Chapter 5

The lack of refugees to take care of and the addition of a map eased their travel. Rayner had gotten the map from the refugees. He had to buy it, and Axel thought they should have given it to them for free as a thank you for saving them. Rayner insisted the refugees were not in a position to give anything away for free. Besides, he had checked its authenticity, and it was a good map.

“So, what’s the plan?” Rayner said. “I know you have one. You must, because we’re heading off into the countryside on our own. That has not worked out too well in the past.”

“You’re the one who signed up for this quest,” Axel said.

“I thought we would get Evans’s or Barny’s fighters to come with us. And we still don’t have a party.”

“Those two have other plans. We’ve been through a lot together in a short amount of time. It does not make us friends for life, our meeting wasn’t fate. It’s not that type of game world.”

Axel would have liked them to come along too, but they had things to do. Trust would be needed. Trust that they could not give them. They were from another world and did not follow any faith or god, they could not know how others would react. Axel could guess it wouldn’t be positive. A war was being fought over religion after all.

“As for my plan, it’s to shorten our trip by days, by cutting through the miasma.” On the map marked in red was a mana heavy region. When mana grew too much in an area, it became deadly for most life. People called that dangerous mana, miasma.

“What is the point of me getting a map to avoid danger zones if you are going to concoct a plan to put is in that danger zone?”

“The longer we stay out in the open, the more likely we will run into bandits or soldiers.”

“So, we die in the miasma zone instead.”

“I am at level 3, meaning I interact with mana better than others. I have a higher resistance to dangerous mana, and that protection extends to you as well.”

Rayner saw Axel’s point. “OK, we will survive the miasma to fight strong monsters instead?”

“Strong when compared to the people of a country who have few strong Worshipers. If the monsters were really something to worry about, they would have left the miasma and become a bother to everyone near it. All I have heard indicates that those that can’t fight the monsters in the miasma can just go around it.”

“Hmm, alright. We do have to see your level in action. Another issue is the future,” Rayner said, accepting Axel’s plan.

“We talk about that all the time.”

“Yes, whenever we find some quiet time. But it’s not a concrete plan with steps and goals and timeliness. Trust me, I have done tons of organizing as a volunteer.”

“Yes, you have. So, what’s your idea?”

“I have written down what we need and plan to do in the future.” Rayner pulled out a list and showed it to him.

Rayner; Find effective uses for charisma and mana, find means to appraise items, create a god. Find offensive use for level stat, figure out a party structure; Axel.

“You have given yourself more work. Oh, and create a god, you are so humble,” Axel said.

“It was my idea so I should do the work. How our party will look is your expertise and you’re the one with the high level so only you can test what works.”

It made sense. Party structure was something that always bugged Axel when he, Rayner and Yazid talked about it back at school. Questions like why a tank would be useful if they could not defend all party members? Is the party doomed if the enemy ignores the tank and kills the party members with no armor? In his opinion having all of one type of character would be better than having a balanced team. A line of spears can be devastating as Evans and his fighters showed when they fought.

Other details were on the list. Mostly Rayner’s plans to achieve his goals. He did not have an idea yet, but he would, and soon before it became a problem.

The duo continued to speak, bouncing ideas off each other. They made a good pace, not worrying about monsters or bandits anymore. The villagers told them this route would be safe. Probably because neither monsters nor humans would be on a direct path to the miasma.

When they got close to the miasma, they did not need to check the map. While it was later in the afternoon, things still became darker, as if the sun were being blocked out by clouds. However, it was the mana causing this effect, so thick in the air as to cover the entire area in shade.

“It’s kinda hard to breathe,” Axel said, inhaling deeply to compensate.

“My body feels heavy, and I’m working up a sweat,” Rayner added.

This was before the two of them even entered the miasma proper. Axel considered going back.

Rayner seeing his hesitation bolstered his confidence. “We won’t turn back. We can’t.” Given Rayner’s doubt earlier in the day his determination surprised Axel. “We got attacked with mana by the Forest God in Corpsewood. It was not a blessing or curse so it had an effect on us, even with your higher level. And that was just a weak god. What happens when we face a serious god?”

