.”

  “Yeah, I just didn’t know if it was all the chemicals or if we had an actual attraction apart from that.”

  Amelia leaned over and kissed him gently on the lips. “Oh there is an attraction all right, but you need to sleep.”

  With that she stood up and started to walk away. After two steps she stopped and partially turned back. “Don’t ever change. Keep being this delightful balance between bold, reckless warrior and insecure, sweet guy. I like it. Just gotta know when to be bold and when to be sweet.” Then she faded into the shadows so completely that it had to have been a function of her cloaking skill.