Clarissa Evans

Clarissa was the only one still standing. Mumbling a mix of curses upon rats and blessings for being a practiced archer, she rushed to Julia’s side. The shieldmaiden, as the redhead saw her, was pale as bone and instead of collapsing like the others, was feverishly stumbling around while moaning for her bed. Slipping an arm around her waist, she sweetly assured the other, “Come with me, I know where your bed is.”

“Yay… Sir Snuffles will be very pleased,” replied Julia childishly and very seriously added, “Being late is very rude after all.”

“Of course it is,” agreed Clarissa distractedly. Julia was her first friend here and therefore her main priority. A quick scan while lifting the babbling woman, saw that a less injured Molly was jerkingly helping the heap of a man Warner, and the last three were struggling together. Like some strange creature with too many limbs to know what to do with them, Malachi and Reuben supported Phelain between them as all three shifted forward. She took most of the shieldmaiden’s weight while moving towards the exit. Due to her steady legs, the two of them led the wounded exodus.

The two of them passed through the light barrier and into the brighter gloom of the Hall. In the distance, Clarissa could hear gasps, but her attention was on the change with Julia. Having held the line against the rat things, the smaller woman had been covered in the gore of the rat monsters just a moment before. All that remained now was the shieldmaiden’s blood after passing the barrier. The smeared blood of the wounds was still a terrible sight, but the gore was entirely gone. Looking behind, the redhead saw a clump of gore on the cave side of the barrier as if it had been scraped off in one move. There was also a strangeness going on with the gore. As it seemed to be moving on its own. It was hard to tell with the shimmering. The archer dropped it to put it aside and refocused on her wounded friend.

Carefully she let the dark-haired shieldmaiden lay down on the ground by their packs. Worryingly her friend had gone silent. The only sound from Julia was that of shallow breaths and the uneven rhythm was troubling. It took more effort for the archer to get Julia to loosen her clenched fists on the weaponry than it was to pull the gambeson off the ill woman.

It was as Clarissa was grabbing a water canister from her pack that Molly and Warner made it back through. They had also been magically cleaned by the barrier to leave just their own blood. A glance saw the pile of gore at the edge had gotten bigger. A disturbing thought was that it wasn’t big enough for three people.

Ignoring that weirdness again, Clarissa said to Molly, “I’m not sure what’s more impressive… that we survived that flood of teeth and claws, or you, somehow carrying that walking boulder.”

The normally cool woman replied through a grimace, “If he was a boulder, it likely would have been easier to roll him than… drag his … ass.” Breathlessly St Claire started losing focus and fell.

Clarissa had been in the process of pulling free the water canister when she had to drop it to spring up and catch Molly. Fortunately, the canister was still capped and just clattered to the ground. Unfortunately, for Warner, the redhead could only catch his support and the man slid to the floor with an audible thump. “Sorry buddy… you can probably... tough it out?” offered Clarissa. “I said to the unconscious man... bleeding and dropped on the floor... after fighting monsters…” A guilty conscience saw Molly laid to the floor with the same care as Julia.

Finally, the source of the gasps made their way to the injured. With the image of putting a captain's hat on, Clarissa turned on the authority voice, “You, dude with the curls, take this.” An easy underhand toss put the water canister into the man’s arms. “See if you can get them to drink some water. Careful, don’t cause them to choke. After that, position them on their sides in case of vomiting.” Tossing another to a blonde girl with an echo of the same command. “The rest of you grab what cloth you can to slow the bleeding.” Great effort was expended not to giggle at how quickly the gaspers jumped to fulfill her commands.

Her eyes flickered back to the tunnel. The distortion of the barrier was enough to blur everything and leave all that was in the dark just a shadow. I don’t see the others… frowned Clarissa. No movement either… shit. She paused solely to grab her bow back up and the archer was grateful that the quiver was still strapped on. There were murmurs asking for more direction behind her that the archer ignored as she passed through the barrier. Without the film of light, the lumps of shadows that had seemed to be the contours of the tunnel were revealed to be the last three of the scouting party. All three had fallen forward into the filth and deranged mud angels showed their attempts to get up had failed.

