Chapter 6

Dungeon I (Into the Deep)

Venturing deeper into the dungeon, Mags, Sabo, and Bidelia found themselves in what seemed to Mags to be nothing more than an ordinary cave. The rocky walls were damp, the air cool and musty. Their footsteps echoed softly as they tread carefully over the uneven ground. The flickering light of their torches cast eerie shadows, making the walls seem alive with movement. Mags could feel her heart beating a little faster, a mix of anticipation and anxiety.

“Hold up,” Bidelia said suddenly, raising a hand. She closed her eyes, her expression one of deep concentration. Mags watched, puzzled, as Bidelia seemed to commune with something unseen. There was a strange pressure in the air, like a wave surging from Bidelia and washing over her. Mags felt it press against her body, a sensation that was both disconcerting and fleeting. The moment Bidelia opened her eyes, the feeling vanished. That was strange, Mags thought.

“This way,” Bidelia instructed, leading them down a path to their right that Mags swore hadn’t been there a moment ago.

“Wait a second, was that path there the entire time?” Mags asked.

“Yup, in plain sight the entire time,” Bidelia responded.

“I missed it too,” Sabo added. “Maybe too alert for monsters and the like.”

“Not at all,” Bidelia said. “Look ahead, keeping your focus squarely on the path ahead of us. Now, step back and then walk forward.”

Mags and Sabo both complied. Even though she knew that the path to the right was there, she couldn’t see it, walking right past where she swore it had been. She stopped, turned and stared. The path was there again, as though it never disappeared in the first place.

“That’s so odd,” Sabo said.

“This Deep is a labyrinth type,” Bidelia said. “The Guild categorizes Deeps by types, not only because of the common environments found across the phenomenon, but because Deeps of similar types use the same survival tactics.”

“Survival tactics?” Mags asked. Her head was beginning to ache from all of the new information Bidelia was flooding them with.

Bidelia crouched down and ran her index finger across the cave floor, then rubbed the dirt between her pointer finger and thumb. “Deeps are like living breathing creatures. Their single objective is to survive and procreate as much as possible, spawning as many Maldrath as they can. We’re as close to natural predators as these dungeons have. And so, in any Deep you’ll find things that seemingly have the sole purpose of stopping us from getting to the core. Labyrinth types commonly use some of their miasma to cast an aura of suggestion. A minor illusion that focused our attention on the main pathway we entered through, and tricking our brains into not noticing other paths, doors, the like.”

Mags’ eyes widened in surprise. The thought that her mind had been messed with by the Deep made Mags uneasy. She glanced back at Sabo, who shrugged, his expression just as puzzled as hers. I expected the need to draw steel and brute force our way through some trouble, but this is just insidious. “So, if we had continued to take this first path…”

“It would have looped back on itself, running us in circles, or led us to a really nasty trap or a stronger Maldrath,” Bidelia said matter-of-factly. “Probably both: lull us into a sense of mindless torture and after the third or fourth loop, spring something really nasty on us.”

“You talk as though the Deep is an actual thinking, plotting monster itself,” Sabo said.

“Less so with these lower leveled Deeps, but you’d be surprised,” Bidelia said, shrugging. She stood up, brushing her hand off on the front of her pants. “Anyway, let’s not waste anymore time.” And with that, Bidelia led the way down the branching path.

It’s your lectures that take up the most time, Mags thought, though she liked Bidelia and appreciated the Soulsinger’s willingness to explain as much as possible. Not many people Mags had encountered in her life had a semblance of the patience Bidelia showed them.

The corridor began to change, the rough stone giving way to smooth, carved walls. The walls were cool to the touch, and Mags ran her fingers along them, feeling the fine craftsmanship. The sensation of the cool wall her fingers traced along gave her pause. It recalled the feeling of a distant memory or dream. Glowing stones embedded in the walls in precise intervals provided ample light, and Mags welcomed their warm glow compared to the accompanying torch light. The floor sloped gently downward, leading them deeper into the earth.

After a while, Sabo broke the silence. “What happens to all the earth that’s displaced to make room for a dungeon like this? The structure is massive. Bigger than Solstice and it just popped up out of nowhere. You’d think all the soil would need to go somewhere.”

Bidelia smiled slightly, the expression almost amused. “The Deep isn’t actually in the ground. Once we passed the entrance, we entered an extra-dimensional space.” She glanced at Sabo, who was rubbing his temple. “It can be a bit mind-bending.”

They continued through branching corridors, Bidelia pausing occasionally at forks. Each time, she would close her eyes briefly, as if sensing the way forward. Mags marveled at the Guide’s calm demeanor and unerring sense of direction. She definitely saw the benefit of having a Navigator in your party, and why they were so valuable to the empire in destroying Deeps. Who knows how long each expedition would take if each party had to find its way to the dungeon core unaided and through trial and error alone.

