383 days until the Arkon Shield falls

2 days, 13 hours until Dungeon Purge

You have gained in experience and are now a level 34 Trainee. Your elemental resistance has increased to level 7.

Slaying the other ice elementals had gone off without a hitch. Despite knowing the clock was running down, I had meticulously approached each encounter and worked my way clockwise around the Keep, knocking off the tower guards one by one.

Disappointingly, the last ice elemental had yielded only a single level, but it was to be expected since the level gap between myself and my foes had narrowed substantially.

Now, I sat on the crest of the hill in front of the drawbridge, watching the two granite elemental guards while I pondered my next move. My reserves of energy were down to a third. Enough, I judged for one more encounter if expended wisely.

The portcullis gate was still open, and the two guards hadn’t shifted from their original position. I rubbed at my chin as I considered the problem. My tactics against the ice elementals had worked well, but I wasn’t certain they would prove as successful against the granite creatures.

For one, the gate guards were too close together. There was no way I would be able to separate them. For another, the granite elementals were likely less vulnerable to dragonfire than their icy companions.

I also had no idea what magic the gate guards wielded. But most worryingly of all, were the creatures’ Resilience. To be certain, I analyzed one of the pair again.

The target is a level 51 lesser granite elemental. It has meager Magic, exceptional Resilience, is gifted with Might, and has no Craft.

Exceptional Resilience, I mused, chewing over that unhappy fact again. Resilience affected both constitution and elemental resistance. With the granite elementals possessing ‘exceptional’ Resilience, I could expect both their health pools and resistance to magic to be significantly higher—anywhere between two and three times more in fact—than the ice elementals who’d had only mediocre Resilience.

Taking down the gate guards isn’t going to be as easy as killing the ice elementals.

I snorted in disgust. That was an understatement. I feared slaying the granite elementals in direct confrontation would be many times harder and would likely take more mana and lifeblood than I had, even assuming my energy pools were full.

My previous tactics just wouldn’t do. I needed another plan.

Ignoring the driving rain, I cupped my chin in my hands and let my thoughts roam free. I was sure there had to be a way past the elementals. I just had to figure out what it was.

✽✽✽

Ten minutes later, I had a plan.

Crouched low, I crept down the hill, with my staff and shield equipped and my hobbled foot dragging behind me. I expected the guards to spot me sooner or later, but the closer I got to the drawbridge before they did, the better.

Your skill in sneaking has advanced to level 5.

I was twenty yards from the near side of the drawbridge and nearly at the bottom of the hill when one of the granite elementals swiveled my way. Forgoing further attempts at stealth, I rose to my full height and limped quickly towards the bridge.

The second guard swung my way. Then in unison, both elementals advanced, taking a single ponderous step away from the open gate.

I nearly fell over in surprise at the sluggishness of their movements. At the rate the pair moved, there was no danger of the two reaching the bridge before I did, much less crossing it.

Perhaps, I overestimated the creatures after all.

My plan called for me to collapse the bridge from under the elementals and drop them into the moat. I would’ve preferred to do that from a distance, but I hadn’t thought fire ray was up to the task of burning through the bridge quick enough to stop the guards from crossing.

Although given the pair’s pace, that seemed a moot point now. But I didn’t abort. It would still be quicker to enact my plan from up close with the wilder flames of flare. I hurried onwards.

I was ten yards from the bridge when the elementals took another step and disappeared from sight. I jerked to a halt. What the—? The pair had been swallowed by the ground beneath them.

Where did they go?

A second later, I had my answer. The ground burst upwards in a shower of dirt and stones to my left and right, revealing the missing elementals.

God damn, I cursed, witnessing this display of magic. The bloody creatures could swim through the earth, and seemingly much faster than they could travel aboveground.

The elementals attacked in tandem from both flanks, smashing downwards with oversized fists. The pair were too close for me to escape the blows entirely. Twisting my body to dodge the descending hand from my right, I raised my magma buckler to ward off the one from the left.

In hindsight, that proved a poor choice.

I dodged the first attack easily enough. My shield, though, was not up to the task of stopping the second. The elemental’s fist drove into the magma buckler with the force of a hammer, shattering the magic shield. My forearm beneath fared no better.

Bones cracked. Skin tore. Blood sputtered.

I screamed, the sound ripping free of my throat to give vent to my agony. Dropping to my knees, I clutched my broken arm. My mind went blank from the pain, and for a moment, simply breathing was a struggle.