There were no rat things yet in sight. By the sound of it, a fight was delaying them from reaching the unclaimed fields of light and sustenance. Making a decision that Clarissa expected to haunt her for many nights to come, grabbed Malachi and dragged him towards the Hall. Beneficially, and gross, the slick mud of the cave made progress quicker. She was also glad for her fellow ginger that the three had collapsed beyond where any rat corpses laid.

Through the barrier and to the gasper she added Malachi to their care. A few tried to interrupt her from returning to the tunnel with questions on what they could do. With an impatient grimace, the archer surveyed the situation. All of them were still breathing and as Clarissa had instructed, had been positioned on their sides. One curiosity was that the wounds that had been bandaged, were done so with whole pieces of clothing.

“Why didn’t you tear up the clothes for better bandages?” asked Clarissa.

A woman with ashen brown hair answered sternly, “We tried, we really tried to do just that. Whatever this stuff is made from, it’s very strong. We had to make do with whole pieces to cover the worse wounds. The bleeding has started to slow, but they're very pale… weak breathing too.”

“Well that’s a thing,” blinked the redhead. “Well they don’t seem worse, so keep it up. There’s two more in there, but I don't think anyone else should risk it. So let me get them and we’ll make some decisions.”

Turning on her feet, Clarissa didn’t give them time to respond. She couldn’t leave the other two defenseless for long. Through the distortion, the relief was immediate to see that the monsters were still distant echoes. The first one she got to was Reuben and without pausing the redhead began dragging him to safety. This time there was no need to cross over fully. A couple of extra hands waited beyond the dividing light. The hand-off went smoothly with the archer half stepping through to transfer Reuben to the other hand. With that done, she sprinted back to Phelain’s side.

It was while lifting the heavily equipped man that Clarissa got a clear view of the pile of corpses the scouting group had made. The movement from the dead almost made her drop the man back into the filth. Each body seemed to be shuddering and a moment's observation saw that they were diminishing somehow.

Forgetting Phelain in her grasp, Clarissa focused on the dead rat things that were most in the light. Those illuminated in her sight quivered and melted. Not as if rotting fast or liquefying, but as if turning into sand. The abominations became vibrating piles of powder before rapidly coalescing at one point. Even the rat’s blood was gone from the walls. A glance at the ground caught movement there as particles made paths through the mud towards the disintegrating corpses. Clarissa thought of the piles created by the barriers scraping them clean. Those lumps of gore had seemed to move and fade. Apparently by some strange effect of this place, returning to where they had splattered from.

Before her eyes, the shifting of the corpses ended and left behind just a sphere. Everything that had been part of the monsters was now a crystal-looking sphere the size of a large jawbreaker. With cautious awe, Clarissa picked up one for a closer look. They were all gray with specks of white in the shape of stars. In each, the stars formed the image of a spiral galaxy. There was a haunting depth to the core that made the galaxy seem to rotate. Putting it in her pocket with a half-formed thought, the redhead dragged Phelain away.

Once again she had extra hands help her transfer the wounded into the hall. Coming into brighter gloom herself, Clarissa beelined for the ransacked pile of packs. Quickly found her own and with no further action, emptied it with one swift move. A book on internal mana, a pamphlet on archery, and packaged rations dropped to the floor.

The woman with the ashen brown hair cut her off on the return to the tunnel. “You are just going back?” she asked. “Weren’t we going to decide what to do? These people need treatment and we have no supplies to speak of.”

“No need, I’ve got a plan doll,” replied Clarissa with a grin. “Keep ‘em comfortable while I fill my wallet. We’re going to go shopping!” To answer the confusion of the other, she tossed the monster core from her pocket. “What’s your name?”

“Vivian,” the other replied distractedly. The orb in her hands had started to enthrall with its depth.

With a tone that reassured that it would explain it all, “ Well Vivian, that’s a monster core and there’s a whole bunch more in there.” Clarissa hooked a thumb over her shoulder to point at the entrance. “I remember potions being an option on the screens. So shopping!” A wink punctuated the conversation. While the other gaspers crowded to see what a core was, the archer returned to the monster den to collect the spoils.

