Chapter 20: Mileth Crypt [5]

On their way to Mileth Crypt, a familiar Aisling stood next to the fountain with the words “Please support me” on a sign next to her. The soldier stood alone, with none of her colleagues in the same sight. Whether it was just one person or a group of people, she swallowed her pride and passive-aggressively urged people to support her. People walked passed her without giving a second look, ignoring her plea.

“Oh! You two!” Soldier May imposed Morr’s group.

Morr and Priscilla greeted her, and Pontiff merely stared at her.

“Please! Support me!” Soldier May plead with a sullen face. She grabbed onto Priscilla, hoping that she could connect to her woman’s senses.

“Uh…” Priscilla tried pushing her off, but Soldier May was incredibly sticky.

“What are we supporting?” Morr asked.

“My Guard’s term.” Soldier May said in a serious tone. She cleared her throat and composed herself.

“You. Wrong.” Pontiff said.

Soldier May stared at Pontiff’s deadpan face. Morr and Priscilla also looked his way, confused as to why he went back to his other speech.

“Support not convince. Be happy. Cool. Calm.” Pontiff threw words out that made Soldier May even more confused.

“What?” Soldier May looked at Priscilla and Morr for guidance.

“I think he’s saying that he doesn’t want to support you.” Priscilla said. “You should be happier, cool, and calm… or something like that.”

“Oh…” Soldier May was surprised that Priscilla was able to piece that much together.

“You, smile. No frustration. Look bad. Accept ‘no.’” Pontiff threw even more words out of his mouth and Priscilla continued to mediate for him.

“That’s easy for him to say.” Soldier May sighed. “But I guess you’re right. I have to accept that people would not support me, rather than them handing out free clouts.”

“Good.” Pontiff nodded. “Persistent.”

“Sorry for taking up your time.” Soldier May waved them goodbye.

After a friendly departure, they continued their journey into the 5th floor of Mileth Crypt.

The big, empty room that housed a black scorpion and a marauder now has a bunch of Aislings camped within their own personal spots. They all wore good-quality or better equipment that were a far cry from the Aislings on floors above them. All of the Aislings who were in a camping spot wore high-quality equipment.

“There wasn’t this many people last time, was there?” Morr wondered.

“It probably has to do with the new law passed across Temuair.” Priscilla answered. “Adventurers have been broken into different rankings. I think we’re Bronze, and the next one is Silver.”

“For what?” Morr asked.

“It probably has nothing to do with us, and more to do with the war.” Pontiff said. “My patients told me about their families participating in the war and how few actually came back.”

“So you’re saying they’re using this to stop the weaklings from unnecessarily adding to the death counter?” Morr proposed.

“I would imagine.” Pontiff said. “The great thing for adventurers is that you can get unimaginable loot in the war, but death is also certainly higher.”

“Oh, your speech is different again.” Priscilla commented.

“I figured I should at least talk to you guys like this.” Pontiff said. “But for my patients and other people… well, I don’t really care.”

“A new Temuair law… This will be the 2nd one, right?” Morr asked.

“Yup.” Priscilla nodded. “The 1st law ever passed forbid anyone from harming a Mundane. You should’ve seen everyone’s reaction when news came that another law was made!”

“Mundanes have lived for more than thousands of years…” Pontiff mentioned. “I’ve visited Dr. Mav a few times in his cell and he was always interested in how they were able to live for so long and not have their physical figure deteriorate.”

“Don’t touch them.” Priscilla warned. “Who knows how many Guards, Rangers, and Aislings will be after you. Besides, they’re already sad enough to not have the Spark of Aisling within them.”

Morr instinctively looked at the brand on his right hand. He shook his head and said, “Let’s go.”

The 6th floor of Mileth Crypt…

Morr had his big bag over his shoulder, ready to fill it to the brim. Priscilla had her satchel with her wand and dagger for both long-range and short-range combat. Similarly, Pontiff had one of his pockets occupied with his scalpel and the other occupied with his own wand.

Venturing forth led to their first encounter as a trio. A great bat, three times the size of the one of the 4th floor, flew in the air with sharp fangs resting outside of its mouth. Smaller bats flew by the side of their leader. They flapped their wings simultaneously like a training regime in an army drill.

Morr sprung forward, and upon noticing him, the bats flew upward out of his range. Priscilla invoked [Wind - 2: Beag Athar], and a green magical circle appeared under the great bat. The bats flew without care and easily moved out of the magic’s radius. They turned towards Priscilla, in a wing formation, but Pontiff quickly jumped in front to swat them away with his wand. However, by keeping at a certain altitude, the wand could never touch their body.