Eventually, they came upon a tunnel where the roof had collapsed, blocking their path with a heap of rubble.

“Forward is the best route,” Bidelia muttered, frustration evident in her voice. “But we don’t have shovels or pickaxes, right?”

Sabo confirmed with a sigh, “No, we don’t.”

Mags examined the rubble. Some of the rubble was small and negligible, while other stones dwarfed even Sabo’s impressive height. Mags could attempt to tackle the task by hand, and may even be inclined to try, but she knew they didn’t have days’ of time on their side. “So, what now?”

Bidelia turned back the way they had come. “We’ll have to find another path. Deeps are rarely linear.”

As they ventured down alternate corridors, the air grew damper, the smell of moisture and decay more pronounced. The feeling, Mags realized, was a lot like the aura that Maldrath exuded. But the deeper they descended, the stronger that ambient feeling of unease and clawing fear grew. Soon, the corridors they walked were flooded. At first, it was only an inch of water covering the stone floor. Eventually, they reached a set of stairs that descended into shallow water. Bidelia stopped at the edge of the dark pool. She poked around the corridor, until she found a discarded piece of tree root.

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“It’s only about a foot deep,” Bidelia said, dipping the branch into the water, “but it could get deeper. Can you two swim?”

Both Mags and Sabo nodded, though Sabo added, “The pack will make it difficult.”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t get too much deeper then, hm?” Bidelia said, leading them forward. “But stay alert. I sense Maldrath ahead.”

The water splashed around them as they trudged forward. Further down the long corridor, the water began to reach above Mags’ knees, the cold seeping through their boots and making her legs numb. Sabo yelped as something brushed against his leg, and Mags instinctively reached for Mithra. A school of fish darted past, their scales glinting in the torchlight.

Mags exhaled a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. “Just fish.”

Bidelia’s voice was tense, her eyes trained ahead. “Watch out. Something bigger is coming.” Mags froze, breath held, listening intently.

Suddenly, the water exploded as a massive, serpentine shape surged up from the depths. The Maldrath was unlike any Mags had ever seen. Its body was covered in a carapace of overlapping scales as dark as pitch. The only exception was the Maldrath’s head. Its face was a flat, white disk. The flesh on its face split open into a large mouth, filled with perfectly neat and all-too-human looking teeth. The mouth spread into an unsettling grin before the Maldrath nose-dived back into the water, its scaled body undulating with frightening speed.

“Run!” Bidelia shouted, and she and Sabo splashed through the water, trying to avoid the creature’s path.

Mags dropped her own torch and drew Mithra, ready to meet the Maldrath head-on. It stopped abruptly and changed direction, charging at Sabo.

“Sabo, look out!” Mags cried, but she was too slow. The Maldrath rammed Sabo, sending him crashing into the corridor wall. The torch he had been holding was hurled from his hand, hitting the dark waters and extinguishing with a hiss.

Sabo groaned, picking himself out of the water. Dazed, but alive. Thank the Gods.

Mags splashed through the water, closing the distance between herself and the Maldrath. The Maldrath’s pale face broke the surface of the water, still bearing that unnerving smile. It whipped around, charging towards her.

Mags swung Mithra, engaging the Maldrath. Mithra’s Ivaldi steel blade met the Maldrath’s hard scales in a flash of black. The force of the impact sent Mags stumbling to the side. She quickly regained her composure and took on a defensive stance, Mithra’s blade low and pointed towards the Maldrath. Mags’ muscles were tense, still but ready to spring into action the moment the Maldrath made another strike.

The Maldrath writhed out of the water, its body twisting and folding into itself in an unnatural motion, a distorted mimicry of nature. Its flat white face bobbed through the air, first towards Mags and then back towards where it first attacked Sabo. Bidelia slowly moved through the rippling water towards Sabo, who was still near the wall he had been thrown against when the Maldrath had attacked.

The Maldrath lunged at the disturbance, crashing into the dark waters where Bidelia had been moments before. Bidelia yelped, scrambling forward towards Sabo. Mags mind raced. Was the Maldrath trying to pinpoint the easiest prey? Was it the kind of predator who would pick off the weakest from the herd and escape with an easy meal in its maw? Why would it ignore her?

Then the realization hit her. “Stay still!” she yelled to the others. “It senses movement in the water!” Bidelia and Sabo both froze.

The Maldrath burst from the water again, its head bobbing again, a pale tongue extending from its wide maw. Mags slapped the flat of Mithra’s blade against the surface of the water. “Over here, you ugly bastard!”

