Chapter 16 Furry Point

The party of villains rode the cliffside road overlooking the sea up to the ruins of an ancient tower whose rugged green stone jutted up defiantly despite its collapsed timbers. They tied up their carcar and dismounted and walked up to the collapsed entrance of the tower where only a black hole farther down led.

Wraith poked the ground ahead of him and scanned for traps as they entered the dungeon single file. They moved down the tunnel as it winded around down into the earth. The walls were smooth natural rock but there were stairs chiseled into the rock. Puddles of water gathered around and dripping, and splashing were the only sounds that could be heard. As they went lower, they could hear a distant sound rising and falling; they came closer the sounds turned into a chant in a northern language that Wraith couldn’t understand.

They crept forward and entered a cavern and found a group of twenty-five humans dressed in furs gathered around a swirling miasma on the ground that churned with clouds crackling with lightning. The lightning struck at the men around the circle as they danced about chanting but rather than kill them the men absorbed the energy and the muscles of their bodies rippled with the power and the electric light shone from their eyes.

Wraith scanned the area and searched for the power source that would signal a Dungeon Core. He found it under the rock where the miasma was being drawn from as if the humans were feeding of the Dungeon’s mana. Suddenly someone behind Wraith knocked over a rock and the stone tumbled down the stairs and the humans chanting stopped as they looked up with brilliant blue eyes.

There was a roar and the men charged them with bare fists that began crackling with energy. Wraith dropped down to the cavern floor and drew his rapier and duel wand. He pulled the trigger and bolt of fire spat from the barrel, but a shield of energy rippled across the berserker’s skin and the fire only sluffed off the electric shield causing no harm to the man’s skin.

The man charged and swung at Wraith’s head and Wraith blocked with his rapier. The impact stunned him, even with Ajax’s tremendous strength he was shoved back by the force of the strike. The energy from the berserker’s fist crackled along Wraith’s blade and along his arm and Wraith gritted his teeth and shoved back sending the Berserker sprawling. He parried one blow and then began firing shots from his wand one after another even as the energy barrier around the berserk’s skin deflected them. There was a hail of fire from the sky as Fear let her staff and mana channel of a deluge of hell-fire. Plague moved across the ground as a shadow merging into the shadow of a berserker and rising up behind them and stabbing black claws through the energy barrier around their skin and into their kidneys and heart. The berserker turned and swiped at Plague ignoring the fatal wounds it had received.

The berserker kept moving even as Plague merged back into the ground and the berserker’s veins began turning black from the diseases and viruses that now raged through his body. The berserker tuned back to Wraith and tried to charge but his movements began to slow, and he collapsed to the ground his body shuddering and black foam forming at his mouth.

Wraith meanwhile was being pummeled by Berserkers even as he cut with his rapier inflicting mortal wounds. Wraith realized that he was not suited for a front-line fighter and tried to back up but being surrounded by the mana maddened humans prevented him from moving as he would wish. Wraith lunged forward piercing a berserker through the chest, but the berserker roared and brought his fist down on Wraith’s arm breaking his grip.

Enough of this, Ajax growled and took control.

Wraith could sense Ajax moving mana through him and an invisible hand formed in the air and swept through the air slapping the berserker surrounding him back, clearing himself some space. He pulled his rapier free and began dancing back and forth striking quickly and retreating inflicting wounds that although not immediate would eventually bring them down. A dagger flew through the air and struck a berserker in the eye before vanishing and reappearing back in the Faceless’ belt. The berserker crumpled and the other turned and rushed the Turashen and then the bunraku stepped forward and lifted a hand. One of the berserkers was lifted off his feet and clutched at his neck where an invisible hand crushed his windpipe.

The raku stretched out his hand to the side and black mist coalesced into a glassy black blade. The raku slashed out and the blade passed through the berserker in front of him leaving no visible damage apart from the blackening of the skin as blood from internal injuries began to spread. The shadow glass blade moved like a viper striking at the arms and torso while deflecting blows from fists coated in lightning.

Ten of the berserkers were down and the others were losing the energy that powered their shields and fists and falling from the wounds that they had previously been able to ignore. They surrounded the raging berserkers whose rage kept them from seeing that their fight was hopeless now. Wraith speared one through the eye and cut the throat of another. Fear’s fire finally broke through the berserker’s shields and they began to roar as the fire began to melt their flesh. The berserkers flailed on despite the pain striking with furry equal to the heat of the fire that burned away their skin, muscle, and bone even as they continued to fight.

The last of the berserkers fell and they caught their breath and looked at the maelstrom that was retreating into a crack into the ground. Wraith looked down the crevice into what must the core room. Razor sharp, glowing, blue crystals lined the crevice and crackled with electricity, this must have been Wrath’s Bastion’s final defense. Wraith knelt down and called out in his mind mentally projecting his voice telepathically down the crevice into the earth and core below him.

Furry Point, I am Wraith Eminence a fellow dungeon. I like you was left destitute by Dryads Domain; I have gathered others on my quest for vengeance and I ask you to join me, I will create an avatar for you like the one I wear now, and you will walk in mortal flesh to destroy our enemies. Wraith said.

What makes you think that you can succeed when those like me have failed? Furry asked

I am not trapped at the bottom of a hole for starters. I risked my own existence for the chance to take back what is mine. If you have the courage to do as I did then you can perhaps consider yourself worthy of calling yourself a dungeon again instead of being a rock at the bottom of a hole, Wraith replied.