Fear, though, was a greater motivator than pain. I knew the two elementals flanking me would not be standing idly by while I howled. They would attack again.

Unless I acted, I was dead.

Pushing past the fog of white-hot agony clouding my mind, I cast invincible just as four hands, with my doom written upon them, blurred downwards. A heartbeat before the stone fists caved in my head, strands of my spirits rushed out to shield me.

The elementals’ hands bounced off.

The blows failed to harm me. But I didn’t escape entirely unscathed. The momentum of the attacks shoved me hard against the ground, expelling the air from my lungs in a single gush.

I stayed down.

Rising would’ve only given the pair another opportunity to strike at me. Hugging my injured arm under me, I crab-crawled frantically away, only staggering back to my feet when I was safely out of the pair’s reach.

The pain in my arm was excruciating, but adrenaline and fear worked to curb it, and I didn’t dare pause to tend to the damage yet. Stumbling forward, I fled the shadows looming behind me.

I took one step. Then two. My panic eased. Slow as the creatures were, I had some time before they caught up to me again. I rushed towards the bridge. It was still my only hope.

My original plan was in shambles, though. The elementals could travel through rock, so dropping the pair in the moat would serve no purpose. Once they reached the bottom, the two would simply teleport out. Fighting the guards with flare would do me no good either. I could slay possibly one of the creatures before I ran out of lifeblood and mana, but both? I didn’t think so.

The simple truth was that my dungeon run was over. I knew I had to flee. But I had to hamper the gate guards first. Retreating directly for the dungeon exit wouldn’t work. The guards, swimming through the earth, would cut me off before I got very far.

The bridge was my only chance. The elementals shouldn’t be able to teleport directly onto or away from it—there was only water and air beneath it, after all. Of course, I had no evidence to support this theory, but I didn’t think I was wrong. The granite elementals were creatures of the earth, and it was a safe bet that their teleportation spells could only work through it.

If I was right and I managed to trap the elementals on the bridge, I could buy the time I needed to escape. A wilting ward on the bridge will work, I thought.

It had to. Because if it didn’t, I was all out of ideas.

Behind me, the elementals dove into the earth again. “Aaargh,” I growled and cut left, hoping my abrupt change in direction would confuse them. With invincible coating my body, the creatures couldn’t hurt me, but they could still stop me from reaching the bridge.

The elementals boiled out of the ground on my right—a yard too far to strike at me. I smiled grimly and hurried towards the bridge once more.

I counted down the distance. I was six yards away. Then five. Four yards from my destination, the guards disappeared again.

Without hesitation, I altered my course, cutting right this time. I managed only a handful of steps before the elementals exploded free of the earth, but my efforts sufficed to keep me out of reach of their fists.

I resumed my race for the bridge, a weary chuckle escaping me. For all that my pulse was pounding in fear, I took heart from my foes’ failures. Their teleportation spell was not infallible.

I reached the bridge without further need for evasion and drew to a halt a handful of steps onto it. Spinning about, I eyed my foes.

The two guards stayed aboveground, advancing towards me with ponderous steps. I blew out a relieved breath. My assumption was correct then. The pair couldn’t teleport directly onto the bridge. They would have done so already.

This might just work, after all.

Turning on my heel, I limped farther onto the bridge. Almost unwillingly, my gaze was drawn to the open portcullis gate and the Keep’s unguarded doors beyond. The bailey looked reassuringly empty and for a moment, I was tempted to make a dash for the Keep and continue my dungeon run.

That would be all kinds of foolish, though.

Nothing would stop the guards from pursuing me once I stepped off the bridge. Even worse, they would likely follow me into the Keep too. No, empty or not, the bailey and the castle beyond held no refuge for me. Stick to the goddamn plan, Jamie.

Putting my head down, I hurried to the center of the bridge. It would be best to place the wilting ward there. The further onto the bridge I could lure the elementals, the greater my chance of success.

Motion in the moat drew my eye. Veering towards one edge of the bridge, I peered down. The waters were frothing violently as glistening scales ducked in and out of sight. There were at least two sea serpents beneath. If not more. Did they sense my presence? Was that what agitated them? I shuddered. Right, whatever happens, I don’t want to fall in there.