“We will try to avoid fighting gods. I think our experience was rather rare.”

“For other people, but for people like us who are an abomination in this world, I can see the gods taking the effort to come down and wipe out a threat to their power like us. They are fighting to keep their power, why not personally step in and kill two punks before we become a problem?”

Rayner was right. They had to take this as an opportunity to train themselves. It may even help Rayner increase his level and catch up.

“Maybe you already found another use for your charisma.”

“No, I’m just that convincing. My charisma only works on my enemies, remember?” Axel wasn’t so sure.

Hardening their wills, they moved further into the miasma.

Inside the miasma, the world looked as if it were covered in a purple filter. It was sickly and moved like mist. Even the smell made Axel want to puke. It felt evil.

It was worse for Rayner. He clutched himself, shivering in fear. Axel put his hand on Rayner’s shoulder, attempting to reassure him. Rayner didn’t respond. “Hey man it’s OK, we got this.” No reaction. Growing worried he gripped Rayner harder, shoving him. Nothing. He hit his friend trying to get a reaction out of him other than this crippling fear.

He had an idea, hopefully Rayner wouldn’t be pissed after. But him being mad would be better than this petrified boy. Axel pulled out the dagger Rayner had bought for him, and pricked Rayner with it, using the skill Pain Knife.

It had the desired effect. Rayner clutched his shoulder in pain, and that pain did not go away. He rubbed at it and scratched the tiny wound. Axel did not know how to turn the ability off, so he could not give his friend any relief. Previous tests showed the effect would weaken or end in another couple seconds. Axel was sure Rayner did not feel that way right now.

So, he did something out of character and hugged Rayner. This was not to comfort him; it was to take advantage of his higher level. Proximity let him extend the effect to Rayner. If standing close to him was not enough, then they would just have to hug it out.

Rayner’s breathing steadied, and eyes came back into focus. “How long was I like that?”

“Only 2 minutes at most. How long did it feel like?”

“Hours. It was like being attacked. As if everything around me was a threat.”

“We could rest awhile?”

“No, we push forward. This just shows I was right. If someone used an attack like this on me in combat, I would be dead.” Standing straight, he strode ahead of him.

Axel looked at his back for a while before joining him.

After the trauma of first entering the miasma things went well. Rayner had gotten used to the effect and only suffered from shortness of breath. Axel no longer felt a hot chill on his skin, but his eyes did play tricks on him when looking at places where the miasma was thicker.

“We should rest here. I have not heard anything since coming in. It looks to be safe from monsters,” Axel said.

“Sure,” Rayner said, already getting set up.

Axel assumed no monsters survived in here because the monsters in this country were weak. For now, this was a positive, but what happened when they wanted to fight strong monsters to improve themselves by gaining EXP? A better question was if fighting monsters was an effective means of gaining EXP at all. It had not worked well for Rayner. It was something to add to Rayner’s notes.

Axel slept like the dead. He’d never been in a place so quiet. The miasma zone looked scary, with its purple misty surroundings, rotting trees, and odd moving grass. But once he got used to it, it was more comedic than scary; like a bizarre cartoon.

Axel should have connected the dots earlier. There was a place that had been this quiet, the Corpsewood.

Rayner woke him, dragging him while still in his sleeping bag. “What’s going on?” he asked, disoriented.

Rayner did not answer with words, pointing forward instead. A skeleton had slammed its bony hand where his chest would have been if Rayner had not saved him.

Undead, this time it’s skeletons instead of zombies. Damn.

“Good thing I was on watch instead of you. I tried waking you earlier, but you just snored louder!”

“I do not snore!” Axel said, priorities screwed up.

Rayner positioned himself in-front of Axel, giving him time to get out of his sleeping bag and ready for battle.

The skeleton was fast, sprinting toward Rayner, bony hand outstretched. Rayner slammed it in the head with his new hammer, taking advantage of the weapon’s greater reach. The attack knocked it to the ground but did not finish it.

