Chapter Seven

What do you Mean we Can’t Just Kill them all?

Wraith took a full two days to recover his mana and for his soul to heal from the trauma. On the bright side, he could now read all the draconic runes he had learned along with another two rune-words from the staffs of the wyrm priests. The kobolds had returned with the two children who were weak and malnourished; Wraith had them throw them in the iron cages and had to take extra care they didn’t see me magically altering the dungeon or creating things with his mana. Ember was hard at work imprinting the twenty-five new soul sparks and this time Wraith let them name themselves. Wraith felt a disturbance at the edge of his dungeon and ‘looked out’ He couldn’t see much outside of himself and sent one of his regular kobold minions to the surface. The kobold looked out and yelped as he took a crossbow bolt to the chest.

I believe we have company, Ember; Wraith informed him as armed all his traps.

“That was fast, I thought we’d at least have to wait a day or two,” Ember said as removed himself from the hive of soul sparks, he’d only finished ten of the twenty-five, but this was still faster than what he had been able to do before.

So, here’s the plan we let them fight a few weak kobold minions than when they get down here, I collapse the entrance back to the surface, and all of you swarm them and kill them all, Wraith said confidently already relishing the thought of their delicious souls and mana.

“Um, boss we can’t just kill them all,” Ember said tentatively.

What do you mean we can’t just kill them all? That’s what they exist for, isn’t it? Wraith asked somewhat baffled by what Ember had just said.

“Well if you are too dangerous people might actively try to destroy you. Even if they don’t know you exist they could cleanse the land of any mana, and it could take you years to recover, or they just might stop coming altogether and create magical barriers to trap all of us in here,” Ember explained to Wraith that he was going to have to hold himself back a bit.

How am I supposed to do that, it’s either I kill them all or make them surrender and serve me; I don’t know how to hold myself back, Wraith complained doing his best to sulk.

“A lot of dungeons have that problem you will have to be as random as possible, just imagine what would happen if you couldn't see everything going on around you,” Ember said coming down to rest beside Wraith.

The Adventurers

The adventurers moved forward toward the ruins. The female fighter, Martha, was at the front her shield at the ready a light crossbow poked out from the pack on her back. The elven wizard, Kir’axal stood in the middle of the group his staff emitting light to cast back the darkness of the night so that the two humans in the party could see. The dwarven cleric Barhom took the rear his mace and shield in hand his holy symbol thudding against his chain mail with each step he took. The human rogue moved in front of the group examining the ground for traps as he stealthed along. The party moved up to the moat around the castle a stinking ooze of muck. A broken bridge was patched with a few boards that spanned the mire, big enough for kobolds to cross.

The warrior edged across the board and held her shield and sword out in front of her to protect her party as they carefully crossed the ten-foot-wide moat. There was a scuttling sound, and a group of four kobolds marched around the corner and gave a look of surprise as the warrior lunged forward and the battle began.

I don't think they would notice the adventures they are being really quite, Wraith said, all right you four go around the corner and then look surprised and let the adventurers make the first move than try to kill them as best you can unless I tell you to do something different.

The four kobolds on ‘patrol walked around the corner and widened their eyes and dropped their jaws a little in the facsimile of surprise. The female warrior removed one of their heads, and the other three kobolds began to fight, scoring a few minor cuts on the warrior’s body before the cleric bashed one in the head knocking the body unconscious and the wizard cast a small burst of fire into the face of another. The rouge appeared behind the last kobold sinking both of his blades into the kobold’s neck. Wraith was impressed at his stealth ability, even he had barely kept track of him.

The party surrounded the unconscious kobold and tied him up and set him against the wall. They whispered amongst themselves than the rogue kicked the kobold and slapped him in the face until he was awake.

“Where are the children?” The cleric asked holding his mace in both hands letting it thump into his hands threateningly.

The kobold spat out a bunch of draconic curses as Wraith had told him to do and the cleric slammed his mace down onto the kobolds foot.

Is that enough intimidation? Wraith asked Ember.

