But for a Slime

Chapter One Hundred Five

Gwenvair entered the inn with the blonde in tow behind her. She shuddered in relief to be inside then shivered to be in such a familiar place and safe. She quickly took the stairs, uncaring of the two people in the common area although she did take note in passing to make certain they were not people she should be concerned with. When she reached the top of the stairs, she breathed a sigh of relief, now truly alone and without anyone around. She guided the blonde to Joe’s door before pausing, glancing up at the blonde before returning her focus to the door. So… how do I get in? She had no key and found herself struggling to find a way forward.

She glanced up and down the hallway, but found no other place really to wait, the narrow hallway very inconvenient to wait in. She saw the next staircase to the top floor further down the hallway and took it up but found a similar narrow hallway that ended in a door to the last room on the hall. There was no place she could easily wait and she had no coin to purchase anything. She almost ran back down outside to catch Kilniara but knew she would be long gone. Even if she did find her, it would be very wise to interact with her. Gwenvair sighed and returned to Joe’s door, staring at it avidly before walking to the top of the stairs leading to the common area.

She looked down and listened carefully, but heard nothing, not even the murmurs of conversation. She considered for a few moments before she turned back to Joe’s door. I … need a place to stay… to hide. Joe… should be amenable if I enter, yes? She glanced back to the staircase before sighing and delving deeply into her mind. Not… easy… but… I should be able to… Mana stirred around her, a soft breeze answering her wind mana’s call, reacting. She ignored it and focused on creating as small a wind blade as she could, forming it between her two hands. She held her hands flat, perpendicular to the floor and her body, but parallel to each other, the fingers of both pointed forward to the door. She held them much like holding a large flat box without any area to grip, simply held by the friction of her palms pressed against the sides of the box. Her hands were quite close, and between them, a swirling tornado formed, although a bit oddly as it was turned on its side. The base of the tornado danced on the palm of her left hand while the top of the tornado swirled just off the top of her right hand. The tornado was sideways, horizontal instead of vertical; its normal orientation.

Her mind quickly focused and the tornado compressed, its circular rotation maintained at its normal diameter, but the ‘height,’ now width, of the tornado began to shrink, compressing into a hollow disk, or a flat donut. Her hands did not move, remaining the same distance apart, but they quivered as if hold a massive force together even as her mind attempted to squish the tornado into a flat disk. The blonde behind her was making odd noises in her native language, but Gwenvair cared little for her actions and she continued compressing the wind disk. Don’t really… want an obvious… massive hole… in the door!

She continued compressing the disk, her entire focus on the process, although she did glance over every once and a while towards the staircase. Each glance proved relieving as no one climbed up the stairs and she finally was able to begin pressing the disk cautiously into the door, aiming for the space between the frame and the door. The lock… was about here, yes? It should be…

Suddenly, a loud whine pounded the air and Gwenvair jumped in worry even as she felt the wind disk shiver, striking the lock bar. Joy and concern swept through her in equal measure even as she increased the pressure of the wind disk, shoving it harder into the locking bar. At the same time, a loud shout came from below and she grimaced, pushing the wind disk to even higher speed and greater pressure against the lock.

The lock suddenly snapped and Gwenvair breathed a sigh of relief, pushing the door open and yanking the blonde in with her. Steps pounded on the stairs and she turned to shut the door, finding the locking bar having fallen to the floor. She swiftly picked it up even as she quickly but quietly shut the door. With the door shut, she shoved the locking bar into the seam between the door and frame then quickly leaned against the door before turning to the blonde.

She began shushing the woman but realized she did not understand her at all so quickly put a hand over her own mouth and hoped it would be enough. The blonde quickly nodded and fell silent. Shortly after, the footsteps up the stairs changed to a pounding run down the hallway. The first door was knocked on quite loudly, then pounded on, but no one answered. They continued on down the hallway, pounding on doors and attempting to open them. Several of the rooms responded denying responsibility although the innkeeper demanded to be let in.

Finally, the innkeeper came before Joe’s door and paused. The innkeeper seemed to dither for some time before knocking politely. The innkeeper called out several times, with a very polite request to enter, but Gwenvair remained silent until the innkeeper finally left and resumed their pounding inquiry on other doors. Gwenvair remained silent until the innkeeper climbed the steps to the third floor and then she sat on the floor. With the lock now gone, she couldn’t afford to really move away, but then noticed the heavy wooden bar to be used when guests were inside the room. She breathed a sigh of relief and stood, settling the heavy bar in place. When she turned, she found the blonde staring at her, and Gwenvair sighed with a heavy smile.

“You can go ahead and sit. We’ll be here until he returns.”

The blonde did nothing but Gwenvair ignored her and walked to her husband’s bed before settling into it with relief and a profound joy. She laid her head down on his pillow and sniffed deeply before suddenly pulling her nose back with a grimace. That’s… not… well… let’s clean up a bit, then. No sense in being bored. Gwenvair stood and pulled the blankets and pillows off the bed before airing them out, hanging them where she could around the room. The blonde watched on in confusion but did little else.

When Gwenvair was done, she turned back to the boys’ bed and saw the two still made. Well, at least they’re clean. Which gave Gwenvair pause as she looked back at Joe’s linens. Why? Gwenvair settled on one of the beds and found it unsettlingly … empty, almost as if it hadn’t been used in weeks. Gwenvair’s relief and joy turned to worry rather quickly, her eyes now glued to the door and nervously waiting Joe’s return. It was a long wait.

* * *

Joe stared into the yawning depths leading into the boss’s room of the advanced dungeon. For some odd reason, there was no light in the boss’s room. This was the first time he’d seen a black room or corridor in any dungeon. He waited for quite a long time, staring deeply into the blackness but saw nothing. Finally, he took a step to stand in the doorway, but did not cross the threshold. Huh… nothing… no autosensing lights? He remained at the threshold and stared carefully, but he saw not a single sparkle of light. It almost felt like a massive black felt blanket was draped in front of him. Put an arm… touch it? Is it… a veil? Go through? Don’t wanna do that… stick my arm through… good way to lose it…

Joe stood at the entrance and stared for a time, lost in thought and uncertain of what to do. A thought suddenly came to him and he smiled softly as he pulled out his spear. He cautiously sent the spear through the blankness before him. His spear met nothing on the other side and his slow thrusts turned into rapid swings and he hit nothing. It also quickly gave Joe a headache as the spear shaft passing into the blackness simply cut off, almost like Joe was standing in a bad video game and his spear was clipping through a wall or other wall.

Joe stopped swinging his spear and turned his attention instead to the incredibly disorientating view of seeing his spear cut off into blackness. He stared closely, frowning. He then began pushing the spear in and out of the black wall, studying the shaft of the spear cautiously for any damage or differentiation. The spear proved unaffected by the black and he finally pulled the spear back out and stopped playing with the odd black wall with his spear.

He stepped back a step and stared at the black wall for a time before he frowned. Is it… safe? Spear’s fine… so… Oh. Biological matter? Joe plucked out a strand of hair from his head and studied it carefully to make sure he could verify its status and length if anything happened to it. It was quite long, his hair now very long as he no longer really had an easy way to cut it. Joe took the hair and measured it against the length of his finger then began swiping it into the blackness.

He checked the length and found no difference. He then checked the condition of the hair once again and frowned. Not… really any difference? He swiped it through a couple more times, checking both the length and condition. Nothing seemed to affect the hair so he placed the hair in for about a minute or so before pulling it out again. Huh… nothing… happened. No damage. Joe checked a bit more, leaving the hair for longer and even taking out another couple hairs to be absolutely certain. After spending a good five minutes, his curiosity abated and he grew agitated as he waited and checked more and more. He knew he needed to be cautious, but his agitation was returning and he simply wanted to move; to do something. Just… anything!

He forced himself to remain at the barrier a bit more, and waved the hair across but never found any damage or harm to the hair. Satisfied and now driven to act, he moved on to an actual body part and he actually grew a bit nervous. Taking off his shield, he extended the pinky on his left hand forward. It approached the unnatural darkness and his heart rate spiked, causing him to shudder and hold back for a moment before he grit his teeth and pushed through, swiping a finger into the darkness. The tip of his pinky barely touched the darkness and Joe sighed to feel nothing. His deep sigh shuddered through him and he began again.

This time, he pushed his finger in and held it, leaving it there for a few seconds, then longer when he felt nothing. Pulling his finger out, he looked at it and found it unchanged. He stared a bit at it until he finally smirked. Well… seems fine… so… Joe pushed his pinky in further up to his first knuckle and held it a second before pulling it back out again. Still… Huh… He pushed his finger in further and held it, not feeling anything and decided to pull it out one more time to check it but found his finger suddenly locked. His calm disappeared. He blinked and frowned, jerking on his hand once again. As soon as he did so, his arm was suddenly pulled in the opposite direction, his pinky sinking in deeper, now catching almost everything up to the palm. He panicked, jerking back as hard as he could once again, opening his fist slightly in reaction.

That was a mistake since the rest of his fingers brushed against the inky blackness and got caught. His panic only grew and he began yanking at his hand, but each yank seemed to include an equal reactive pull back, his hand, then arm, sinking ever deeper into the blackness in an odd back and forth jerkiness that Joe didn’t realize was simply the blackness somehow reacting to him.

His right hand reflexively reached up to push against the black wall, the feeling that something was gripping him offering a false feedback that he had something to push against, and his right hand soon was caught as well. The struggle quickly became futile after that, as he now only had his feet scrabbling against the floor to pull against the blackness, but leaning backwards actually brought his feet closer to the black wall, unnoticed. His sinking into the black only increased and then he was suddenly pulled through when both his feet hit the black, also becoming another anchor upon which the black wall could act. A few seconds later, Joe found himself yanked violently into the black wall.