In the dark of the tunnels, the redhead moved quickly to pick up every core. The cheer she had shown Vivian was long gone. Clarissa’s skin had gone pale over a clenched jaw as worry was allowed to show on her face. It had been hard to see the others so still that you might miss their breathing. It seemed like only moments before they had been lively in their determination to meet the challenge of this place. Now she was the only one moving and the aching coming from the wound on her leg made the archer wonder how much longer that would be true.

So far her breathing hadn’t become labored, but there was a fatigue growing in her limbs that didn’t seem natural. She had spent hours in a day using her bow and never felt this coming exhaustion. Of course, never on a day like this nor an adrenaline spike-like one a horde of charging monsters could give you.

She refocused on the sparkling stars in the dark that noted where a core had formed. I get the cores and then the potions, thought Clarissa. Everyone will be ok and then I can laugh at myself for worrying so much...

The bag hanging at her hip was getting heavy as Evans grabbed the last few cores where Vincent had waded in. There was a slurping sound like mucus shifting, or something gooey being forced through a small space. A shape bulged from a deep shadow in the ceiling above one of the patches of fluorescent moss. A dripping orange ooze plopped on the cave floor with a splatter of goop and an explosion of foul smells. Clarissa stood up and took a couple of steps back as something wriggled out of the center of the slime. A pinkish and hairless, the rat thing in a frenzy devoured the toxic-looking ooze that it had fallen with. At each bite, the creature’s body roiled and twitched. Hair grew at an accelerated rate while the body swelled until it was the size of the previous monsters.

Like blasphemous trumpets announcing someone’s arrival, more surges of shifting mucus echoed in the tunnel. Horrible rain splashed throughout where the dead rat monsters had once been. Monstrous cries rang out as the rat things feasted. Clarissa fled.

The archer had bolted at full speed giving no care for noise or any cores that may spill from the bag. Clarissa only slowed once she was through the barrier and mostly to avoid slamming into those waiting on the other side. The weight over her shoulder said that few or none of the cores had bounced out. Frankly, I don’t care if half had escaped, grumbled Evans. I am not ever going back there alone.

The gaspers had grown in size with others of the sixty that had heard the disturbance from their rooms. The archer ignored their chatter and studied the door for a way to close it. No reason to make it easy for the foolish and curious. Though the rat things were the main reason for her concern. A fruitless scan of her eyes saw no obvious way to go about it.

In exasperation, she growled, “Close already.” Shocking all of the sixty there, the doors did. Silently as they had opened, the stone doors came out of their slots and shifted to block the tunnel. Clarissa now felt calm enough to laugh, though it was a little hysterical; a part of her noted.

A visional check saw that the others were still breathing. To the gaspers standing around she said, “Vivian, you and someone come with me to a screen so we can get those potions over quick.” Clarissa patted the bulging bag to emphasize her purpose. The archer didn’t stay to see if she was understood and instead took off for the closest screen. The murmur behind the archer was barely a consideration as she passed through the crowd in the way.

The screen chirped and displayed a welcome with her name as Clarissa came into range. She quickly tapped to enter the main screen and selected the shop. When the potion tab was brought up to her eyes, the archer paused. Just looking at the cheapest potions, there was to her dismay, a lot of options to consider. Minor seemed to be the title given to the weakest of the potions and fortunately priced at three cores each. There were more than enough cores to pay for the seven of them. The issue was what would help them best.

There was no health potion in which to easily solve the solution. Though it was unhelpful at the moment, there were mana potions. Clarissa had to scroll past a lot of potions for enhancements and healing potions for single effects. She needed something all-purpose, as there wasn’t the time nor enough cores to try them all. It was three of them that she selected for the system’s cart that she decided to consider. For dealing with wounds there was a minor regeneration potion, that of course increased natural healing speed. A minor blood elixir that helped temporarily replace the blood that was lost while increasing blood creation in the body.

The final choice was a minor restoration potion, though that one was five cores each. That last one was also the vaguest in the description as it said that it would restore the user’s state. Staring at the options, she wished for the less immersive experience in games where there were only a couple of potions that mattered. A healing spring would be pretty sweet in the Hall too... while I am wishing for things, Clarissa snarled to herself. I suppose that wouldn’t be realistic… ugh!

