Obligatory Harem Shenanigans 2: The Revenge!

Chapter 18

Mina

As soon as we entered the by the stone ramp into the tunnel hidden in the hillside I questioned if we were actually in a dungeon. The ones we’d encountered before on our journey had started with a grand entrance. Beyond that they had been filled to the brim with monsters of one kind or another.

Following the path listed on the map, I felt like I was in nothing more than an abandoned mine. Even when we arrived at what was marked as the entry chamber on the map it didn’t feel like a dungeon. I was used to a greasy feeling of being watched and hatred. Like the hot Doritos breath of an internet troll on my neck.

“Could this be one of the ancient ruins you guys were talking about?” I asked, confused by the lack of malice I felt. The room had a certain majesty to it with its high ceiling and natural light instead of a sinister aura.

“If so, it would explain why the valleys been relatively safe, but I can’t say for sure,” Lilian was reluctant to agree. Despite being a cleric, she was more fastidious than Mira about confirming things. I sometimes wondered if she’d call a fish a fish without at least three pieces of evidence.

“What are these weird arrays?” Andrea asked, looking at a colorful drawing on the floor of an alcove.

“It’s a teleportation circle… an active one,” Lilian said, coming over to kneel and inspect the magic. That added weight to the possibility that we were dealing with a ruin.

“Well, shall we begin?” Reiner asked, already heading down the stairs at the back of the room. Lilian was reluctant to stop her inspection, moving from a green circle to a yellow and having to halt before she could look at one of the red ones. The rest of us might complain a bit but Lilian never argued with Reiner. She said it was her duty as his chronicler and sworn guide.

I figured it was just that she was still used to being an acolyte and taking orders. The church of Strom was known for its compassion and ironfisted discipline when it came to its clergy. Even so, not at least speaking up and asking was spineless at best.

The stairs were broad and comfortably shallow, hewn from the stone of the passageway with great skill. All that gave away their age was a slight worn spot toward the middle that looked like it had been carved by the passage of countless feet over time. It felt weird seeing so much marble and knowing it wasn’t considered a useful material.

It was difficult to shape with earth magic and because of the convenience of that type of magic physical sculpting skills were rather lacking. Well, to be fair though it wasn’t like my old worlds hand carved statues could compare with the magically created ones. Even so I know a lot of people would have killed to get a countertop made of the pale rose and gold marble the passage was made from.

At the bottom of the stairs we found ourselves in a new chamber. Unlike the previous one it was riddled with tunnels of various sizes. A mild breeze flowing through produced a musical whisper. We picked one of the larger tunnels so we could walk together. It twisted and turned but we soon found ourselves in a new chamber also riddled with holes. For the first time, we encountered monsters and had to face off against large bats.

The fight was brief and uncoordinated since we lacked any ranged weapons. We had to wait to be attacked then try and strike before the bats retreated. Thankfully centipedes and some other larger insects also appeared. The numbers were rather low, but the creatures made up for it in toughness and variety.

“Ugh, why don’t they all just come at us?” Andrea moaned, her stamina depleting with every fight as we reached the stairs to the next level. She was better in target-rich shorter fights. Hit and run affairs wore her out without offering enough time to rest at the pace Reiner set. I smiled pleasantly at her whining, and she looked away in a huff knowing I was amused at her expense.

The second level landing led to three archways. In the center of the room stood a metal plaque on a stone base.

“Lilian, can you read it?” Reiner asked but she shook her head.

“It’s not a language I recognize,” She said, and I came over to look. I could understand any spoken language, but reading was hit and miss.

“What is the greatest virtue of sentient beings?” I read aloud; thankful the language was one that my patron deity supported. It seemed to me that if a race didn’t worship him then he didn’t include their language in his translation blessing. Lilian said that was an oversimplified and petty interpretation of Strom’s will.

The gods were mysterious, so I wasn’t a hundred percent certain on the rules. Even so, I had yet to find an example to the contrary. A fact I kept to myself. I didn’t like Lilian but it wasn’t the same kind of antagonistic hatred I felt for Andrea. Lilian was an awkward, somewhat cowardly girl, one who I wouldn’t have chosen to be friends with if I’d had a choice. Even so her devotion was real, and it included a vow of celibacy.

“Compassion, faith, reason,” I continued, reading the words inscribed above the entryways.

“Faith, animals can’t understand and worship,” Lilian said without a more than a moment of though. I wanted to object, I felt like that wasn’t a good answer based on the wording of the questions. Even so, I couldn’t come up with an easy way to explain why. My interpretation of the tone of the question was subjective.

“Compassion,” Andrea offered though she didn’t give any backing argument. I was a bit surprised and my certainty that something was a little off only grew. “Sentient beings” had a strange ring to it, the ancients had been human, descendants of the gods. Lesser creatures like the Lepsan were considered demi-human since they had some traits of a human. While monsters, even if they could speak, received only scorn.

