Chapter 11 – The Rescue

“That won’t work,” Meister Oric said.

“Quite right,” Atmos confirmed.

The brothers had reunited less emotionally than Daos had expected. He could see the wonder and happiness in Atmos’s eyes, but they had simply shaken hands and nodded to one another, then turned to the group to begin planning.

The office was crowded with all six of them in it. Oric, Nadia, and Atmos took the three available chairs while the others stood to either side of the table between them.

“But we need you there to adjust the runes!” Erlandra argued, looking at Meister Oric with distress. “You’re the Runic Scholar!”

“If I’m not here to finish the new binding rune at the base of the binding stone at the precise moment when the current one is destroyed, your friend will not respawn. Ever,” he replied.

Erlandra shut her mouth, stomping her foot stubbornly but accepting his point.

We’ll be in a cave surrounded by stone. Gray as far as the eye can see, lit only by the pool of lava. Reds, oranges, and grays. I’ll have my robe and my orb. What can I do to help, think!

“Would I be able to chisel something into the stone, then?” Nadia suggested.

“The runes are magically inscribed,” Oric explained. “No mundane alterations will affect them, save for the destruction of the cave itself. If reduced to complete rubble, the runes would fail, but I can’t think of a surefire way to complete such a feat with any guarantee.”

Gray is emotionless, depressed, sophisticated. Emotionless and depressed, hmm… Would the magic of the world let me play with a meanings word? After all, inscriptions, etchings, chiseled lines are, from a different perspective, depressed, having some of the stone worn away or pushed down.

The discussion faded away for Daos as he worked through his thoughts, a theory manifesting in his mind and beginning to take hold.

This sounds stupid, but I should still try it. Stone pushed down onto itself, depressed. The Dim is nothing but gray, and certainly an emotionless void. Voids are the lack of anything, which could be like the removal of the stone, creating a void where before there had been matter…

“Meister Atmos, do you have any stone tablets you wouldn’t mind being destroyed? I have an idea I want to try.”

They all looked at him as he interrupted, but he didn’t have a clue what they’d been on about the moment before.

The professor cleared his throat. “I suppose we can use a few of these some of my students turned in last semester. Whatever for?” he asked as he rose, then walked over to a bookshelf along the back wall of the office to pull three gray stone tablets the size of a textbook off the middle shelf.

“It may be a long shot, but I’m a Chromatyst and gray is a color. Sort of. Black and white generally aren’t thought of as colors, but the presence or absence of all, and that leaves gray to be debated as well, but nevertheless I might be able to make something work.

“Thank you,” Daos continued, accepting the tablets. He set two down on the desk and held the first up in front of him.

There were markings chiseled into the stone. Not runes, from what Daos could tell. A magical script of some kind, perhaps, but it was irrelevant.

What to call it…

Daos stared at the gray of the stone, letting his peripheral vision blur and grateful the others remained silent as they watched him. He concentrated, remembering the emptiness of the Dim.

Carve Void!

A diagonal line sunk deep into the stone across all of the text, as if etched away by acid.

Daos was struck by a headache and stumbled against the desk as Oric held out a hand to help stabilize him.

“Ow.”

“What did you do there, are you okay?” Nadia asked.

He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the pain in his head, but held up the stone for everybody to see. He heard a gasp but couldn’t tell who it was from.

“We need to try this on an actual rune. Here, let me,” Oric said.

Daos opened his eyes as the pain faded and watched the first man who greeted him in this world take another one of the tablets off the desk and begin inscribing a magical rune into the back of it.

It took a few minutes, but finally he looked satisfied and turned it around to hand it to Daos.

“What does this do?” Daos asked.

“It’s an indicator of sorts, an alarm. Basically, I will hear a tone if it is ever triggered, and it triggers whenever something presses on it. I could, for example, inscribe these on the floor somewhere so that I would know if anybody ever walked atop it.”

“So you’re expecting to hear something when I do my thing?”

“Actually, if your magic interrupts the rune, rather than with the physical nature of a chisel, then I shouldn’t hear anything. If, however, your new spell treats the process as physical, I will. If I hear it, then this won’t work. If I don’t, well… You may have yourself a plan,” Oric finished with a smile of encouragement.

The headache had faded, but he wasn’t looking forward to feeling it again.

Here we go. Carve Void.

This time he said it in his mind with less gusto and focused just on one marking in the rune.