“He can tell them a little bit but not much he wouldn’t know much and would keep as much information to himself as he could to keep from being killed,” Ember cautioned me.

Okay, Bob… Wraith began.

“I’m Rob sir,” the soul spark responded cutting me off mid-order.

Whatever, don’t interrupt. Tell them they are below you if they ask what you’re doing with the children tell them that the Great De’ros the white, is summoning the Ancient King of the Ruins by sacrificing the children when the moon is at its zenith in the sky, Wraith ordered.

“Where are the children!” the cleric roared smashing the kobolds foot again.

“Below me!” Rob screamed.

“How dare you!” The cleric shouted his face reddening in anger at the insult.

Ember and Wraith couldn’t stop laughing.

“I think he meant below him Barham, not blow him,” Kir’axal said placing one of his slender elven hands on the dwarf’s shoulder to calm him. “Why did you kidnap the children?” he asked.

“The Great De’ros the White will sacrifice them when the moon is at its highest point to summon forth the Ancient King of the Ruins,” Rob whimpered, while the soul sparks couldn’t die, and they could only dimly feel the pain of the bodies they inhabited but that pain was still very discomforting for them to endure.

“What King?” the elf asked curiously.

“I don’t know only the Great one does!” Rob squealed.

“You wouldn’t lie to us, would you?” the dwarf cleric asked.

“No, no my lords,” the kobold insisted.

“Good,” the cleric said and swung his mace crushing the kobolds head, “Zizula permits none of the dark races who have stained their souls to live,” he said piously.

“It just seems a little wrong to kill an unarmed opponent,” the female warrior said a little disapprovingly of her companion’s antics.

“Zizula’s will must be done Martha without him the world would have fallen to Pathaldron eons ago, and we would live in a world of darkness,” the cleric said stoically and began leading the way.

I think now is a good time for a trap, Wraith said darkly not approving of the cleric’s actions for his own reasons. A spear shot out of the wall, and the cleric cried out as it stabbed him the side his chain mail only keeping it from completely impaling him.

Ah my first adventurer kill, Wraith said sighing at the accomplishment.

“Nope the wizard is giving him a healing potion,” Ember said.

What they can do that! Wraith shrieked.

“Oh, course they can why do you think it’s a big accomplishment to kill one? It’s not easy they have magic, can heal each other and are in general more powerful than any monsters a beginning dungeon has,” Ember lectured me. “You have to wear them down, make them use up all their spells and potions before you can kill them. I would only kill one of them this time a maximum of two you want them to spread your legend around so you can attract higher ranked adventurers next time and the odd treasure hunter or two.”

Fine, I’m sending a more significant group this time and no more captives this time that was boring, Wraith said sulkily and sent orders for eight armored kobolds to rush forward and shout.

“For the Ancient King!” they howled, and another battle insured two kobolds fired at the wizard, but he fell to the ground and hid behind a stone wall while the cleric and warrior rang forward to engage in melee combat.

The warrior sliced the head off a kobold but was stabbed twice in the thigh with two spears, and her tunic was stained with red blood. An iron sword deflected the cleric’s mace, even as the blade shattered the inferior iron no match for the steel and iron-wood weapon. The rogue slipped behind the lines and killed a kobold in one strike and threw his dagger into the calf of a kobold, but he quickly received two wounds to the side from a kobolds sword. The wizard popped up for a second and cast a small blast of ice that froze a kobolds throat suffocating him and killing him slowly.

The rogue retreated throwing daggers and taking cover behind a pile of rubble, the kobolds rushed forward and inflicted a few more wounds on the warrior and cleric before the warrior beheaded another one and stabbed another through the chest and the cleric crushed the skull of another. The wizard cast another small blast of fire muttering the spell under his breath, but Wraith was listening carefully and managed to catch the cantrip’s word.

“Inferi,” the wizard whispered as the blast of fire shot from his hands.

Thanks for that, Wraith said adding the word to his knowledge of magic.

