The light of the caravan blinded him in the distance. Enoch ran too fast. His eyes couldn’t adjust properly. He throttled down, dreading a panicked stab from a soldier or a mean spell from startled battle mage. Nasty bunch, all of them.

His last beer went directly to his chapped lips. The scouting expeditions were long, the corridors dry. He shook some of the dust. Walked in to the major zombie gazing at a boring wall, stuck on a folding chair.

She kept looking at the wall and said, “Ah, the runner. Brought any news?”

“What’s up about that wall?”

“Same as all the other walls.”

“I see. Well, we got mutants ahead. Two hours away for me, about two days for the caravan but they’ll be moving too.”

The major yelled, “Andrej.”

The mayor came in on shaky legs, Tatiana and Lazlo in tow. Enoch had figured out that the lanky guy was an adviser of a sort. Or a bad waiter. Or both.

Enoch asked Lazlo, “care bringing me a snack and some beer? Hard run.”

A murderous instinct came out as the first, raw reaction. Followed by a long sigh as Lazlo turned, left to fetch a drinkm for the annoying Outsider.

The major pointed at Enoch, said, “Our one-legged runner as spotted mutants. Two days ahead.”

Andrej said, “Mind if I take a look at your map?”

Contrived, Enoch opened a side pouch, unfolded a dirty piece of thick parchment, passed it to the mayor.

Andrej looked at it, did a double take at Enoch who shrugged.

“What’s the spiral on this side passage?

“A shaft, it goes down. That’s why it turns clockwise.”

“Clever.”

Andrej asked the major, “what say so? We go down the shaft.”

The major said, “it’s either this or we’re in for a fight. Trapped if it turns bad. I’d say we go down.”

“Down it is,” said Andrej, “keep an eye out. The deeper we go, the worst the traps will be.”

***

The thick carapace of a Hammer Beetle lay discarded and broken, its soft parts long dried up. Enoch braked abruptly. Displaced dust shot past him, covered the beetle, dispersed in the corridor. He examined the walls, the floor and the celling. This type of damage reminded him of a Crushing Pillar Trap.

He kneeled. Approached the beetle carefully. He should be able to spot the trigger. Night Vision, Perception and a prayer to Ipabo, patron of traps. He should but he didn’t. Nothing. Suspicious patterns in the dust, yes. An obvious victim, yes. But no trigger. How did the trap activate?

He turned the problem in his mind until, instantly, the world shifted. Chaos and concussions descended. Crushing pillars erupted from the walls and ceiling at weird angles, pounding. Dodge activated. Praise the number generator. It gave him a chance to react. He sprawled over the beetle remain. Still intact, the carcass was most likely laying in a safe spot. Proud of himself on this one.

Dozens of pillars on each side, spread over several yards, erupted five time and stopped. The Drone were clever. No trigger. Extremely hard to detect. A simple timer. It would kill intruders at random.

Enoch waited patiently until the whole process started again. The pillars came down five minutes later. More than enough to get away.

This pass would be impossible for the slow wagons of their caravan. He backtracked instead of passing through. No point in exploring further if the group couldn’t follow. He left the killing zone. Went to retrieve his crude map when a thought hit him. Where was Choo? Enoch looked around erratically. He was still seeing in complete darkness. There was a source of purple light somewhere but where was it? He patted at his pouches with both hands, then tried a hopeful, “Choo?”

A timid collection of digital notes rose from Enoch’s back. The animated Spook Shield drifted, freed from his back, the tiny core stuck to it. Virtual air left Enoch’s lung. His pulse calmed down.

“Good thinking, buddy.”

Enoch picked his map again. Caught his hovering shield with one hand to bring in more light. Looked for the right pattern. Found it. Then marked it with a wobbly X. Do not pass.

***

The unmistakable clamor of fighting urged him forward. He stepped on the large spiral ramp of the Drone Shaft and Sprinted upward. The whole shaft flickered to the exploding spells further up. It created a trippy strobe effect of multiple, alternating colors.

Enoch Dashed, jumped straight across the spiral, caught the edge with both hand, tumbled back to his feet and moved on. Flashy but he had barely gained an instant. Better keep his Stamina.

These Drone Shafts were big. A good two hundred feet tall which translated to more than a mile of coiled path.

A hyena torso fell down the middle of the shaft trailed by red pixels. A soldier followed, yelling all the way down. A shield, propelled by purple light, rammed him back into the ramp. Great catch but there wasn’t any time to check on him. Enoch Dashed again.

The villagers came first, straining in front of a wagon to control its descent. He Jumped over them. Used Quadrupedal 1, from his Parkour 1 Skill, to propel himself with his arms, then his legs and arms again followed by a long Jump to the next wagon. Enoch paused for an instant, took in the scene, and Blitzed to a wolf humanoid who was mowing soldiers with an oversized great sword.

The Skill gave Enoch blinding speed for 2 second, as if he had teleported straight to his target. The Steel Spear held in front on him with two hands, perpendicular, hit the wolf as a battering ram.

Blitz 1 | Skill | Rarity 7

Grants invulnerability while the caster rush to the target at 10x Speed.

Knockback 7 | Duration 2 seconds | Refresh 10 minute

Cost | 40 Stamina

Knockback had a quality of its own. Near useless at low value, it shone in the high range. The wolf flew away as a billiard ball, rotating in the air, screaming in rage. He hit the shaft roof, passed out, fell, disappeared in the seething mass of his companions. Back to the horde, mutant.

Enoch joined the soldiers’ ranks. Saw Andrej atop the third wagon, used as a barrier in front of the shaft’ entrance. It did a poor job at it. The mutants were spilling all around. The mayor, apparently amused by the situation, rested on both knees, hands spread to his sides. Ten wooden puppets, two feet tall, stuck full of nasty blades, danced around him, slicing and dicing the enemies. Across the carnage, Andrej winked at Enoch.

Five puppets went limp for a second as Andrej retrieved a handful of nuts and stuffed them in his mouth, his beard already full of crumbled pieces and spice dust, the magnificent bastard.

Enoch put his new Martial attribute to good use.

Martial 1 | Attribute | Rarity 3

10% improved Damage

Damage 1 | Parry 1 | Stance 1

He took a pikemen stance, too bad about the low bonus, he needed a higher level. The sharp end stabbed and stabbed again.

Purple dominated the flashing colors for a moment. Rock coalesced and a Totem Golem slammed the mutants three feet in front of Enoch. The enemies, staggered from the impact, grunted as the animated Spook Bark Shield rotated around the Totem, smacking their face.

A wave of healing passed over Choo’s allies. They cheered with fury and glee.

Barely registered through the action, the chat scrolled by in Enoch’s peripheral vision.

“The new king is in town.”

“Pirate geek and his hippie rock.” Tag | Little bro

“Interesting build.” Tip | 7$

A massive bull head butted the Spook Bark Shield. It wheeled away, disappeared under a wagon. The beast continued its charge on to Choo. The golem hit the ground hard.

Howling in defiance, the bull raised a mace, swept it down, aiming at the Golem Totem. The compressed air whistled around the weapon. The monster rippled, fell forward, limp, a huge pixelated hole in his neck.

Enoch backtracked the attack’s trajectory to the top of the third wagon. There, protected by six of her employees in Mastercraft Full Plate Armor, Tatiana reloaded her giant crossbow.

Enoch let out an exited shout. Stabbed the wall of meat in front of him. Again, and again.

The game had its moment.