A smaller line pressed into stone down, removing material wherever he focused. Pain returned to his head, but far less than the first time.

He felt sweat begin to bead at his brow, but let the spell go and looked back to Oric. “Well?”

“Let me see it,” the man said, holding out his hands.

Daos handed him the tablet.

“Marvelous,” the scholar whispered. “I heard nothing, and you’ve rendered the rune inactive.”

“Whoo!” Chopper shouted, pumping a fist in the air. “We’re doin’ this then, ya?”

“I do believe we are,” Daos said as he smiled at his friend.

“Erlandra, how many runes are in the cave?” Meister Oric asked.

“Let’s just call it the lava room. The cave has quite a few tunnels and rooms. There are three along the wall where we stood, and two over the lava. I know one of the runes over the lava is the binding rune, and the other is some form of security for it. I don’t know what the runes along the wall in the room do, though.”

“Additional security, I’m sure,” the Meister pondered. “I really heard nothing when you performed the spell, Daos, and that spell was designed with the sole purpose of informing me if it had been triggered. If DeathLag has security in place to inform him if anybody tries to rescue your friend, then you should be able to bypass it with this spell.

“It is obvious, however, the toll it is taking on you to cast it. I recommend you take your time with the first four runes. You’ll need to send me a Mental Missive right before you finish off the last one, so that I can time the new binding rune appropriately,” Oric finished.

Daos nodded.

“Take this,” Meister Atmos said, pulling a pouch out of one of the drawers in his desk. “Place some of the powder it contains onto your palm and blow it onto the walls in the cave. It will cause the runes to glow for a few minutes, on the chance that they’re hidden from natural sight.”

“Thank you,” Erlandra said, reaching out and plucking the pouch from his hands. “We should get a move on.”

“Could we wait until morning? I’ve had a hell of a day, we need to gather supplies, and the market is already closed for the night,” Daos tried to make his eyes look pleading.

She looked like she wanted to argue, but he could tell she was tired as well. With a huff of frustration, she shrugged and nodded.

“Come on, you can all stay in the dorm with me tonight and we can get to the market first thing in the morning, then head out.”

“I will wait two days, and spend the third in the graveyard so I am prepared when you send me the message,” Meister Oric announced.

“Thank you,” Daos replied. “Come on, everybody. Bedtime.”

The two brothers remained behind to chat and catch up, he figured.

Daos led the others to the dorm and granted them access to enter it with him.

Nadia sat down on the bed next to Daos’s, while Chopper and Erlandra selected ones opposite them. They were all tired, and after the standard well wishes of pleasant dreams, succumbed to sleep in minutes.

**** **** ****

“Are you sure you want to come?” Daos asked Nadia as they exited the dormitory.

Erlandra and Chopper had already left for their breakfast, having agreed to meet at the eastern gate when everybody was ready to go.

“Are ya daft? Yer at it again, then?”

“I mean, we’re heading to a place DeathLag warded. And the mountains themselves are dangerous.”

Shit. She’s a way higher level than me, why am I talking like this? She could kick my ass.

“Whit’s fur ye’ll no go past ye.”

“That makes about as much sense to me as anything Chopper ever says,” Daos replied.

Nadia laughed. “Whatever’s meant to happen to ya, will happen to ya. What ever will be, will be. Do ya forget that I have your Outsider ability to respawn, now? I can finally adventure the way my customers do.

“Day after day I’d swing ma hammer, sellin’ weapons I want to use meself, watchin yer kind go gallivantin’ off into the wide world. Now I can do it meself! Pure dead brilliant, that is.”

Don’t dig yourself any deeper, here.

“Do you have fighting training?” he asked, trying to sound curious and not like he was doing anything he could to find an excuse to keep her out of harm’s way. He knew she wouldn’t appreciate that.

She looked at him like she might look at a child who was wondering why fire burned his hand. “I’m a warrior. Me class is Gladiator. Blacksmithing is just my profession, ya right dolt.”

Duh. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Daos sighed. “You’ll need equipment, then. I saw you with your sword and shield in the battle at Fyr. How much would you need to replace them?”

“Four or five hundred should get me somethin’ decent enough until we can return to me forge,” she replied.

Damn, almost all my money. We’ll get loot along the way though.

He transferred five hundred gold to Nadia.