When his face passed the blackness, it was a strange sensation as he felt nothing. Even his hands and feet had felt nothing. The only feeling he had was a strange force that seemed to work almost like an ultra-sticky glue that pulled him in and only when it ‘pulled’ him. When he passed into the blackness, he felt nothing, and when his face passed through, he flinched, attempting to protect his eyes but terrified what might be beyond or within the blackness, so he kept them open, even as he flinched from the experience. Blackness was all he could see, even as his eyes came into contact with the black ‘wall.’

He was pulled in further and then suddenly he could see, the black wall now back to just past his temples. His panic settled when he saw he was in a room like any other and rather typical of a dungeon. The room was a relatively boring circular dome like room with a high white ceiling in the middle. A black stalk hung from the middle, and the dome arched down from the center towards the floor as it came towards the walls but ended against a straight off white vertical wall at about double his height, leaving even the edges of the circular room with plenty of head room.

He stopped struggling with his sight returned, freezing and cautiously scouting the room for any danger. It was when his struggle ended that he realized that he’d been his own worst enemy, the black wall doing nothing to him. H was still half stuck into the wall, and when he tried to press back into it, it would resist him, not allowing him to return. Just leaning back calmly seemed to do nothing, the black wall allowing him to almost lean against it like leaning against a real wall.

However, if he tried to fight against it, it would react with equal force, pushing him further into the room. He grunted with this realization and scowled, angry with himself before finally stepping firmly into the room and looking around. He found nothing there. The room remained empty but for the strange black candelabra or stalk. Something? What is… it… that’s…

Joe remained where he was and stared at it. Is it… but it’s not… He frowned then cursed, more of a mental realization and anger as he immediately shot out his points to circle him and began spraying him with minute amounts of mana. Invisible guy… again? Maybe? Just keep this thing going? Maybe need to set this up to be permanent… Might be a good idea… later… His mana was not interrupted as it blasted around him, hitting him in a sine wave motion across all of his torso and up to his head. He kept most of his points in reserve so he could swap out the exhausted points and hopefully recharge them with enough time and while nothing seemed to be out there, he didn’t let his guard down and stepped forward carefully before dropping his back against the wall to his right and reequipped his shield. He glanced around the room cautiously, but still, nothing showed.

He frowned a bit, then grimaced before taking his spear and slamming it against his shield. It wasn’t a beautiful sound, but it certainly was a racket, and the black stalk in the middle of the room shivered, seemingly agitated. Joe felt his eyebrows knit. What…? Shock had him staring at the strange thing, but only grew more concerned as the stalk began swaying then reaching outwards. Realization hit Joe and he quickly shuffled away from where he had hit his shield even as the stalk pulled upwards and seemed to quest towards where the noise had come from.

Fear ratcheted through him even as his heart stuttered, then rapidly went to staccato pulses. What… is that?! Where do I even hit it? Where… where would the heart be? Does it even have a heart? Maybe it’s some kind of plant? Just… can move from… how is it sticking to the ceiling? How… How do I kill it? How do I fight it?! Joe’s consternation grew even as the strange alien nature left him struggling to find an appropriate response. The black trunk of the thing stretched outward, much like a massive snail or slug could stretch itself out, and even two stalks stretched outwards, just like a snail. Eyes?

Joe froze, even as the thing wafted in front of the inky black door, the stalks also waving independently. Are they eyes? Or… just something else? Ears? It didn’t see me before… but it didn’t have the stalks out… snails stalks are eyes, right? Or are they ears? But… then… eyes? Or ears? Joe wasn’t sure how he could make certain other than to actually expose his position so he took a short step towards the wall. Moving his entire torso would make the movement obvious, and if the thing’s stalks were eyes, it would notice immediately, especially with his body silhouetted so obviously against the lighter walls. His movement caused the black creature to respond, but it didn’t seem to be sight. It suddenly seemed to shudder, then quest towards his location and Joe almost gasped in worried fear. Not sight… but… it can feel a breeze, then… just from moving? No… right? It shouldn’t…

Somehow, Joe got the feeling that the creature was sensing him more by a touch based sense than a sight one, but he couldn’t figure out how it could feel. If it’s feeling me… then why didn’t it feel me moving to the left? What’s…

Joe cautiously but quickly searched his body for something and found his pouch of coins on his hip and pulled it loose rather quickly before tossing it back towards his bag sitting against the wall. The black stalk paused at that again, seeming to waver, uncertain where or how to react to that and Joe found himself struggling to understand what was happening. He looked at the stalks, then at the creature, and finally decided on a course of action. He carefully and slowly slid his spear into his shield hand, his left hand holding the spear awkwardly and making his shield almost useless, before pulling out the sword.

The sound of the blade leaving the scabbard seemed to do something to the thing, but again, its senses seemed strangely muted and weak. Joe didn’t complain except in so far as he simply wished he knew more about this creature to adequately react to it.

When the sword was out enough, he took a slow deep breath and then moved to the side once again. This had seemed to draw the attention of the strange ceiling snail… no… no shell… not a snail… a slug. Heh… a ceiling slug! The ceiling slug reacted once again and began drifting towards him. When it had come within range of a lunging strike with his sword, he didn’t wait, and immediately stepped forward with a single step and brought the blade down at the same time. His step would bring the ceiling slug into range even as his blade powered down towards one of the eye or ear stalks. Blind it or… yeah, whatever… always helps … only one… but better than none…

Even as he stepped forward with rapid speed, the slug immediately reacted and swung its massive dangling torso in a wide arc that would likely have crushed his ribs and even possibly killed him, the swing so rapid and fast he barely had time to react. He did so by simply falling to the ground. The blast of wind that poured over the top of him left him lying on the ground and staring at the whipping slug body with horrified awe. The strikes continued for a moment, but his dive to the ground saved him and the stalk whipped around over the top of him. Joe found the drop to the floor fortuitous, but wondered if the wild flailing of the monster really had just been lucky, the thing simply striking at where it thought he would be. Lost me somehow? How? Why… Or it can’t go all the way to the ground? That… should I just lay here and stab up at it? But…

While he considered the possibility, the idea that he would be laying on the ground robbed of the majority of his agility left him terrified, and so once the creature had stopped swinging, he stood again, this time very slowly and deliberately. This proved significant, and Joe was able to finally smile as he realized slow deliberate movement was basically undetectable to the monster. Joe took a slow sigh of relief and then reset himself, preparing once again.

So… stalking until close… then stab? Slice? Joe considered his options and finally decided to return to his spear. The soft nature of the slug made him really want try some form of decapitation or severing of limbs, but its incredible speed and reaction to his movements made him quite concerned. If he wanted to cut, he needed to have the blade moving fast! And that meant giving himself away. But a spear… Hmm… He considered and decided that a spear could get much closer and be slammed into the thing and puncture or wound it much more deeply and meaningfully than a slice that he had to start at an inch away.

Returning his sword to the scabbard was time consuming and mentally grueling as he moved as slowly as possible and the thing continued to almost ‘sniff’ around the room for him. When he got the sword back in the scabbard, he shifted the spear back to his right hand slowly and then began turning to face the thing. It continued its odd sniffing movement around the room, moving in a large circle around its center, although it did stretch outwards and pull back inwards, moving in more of a wave like motion. Still, it soon came to his side of the room once again, and he kept his spear pointed at the thing as it came closer and closer.

When it came within range, only a finger length or so away from his spear tip, he simply pressed forward as hard and fast as he could, firmly holding the spear aimed for the center of the meaty section of the slug. His movement was rapid, immediate, and deadly, the spear striking the flesh of the thing and digging in almost before it began moving. The thing reacted! Lightning movement had it immediately slam towards Joe and Joe could barely hold his grin in. Nice… punch the spear into yourself!

The slug’s flesh proved weaker than he expected, and it impaled itself on the spear with ease, sliding almost half way down the spear in reaction to his movement before suddenly stopping with an odd coughing keening cry before suddenly attempting to yank its body away, up and towards the center of the room.

That proved to be a mistake as the jerk caused the spear shaft to tear through the flesh of the slug down towards the tip that was sensing for him. Joe’s eyebrows shot up into his hairline when he saw the slug’s incredible reaction actually caused it to rip his spear out of its own flesh sideways, yanking the tip of its body up and ripping itself in half even as it pulled itself up and off the spear shaft, the long way.

The strange slug body now had the tip of its body almost entirely split in two almost a half a meter up its torso and Joe grinned. That should… His grin fell away as its body retreated back up into its ceiling root, black ooze and slime leaking from the massive wound and splashing on the floor. Joe stared up at it with a grimace as it thrashed around in pain. OK… how am I supposed to… hurt that? Arrows aren’t really going to… do anything, are they? Joe took a step back cautiously and raised his shield, preparing for something that might come. The thing continued shrinking ever more into its blob until a massive gaping mouth opened up near the root stuck to the roof, a deep echoing moan shuddering out. Joe’s eyes widened in shock. The mouth is … at the top? Or… is it not a mouth? What … Joe’s breathing increased at the horror of it but couldn’t really decide what actually bothered him. There was just something alien and mind breakingly revolting about the thing. He stared at it for a time then cautiously laid down his spear to reach for his bow and arrow. He kept the shield in hand because he wasn’t certain he was out of range of the thing. The room was large for fighting in melee but for anything at range, it was uncomfortably cramped.

He was able to pull out his bow but then he had to put down his shield and looked up at the odd knot of slug muscle hugging the roof with its massive open mouth still moaning out into the room. He swallowed, the unnerving nature of the thing making him struggle to feel calm. He finally decided that whatever it was doing, it wasn’t something he would like to happen, so finally forced his shield to the ground, arranging the spear and shield so he could reequip himself with them rapidly if he needed to.

