=-=-=-=-

It took two days of lapping at mineral-laden water trickling down the stony walls and snatching up every small bug or lizard as a meal. At last, there was fresh air and a breeze from somewhere ahead.

She turned a corner and there was light ahead! Almost too bright to bear, she approached a T-junction. To the left was a steeply slanted shaft to the surface.

To the right, just a few paces away were a pair of heavily rusted metal doors. A sign on the doors said simply ‘Bunker #3’.

Wynter went up to the doors and grasped a handle. A pop-up appeared,

>Enter Dungeon ‘Bunker #3’? y/n

Not really knowing what to expect, she said “Yes.”

As the Discoverer of ‘Bunker #3’ your party will receive double the rewards for the first 24 real world hours. Warning, time acceleration in progress, currently 10:1

The walls and floor seemed to be poured concrete. Dimly flickering lights lit the short hallway that led to a pair of shattered glass doors. Looking back over her shoulder she saw the saw two metal doors, but from this side, they were covered in gouge marks.

She went down the corridor, carefully crossing over the broken glass. The left wall was a reception style desk. The right looked like a classic waiting area. A restroom with a bashed in door behind the seats. Dark splatters stained the tiles, but there was no sign of bodies. Turning the taps, she was rewarded by a stream of stale and rusty water that Wynter couldn’t drink fast enough.

She twitched as her ears heard voices for the first time in ages. She turned to get closer, only to realize that they weren’t speaking any language she had ever heard. Wynter peered out of the restroom and waited.

Soon two figures came out from deeper in the complex, maybe 3 or 4-foot-tall, they walked upright like people but had heads like some bad dinosaur movie. Holding spears in their right hands, the one held a glowing gem of some sort that acted like a flashlight. The other held a small round shield.

Maybe she made a noise, maybe they saw something, but suddenly the one turned and shone the flashlight beam directly into her surprised face. She pulled back but was almost blinded by the intense light that had hit her. She heard them coming and withdrew into the small restroom. If Wynter looked to the side she could still see, the blotch in the middle of her vision slowly clearing. As they went to enter the room with her, she pushed aside the spear that entered first and swiped at the lizard thing’s face, only to have her claws rebound from the shield.

A spear came over the shoulder of the first lizard thing and cut a crease into her arm.

Dragging the shield down, Wynter bulled forward. The claws that had deflected the spear tearing open ragged slashes down the neck and chest of the first creature. She rolled to the side pinning the first creatures spear hand, as the second creature’s spear missed. Getting her right hand under its shield, both of her hands raked and she felt the lizard go limp. Springing back the second creature missed again, and with a bleat, it turned to run. Something no cat can resist, fleeing prey. The one holding the light crystal hadn’t made even four strides before Wynter was on it.

Licking their blood from her claws, Wynter felt vaguely uneasy. These weren’t rabbits and birds, these had been thinking and speaking beings. Shouldn’t she feel something about killing them, other than how good their blood tasted?

The notifications called the lizards ‘Low Kobold Scouts’ whatever that was.

Healing the last of her wounds, Wynter grabbed the crystal torch and started exploring the rest of the bunker. An hour later she had found two barracks areas that had mostly been stripped, a kitchen and cafeteria likewise stripped. A side hallway leads to office spaces and a few officer’s quarters. The hallway pockmarked with bullet holes and what looked like the blast mark of an explosion. The office at the end of the hallway had a door marked by bullet holes and gouge marks, but it remained intact and after a tug, locked.

It took far too many impacts of her shoulders into the door before something broke, in the door not her shoulder. The door slowly opened until she could see a desk had been pushed in front of it. Eventually, enough of a gap formed to allow her to squeeze through into the room.

The stale stench hit her nose first. Then look to see the source, err, sources. Three mummified bodies lay in various positions, prominently one lay on the floor with a jagged black glass sword like thing rising from the center of its chest. All the bling on the bodies clothing led Wynter to think a General or something. Another with two spears just like the ones she had just fought against sticking out of the male body. His hands held a pair of pistols, automatics. The third body was a woman in a uniform style skirt and once white blouse. She had no obvious wounds and was holding an assault rifle. The floor around her covered in scattered spent brass and emptied magazines. It wasn’t until that second that Wynter had even thought about clothing. Weeks of wandering around naked and never noticing. More of the old Wynter died away as she remembered briefly the hours shopping for the perfect skirt, that oh so sexy bra and panty set. All seeming meaningless to her now.

