382 days until the Arkon Shield falls

1 day, 20 hours until Dungeon Purge

Esteemed guildmaster,

I sympathize with the council’s fears, but my people are only mere mortals. They cannot give more than they have already. As I warned, fatigue has set in, and progress has slowed dramatically again. Unless the council can find new resources to allocate to the project, I fear there is no way of accelerating our surveying efforts once more.

On a brighter note, I’m happy to report the team has discovered a unique dungeon that as yet remains unguarded by the orcs. I hope this will be enough to appease the council. —Senior Surveyor Wysterl.

I winced as I watched Regna cross the corridor. I had been right. The fighter creaked horribly in his armor.

Still, it made sense for the dwarf to lead. He was both higher-leveled and better equipped. I let him get two yards ahead before following in his footsteps.

Regna paused in the open entryway on the left side of the corridor and peered in cautiously. After a moment, he turned around and waved me forward. “All clear,” he whispered.

I stepped up to the opening and stuck my head through. The passage beyond remained unchanged from the last time I’d checked it. “Which door first?” Regna asked, gesturing to the two closed doors in the new corridor.

I shrugged and picked at random. “The left.”

The fighter strode up to the door in question. Holding his warhammer in one hand, he placed his other on the handle and glanced at me. I slid up to the adjacent wall and mouthed, “Go.”

Turning the handle, Regna shoved open the wooden door and charged in. Two steps behind, I followed.

No enemies advanced to meet us.

A threadbare rug covered the floor. Sofas covered in thick layers of dust were positioned throughout the chamber. Broken candlestick holders, busted portrait frames, and an assortment of other junk littered the room. There were no other exits from the chamber.

My companion had drawn to a halt in the center of the room. Turning a slow circuit, he surveyed the surroundings while I did the same from the doorway.

“No hostiles,” Regna pronounced a moment later.

I nodded, having reached the same conclusion myself. “Doesn’t look like this room has been used in some time.”

Regna lowered his hammer. “We should still search it.”

“Of course,” I replied. “You keep watch while I do that.” Limping into the room, I began poking through the contents with my staff.

✽✽✽

The chamber contained nothing of value.

“We’ve wasted enough time,” I said, turning away in disgust after the latest pile I riffled through turned up nothing. “There’s only junk here.”

Standing watch at the doorway, Regna shrugged. “Searching the room was still necessary.”

“Next time, you do it,” I muttered, rubbing at my nose to stifle a sneeze.

The dwarf only smiled in response. “Where to next?” he asked as I stepped up to him.

I pointed to the closed door on the opposite wall of the corridor. “Through there.”

Without further ado, we positioned ourselves on either side of the wooden door. Regna glanced at me, and after I gave him the go-ahead, he stormed through.

The room beyond proved empty too.

It was a seating area of some kind. Wooden benches lined the walls, and piles of litter were scattered about the floor. At the chamber’s far end was another exit. After a single, disparaging glance at the room—I saw little point in searching its contents—I gestured to the door at the rear with my chin.

Regna nodded and advanced towards it. Bracing himself against the adjacent wall, the fighter placed his hand on the door handle and waited for me to join him. I made my way across the chamber without haste, beginning to suspect that the rest of the floor was empty. Where is the guardian prime? I wondered.

“Ready?” the fighter mouthed as I moved into position.

I nodded.

The dwarf turned the handle and rushed through the doorway. I followed on his heels more slowly. Out of the corner of my eye, I glimpsed a large table, a wash area, dead cooking fires, and pots and other utensils hanging off the walls. This is a kitchen, I thought. I had no more attention to spare the room though, as my attention was caught and held by the two flickering shapes at the chamber’s far end.

The room was occupied.

In a flash, my adrenaline spiked, and my disinterest faded. Hurrying my advance into the room, I kept my gaze fixed on our foes.

Both figures were burning. No, that wasn’t correct. They were living flames shaped in a parody of men. Each was six feet tall and had long spindly arms that crackled and popped with red-orange fires. Their eyes were bubbling pits of lava, and around their feet, the stone floor was scorched and blackened.

Fire elementals, I guessed, automatically reaching out to analyze one of the creatures.

The target is a level 57 lesser fire elemental. It has mediocre Magic and Resilience and has neither Might nor Craft.

Urgh. Like the wind creatures I had faced earlier, the fire elementals were beings of magic. My face hardened. I was going to have to kill the things myself. Without magic of his own, Regna was going to be of little help. Damnit, this is not going to be easy.

An ear-splitting roar shattered the silence.

My head whipped away from my targets to stare at my companion. Regna was charging the elementals, hammer raised.

I swore. What does he think he is doing? The dwarf should know better. Physical attacks were not likely to have much effect on these foes.

I opened my mouth, a furious command for the dwarf to stop on the tip of my tongue, but just then, a pair of fireballs roared to life. Bursting out of the two elementals’ outthrust hands, the churning balls of flame and heat shot directly towards the exposed dwarf. Seeming not to recognize the danger, Regna continued his reckless charge.

