Mana Soul: Chapter 48 - The Hunt - Aela

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As Aela had expected it would happen, Claude’s natural charisma defaulted him into the leadership role for the trio of mercenaries in the wake of the first bugbear ambush. His first decision was to chase the surviving bugbears and see if they would take them to the dungeon core.

Objectively, it wasn’t a bad plan. Unfortunately, Aela knew that the monsters were in fact luring the mercenaries further away from the core instead. Most likely, they were now headed for another ambush site.

Aela made sure to give Hilda a silent warning while the mercenaries weren’t looking. The likely event that they were heading into another ambush made sharing that knowledge a higher priority than the mercenaries test. All the same, she tried to be subtle about it.

Hilda made no audible reply, just nodding her helmet to show she understood.

Theoretically, the strengthening treatments they had taken left them at comparable strength to level eighty Warriors. Aela’s capabilities lagged somewhat compared to Hilda’s, but her durability and strength were a constant while Hilda’s were only active while expending her mana.

Being so much stronger than the monsters in this dungeon probably left them in a position of near invulnerability, especially in their armour. But arrogance had a very well documented track record for getting Adventurers killed in dungeons they should not have had problems with otherwise.

As if to prove her point, a swinging log trap came crashing through the treeline and very nearly caught Claude’s P`A in the right leg. Only the quick response from Boris, kicking the log and cutting the thick rope it was connected to, avoided the otherwise costly collision.

A trap like that could have seriously injured Hilda if she didn’t have her powers active, and that was usually how dungeons punished the arrogant. Mundane traps were inherently lethal regardless of how many levels an adventurer could acquire. Not every trap has to work, it only takes a momentary slip in attention to deliver a potentially fatal injury.

“There are more traps ahead!” Linette warned using the communicator.

Boris grunted unintelligibly in reply.

“Then let’s stop and get our bearings!” Claude replied decisively.

The trio came to a sudden halt, meaning Aela and Hilda had to do the same.

During a short break, Linette’s P`A slowly circled their position, its head swivelling left and right in smooth even motions. “There is a stronger source of mana to the northwest of our origin point,” she declared confidently, pointing almost exactly in the direction of the dungeon core.

Hilda turned slightly to look at Aela but said nothing. She didn’t have to, Aela had already informed her where the dungeon core was generally located. Hilda was obviously surprised that the mercenaries had seemingly managed the same feet.

“You sure?” Boris grumbled as he stiffly adjusted the footing of his P`A.

“As much as I can be,” Linette replied curtly, “You telling me your eyesight has gotten so bad you can’t see that aura?”

Aela and Hilda glanced at one another in silence, the unspoken word hanging between them. Aura?

“Aura?” Claude asked curiously while his P`A continued scanning the trees for signs of danger.

“You can’t see it?” Linette asked a little incredulously.

“I can’t say I can,” Claude replied calmly.

“How would I know if you don't say what it is?!” Boris snapped, his P`A waving its arms around irritably.

“It’s like the mana of the monsters, but fainter and spread over a much larger area! It is much brighter over there!” Linette insisted as her P`A pointed towards the dungeon core, “Are you telling me you can't see it?!”

“Hrm...” Claude’s P`A looked in the indicated direction and shook its head, “I can’t see anything like what you are talking about.”

“Really?” Linette sounded genuinely surprised.

“Well, we have no other leads, so let’s see where following this aura gets us,” Claude decided and took the lead in their new heading.

Boris muttered something incomprehensible but his P`A fell into step anyway.

Linette’s P`A took one last surveying look around the area before hastily moving to the lead position.

Following along behind them, Hilda and Aela shared another look and shrugged. If Linette could see the location of the dungeon core, that wasn’t a bad thing at all.

Predictably, the bugbears did not seem content in allowing the group to head towards the dungeon core unimpeded. It only took a few minutes before the march towards the dungeon core was turned into an ongoing skirmish against the increasingly desperate bugbears.

To better maintain their intended neutrality, Aela and Hilda occupied a roughly central position in the formation, only attacking the bugbears as a final means of protecting themselves.

The surrounding trees made it difficult for Linette and Claude to efficiently retaliate with their choices in weaponry, but even without weapons, the P`As were capable of delivering bone-shattering blows.

The mounting casualties didn’t deter the bugbears in the slightest and only served to make them more desperate. Apparently incapable of understanding that the P`As weren’t made of flesh and bone. The bugbears began launching suicide attacks with the goal of delivering singular heavy strikes against what would otherwise be considered weak points like the ankle, knee or head.

Ultimately, the bugbears' attacks accomplished little more than draining small amounts of the P`As mana supplies before they themselves were wiped out.

“Are monsters normally like that?” Linette asked quietly, sounding more than a little disturbed by the suicidal abandon of their adversary.