“Well, we should honor our patrons. I choose faith,” Reiner said without enthusiasm. Beside him Lilian nodded, satisfied with his answer.

I blinked, the answer sounding cynical to my ear for some reason. It was silly but I wasn’t used to hearing him give an opinion on such matters. I'd thought he was agnostic if anything, but since he was chosen that had probably been prejudiced of me. I was used to a world where the existence of gods was something to be debated. He'd probably just not felt it necessary to discuss before since it was a given.

With the matter settled, we walked into the maze of faith. As we continued my feeling that something was off only grew. More puzzles appeared but their answers were odd and didn’t seem to matter. Even when I made a mistake and pressed the wrong selection on a tablet nothing happened. As the others were chatting, I pressed the answer I’d originally intended to pick.

The same door opened in the maze. I pressed the last one and again, instead of a different door opening it was the same one. Looking at the three doors I had to wonder if it was a feature that you couldn’t get a new result after picking or if the feeling crawling up my spine was right, and the problem was something else entirely.

Thinking about it I kept trying to recall things from my home world but had to stop as a light migraine assailed me.

“Mina? You look pale, are you alright?” Reiner asked, coming over to my side to put the back of his hand against my forehead. I needed to tell him something, but I couldn’t remember what, and in the next moment the pain started to subside.

“Just a headache,” I said, confused for a moment by his expression. It wasn’t his normal humble smile or look of loving concern. He looked worried and tired in a way that I felt was familiar but couldn’t place.

“That’s good, can’t be too careful,” He said, his usual smile returning. I smiled back and felt like I’d gained back a bit of energy from seeing his. Pressing ahead we encountered a few minor traps and monsters but nothing we couldn’t handle. Finally, the maze seemed to come to an end in a beautiful chamber that had the feeling of a chapel.

There didn’t seem to be a door leading to a staircase, but we found ourselves before an altar. Carved of stone a statue that looked half-melted stood surrounded by candles. Trying to puzzle out what it was I found an enjoyably sweet scent in the air courtesy of an incense burner. The statues form was generally human, but it gave me a headache too look too hard at it. Its features blended and blurred in as they danced between Jesus and Buddha.

I'd never seen any gods who resembled them in this world, but I didn't mind. It felt nice to see something familiar even if I hadn't been devout before. The longer I looked the more certain I was that I should pay my respects to him/them. Something best accomplished by kneeling.

Beside me, the rest of the party joined in. They worshipped the gods of this world. They had no reason to kneel before the foreign gods of my world. Even so, I felt a profound sense of solidarity as we all knelt on the stone tiles marked with big red x's.

Big red x's. I was staring at the one under my knee as I started to sober up and realize what a blunder I'd made. I heard a click and a half-second before I could piece together a plan of action. The floor dropped out from under us before I could even cuss.

Landing on our backs we slid down a smooth stone chute with everyone but Reiner screaming the entire way. Screaming did us fewer favors than expected. The moment we emerged into a large stone chamber we were beset by a swarm of large bats. The fight was hectic, the room pitch dark until Lilian cast light. Even then it was only dimly illuminated.

We fanned out and swatted blindly at our assailants until they stopped finally. I didn’t know if we’d killed them all or if the survivors had retreated but were thankful for the reprieve. One that the rustle of wings above us letting us know was only temporary.

“There!” I said, trying to be loud enough to be heard without disturbing the bats again as I pointed toward a faint light. We all rushed for it. I sprinted through what turned out to be a doorway. Inside I found myself in a dimly lit room with benches and a fountain on one side and a teleport circle on the other.

Andrea was already sitting on one of the benches, breathing so hard it seemed like she’d puke. Reiner came in a few seconds behind me while Lilian was last in. Panting but not so bad as Andrea she was scratched rather badly on every exposed bit of skin. Looking around more closely I found it was true of everyone, myself included. I hadn’t felt the wounds until I did but now, they stung and burned.

“Is everyone alright?” Reiner asked while I went to wash my injuries in the fountain.

“W-winded,” Andrea panted while Lilian nodded.

“I’m good,” I said, distracted by how the water glowed when I was done cleaning myself. It went from murky with blood and dirt one moment to crystal clear again in the next. That some sort of cleansing magic was afoot should have been my first thought. Instead it was regret that the basin wasn’t large enough to bathe in. The rest of the party might not mind only doing so when in town, but I wanted one badly.

“Well, on the bright side of things, I found this on the floor,” Reiner said, holding up a crystal. It wasn’t hard to tell it was a magic crystal by the slight glow as it reacted to his mana. What was unusual was the color or lack thereof. It was clear which wasn’t something I’d seen before. When a stone was infused with magic it always took on the color of the element used.