“Let’s head down and grab food. You run to the market to get your gear; I need to stop by my mentor’s for another project. We’ll meet up at the eastern gate with the others. Sound good?”

“Cheers!” Nadia said with a smile as she walked out the door with his money.

The things I do for those dimples. Why was I never this confident before? Did I really fear I had something to lose, out there?

He reviewed his stats as he walked to the craftsman district, licking his fingers to savor the last of the sweet and sticky glaze that had covered the pastry he’d just wolfed down. He’d grabbed a couple additional rations at the Academy, raising his total to four days’ worth.

Bashful probably raised when I was making a fool of myself with Nadia, but when did my Arcane Perception increase? Why am I not getting those notifications anymore?

To that end, I’m still level seven. I need a thousand and one experience to level now, instead of just one, thanks to dying to get to the Dim.

I really need to stop dying…

He swiped the Character Sheet away and grabbed the spell tome swinging at his side. Opening it, he found a new icon showing a square with a diagonal line through it. He concentrated on it.

[Carve Void: Magically eradicates stone, creating a void where before there was matter. The larger the void, the more energy required. The alteration is magical and does not cause physical damage, instead changing the state of the stone. Required Color: Gray]

Six spells. No more dying, man. We need to level, and fast. Get your head in the game! I am, literally, in the game. Can I still think of it that way, though? Should I?

He briefly reviewed the descriptions of his other spells, satisfied with how he’d been able to create four of them on his own. Only the first two had been taught to him. Their descriptions had changed, too.

[Arcane Shield: Create a magical barrier around yourself to ward off enemy attacks. The shield will fall when it absorbs its maximum damage. Absorption: 20. Duration: 10 Seconds + 1 Second Per Level beyond the first. Current Duration: 16 Seconds. Boosted Color: Purple]

[Arcane Bolt: Create a small burst of arcane energy that moves directly to its target. Every other level after the first increases the damage output, alternating between a range and a fixed number. Current Damage: 5-6 Points Arcane Damage. Boosted Color: Purple]

[Rage: Double the damage output of your target. Duration: 30 Seconds. Required Color: Red]

[Vines of Holding: Vines burst forth from the ground beneath your target with a chance to root the target in place and cause ongoing damage. Thorns deal 3 Damage per Second + 1 additional Damage per Second for every 8 Levels of the Caster. Current DPS: 3. Duration: 30 Seconds. Required Color: Green]

[Danger Sense: Red pulses at the edges of your target’s vision, alerting them to an attack from that direction. Duration is 5 Seconds + 5 Seconds per Level. Current Duration: 30 Seconds. Required Color: Red]

He closed the tome and let it drop to his side as he reached his destination.

“Daos, you’re quite early today,” Master Erick said as he finished opening his shop.

“Indeed. I don’t have long either, unfortunately. I was hoping we could get a start on the cloak, but something’s come up and I’m going to be gone for a few days.”

The master nodded. “Well then, what are you thinking? I can’t wait for you to cover up that glorious hideousness,” he said, nodding to the patchwork robe.

Daos ignored him. “Plain gray wool exterior. Black and white striped cendal liner inside.”

“I’m all for the gray, and I suppose a liner like that is less strange than the rest of the getup,” his mentor admitted, then sighed. “So be it. You have the fabrics, then?”

“I don’t.”

“Well, I do, you’re welcome to purchase them from me. I should have enough of the white, and I’ve plenty of the others.”

“How much?”

“Two hundred should just about cover it.”

Damn.

“How about one hundred, and you keep the leftovers we didn’t use for my patchwork robe?”

“Afraid they aren’t worth a full hundred,” Erick said, rubbing his chin.

“One hundred, you keep the leftovers, and the next project after the cloak I’m hands on for whatever you need.”

Erick considered Daos for a moment, then nodded. “That’ll work for me. The cloak should only take a few hours. Are we starting now?”

“Sadly, no. I just wanted to get everything set up. When I’m back from this journey, that’ll be the first thing I want to do.”

“Fair enough. If that’s all then, I’ve work to do.”

“See you in a few days,” Daos gave a short wave and left for the eastern gate.

He was the last to arrive as the craftsman district was located in the opposite direction. The others were sitting against the wall and rose as he approached.

“Everyone has rations for as long as needed, equipment good to go?” he asked.

Erlandra rolled her eyes as the other two nodded. “Let’s go already,” she said and stepped out the gate, setting a quick pace.