I closed my mouth with a snap. It was too late to call the fighter back now. The idiot was going to get himself killed.

Limping forward, I cast lay hands, coating my hands in a cool-blue glow. There was nothing I could do to protect my companion from the magical projectiles. But perhaps I could still save him from his foolishness—assuming he survived the impact of the blistering orbs, of course.

I managed two steps towards Regna before the fireballs reached him.

The dwarf raised his hammer, making no attempt to dodge the furious flames rushing down on him. Much good that will do, I thought despairingly.

I was wrong.

An instant before the fireballs splashed into the fighter, the runes on Regna’s warhammer flared blue, wreathing the weapon’s entire length in a shimmering haze of sapphire. Wielding his hammer in two hands, Regna whirled it left, then right, almost too fast for me to follow.

Sapphire encrusted hammerhead met red-orange orbs, and in an explosion of ash, the fireballs disappeared.

My mouth dropped open. What—? How had Regna done that? But despite my shock, I didn’t stop advancing. The dwarf hadn’t slowed down either. He hurtled forward, his stride sure, straight towards the elementals.

I didn’t doubt my companion’s tactics anymore. Obviously, he was more than capable of protecting himself from the elementals, and he likely had the means to harm them too. Letting the weaves of the lay hands spell dissipate, I began a second casting.

The two fire elementals had not moved their position. Their arms were still flung forward. In preparation for another summoning, I guessed.

Regna reached the pair just as the creatures released their second volley. Seeing the fireballs descend on my companion, I couldn’t help a wince of dread, but once more, the fighter proved equal to the assault.

With two short jabs of his weapon, Regna quenched both fireballs before they could reach him. Then he leaped forward, his warhammer leaving a trail of glistening sapphire in the air as he swung it towards the elemental on his right.

He missed.

The creature flowed out of the way with all the grace of a dancing flame while its companion swirled around to flank the dwarf. Regna swung again, sweeping his hammer upwards in a backhand blow.

Once more, his foe dodged the attack.

Exploiting the dwarf’s distraction, the second creature poured forward to run a burning hand down the fighter’s shoulder. Regna yelped, his back arching as the zelium plates of his armor turned red-hot in the wake of the elemental’s fingers, but he was quick to recover. Ignoring his blistering back, Regna swung his warhammer around in a wide arc to push back his foes.

It didn’t work.

Contorting their bodies in a manner no flesh and blood foe could, the two elementals slipped both under and over the glowing weapon to strike at the dwarf in tandem. Caught flatfooted by the creatures’ ripostes, Regna failed to fend off the twin attacks.

The first elemental burnt another line of fire down his back, while the second stuck its hand straight through the dwarf’s leg armor, turning the metal plates molten hot. Regna stumbled backward, his jaw clenched against the pain.

The smell of burning flesh filled the room. Regna is outmatched, I realized, observing the exchange. Much to my surprise, the fighter was faring worse against the elementals at close range than he had from afar. The fire elementals were simply too quick. He needs help fast. I was still not in position for what I’d intended, but I knew I couldn’t delay my casting any longer.

Touching my staff to the ground, I released the spell I held ready. The stone floor rippled, and a cone expanded outwards to trap the battling trio in bubbling, sucking mud. Hoping I’d bought the dwarf some time, I resumed my limping advance while beginning a second casting.

The elementals were on opposing flanks of Regna when the sinking mud mired them, and both immediately sank a few inches deep into the ground. The heavier dwarf sank even deeper but was less hampered by the spelled ground than the elementals, who seemed to rely primarily on their agility in melee combat.

Not missing his foes’ sudden slowdown, Regna swung his hammer at the closer elemental. The dwarf was favoring his left leg—it had to have been badly burnt—still, his attack was well-timed and powerful.

The elemental, feet squelching in the mud that sucked at it, tried to slide out of the way but wasn’t nearly quick enough. Regna’s warhammer cleaved through its flaming body, leaving cooled ash and glowing embers in its wake.

The creature wailed, and I smiled grimly. At last, we had hurt our foes.

Our respite was only temporary, though. Already, the mud underfoot was cracking as the heat from the elementals’ bodies turned it dry and brittle, and soon I knew it wouldn’t prove much of a hindrance to the pair.

It didn’t matter, though. The spelled-ground had bought enough time for me to reach the battling trio. Coming up unseen behind the elemental on the dwarf’s right flank, I released the freezing sphere spell I had been holding ready.

Threads of mana slipped out my skin and chilled the surroundings. Between one moment and the next, the air turned icy as a circle of arctic frost expanded outwards from my center to encompass me and the closest elemental. The creature’s flickering form stilled as it felt the first reaching tendrils of cold.

Then it began to spin about.

But it was already too late.