He took a step back and to the side and pulled an arrow out before sighting on the slug knot on the ceiling. He started to aim, deciding to go for the open mouth then paused, remembering the ease with which the shaft of his spear ripped through the slug’s flesh. He then looked at his arrow, the length of it, then the knot of slug quivering against the roof. The arrow… it’s going to probably ding off the ceiling… gonna lose the arrow… maybe? Or… Joe dropped his bow and put his arrow back into the sheath. He dropped the bow to the ground cautiously and pulled out his spoon spear. Don’t care if this thing breaks…

He pulled the spoon spear back over his shoulder before heaving up into the slug’s center of mass. He grinned to see his spear sink in all the way until it hit the ceiling. Then his smiled dropped with the realization that his spoon spear was embedded in the slug. Worry grew but didn’t have long to develop as the slug began roaring in greater pain and shivering. Its mouth quickly shut and the roar turned to an odd deep hum that seemed to vibrate the entire room. It wasn’t unpleasant, but it was disconcerting as it vibrated as well, obviously twisting itself in an attempt to remove the spear. Joe smiled to see the attempt work, his spoon spear falling from the ceiling with a goopy clang. He grimaced to see the mess upon it and grabbed one of his many cloaks from his bag before moving forward in an incredibly slow and deliberate slide. No acid for blood… hopefully… but better safe than sorry!

He retrieved his spear so slowly his arm started aching as he pulled it back, stepping back to his spot on the wall. He washed the spear off with the cloak and then grabbed it gingerly. He felt nothing, but it was a bit slimy or oily to him and he grimaced as he pulled back to throw again. Once again, he launched the spoon spear up into the ceiling and it once again buried itself into the slug’s flesh. The moan increased once again, and it vibrated violently. He watched on, waiting expectantly but the spear did not dislodge and he frowned. While the violent shaking of the slug didn’t loosen the spear, the slug began bleeding more and more, and Joe smiled, a feral look of glee. Still have Garnedel… the other spoon spear!

Joe’s thoughts hiccupped even as a hand dipped down in his pocket to rub the small card in it before quickly returning his attention back to the fight, already forgetting what had shattered his thoughts. He stepped to his bag, now a bit more confident and to quickly pull out the other smaller spoon spear but frowned when he noticed it was gone. The frown twisted and he pulled out his wooden spear, but then held it, not wishing to throw it up unless he had to, which he would, if he must. While it was a nice spear, a reward from the beginner dungeon, he could replace it easily enough with another run into the dungeon and he preferred to protect the machine made perfection of his other spear in contrast to an easily replaceable simple wooden spear.

He watched on for a bit, then turned and grimaced, an enraged thing that made his cheek twitch. Why isn’t it coming out… the spoon spear’s head is keeping it trapped inside? Maybe? Joe sighed and sighted up to throw the wooden spear when he paused, noticing the shaft of the spoon spear beginning to extricate from monster. Joe let the wooden spear drop and smiled. I can wait. He watched on with some annoyance at the slow expulsing slide of the shaft that the twisting of the monster seemed to use to push his spoon spear out with an oozing and sucking sound. Finally, the shaft fell to the ground with a loud echoing gong ringing out in the room, clattering to the floor.

Oddly, that didn’t seem to cause the creature to react, and Joe frowned at that, but didn’t stop himself from slowly and painfully sliding across the floor once again to grab the spear with his soiled cloak. The agonizingly slow movements frustrated him, but he maintained his pace cautiously before finally returning to the wall and pressing up against it. He sighed with relief once returned then quickly wiped down the spear. However, he froze when the creature reacted, noticing his movements. Joe paused, frozen in concern before very slowly cleaning the spear once again. When it was finally clean, he didn’t even bother to aim carefully and flung the spear directly up into the slug’s mass. Like his first throw, it buried into its flesh but with only a small bit of the shaft hanging out the exit. The slug began shaking even more violently and he watched on for a bit before turning back to his bag. Doesn’t look like its coming out this time…

He picked up his wooden spear once again, looking up at the slug and decided to take a bit more time to wait, but nothing seemed to happen, his spoon spear seemingly well and truly stuck. His frown grew as he watched on until he finally decided to use the wooden shaft. This time, he tried to aim the spear carefully so that it could be pushed out more easily by the creature, wanting to have more chances with the spear. He aimed carefully, then whipped it up at the creature hard, burying it in the flesh outside the mouth.

Surprisingly, the wooden spear brought out the greatest response from the monster, and it frozen when it entered its flesh before the mouth opened even wider than before and the thing screeched. The sound of squealing brakes melded with fingernails on a chalkboard had Joe shivering in rejection of the noise, hands rising to his ears to protect against the dissonant sound. After a few moments, the shrieking didn’t abate and Joe was finally able to return to a semblance of fighting form and looked back up at the thing.

The wooden spear had begun to glow, the traceries and knots that threaded through its shaft brightening ever more, their glow almost looking like heated wires under electrical overload. Joe’s grinned returned and he huffed with amusement at the realization that the simple wooden spear might prove more effective than a spear built by hundreds of thousands or even millions of members of an advanced society.

The monster had opened once again, but now something else was happening, the shivering shakes to remove the spears had abated, but something else was occurring as the thing seemed to be hacking up a hairball, or something similar. Joe frowned to see it and several moments later, a black gooey ball erupted from its throat, flying into the air and towards the ground. Joe’s disgust turned to worry then rapidly into a slight panic when the black gooey mess seemed to sprout wings and flapped, turning its fall into a flight directly towards him. Joe took a step back, then cursed as he leaped towards his shield and spear and struggled to get the shield back on. Might get lucky with the spear… but shield… He got his left hand in through the straps and almost settled his left hand into the handle on the back when the black gloopy thing with wings splatted into the shoulder of the arm holding his shield. He turned to look at it in shock, and reach up to smack the gooey mess away before suddenly freezing in pain as something tore at his shoulder and took a massive bite out of it.

Before he could even remove it, the black goop flapped up and away on bat like wings and headed back towards the slug. Joe looked up, following its movements as he remained paralyzed in shock at what happened. He glanced back at his shoulder and found it healed fully once again before taking in his mini status. He gulped in surprise to see his health more than half gone and he looked back up at the slug. It was still hacking, and Joe grew concerned, his grimace souring to worry as he cursed softly. Can’t have that again. He looked back at his HP again to verify how much he’d loss then frowned. It’s… lower… isn’t it? He stared at it carefully and saw it flicker down another tiny amount and then looked back up at the slug. Poison? What’s going on? Something…

Joe pulled up his full status and looked at the numbers and saw his HP draining slowly, about a point a second. He grew worried as he sighed and quickly ran the numbers. One a second… over three thousand HP left… so… not too bad… fifty… hmm… maybe sixty… yeah… sixty minutes till it’s gone… then bad things happen… can’t be hit again… or I’ll be in big trouble!

He’d only glanced at it for a moment, his mind running the numbers as he quickly glanced around the room in search of more goopy bats. No others had been hacked up yet, and Joe was grateful for the slow spawn rate. The first goopy bat that had bitten him had settled on what Joe would call the bottom lip of the slug and then began hacking as well. Joe’s stomach turned a bit to watch two things hacking at each other like they were going to swap hairballs. The little bat proved quicker, and Joe’s upset turned almost to vomit as he saw a mangled red piece of flesh fly out of the goopy bat’s mouth and into the massive slug’s mouth. It’s… eating me remotely! That’s… Joe almost couldn’t decide if he was impressed, surprised, or disgusted as he watched regurgitated flesh from his shoulder spew out in a masticated mess into the slug’s wide open and eager mouth.

The slug seemed to find his flesh a delicacy as it began vibrating excitedly as it dribbled into its mouth, the hacking pausing for a moment as it shivered in apparent glee. Joe’s disgust quickly turned to rage and he finished pulling his spear and shield up. Gotta leave the other spears there… hopefully they’re enough to finish it off… bleed it to death…. Maybe? I’ll take care of the bats!

The first bat finished vomiting up in the slug’s mouth and simply tilted backwards before falling back to the ground. Half way down, it spread dripping black wings and twirled to face him, diving down at him. Joe grinned. Not again, splatty. The thing came straight on at him and he buried his spear directly through the center of it. The black bat didn’t even react, attempting to continue flying forward before finding itself stuck, friction having slowed its forward movement. It remained stuck just below the spear head on the top of the shaft, futile in its efforts to continue flying forward. Uh… OK? Now what… why won’t it die? Joe stared at it for a moment before looking back up at the once again hacking slug and Joe grimaced. Can’t have too many of these flying around, right?

He looked at the goopy bat on his spear and finally decided on a course of action, picking up the already soiled cloak with his shield hand before turning back to the impaled bat. He shifted his hand forward a bit on the spear, choking up and the spear head, but not too close, before raising the spear up in the air and swinging the spear down rapidly at the floor. Come on… slide right… there! Centrifugal force did its thing and the bat splatted hard on the floor and Joe threw the cloak on top of it before stamping hard down on it with his foot. The thing exploded like a water balloon, and Joe stepped back with a grimace, his cloak now a ruined mess of black stinky liquid. Well… glad I used the cloak… that’s… maybe another two uses… ugh…

The hacking came to an end and Joe glanced up to see another bat come at him, and he immediately sent out a thrust to impale the thing but it swooped to the side and Joe felt an eyebrow rise. Huh… learning? Is it… wireless signals back to the mother brain? What’s… His thoughts were distracted when the goop bat swooped at him again and he brought the spear to bear. Again, the thing swooped to the side, out of the way of the spear, but instead of retreating, pushed on and Joe brought up his shield to swing it at the bat hard, aiming to burst it open and cause damage, not simply protect himself from the attack.