“A dungeon will throw everything it has at you in order to see you dead,” Aela interjected.

“Even more so when the core is threatened,” Hilda added seriously before suddenly flinching and turning to Aela, “Sorry, I probably shouldn’t have said that.”

“They may have figured it out on their own already,” Aela replied and shrugged to try and show how little it mattered at this point. “Besides, they may not have understood what you said.”

“Right!” Hilda agreed happily, “Some of the mercenaries speak two languages, but that’s just officers from what I could tell.”

“What are they saying?” Boris grumbled.

Linette’s P`A gave an exaggerated shrug, “All I understood was ‘sorry’.”

“I’ll bet there is a story behind that,” Claude chuckled, “But let’s keep the chatter to a minimum until we are safely back at base.”

“Roger,” Boris sighed resignedly.

“Right!” Linette replied brightly, “We are getting close now, it should be just past that wall of trees over there,” her P`A pointed to a wall of trees ahead and to their left.

Adjusting their course, the group broke through the treeline and found the dungeon heart mounted atop a crude stone altar in the middle of a deforested clearing.

“Is this it?” Boris asked warily, slowly skirting the edge of the clearing.

Aela did a rough count of the number of bugbears they had slain and was reasonably confident that there wouldn’t be any more of them. They had also moved through the dungeon fast enough that the first batch of corpses was likely still decomposing.

“Keep an eye out for a boss monster,” Aela warned while removing her pack and retrieving the containment artifice. “Hilda, watch my back.”

“On it,” Hilda agreed and moved closer so she could better cover Aela with her shield.

Needing both her hands, Aela lent Hilda Markus’s crystal headed spear before approaching the altar. Expecting a boss monster to leap out and ambush them at any moment, Aela was almost disappointed when nothing happened. Sealing and locking the dungeon core inside of the artifice was relatively straightforward and only took small amounts of fiddling for Aela to secure the external locking mechanism.

“Now we must wait and see if it works,” Aela sighed before turning to address the group, “This is an experimental artifice designed to prevent the spawning of monsters. Your new objective is to guard the artifice against possible monster respawns or survivors.”

“Does that mean we passed the first test?” Boris asked with feigned disinterest.

“How did we do?” Claude asked while his P`A moved into a flanking position on the far side of the clearing.

“We had to have done pretty good, right?” Linette pressed, “After all, we killed all the monsters and found the core...”

“What do you think?” Aela asked Hilda while accepting Markus’s spear.

Hilda gave it some thought, “I think that given the terrain and the monster type, they managed to do alright. They found the core really quickly though. Are you sure they didn’t see you pointing it out earlier?”

“It’s possible...” Aela admitted grudgingly, “But I don’t think so. It must be an effect of her prosthetic eye interacting with the monster detection enchantment or something. Markus will probably be able to figure it out once we tell him about it.”

“Probably,” Hilda agreed.

“You all pass,” Aela announced and then looked to Hilda to say her piece.

“That trap should have been avoidable. If regular troops were supporting you, they could have died,” Hilda stressed seriously, “Remember that.”

The trio of mercenaries remained silent, hopefully taking her words to heart. It wasn’t just the trap either, the berserk suicide charges would have resulted in all manner of casualties amongst regular human soldiers. The P`As were strong, but that wouldn’t mean much for accompanying troops stuck on the ground without a half-foot of enchanted steel and hardened wood protecting them.

“Your southern speech is getting much better,” Aela praised supportively.

Hilda awkwardly rubbed at the back of her helmet, “Phillipe has been helping me practice,” she explained with a hint of embarrassment.

“Has Phillipe been getting any better?” Aela asked curiously, having found it strange that he hadn’t applied himself to learning the northern tongue as Markus had.

Hilda wavered her hand, “He can speak a little now, but he is trying very hard to learn the easterners speech. It seems pretty difficult...”

“Really?” Aela had never heard it before, so she had no frame of reference.

Hilda nodded vigorously, “Saying hello is...Hello...Isn’t that strange?”

“Hello?” Aela tried saying the comparatively large word and frowned, “Why is it so long? Are you sure it is just saying hello?”

Hilda nodded vigorously, “That’s what I thought too! But, hello, is just saying hello, and there's more too! There is a whole string of words like that which Phillipe is trying to learn just for a casual greeting!”

“How do they even get anything done if that’s how long it takes just to say hello?!” Aela demanded incredulously, now feeling quite glad she hadn’t had to spend any time with the eastern merchant.

Hilda shrugged, “I expect they can speak much faster than we can, being their native language and all,” she reasoned.

“Even so...” Aela sighed and shook her head.

A lengthy silence ensued without any signs of approaching monsters.

“It shouldn’t be much longer right?” Hilda asked conversationally.