The warrior and cleric panted leaning on their weapons as they caught their breath. The warrior retook the lead the wizard holding a torch aloft in one hand and his staff in the other. The rogue stayed next to the wizard wincing from his wounds, but adventurers were not like regular people and could push aside their pain and continue even when severely wounded.

I’m going to send some ghoul kobolds at them that ought to shake them up, Wraith chuckled.

“Careful that dwarfs a cleric, undead are their specialty,” he cautioned me.

They’re my most potent monster, Wraith insisted, besides it will help use up his spells at least.

“Go for it,” Ember said giving a mental shrugged and used his body to roll a d4, “that’s a three.”

There was a chattering of teeth, and the three ghoul kobolds rushed forward their eyes burning with light blue flames. They opened their mouths and let out a hiss and pounced on the adventurers. One of the ghouls placed its hand on the female warrior, and she froze paralyzed by the ghoul’s undead powers even as it took a bite into her shoulder, the second ghoul grabbed the cleric, but he shrugged off the effects of the ghoul’s touch and grabbed his holy symbol.

“By the power of Zizula I turn the darkness of your hearts back upon you!” he shouted.

Wraith immediately noticed the effects as two of the ghouls was driven backward, the dark mana pattern inside of them began forcing them to ignore his commands as it started forcing Wraith’s minion to back away from the cleric. The other ghoul used its claws and raked along the warrior’s neck, and cheek and the wounds welled with blood and flesh withered from the necrotic corruption. The wizard stepped forward, and a blast of ice hit the ghoul attacking the wizard and knocked it off her; she shuddered for a second before regaining control of her limbs and striking forward with her sword decapitating her attacker. The cleric and rogue lunged forward and obliterated the remaining ghouls.

The warrior sank to the ground and leaned against a wall, “I think we need to take a short rest,” she panted.

The adventurers sat down their backs against the wall while the cleric kept watch, they ate a few bits of rations and relieved themselves on Wraith’s walls which he felt was a bit rude. They stood back up looking calmer and refreshed. They moved through the rest of the castle but didn’t come across any more kobolds until they went to the door to the cavern. A large room that had once been some sort of shrine or throne room with pillars supporting the roof and only two of the cornerstones fallen to the ground. Rubble blocked line of sight for much of the place the only thing visible a massive wooden door banded with iron.

The party advanced slowly and then the four kobolds warriors rushed forward. The kobolds wore scale armor and carried shields and heavy long singled edged swords. The warrior and cleric created a small shield wall using the two fallen pillars as a choke point. The wizard fired his spells from behind them. The rogue stayed back ducking out from behind the shield wall and pillars to throw daggers before retaking cover. The kobolds charged and shoved the warrior and cleric back a few feet and stabbed wildly through the gaps in the shield while the other two kobolds moved around the fallen pillars to flank the party.

Okay, that long enough activates rage, Wraith ordered. He was excited to use this new ability he had discovered when messing around with his fire mana.

The kobolds dropped their shields and roared taking their swords in both hands their eyes blazing with rage as they began hacking into the adventurers, this was similar to the effect Wraith had seen the wyrm priests do to buff the kobolds. It worked by pushing fire mana through their blood to give them a boost in strength and prevent them from feeling pain. One of the kobolds drew back his sword and hit the female warrior with such impact that she was flung against the wall with a large fresh dent in her shield and the cleric was pushed back his feet sliding along the floor as he braced himself.

One of the kobolds rushed the warrior slamming his sword down, but the warrior rolled out the way springing back to her feet. The other three kobolds began roaring as they banged their swords against the cleric’s shield in a maddening frenzy. One of the swords broke from the force behind it while another finally punched through the steel stabbing into the cleric’s shoulder. The cleric roared his hammer began to shine with light as he brought it down and crushed the head of the kobold. The other one pushed him back a few feet. The third kobold swung its sword at the warrior’s midsection to cleaver her in two; she rolled to the side and jumped to her feet taking two steps back to step out of its reach.