“That is interesting,” Lilian said, holding a handout to get a chance to examine it. Reiner let her have it then looked at Andrea.

“We should take a break. We'll move onto the next section after,” he said, his attention on Lilian. Or rather the magic crystal she was examining.

I looked to Andrea and her expression mirrored my own feelings. I kept it from my face, but I was crestfallen at the prospect of having to walk even more. The maze hadn’t been that large if one measured it from end to end but the twists and turns and occasional loop backs had us walking much further than its square footage could account for. The same had been true of the level above it.

It was a turn of events that hadn’t been too difficult to deal, with but all of it was exhausting. Neither of us was willing to let Reiner down though and she nodded while I stayed silent. While Andrea and I rested, Lilian examined the stone.

“The crystal gives off light if you shake it for a bit," She informed Reiner after a few minutes. With that complete, she went to inspect the teleportation circle.

"This circle is definitely linked to another one. Possibly one of the ones we saw before descending,” Lilian said which was unusually firm in her case. I’d expected her to say it was linked to another but not suggest where. I refrained from mentioning that it was a color match for one of the circles in the entry area. She wouldn't appreciate speculation even if it was just a statement of facts.

“Handy. Let's head out,” Reiner said, shaking the stone. True to Lilian’s assessment the stone shown a bit brighter than a torch. A useful thing to have while navigating the dim areas between the distant lanterns. Without it, our small supply of touches would have been exhausted quickly.

There were stone lanterns that lit small patches of the hall. The problem was how dim they were. They seemed to exist less to light the way than to guide, drawing us further into the gloom. I didn't want to explore like that, drawn further in by fear of finding myself in the dark.

We made it down through three more layers. With each one, the creatures changed and grew more powerful. Bats like the ones we fought in the boss room, lizards, small but vicious moles, all fell to our blades. Tougher or not they still weren’t any match for the four of us, but they were more time-consuming.

In the layers above there had been a few traps but they’d been rare and technically non-lethal like the slide. It lulled us into a false sense of security as we continued, a basic mistake. One I felt certain we wouldn’t have made if we’d taken more time and rested. Instead we pushed on at a fast march and lost our focus.

We stepped onto a pressure plate, but it didn’t activate until Reiner, Andrea, and Lilian were nearly across it. Instead of a gentle slide, we were treated to a hail of darts.

“Reiner!” Andrea called pitifully as several struck her. One hit Lilian while nearly ten bounced off her shield. I was lucky and just outside the range of the attack, but I rubbed my eyes. It had looked like Reiner shoved Andrea to get past her and to safety. I was sure I was wrong, but it made me feel uneasy.

“Lilian!” Reiner shouted as he turned quickly to catch Andrea as she limped to his side and fell, clutching at her wounds. It was the first time I felt any real sort of concern for her. Her build was much more fragile and speed-dependent than mine or Lilian’s. What would hardly stop one of us was enough to hurt her badly.

While Lilian knelt in prayer over Andrea to heal her wounds Reiner held her comfortingly. He spoke words of encouragement as the darts were pulled out and I felt a little sick. It hadn’t been so long before, after a different fight, that he’d done as much for me. It wasn’t jealousy that had my stomach-turning for a change. I couldn’t be sure, but it sounded like he was saying almost word for word the same thing he’d told me. That was what was twisting my stomach into knots.

Something had to be wrong with my head. First, I thought he’d done something unheroic, now I was doubting his sincerity. I slapped my cheeks to try and clear my thoughts. Being underground and under stress for long periods wasn’t good for humans. I had to be reacting to the unnatural environment, nothing else could explain it.

“Okay, let’s get moving,” Lilian said, helping Andrea up while Reiner supported her. I followed silently, still trying to wrestle my doubts into submission and passed Reiner who was knelt on the floor still. For a moment I thought he was going to scream, his eyes shut tight and his shoulder trembling with tension. My head started to ache as I watched him. A whimper from ahead of us caused me to look up and see that Andrea was similarly afflicted.

Looking back at Reiner in confusion I saw him lift a hand, shaking with effort, and slowly lose the battle not to take hold of his sword. In that moment I felt like I could breathe again and I smiled at him.

“Tying your boots?” I teased, his having no laces.

“Right,” He said, smiling at me in return. Getting up he moved to the head of the party once more but the pace he set was less punishing than before. Even so it wasn’t more than a few hours before we were completing the third level and found ourselves at the entrance of a large chamber with a loose soil floor. Stepping in I found my feet sunk down almost an inch.

Andrea squeaked in surprise, her short-heeled boots went in even further at the back and nearly caused her to topple over. With a revolted look on her face she had to pull out a pair of flat boots like the rest of us. She’d always insisted the heels helped her stay in the correct position for fencing but like her lipstick I was pretty sure that had nothing to do with why she wore them.