What did have meaning? An opened case of trail bars. Pressed fruit and nuts with various grains. She had lived on these during cheer practice and between classes. Quickly devouring five before her stomach seemed full.

Pushing the door closed and the desk back against it, she searched the room.

There was an inner door that led to a small BOQ with attached shower and restroom. The water was just as rusty and foul tasting as before, but it was wet and that was all that mattered. The shower was plugged with rust and scale it seemed and the sad dribbles would never get her clean.

Wynter curled up on the single width bed and she thought again of how the Kobolds had tasted, the trail bars less appetizing by the second. Nodding off she had a full nights sleep for the first time in, well, ever…,

=-=-=-=-

Wynter awoke to total darkness. The crystal torch had gone out overnight. Picking up the torch a pop-up appeared,

Add Mana to light torch? y/n

“Yes’ she said. Then felt a tiny bit of her shadow mana flow away as the torch lit, but not with the yellow-red light of yesterday, instead, it glowed darkly. Spreading shadow. Her eyes adjusting instantly she could see clearly. Even better than she had yesterday. Colors were gone, only whites, blacks, and greys remained. Instead, texture stood out. Scuffs in the painted concrete showed clearly each item dragged over it, even footprints stood out. Her tracking showing her how this scuff matched to that boot.

Moving deeper into the bunker Wynter found what looked like a warehouse area. Piles of plastic items sat around the room. Everything wood or paper was gone, much of the metal as well. Huge piles of empty MRE wrappers were scattered about.

Towards the back of the huge room, Wynter found what seemed to be the two Kobold’s camp. A bunk mattress cut in half on either side of a charred spot on the concrete floor. A crude bag held four rats that smelled more than half rotten. A short distance away was a hole in the concrete walls that led into a damp smelling cave tunnel.

Grabbing her shadow torch, Wynter stepped into the tunnel.

=-=-=-=-

Wynter was tired, in more ways than one. Constantly healing the wounds that battle left on her drained her Psychic energy. The torch needed more and more Shadow mana to push back the glow of the moss patches and the Kobolds crystals. Her mana channels still ached and burned every time she fueled the torch. Tired only having Kobold to eat, and bad water to drink. Tired of never sleeping more than a few minutes at a time in the what she thought was maybe five days she had been in here. Mostly, she was tired of being tired.

Pushing her senses to the limit was second nature now. The Kobolds were well aware she was hunting them. Wynter found the Low Kobolds almost too easy now, the ones called just Kobold were a good fight. The best part of the plain Kobolds was that they had things. Coins, shiny stones that might be crystals or gems. Best though were the two backpacks.

Compared to the dozens of times she had ambushed them, three times now they had ambushed her. Two small parties of Scouts she had defeated, but the third… The damn things had a ‘High Kobold Pyromancer’ with them and she had been forced to run with her fur on fire. That had been incredibly unpleasant. Even worse was when she ran to the front doors to leave the dungeon a message confronted her,

Entrance only! Look for the Exit somewhere within!

Wynter took a minute to review herself,

Titles: na

Name: Wynter

Race: Beastkin – Felidae (Shadowcat)

Age: 18 (March 22nd, 2032)

Traits: Racial – Affinity to Shadows, Racial – Darkvision, Racial – Obligate Carnivore, Racial – Sensitivity to Light, Racial – Natural Weapons, Racial – Natural Armor.

Class: Novice Dancer

HP: 55

MP: 32 (65)

PP: 124

Stamina: 74

AC: 0

Evasion: na

Dodge: 26%

STR: 10

VIT: 11

AGI: 16

INT: 13

MND: 16

PER: 17

CHR: 6 (18 base)

Luck*: 2

Skills

Small Blades: 2

Hand-to-Hand: 18

::Martial Kick: 12

::Martial Punch: 18

::Martial Throw: 6

Parry 11

Dance: 16

::Exotic: 16

::Folk: 12

Acrobatics: 14

Jump: 11

Climb: 8

Dodge: 13

Tracking: 11

Survival: 3

Stealth: 18

Accuracy: 19

Sex: 9

::Foreplay: 7

::Oral: 6

::Anal: 1

::Lesbian: 3

Psionic Arts: 14

::Reinforcements: 14

Shadow: 3

Inspection – 15

Lore (General) – 1

::Lore (Beastkin) – 1

Professions (0/4)

