Chapter 25

Companions

Janus wiped the crumbs off of his robe and started heading down the tunnel. He was happy to discover that his mana sense stretched almost twice as far as it did before he had cleared the [Deepstone Ravine].

Dimming his [Torchstone], Janus enjoyed the stillness and silence of the tunnel. He closed his eyes as he walked, recounting his encounters with the goblin shamans. Unfortunately, the [Crystal Golem] had employed no spells against Janus, otherwise he would have had even more to add to his repertoire.

He was about to experiment with his new [Spell Augmentation] skill when rounded a curve in the tunnel and spotted a light up ahead. It surprised him how quickly he went on edge.

Now what?

There was a decision to make. Should he bring out his own light and reveal himself or rely on mana sense to get the jump on whoever or whatever was ahead? Janus nearly reached into his pocket to retrieve his [Torchstone] when Lenny entered his mind.

No, he decided. He would get the jump on them.

He could hear them before he could make them out. Their voices rang down the tunnel.

“Rowan, stop messing with Hashilli. If we have something to fight, I want him to be focused,” rang a woman’s voice. Her accent was strange to Janus’ ears.

“Ahh, but walking these tunnels is such a bore. And Mr. Serious gets so riled up.” The second unfamiliar voice belonged to a man with an Irish lilt.

“Stop. Something is ahead.” rumbled a third voice, deep and soothing.

Janus immediately erected his mana shell. It was risky, as the array for the spell circled his body and let off a blue light. It would be like a small beacon appearing in the tunnels of his unidentified foes.

He was glad that he had thought quickly. He could already make out the group ahead. There were three figures. There wasn’t much time to examine them before a jewelled dagger slammed into Janus’ mana shell. The dagger fell to the ground and then, strangely enough, lifted into the air and flew back to where it had come from.

“Is that a person? Bah, it doesn’t matter. Go ring his head, Tara.” Janus identified the voice as Rowan, his Irish accent unmistakable.

Janus was about to speak when suddenly there was a woman clad in strange interlocking plate armor in front of him, slamming a shortsword into his mana shell.

How did she move so quickly?

Janus backpedaled and identified his assailant.

[Paladin - Level 36]

“Woah, stop!” shouted Janus as he cartwheeled his arms to stay upright.

To his surprise, the [Paladin] stopped. After all the monsters Janus had dealt with, he’d almost forgotten that it was possible to talk things out with people.

“He’s an [Enhancer], level 29,” said the woman.

This one’s name is Tara, I think…

“State your name and business, citizen!” Tara nearly shouted, a grin on her face.

The others were just now catching up, jogging from further up the tunnel.

“Tara, be careful. We don’t know this man.” Said the soothing voice from earlier.

“Learn to have a little fun, Hashilli!” responded Tara.

Janus simply stood there and watched the exchange. He slowly raised his hands. Eyeing the group.

He found it strange that the woman, Tara, wore such intricate looking plate armor, only to leave her head completely unprotected. Her skin was the color of chocolate and her straight black hair was woven into a single braid.

Not wanting to make the mistake of underestimating the other two, Janus identified them as they approached.

[Trickster - Level 34]

The [Trickster], which Janus assumed was Rowan, was nearly a foot shorter than Janus. He hard sharp features and short red hair. Rowan gave Janus a strange look, as if he knew that he’d just been identified.

[Enhancer - Level 31]

The other man was wearing a robe not unlike Janus’ own, at least not unlike what it had looked like before he left Crow Station. The difference was that the other enhancer’s robe was a dark gray, covered most of his face, and he wore a wide-brimmed hat to top it all off.

This must be Hashilli. It’s the first time I’ve seen another [Enhancer].

“Uh, hello,” he said.

In response, Rowan whipped out a map and began scrutinizing it.

“This tunnel leads directly to the dungeon on our writ, Tara,” said Rowan.

Janus suddenly understood what was going on. This was a delver party looking to clear out the dungeon he had just cleared out himself.

“Yes, if I may? The dungeon is already gone,” replied Janus.

He could see the surprise in both Rowan and Tara’s eyes. Hashilli’s face was too shadowed to spot any expression.

Tara let out a frustrated groan. “You’re telling me there’s nothing to bash up ahead? It took more than a week to get here!”

“He’s obviously lying, Tara. Unless another team got here before us, the dungeon has to be there,” said Rowan, placing a hand on Tara’s shoulder.

Hashilli remained silent. Janus wasn’t even sure if he had seen the man move since he caught up to Tara.

“I can assure you, the dungeon is gone,” said Janus.

“If that’s the case, did you clear it? Where is the rest of your group?” Hashilli finally spoke.

Janus was uncertain how to proceed. He didn’t think the delvers would even believe him if he told them he’d simply cleared the dungeon on his own.

I could tell them that the other members of my group died fighting the dungeon boss…

“Ahh, the poor lad is probably in shock. Look at his getup. If he cleared the dungeon, where do you think his companions are, Hashilli?” Rowan said with a shrug.

The other [Enhancer] shuffled uncomfortably. “My apologies. I didn’t realize—”

“Well, I want to see if the dungeon is cleared with my very own eyes,” said Tara. “We’re only an hour or two out at this point.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” replied Rowan. The [Trickster] lightly bumped his fist against Janus’ chest. “What’s your name?”

“Uh, Janus. I’m Janus.”