Daos started to become frustrated in the fourth hour, when they hadn’t encountered a single enemy.

“Halt! This is our land!” a screeching voice said as the goblin jumped out from behind a tuft of tall wheatgrass, holding a spear out toward them.

“Wot did he say?” Chopper asked. “Somethin’ about nachos?”

Natchi-too, greeko taliska. Except I heard it in English! Hello Linguist, I wondered where you’ve been.

“He told us to halt, and that this was his land,” Daos said.

His three party members looked at him, confused.

“You speak goblin?” Erlandra asked.

“Literally just those words,” he answered with a shrug.

“Greeko Taliska! Tatchi-ta surrender!” the goblin shouted as it stood its ground but thrust the spear toward them menacingly.

It was larger than the goblins Daos and Chopper had fought a few days ago. Makes sense, everything goes up in level as we approach the mountains.

“I think he’s telling us to surrender?” Daos shared with the group.

“As if,” Erlandra replied. “Let’s kill it.”

As they moved forward two others stepped out of the grass, flanking them from either side.

Chromatic Orb – Red!

Erlandra drew her daggers and leapt toward the goblin shaman on the right as it began to wave its hands in front of itself and mutter something Daos couldn’t hear.

Rage – Chopper!

Chopper had already started running toward the spear-wielding scout who had blocked their path, and he let out of whoop of excitement as the rage spell hit him.

Rage – Nadia!

Nadia went from advancing slowly with her shield up toward the goblin on the right that was holding a club, to a full-on charge as she raised her sword above her.

Arcane Bolt! Daos turned to fire at the shaman Erlandra had closed in on.

The battle was over in a matter of seconds. Daos hadn’t seen a damage notification from his Arcane Bolt which should have bothered him more than it did, but he shrugged it off.

Chopper knelt next to the goblin whose own spear was now shoved through its head, and Daos received 20 gold from the looting action.

He checked his level. Three hundred experience. A hundred apiece, then. Going to need to encounter a lot more of these guys.

“Well, that was easy,” Nadia observed, looking at the three goblin corpses. “Is this what it’s like for you lot, then? Traipsin’ from one fight to the next, simple as that?”

“It’s not usually so simple,” Daos answered.

“You had to say that, didn’t you,” Erlandra said, shaking her head.

“Tatchi-ta surrender nee skalimar!” another goblin voice shouted from the grass.

Chaos erupted as a throng of goblins sprang forth from their hiding spots in the fields and surrounded the party.

Arcane Shield! Rage – Erlandra!

Arcane Bolt! Arcane Bolt!

Daos lost all sense of direction as goblins came at them from all sides.

His shield dropped as he shoved one of the goblins and barely managed to push him off.

I can’t die again, no way.

He spared a glance at his friends. Chopper was spinning around, holding a goblin out in front of him and crashing it through the others surrounding him as he did.

He couldn’t see Erlandra but heard the clangs against Nadia’s shield as she blocked attack after attack.

The sun, a large yellow orb in the sky, beat down on them.

Yellow! For memory and excitement. Excitement, like being hasted!

Chromatic Orb – Yellow!

He felt a goblin’s spear slice open his shoulder and he stumbled forward, dropping to the ground to roll out of the way.

Haste, me!

The world didn’t slow, so much as Daos’s perception of everything heightened. He knew everything was still happening at a normal pace, and instinctively knew that he himself wouldn’t be moving any faster, but he could interpret the movements around him quicker and react more efficiently.

He rolled to his feet and looked toward Chopper.

The warrior had let go of the goblin he’d been holding and was currently bashing another’s head in with a helmet he’d picked up somewhere along the way.

Haste – Chopper!

Daos turned his head. Haste – Nadia!

He twisted to the side again, narrowly avoiding the trust of a goblin’s spear. Arcane bolt!

Then he found Erlandra, spinning behind another shaman and slicing one of her daggers across its throat.

Haste – Erlandra!

Daos’s vision began to dim. There’s gotta be a way to mass cast…

Danger Sense – Party!

His vision pulsed red from behind and he threw himself to the ground, prone, as a sword sliced through the air above him.

Arcane Shield!

[You must wait 12 more seconds before casting Arcane Shield]

Damn, okay. He rolled over onto his back. The grasslands around them were a yellow-brown and lacked the green he needed for vines, so he continued throwing Arcane Bolts to keep the advancing goblins at bay.