Aela nodded, “The first bodies should be done decomposing by now.”

Hilda shifted a little uncomfortably, “I received a message from my mother a couple of days ago...”

“Oh? Does she want you to come back and help her retake the Jarldom?” Aela asked curiously.

Hilda shook her head, “The opposite...She wants me to stay away. Support from the prince and the court, in general, has been...disappointing. Mother isn’t convinced she can retake the Jarldom anytime soon and she wants me to stay somewhere safe...” She seemed both angry and resigned while speaking the last, obviously disagreeing with her mother's decision but willing to obey.

“You know,” Aela took a moment to try and think of a way she could say what she wanted to say without sounding like she was taking advantage of her friend. “Your mother could always take her loyalists into exile. If she served under Markus, your family could get new lands. Markus is already doing something similar with the Irongate family.”

Hilda was quiet for a number of minutes. “Markus already made a similar offer to Phillipe,” she admitted quietly. “A fief of his own to manage once new territories are taken. Hereditary land rights so long as he rules justly.”

“Oh, well, your mother could help expand your lands then!” Aela proclaimed excitedly.

Hilda nodded slowly. “I’m not so certain my mother would just quietly serve under a southern noble like Phillipe...Although...She was the one to suggest the match to begin with.”

“Wouldn’t getting married fix that anyway?” Aela pressed, “Most noble problems seem to be fixed with marriages. At least, that’s what you have been telling me.”

Hilda laughed a little, “That’s kind of true,” she admitted, now sounding like she was in a much better mood, “Mother might actually go for that. All I would need to do is convince her to come see how secure this frontier really is,” Hilda nodded her head towards Claude’s P`A to support her point.

Aela nodded, “Clearing out the great valley shouldn’t take more than a few weeks with P`As supporting the mustering forces of the mercenary company. Markus got some old maps off Tina’s family that show all sorts of nice and defensible locations. So it would be mostly a matter of clearing an area out and then fortifying it like the great valley.”

“With the sky boats and ships to deliver supplies and men, I suppose that could work,” Hilda agreed tentatively, “But we would still need golems and other artefacts like the P`As. Do you think Markus would really entrust them to us?”

Aela had to stop herself from snickering, “The golems would be his insurance for keeping you honest,” she explained, “They are loyal to him first and foremost. They only do what other people tell them to because he told them to do that.”

“Oh...” Hilda laughed and shook her head, “Of course! I don’t know why I was thinking otherwise, hehe.”

With no sign of approaching monsters, Aela felt confident in declaring the artifice a success. Leaving the dungeon core behind, they began heading back to the gateway. However, recalling what Peabody had told her in regards to their prisoner’s demands for sharing the secrets of the Guardians, Aela decided to see whether they could in fact find another dungeon.

“New mission,” Aela declared authoritatively without stopping, “I have decided you need more experience noticing and avoiding traps, so we are going to explore some more before leaving.”

The mercenaries seemed to take it in stride and voiced no objections. However, Hilda seemed to immediately realise something was up.

“Are we really looking for more traps?” Hilda asked curiously.

“We are,” Aela confirmed, “But there is something else I want to check while we are here. It’s important, but I shouldn’t tell you without talking to Markus first, sorry.”

Hilda nodded, “I understand. Sometimes friends need to keep secrets from each other, it’s okay.”

“Thanks,” Aela replied gratefully.

After travelling past the site of the log trap, Aela and Hilda both made sure to point out other traps to the mercenaries as they found them. Between Hilda’s substantial wealth of dungeon clearing experience and Aela’s keen sense of smell, they uncovered dozens of otherwise well hidden traps.

After travelling a short while longer, Aela suddenly felt a dramatic shift in the ambient mana. The mana had grown much thinner and felt similar to the levels she was used to feeling outside of the dungeons.

“My A`P is about half mana, I think,” Linette announced, “If we are going to do more fighting, it would be a good idea to swap out a crystal or two, right?” She was understandably a little uncertain on what she should do.

“I’m close too,” Claude added.

“How do you know how much mana is left?” Boris asked, sounding both worried and a little confused.

“The line on your key!” Claude and Linette replied in unison.

“Oh...Hrm...I am a little under half,” Boris announced worriedly.

“Should we recharge them? Or are we going back?” Hilda asked Aela.

“Let’s swap out some crystals for charged ones,” Aela decided, “I think we are almost finished, but it will be better to play it safe for now.”

“Alright,” Hilda agreed and shrugged off her pack, “Line up! We are doing a quick crystal swap!”

The A`Ps had a pair of externally accessible cylinders that could be twisted and pulled free of the A`P

to allow the Mana Storage Crystal within to be swapped out quickly without exposing the driver to danger. Ideally, it was intended that golems serve the in-battle function of changing out the crystals, given that they had substantial defences themselves and would be in much less danger than a regular human.