The Maldrath’s head snapped in her direction and it dove back under the surface. It was nearly impossible to follow its dark scales as it moved through the water. She was barely able to get her blade up in time to parry the Maldrath as it lunged at her, bursting forward from the water near her feet. Again, she was tossed to the side by the strength of the monster.

Mags leapt forward, slashing at the Maldrath’s long body as it surged past her. Mithra bounced harmlessly off of the thing’s hard scales. I can’t pierce its scales. Mags wondered if the Maldrath’s face was the only part of its body not armored in the black carapace.

Sabo’s voice cut through the tension. “Mags, the walls!”

She glanced towards him. Sabo has clambered up onto a narrow raised ledge that ran along one side of the hallway and was extending a hand to help Bidelia up out of the water. Mags turned back to the Maldrath and let out a guttural scream, slapping Mithra against the water again, trying to keep its attention squarely on her.

Again, the Maldrath speared through the air towards her. This time, however, she was too slow to side-step the attack. The Maldrath opened its mouth, which stretched nearly beyond the dimension of its flat face. Mags raised Mithra, meeting the attack head on. The Maldrath snapped its mouth, catching Mithra in its bite. Mags thrust upward with all her strength, feeling Mithra stab deeper and causing the Maldrath to open its mouth and chomp down again. The beast’s teeth almost reached Mithra’s hilt—and more importantly, Mags’ hands—as it flung its head to the side like a dog with a toy. The force of its shaking head sent Mags flying and hitting the water with a crash. Luckily, she held onto Mithra.

Standing, she sheathed Mithra and scrambled to the narrow ledge on the wall. The Maldrath dove again, bursting from the water where Mags had been a moment ago. The monstrosity, confused and enraged, thrashed in the water, searching for its elusive prey.

“Stay close to the wall,” Sabo whispered, his voice barely audible. “We can move without making waves.”

Mags edged along the wall towards Sabo and Bidelia, trying to avoid the water. The Maldrath crashed into the spot where she had been moments before, narrowly missing her. It then grew still, as though straining to hear her. Then, with a frustrated hiss, it retreated back into the inky black depths.

Using the narrow ledge, the three carefully made their way down the corridor. Near each of the glowing stones that lined the corridor wall were notches, which while slick offered additional support. Ahead, Bidelia spotted steps leading upward, out of the water. Mags let out a sigh of relief, her muscles straining as she shimmied down the ledge, following Sabo.

Mags happily leapt onto the dry surface of the stairs. She wanted to kiss them, grateful to be out of the flooded corridor. Bidelia and Sabo looked equally relieved.

They climbed the steps with earnest determination to put the water and that Maldrath as far behind them as possible. Mags looked back, seeing the Maldrath’s white face break the surface of the water once more before finally retreating again, its unnerving, wide smile the last thing to sink beneath the dark surface.

“Let’s keep moving and try to find a place to rest,” Bidelia said, her voice steady but her eyes wary. “This Deep has more surprises in store.”

The corridor ahead was dry, the air warm and stale. The walls were carved with intricate patterns, symbols that Mags didn’t recognize. She could feel the weight of the earth above them, pressing down, the silence deep and suffocating.

“Those fish back there,” Sabo said, breaking the silence of their trek. “Any chance those weren’t some kind of flesh-eating fish and just ordinary fishes?”

“Most likely,” Bidelia said.

“Why would the Deep create regular fish to inhabit its waters?” Sabo asked.

“Probably for its monsters,” Bidelia said, “they need something to eat when there’s a shortage of foolhardy adventurers . . . though I suppose no one really knows for sure. That’s our best guess at least.”

The corridor began to twist and turn, the smooth stone giving way to rougher, more natural rock. The air grew cooler again, and Mags shivered. They reached a fork, and Bidelia paused, closing her eyes briefly before choosing the left path.

Mags followed, her mind racing. She noticed that her hands had been clenched tightly into fists at her side. How long had they been like that? She released her fists, stretching her sore fingers. The stress of the Maldrath fight was still coursing through her veins. She couldn’t help but feel frustrated . . . scared . . . disappointed in herself. While they may have escaped the encounter alive and well, she hadn’t been able to slay the Maldrath. She was sent into the Deep because destroying Maldrath was one of the few things she was good at. But that Maldrath had been unlike anything she ever hunted. It had had her on her back foot, and she wasn’t sure she would have been able to win had the fight continued.

Her hand found the comforting feeling of Mithra’s hilt. Was it only because of Mithra that she was even able to fight the weakest of Maldrath? Did her own strength mean nothing? She thought of the Soulsinger she had encountered on the Karsk Magistrala, how he had stopped a Maldrath in its tracks with his bare hands. That’s real strength, real power.

Mags’ hand slipped from Mithra’s hilt and she quietly followed behind Sabo and Bidelia, who continued their conversation about the Deep. She would do better—had to do better.