Chapter 6

The runner had gotten Alec not long after he had finished his morning studies. He grabbed his sword and belted it to his waist. On the proper side this time. He entered the workroom to see his master preparing ingredients for a recipe.

“Master, I am heading to the town dungeon. I won’t be back until tonight. Are there any healing items I could take with me, just in case?” Alec had decided to ask Master Swanson this after remembering how quickly he had been ambushed by the wolf.

“You’d better not get yourself killed, boy. But yes, there are some healing supplies in the cabinet by the door. You seem to enjoy putting yourself in danger, so I took the liberty of making you a few items to help keep you alive. Remember, one point in intelligence for every level you gain. As long as it doesn’t affect your work, I don’t care how many dungeons you want to visit.” With that, Master Swanson turned back around and returned to work.

Alec went to the cabinet and found a stack of five decent quality healing unguents. He put them in his pack and left to meet Sam at the portal square. She was already waiting as he arrived, her used armor and battered weapon making her look every bit the seasoned adventurer. He would have been fooled himself, if not for the nervous pacing the woman was currently engaged in. He briefly wondered if he’d left and returned an hour later if she’d still be taking the same five or six steps before turning around, returning, and repeating the process. She stopped, however, when she saw him staring at her.

“You just going to stand there and stare like some kind of creep?” She asked, walking toward him.

“Maybe. It’s just odd seeing you so nervous for the second day in a row. On the farm you were always more or less calm and collected.” He replied.

“I know the farm. Nothing there is going to jump out of some shadow and try to stab me. You get any information about the dungeon?” The last question was said with more seriousness than her first comment. It was apparently some kind of rite of passage to pass the dungeon on your own merits. Information was purposefully kept from any new delvers. It made a sort of sense to Alec. If you started by leading new groups by the hand, when would it stop? He would much rather push forward under his own power, rather than relying on someone else’s.

They had decided on their roles yesterday. Sam would be the frontliner, or tank, and Alec would look for opportunities to jump in and deal more precise forms of damage. He would focus on taking out joints, legs, or anything else that would help finish the fight more quickly. If they faced more than one opponent, Sam would take as many opponents as she could safely handle, and Alec would keep his distance and continue to look for attacks of opportunity.

As they were going over their preparations, for the third time since arriving at the portal square, an exhausted woman with a shield covered in a brown liquid calmly walked out of the portal. She was followed by two others, both men. They looked as tired as her, but far cleaner. One held a black bow with a shining string, a quiver of arrows on his back and suited in slick leathers. The other was dressed in a light robe and carried a staff. It was a traditional three-man party. One member stepped into the face of any monster they came across. They usually carried a melee weapon combined with a shield. Their job was to control the battle and protect the others. The second member was a ranged physical damage dealer of some sort. Archers were common, but there were all kinds of traits that allowed for some variation in that role. The third, and arguably the most important, was the spellcaster. They were there to heal the party of various wounds and afflictions, while simultaneously dealing magical damage to their opponents. It was a difficult position, one that required a skillful balance of mana use.

The trio walked straight into the guild house, heading to the appraiser. The appraiser would value their loot, take their taxes, and offer to purchase any loot the party was willing to sell. Each of the three had a sack bulging with loot, so they should be making out well today. The primary reason most adventures such as these would continue to dive this dungeon was for easy loot. It wouldn’t make them rich, but an easy source of money was quite a draw to many adventurers.

“Next Party!” A voice yelled. Alec and Sam stepped up to the portal, stopping before its hazy liquid form. Alec took a breath, steeling himself, and stepped in. It was if he had walked through a thin film of reality. On one side, the portal square in the middle of a busy town. The sounds of blacksmiths doing their days work, horse’s hooves hitting the street, and the general murmur of the citizens all hung heavy in the air. On the other side, darkness and silence. Alec took a lantern out of his pack. Lighting it, he could see a dusty cavern wall to either side and behind him. He stood at the beginning of a cavern that stretched into the dark. Sam came through just as he was putting away his fire striker.