All the same, Aela and Hilda had been training alongside the A`Ps for a substantial amount of time and had specifically practised swapping out the crystals in case of an emergency. Changing the crystal over was a relatively quick affair, but it was only going to afford another hour or so of exploration.

After continuing on their same heading for a short while longer, the forest gave way to open low scrublands and small hills.

“Do you see that?” Linette asked quietly, pointing her glaive into the distance.

Aela squinted hard but wasn’t able to make anything out through the rain, “What do you see?”

“It looks like a giant bear?” Linette replied uncertainly, “It’s five times bigger than one of these shrubs,” she added worriedly.

Aela glanced down at the shrubs which were roughly half her height, “You're sure?”

“As much as I can be with all this rain,” Linette answered frankly, “And I think it has monster mana, but I might be imagining things.”

Aela considered the possible risks and decided to push on. “Let’s get closer. Everyone keep an eye out for other potential threats!” If the bear was from another dungeon there was still no guarantee that the dungeon would be the same level, or that the bear wasn’t a boss monster.

“It’s headed our way,” Linette warned after they had continued forward for another ten minutes, “It’s definitely a monster! And...I think it has another dungeon core!”

“Fall back!” Aela ordered, more than willing to take the mercenary’s word for it at this point.

The group slowly began heading back the way they had come, making as much progress as they could without letting the approaching bear out of their sight.

Aela could sense it now and the feeling was growing stronger with each passing moment as the bear gathered momentum and continued charging in their direction.

Suddenly the bear came to a halt and reared up on its hind legs, releasing a terrifyingly loud roar before heavily slamming down onto all fours again.

Other animals, all monsters, began streaking out of the surrounding hills and brushland behind the bear. However, just like the bear, they each stopped and wheeled about as they passed over an invisible line.

Confused at first, it only took Aela a few moments to realise that the mana rich environment of the dungeon seemed to be holding the monsters in a sort of cage.

“Why did they stop?!” Demanded Boris rather brusquely, “Are they trying to taunt us into running so they can overrun and trample us?”

“No...This feels different,” Claude insisted.

“We are leaving!” Aela declared and set a brisk pace for the gateway back to the forest outside of Arngier.

The group remained silent while traversing the forest and reached the gateway without further incidents.

“You are forbidden from speaking about what you have seen and heard,” Aela reminded the mercenaries, “When we decide it can be spoken about we will let you know.“

“But that bear...” Linette interjected uncertainly, “I thought a dungeon was only meant to have one core?”

“They do,” Hilda replied flatly.

“So that’s how it is...” Claude muttered.

The gateway remained just as enlarged as it had been before, rigidly adhering to the dimensions set by the rods that were still firmly planted in the ground. This made it easy for the group to leave the dungeon world behind them and begin travelling back to Arngier.

Leaving the mercenaries in Hilda’s care, Aela immediately went looking for Markus so she could tell him the good news. Asking a golem for his current location, Aela was surprised when the golem informed her that Markus was taking a short rest in their room.

A little worried that he may have overexerted himself in another one of his experiments, or worse, visited the prisoner and provoked another set of spasms, Aela hurried back to the house. Practically taking the stairs four at a time, Aela may have kicked the door down in her haste if Hector hadn’t been diligently waiting outside and had already opened it for her.

Hurrying to Markus’s side, Aela was relieved to find that he looked more or less as healthy as he had ever been.

Stripped down to just his trousers, Markus was sleeping peacefully on his side on top of the blankets.

Relieved to find he was alright, Aela quietly stripped off her armour and changed into a clean set of clothes before crawling into bed next to Markus and taking the opportunity for a nap.

Waking up sometime before dinner, Aela excitedly recounted the events of the dungeon and the results of the two artifices they had tested.

“This is huge!” Markus exclaimed excitedly, “We need to begin exploring these other dungeons as soon as possible!”

“We?” Aela asked nervously, “Markus, I think it’s-”

“I’ll drive one of the A`Ps or maybe the A`W, I’ll be fine!” Markus reassured her.

Aela was unconvinced but could tell she wasn’t going to win this argument short of tying him down to the bed indefinitely, which she had to admit had some appeal.

“And those artifices, did Peabody mention if there were more of them? Or were they just prototypes?” Markus asked eagerly.

Aela furrowed her brow in thought for a few moments before shaking her head, “I don’t think he did. Those might have been the only ones.”

Markus deflated a little before perking up again almost immediately, “That’s alright, I’m sure the workshop can whip up a new set in no time! You did say they were made of bronze right?”

Aela nodded.

“We have loads of the stuff,” Markus declared excitedly and reached for his tablet, “I’ll just place some work orders to the smiths and have them beat out some sheets for the workshop to get started with. A triple overtime rate for the late hour should do it...”