“Keep it down!” Axel said. Rayner did as asked, putting his boot to the creature’s white ribs. Axel took his dagger and used Pain Knife on it. The creature clawed and thrashed under Rayner’s boot, but it was not in pain. It just wanted to get at them.

“Well fuck.”

“I got this.” A smooth green light distorted the air around Rayner’s hammer. He’d used Force Hammer on the skeleton, breaking its legs. Not lethal but did put it out of commission.

Seeing more Skeletons in the distance they bolted from the area, hoping to lose them in the mist. It did not work. As soon as they stopped for breath, the skeletons were on their tail again. They distanced themselves from the undead, this time hiding in a cluster of bushes. Still, the zombies found them.

It was Rayner who figured it out. “They sense mana, like the zombies of Corpsewood.”

Axel had forgotten about that little detail. It was an ability even more amazing than them being immortal monsters. Being able to find an enemy no matter where they hid felt like cheating.

“It’s got to have a range limit. If we run far enough, we could lose them.”

“That would only work if they get tired. We would run out of their range, and we would be back in their range in a minute unless we keep moving. If we go another direction but not further away, they would still pick up on us.”

“God damn it!” Rayner said panicking. They were in dire straits, but this wasn’t like Rayner. The miasma was influencing him. When things were calm, it was easy for him to control his fear, but with the undead after him, things changed.

Turning toward Axel, Rayner said, “Use your Pain Knife on me when I get like this.”

Axel did not argue, this was necessary. He used the skill on Rayner and like the last time, his attention shifted to the pain. In this case, what hurt him made him stronger.

“If we can’t run, we will have to fight. Your force hammer is effective.”

“I don’t want to face them head-on. They move so damn fast.”

“Follow me I got an idea,” he said, then ran toward the trees.

He took rope from his pack and tied it between the base of trees. Rayner didn’t need an explanation. They moved into position a few feet away. When the skeletons arrived, they did not notice the trap, tripping over the rope, landing on their fleshless jaws. Rayner then smashed at the skeletal body until it was in pieces.

Axel wanted to contribute but his knife would do no good. He even tried using his new skill Fear Knife, to no effect. It didn’t seem to matter as their tactic had defeated the group of skeletons that were chasing them.

Rayner panted, hammer raised, as if ready to smash more bones to dust, before calming down, the green light around the hammer fading. “Hey, Axel.”

“What?”

“You know any good bone jokes.”

“No.”

“Too bad because I’m bone tired,” Rayner said. Waiting for his laughter.

Axel reconsidered their friendship.

They did not see any more skeletons. They could thank some god that they did not worship for that. The skeletons they defeated didn’t die, they just couldn’t attack them as they were in pieces. The encounter did raise questions for the duo. Were those the remains of people who wandered into the miasma? Or were the skeletons a monster that manifested out of nothing? It reminded them that the only monsters they had met were the zombies and goblins. They were ignorant. Another thing to add to Rayner’s list: learn about monsters.

“Do you think Yazid had anything to do with the undead skeletons like with the zombies?”

“Could be. Have no idea why.”

“Maybe to stop the armies. We are going through the miasma as a shortcut, the armies could have done so too?”

It was a good point. At the first opportunity, Axel would make discrete inquiries into Yazid. Another note for the list. He’d avoided talking about Yazid because then he would have to remember his death.

Having run around trying to lose the zombies they couldn’t find any landmark that matched the map. Even before the skeleton attack, they weren’t sure they were on the right path. The warped environment of the miasma confused their sense of direction. Wandering aimlessly would get them in trouble, but they had little choice. Little choice was becoming the norm.

“The compass!” Rayner yelled, pointing to Axel’s pack.

“Oh shit, I forgot,” Axel said, face-palming.

The fairies gave them the compass to find their way around the Corpsewood. It had led them to the heart of the Corpsewood, then after taking the God’s Will, out of the forest.

Pulling it out Axel looked to see where it pointed. “That way,” he said, pointing in the direction the compass indicated.

With the compass, they may make even better time than before. As long as nothing got in their way. So naturally, something did.

“Up ahead,” Rayner warned. Axel had to squint to see through the purple mist of the miasma, but he could make out short figures in the distance. “Goblins.”

