Chapter Eleven: Who’s the Boss?

Caldwell stood by the doorway, holding his breath. He wanted to yell, “Drink a blasted potion!” He had wanted to warn him about Redda Mo, too, but since Redda had already dropped a hint himself, he felt like more would have been putting his thumb on the scale.

Lord Stanish threw Zuglah to the floor and raised his mace, completely ignoring the chunk of ice sticking out of his face. Caldwell had to admit that the lad was a dab hand with those. And he hadn’t even tried casting them with a dagger yet.

The spell exploded. Stanish stepped back, shaking his head, trying to clear the ice from his helmet. Zuglah had scrambled to his feet and was shaking his broken arm, holding it low to the side. It was an instinctual thing, lining up the bones so that they grew together straight. They were already starting to knit.

Zuglah blinked.

He appeared behind Shawka and stabbed her with Bramblethorn before she even knew he was there. She cried out and spun, and he ruthlessly stabbed her again, in the chest. She fell to her knees, and Zuglah waved his knife towards Lord Stanish. A large, thorny wall of bramble sprang up around him, unimpeded by any anti-curse protection.

Caldwell could not hear exactly what, but Zuglah said something that made Shawka look up from where she was crouched. He unleashed a barrage of Dancing Mana, and just then two Ice Blades exploded within her, front and back. She was done. Her Curse Totem hadn’t even crashed to the ground yet.

Stanish was just pulling himself free from the brambles. He was scratched all over, and had lost a lot of his vigor. Zuglah took away some more by firing a series of Ice Blades at him, and slowing him with his Blast of Frost.

The Troll rushed forward and picked up Redda Mo from the floor. He began swinging at Stanish, bashing first his mace and then his helm. He was already using both arms. The iron bands and caps made Redda Mo a particularly heavy quarterstaff, but he was in the hands of a Troll with a lot of adrenaline. If anything, Zuglah spun faster and hit harder than Redda Mo, pushing the knight around in his armor and battering him mercilessly.

After taking a pummeling, Stanish caught him with a glancing blow to the shoulder that turned out to be a feint. He tied up the Lord’s arm, and with a quick twist of his wrist, relieved him of his weapon. When Stanish tried to step back, Zuglah put him on the ground with an expertly timed trip.

Zuglah raised his arm over Stanish as if in pronouncement. Stanish hissed, “Remember the Tar Witch!” And then Zuglah unleashed a barrage of Dancing Mana. Ten, then twelve strong. There was nothing left of Lord Stanish.

Zuglah didn’t even stagger around this time. He simply turned to look at Caldwell as he arrived. He was grinning from ear to ear. “He got me good. See my arm?” He held out his almost perfectly restored arm, showing him nothing more than a torn sleeve. Caldwell crouched down opposite him, looking at the growing pile of loot on Lord Stanish’s chest. Two rings, several gold coins, a scroll and two potions. One of them was very likely a Standard Heal.

Zuglah looked across at him. “Do you want to do the honors?”

“Not a chance.” On his own first Boss, they had rolled dice for every single item. He wanted Zuglah to enjoy this.

When he cast Detect Magic, Stanish’s mace and both rings glowed. Protection From Fire again, and Veiled Shadows, a very powerful ring that allowed the wearer to fully disappear for twenty five seconds. Zuglah’s eyes widened when he looked at it. He could see the potential right away.

The mace was called Storm Sister, or so he learned when he used Identify. StormSister, +3 mace, Crushing Blows once per short rest. This would be the prize. Caldwell knew of several fighters, clerics, paladins and even dwarven thieves who would love to have a basher such as this. Zuglah tossed it into the Bag of Holding without much thought.

He was, however, concerned about his new ring. He was worried that having another magic ring would make him vulnerable to The Cackles, the magical form of hysteria that Caldwell had warned him of. He reassured his young apprentice that only counted with status effects. Veiled Shadows was a spell. He popped it on with gusto.

When he approached Shawka, Zuglah had a strange reverence that bordered on sadness. He stood over her Curse Totem for a moment before he spoke. “Among the Horde there is a belief that I must choose one. I must choose one of these curses, or they will all consume my fate.”

Caldwell wanted to reassure him that such beliefs were superstitious nonsense. He had to remind himself that he wasn’t just teaching a new apprentice, he was taking on a Lowrock Riverlands Troll, with all the trimmings. “I wasn’t aware,” he said gently, “that you were in touch with any of the Horde.”