Markus remained on his tablet for quite a while trying to organise things to be ready as soon as possible. So Aela tried her best to think of how she might be able to keep Markus safe.

Dungeon monsters had always prioritised attacking Markus first when given the opportunity. This prioritisation only seemed to grow more pronounced with more powerful monsters and boss monsters in particular. If Markus were to drive an A`P, Aela was worried that the protection the A`P afforded would be made irrelevant by the magnification of aggression he would face in exchange. On that note, the A`W would be a little better, lacking the A`P’s means of fighting back and defending itself.

“Three days,” Markus declared, seeming both happy and annoyed by the announcement, “Everything will be ready in three days.”

Aela released a deep sigh of relief and relaxed. A great deal could change in three days, and there was every chance of something else potentially seizing Markus's attention.

“OH! Right! Have you spoken to Yiva or your brothers lately?” Markus asked in a leading way.

Aela shook her head, “Not in the last week or so, training those mercenaries has been very time-consuming. Why? Has something happened?” She wasn’t too worried, well aware that if something serious had happened that she would have contacted.

“Apparently, two more clans of chimaeras are headed our way. The Shoal-Stalkers and the Glen-Runners. Are you familiar with them?” Markus asked curiously.

Aela recognised the clans almost immediately, “The Shoal-Stalkers are Skadi’s people, otters,” she elaborated, ”They normally winter along the north coasts...” Aela stopped to consider things for a few moments, “Which means someone went running to go find them around the same time we left the old clan hold.”

“Is that a bad thing?” Markus asked neutrally, understandably lacking the context to make the judgement call on his own. After all, Skadi, her mother and uncle had been nothing but friendly to Markus, so their positive impression lent their clan a great deal of goodwill until proven otherwise.

“With the Shoal-Stalkers and Glen-Runners? No, they should be fine, their clans are far nicer than most,” Aela replied positively, “But being cautious around some of the others wouldn’t hurt. Like the Den-Hoarders and Whisper-Claws for example...The chimaeras in those clans might be alright, but their leadership has been rotten for generations and has left its mark...”

Markus considered what she said for a few moments before arriving at an epiphany, “Bears and cats?” He guessed with a wry smile.

Aela nodded, “Grisha was originally banished for his moderate stances regarding pure bloodlines...And you have met Magnus...”

“Well, I guess it’s for the best that we are accepting the more trustworthy clans first,” Markus sighed, “They should help keep any potential troublemakers in check, even if only out of self-interest. OH!” He slapped his forehead, “I nearly forgot. Yiva and I have been talking about it a fair bit lately and decided to scale back the number of male fertility treatments. Yiva raised a few very good points about having so many children that would be born within days of one another, chiefly the availability of midwives to ensure the safety of the births.”

Initially taken aback by Markus’s sudden change in stance over the treatments, Aela was forced to admit Yiva had a point. “Not to mention all those mouths to feed, and available space in the nurseries,” she added.

“Yiva mentioned those too, and a bunch of other things as well,” Markus agreed, “So female treatments will continue, but male treatments will be restricted to a certain amount for each clan over a month at a time. Yiva was thinking at most three treatments a week and to space them out as much as possible. Obviously, this means a priority system has to be introduced to try and make opportunities for first-time parents, but I have Peabody working on that. Just thought I’d let you know.”

While the news didn’t really affect Aela one way or the other, she appreciated Markus making the effort to include her. “How is progress on the wall for the great valley?” Aela had seen construction work going on earlier but had been unable to get a clear look before heading into the dungeon.

Markus chuckled and smiled wryly, “Well, it’s going alright now, but there was trouble finding enough labourers to get things started. We had to up the danger pay to five times the regular rates before people started giving it a chance. It’s actually kind of ironic since the sheer number of mercenaries, chimaeras and golems on guard up there makes it a far safer place in the event of a monster attack.” He laughed a little and sighed, “Not that the chimaera labourers were complaining, five times regular rates actually made it a rather popular choice. We just had to lure enough qualified masons to oversee the work. I wouldn’t be surprised if the chimaeras pooled some credits together to bribe the first masons that signed up. If they did, I admire their problem-solving skills and creativity.”

Getting dressed, they both headed downstairs for dinner and then spent some time playing with Arlee who seemed genuinely appreciative of the attention. Markus announced that the first school building would be finished soon, so Arlee would be able to socialise with other children her own age and begin her lessons again.

Arlee liked the sound of having more playmates but seemed less enthusiastic about beginning her lessons again. Apparently, Arlee was unaware that Dolly had been subtly working lessons into most of their games already.

Although Abigail was nervous about Arlee being out of the house, she was put at ease when Markus offered her a paid position organising the kitchen staff for the school. This would allow her to stay close to Arlee and become more independent at the same time.