The bridge creaked, and I glanced behind me. The elemental guards had stepped onto its surface. Keeping a wary eye on the creatures, I backstepped to the bridge’s center with my injured limb cradled against my body. Reaching the spot I’d chosen, I lowered my staff to the ground with my good arm. It was time to set my ward.

Water exploded upwards from the moat.

In the act of drawing mana, I froze for a fraction of a heartbeat. Out of the corner of my eye, I spied an elongated shape surging out of the water. A serpent. No! Not now, damn it!

Impelled by fear, my gaze whipped right. A dark maw, with teeth serrated like the jaws of a steel trap, rushed straight at me. Reacting on instinct, I flung up my staff and flared.

A raging inferno of white-hot flames burst into existence between me and the onrushing serpent. Gleaming black eyes that simmered with hate flinched at the dragonfire’s sudden appearance.

The collision of flames and serpent seemed inevitable, but a second before the impact could occur, the sea monster wrenched its head away, aborting its strike to dive beneath the water empty-handed.

Bloody hell.

My heart was still racing from the close call while my mind frantically tried to catch up with events, but one thing was already glaringly obvious: the bridge wasn’t safe either.

What do I do now?

I didn’t have an answer. But I knew I couldn’t stay here. Keeping a wary eye on the churning waters, I back stepped towards the bridge’s far end.

A second shape surged out of the moat.

Already on edge, I responded on a hair-trigger and flared. But the serpent wasn’t attacking me. The sea monster had emerged next to the elementals, both of whom had stepped fully onto the bridge. Whipping its head forward, the moat creature bit down on the closest guard.

The elemental reacted slowly as the serpent’s jaws clamped down on its shoulder. Even so, the guard had no problem ripping the creature’s teeth from its body.

I watched the byplay between the pair in stunned silence. It had not occurred to me that the dungeon’s inhabitants could be hostile to each other. I’d assumed—foolishly it turned out—that the Trials, or the dungeon itself, would curb the creatures’ natural inclinations. But that didn’t appear to be the case.

I can use this, I thought, hurrying towards the portcullis gate beyond the bridge. I reached it without suffering further attacks. The serpents, I suspected, were not too keen to feel the touch of dragonfire.

Turning about, I knelt at the bridge’s edge and retook stock of my foes. The elementals were now about a half-dozen steps onto the bridge and still fending off sporadic attacks from the moat’s creatures. Perfect.

Spreading the palm of my uninjured arm flat against the bridge’s wooden surface, I flared again. Dragonfire roared out of my hand to lap eagerly at the wood.

Given the animosity the serpents bore the elementals, I was betting that if I delivered the guards into their hands, the water snakes wouldn’t easily let their foes escape their grasp. Ideally, I would’ve liked to do this with me standing on the other side of the moat, but there was no helping that.

Seeing me off the bridge and the burgeoning flames in front of me, the gate guards pivoted about slowly and made for the end of the bridge closest to them.

I didn’t think they’d make it in time, though.

The bridge had already begun to weaken, and soon it would buckle entirely. Despite the wetness of the wood, dragonfire ate through it quickly and covered the entire width of the bridge on my end, weakening the integrity of the whole structure.

The bridge groaned and creaked as cracks appeared along its length. Then with a suddenness that was startling, it broke, plunging the elementals into water. Almost as if they’d anticipated their foes’ plight, two serpents surged upwards to wrap undulating coils around the guards.

Smiling in grim satisfaction, I stepped back from my handiwork. I had done it. I had bought myself some time, even if I’d stranded myself on the wrong end of the moat in the process.

Somehow or the other, I assured myself, I would find a way to escape. Clutching my injured limb, I watched the churning waters, waiting to see if either of the elementals made it out. If that happened, I would be forced to make a stand. Although I was hoping by then, my foes would’ve been heavily damaged.

The seconds ticked by, and while the moat’s water frothed wildly, neither of the elementals reappeared. My brows furrowed. How long would I have to wait? Should I retreat into the bailey? But as small as the bailey was, the chances of me hiding from the elementals there were—

My thoughts broke off, interrupted by a Trials message that opened before me.

Two granite elementals have died. You have gained in experience and are now a: level 37 Trainee.

The elementals were dead? For a moment, I couldn’t believe it and remained frozen at the moat’s edge, staring at the alert in consternation.

Pain spiked through my arm, reminding me it still needed treatment. With a shake of my head, I turned around and entered the bailey.