As they moved closer, Axel could confirm goblins approached. Their movements were jerky and they let out anguished moans.

“Zombies?” Axel said.

“Could be, maybe this is the stage before they go the way of the skeleton.”

The goblins hadn’t noticed them even though they were within sight, too entranced by their pain to care about them. So, the miasma had the same effect as Axel’s Pain Knife for the goblins.

“Axel, I don’t think they are zombies. If miasma can make them feel pain, then your Pain knife should have worked on the skeletons.”

“Zombies have flesh, skeletons don’t.” Stating the obvious.

“Breaking bones can hurt too,” Rayner countered.

Axel was no doctor, so he didn’t know if bones had pain nerves, and it wasn’t as if this world followed all the rules of anatomy. It did have the undead as a feature after all.

The goblins moved past them, and they were happy to let them. But one goblin stayed behind. It peered right at them, unmoving.

“The hell is wrong with it?” Rayner said.

“Plenty of things I’m sure. Let’s just move past it. If it attacks us, we can take it out.”

As they moved, the goblin spoke in an indecipherable tongue, its words quick, small, and harsh. The goblin stood still as they continued to move away. He and Rayner kept their eyes on the goblin the entire time. It never stopped staring and kept speaking its language.

It was now out of sight and they let go a breath they did not know they were holding.

“That was creepy,” Axel said. Rayner nodded in agreement.

Following the compass, they ventured deeper and deeper into the miasma. The mist became less thick but the oppressive feeling became heavier. They checked their stats and did not like what they saw.

Name: Rayner, Level: 1, Class: Barbarian, Mana: 20, Skills: Force Hammer(0.5) Roar(1.5), EXP: 36.

Name: Axel, Level: 3, Class: Thug, Mana: 10, Skills: Pain Knife(1) Fear Knife(0.5) EXP: 32.

“Frustrating but not entirely unexpected. I am suffering less because of my higher level. You are still at 20 mana after all this, we’re doing OK” Axel said.

“I can deal with this as long as it doesn’t get any worse,” Rayner said.

Axel didn’t see any kind of debuff indicator and he heard from Barny it existed. Meaning this was a result of the effort they expended fighting the effects of the miasma, not the direct cause of the miasma. The difference being they didn’t have a problem they couldn’t solve. Before their mana ran out, they would get out of here. At the rate they were losing mana they would have another day or two before losing the ability to fight.

And again, because the gods did not shine on them, a fight came. The creepy goblin from before appeared, pointing at them, mouth open as if to scream but no sound escaped. Soon the group from before came into view, also pointing.

“Axel ... we’re surrounded.”

Looking around, he saw Rayner was correct. About 3 dozen zombies circled them. All the zombies pointed toward them.

“Let’s breakthrough that group of three over there. It’s the smallest group.”

“Sure, it’s also in the direction we need to go. We go on three,” Axel said, beginning the countdown with his fingers.

On three, they rushed the small group. The group did not move and continued to point at them. Creepy, but fine with him. Rayner led the way, pushing past them, not bothering to use his hammer. Axel would have taken the path Rayner opened for him, but he had to test something. He cut a goblin as he passed, then did so with the other, using Pain Knife on it, the signature red light around the dagger dimmer in the miasma.

The reaction of the first goblin Axel cut was mute, red blood came from the wound; It was not a zombie. The other zombie Axel stabbed held its wound and groaned. It was alive for sure and aware. It ran after them.

“God damn it, Axel!” Rayner cursed.

Axel didn’t blame him. They now had a goblin chasing them.

Rayner threw a rock at the pursuing goblin. The nimble creature avoided the rock and picked up the pace.

“Screw this, there are two of us and one of it,” Axel said, turning to face the goblin.

The goblin didn’t even have a weapon, but it didn’t stop running, instead, it ran faster and jumped. It leaped over Axel and landed between him and Rayner.

“Stupid, now it’s stuck between the both of us. Rayner, you ready?”