Three more seconds…

He began to feel weak and his vision dimmed further.

Seriously? Arcane Shield!

The purple shimmered over him just as a club came down on his face. It sparked purple and bounced off harmlessly.

Daos fainted.

**** **** ****

“You okay there, then?” Chopper’s voice asked.

Daos opened his eyes, the headache fading. I didn’t die. Oh man, I didn’t die!

Chopper helped him to his feet, and he looked around. They were surrounded by corpses. At least thirty goblins had been killed, in the end.

“Wow guys, well done!” he said and smiled at them.

“T’was at least in a small part thanks to you,” Nadia said. “What was it ya did to us?”

“Yellow is the color of excitement. I used it as a sort of haste spell. It’s not the same kind of haste I’ve seen before, since I don’t think we actually became faster, but it made us react quicker, I think.”

“I loved it, pure dead brilliant it was,” she said with a wide grin.

“Feel free to cast that on me anytime, noob,” Erlandra said, tapping him on the shoulder as she stepped past him.

“Took the wind right outta ya tho, didn’t it?” Chopper asked.

“I got a little carried away with the spells, I guess.”

Daos opened his Character Sheet. Booyah! Gained a level. Alright, three points into Intelligence, and one into Strength. I could barely push that goblin off me, and the mountains will probably involve a bit of a hike. Better start now.

Oh, and snap! They looted while I was out. Back up to five hundred gold and another Amethyst!

He opened his Spell Tome as well. There was a new icon of a stick figure, similar to the Arcane Shield drawing, with wavy vertical lines on either side of it.

[Chromatic Haste: While Chromamancy cannot distort time itself, it can boost the target’s perception of it, enhancing their reaction speed in combat. Duration: 5 Seconds per Level. Current Duration: 40 Seconds. Required Color: Yellow]

Alright then, seven spells.

“Hey, have you guys stopped getting a lot of the combat notifications, or skill increases?” Daos asked the group.

“Never paid ‘em much attention, nah,” Chopper answered.

“What notifications?” Nadia asked.

“Now that you mention it, I remember those. I haven’t seen any in years,” Erlandra said.

So, we’re integrating more. Adjusting to the world, it becoming more… real.

“It’s nothing,” he told Nadia. “An effect the world has on Outsiders. Seems to be fading away, in us.”

He could tell she wasn’t sure how to respond, so he let it drop.

“Alright, we’re what, half as far as we should be for the first day’s travel? We should get a move on.”

They all nodded and the four set off again, leaving the battlefield of corpses behind them.

When night fell, they stopped and made camp. No more ambushes had interrupted their journey, and much to their disappointment they hadn’t seen any creatures they could hunt.

As they sat around the fire, Erlandra explained the cave system they’d be entering the next day.

“It’s confusing as sin, with many twisting, turning tunnels. I memorized the way to the lava room the first time I tried to rescue Frederic, so I can get us in and out.”

They nodded in agreement.

“DeathLag may have a scout or three in the mountain pass already, so we’ll need to be on the lookout. When we reach the foot of the mountains, I’ll go on ahead. I can stealth better than any of you. If the coast is clear, I’ll come back for you, and we’ll head in.”

“Can’t argue with that,” Daos said, leaning back on his bedroll and staring up at the stars.

I’ve never wanted to die for real, and now I have the chance to build a new life. To go on, maybe forever?

He turned his head and looked at Nadia as she patted her own bedroll, as if that would make it more comfortable, before laying down herself.

We can’t let DeathLag take that away.

When the morning sun’s rays lit the inside of Daos’s eyelids, he forced himself to open them and adjust to the light. Blinking, he rubbed at his eyes with one hand and leaned up to sit.

Erlandra and Nadia were already up. Nadia was strapping her bedroll to her pack as Erlandra stamped out the fire.

Chopper snored loudly.

Daos opened one of his rations and cracked off half of it, then crunched into it as he felt the dew on the grass with his free hand.

“Oi,” Nadia shouted, kicking her boot lightly into Chopper’s side. “Sun’s shinin’, lazy sod. Up an at ‘em, then!”

“Feck off,” Chopper said with a groan, but he roused himself and sat up, blinking the sleep away.

Nadia chuckled and turned away from him, hoisting the pack onto her back.

“We’re settin’ off, then. You boys can catch up at the base o’ the mountain, ya?” Nadia said and turned. Without another word the two women walked off.