There was silence. How mighty will my avatar be? Furry asked.

Wraith smiled, enough to shake the heavens above and the mountains below.

Marith

Marith heard the sounds of someone coming up the stairs and readied herself. A beautiful elven woman stepped out first. Marith hadn’t had time to study her in the previous battle and she marveled at the physical perfection of the woman before her. Darren stepped out next and Marith felt her heart began to beat faster. The woman touched Darren’s arm and rage and jealousy bloomed within her. She stood now headless of the plan and leaped forward. Darren twisted and ducked a second before her hammer past over his head and struck the woman knocking her prone on the ground. She heard a sound behind her and tuned ducking a dagger that flew past her ear. She felt an invisible force lift her up into the air choking her.

“Stop!” Darren shouted, “this is my fight.”

The force dropped her, and she fell to the ground clutching at her neck and the elven woman moved forward to kick her in the stomach but an arrow from the bushes took her in the thigh and she twisted to face this new threat. Darren stepped forward and Marith stood looking him eye to eye.

“Hello Marith,” Darren said.

Marith was at a loss for words for a second. “You abandoned us,” she accused, at last, choking out the words. She saw a pained look in his eye as her words struck him.

“I was…. lost for a time. After I was killed, I came back but I couldn’t remember who I was, I have only very slowly begun to remember who I was,” Darren explained.

Marith searched his eyes and then shook her head. “I don’t believe you,” she said stepping backward but Darren moved forward with her grabbing her arm and pulling her closer to him.

“If I had remembered you Marith I never would have left you or the children,” Darren said his voice fervent with the need to make her understand.

Marith tried to pull away again but his grip was as strong as iron as he looked her in the eye imploring her to understand. There was the sound of feet stomping forward and Wraith turned his head to see Carl moving towards them with his ax raised high.

“I think the lady wants you to leave her alone,” Carl said.

“Fuck off, I’m busy,” Wraith said his voice losing all of its tenderness.

“Carl, I have this,” Marith said pulling her arm free and taking her Warhammer in both hands.

“I’m not going to leave you alone with this creature,” Carl insisted swinging his ax at Wraith. “I don’t know how you got your arm back so fast, but I’ll be happy to take it off again.”

Darren turned and let Carl strike and the ax reverberate off of him as it bounced off the skin underneath his armor. “My wife and I are talking its time for you to leave,” Darren said his voice like cold stone.

He stepped forward and struck Carl in the chest with an uppercut and Carl was launched into the air a dozen yards backward over the cliff. Marith stared in horror at the site and narrowed her eyes in anger.

“What happened to you, you don’t even seem human anymore,” she accused him.

“I’m not, I am so much more now Marith. I am beyond the limits of man and mortality, join me Marith together we can reunite our family and accomplish everything we wanted when I set out to be an adventurer,” he urged her stretching out a hand to her.

“I don’t even remember what we wanted,” she said taking another step back.

“Too be free Marith, to own our own land, to not have to fear that everything we have will be seized by the king's taxes or taken as plunder, loot or used to finance the endless border disputes around us. We can have all that build a better life for our children all you have to do is give up this quest and join me,” he begged her.

“You don’t even know what you're doing,” Marith accused him, “that book you carry is ripping holes in our world letting in the other planes. You are causing reckless destruction all over our world destroying the lives of families like ours; do you even care?” she asked him.

“This book?” Darren asked and then tossed it at the ground by her feet, “I don’t care about it. If that’s what you want, then leave it for your friends and come with me.”

Marith was stunned by his actions. He was giving up the book without a fight the doubts she was feeling pushed down on her. She looked back at her companions who had knocked several of their opponents unconscious but were faring ill without her healing.

“What is so important that you need to gather all these creatures?” she asked looking at the humanoids that fought her party.

“Revenge, I have a friend I need to rescue and someone who must be taught a lesson, and I am running out of time,” Darren answered.

“Will people die?” she asked.

“Maybe, but they aren’t part our family Marith. They are strangers and outsiders they mean nothing to me, I only care for our family,” Darren said stepping forward again and this time Marith didn’t step back.

“How can I trust you? You’ve been carousing around the world, I find a girl you’ve impregnated and that elf your with that I assume your sleeping with also,” she accused her words tight with anger and jealousy.

“When I slept with the girl, I didn’t remember you and as for the elf, no I have never slept with her,” Darren said. “I’m sorry I hurt you but there is no one I want more than you. Come with me,” he implored.

“I have to complete my quest,” Marith said, “I gave my word that I would see it done as long as our children were protected.”

“If you don’t want to join me now, I understand go return this book and then join me, but these people can’t be trusted,” he told her kissing her lightly and she stiffened from the touch.

Darren stepped away and surveyed the battlefield. “Enough! It’s time to go!” he shouted and a blast of force emanated from him knocking down her party. The humanoids mounted their carcar and took off down the trail.

“Come on they can’t get far!” Carl said as he clambered up the side of the cliff.

“Our quest is done,” Marith said and the others turned to her shocked as she knelt down and picked up the tome. “We need to take this to safety.”

“What about them?” Herbalt said gesturing at the retreating group.

“They are not our problem,” Marith said with finality turning and walking away down the path to the ship.