Chapter 14

Across Marsh and Valley

The next dungeon chain was a days walk away through marsh and valley.

I hadn’t forgotten to repair my cloak and vest, which was good because the wind was bitter and violent. I was happy to see everyone else had invested in cloaks as well, so at least they had some protection. My sheepskin lined gloves really did the trick for me and I traveled comfortably, though only somewhat warm.

We traveled on snow that had long ago amassed to be about 4 meters high. We crossed between branches of trees, sometimes feeling them beneath our feet like roots beneath the snow. Sometimes the snow was soft enough that one of us would sink in by a meter. The real problem was the wind. It was deafening, and without natural elements to buffer the wind, we struggled against it. Our cloaks snapped and whipped in the wind. Gales carrying powdered snow stung at exposed skin.

The weather was so loud we could not converse. We often held a hand out to each other in an effort to touch base and see how the other was doing. At midday, Lep had the idea to burrow into the snow for a break. We all pitched in to dig down, tunnel a bit, and excavate a small snow cave.

We were protected enough from the wind that we could hear each other once again.

“Sheesh,” Pelle said, “This is brutal! Excellent idea Lep; I’m so glad to take a break from the elements.”

“Yea, nice job Lep,” I said. “How much further do you think we have to go? Are we still going in the right direction?”

“We’ve got a little more than half a day’s journey,” Arris said. “I’ve been keeping an eye on the sun. As long as it's over our left shoulder for the next few hours, we’re heading south in the right direction.”

“It’s freezing,” Foli said. “I am not happy, but I’ll be fine of course. I really wish I’d gotten some hide armor.”

“Hide is not a bad material at all,” Vynk said wryly.

“Not a bad material, the warrior says from beneath his layers and layers of hide,” Foli said. “Tell me Vynk, are you warm in there? Are you happy watching us all freeze to death?”

“You guys seem to be doing alright,” Vynk said. “Look at Tosin there. He’s not shivering.”

“It’s the gloves,” I said, lifting my hands to show them off. Foli just rolled her eyes.

“So guys,” Robern said. “Do we know anything more about the next dungeon chain?”

“Just that we’ll probably be using the water breathing potion,” Lep said. “Which means only one of us will be handling that part since we’ve only got one potion.”

“That’s why I wanted to bring it up,” Robern said. “We will most likely have one shot at using that potion so we need to be very careful how we use it.”

“Nothing we can do about it now,” Vynk said. “We’ll just have to figure it out when the time comes.”

“I’ve got some sausage and boiled eggs if anyone’s hungry,” Arris said, rummaging around in his bag, and bringing out a bowl of food.

For the next hour we took our time sharing bread, sausage and eggs, and warming up as best as we could. Then we exited our little snow cavern and continued through the blustery wind.

By the time we reached the marsh, I couldn’t feel my nose, and ice was forming on my eyelashes. A quick glance at my comrades told me they fared no better and no worse. Arris crouched and huddled himself in his cloak to read the map, so the rest of us huddled around him to block the wind as best as we could.

When at last he was satisfied, he rose and shouted above the din, “The marsh must lie ahead of us!” He pointed out at the vast expanse of snow before us. Then he gestured to the tree tops that rose from the snow behind us.

“We’ve just left the forest! We cross the marsh, and enter the valley! We’re on track to arrive by nightfall! Then we’ll burrow and camp near the dungeon mouth!”

We all nodded and followed Arris and Vynk into the marsh. The marsh was roughly four meters below us, so nothing was particularly marshy about the terrain. There was not a speck of life. No more tree branches. Not a blade of yellowed grass. Just snow.

For whatever reason, it was even windier and we had to bow our heads against the endless wind. It howled against our shoulders and battered our clothes. It sometimes wrestled us to the ground and attacked us with gales of powdered snow.

The going was tough and exhausting, but we finally reached the end of the marsh after the sun had reached its zenith and crossed over to our other shoulder. What’s worse was that the sun was low and in our eyes half the time. Everytime I looked up, I was blinded by the sun on snow.

This lasted for another few hours until the sun was making its descent. By that time, we’d nearly reached the dungeon mouth. The ridge of the valley was our landmark. We’d followed it until we were low in the valley and Arris stopped us, suggesting we burrow nearby and rest the night.

Our little snow cave was bigger than the previous one and we’d extended the tunnel by adding a curve so the wind had a more difficult time finding us. The wind searched for us with cold howling ribbons that aggressively scratched at the entrance to our cave.

When we were sufficiently settled, huddled in our cloaks, we shared the rest of the sausage and passed around a loaf of bread.

“So, Tosin,” Robern said without looking up from his food and drink. “Pelle told me you want to be a legendary hero to make a legendary fountain.”

“That’s right,” I said. “A healing fountain. Something I can cast in parts of the world that lack healing.”

“You think it’s easy to ascend to legendary?” he said.

“No, I’d wager it’s rather difficult. Why?”

“I don’t know. Seems kind of pompous of you really.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, it sounds to me you’ve got it in your head that anybody can become a legendary hero. That anybody can just create legendary magic.”