Before going to bed, Markus made sure to have Leona pass along their progress to their prisoner. No doubt hoping their efforts would be enough to get her talking, Aela was far more pessimistic and suspected the prisoner wasn’t going to spill any more secrets without them finding her people first.

Markus woke Aela up early, insisting they both get ready for training. An already suspicious sentiment, Aela didn’t understand what had him so excited until they finished breakfast and headed for the training yard.

In addition to the three A`Ps reserved for the trio of mercenaries, another, larger, A`P was waiting in the training yard. Only a few feet taller at most, the difference was still obvious when the A`Ps stood close by to one another. Even so, the most obvious difference was the thick surcoat adorning the new arrival. Bearing the silver ring and black sun of Markus’s heraldry, Aela realised that the A`P was intended for Markus himself.

“Do you like it?” Markus asked with barely contained excitement,

A closer inspection revealed the greater attention to detail and additional bands of metal reinforcement worked into the A`P’s frame. The tinkers, and just as likely, golems, from the workshop, had spared no expense. Aela could even make out Markus’s face beneath the A`P’s helmet.

At first, the surcoat looked like it would get in the way, and for anyone else, it likely would. However, unlike the mercenaries, Markus didn’t need to be strapped into the chair in order to control the A`P’s movements.

As if of its own accord, the A`P knelt down on one knee and pulled aside the surcoat to reveal the front hatch. A few moments later, the hatch swung open and allowed Markus to climb up and into the seat. “Looks impressive, don’t you think?” He grinned and the silver of his eyes flashed in enjoyment.

“It’s bigger than the others, and looks nicer,” Aela admitted, “But are you sure you can fight well enough to protect yourself?”

Markus’s grin broadened and the A`P closed the hatch with its own hands before rising to its feet and adjusting the surcoat back into position. “Now seems like as good a time as any to find out,” Markus chuckled, his voice echoing across the training field.

Curious, Aela waved at Claude to get his attention, “Get in your A`P, time for a sparring session!”

Warily eyeing the larger A`P, Claude did as he was told, accepting help from Boris to get strapped in and close the hatch. Taking up one of the large wooden practice swords, Claude’s A`P headed to the centre of the field.

Apparently quite confident, Markus directed his A`P to take a position opposite Claude’s and took a combat stance.

“Are you going to take up a weapon? Uh, my Lord?” Claude asked uncertainly.

“Maybe later,” Markus replied confidently, “I want to see how I do without one first. So don’t hold back.”

“Ah...Alright, my Lord...” Claude didn’t seem enthusiastic at all.

“If you go easy on me, I’ll rescind your Prosthetic Armour privileges,” Markus warned, his deadly serious tone making it clear he wasn’t messing around. Considering that he was intending to set her mind at ease by demonstrating his combat prowess, Aela could understand the need for the threat.

“Wouldn’t dream of it...” Claude replied dryly.

As the sparring match began, it was immediately obvious that Markus had more than just a height advantage. Markus’s A`P moved with a speed and grace that put Claude to shame. In every respect, the A`P seemed like an extension of Markus’s own body, even displaying his minor ticks and tells as he closed in on Claude’s A`P.

Watching Markus duck and weave, dodging and knocking aside Claude’s practice sword, Aela was forced to admit that Markus was a very proficient fighter in single combat. The fact that Markus hadn’t demonstrated these skills until very recently only served to reinforce Hilda’s distasteful theory that Markus had been a hired killer in his former life and that something had shaken those skills loose.

The fact that Markus might have killed people for money didn’t bother Aela. There was always a surplus of bad people who deserved it. What bothered her was that people rarely afforded such a consideration once a label was applied.

The fight between Markus and Claude ended before it really had a chance to begin. Markus repeated the same performance with Boris and Linette, leveraging his superior mobility and reaction speed to outmanoeuvre them before knocking them down and delivering a mock killing blow.

“Do I have your approval now?” Markus chuckled.

Aela reluctantly nodded. At least in the A`P Markus would be safe so long as the mana held out. “You should still practice with a weapon,” Aela insisted.

“That’s fair,” Markus agreed.

Aila spent the next three days doing her best to run Markus ragged in sparring by having him fight two of the mercenaries at a time. While it served as a viable handicap initially, Markus quickly learned how to manoeuvre so he would only be facing them one at a time. Facing all three seemed a bit much with such limited space, and Markus wasn’t willing for the combat capabilities of the A`P’s to become common knowledge.

Wanting to keep the risks to a minimum, and generally regarding the mercenaries as more expendable, a team of ten crossbowmen was going to accompany them to investigate the second dungeon. The crossbowmen wouldn’t be in any more danger than anyone else, in theory anyway. A pair of Armoured Waggons, each carrying a repeating ballista on its roof, would be carrying the crossbowmen and the experimental artifices.