The raging fires that formed its body had started to die down. Within one heartbeat and the next, the elemental’s movements became glacial, and its flames cooled to dull embers. Mid-motion, the creature froze over entirely.

I took a ponderous step forward. The freezing sphere had affected my own movements, and I felt as if I was moving at half-speed. Still, the spell had not slowed me nearly as badly as it had the creature of fire.

I raised my staff. Its entire length was rimmed in frost. Hauling back the weapon, I swung it forward with all my might.

The elemental shattered.

I stepped forward again. Regna glanced over his shoulder as the tendrils of cold touched him too. Seeing the frozen remains of the corpse at my feet, he nodded approvingly.

The second elemental wasn’t faring too well anymore. A blackened scar ran down its chest from the wound inflicted by Regna’s hammer. The creature’s eyes flickered from its dead companion to the aura of cold surrounding me, then turned and fled.

It was too quick for me to catch. Not so for Regna. The elemental managed to flee only two yards before the dwarf’s hammer, tumbling end over end through the air, caved in its chest.

The creature exploded into cinders.

Regna turned to face me, a grin plastered on his face. “Now, wasn’t that bloody fun!”

✽✽✽

You have gained in experience and are now a: level 42 Trainee.

I pursued my lips as I digested the Trials message. I had only gained two levels from the encounter. My advancement rate was definitely slowing down. Sighing, I looked around. Regna was sifting through the remains of one of the fire elementals. I moved to join him.

The dwarf turned at my approach. “You should take this,” he said, gesturing with his toe at something. Kneeling down, I picked up the object in question.

You have acquired an elemental fragment of fire. Current state: dormant.

The special properties of this item are: unknown. Your lore skill is insufficient.

While warm to the touch and glowing softly like a dull ember, the fragment was already dormant. I glanced at Regna. “Do you know what this is?”

He nodded. “It’s an elemental fragment, and they go some way to evening the odds.”

My brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”

Regna lowered his warhammer for my examination. “Inspect this.”

Not sure where the dwarf was going with this, I nevertheless scrutinized the weapon. The hammerhead was made from solid zelium and engraved with indecipherable runes, but as well-crafted as the weapon appeared, I couldn’t see what Regna was driving at. “I’m not sure—”

“Cast analyze,” he said.

Frowning, I did as the dwarf bade.

The target is an enchanted dwarven warhammer made from refined zelium and inset with elemental crystals of water and air. It can only be used by: Regna Redmayne.

“Enchanted?” I murmured, staring anew at the fragment in my hand. Things were beginning to make more sense. “You have no Magic,” I said abruptly.

Regna smiled. “I don’t.”

I ran my fingers lightly across the warhammer. “But this enchanted weapon allows you to wield magic—elemental magic?”

The dwarf chuckled. “That’s right. Now you’re catching on.”

I rose to my feet. “How?” I asked, awed by the revelation.

Regna nodded at the item in my hand. “Fragments like that contain the essence of an elemental. You weave spirit through one end, and flames—magical flames—will come out the other side.”

“Spirit!” I exclaimed, staring at Regna avidly. “Are you sure? You don’t need mana?”

“Not at all,” the dwarf confirmed. “Those without magic can wield an enchanted weapon. As you’ve seen me do already.”

I turned over the elemental fragment in my hands. The implications were breathtaking. With a single enchantment, a humble spearman could be transformed into a magic-wielding fighter. “It’s that simple, is it?”

Regna chuckled. “No, it isn’t. Before an enchantment can be created, the elemental crystals must be attuned somehow.” He shrugged. “Don’t ask me how—I’m no magesmith. But I do know that the size of the crystals used is important too. The one you’re holding is a mere fragment and can only channel a smidge of elemental magic.” He tapped his hammer fondly. “This here beauty has two full chunks embedded in her. Cost me a fortune, it did.” He smiled. “But worth every penny.”

I nodded, my mind brimming with ideas of how to go about what Regna was suggesting, but sadly, any experiments would have to wait for later. We still had a dungeon to complete.

“Thank you, Regna,” I said with heartfelt gratitude. “This information is priceless.”

He shrugged, looking embarrassed. “It’s no more than common knowledge. You would have happened across it sooner or later.”

I could see I was making the dwarf uncomfortable, so I said no more. Clamping him on the shoulder, I stepped over to the other fire elemental and pocketed the second fragment. Straightening, I eyed Regna again.

He appeared hale, and his armor was unmarred—with not even a scorch left behind from the elemental’s attacks—but while the dwarf was doing his best to appear unaffected, he could not hide the wince that even the slightest movement caused him. “Can I tend to your wounds?”

“You have a healing salve?” he asked.

I shook my head. “No, life magic.”

Regna’s brows flew up. “Really?” He ticked off points on his fingers. “Water. Earth. Fire. And now Life magic.” He held up his hand. “That makes four. Just how many bloody different magic Disciplines do you know?”

I smiled. “Enough,” I said. “Now, do you want to be healed or not?”