“Um. Ok, but couldn’t anyone become legendary? I mean—if someone works hard enough, couldn’t they achieve legendary status?”

Robern laughed.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “Am I missing something? Why wouldn’t I be able to become legendary one day?”

“Let me say this,” our rogue said. “You can’t just decide you want to become legendary. It’s extremely hard. You’ve got to have loads of experience. You’ve got to have a high enough reputation. Only a small number of people become legendary. Have you ever stopped to wonder that if anyone could be legendary so easily, wouldn’t everyone have that status already?”

“To be honest, I’ve never stopped to think about whether or not it was possible. I’ve only thought about how to get there.”

“I think you’re fooling yourself,” Robern said sharply.

“Well, I support him,” Pelle said, giving me a singular nod.

“Two fools.” Robern said.

“Why the sudden attitude?” Foli said.

“I don’t have an attitude. I just think Tosin is kidding himself.”

“Alright, alright,” Arris said. “Tosin’s destiny is his own. So is yours, Robern. There’s no harm in having your sights set on legendary, or even beyond legendary. For the record, I support Tosin’s ambitions. Each one of us has goals, and each one of those goals is worth striving for. What about you? Where do you see yourself down the line?”

Those questions were blocked with a shrug. Robern didn’t want to talk much after that. He simply focused on finishing his food before tucking in for the night.

I didn’t know what his problem was. All I knew was that I wasn’t a fool. I didn’t exactly know what it meant to achieve legendary status, but I certainly didn’t think it would be easy. I was prepared to work hard, to travel deep and far, and to give one hundred and ten percent of myself to reach legendary status so that I could earn the chance to create healing fountains. That’s all I could think of as I drifted to sleep later that night.

It was a deep sleep, though I think we all slept horribly. Each one of us woke with a groan, then rose with a groan. At least Robern seemed to be in better spirits. He simply acted as if nothing happened between us last night. Fine by me, honestly.

We shared a simple breakfast of bread and smoked fish, then exited our snow cave.

“We might have overslept a bit,” Arris said. “Sorry about that guys.”

The sun was near its zenith now. I knew it had felt like I’d gotten such a deep sleep. I was a tad surprised, but the weather must have really zapped all the strength from us yesterday. For that reason, I was glad we were near the dungeon mouth. I only hoped the dungeon climate was much more agreeable.

Arris masterfully led us to the dungeon entrance and Lep burned a slope through the snow with his Hand of Flames spell. We all stood way back from the eruption of vapor. Then one by one, we slid down and entered the dungeon.

We followed a warm tunnel of earth and root until it widened enough that we could all walk abreast. The ceiling rose far above us. Arris, Foli, and I each lit a torch. The two ancienne’s conjured their insect familiars and we continued forth.

The tunnel continued to expand until we reached a grotto. Moss and lichen grew plenty on rocks. They contested for space and overlapped. Grasses were leaned over from bearing their own weight. Water trickled around steaming pools. Floating orbs of near sunlight made our torches redundant, so we snuffed them out. The orbs were familiar. They almost looked like Pelle’s Danera’s Wisps.

For a moment we all stood stunned at the sight. The grotto was marvelous and inviting. The orb’s bobbed and ambled about the grotto. Some gathered in clusters. Others meandered by themselves around rocks, over water, among the grasses, or in and out of various small cave openings along the walls and amid clusters of boulders.

“I want to take a look at the water,” Arris said and guided us over to one of the steaming pools.

I could feel heat radiating from the water. I dipped a hand in and found it quite hot. Hot enough to redden the skin and make anyone sweat within a few moments.

“Interesting,” Arris said.

“What are you thinking?” Pelle said.

“Well, this might be an indication of what’s to come. This is a hot spring and I’m hoping the springs ahead don’t get too hot.

“No traps,” Robern said. “I thought there might have been a trap because I saw something glinting in the water.

“I’m going in,” Vynk said and disrobed.

We all spun around, protesting, but he gave a deep belly laugh and jumped right in. We turned back around, hearing the splash, and waited anxiously for the warrior to surface. Bubbles broke the surface and after long seconds, he finally burst from the water.

“Key!” he said, holding up a large silver key in one hand.

“Great,” Robern said. “Let me guess. We’re now going to have to check every spring we get to, just in case there are more keys.”

“I might as well walk around naked, if that’s the case” Vynk said. “Look around, there’s a handful of springs in this one area alone. Probably more up ahead too.”

“How about we switch cloaks for the meantime?” I offered. “That way you can jump in, wearing all your gear, and I can dry you off in a few moments when you’re back out.”

“Deal,” Vynk said. “Just give me a minute guys. I think I deserve a nice relaxing soak after the last dungeon. Don’t you think? I’m just gonna sit here for a few minutes if you don’t mind.”

The expression that crossed his face as he stretched back against the rocks was one of pure relief. A nice hot soak did sound nice, and I couldn’t fault him for taking the opportunity.

“Here, hand the key over,” Foli said, reaching out over the water. “I’ll keep all the keys for safekeeping.”

Vynk made to hand over the key, but instead grabbed her wrist and pulled her in. Foli shrieked and cursed a storm before falling headfirst into the spring. She came up sputtering and angry.