The fourth kobold advanced on the wizard who began backing up razing his long quarterstaff to point at the kobold. The rogue slipped up behind the kobold and stabbed his short-sword straight through the kobolds midsection. The kobold crumpled and fell to the ground and fire burned along its body crumbling it to ash. The warrior swung her sword as she lunged forward and scored a hit on the kobolds bicep but it paid no attention to the wound as it got past her reach. It dropped its sword and began clawing at her and biting down its teeth inflicting injuries even through the chainmail. The cleric swung his brilliant hammer again the golden weapon emitting a thunderclap when it struck the kobolds sword as it tried to block the attack. The sword exploded, and the shrapnel shredded the kobold but only vaporized as it drew near to the glow of the cleric.

Now that seems a little unfair, Wraith grumbled to Ember.

“Each manifestation gives its followers a few special abilities that relate to the element of the manifestation. Zizula is the manifestation of light, so his clerics are given spells that blind or give their weapons temporary powers of celestial destruction. That was probably the most powerful spell he had, and he won’t be able to do it again until sunrise,” Ember explained to me.

Why not, will it take his body that long to regain the mana? Wraith asked as he watched the adventurers battle back and forth.

“He doesn’t use his own mana for the spells, clerics and paladins are given their mana for their spells each day when they pray to the manifestation they serve. He is a cleric of light so he prays at dawn to symbolize the coming of the light where one of the Turashen would pray after the sunsets to signify the beginning of the night.

The Turashen? Wraith asked he had never heard of them before.

“That is the name they were first given they are also known as the ten, the taken, the dark lords. Ask me about them later,” Ember said turning his attention back to the battle.

The warrior rolled across the ground with the kobold still savaging her she pulled a dagger from her boot and thrust it up under the kobolds chin splattering her face with its blood as the wound began spouting like a geyser. The party got to their feet and approached the door the warrior bleeding severely and cleric’s shield in pieces.

The rogue slipped into view and knelt in front of the door inspecting it for traps. “It appears to be clear,” he said and eased it open. The cleric picked up a stone, and it began shining with light, he tossed it down the stairs, and the party looked down into what they could see of the cavern.

“Shall we press ahead?” the cleric asked boldly.

“I’m too weak,” the warrior said panting heavily.

The cleric noticed his friends condition and placed a hand on her shoulder, and warm radiance glowed from it passing over her body. Her face visibly relaxed and she straightened as her strength returned to her. “That was the last of my spells for the day,” the cleric said, “we will have to continue with what strength we have.”

“I only have two second ranked spells left as well,” the elf wizard said. “Are you sure this is a good idea? The battles have been fierce, and we have yet to lay eyes on the master of these forces. A long rest would allow me to replenish my spells from my spell book.”

He has a book of spells, Wraith noted.

“The light will guide our way,” the cleric said and stepped through the doorway into the cavern.

The dwarf descended the stairs and onto the path. He looked out over an underground swamp filled with glowing plants and murky water and saw two kobolds lowering an iron cage onto a circular platform of stone in the middle of the cavern where an altar stood. The dwarf stepped forward, and the rock under his foot sank an inch as a trap sprung catching his foot in an iron grip. Four kobolds with spears rushed forward and began thrusting at him. The warrior rushed forward with her dented shield to protect her friend, and the wizard stepped forward to cast a spell. An arrow flew past his head, and the wizard dropped down looking across the swamp to where three kobolds with bows were firing at them from behind the cover of a massive clumping of stalactites.

The rogue reached into his pack and pulled out a small hand-crossbow and began firing back at them from his concealed location, but his shot bounced off a stalactite going wide of its mark. “I think we need a new plan!” he shouted as he reloaded his crossbow.

The warrior blocked strikes with her shield and parried them with her sword breaking one of the spearheads off by cracking its wooden shaft. “What do you have she yelled back.