>none

Spells (2/0/3/0)

>Physical Reinforcement 14 (STR)

>Vision Reinforcement 14 (PER)

>Health Reinforcement 21 (HP)

>Sense Shadow 1 (5MP)

>Shadow Step 1 (40MP)

Equipment

>Crude Backpack (10 slot) 3/10

>Crude Backpack (10 slot) 5/10

=-=-=-=-

The little scaly bastards had been proven to not be able to see in her shadows, but this ambush would put it to the test. Four low scouts, two kobold warriors, and the high pyromancer itself.

Wynter planted her shadow torch in the middle of a darkened tunnel and pumped as much mana as it could take into it. Then moving closer to the Kobolds, she lay down in a tiny alcove and waited.

The scaly bastards were too clever for their own good and spotting as their light met the edge of her shadow they set up their own ambush.

The scouts moved forward to the very edge of the shadow, the warriors stopping just behind them. The pyromancer was further back, just passed where Wynter lay hidden.

‘Please don’t see me. Please don’t see me. Please don’t see me.’ Repeating endlessly. She felt a tug and her Mana started to slowly drain, a dark cloud oozed from her skin and covered her. A notification Icon started flashing frantically, but Wynter didn’t have time for it as the pyromancer raised its hands and a ball of flame formed.

Several things happened at once; The pyromancer launched its [Fireball] down the corridor to explode in a wall of flames. The scouts lowered their spears and with a scream, they charged after the retreating wall of flames. The warriors yelled battle cries and with short swords and shields held before them moved in step behind the scouts. Most importantly though, Wynter sprang up and moved silently to stand behind the Pyromancer and reached her clawed hands as if she were embracing it from behind. A clench of her fingers drove the claws deep, then a ripping motion tore the jagged points across the mages now shredded throat.

A second flashing icon appeared as Wynter stepped quickly after the other Kobolds. The one Warrior falling almost as silently as the Mage had until the beaten metal short sword clattered to the floor.

Wynter barely paused as she sprang at the other Warrior. They exchanged blows, three shallow cuts, and a huge bruise on her right chest from its [Shield Smash]. Wynter left several bleeding slashes on the Warrior, who was weakening from blood loss when a spear was thrown out of the dark to embed itself in her side. She pulled the Warrior in front of her as a second spear came flying, this one landing in the Warriors gut and ending its life. The four scouts charged, two with spears, two with daggers now. As Wynter pressed her hand to her side and pulled the spear free and she poured healing into the gout of blood.

She reveled in the looks of horror as they saw the wound close before their eyes and the now black shadow of a Beastkin countered their charge with one of her own.

=-=-=-=-

Wynter smiled viciously as she bit off another chunk of the High Kobolds tail. Maybe it was her imagination, but as good as Kobold was, High Kobold tasted better.

The ‘loot’ before her drew a more pleasant smile. More of those odd coins, copper and bronze? More of the shiny stones, one of which she recognized as agate. A whole pile more of the torch crystals. Two short swords that looked like they had been beaten out of a table leg. Then the real prizes, the Mage’s robe, a leathery skin that the mage’s blood had flowed off of. Two finger rings and a necklace of crystals.

Picking up the swords, the first

Poor Crude Short Sword 3/6 durability

Crude Short Sword 4/8 durability

Trash to begin with, and her fingers couldn’t hold one well anyways. She set them aside.

Fine Snakeskin Robe 10/12 durability +2 Int, +1 stamina per 10 seconds.

Okay! Now that was nice!

Poor Copper Ring of Intelligence +1 Int

Copper Ring of Fire

+2 to Fire Damage

Fine Quartz Necklace of Mana Battery

36/50 Mana stored

Wynter slipped the necklace on and pushed a little mana at it. It seemed it took twice the amount to store it. The Intelligence ring she held up, wondering how to wear it when it began glowing and resized itself to the size of her stubby fingers.