Daos knew better than to argue, they could take care of themselves.

“Alright bro, let’s get to it then.”

They packed up their own gear and started hiking, the girls still within view further down the path.

“She’s got eyes for ya, that one,” Chopper said.

“Nadia?”

“Aye.”

Good. I’ve eyes for her too, as you say.

“You’ve eyes for her as well,” his friend stated as if reading his mind.

“Won’t argue with that.”

Neither said any more on the topic as they walked, each content with the silence and their own thoughts.

Daos considered what else he could do with colors and spells, but try as he might, his thoughts kept coming back to how they would take out DeathLag.

We can’t fight him. We’ll never catch up to his level. This isn’t some story where the main character discovers some overpowered artifact and becomes a demigod in a matter of days. If we fight DeathLag, we’ll end up like Frederic, or worse.

Daos considered the man they were on the way to save.

Will there even be anything left of him? Can there be, after three years of nothing but burning to death? A literal hell. He shuddered.

How could a person do that to another? Has DeathLag so fully integrated that he now thinks himself a Lich? Or that this is still just a game, with no ramifications to his actions? It’s not just a game anymore, not for us. Not for him. How can he not see that?

As he walked, he kicked at rocks in the path like a sulky, pouting schoolboy.

If he’s so immersed in his new role, can we play to that somehow? Play to his ego, his narcissism. Trick him? Or is he simply batshit insane, and nothing we do will matter?

You there, Niccolo? Any ideas here?

He hadn’t expected an answer and wasn’t surprised when there wasn’t one.

When they reached the base of the mountains a few hours later, only Nadia waited for them, sitting on a small boulder with her sword, shield, and pack leaning against it beside her.

“Erlandra went on ahead to scout. Said she’d be back for us soon,” she explained as the men approached and dropped their own bags on the ground.

Glad I put that point into strength. That path looks steep. Daos strained his neck to look up towards the peak of the mountain, wondering how high they’d have to climb to reach the cave’s entrance.

“You’re going to be a legend when we get back to Fyr,” Daos said, turning back to Nadia. “Should be good for business.”

“The forge is Roddard’s now. I’ll find someone to look after him. You lot won’t be getting’ rid o’ me that easily,” she said, raising her eyebrows at Daos and Chopper.

“Good,” Daos said.

“Good,” she repeated with a nod. “Tell me more o’ this Frederic guy.”

I’m sure she’s bursting with questions but has done well following us without demanding explanations for everything. Speaks well to her character.

“Apparently, he was one of DeathLag’s generals, one of his inner circle. An Outsider, like Erlandra, back when DeathLag first formed his army and invaded the east. I don’t know a whole lot about him, honestly. I just know Erlandra is intent on rescuing him from that hell, and I have to agree with that part. Nobody deserves that.”

“Nay, and mayhap he can tell us somethin’ of DeathLag’s weaknesses.”

“If he has any. And, if there’s anything left of Frederic to tell. There’s a good chance his mind is gone,” Daos admitted. Part of me hopes so, at least. Mine would be. How else could he cope with a fate like that?

**** **** ****

“The way ahead is clear,” Erlandra said, causing Daos to jump in surprise.

“I didn’t hear you coming,” he said, trying to calm the surge of adrenaline that was racing through him.

“I didn’t intend for you to,” Erlandra replied with a smirk. “Let’s go.”

She turned and began climbing the steep path between the boulders. Daos and the others followed a few steps behind.

“How far is it?”

“About two hours hike, with the three of you.”

“You’re used to working alone, I get it, but you don’t have to sound so annoyed.”

“I’ve lived in the shadows for years.”

Not an apology, but an explanation. At least she’s aware of it. Daos let it drop and tried to speed up the pace with the others.

Erlandra had been right on the money. Two hours later she moved aside the branch of a large bush to reveal a hidden path. Just a few feet further sat the mouth of the cave.

The orange setting sun gave the otherwise peaceful cliffside an ominous look.

“The cave system is deep and complex, it’s probably going to take eight or nine hours to reach the lava room,” Erlandra stated.

“So long?” Nadia asked.

“When I was here before, I stealthed my way through, but the cave is filled with kobolds, trolls, other things that thrive in the depths of the earth. Stealth is out of the picture with all of us together, so we’ll be fighting our way through. That’s going to take time.”