The cleric was busy grunting as he pulled apart the iron jaws of the hunting trap that had snapped on his leg. Only his steel Greeves had prevented his leg from being cut all the way to the bone and possibly through that as well. A few of the teeth of the trap had still managed to punch through the steel and rivulets of blood ran down his leg. The wizard crawled up to the cleric using his short-armored friend for cover and cast his fire cantrip on one of the spear-wielding kobolds incinerating his head. The cleric pulled his leg free and picked his mace back up.

“The goal is just to rescue the children, right?” he asked firing his crossbow again managing to hit one of the kobold archers in the thigh.

“That’s the plan,” the wizard agreed blasting another kobold.

“You think we should just grab them and run?” the warrior asked as she sliced the head off the of another kobold.

“The evil in this place must be extinguished,” the cleric insisted as he rushed headlong at the other kobolds and screamed as his leg was caught in another trap.

“Not going to happen if we’re dead Barhom, so maybe we let Zizula not call the shots on this one,” the rouge said his next shot going wide again.

“Agreed, sorry but Zizula’s going to have to wait on this one,” the female fighter said and stabbed another kobold through the heart. The cleric pulled his leg free again as the rest of the party dodged arrows. He started to move forward again, but the wizard put her hand on his shoulder and pulled him back. The rogue moved to the front as he kept low avoiding being shot by an arrow. He grabbed a kobold’s spear he looked over the stones and began pushing down on them yanking the spear back as the traps snapped shut.

Part of the path branched off, and there was a silver goblet set with obsidian stones. The rogues face lit up as he moved forward, but he stopped and looked down noticing the three traps that guarded the bait.

Dang it, Wraith muttered.

The rogue sprang the traps and grabbed the goblet which Ember had told me would be worth about sixty gold. The warrior moved up behind the rogue and pulled out a rope. The cleric watched as the two children were bound to the altar and the white kobold stood over them raising its ceremonial dagger while he chanted, a bright burning ball of fire hung above the alter suspended by a chain.

The warrior threw a rope with a grappling hook over the water, and it caught between two stalagmites. The cleric drove a piton into the stone, and the rope was tied to it suspending it above the water. The warrior began climbing above the water hand over hand, and the rogue quickly followed her.

The warrior landed on the circular platform and was confronted by three kobold guards. The rogue dropped down with his shortsword and dagger in hand, and their blades clashed as they engaged in pitch battle as arrows bounced off the stalagmites that surrounded the circular platform like a cage of stone. The cleric began to go over the rope hand over hand followed by the wizard.

Not so fast, Wraith said, you don’t get to just bypass everything in my dungeon without a price.

The smell of rotting flesh filled the air, and the water bubbled below them. A tentacle shot up and wrapped around the wizard’s waist and began pulling him down as another tentacle wrapped around the cleric’s waist.

The cleric lets go and dropped into the water and pulled his mace free from his belt and began bashing at the ghoul otyugh. The wizard pulled a dagger free and started cutting at the tentacle holding him in place, and black foul ichor began leaking from the wound darkening the water around them. The otyugh’s third tentacle reached out and snapped the satchel off the wizard’s struggling body snapping the leather strap. It dropped the satchel, and the wizard’s spellbook sank to the bottom of the swamp. Neither the cleric or the wizard noticed the giant rat swimming through the water and grabbing the satchel in its teeth and carried it to the large stalagmite that supported the room of the cavern.

The warrior and rogue were hard-pressed to hold their own, but they pushed forward taking several hits on their chainmail and leather armor. The warrior was pushed up against a stalagmite her sword quivering as she used it to keep the blade of the kobold from piercing her heart. The rogue snapped his body to the side avoiding the thrust of a sword and stabbed the kobold in the eye. The warrior managed to get up a knee and shove the kobold back and then stepped forward and stabbed the sword down into the kobold’s chest.

Wraith gave the third kobold the command word, and it stumbled backward, the warrior’s sword pierced it through the heart, and its blood spilled across the altar. The rouge leaped across the altar as the white kobold gave a final shout in his chant only to be cut off by the shortsword through its throat.