Wynter pulled on the Mage robe, feeling it stretch and slide until it conformed to her body. It had reached almost to the ground on the Kobold, now it barely covered her upper thighs behind pleated ruffles, the top now a halter that threatened to expose her not overly generous breasts with each motion. The back totally open. The silvery grey color had become a dull black with grey highlights that seemed to randomly cover her. Spinning, the skirt swirled up and the breeze made her aware of the lack of panties. A minute ago, she had been naked and comfortable, now she wore a dress, and felt… exposed.

=-=-=-=-

Four days, maybe, had passed. All the upper rooms had been cleared. All the Low and Regular Kobolds gone, rare patrols by High Warriors all that she’d seen for the last couple days. The two backpacks she was dragging had long since been filled. All that was left was a spiraling ramp down.

She’d woken this time to the lack of pain, her mana channels weren’t aching. All her pools topped off. Now, to get out of this hole in the ground!

=-=-=-=-

Wynter crouched peering into the circular cavern. Her gaze moving from one Kobold to the next as she tried to take stock of what awaited her. Fourteen low kobolds, six average Kobold Breeders tending clutches of eggs, two High Kobold Guardians, a High Kobold Shaman, and a *High Kobold Matriarch*. Yes, her name included the stars and had a silver trim around her nameplate.

There! There was the way out! Wynter used every swear word she had ever heard, including Spanish, Thai, Russian that she had ever heard used. Just two steps behind the Matriarch was a metal ladder climbing to a hatch far overhead. Even from here she could see the rusty chain and hanging padlock on the escape hatch. Seeing a glint of metal on the Matriarch’s neck, and Wynter could bet where the key to that padlock was.

A mad charge would be foolish and suicidal at best. So, she had take them a piece at a time.

After a few hours the camp area settled down. The Breeders pulling aside the two Guardians and some of the Lows. The Matriarch pulled the Shaman back into her tent. The rest curled up to sleep.

Wynter took a handful of the torch crystals and pumped mana into them. Then carefully tossing them down into the darkening camp. Bouncing them off tents, landing them on piled furs, soon the entire camp lay in shadow. A few shattering on the stones drew little notice.

Moving quietly and carefully Low Kobold after Low died without a sound or waking. The paired lows and breeders presented little more trouble. The first Guardian died as unaware as any, followed seconds later by his Breeder. The second Guardian was wearing a leather collar and Wynter’s claws skated off doing little damage. The Guardian twisted away as Wynter kicked at his belly and she tried grabbing the collar to keep control. The Guardians fists launched into Wynter’s ribs in a pummeling left, right, left, in a stream of blows. Only the Guardians lack of weapons kept Wynter alive. The Breeder jumping on Wynter’s back as she shrieked her anger into the surrounding shadow. Wynter released the Guardian, grabbing the Breeder and with a savage slash ended her screams. Looking to the Guardian as he felt around blindly for his weapons and shield, Wynter saw her mistake. She had been fighting his fight, now that he was blinded by the deep shadow it was her fight. Timing her strike was easy as she aimed and gutted him. The outraged shouts of the Matriarch and Shaman filling the dark.

Wynter laughed evilly as she walked around the camp and touched each crystal, pushing a drop of mana in the lights went out one by one and the shadow grew dark and total.

The last two Kobolds stood back to back awaiting her. Two light stones gleaming brightly next to them. The Shaman wielding a staff as he sent screaming skulls blindly out into the dark he had never feared before. The Matriarch swinging a massive two-handed cudgel as she shouted challenges. A spear struck from the shadows and one of the remaining torch crystals fell to the ground. A second spear strike a minute later shattered the crystal.

Wynter heaved mightily and the corpse of one Guardian flew out of the dark and knocked the last light over and smothered the still glowing crystal under its heavy body.

Wynter laughed as the dark became total. With her stealth fully engaged she darted in, made a slash and darted away. Both Matriarch and Shaman had nearly a dozen wounds as Wynter struck the staff from the Shaman’s hands. Not a minute later, he fell with hardly a sound. The Matriarch swung wildly, panic rising as she stood there panting and Wynter lunged in and hamstrung the corpulent Matriarch. A slash under a raised arm slashed tendons and left that arm limp. Wynter toyed with her like a cat with a mouse. Long after it could have ended. Until at last the Matriarch knelt sobbing hopelessly and Wynter stepped in and ended it.

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