When given the choice between walking, driving or riding, Aela and Hilda both chose the fourth option, standing. Specifically, standing behind the ballistae.

Practising with the repeating ballistae made Aela’s blood sing. There was no other feeling like it. The ballista could hold two clips of enchanted javelins simultaneously, allowing for up to twenty shots to be fired before reloading. Accuracy, while the A`W was mobile, depended more on distance and firing angle than any measurable degree of skill, but it didn’t stop Aela and Hilda from competing anyway.

Returning to the dungeon attracted more attention than the first time. Markus even made a point of waving to the crowds as they passed and Hilda soon joined in as well.

Unsure why the humans were being so supportive, Aela didn’t have to wait long to find out. Just by the occasional cries of support from the gathered labourers, it became obvious that they were all under the assumption that the gathered force was going out to hunt monsters. More specifically, the monsters of the deadlands.

“I never thought I would see the day an excited crowd would be happy to see me,” Aela admitted over the communicator.

“Get used to it!” Hilda replied happily, “People are always looking for heroes to believe in!”

“I’ll bet Phillipe’s kicking himself for missing this,” Markus chuckled.

Travelling to the dungeon was much faster without anyone on foot. With the trio of mercenary driven A`Ps taking the lead, they crossed through the gateway and entered the dungeon more or less in single file.

The trees were far enough apart to allow the A`Ws to navigate between them, but it meant that they had to proceed at a slower pace than originally intended.

“It’s darker here than I expected,” Markus commented, “Even accounting for the clouds.”

“It wasn’t this dark last time,” Hilda agreed, “And it was raining then as well.”

“We will get a better view once we leave the forest,” Aela insisted, pointing in the general direction of the scrublands.

Sure enough, leaving the forest behind and entering the scrublands afforded them a much better view. It also revealed that the sun was much lower on the horizon than they had expected it to be.

“It’s barely sunrise?” Aela commented quizzically.

Markus’s A`P mimicked the motion of scratching its chin, “Well...This is another world...Who is to say the sun rises and sets at the same time as ours?”

Hilda looked surprised for a few moments before becoming deeply contemplative, “Actually, I have entered dungeons during the day that turned out to be late evening or after midnight. I just figured it was a part of the dungeon...”

“Something to think about,” Markus agreed.

With the A`Ws now free to move at higher speeds, the group made good time approaching the far hills.

“That bear is coming at us again!” Linette warned, her A`P pointing to one of the distant hills.

Sure enough, the giant bear soon came into view, barreling straight towards them and releasing savage roars as it tore up the earth.

“And you said the core was inside of the bear, right?” Markus asked curiously.

“Yup,” Aela replied eagerly as she lined up the ballista.

“Ah, probably best not to shoot it full of javelins then,” Markus suggested, “Sorry Aela, you will have to field test Tina’s ballista another time.”

Aela grinned, “It’s okay Markus, there are plenty of other targets, you'll see!”

Hilda shared Aela’s grin and readied her ballista.

Just like last time, hordes of wolves, bears and mountain lions came streaming over the mountains.

“Hopefully that invisible wall stops them again, eh?” Boris joked nervously.

Markus’s A`P wandered closer and waited.

As expected, the wave of monsters met the same invisible barrier and broke against it like a wave.

“Would you look at that?” Markus muttered in wonder, “This could make exploring the dungeons much easier than I expected...”

“Drive the waggons closer!” Aela ordered eagerly, “It’s time to go hunting!” She thumped her right foot against the roof to show the driver she was serious.

“Let's go!” Hilda agreed, giving the roof of her waggon a few heavy kicks as well.

Both waggons slowly began inching forwards towards the wall of fangs, claws and teeth.

“When the Ladies have thinned the ranks, We will move in to deal with the boss,” Markus announced confidently, “Do your best to avoid the core if possible. It’s most likely inside of its brain or heart, so no shortcuts. Ballistas and crossbows are a last resort only! I want that core intact!”

As the waggons trundled into range, Aela eagerly fingered the trigger and lined up her first target. It was actually a surprisingly difficult thing to do. With how the monsters were practically tripping over one another in an attempt to break through the unseen barrier, making choosing a specific target almost impossible.

So Aela decided not to choose. Releasing the first javelin into the horde, Aela was pleased to see four monsters gored in a single hit, and the unlucky monster that was struck last was pinned to the ground. The gored monsters barely managed to remain standing, the shock of the injuries and rate of exsanguination causing them to weaken with each passing second.

Hilda demonstrated less restraint and began strafing the line of monsters, “HAHAHA! I FEEL INVINCIBLE!”