“Great, it would be underground.” She complained. “Light is going to be an issue. We will both need to keep our lanterns on at all times.” She dug through her pack and tossed him a stick-like piece of metal that hooked one’s lantern to their pack over their shoulder while minimizing its movement in battle. “And Claira thought I was over-preparing, pfft.”

Alec gratefully accepted the tool, hanging his lantern on its end after connecting it to his pack. The light spread out further form its new position, so he was more than pleased that she had thought of it. “This will also keep our hands free. This is great Sam.”

Alec took the lead for now, Sam not far behind him. There was only one way to go, and they moved along in that direction. He assumed the same stance he had used in the forest, taking soft, light steps with his sword half-drawn. Sam walked confidently behind him, mace thrown readily over her shoulder.

They maintained this formation as they traveled through the cavern. The walls had started getting further away from one another and continued to do so until they disappeared into shadow. They walked on until they heard a half-scratching, half-scuttling sound coming from the shadows in front of them and to their right. This was Sam’s cue to take the lead as they slowly followed the sounds.

“Wait.” Alec spoke, placing a hand on Sam’s back. “They will know we are coming. Our light does more than enough to give us away to every creature down here. It’s a bit of a risk but let’s speed up a little bit. If the creatures avoid the light, we could chase them in circles until we have no idea where we are.” At this, Sam began to walk a bit faster toward the source of the sound.

A few minutes later they were facing the back of a large crab-like creature. It was roughly five feet tall with a segmented shell stretching at least ten feet. It had half a dozen crab-like legs on either side of its body, and it was using two larger pincers to eat what looked like algae off the wall.

Alec used this moment to identify the creature.

// Crustarra

Level: 3

Health: 78/78

Condition: Content

A large omnivorous creature found in many subterranean environments. Their shell provides a decent defense the claws and teeth of predators. They are solo creatures and are highly territorial.//

Alec had just finished reading the creatures information when a high-pitched scream came from the beast. It lunged toward them with sinuous movements akin to a serpent. Alec jumped back as Sam stepped forward. She held her mace with both hands high over her head. As the creature came within her range, the mace slammed into the shell between its overlarge eyes sending cracks along its shell. Strong as the blow was, it couldn’t stop the beast’s momentum. Sam was caught with one of the beast’s pincers clamped to her arm as she was thrown backwards with the beast’s charge. A scream ripped from her throat as the pincher dug into her unprotected arm.

Sam hadn’t been idle. She repeatedly slammed her mace into the thing’s shell, splitting it in places and cracking it in others. The damage wasn’t as great as her first blow’s, having the power of only one arm behind it rather than two. The beast was trying to grab her with its other claw, but she kept kicking it’s arm back to its body, not letting it get the proper angle to catch her.

Alec observed the situation, his role in the forefront of his mind. He watched as the cracks spread out from where she had landed her first hit. He could see a pink, gooey substance bubbling out of the center of the wound. He quickly came to a decision and ran to the side of the creature. He took long, lunging steps and jumped with all his strength. He landed on the creature’s back just past its sharp legs. He climbed towards the bleeding wound. The crab began to thrash in an attempt to dislodge Alec from its back, but with a vicious smile, Sam dropped her weapon and grabbed the front of the thing’s shell with both hands, holding it as still as she could. This allowed the other pincer to grab her waist, but it was unable to break through her armor. Alec took the chance she offered, stood up, and brought his sword down in the center of the creatures freely bleeding wound with all his weight. He felt something give beneath his sword as he continued to drive it deeper into the thing’s flesh. He drew his sword out of the creature, swiftly plunging it in again and again. The beast flailed wildly as Alec repeatedly stabbed his weapon into the wound. Sam redoubled her grip, setting her feet wide in order to get the leverage need to keep the thing still.

Alec and Sam were both breathing heavily when a screen popped in front of them.

//You have slain a level 3 Crusterra.

You have gained 62 experience points.//

Alec fell to the floor as the Crusterra’s entire body simply began to disperse into a cloud of blue and purple particles of light. He hit the ground and fell to his back, a sharp pain causing him to roll away from where he was lying.