“Why not come along with us to check the dungeon, aye?”

“No, yeah. I mean— sure.”

Tara was already walking ahead. Hashilli and Rowan began walking after her, leaving Janus in the back.

Aren’t they worried I’ll attack them?

Janus was uncertain about the group, but he trailed along. It was a strange feeling to be around people again.

He watched as Rowan jumped up and grabbed at Hashilli’s hat. The [Trickster] pumped his fist in triumph as the hat came tumbling down. He did a little twirl and placed the hat on his own head. Hashilli was staring daggers at the diminutive redhead.

“This thing barely fits me, yah know? Why is your head so fat, Hashilli?”

“Return my belonging.”

“Of course! Once I’ve gotten my fair use out of it!” Rowan said, and winked at Hashilli. He plopped the hat on his head and it sunk past his eyes, catching on his nose. “The height of fashion, my boy!”

After everything Janus had been through, it was almost absurd to see the interaction. He stifled a laugh as the [Trickster] did a flourish and presented Hashilli’s hat back to the man. Hashilli angrily grabbed at the headgear and slammed it back down on his head.

Rowan turned back to Janus and flashed a grin.

He’s trying to cheer me up after the supposed death of my friends…

The realization left Janus with a warm feeling. He had lied to these people, but they appeared to be good sorts. Janus let some of the tension drain from his body and watched Rowan pester Hashilli until they reached the ravine.

-

“You’re telling me I’m gonna have to climb down that? In this armor?” said Tara.

“I thought you were always up for a challenge!” answered Rowan.

“Climbing is no challenge.” Tara turned back to the others. Janus could see a manic grin on her face. “I’ll show you a challenge!”

Janus gaped as the [Paladin] leapt from the tunnel and into the ravine.

“The woman is insane, Hashilli! Batshit crazy!” shouted Rowan.

“We should begin climbing,” the other [Enhancer] replied.

The descent had taken nearly 15 minutes and Janus was nervous the entire time down. He knew there were no monsters below, but he was more worried about finding Tara’s mangled corpse dashed against the ravine walls.

To his surprise, he heard a voice ring out from below. “Took you guys long enough. I’ve been waiting forever.”

Tara appeared to be completely untouched from the fall.

“Stars! I wish you at least got a concussion,” said Rowan.

Janus was the last one to touch down on the ravine floor.

“There was no notification,” Hashilli stated. “The dungeon is no longer here.”

“Looks like our new friend wasn’t lying, aye?” Rowan was already a meter back up the ravine wall. “Tara can’t fly, so she’s going to have to climb this time. Let’s skedaddle.”

“No, wait! Don’t leave me behind! I need someone to talk to on the way back up. I’ll die from boredom!” Tara begged.

“Not my problem!” Rowan’s voice rang from above.

-

They had been climbing for only a minute before Tara bombarded Janus with questions.

“Sooo… Where you from?” she asked.

Janus could barely speak through the exertion. They were even going a slower pace to accommodate Tara’s heavy armor, but the strain was still there. In that moment, Janus decided that he hated climbing.

“I am,” Janus panted, “from Crow Station.”

“Oh. Oh no. You do know what happened, right?”

“I was there when Crow Station was destroyed.” Revisiting the subject was bringing unwanted memories.

“I’m, uh, I’m sorry. About what happened, I mean. So, uh, what enhancing spells do you know?” Tara asked.

Janus was very glad for the change of subject. “I know [Power Enhancement], with a couple of other tricks.”

“Ooh, Hashilli has that spell, too. I bet you two would get along.” Tara paused with a curious expression on her face. “Or maybe not. Hashilli doesn’t make a lot of friends.”

“I heard that.” Hashilli called from up above.

Tara stuck her tongue out and nearly risked falling from the ravine wall to make a rude gesture. She hastily grabbed onto a rocky outcropping.

“Let’s see… Uh, what was the dungeon like?” she asked.

“There were snakes and goblins. The dungeon boss was a [Crystal Golem].”

“Oh, that’s a nasty one. Haven’t gotten the chance to take one on myself, but I’ve heard stories.”

“Yeah.” Janus replied somberly.

They spent the rest of the climb in silence, with the occasional grunt from Janus. As the trio finally returned to the tunnel, Janus heard Rowan call out.

“Took you guys long enough. I’ve been waiting forever,” he said in a mocking voice.

“Oh, shove it, Rowan.” Replied Tara.

Once Janus had pulled himself up, he reclined against the tunnel wall and tried to catch his breath.

“Do any of you have some water?” Janus asked.

It confused him when Hashilli opened a small satchel and removed an empty cup. His confusion turned to amazement as he watched mana exit the [Enhancer]’s hands and form an array that hurt his head just to look at. After a few moments, a small stream of water appeared, filling the cup.

Hashilli handed the cup to Janus who bolted it down.

“Can you, uh, can you do that again?” Janus asked, trying to hide his excitement.

Hashilli didn’t respond, simply grabbing the cup and filling it again. Janus found himself inching closer and closer. The mana array produced water! Janus considered how much more secure he would have felt if he had known such a spell. He began subconsciously mimicking the array.

Suddenly, his attempted recreation of the array imploded. He had made a mistake in its construction. The result was a blast of fine mist, coating everyone in the group.

“What the fuck!?” exclaimed Rowan.