Aela spared a moment to wonder at Hilda’s choice in words. Of all the people she knew, Aela would have thought Hilda’s own special powers would make her feel more invincible than firing the ballista. Then again...Aela released three more ballista bolts in rapid succession and felt a fresh rush of adrenaline flood her system.

No matter how many casualties they took, the monsters more or less stood their ground, howling, barking and hissing in anger as their numbers continued to dwindle.

Reloading her ballista for another strafing attack, Aela had a sudden epiphany, “Hey, Hilda?”

“Yeah?” Hilda was reloading as well and spared a moment to glance in Aela’s direction.

“Who's going to pick up all those javelins once we deal with the monsters?” Aela asked thoughtfully before carefully choosing her next target. With their numbers so heavily depleted, it now took some skill to actually hit a conscious target.

“I thought you were just going to have the crossbowmen do it,” Markus interjected, sounding more than a little confused.

Aela felt a flood of relief. Just contemplating gathering all of those javelins, let alone reloading them into their respective clips had put a serious damper on her monster-hunting killing spree.

“Oh thank the Divines...” Hilda gasped in relief.

As the final monsters fell, leaving the bear alone and isolated, Markus and the trio of mercenaries cautiously made their approach.

“Linette, see if you can weaken it from here with your glaive,” Markus suggested while his A`P went through the motions of limbering up his shoulders.

“Sir!” Linette barked and stepped forward.

The bear roared in rage as the glaive’s blade sliced through its shaggy hide and cleaved clear to the bone. Emboldened by her first strike, Linette delivered another and then another, carefully choosing her opportunities to avoid striking the head or near its heart.

“You next,” Markus waved Boris and Claude forward, “Just try to cripple it as much as possible and let it bleed out. Just remember not to damage the core.”

“Sir!” Boris and Claude obediently stepped forward with their weapons bared.

“It’s in the head!” Linette called out as she delivered another strike and sheared off part of the bear's right paw.

Aela only had to watch as the three hulking forms of the A`Ps took the bear apart piece by piece. To her immense relief, Markus kept his distance. It was just as well too because Aela would swear that in spite of the mercenaries actively hacking it to pieces, Markus remained the sole focus of its attention.

Markus had noticed as well and was staring right back at it, the impassive eyes of the A`P bearing his face revealing nothing.

Reduced to a pile of mangled meat, the bear couldn’t even make a token attempt at protest as Markus used his A`P to rip the core out of its skull.

It was always strange for Aela to witness Markus being so ruthless. It was so outside of his usual behaviour that it came as a shock each time.

Jumping down off the waggon, Aela retrieved the containment artifice from the waggon and brought it over to Markus. “Do you want me to do it?” She asked helpfully.

The head of Markus's A`P turned to impassively consider Aela for a few moments before handing her the dungeon core, “I would appreciate that,” Markus replied a little quietly.

Sealing the dungeon core inside the containment artifice, Aela was a little surprised to see some of the nearby monsters shudder in unison before immediately growing still. “They weren’t quite dead yet,” she realised, “But sealing the core finished them off.”

“It certainly looks like it,” Markus agreed soberly, “We would need to do some tests to be sure, but I think you’re right.”

While Markus was left to decide where they were going to leave the dungeon core, Aela and Hilda supervised the mercenary crossbowmen as they retrieved the javelins.

“How many monsters do you think we killed?” Hilda asked with a curious grin.

“At least a hundred each,” Aela guessed while surveying the carnage, “This dungeon seemed like it was a higher level but it still went for lots of ‘weaker’ monsters. Why do they do that?”

Hilda shrugged, “Sometimes numbers are enough, like those draugr. The first group probably got overwhelmed and couldn’t make it back to the exit.”

That was true enough, Aela had to admit. The quantity could be just as dangerous as quality if it could reach the tipping point.

Unsure where to leave the dungeon core, Markus eventually settled for leaving it on top of one of the hills inside of the dungeon’s territory. He was far more interested in locating the dungeon’s gateway and taking a look at what was on the other side.

With the waggons sent to go looking for the gateway, Aela decided to stay with Markus instead. Presumably, all the monsters were dead, so the bulk of the danger was now passed.

Despite having deposited the encased dungeon core on the ground, Markus still seemed fixated on it.

“Is something wrong?” Aela asked, keenly aware of how Markus could lose himself in thought with very little provocation.

“Oh...Ah...Well...” Markus’s A`P fidgeted uncomfortably, before Markus released a deep sigh of resignation, “I was just thinking what the people who made the dungeon cores would think if they found out what we've done. I can’t imagine they would be happy about it...Then again, we aren’t exactly on the best terms already either...”

Aela hadn’t considered that, but now it was all she could think about.

“Wait a minute,” Hilda interjected uncertainty, “Did you just say someone made the dungeons?!”