The goopy bat did not burst, but it did fly across the room and slam into a wall, its surface wobbling much like a water balloon attempting to hold in a massive amount of liquid. Joe reacted quickly and sprinted after it. The bat hit the wall and seemed disoriented, falling to the ground and Joe decided to sacrifice his shield. Easier to clean flat metal surface than permeable shoes! Joe simply fell to the floor upon the bat and grinned to feel it burst below him. His grin did not last long, the hacking behind him having ended and a wet sound of spit ejecting from the mouth catching his attention. OK… no problem… up fast… two down… got this.

The hacking cough began once again and Joe struggled to rise to his feet and turn to meet the bat. He proved too late and howled in expectant pain when the soft wet splat slammed into his right shoulder blade. No… no… not my spear arm… gonna… His thoughts vanished in white out of pain as he howled. His shoulder blade proved a boon and the bat thing only scraped hard teeth across his shoulder blade and got very little of his flesh. The bat launched from him and began its heavy swooping flight back up to the mouth. The hacking from the slug continued then came to a halt, and another wet splat of spit echoed through the circular room. It’s… getting faster? Two of them now? He stood and turned then flickered his gaze to his health then frowned when he noticed that he still had mostly half his health left. What? That… didn’t hurt me as much? Why? What’s happening? Why is it…

He glanced at the two bats, the first still not an immediate threat as it struggled to flap back up to the slug’s mouth. The second had just opened its wings from being spat out of the slug and Joe’s thoughts quickly evaluated his options. Got time… no problem… HP… what’s… His status flicked open once again, and he easily verified that his health still dropped about once a second. However, he still had over three thousand health, having only lost about a hundred health with that bite. Joe immediately closed the window and glanced back at the newly incoming bat. What… first damage bonus? Something else? Why is it… His thoughts ended with the arrival of the bat and Joe once again used his shield, but this time slammed the bat to his feet before simply dropping down and squashing it with his shield. He looked back up at the slug.

Hmm… what’s… how am I? He stared at it for a time even as the first bat tumbled off from the slug’s lips to return at Joe and a second bat splatted out with the latest hacking cough. So… can’t keep doing this… too slow. Coming faster… so… Joe let his mind swirl with options even as he lined up to take out the closest splat bat. Joe glanced down at the cloak at his feet then grinned. He bent down, picked it up quickly, and then swirled it outward much like a fisherman swirls nets out to catch fish.

The throw wasn’t perfect, but it did flare the cloak enough that it caught the first bat in its folds and quickly dropped it to the ground. He stepped forward and slammed his foot down upon the bat. Ok… option… but still not perfect… going to have to… He glanced back up at the slug quickly and it seemed to be almost none worse the wear. All his spears but one were now buried in its flesh, but the spears seemed to have been sealed inside, and even his longer spears seemed to have been healed even up along the shaft of the spear, protecting against any further blood loss.

Not… going to do this very easily… not like this… His dungeon reward magical wooden spear still glowed brightly, burning, but didn’t seem to be enough to meaningfully harm it, the flesh of the slug burning around where the spear pierced it. Joe sighed prepared for the next splat bat. It came on, and he feinted with a spear thrust, pretty sure that it was getting wise to his shield bashing tactics. The bat reacted and turned away from the spear, but to his left and Joe grinned as he took a single long step to bring it in range of a massive swing of his shield against it. This time, the swing proved poorly aimed, and it flew back behind Joe into the wall. Aim for the ground! Can’t go chasing… but… not too bad this time…

His back was almost against the wall behind him, so having the splat bat fly backwards into the wall proved rather decent and he only need a single step, a toss of the cloak, and another boot stomp to end the bat. Joe breathed deeply, relieved to be freed of the bats and looked up at the slug, still hacking away, preparing another goopy black bat to come at him. Joe frowned then quirked an eyebrow. Magic infusion… that will… He looked at his spear then looked up at the slug and decided on using the bow and arrow. One arrow… or the spear… can sacrifice an arrow… lets…

He quickly dropped his spear and shield and pulled his bow to him before ripping out an arrow quickly. Point… into the arrow… there… then… As his mana point flowed into his arrow, he pulled back the bow and pointed it up at the slug. This got the slug’s attention. It immediately stopped its hacking cough and shivered wildly, shaking slightly. Joe frowned and prepared, but still continued his efforts to bury an arrow into the creature. The monster suddenly elongated it’s muscle directly towards him and Joe growled a curse in surprise, even as he dove to the left.

The muscle slammed into the wall behind where he’d stood and the room shuddered, dust falling from the ceiling and cracks erupting out from the point where the slug’s ‘head-thing’ slammed into the wall. Joe considered trying to stand but then immediately gave up, his arrow still set and the bow still held steady, string taut. Where… His eyes were drawn to the long tube of muscle that began to withdraw from its punch into the wall, turning into something like a wavering snake seeking its next strike He then looked back up at the muscle glued into the ceiling. Joe grinned. Can’t dodge this!

His arrow flew true and slammed into the muscle still attached to the ceiling, its body shivering as the arrow buried into it. His wooden spear suddenly went wild, the glowing lines flashing brilliant white in heat even as the creature went wild in painful fear. Its roar echoed through the room, deeper and more enraged, then slowly began crawling up octaves as pain began to register.

The long muscle limb whipped around the room madly, not even attempting to find him or strike him, but simply flailing wildly in pain. Joe quickly scrambled to get out of the way of the thrashing limb but for the most part remained on the ground as the limb seemed to mostly stay in the air, slamming to the ground in odd random locations. He still had to dodge a few times as the thing reacted, but that reaction did not last long, and it slowly grew lethargic as it died. Joe breathed a sigh of relief as it became almost harmless, its movements slow and slams against the wall not even an echo of their original strength.

A small spoon spear dropped from the ceiling, having been dislodged in the wild swinging rage and he quickly leapt towards it. One more time. Another point buried itself in the spoon spear’s head this time and he flung it at the creature and it quickly stiffened and died a few moments later. Joe stood and grinned, laughing a bit before heading back near his pack and sliding to the ground. He looked up at the slug and watched it, curious as to how it would respond now it was dead.

Oddly enough, it did not detach from the ceiling. It grew completely flaccid, his spears and even the arrow proving heavy enough to fall out of the flesh of the creature, but it did not relinquish its grip on the ceiling. Joe almost wanted to dissect it and figure out how it did it, but then remembered the black stinky ooze and quickly decided that he could leave that to more scholarly individuals. His weaponry clattered to the floor and Joe let most of it fall, although he did stand to catch his arrow a short time later when it did fall before returning to slide down onto the floor, his back against the wall as he felt the rush of experience flow through him.

You have defeated the ‘May your Testicles Wither to the Root , Emperor’ Dungeon.

You have conquered the ‘May your Testicles Wither to the Root, Emperor’ Dungeon.

Joe didn’t really look at the message, almost dismissing it to have a moment to rest when he suddenly blinked in shock. This… what… can you change dungeon names? And… wow… someone’s pissed. Joe stifled a giggle, a small smirk coming to his face before he finally sighed and dismissed the popup before turning to look at his health.

OK… not so bad… Kind of a cheat with HP… but… not so bad! He glanced at his HP with a self-mocking smirk. Well… ok… maybe it is bad, so…His smile fell and he looked closely at his HP once again. It ticked down, again, about every second. What’s… This isn’t… Joe took a deep breath then froze, stopping his breathing when he noticed his HP loss spike up with his deep breath. He held his breath and the dropping HP slowed, then stopped. Joe glanced back around the room with some shock. Something … poisonous in the air! Ooh… or … in my blood? Permanent… then… don’t have much time… gotta move and find a healer! But… yeah… no… the HP loss… He paused and watched a bit longer and saw his HP remained steady now, not dropping. Maybe… He took a breath and his HP began dropping again and he sighed with some relief. OK... this… OK… this would… could have been bad! But just seems to be some kind of poison in the air then? Still gotta get out of here… He stood and quickly packed things up. Not going to stay here any longer!

He took a look around the room and tried to figure out where to go next. The monster’s body and various parts around the room suddenly dissolved, returned to the dungeon, and Joe then realized that there was a hole in the middle of the room. He quickly stepped up to it then stopped when he heard the crunching rumble of moving stone. He looked to his right and found a wall pulling up and away, revealing a small room with a pedestal and a chest upon it. Joe made note of it and returned to look into the hole in the floor. He smiled to see the dungeon core inside, the same almost washed out reddish color of the beginner’s dungeon, if just slightly bigger and more ornate.

Right… can get out with this… maybe… He looked at his HP and found it still ticking down at one per second and decided he had time; more than enough time. But something back from Earth days left him viscerally concerned about being trapped in a room with dangerous gasses or poisons. He marched across the room with all his items and stopped before the chest. He pulled it open quickly and then paused, finding the chest full of armor and accessories, but not weaponry. Huh… difference based on a dungeon? Or… person? Already got a weapon, so they offer me something else? Or… is it… just… alternating? Hmm… gonna have to figure that out… get something and go, for now though.

Joe quickly began swiping through all the armors and accessories available, but found very little that really enticed him. Suddenly, he paused and swiped back, a single image having surprised him. He watched it carefully, then grew intrigued. Huh… is this… what I think it is? That would be… VERY nice! Hookay… yeah… He pulled out the item and looked at it carefully, almost deciding to play with it now but then stopping immediately. Right… poisoned… let’s get out of here. He accepted the gift and headed back to the hole in the ground holding the pedestal. When he got close to it, it began to rise from the ground and his eyebrows knit together. Why… it didn’t come up before… why is it coming up … ooh… get the chest first? Huh… seems like a nice thing to do? Why would the system… that’s too nice?