“I’ve heard of kobolds. Never seen one meself,” Nadia said, a mixture of concern and excitement in her voice.

“No time like the present,” Daos said as he stepped into the cave.

He summoned his chromatic orb and kept it floating above him, set to purple to help offset his damage ability, as they cleared small groupings of monsters. Kobolds, a few different kinds of spiders, and occasionally a kobold riding a spider.

A few hours later Daos felt relief surge through him, indicating he’d reached Level 9. He’d have four more points to spend, but they were so close to their goal that he decided to wait until after the rescue. Right now, there was no time to waste.

“Hold up,” Daos said before stepping into the tunnel Erlandra indicated. A glimmer along the wall had caught his eye. “There’s something there,” he said, pointing.

“We don’t have time for this,” Erlandra said, but she stopped and waited for him anyway.

Nadia walked over and pushed against the stone where Daos had pointed. A portion of it gave way under her hand and depressed in like a large button. Stone on stone scraped loudly as the section of the wall slid away, revealing a small chamber.

Chopper stepped up with his fists raised, but then lowered his hands and stepped aside to let Daos peer into the room.

It measured maybe four feet across and contained a single chest. The lid was on the floor, apparently having been looted long ago, and looking inside, he saw only broken glass.

Stained glass shards. He picked up a few, then changed his orb to white. Red, green, and blue. Hmm… I’ve not seen anybody wearing glasses here. I wonder if that could be an invention? If I could wear tinted glasses to make everything I see a certain color?

“Not something you can do,” Niccolo said in Daos’s head. He sounded far away and distracted. “That would be the job for an Artificer, and that is a Unique Subclass that has yet to be discovered.”

A mage subclass?

“No…”

The voice faded from his mind. Rogue, then! He pocketed the glass and left to join the others.

“We should rest,” he advised the group.

“We have a few hours more to go, we need to keep moving,” Erlandra insisted.

“The sun was setting, and that was hours ago. I can’t cast the spells needed to get Frederic out unless I’m rested, and Oric won’t be in the graveyard until tomorrow morning anyway,” he said as kindly as he could.

She huffed out a sigh but didn’t argue any further.

Chopper and Nadia got to work building a small fire as Daos pulled out his ration bar, crunching into the hard tack. It was dry, but vaguely reminded him of peanut brittle.

“Hey,” he said, scooting closer to Erlandra. “Take a look at these.”

He handed her the glass shards and looked at her. Noticeable fatigue had set in as she sat slumped against the cave wall.

“Broken glass. Wow.” She said sarcastically.

“Think you could figure out a way to make them into shades for me?”

Erlandra stared at him as though he were an idiot.

“For color!” he explained. “So, I can make everything a particular shade I’d need to enhance my spells and make them stronger.

“I specialize in killing quickly and quietly, noob. You do it.”

If I tell her my theory, would that hinder her ability to unlock the Subclass? It’d spoil the surprise, for sure.

“Just give it a shot. Please? I have a theory and I’m fairly sure it’ll have interesting results if you do it.”

She rolled her eyes but pocketed the glass. “I’ll think about it. Now, however, I’m going to sleep. You should too.”

Daos wasn’t sure how long he’d slept, but the fire had burned down to embers when he opened his eyes. The others were still out, despite Chopper’s loud snoring.

Nadia was shivering.

He rose and walked over. Laying behind her, he scooted up back to back to try and provide some warmth. Her shivering slowed, and he drifted off again.

When he woke a second time, he was alone. He raised his head to see Nadia closing the flap on her bag a few feet away. She hefted it up onto her shoulders and grabbed her sword.

Erlandra and Chopper were rising as well, and Daos joined them.

Suddenly Erlandra was beside him, punching him in the shoulder.

“You cheeky fuck!” she said before awarding him a quick smile. She held out her hand.

In it was a monocle. A copper wire was wrapped around a now circular piece of the red glass shard he’d given her. Attached to it was a small silver chain.

“I’m an Artificer now! Over a hundred levels as an Assassin ripped away from me, and never did I find a Unique Subclass. You knew, didn’t you? I haven’t felt this kind of excitement in years.”

“How’d you even make this?”

“From my bracelet and the wire wrapped around one of the handles to my dagger. I got bored last night when I woke up.”

She punched him again and then jogged over to help Chopper heft his bag onto his back.