Screeches from each of them pounded Morr’s group eardrums. They all covered their ears to block the noise. The bats dove down, scratching and biting in one motion. Morr used his big bag as a fly swatter; Priscilla tried to take out her dagger but was too slow; and Pontiff swung his wand as if he was wielding his scalpel. They effectively dealt zero damage to the bats and suffered minor injuries instead. The bats flew in a half-circle for another wave of attack.

“They’re pretty good.” Morr laughed.

“I regret taking the wizard path. I can’t hit anything!” Priscilla swap her wand with a dagger.

“Practice and more practice.” Pontiff equipped his scalpel.

The bats flew in the air, circling the group below them. And then… They all swarmed down, separating into three groups! The great bat, and two other bats, dived towards Morr. With a smile, he jumped up and met the bats halfway. Two lesser bats were able to latched onto Morr’s shoulders and bit his flesh. The great bat bared its fang and opened it mouth so wide that it can bite off a human’s skull. Morr bared his teeth as well, mimicking the bat, but as soon as they were a few feet apart, he twirled in the air and used a rotating kick to disintegrate the great bat.

Once he hit the ground he peeled the two lesser bats from his flesh and smashed their skulls together. They disintegrated, dropping two bat’s wing. Adding the great bat’s loot, which was a great bat’s wing, into his bag, he looked towards Priscilla and Pontiff who also walked towards him with three bat’s wing each.

“I almost thought you were in trouble.” Pontiff took out his wand and repeatedly invoked [Light - 1: Beag Ioc] to heal their injuries.

“I’m still getting used to this body.” Morr added their loot into his bag.

“It sure is convenient to have a healer in our group.” Priscilla stashed her dagger and took out her wand.

“I was worried that they wouldn’t come to us… but did you notice their movements?” Morr asked.

“Yeah.” Priscilla nodded. “Like they were moving as a group, rather than attacking on their own.”

“Were the monsters like this in the previous floors?” Pontiff asked.

“No… I don’t think so.” Morr answered. “Anyways, let move.”

They continued onwards, fighting more great bats and lesser bats. On the occasion that [Wind - 2: Beag Athar] does hit, the bats dropped to the ground and were easily killed. When they weren’t hit by Priscilla’s spell, the fight became slightly longer and dangerous. None of them minded the injuries when they have Pontiff healing them after every battle. They bonded as they fought, becoming accustom to each other’s fighting habits and the monster’s general tactics.

But they all stopped when they turned a corner with a single thing that would make any adventurer hop in joy: a chest. It was the first chest they’ve ever seen. Adventurers always talked about how a day of dungeon crawling is always worth it by finding one chest full of loot. One laid in front of their very eyes, unmoving, yet it tugged their heart. To walk out of here with a pocket full of gold or a magical weapon would satiate their desire.

“What do we do…?” Pontiff asked, his eyes glued to the chest.

“Split the gold between us.” Morr proposed.

“And… if it’s a weapon or armor?” Pontiff asked.

“Sell it and split the gold.” Morr said.

“No!” Priscilla interjected. “Don’t be crazy. This is our first magical item, and we’re just going to sell it?”

“But if it’s only one magical item, how are we going to split it between us?” Pontiff asked.

“Here’s a great idea: sell it and split the gold.” Morr said.

“Two of us don’t want to sell it, majority rules.” Priscilla imposed. “So, Pontiff, what should we do?”

“We… give it to the one who needs it most?” Pontiff proposed.

“What do we do if there’s only one item and its a wand?” Priscilla asked. “Both of us would need it.”

“Then we… sell it and split the gold?” Pontiff half-heartedly proposed.

Morr nodded and said, “Yup.”

“No!” Priscilla held her position. “You guys are willing to sell it, because you don’t know their worth.”

“Then, do you have any ideas?” Morr asked.

“We’ll rotate between the three of us: the first person gets this chest, the second person gets the next chest, and the third person gets the third chest.” Priscilla said.

“So… who gets to go first?” Morr inquired.

“That… I don’t know.” Priscilla sighed.

“You three!” A sudden cry for help came from behind. A handsome warrior with streaks of red in his hair ran towards them. A lion insignia can be seen attached to the warrior’s armor. There weren’t any monsters to impede his path, so he ran without worrying about nearby threats.