Joe’s concern spiked and he began cautiously taking in his surroundings but found nothing that seemed worrisome. He slowed, becoming even more cautious and stared around him carefully, pressing out his mana points further and testing for anything that might be around him. His caution proved unnecessary and finally he drove himself to turn to the dungeon core, escaping his paralysis. His palm rested on the dungeon core.

You have destroyed a dungeon.

This dungeon is already destroyed.

You have conquered a dungeon. This dungeon was previously conquered. It has no current owner. Do you wish to take control of this dungeon?

Same as before… so uh… sure? Oh! Wait… um… no information dump please… use a display… save my poor brain please. Everything around him seemed to stutter, the very fabric of reality seeming to vibrate around him. Joe flinched, then looked around with a bit of a wild look to his eyes. Nothing seemed to change, but potential seemed to grow within the air around him as he felt something. The tension in the air continued to increase even as power settled upon the room, but did not seem to interfere or interact with him. He simply felt the change.

As he waited, the potential of the energy seemed to shift, and something appeared to focus upon him; some form of intelligence became aware of the situation and devoted their attention to it. The attention was remarkably pointed, Joe’s itchy feeling of being watch seemed to be peripheral to the actual focus of the thing that was watching. It was watching… something in front of him, but it’s presence was enough to leave Joe frozen, eyes darting to seek out what it was, but head unmoving to remain as still as possible. Finally, a short time later, the shifting and presence faded and a popup showed up before him.

Dungeon Control - Coushar Advanced

Tax Type:

Cash

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Floors:

25

Tax Rate:

0%

Dungeon Type:

Maze

Recipient:

NA

Dungeon Difficulty:

Tier 3

Time to Capture

Capture Dungeon

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Joe glanced at the popup then looked away quickly, still twitching at what had happened. With things having calmed down, he quickly backed up and took a look around the room cautiously, then jumped in a bit of surprise to find the chest room wall having closed once again. Only the circular room surrounded him with the blank blackness covering the door to the entrance. He glanced around some more, then almost turned to simply leave the room, uncaring of coming back into contact with the core again.

The pop up had stayed in front of him for only a short moment, but it had been enough that he’d caught the basics of it, committing the basic layout to memory. He came to the black door and quickly harnessed his various weapons and pulled his backpack on before turning to look at the core in the center of the room. He searched the floor carefully, furiously, but found nothing. He even walked around the room once but still found nothing. Can’t… don’t want this thing, whatever was looking at me, to spawn and eat another core… gotta think a dungeon core would be REAL bad… but… He steeled his nerves and searched the floor once more but still did not find anything.

After circling the room that last time, he paused at the black wall and looked back in the room, searching through everything cautious before his eyes came to the dungeon core sitting on its pedestal. Did whatever it was fall… there? Into the hole? His eyes glanced down to the bottom and found a small groove running circling the pedestal and sighed deeply. Gritting his teeth, he steeled his heart and stalked towards the pedestal again. He searched the groove at the base of the pedestal carefully but found nothing. He stood and glanced around the room one last time and then turned his gaze back to the dungeon core.

He paused, gritting teeth while gazing back and forth between freedom and the core. I can… use it to escape, though… right? Joe gazed at the core for a time before steeling himself and reaching out once more. His hand fell on it and immediately, the display came up before him once more and he steadied himself, his tension quickly reducing as nothing seemed to happen. He stared at the screen and quickly found the escape dungeon option easily enough and a small grin came to his face. Been in here… too long. That’s… Joe’s sigh was one of relief accentuated with a wisp of a smile as he considered a bath and his bed. That smile turned sour as he realized his room was empty. He sighed again, now in despair but forced himself onwards. He pushed and changed several settings on the dungeon before turning to push the button to escape. I do need rest… I … He hit the button and the world flashed around him.

* * *

The dungeon guards standing before the advanced dungeon entrance stood in boredom, two of them bored in their busy efforts to cycle the people through into the dungeon. Two others, off to the side near the entrance, were guarding an odd platform with diligence despite their boredom. Suddenly, a flash of light erupted upon the platform and drew the eye of everyone in the courtyard surrounding the advanced dungeon. The guards all around immediately stood to attention and stared at the platform with both reverence and excitement.

The captain of the guard quickly stepped out, marching forward towards the platform as the light faded and the captain came to a stop, hand snapping up in salute of the brave adventurers who’d completed the advanced dungeon.

“Welcome brave adventurers. Congratulations on completing the advanced dungeon. If you could come with… me… to…”

The captain trailed off when everyone noticed a single person standing upon the platform. Many of those watching quickly began whispering, most commiserating for the man losing his entire team. The captain quickly changed his tone, offering his condolences.

“I apologize, adventurer. I did not know you lost your team. Please come with me. We will finish our procedures in privacy.”

The man was a mess, his stench wafting out from the platform slamming into the nostrils of those around even as his clothing and cloak barely held their place upon his body, torn so badly to shreds. Surprisingly, the man had no scars or obvious damage, and the captain took a moment to reevaluate the adventurer. The man stared back at him this time, and the captain grew concerned. Is his mind broken? Why… His thoughts were interrupted when the adventurer replied.

“I have no need for privacy. I simply wish to return home.”

“Ah.. uh… if you are willing? But… there is…”

“What do you need to know? I do not wish to be impolite, but I am exhausted and wish to sleep.”

“Uh… certainly. There is need of taxes and a discussion of your companions.”

The adventure quirked an eyebrow in confusion, “Companions?”

“Yes. We wish to keep track of those who have entered and died. It is important to…”

“I had no companions.”

The captain froze, struggling to keep his mouth shut even as all sound died around them. Those closest listening gasped, while those beyond were quickly whispering, asking for an explanation before also gasping into the silence. The gasp and silence washed out in a wave outwards and the captain struggled to recover his equilibrium.

“No… companions?”

“Yes.”

“You conquered the dungeon… alone?”

“Yes. Is there more you need to know?”

The captain paused at that, quickly reevaluating the man before him then blinking in surprise when he quickly noticed the odd mana swirling around the man. Oh… eccentric! I should have known! A second one? The captain squinted, attempting to get a closer look at the man before realizing. Oh… same one!

“Ah… no… apologies eccentric. Please. We will end quickly. If I could ask for the accepted tax.”

The eccentric blinked, his eyebrows knitting, “What is the tax?”

“One out of every five cores.”

“Hmm… I do not know how many cores I retrieved.”

“Ah…then… it … the general accepted rule is one core per floor.”

“One core per floor as tax or one core found per floor, thus five cores tax.”

The captain paused before replying quickly, “One per floor, eccentric.”

The eccentric nodded and slid his bag onto the platform before reaching in and pulling out a pouch. He reached inside and pulled out twenty five cores before depositing it into the captain’s hand. The captain gulped to see such wealth in his hands and he stepped back. He bowed quickly as he stepped aside for the eccentric.

“Have a good day, sir.”

“Hmm. You, too.”

The crowd stared after him as he left, silence a fragile bubble remaining behind until he’d past beyond what the crowd felt was a safe distance before it popped in a violence of whispered exclamations and conversations. The captain stared after him then quickly turned away and marched towards his office. He swallowed softly as he escaped into his small room.

* * *

Joe shambled through the streets and towards his inn and his room then stopped in a stuttering lurch. Once he’d returned to the surface, the tension that had dogged him the entire time he trod through the dungeon evaporated and he now found himself almost dragging his feet down the street. Right… shower… bath first… yeah… bath. He turned another direction, fleeing from the inn without even realizing it and returning to a shuffling shamble that sometimes almost broke out into a normal walk.

Joe didn’t really know how long he walked, but suddenly found himself before the bathhouse and had to come to a stop, becoming aware of where he was. He kind of wavered in a daze before realizing what was going on and pulled out his token to enter, then taking off towards a bathing room, following the young boy who led him.

He remained in a daze there, staring at the wall without thought until he finally turned to look at his status again, the long habit ingrained and instinctual by now. He flipped open and raised an eyebrow at his base stats, astounded by how much they were. Curiosity was almost enough to drive him into trying to figure it all out, but when he opened his available jobs page and saw how many jobs he’d unlocked while in the depths and how much time it would take to look at each job and count up the stats to figure out what and where he was getting what, exhaustion pulled him away and despair drained any desire to push on through, and turned to search other things.

His titles proved exactly what he needed, a simple list of several new titles displayed for him and not too many that would overwhelm him. He sighed, attempting to find some joy in the effort before just pressing one of the new titles displayed before him.

Dungeon Soloer (Superior Title): You have conquered and taken a dungeon all alone! You have some control over the rewards you gain from the dungeons when defeating them.

Joe didn’t even respond at seeing it, any joy at loot a pale thing that did little to return joy to him and only duty pressed him on to seek out the next title. Even seeing the name failed to bring any meaningful joy to his life and only exhaustion kept him from returning back into the depths of the dungeon. I’ll sleep… one night… at least one night in a bed, then… He pressed the next title mechanically.

Dungeon Soloer (Legendary Title): You have conquered almost every monster in a breaking dungeon. Dungeons will now have an instinctual fear of you.

He stared for a time, looking at the title but remained unmoved, unable to find the joy that should be his from such an achievement, and he turned his gaze to the next title. His passive look turned to a curious frown. Huh… sounds the same as the other one.

Quark of Wisdom (Dao Seed): You have increased your Dao beyond mortal limits, developing your Wisdom a hundred times beyond average mortals. You have begun your journey in developing a dao of Wisdom. Good luck on your journey, mortal.