“Let’s go!” Erlandra shouted, then marched off ahead.

Daos smiled and inspected his new monocle. That’s genius. I was thinking about sunglasses, but with this I could keep one eye open to see my orb, and the colors in reality, or close it to see everything go red, or combine with the orb for a different color.

Nice! If that works, then I could keep my orb on green, and if I look at it with the monocle, get the effects of yellow!

“You Outsiders are the luckiest people I’ve ever laid eyes upon,” Nadia said as he fell into step next to her.

He chuckled. “I’m not so sure we’re really Outsiders anymore,” he admitted.

“Eh?”

“Chopper there?” Daos pointed to the warrior. “He’s actually dead now, on the Outside. And Erlandra and I? We may as well be dead. We can’t ever return. For all I know, our bodies are just as dead as Chopper’s at this point. We’re here now, like it or not.”

She looked at him with an expression he couldn’t read.

“What?” he asked.

“Nothing.” She looked away. “Come on, let’s catch up.”

Did she just blush?

Daos checked his Character Sheet as they walked and was pleased to see he would soon be level ten. Two to Wit, and two to Willpower. I know Arcane Perception found me that hidden door, but Wit should help my mundane Perception as well. And, I’m going to need…

He swiped the screen away as Chopper gave one of his war cries, but it proved to be a single kobold. It was dead before Daos even saw it.

Two hours later they arrived at the lava room. The tunnel outside glowed a soft orange, lit from the opening to where the lava pool was set into the floor of the cave.

“Where are the runes, roughly?” Daos asked Erlandra. He had seen two on the wall beyond the lava but could not locate the other three.

He watched as she pulled out the pouch she’d taken from Meister Atmos and walked over to the right wall. Blowing the powder over it, three runes glowed faintly red on the face of the stone.

“Okay, we don’t know when exactly he’ll respawn, so I’m going to take out these three runes along the wall first.”

“It will be soon,” Erlandra said, her voice flat.

“How d’ya know that, then?” Chopper asked.

“Because there’s no stench of burning flesh. So, he died a while ago,” she said.

Daos gulped. Good point, and I’m rather glad of it.

“Then there’s no time to waste. Watch the door,” he asked the others as he stepped up to the three runes along the wall.

The stone. It’s gray, but it’s reflecting the orange glow from the lava! Is this even going to work?

He began to concentrate on the first rune.

Carve Void, he said in his mind. He tried to block out the orange hues and see the natural gray of the stone.

It was harder than it had been on the tablet in Atmos’s office, but the expected line forms, canceling out the rune.

Daos expelled air as his chest began to burn and sucked in a long fresh breath. He stepped up to the next one.

Carve void.

This time his head began to ache with the effort, but again, a line sank into the stone as if it had been etched there, and the red glow of the rune died out.

Daos was breathing heavy, and realized he was sweating from his efforts.

“Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we’ve got company!” shouted Erlandra, and Daos heard the scurrying sounds of spider legs out in the hall.

“We’ll hold ‘em, dinnae worry!” Nadia called back to him.

He regrouped and focused on the third rune. His head pounded and his vision blurred, but again, the stone depressed in a line and the rune deactivated.

Daos fell to his knees. Two more. Just two more. He turned toward the lava to watch for the signs of Frederic respawning.

Behind him battle sounds echoed off the walls, a cacophony of monstrous shrieks and melee strikes. Then he heard a voice he didn’t recognize.

“Tell the master! Go!”

Who was that? He didn’t risk turning around.

“I’ve got him, take care of the other one!” he heard Erlandra shout as her footsteps grew faint.

Focus on the gray!

It was harder to do with the wall directly above the glow of the lava. Why didn’t I put gray in my robe?

He had already considered turning his orb gray, but with it off to the right and the fact that he had to focus on the rune as he cast the spell, it wouldn’t work out the way he wanted. So, he kept focusing his eyes on the stone, willing himself to unsee the orange light.

White flickers began to form in the air above the lava.

It’s time!

Mental Missive – Meister Oric, Now!

Carve Void.

Daos felt nauseous at the effort and barely managed to cancel the first of the last two runes as Frederic’s body finished forming.

He couldn’t spare the slightest glance as the body fell from its hovered position toward the lava pool.

Carve Void! He screamed in his mind, looking at the binding rune. He felt the bile rise in his throat as his chest contracted.

[You have died]

Fuck.