Chapter 5

When I woke up, I relayed the events of the dream to my partners. Both Amenthia and Entivala felt the same as I did. It seemed we were being pushed into the center of things. I also was becoming increasingly worried about the threat this was posing to those close to me. Since it was suggested we should take a few days off, we discussed it and agreed that a week would suffice.

Over the next seven days, we didn’t really take it easy. We spent much of that time training both our bodies and our minds. We would spend three hours in the morning and three hours in the evening set aside for combat training. I wanted to make sure our skills were sharper for our next adventure into the Dungeon. Cassandra joined us for most of them when she had time to get away from her Runesmithing. We had all stepped up a level as a result of the battle with the Arachni Queen, but we all agreed that there could have been a bit more we could have done.

For part of the evening training sessions, we went to the outer training field. We could spar out there, though the space was limited. It was designed more for the magic users to hone their skills and refine their reflexes. To help with defensive training, we would come at Cassandra with training weapons, first one at a time then in groups. The goal was to keep us from hitting her through use of her fire, earth, and ice magic. She still had to make a conscious effort to will the walls up and we needed her to do it on instinct. This would decrease the opportunity an enemy had to injure her.

With her offensive magic, we tried to make sure she was able to create and launch her spells as quickly as possible. The best way to describe it was the carnival games where you needed to shoot as many moving targets as possible within a short time. I asked Brot’k and Cassandra to build a game like that, and they were amused by my request and didn’t understand what it was for until they showed me the working product. It took a few days of fine tuning, but we had it ready with some time to spare. With it working as I liked, I had Enti ‘run the course’, so to speak, and I was amused at how frustrated she was at the end of her first try. The beauty was that the pattern changed with each attempt, forcing you not to memorize a single pattern, but to anticipate and execute.

It wasn’t until the final day that she went through the randomized course a few times hitting nearly every target. We were proud of her and the effort she had put into it. There were times when she came on her own to put in a bit of training, since she had the mana to do so. Those instances were usually when I was at Brot’k’s talking to him about special things I wanted him to make. First and foremost I wanted Amenthia to have a small secondary quiver of arrows at her hip. They would be unique arrows with unique properties. Some of those being explosive, fire or even acid arrows. He knew some of how to make them do what I wanted, it was more a question of time and materials. None of them would be ready before we returned to the Dungeon, but he would make sure they would be sent to our armory and he would send a Raven to tell me when it was done.

Another place I spent a lot of time at was the Knowledge Center, specifically with the sisters. I had made sure to go through the necessary period needed to learn the language book fully. I decided that I needed to learn a few others, requesting to learn elvish, dryad and dwarvish. That filled up the rest of my days when I wasn’t training, but Amenthia and Entivala knew the importance of it. Elvish would allow me to speak to Enti in her native tongue if the situation called for it. Amenthia also ensured that she brushed up her elvish as well. I learned dryad, in the hope of understanding when Kat’ilth’ana might curse me or say something in her native tongue. I felt it could help further bridge the gap of misunderstanding between us.

Each day I made my way to the Knowledge Center, I stopped in to see Esmeralda and find out Kat’ilth’ana’s current status. All that week there was no change in her condition. She hadn’t gotten any worse, but they still didn’t know about the poison; they worried that it could change. Eir herself had taken it upon herself to personally see to Kat’ilth’ana’s case. I had a feeling that Tyr had asked his fellow Asyniur to assist. She had yet to find a counter agent to use against the poison. Esmeralda assured me that Eir planned to continue her work until the task was done.

Once the week was over, we were still unsure how we would move forward. We could go and grind for a few days, bulking our funds and materials. That would help Brot’k, Fra’tilia and Cassandra in their trades, as well as help increase our stats. Still, I felt that we needed a bit more focus on what we should do. We figured our first step would be to meet with Esmerelda. She would be able to update us on Kat’ilth’ana, as well as give us some guidance in regard to our next steps. As we left our room, the guard stopped us and told us that we were to see Tyr before heading out today. Not wanting to delay the meeting any further, we rushed over to Tyr’s quarters and knocked to enter.

The door opened and we made our way inside to see Tyr sitting in his chair facing the roaring fireplace, the colors of the fire light dancing on his pensive features. His eyes looked distant, while his expression was one of contemplation and frustration. A moment later, his eyes left the fire light as he turned his gaze towards us. His expression softened and he gestured to the three chairs waiting near him. We quickly sat down and waited for him to begin.

“Much has been happening of late and there is still much we don’t know.” Tyr let out a sigh and scratched his chin. “Eir has been working continuously, trying to ascertain the nature of the poison that is wreaking havoc on the Dryad’s body. She is coming up short but hopes the next few days will prove useful. She is working with one of the alchemist Pact Houses to try and find a potion that will help her body remove the toxin from her system. She will be able to tell me more in the next day or so. For now, I suggest you put your efforts towards increasing your skills. We have no idea when our enemies will strike next and you need to be ready.”

We thanked him and turned to leave but he gestured for us to stop. The worried and pensive look had returned, and his eyes glanced over at the fire.

“Be wary, young Pathios. We still have no idea of the forces that gather behind this hidden agenda. They have attempted to kill you before; I don’t want you to end up next to the young Dryad. There is still much to do, and more I need to repay for my foolishness with Jonta.”