Joe stared at it, sighing. Don’t feel very wise here… feel like an idiot. Tears welled up and his eyes closed to block out everything, then grew irrationally angry when the glowing blue box proclaiming his growth in wisdom remained visible and he cursed as he swept the box away. He didn’t seek out his status again, after that, seeking only to escape into his memories in a futile attempt.

He didn’t know how long he was there. He even might have drifted off for a bit, but it didn’t seem for long as his skin hadn’t really wrinkled much and he dragged himself out of the tub. He grimaced when he did, however, a small crick in his neck having made itself know quite forcefully. Ooh… ouch… ok… a little too long. The crick in his neck gave him more incentive to head out for his bed so he wasn’t quite so grumpy to dry, get dressed, and pull his pack onto his back.

He soon found himself back outside in the street and glanced up at the sky, finding the gas giant high in the sky with the sun close at its side. Joe noticed this, then frowned. Is the sun… closer to the gas giant? Ooh… that’s… going to be a VERY big and long eclipse! Joe continued walking and pondered what a several month long eclipse behind the gas giant might mean to daylight… or night time? I wonder… maybe I can ask Garne… Joe froze in the street, clenching his teeth and taking a deep breath before blinking a few times and then starting his movement once again. The deep breath that came after gave him some control and he was able to cleanse… no… just… thinking about home… that’s all… no… Just… I don’t need to be here anymore, do I? Why… why am I even staying. What’s even here?

He glanced down at his bag, then thought back to what was left at the inn, and realized there really was nothing. He’d left a bag of cores behind, but the amount of cores he’d picked up with this run was more than enough to cover anything. The thought of returning to his inn room grew in pain, misery the only resolution if he were to return there, so he took a deep breath and made a decision. Time to go.

He turned to the city gate and began walking. Should have left a long, long time ago! The sun was low in the sky, but camping out wasn’t something that concerned him. Just being gone from the memories was enough for him, and felt relief grow ever more as he took a turn and came upon the main street towards the central gate into the city. He marched down the street and came upon the rather short line leading out of the city and settled into wait at the back of the line. But even as he came up to the line, a subtle sense of disquiet echoed through him, and he felt his mind quickly turn to understand what was troubling him.

It didn’t take him long to realize he was getting the very disturbing sense that he was forgetting something important. He didn’t know what, but that sense only grew with each passing moment, and as he moved forward in line to head out of the city, it only became more insistent. Tension screwed up, and an itch formed on his neck, quickly turning to a tension headache and knot, as he massaged it with his free left hand. Man… that… what is it? By the time he’d almost made it to the front of the line, he was almost certain there was something important he’d left back at the inn. He couldn’t remember what it was, for the life of him, but the utter certainty of it drove him more than anything else, and he stepped out of the line. Gotta at least check one time, right! As soon as he did, the tension rapidly faded and the knot in his neck completely relaxed as he stretched his neck, relief returning to him. He massaged his neck on last time, grateful for the release of the painful tension and sighed as he dropped his hand to his side.

He returned to the inn and opened the door, stepping in to the common area and glancing around. It was high noon, about, and the entire place was pretty much empty, with only two men sitting and nursing a couple of beers. Joe didn’t even stop, simply glancing their way before turning his head towards the stairs. Rest… bed… The bed was horrible, but it was much, much better than the stone floor of the dungeon.

“Joe McConnell?”

Joe came to a halt and turned to the side, glancing at a man who’d been sitting at a table alone, drinking a bear, “Yes?”

“Come here.”

Joe blinked, knit his eyebrows, the tension and headache ratcheting up even as pain began throbbing in his temples as he turned to look at the man. He stared for a time and then responded in shocked confusion, “Come again?”

“I said, ‘Come here.’”

Joe scowled, “I don’t know who you are, nor do I really care at all. Shut up and do NOT bother me anymore.”

The man didn’t seem to know when to quit and stood, walking towards Joe, “You are quite stubborn.”

Joe growled, his headache ratcheting up a few notches even as the tension in his neck shifted to steel threads as he turned to the man, “Right. You seem the type of person who only learns through extreme examples. Don’t make me give you an example. Leave. Me. Alone. Is that understood!”

The man stepped before him and stopped, “It is quite understood. But it is not what I commanded.”

Joe’s anger vanished, and a sour smirk grew on his face, “Oh. You command me.”

“Yes. Yes I do.”

“Well… take your command and shove it right up your ass. Is that explanation enough.”

That seemed to shock the man, then he scowled and began to glare and Joe, “You will obey me!”

Joe felt his headache increase, the itching pain in his neck spiking and Joe grimaced. Right… lots of not … where did this idiot come from? Joe growled in anger, finally having enough, the pain the final nail in the coffin of his patience and he shot out his hand and grabbed the man by the back of his neck and another grasping the belt line of his pants.

“Right. Let me offer you another better place you can go. It is much better suited for people like you.”

Joe marched to the door and kicked it open before heaving the man outside, cautious to make sure the man hit the ground and not any innocent pedestrians. The man raged, squirming and screeching in anger, flying across and slamming into the ground. Joe didn’t even wait, slamming the door behind him. He glared at the innkeeper as he passed to the stairs.

“Yeah. Don’t want to ever deal with him again. Let him know that!”

The headache was now pounding, bordering on almost migraine levels and he breathed deeply as he stomped up the stairs. I really… need to sleep… He almost growled with that thought, then sighed. I … just… I need a break. His frustration quickly turned to lonely melancholy.

* * *

Kainaro stood to his feet in terror, the clanner slave having rebuffed his every command and appeared completely unaffected by his punishments, the pain meaningless to the man. His breath stuttered and he turned to look back at the inn. His teeth alternated between clenching and chattering as fear and rage echoed off one another. He took another deep breath and quickly fled. He had to think much more carefully. You… you will learn! He fled back through the gate to the Capital. There were … options that would prove useful.

* * *

Joe calmed, his face blanking and as his emotions deadening, as he climbed the stairs and came upon the door to his room. He tried opening the door but found it barred and frowned in consternation. How? What happened? He rattled the door a few more times when it suddenly slipped open and he found himself coming to a sudden stop, shocked. He found a strange tall blonde woman in his room, standing in the doorway. Within the opening of his door, she stared at him and he froze for a time before his anger slowly returned.

“Who are you?!” Joe growled softly even as memory seemed to itch at the back of his mind, certain that he knew her but not quite able to place her.

“Joe!? Joe!” a cry came from the other room and the door slammed open and Joe turned to look in shock as Gwenvair sprinted into the room and threw herself into his arms.

All his thoughts of the strange blonde fled him when he felt and smelt Gwenvair in his arms, her arms wrapped so tightly around his body he almost found breathing difficult. Shortly after, her legs locked around his waist and he soon felt her shivering as she clung to him. Curious, he quickly controlled his shock and focused on Gwenvair. Why is she shiv… His curiosity quickly turned to alarm when he realized Gwenvair wasn’t shivering. Wet pools formed on his chest and he quickly wrapped her in his arms as her shivering took on new meaning, the sobs wracking her shaking her body out of relieved fear rather than any cold.

“Shhh… shhh… It’s OK. It’s Ok,” Joe mumbled stupid little inanities which proved incredibly effective as she calmed. Simultaneously, he felt within him a return of color, his tension fading and evaporating before something that made him feel again for the first time in … How long?

Her fearful tears turned to joyful anticipation and her hug only grew tighter. Joe carried her to the bed, still quietly mumbling soft endearments before he sat on the bed. She quickly rearranged herself in his lap, shifting a leg around to sit more demurely on his lap and Joe smiled to see it. If she’s worried about that… she’s… she’s fine.

Something in his heart knotted, twisted, then released and Joe felt a light, very subtle return of relief and joy. It was remarkably washed out from what he was used to, but he found himself hugging her back almost as fiercely. They remained that way for a time, and Joe was happy to just experience the moment. The blonde escaped to the second room after a few moments, and Joe looked up at her in curiosity at her passing but didn’t wish to interrupt his time with Gwenvair and the two rested with one another as a small portion of his peace returned to him.

* * *

Gwenvair struggling to calm him, the ‘relief’ of being back to be able to ‘complete’ the bond. And the ‘relief’ of being able to calm him, recapped her fear and terror at how ‘broken’ and withdrawn he’d become while they were gone, but also the warmth of realizing he really did care.

* * *

It took an amount of time that Joe wasn’t quite sure he would ever be able to quantify, but in time, the two moved from simply grasping one another to be certain of each other’s presence to being able to talk. There initial conversation was simple confirmations of concern for each other, and Joe found his reaction… incredibly strong. He was surprised at how emotionally invested he was for Gwenvair but was simply grateful to have her returned and with it, some measure of equilibrium and return to normalcy he desperately craved so didn’t concern himself with it, only wanting to bask in her presence, feeling that normalcy growing with each passing moment and, in some small way, actually feeling once again.

Gwenvair remained silent as well but then slowly began to cry, her sorrow genuine and Joe wrapped her up in his arms once again, “Hey… hey… we’re good. It’s good. We’re safe… we’re here.”

Gwenvair chuckled, sniffling slightly but then returned to her soft sobbing, “I know… I know… just… a lot.”

Joe smiled then chuckled softly, “Yeah. I’ll agree with that.”

Gwenvair began laughing with him, then turned a bit hysterical and fell into deeper sobbing. Joe hugged her and felt his humor wilt under her pain and pulled her in close.

“Oh, Gwenvair… I’m not sure what happened. Can you tell me about it?”