He answered by raising his hammer and stalking forward. When the goblin looked to Rayner, Axel took that as his chance to strike. The goblin, without looking at Axel, avoided his stab, grabbed his arm, used it as a swing to kick him in the stomach with both feet.

The attack did not hurt, but it caused him to double over, and the goblin followed up with a flurry of punches to Axel’s face.

“Axel!” Rayner swung at the goblin’s head. This time the goblin moved forward quickly, causing Rayner to misjudge the distance, missing his hammer stroke. The goblin moved behind him and threw a rock at Axel, hitting his forehead, creating a cut above his eye.

The back and forth continued, their skills not mattering as they couldn’t hit it. The blood got into Axel’s eye and every time he tried to wipe it away the goblin would attack. What made all this worse was that the goblin’s attacks were weak. Not because the goblin was weak, but because it was holding back. The sick little creature was toying with them.

Axel had been afraid of this. In a one on one, they struggled. Now, this was a two on one and the goblin outmatched them.

“Stop!” Rayner yelled. Not at the goblin, but at Axel.

“Why?”

“Just do it,” Rayner said, putting his hammer, away.

Rayner was many things, but he wasn’t crazy. Axel stopped his attack.

“See, it’s not attacking.” Rayner was right, the goblin no longer attacked. Instead, it raised its hands up, palms facing them. It was the sign of surrender.

“What’s going on?”

“I think that’s what it was trying to explain before we attacked it. If I had to guess, it was in a trance like the other goblins, and you woke it up. Maybe it needs you to do it again.”

The goblin nodded its head slightly, but it was a half nod. Did that mean Rayner was only partially correct?

The goblin motioned for them to come closer to it. Trusting a goblin seemed stupid, but all he knew of goblins were from games in his world, and no matter how similar they were, this was not their world. The rules were different. Maybe goblins were as well. Or at least this one, at this time.

They moved toward it, hands on weapons just in case. It did not seem to mind. Once they were close, it started making gestures and grunts, it sounded like a name.

“Is your name Vix?” Axel asked. The goblin nodded. The goblin continued grunting but his name was all they could understand; the rest was a guessing game.

Vix waved his hands around. “The goblins are around us?” Rayner guessed. It shook its head indicating yes, then no. Rayner was right in that goblins were around them but that was not what It meant.

“Something else around us,” Axel said. Vix nodded.

Vix waved some more but slower. “Something around us that moves slowly,” said Rayner. This was wrong as well.

“The miasma,” Axel said. The goblin nodded rapidly. “Ha! I got it.”

“So, what about the miasma?” Rayner said. The goblin made a sad face. “This one’s easy. He means sick. The miasma made him sick.”

Vix jumped up and down. “So, we could see that. Is that it?” Axel said.

So began the game of charades. Vix then pointed at them. The miasma was trying to make them sick. It was working for—no it was using the goblins. The miasma made the land sick. The miasma was using the goblins to follow them.

It went on like this for some time. Until they understood what the goblin was trying to say.

Vix had come into this area when it was thick with mana, but not dangerous. When the miasma formed it attacked them, killing many, infecting some until they lost their minds. The miasma warped the land and all the life in the area. The miasma had a will of its own. All the changes were for a purpose, it wanted to build something.

Figuring it out Rayner said, “A dungeon. A dungeon is being formed from the land, and it’s turning anything it can into monsters.”

“Cool!” Axel said. Vix showed that he did not agree. “Do you want us to save your friends?” Again, Vix showed disagreement, looking insulted.

“It can’t leave,” said Rayner.

“Too bad.”

Vix made more gestures. It was trying to say they can’t either. The miasma would stop them.

“Damn,” he said.

“That’s not the only reason we can’t leave.”

Both Axel and the goblin looked confused. So, the goblin didn’t know, so what other reason could there be?

“Alta is a weak country, with few combat Worshipers. War has devastated the Alis region. A dungeon popping up would be disastrous.”

Rayner was right. What little they knew of dungeons was that they were incredibly dangerous. Someone could make riches in one, but the risk was often too high. Dungeons are places of malice, a mutation of the world. A problem for a bigger country to handle, not this war-torn land.