Okay Ember time to give you new body its final test, He said.

Ember, who hadn’t been in the body of the white kobold, disappeared and a shadow cast by the ball of fire moved giving the silhouette of a smile. The shadow ran across the ground its long neck and tail and wings spreading across the ground.

The cleric used his final spell and the otyugh’s body melted into sludge. The cleric pulled himself out of the water and onto the bank of the stone platform. Then Ember struck latching onto the cleric’s shadow. The cleric stiffened and tried to strike at the shadow with his mace, but his blow barely caused a ripple in the black form.

The rogue began to cut the children free as the warrior held off the other kobolds as they tried to force their way down the narrow path down to the circular stone platform. The wizard began blasting the shadow with his fire cantrip, but the flames did more damage to the stone then the amorphous shadow. Ember turned his dead and breathed out, and thousands of specs of shadow blew over the wizard’s shadow, and the wizard began coughing as if he had breathed in a noxious gas.

The rogue bundled the children onto his back and ferried them across the water the cleric stumbled forward and grabbed the rope as he attempted to retreat the wizard helped him across, but the cleric fell to his knees his body looking even frailer. The cleric thumped the shadow with his mace again, and the wizard blasted it again causing a slightly larger ripple in the shadow and a slight decrease in its side.

The warrior swung across the rope and cut it with her sword causing three kobolds who had tried to follow her to fall into the swamp. The warrior grabbed the side of the cleric’s shoulder and started to drag him towards the surface. There were roaring sounds as the kobolds began charging down the path with three guard drakes in the lead like hunting dogs. The cleric pushed the warrior forward as he stopped.

“I’m done for,” he coughed, “I’ll hold them off take the children to safety.”

“No Barhom, we can get you to the surface you’ll be fine once we kill that creature on you,” Martha said.

“It’s too late Martha,” the dwarf said taking her hand in both of his, “My strength is almost gone in another minute it will turn me into a shadow, I won’t let that happen. If I go down fighting at least, I will know my last moments went towards creating justice and good in the world by saving my friends and those children.”

The elven wizard placed a hand on the dwarf’s shoulder, I will miss you, my friend,” he said tears in his eyes in an unusual display of emotion for him as he turned and fled up the stairs.

“Go, Martha,” the cleric said pushing the warrior up the stairs and then turning to face the hoard of kobolds with his mace in both hands. The cavern began to shake, and stalactites began to fall.

The warrior gave her friend one last look and then turned and fled up the stairs the steady fall of their boots on stone fading into the distance. The stairway caved in, and all hope of escape was lost for him.

The kobolds surrounded him some swam through the water and came up behind him others created a wall in front of him. The cleric charged forward but his strength began to fade even as he moved, and his charge turned into a stumble, and he collapsed at the feat of blue scaled kobold archer. The shadow detached from the dwarf’s body and Ember moved into the corpse of a white-scaled kobold and stood and stepped over to the cleric.

The dwarf looked up and snarled at the kobold, “Kill me and have done with it spawn of darkness!” he spat.

The kobold let out a laugh, “Oh, no my friend. It is not my job to kill you just yet, you are to be part of my master’s experiment, a new type of undead if we can manage it. You will be tortured and beaten, subjected to horrors of all kinds until you beg for death. It won’t end there for you, when at last your spirit is worn out and ragged, we will allow you to die and see what the tattered remnants of your soul will turn into.

“I am protected by the power of Zizula my soul is safe from you,” the dwarf spat, but there was fear in his eyes.

“For now, but after we have driven you to despair, we will see if you are able to hold onto the light, but it makes no difference, either way, we will get something out of it in the end,” Ember said turning his back on the dwarf. “Take him to the torture chamber.”

The dwarven cleric tried to resist, but the shadow had left him on death’s door taking his strength and going him as frail as a child. He wept at the pain he knew he would endure but promised himself that he would stay strong for as long as possible, he would show these creatures of the dark the resolve a cleric of the manifestation of light. He would not be broken.