Gwenvair curled up in his lap even tighter and Joe fell silent, allowing her the space she needed. It didn’t take long, but her tears were deep and soul wrenching as she lay there. Soon, her sobbing turned to hiccups and she softly came to an end before finally taking a deep breath and pulling away from him to look up at him. Joe smiled softly at that and struggled to hold back he desire to kiss her softly on her forehead. He still wasn’t quite sure of his place with her and now that Kilniara was gone, leaping into a relationship with her sound down right idiotic. That said, he did raise a hand up to brush her cheek before pulling her back into his chest again.

“You can stay right here. I can hear you fine without you needed to be all proper.”

She chuckled at that, real humor this time shining through although a couple tiny sobs joined her chuckle and she snuggled back into his chest, “Thank you, Joe.”

Joe smiled, then sighed in comfort, “I… I’ve really missed you. I’ve been… so alone.”

Gwenvair stiffened at that and looked up at Joe, “Alone? What…”

Joe smiled and shook his head, “You look like you’re having a harder time. Talk to me. Let me see if we can’t … do something. Or, at least… just listen.”

Gwenvair’s tense concern for him wavered then vanished before her own sorrow and she sighed, leaning back into him although did not begin crying again. She remained like that for a time, sighing another time before finally beginning.

“I … I am no longer First in Line for Matriarch. I have…”

Joe grimaced, “I… can guess that. I’m… sorry about that.”

Gwenvair chuckled, “I’m not. I gave it up for you. I will not become Matriarch and relinquished my right.”

Joe struggled to keep his reaction silent, hiding the stiffness in his body and the shock that demanded he jerk back in surprise. He hoped he’d succeeded, although he wasn’t certain if he had. Gwenvair continued as if she hadn’t noticed anything, and Joe could only hope that she hadn’t.

“But… it is not what I am concerned for, although… how it happened enrages me. My mother… she’s…”

Gwenvair fell silent for a time and Joe grew concerned, his thoughts worried for her mother’s condition. The wait was so long that he felt the tension winding him up and he even worried that she might have died. Wait! She… nobility! Power… power plays… she really MIGHT be dead! What … Oh… crap! That’s…

Gwenvair began speaking again, now unusually calm and almost deadened and that only increased Joe’s concern, “My mother is no longer Matriarch. She was… crippled, her cultivation destroyed. She is now no more than a mortal and… incapable of leading the clan. She will… die very soon as disease and sickness take her… It will not be a pleasant passing. She… and… and…!”

Gwenvair sat up and looked at Joe, rage burning molten in her eyes, “She was crippled by my brother! He crippled her! And sold me to a brothel as a slave! MY OWN BROTHER! AAaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!”

Gwenvair’s speech turned inarticulate as she raged, long held anger echoing out in vibrant if quite cries of pain as she struggled to remain somewhat quiet in her pain. Joe found himself holding her and equally shocked, although that quickly was swamped by his own anger.

Joe’s anger continued to grow, rising ever higher before igniting like thermite at hearing what had been done to her. He clenched his teeth so hard, enraged to find that Gwenvair had been sold as a slave. The news of her mother bothered him and spiked his anger, but what had happened to Gwenvair shot his rage into insanity. He almost lost all ability to think, preparing to stand and charge the clan and destroy the little fucker himself until he heard Gwenvair’s cry of raging pain, even as her hand reached up to lay on his cheek, concern plainly seen on her face.

The shock of her angry cry, her hand on his cheek, and the concern on her face brought him back and the wisp of pain that undergirded her rage sobered him immediately and he quickly wrapped his arms around her. The two fell into a mutual struggle, him calming her and her struggling to wrestle with emotions that seemed to overwhelm. Time faded once again, and only the moment mattered until she finally calmed enough that Joe pulled back and looked deep into her eyes.

“Hey. Listen… hey… I’ll do what I can to help… save your mother. OK? I’m not going to let things happen to her, OK?”

Gwenvair looked at him, and the rage melted, evaporating immediately even as the sorrow rained down once again and Joe smiled sadly to see her pain. He wrapped her in his arms again and she bawled for a time, clinging to him wildly. They remained like this for a time until her sobbing once again fell to intermittent sniffles and she began again.

“Thank you, Joe. But… there is nothing you can do.”

Joe smiled at that, then chuckled, “That may be true, but you may be surprised by what I can do for mortals.”

Gwenvair sat back and look up at him, her eyes searching his face, concern warring with hope even as she struggled to protect herself from a hope she truly believed false. Joe saw that and grew concerned so replied with a small sour smile.

“I really can’t promise anything. I really can’t. But, I might be able to do something. It will… I will have to study and learn… and bring your mother away to somewhere safe, but… I will try.”

Gwenvair breathed softly, relief snapping the hidden tension almost immediately before she wrapped herself up in his lap again, “Thank you, Joe. Truly. Thank you. You have no reason to care for my mother, but thank you.”

Joe smiled, acknowledging her thanks with a small smile and a nod before moving the conversation on, “So. Your mother is still… fine?”

Gwenvair nodded, “Yes.”

“And your brother did all this?”

Gwenvair’s anger returned, the nod this time quite a bit more violent as she growled, “Yes.”

“You mind if I … very violently teach him not to hurt my friends and my … those I care for?” Don’t… don’t catch that… just…

Gwenvair chuckled at that, “I never particularly liked my brother, but his recent actions have left me quite displeased with him. I believe I will enjoy it if you do.”

“Hmm… so… what all happened. How did you get here? I was… very surprised to see you here. Really… really happy! But very surprised.”

Gwenvair laughed and Joe smiled to hear her genuine joy, “It would seem so. We arrived only this morning.”

“We?”

“Ah… you have not met Stephliquen. We know very little about her as she cannot speak with us, but… yeah.”

Joe found his eyebrows leaping upward. Doesn’t know the language… then… another one from Earth? Maybe? Odd name, but … maybe?

Joe glanced down at Gwenvair and spoke quickly, “Give me a minute?”

Gwenvair seemed surprised but unoffended as she nodded, “Sure?”

“Stephliquen! Hey. Could you come in here?”

Gwenvair frowned, surprised, “What are you speaking?”

Joe glanced back down at her then shrugged and smiled, “English.”

She stared at him in even more confusion but then turned to look back at the door while she arranged herself to somehow become much more regal, even as she sat upon his knees. The door to the other room stayed close, and Joe began to frown. Almost a minute passed and Joe frowned. He thought to stand and go to the other room, but then stopped and just turned back to Gwenvair.

“Guess she doesn’t want to speak with us.”

Gwenvair looked up at him and smiled, “Her intelligence is quite low. We will have to wait a time.”

“Ah… then… tell me more of the story?”

“Sure,” Gwenvair smiled up at him.

Joe smiled back warmly, almost feeling normal again and reveling in it, “So… you said we, again. Who is ‘we’ besides you and Stephliquen.”

Gwenvair chuckled softly, “Kilniara. She… she cam … an… save … nd the… others…”

Joe froze, struggling to focus, his mind stuttering and loosing parts of the conversation as he fought to remain focused on the conversation, but Kilnaira’s name coming up in the conversation left him lost in a fugue, his mind a vacuum that failed to hold anything even as Gwenvair continued to speak. At least she hasn’t completely forgotten some of her friends. Luckily, Joe was able to hold his surprise even if his body did stiffen slightly and only the arrival of the other woman shocked him out of his stupor.

He blinked and looked up as the door opened. Gwenvair paused her narration and turned to look at the woman. The woman began speaking, glancing at Joe as she spoke. Immediately, Joe frowned, then grew even more uncertain and then finally disgusted. Not… not any language I recognize at all… doesn’t… is that even a language from Earth?

Stephliquen stopped speaking for a time and then stared at him. Joe decided to try again.

“Hello?”

Stephliquen stared at him for a time and Joe struggled to hide his grimace. This… is gonna suck! Wonder how long this’ll take. He turned to Gwenvair and restarted their conversation.

“So… Kilniara came to save you and the others. Sorry, who are the others?”

Gwenvair smiled at him, then punched him softly in the chest, “You weren’t listening?”

Joe blushed and looked away before turning back to her, “I… uh… sorry. Just… shocked and couldn’t focus.”

Gwenvair nodded, smiling brightly, “Don’t worry. Kilniara is fine.”

Joe frowned slightly at that, “I know. She’s… probably doing fine.”

Gwenvair’s smile faltered a bit and her hand came up to his cheek. She stared at him for a bit, searching his face cautiously before seeming to come to the conclusion that she should let it go. Her smile returned, if a bit softer and more sorrowful before she nodded.

“Kilniara was tasked by my brother to bring his two news pleasure slaves to him here in the city. She began to meet with them regularly and with their help, she was able to find me, purchase me, and bring me back here. I am uncertain… why Stephliquen is also joining us, but… the pleasure slaves asked us to purchase her and bring her as well.”

Joe clenched hard at hearing how Gwenvair was purchased, then even more so when hearing about the other ladies who seemed to be heading to a rather unpleasant situation. He sighed and tried to calm himself, but his visceral reaction was powerful and he struggled to focus on Gwenvair. When she was finally done, he nodded softly.

“Then, your brother bought…”

He was interrupted when Stephliquen responded. It was equally short, but questioning. What is she even saying? Is … huh. Gwenvair shifted in his lap to turn to look at her but remained politely silent. Joe frowned then decided to at least be polite and introduce himself.

“Stephliquen?” Joe asked while pointing at her. He waited a few moments, holding his pose to make sure it was obvious he was talking to her then returned to Gwenvair.

“So uh… oh! Your brother bought two slaves.”

Gwenvair nodded at that but looked at him with a sour smile, “They seemed… nice. I was only with them for about a day, but they are quite kind people. Kalia might be a bit… abrasive, but still kind.”

Joe searched her eyes carefully, frowning slightly, “You seem… concerned?”