After debating it a second, she picked the restoration potions and tabbed it for seven of them. Clicking buy flashed an insufficient funds notification. Clarissa felt a wave of disgust for the message even as she searched for how to get the cores to be recognized by the system. There had been too many times in her twenties where that message meant involuntary fasting. It would forever be a nightmarish feeling to see it. Vivian came to the rescue as she pointed out one of the cables attached to the screen frame was a tube. It swung free of the frame so that one could just drop cores down its gullet. Quickly the archer slotted cores as fast as she could to hit thirty five. The moment the cost was met, she punched the button and the blue lightning danced.

The opening of the stone wardrobe revealed seven crystal vials reminiscent of old perfume bottles. Inside each one was a thick pale violet liquid. Despite the potions just sitting there, specks of flashing gold swirled within the liquid. Clarissa reached out and was paralyzed by doubt. Shit, did I pick the right one? worried the Archer. Should I have just gotten one to try it first? Shit…

She debated what to do for a couple of agonizing seconds while her hand was inches away from a potion. The wetness soaking her shoe broke the deadlock of indecision. Looking down, the archer saw that the wound on her ankle was now freely bleeding and realized the leg was weakening enough to strain the other to stay up. Her adrenaline had kept her moving, but even this small wound was affecting the archer now. There was no time to debate the right choice anymore. A decision forced, Clarissa grabbed up one potion. Hoping this would prove she hadn't wasted the resources or their time, drank it.

The taste was bizarre; giving an experience of a twisted shifting between kool aid and saltwater. The sensation that passed over her tongue was like a mix of oil and water. Fortunately, the effect was immediate and pleasant. A warmth gathered at her stomach and radiated outwards to the tips of each extremity. An aura of gold particles appeared around her for a moment as the drained feeling retreated. The wound on her leg hadn’t disappeared, but the bleeding and weakness had been cured.

Quickly, Clarissa handed Vivian and her helper two potions each. With the last two in her hands, the archer rushed to Julia’s side. The pale skin of her friend inspired dread with the worry of being too late. Before the panic set in, a slow shallow breath brought relief. Ignoring the blood-drenched cloth bandages and sweat-drenched hair, she placed the other woman’s head in her lap. Carefully she adjusted Julia’s head before pouring the potion.

Her friend coughed lively as the golden sparkles danced briefly and her color mildly returned. Clarissa checked over Julia to see that the wounds had all stopped bleeding. In contrast to the half-healed wound on the archer’s ankle, the shieldmaiden’s wounds looked like they were just scabbing over. The dark-haired woman looked up at her friend with a smile before falling asleep. Evan’s heart was warmed by the deep and healthy breaths from the woman in her lap. She turned to see to the second potion she had on her, but someone had already taken it to Molly. The rest of the group all looked better after the six had been given the restoration potions. Sleep taking them all peacefully.

Let them sleep, thought Clarissa. Tomorrow we have to tell everyone what happened out there… then convince them... along with ourselves... to go into the dark again.

Phelain Starr

Despite appearances, there couldn't be any sleep for Phelain yet. His body was straining stiffly as he held in sobs to keep them from escaping. There was no fleeing the memory of terror he had been consumed by in the struggle, nor the despair he felt for the failure in not distinguishing himself. Images flickered through his mind treacherously. Terror spiking at the sight of the berserking rat things. Envy chilled his blood as Vincent danced in a storm of death. Repulsion that curdled his stomach at the sight of the monsters devouring their dead. A feeling of inadequacy clenched his heart before the memory of Warner’s shredded arms never slowing. Dread swamping all sensation as the rat creatures pounced from all directions and he flailed desperately. Shame strangled him as he was tormented by how often the redheaded archer had saved his miserable life.

He ground his teeth in seething silence with a tear welling in each eye. The memories torturing him in an endless cycle. Escaping into his dreams would have been a mercy, but the hero hopeful dreaded the coming sleep for what nightmares were promised. Exhaustion was built until Phelain could fight against them no more. Sleep took Phelain as he chanted an oath to meet his expectations and live his dream.