I wanted to tell him it wasn’t necessary, but I could tell the comment would fall on deaf ears. I had gotten over the reasons behind why the Council had decided to push for my punishment. Tyr hadn’t looked comfortable with it, but he couldn’t go against the will of the Council. As I thought about it, I began to wonder if this shadow group was trying to do just that: Defy the will of the Council and try to force change in the system. I could see there were deficiencies and the Council had been accommodating, with Tyr’s help. Hopefully, we might find out more soon, but I worried who else would pay for that knowledge with their life.

We made our way down to the armory to check in with Cassandra and see if she was coming with us into the Dungeon. I wasn’t at all surprised to find the three of them working away at their various workstations. The construction had gone fairly quickly since it had been commissioned by the Council. The last touches had been completed two days ago and I could see everyone was happy with the final product. I noticed there were a few members checking the shelves and one was talking to Brot’k while the half demon was shaping some red-hot metal.

We crossed the room and found another member leaning over the counter talking to Cassandra who seemed solely focused on her task and was practically ignoring the guy.

“Hey, Cassandra,” I called out. She stopped her work to turn and smile at us. “I was wondering if you were coming with us today or working on your other projects.”

Cassandra nodded and replied, “Give me about twenty minutes to finish what I am working on and I can be ready to go.”

A minute later I felt my shoulder get shoved by the person who had been attempting to talk to Cassandra prior to our arrival.

“What the fuck do you think you are doing, man?” The fellow said. “Could you not see that I was talking to this woman?”

I turned to look at him and didn’t feel worried about what I saw. He was about five inches taller than me, with blue skin and white hair. His eyes were cat like, and his teeth were off white, with long sharp canines. He looked like he outweighed me by ten or twenty pounds, but his stance told me he wasn’t ready for a confrontation, it was merely posturing.

“I was talking to my friend and member of my adventuring party,” I replied in an even and uninterested tone. “What I could see was that you were talking, and she was ignoring every word you said. That means she isn’t interested and that you should move along.”

“Oh yeah?” he challenged before moving to shove my shoulder again. Unfortunately for him I was expecting it and caught him off guard.

As he moved to shove me, I turned and side stepped, grabbing the arm as it passed by. I then moved under the arm and turned, twisting it into an uncomfortable position behind his back. I made sure to stay out of the striking zone of his free arm and head as he attempted to break free of my hold.

“Please, don’t bother me and my friends. The last few who tried regretted it. Jonta is dead, Fratis was punished and the royal family of the northern elf kingdoms has been exiled to the Dungeon. It would not bode well for you, should you choose to continue down this path. There are others out there, move along, but show them some respect. Understand?”

I emphasized the ‘understand’, by pulling his arm into an even more uncomfortable position. He nodded emphatically and I released him. He turned, looking at me in both fear and anger before turning to stomp out of the shop. I knew I would be seeing him again, but for now I had other things to deal with. We made to leave for the dining room to have a quick meal before leaving for the Dungeon. While Amenthia and I got our meals, Entivala collected supplies to keep us nourished during our adventures.

Just as we finished our meal, Cassandra showed up, ready to go. We collected some more food to take with us and made our way to the travel tubes. I fought the urge to head to the Guild to check on Kat’ilth’ana, and instead we arrived in the third floor Pact House. As we looked around, we could see there were more adventurers about then there were a week ago. We made our way towards the armory and donned our gear. I noticed that Cassandra was wearing the bracers I saw earlier. The runes on them had a faint blue glow to them once they were locked in place. I also noticed that there were now runes on the fuller of her blade. Those runes were glowing a faint red color and seemed to ripple down the blade.

Cassandra noticed my interest and said, “The runes on my bracers help me to wield my two-handed sword as easily as you do a one-handed sword. They increased my finesse and strength slightly, and stacks with my own growth. The runes on the blade add a slight amount of fire damage to my strikes. We shouldn’t find many creatures on this floor resistant to it, save for any drakes.”

I nodded in thanks for her explanation and completed donning my own equipment. Again, I decided to forgo the cape to allow for more movement and flexibility. Once everyone was ready, we made our way out of the Pact House and towards the southern gate.

“The plan is the same as when Cassandra was with us the first time,” I announced to the others as we approached the southern gate to the village. “We will head back into the forest south west of here. First to start our grind for drops, as well as bolster our stats. Second, to make sure there are no further issues with Arachni there.”

The group sounded their acknowledgment of the plan and we fell into a marching order with me at the front, Amenthia and Enti in the middle, with Cassandra at the back. We made our way south, then turned west towards the forest. The contrast to a week ago was noticeable. Mobs of various animals were present that had been missing before. The previously barren plains around us were now filled with activity and life. It took us an hour and a half to make it to the forest this time, due to the longer, altered route we took. I had Enti looking for targets as we traveled and altered our path to allow us the most contact with random mobs. It felt like I was making up for missed experience, as well as letting out my frustration with the events in the Arachni Queen’s lair.

By the time we hit the edge of the forest, we had collected a number of pelts and animal materials as well as a nice number of orbs. However, I was being a bit more reckless and had ended up taking a bit more damage than I normally did. It had added some points into my defense stat, but initially I was too foolish. I would easily wind up in a predicament that could leave me injured or worse in the future. We continued in the same marching order and Cassandra was pleased that we were running into many more kobolds this time. We were collecting nice amounts of ore and gold as we made our way towards the safe zone.