Her smile went from sour to a grimace immediately, “My brother will… torture them.”

His eyebrows shot through the roof, “Torture?”

Gwenvair’s grimace turned back to an abomination of an embarrassed grimace and a smile, “He… is not known to treat the women under his employ… well.”

Joe sat up stiffly, “Kilniara!?”

Gwenvair’s sincere smile return, a bright and happy exuberance, “I told you. She is fine. I heard her and she is doing well. And you were… quite impressive in your declaration against my brother. That… and he would be a fool to destroy his own face with the year and a day.”

Joe clenched his teeth, the phrase of a year and a day quickly flashed his memory back to seeing Kilniara staring at the disgusting freak, a small placid smile on her face. Joe took a deep breath and closed his eyes, struggling to remove the memory and emotion that blended his thoughts to impotence. He took a deep shuddering sigh then suddenly felt a soft hand drape across his cheek and he immediately calmed. He opened his eyes and looked down to see Gwenvair staring up at him with concerned yet somehow happy eyes.

“You… truly care.”

Joe’s smile of disbelief burbled into subtly manic laughter as he giggled slightly even as tears began a deluge down his cheek. Gwenvair saw this and suddenly opened her eyes in shock before rapidly leaning forward and wrapping her arms around. His heart calmed almost immediately with that, and he found himself settling into a calm the likes he’d rarely felt before. They remained like this for a time, Joe greedily seeking this moment of calm as their conversation stalled the entire time for almost a minute or so until Stephliquen finally replied.

She pointed at herself and cocked her head, “Stephliquen? Steph… ne gabulan de … ooooH! Go… go… Stephliquen! Stephliquen!” The question quickly shifted to a statement and Joe recognized exactly what had happened and smiled back as he pointed at himself.

“Joe. Joe. I am Joe.”

He then pointed at Gwenvair, “Gwenvair. Gwenvair. This is Gwenvair.”

He held both poses where he pointed at himself and Gwenvair for a good chunk of time before turning back to Gwenvair with a smile. Gwenvair’s smile was once again happy, sincere and Joe could only find peace in it. He reached forward and simply pulled her into a tight hug once again without speaking, peace and comfort swelling up within him again as he sighed a deep, tension relieving, whoosh. They remained like this for a time, and Gwenvair seemed to be quite satisfied with the moment. Joe calmed and felt his tension quickly settle even more, the tears vanishing as sat back to look at her.

“Thank you.”

Gwenvair’s smile was photonic, lighting up the room, “Your welcome, husband.”

He stuttered a bit, then felt calmness well within him, the reminder not really seeming to bother Joe at all, and he actually felt a sense of calm mixed with a small hint of giddiness. His smile grew greater and he chuckled before continuing.

“So, your brother will not… they will not be happy?”

Gwenvair’s smile faded quickly into a frown, “They… oh. The pleasure slaves? No.”

“Hmm… So… anything else?”

Gwenvair’s smile returned, although not as great, “Kilniara was… amazing. She was able to bring us back here and had to drop off the pleasure slaves at a local slave merchant before she dropped us off here. Now… we must find … plan for how to do this.”

Joe smiled softly at this, “Plans, huh?”

Plans implied a future and Joe found the idea tantalizing. He sighed, his smile growing and then turned back to Gwenvair. Gwenvair smiled up at him as well.

“So… plans. We need a plan for your mother and for your brother.”

“Mmm… and for Kilniara.”

Joe nodded but clenched his teeth. He didn’t want to have any plans for Kilniara. She’d made her choice. Both his bitter anger scourged him to ignore her even as his wisdom told him to leave her be and not obsess about her choice. But, his fragility did not leave him with the emotional energy to argue with it with Gwenvair so simply ignored it.

“Well… for your mother… where is she?”

“She’s still in the clan… I’m certain of it. My brother would not let her from his sight…”

“Hmm… then we need someone on the inside.”

“Likely…”

“That’s… problaby best for you to do... no… wait. Your brother will go nuts if he finds out you’re here.”

Gwenvair frowned, then chuckled morosely, “Exactly. Would… have to … yeah… its best no one knows I’m here. Kilnaira did an amazing job of sneaking me in here. For now, I am safe.”

“But you’ll go bonkers living in this room.”

Mana gathered around them before erupting outwards in a crashing wave and Gwenvair cocked her head with the translation before giggling happily.

“Good word. Yes. I would go… bonkers.”

“So… nothing we can really do about mom for now.”

“Mom?”

“Yes… your mom.”

Gwenvair’s smile grew larger and Joe smiled back, “Then… anything we can …”

“Joe. Nu lan Joe,” Stephliquen interrupted while pointing at Joe.

She then turned and pointed at Gwenvair, “Gwenfaire. Nu lan Gwenfaire.”

Joe glanced over at her then nodded before speaking while pointing at all three in turn, “Stephliquen. Stephliquen. Joe. Joe. Gwenvair. Gwenvair.”

He held the poses for a time before turning back to Gwenvair, “So… mother in time… and she’s relatively safe for now. If your brother wanted her dead, she would be dead already.”

“Oh… he will not kill her. The clan would not stand for matricide. Not at all. She is safe.”

Joe frowned, “Maybe. But he could also sneakily kill as well.”

Gwenvair paused at that then frowned, nodding, “True but… I don’t think…”

Joe’s frown softened, “Then… that still gives us time.”

Gwenvair smiled at that and nodded, “Yes.”

“Then… your brother.”

Gwenvair grinned viciously, “My brother. What can we do?”

Joe raised an eyebrow, “You’re asking me?”

“Yes.”

Joe chuckled, “Then, what does he like the most?”

Gwenvair frowned at that with a grimace, “His pleasure… everything about his personal pleasure.”

Joe frowned at that, then began grinning, “He likes the good life? Food. Wine. Women?”

Gwenvair’s frown turned a bit embarrassed as she nodded, “My brother to a T.”

My brother to a T… translation system working overtime here… cool… “And power?”

Gwenvair’s embarrassed grimace turned angry, “And power… the image of… he wants … adoration.”

Joe’s grin quickly came at that, “That… that… OK. I can do something with that… It will take some time, but I can do something with that.”

Gwenvair frowned a bit, “We can do nothing now?”

Joe’s eyebrows knit, “Now? Well… oh! He likes his pleasures.”

“Yes?”

“Where are those pleasure slaves?”

Gwenvair’s eyebrows shot upward, a massive grin growing on her face, “I know exactly where they are!”

* * *

Dunarl, Priest of Loki and Pope of his Temple for the Aelthron Cradle stared at the popup before him in gleeful shock. His shock still remained, if having settled a bit to see the quick rise of Joe McConnell through the ranks of the Loki Priesthood. But to see him now challenging for pope, Dunarl could only relish his joy. It was only a challenge, but as quickly as he was rising! He huddled against a small fire deep within the northern woods and while he had fled, alone, for his life, he felt true joy for the first time in a long time. Laughter rang out through the woods, a deep basso that thundered through everything. It lasted long into the night.

* * *

He roused, now excited and much more willing to face the current reality. His dive into the new daos recently received excited him, and he found renewed purpose and hope. He’d been happily drowning himself in poor illusions of the past, but now, new purpose and hope burned within. It’s been… so long! The massive aspects of the cradle remained the same, with little to no change of any geography, although one greater city was now a wasteland and another had somehow evaporated into a small village in the middle of nowhere. He roused himself some more.

He poured his focus upon the city now village and listened in for a time and found no indication that the small villagers realized how far they had fallen. He keened, sorrow welling up before he turned his gaze away, the family of another great friend lost to the ravages of time and likely without any memory of their great ancestor. He had no tears to shed, but the sorrow was soul shakingly real. He pulled back within himself, lost into his memories once again and sorrowed, almost diving back into his illusions. But he could not rest. The small burn of hope remained and he roused himself once again.

His focus cleared as he returned to survey his domain. Some time had passed, an amount he could not remember, and he stared, still unable to ascertain exactly how long he’d been lost in his own mind numbing illusions.

He sighed and restoked his hope by returning to the daos he’d found. He stared at the dozen new daos and hundreds of classifications for those daos before him, each fully thought out and well defined. Most are unarmed… but still quite deadly against any form of physical entity… He frowned. Still… quite weak against any magic… but… Oooh… how strange. Tai Chi… a meditation of physical combat… a meditation of physicality… how strange? But the power within this… He delved deeper into the depths of this Dao and found himself growing ever more entranced. Did I miss this before? Or… is this another new … His thoughts trailed off as he lost himself into this new strange dao. A dao that rejected Dao. The thought shattered his mind and preconceptions of what a dao could mean. A dao that focused purely on the economy of movement and physical capability, and nothing of the flow of mana and power. An internal personification of power. But… it … it will release power from perfect physicality. How… strange. Almost… almost… Sylnarvion… if… but hints of others as well… like the Karnagur.

He lost himself in thought for for months and found his impression of these concepts to be growing ever more impressed. The Dao was complete, if quite short and only meaningful for those of incredibly short life spans. The foundation of this dao, like all the other recent combat daos he’d seen, however, were rock steady and he could only grin at the height of possibilities an individual who devoted their lives to such daos could grow. To have such… solid foundations… any growth after… would be meteoric! This is… He grew excited, incredibly excited. Maybe… maybe it’s time to return for… for a time. Even… duplicate some of the more powerful … offer my blessings!

He then turned to seeking the source of these daos. he desired to know where these incredible, if simplistic, mortal, and shortened, daos came from. Such exquisite physicality! So… in tune with the body… a… a dao of the body? No… it is… it is more… but… He found himself both distracted by the beautiful simplicity of that dao and his desire to find who’d brought it.