He stood up, looking at what had poked into his back. An exact replica of the Crusterra’s claw was lying on the ground in place of the beast.

//Crusterra Claw

Rarity: Common

Condition: Pristine

Durability: 10/10

Weight: .8 lbs

This Claw was taken from an adolescent Crusterra. It is a cooking ingredient used in many recipes.//

“That thing was just a teenager. We’d better keep a look out for its mother.” He said, as he walked to where Sam was bandaging her arm.

“It’s not as bad as it looks.” She managed, before he could say anything. “It was barely able to puncture my skin, but when it did, it used its jagged claw to rip a line along my forearm. I only took thirty damage the whole fight, so I say we are ok as long as we only fight them one at a time.” She looked at the claw he had picked up. “Ohhhh, so this is where these come from. I’ve always wondered where the street vendors got fresh seafood this far from the water.” She grabbed the claw and tucked it into her pack. “Ready for more?”

-----

They had been in the dungeon for at least an hour. Following the wall at which they fought the first Crusterra, they found two more of the beasts eating plant life off the wall, the same as the first one had been. They had just killed their third when Alec got a notification.

//You have gained a level!

You are now Level 2.

You have 3 unspent attribute points.//

“Yes!” He said, wiping pink slime off the front of his clothes. The last fight had been messier than the others. After their second fight, where a crab had managed to get a pincer around Sam’s throat, they realized that, outside of superficial cuts, these creatures couldn’t really hurt her. She had spent this last fight simply standing in front of the beast, slamming her weapon into what passed as its face. This had the unfortunate side effect of splashing its insides everywhere. “Gained a level.” He put one point into intelligence, as per his master’s orders, one into strength, and one into agility. He wanted to move faster while doing more damage. He took a second to look at his character sheet.

//Name: Alec Montaine

Age: 16

Level: 2

Experience: 202/650

Condition: Healthy

Health: 89/104

Health Regen: 5.0 per minute

Mana: 54

Mana Regen: 2.375 per minute

Physical

Strength: 8

Endurance: 6

Perception: 6

Agility: 6

Constitution: 7

Mental

Magic: 5

Intelligence: 11

Wisdom: 7

Fortitude: 6

Willpower: 6

Attribute Points available: 0

Traits:

Enhance: Spend experience points to modify the properties of an object or entity targeted by the user. May not be used on self. Object must be under the ownership of the user. Sentient beings must give their consent. Non-sentient beings must be under the control of the user.

Cost: Variable Experience Points

Skills: None//

“Now, something I have been waiting to try.” Alec had used his trait on his and Sam’s gear to see if there was anything he could do to improve their fighting capabilities once they were in the dungeon. He was about to try his first idea now. He pulled a small piece of steel out of his pack. He had gotten it from the blacksmith when he had done the work for Sam’s weapon. It was a piece left over from the hilt of a sword the Blacksmith had been making, just a small ring designed to go around the hilt. There had been several lying there when Alec had seen them. He had identified one to see what it was, and immediately asked about it. He was told it was an extra, as the blacksmith always had some lying around. Alec added it to the bargain at the blacksmith’s confusion. He didn’t object however.

//Steel Ring

Rarity: Uncommon

Condition: Pristine

Durability: 15/15

Material: Forged Steel

Weight: .1 lbs

A ring of forged steel. It can be used as a crafting material.//

Alec took out his sword.

//Iron Short Sword

Rarity: Common

Condition: Worn

Durability: 4/10

Damage Type: Slashing, Stabbing

Damage: 4

Material: Iron

Weight: 2.5 lbs

A short sword made of iron with a worn leather-wrapped handle. Though it is slightly rusty and well-used, its edge has been recently sharpened.//

//Would you like to Enhance this item?//

//Enhance: Material

Please hold the material you would like to Enhance this item with.//

//Material chosen is Steel.

Is this correct?//

He selected yes.

//Enhancement cost is 200 experience points.