“Oh, hey.” Priscilla greeted. “Morr, this guy was part of the group that rescued you.”

“Gratt Fumes, nice to meet you.” Gratt introduced himself to the three of them while gasping for air.

“Thanks for the resuce… Sorry, but I don’t have any money to pay you back.” Morr respectfully expressed his gratitude.

“Don’t worry about that.” Gratt waved his hand to dismissed the formal tension between them. “More importantly, are you three going deeper?”

“Why?” Morr asked.

“I’ve been looking for a party to help retrieve my sword on the 8th floor… but no luck so far.” Gratt said with dismay. “Can you guys help me?”

“Sorry, but we’re busy with something.” Priscilla boldly said.

“I remember reading about the sword being somewhere on this floor, a month ago.” Morr mentioned.

“No, that was someone just toying with me. I searched everywhere on this floor, but I couldn’t find it.” Gratt shook his head. “Someone in my guild mentioned that they saw it on the 8th floor, but that’s too dangerous for me to go alone.”

“Why not ask them for help?” Morr inquired.

“I can’t… so, will you help me?” Gratt pulled the claidhmore from the sheath attached to his waist. “I won’t slow you down, at all.”

Morr looked at Priscilla and Pontiff, both who didn’t really care about adding an extra party member.

“I’ll help you, but only to get your sword back. All the loot belongs to us.” Morr said.

“Thanks!” Gratt energetically expressed his gratitude.

“Now then, back to our original problem.” Priscilla reminded them of their ordeal.

Gratt saw the chest that they were all pondering about, and eagerly jumped to prove his worth.

“Are you guys deciding how to split the items in the chest?” Gratt asked.

“Yup.” Priscilla confirmed.

“Ah, then get ready to fight.” Gratt ordered.

Gratt dashed towards the chest as the three wondered what he meant. Just a few feet away, Gratt reached his sword out and poked the chest. Upon feeling the vibration traveling through the sword, he immediately ran towards the three of them. Unexpectedly, the chest fiercely chased after him with its intimidating teeth and long tongue.

“What!” The three of them simultaneously shouted with shock.

“Kill it!” Gratt shouted.

Priscilla invoked [Earth - 2: Beag Creag], and a brown magical circle appeared underneath Gratt. Once Gratt stepped outside of the circle and the chest stepped inside, the ground beneath it shook and a weak sharp pillar halted its movement. Morr jumped towards it with his heel raised towards the ceiling. The moment he got in range he dropped his heel and smashed it onto the chest. Its sharp teeth bit its tongue off before it disintegrated, dropping a pair of leather bracers on death.

“Nice job.” Gratt praised. “That was a mimic, and a lesser one too.”

“Go ahead and use it.” Priscilla said. “You dealt the killing blow.”

“No arguments here.” Pontiff agreed.

“Thanks, you two.” Morr equipped the pair of leather bracers onto his forearms.

“You fight like a monk, but you’re not one… are you?” Gratt noticed the brand on Morr’s right hand.

“Why would you say that?” Morr asked.

“The brand on your hand isn’t the brand of Cail, the God of Monks.” Gratt informed. “Weird... What path are you walking?”

“This brand is related to the path one walks?” Morr inquired.

“Wait… you don’t know?” Gratt asked, shocked that an adventurer made it this far without knowing about his nature. “The brand you received symbolizes the God that grants you the power to walk a certain path. I chose the Warrior path in the Temple of Choosing and received the Mark of Ceannlaidir.”

“Oh, so that’s what you call it.” Pontiff pulled down his shirt and revealed a symbol of warmth etched onto his chest. “I saw this brand after I chose the priest path. I didn’t know it belonged to a god.”

“The gods are the ones who grant you these powers… how did you not know?” Gratt facepalmed. “Especially you, you’re a priest! You worship gods for power!”

“I knew I felt a slight burn after I became a wizard, but I didn’t know it was because of that.” Priscilla pulled her hair away from her neck, revealing a symbol of divine knowledge etched onto her skin. “I do hear a lot about Luathas, the God of Divine Knowledge, when I practice my magic or read about it.”

“I can’t believe you guys…” Gratt shook his head. “But still… I’ve never seen that symbol before. Where did you choose your path?”

“You probably won’t believe me even if I told you.” Morr cracked a smile.

“I’ll buy us all a drink at the tavern after this.” Gratt smiled. “I'm looking forward to it.”