After the third floor, we found ourselves facing off against absurdly large moles. All around us the moles swam through the earth like fish. Instead of coming at us head-on they attacked our flank and sides. A tactic that would have been annoying but turned deadly as a giant one suddenly emerged from the ground.

Standing more than eight-feet-tall it advanced on us like a tank. At that moment it became a battle for survival. The first I’d ever faced since joining the hero’s party. The church had always assigned us our missions before. At that moment as my blade barely drew blood, I regretted not abiding by their wisdom.

My arm’s felt like they were going to fall off by the time we prevailed. I tasted blood in the back of my throat while sparks danced in my vision. I’d been battered and cut so badly that Lilian had to half carry me into the fountain room. I didn’t hear her being her prayer of healing as I collapsed on the floor without her support.

“Breakfasts ready,” Reiner said when I woke. My body ached, stiff from sleeping on the cold stone floor as much as overwork. Andrea was huddled in her cloak, picking at a bowl of the cold cereal that made up our morning rations. I accepted my own bowl, trying not to meet Reiner’s eyes. Even Lilian looked exhausted, but he was as cheerful as always.

“Thank you,” I said without enthusiasm. At some point, he’d put the light crystal on a chain around his neck and if I wasn’t wrong, he’d acquired a short sword.

“It's enchantable,” He said, noticing my gaze. Blades capable of being enchanted were rare and expensive. I could see why he’d be happy to have it despite the fight we’d been through. Even so, I felt like shit and I didn’t even want to think about fighting anything else. If Lilian could examine the teleportation circle and confirm it went to the surface, I wanted out.

“Reiner-” I started but he held up a hand and I stopped.

“Yesterday was too much. I shouldn’t have set such a fast pace. I apologize for that,” he said gently. I smiled, feeling better hearing him acknowledge it.

“Today well rest. Once everyone heals up, we'll fight another boss then leave,” he continued. He gave me an angelic smile and I felt thunderstruck. We had narrowly survived the last boss fight.

“Reiner, we should come back with Mira and the demi,” I said, not wanting to resort to a lie but unable to admit my fear.

“Eh? That’s a first for you, Mina the fearless,” Reiner said and laughed as if I’d made a joke. My heart skipped a beat and I wondered if this was how Mira felt when we didn’t listen.

“We’ll be fine, Reiner promised me we’d rest between levels too,” Andrea said with none of her usual spite. I looked over at Lilian who shrugged, he hadn’t even needed to convince her. She was the divine guide of the hero. Where he went, she went, end of story.

“Okay,” I agreed against my better judgment. I couldn’t verify where the teleportation circle went myself or fight my way through the moles alone. Until everyone else decided to return I was stuck. Stuck? That wasn’t right I thought as my head started to ache again. I was part of the hero’s party, why would I want to leave?

Reiner kept his word and we rested more often with a longer break whenever we came to a staircase. My fears didn’t leave me, but my discomfort lessened as things went along smoothly. When we came to the end of the third level, we took an even longer rest than before. If the patterned held, we needed to prepare ourselves to face the boss's room.

Instead, we found an additional level waiting for us at the bottom.

“Hahaha…” I broke out laughing as the tension I’d felt descending flew away from me. I’d gotten used to the pattern of the previous sets. Everyone joined me in laughing and I felt my fears ease like a clenched fist opening. We’d all been on edge, even acted a little strange. It was good to feel comfortable again.

When we finished the fourth floor, we took another long rest to be careful. Our caution was rewarded when we found ourselves in a boss room at the bottom. In good form, our steps were light and confident.

At the bottom was what looked like a cave-in that had revealed an ancient structure. Examining it I found a mixture of recognizable elements that added up to something new. I'd expected ancient ruins on a magical world to be completely foreign. The familiarity made my skin crawl.

“That must be another puzzle,” Lilian said once we explored the chamber and arrived at a giant mirror. It was clear like one from my own world rather than the murky copper backed ones I’d seen here. She pointed out an inscription and I found myself able to read it.

“Life takes many paths, but in the end, there is only one fate. Memento Mori,” I said the last aloud as and my blood felt like it turned to ice. It was in Latin, a language from my own world. It had no business being in an ancient ruin of this world.

“What!?” Andrea said, her voice rising to a shriek at the end. I looked over as a pot of lipstick fell from her hand. She’d been preening in the mirror while the rest of us focused on the inscription. Looking at the mirror I expected it to have a funhouse distortion that offended her. A ripple in the glass that made the belly look big or something inane that had upset her.

Instead, I found myself looking at myself. A self who withered as I watched. My body rotting as if the sands of time gushed instead of flowed within the mirror.

I let out a shriek as my desiccated skeleton stepped from the mirror to attack.