Would you like to enhance your Iron Short Sword with Steel?//

He chose yes again. A blue nimbus of light appeared at the handle of his sword. It traveled up slowly toward the blade. As the light passed over the sword, the scratched iron became polished steel. As the light reached the tip of the sword and dissipated, Alec was left with a shiny steel sword in place of his iron one. Looking more closely, he could see that the steel only replaced the iron in the sword. The handle was still wrapped in worn leather. That was good to know. The skill had the ability to intelligently enhance the sword. It would have been awkward, and more than a little painful, to use a sword with a steel grip. It also had the added benefit of repairing the blade. That was one thing that worried him. He half-expected to receive a steel sword with the same scratches and chips as his last blade.

//Steel Short Sword

Rarity: Uncommon

Condition: Pristine

Durability: 15/15

Damage Type: Slashing, Stabbing

Damage: 12

Material: Steel

Weight: 3.2 lbs

A short sword made of steel with a worn leather-wrapped handle. It is best used for slashing damage and stabbing.//

“That’s just cheating.” Sam said, staring at the sword with poorly concealed envy. “I still don’t see why we can’t do that to my armor. She had been excited about the idea of walking through the dungeon in armor of glistening steel, only for the idea to get shot down by Alec.

“I told you already. We have no idea how that would work out. Metal armor is styled completely different than leather. For all we know, it could make the armor completely unusable. I’m all up for experimenting, but that’s a bit risky for me to agree with while we are in a dungeon. Plus, it seems that there is some aspect of the exchange that I do not fully understand. I had hoped that simply having this steel ring would allow me to use it on any number of items. It seems like that is not going to happen.” Alec said, raising a half circle of teel with his left hand, ash falling to the floor. Sam simply huffed and started walking further into the dark cavern, she really wanted metal armor. Alec took a moment to check his experience in his character sheet. It read 2/450, just as he had hoped. He had been concerned that using experience points after gaining a level would push him back. He breathed a sigh of relief when it didn’t, as that would have caused several headaches.

“Let’s go find another crab.” He said, excited to see the difference the upgraded sword would have in combat.

They found another Crusterra after navigating several more twists and turns of the cavern. They had come to a long hall with several exits leading away from it. There were at least seven that he counted with the hallway continuing off into the darkness. This crab was entering the hallway in the same direction as Alec and Sam were walking. It let out the same screech that each of the others had upon seeing them. Alec was tempted to scream back just to spite it but thought better of it. As Sam stepped into the things charge, weapon braced across her body. Alec positioned himself to the side. This time, when the beast and Sam met, Alec moved in and slashed at a joint in the creature’s leg. he stepped forward, off-balance, as the sword slipped through the joint with only a small amount of resistance. He had tried this with the sword earlier, only to have it go a half inch deep and get stuck briefly.

He used the step to pivot and get some space between himself and the creature just as another leg came down where he had been standing. The crab screeched in pain as its severed leg bled freely. Sam began her now familiar drumming on the beast’s head, and Alec stepped in to take another leg off at the same joint. Losing its second leg forced the creature to lean to the side until it braced itself with its larger front claw. This allowed Sam to leverage more of her strength into an overhead blow, which proved too much for the creature and it dropped to the ground as it began to dissipate into the blue-purple smoke.

“That is quite an upgrade.” Alec said, looking lovingly at his sword. “I barely felt the thing’s leg when I made contact with it. I think I could take one all on my own now. That will be good if we run into any groups of them.”

“Mm.” Was all that Sam said, her eyes distant and unfocussed.

“Level?” He asked.

‘Yup.” She replied with a smile. “Thinking of putting one point into Strength, and two into Endurance. What do you think?”

Alec took a second to answer. He hadn’t even thought to ask her what she thought when he had spent his points. It hadn’t really occurred to him until now, but he was a member of a party. He promised himself that he would make more of an effort to get her opinion in the future.

“That sounds great. Nothing wrong with being able to give and take more damage.” He looked at her as he said this. She nodded and by the look on her face, he assumed she put the points where they had decided. They. It was nice not being alone.