Zuglah shook his head, still looking down at the Curse Totem. “The Swamp Hag used to tell me stories about them. It was how she initially lured me in, when she taught me to pick herbs for her.”

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Caldwell could not read the Curses, but Zuglah touched each one in turn. “Betrayed to Death, Lost Love, Lose a Fortune.” He picked up the last one with a sad smile and pinned it to his breast. Then, he gently scooped up the priestess and carried her to Lord Stanish’s tomb where he laid her on top. He put her Curse Totem Staff beside her.

“She will be back,” Caldwell said quietly. He had explained the magic of dungeons and even instances to him already. He knew that whatever forces ruled this life and world would restore everyone within, when whatever phase of the moon it was aligned with came to pass. Sometimes it was indicated, other times it was not. He did not know if the Instance itself was linked to the same phase of the moon, but this particular crypt respawned three days after New.

“Of course,” Zuglah said. “But her ancestors are watching.”

Zuglah used his new knife to pry the Stanish sigil from the front of the helm. It came away easily, glowing faintly when held by the Troll. He must have sensed it, because he quickly stuffed it into his Bag.

They also found two Death Totems, a Widow’s Diadem and two Spore Stones, which were long, flat mushrooms that disguised themselves as rocks to avoid predation. They were exceedingly rare and much higher level than ought to have been in this dungeon. Caldwell began to suspect that this quest line might be significantly epic, judging by the set up. It was a strange feeling, being envious of one’s own apprentice.

They made the short trek back to Ulbarth’s room, and this time when they arrived the door was unlocked. “My triumphant friend!” The Centaur said expansively when they entered. “I knew I was right about you. Ruthless and bloodthirsty. Come and claim your reward.”

The dagger and the ring were in a glass display case beside his best wares. The case would be spelled, and most likely it would prevent even Identify from penetrating. But Caldwell was reasonably confident that these items would do exactly what the shopkeeper said they did.

When Zuglah pulled the sigil from his sleeve, the centaur smiled even wider, if such a thing were possible. He received his prize graciously, and waved an arm over the display case. The glass and wood frame on the top rose smoothly.

Zuglah dragged a claw idly down the knife as he contemplated it. Slowly, as if unsure, his hand reached over and his claw touched the ribbon.

“Trash. You do not want that, adventurer. I keep it only to fool the hapless. You should choose the knife.” Zuglah picked up the ribbon, holding it up to the light. It didn’t look like much, but he was strangely taken. Caldwell said nothing. Ulbarth, however, said, “Take the knife, and I will grant you the ring for free.”

“No thank you.” Zuglah said. “I have enough rings. I’ll just take this and that splishy hat for my friend.”

Caldwell immediately stuffed his workaday hat into his Lute Bag. “I graciously accept your humble gift, student.” He scampered over to the hat where it lay on the display table and put down a fat gold sovereign. “Keep the change, Ulbarth.” But it seemed that the centaur’s mood had soured.

They took their leave. Caldwell with his hat and Zuglah, his ribbon. Somehow Caldwell felt like he had gotten the better of the deal. They walked out the same way they came in, and when they reached the top of the stairs that lead out of the tomb itself, they heard the same stone-on-stone grating as before. Upon completely exiting the tomb, it closed itself off, and Caldwell caught a glimpse of the staircase fading away as the crypt was closed off. There was a distinct air of finality to the closing.

He strode forward and rapped with his staff. It was inert.

Zuglah opened a couple of buttons on the front of his robes and lifted his undershirt. They were both tattered and bloodstained. “Do you see this bit of grass? It’s Troll writing. This knot here says “Growth. The berries mean ‘Honor your ancestors.’” He opened the pin on the back of the ribbon and easily pushed it through his skin, high up on his left breast. When he let it go, the ribbon fluttered in the wind that must have somehow missed Caldwell, even though he was pretty hot. On the last flutter, the ribbon laid itself neatly across his chest and froze in place. As Zuglah lowered his undershirt, it appeared to be sinking below the surface.

As he buttoned his robes, Zuglah commented on how hungry he had become. Caldwell himself was looking forward to nothing more than conjuring a hearty meal and sleep. Tomorrow, he planned on spending most of the day going over the events of their little raid. He had honestly not expected today to be anything more than killing a couple of skeletons, perhaps a hasty retreat if things went badly, try again tomorrow.

Zuglah told him to go ahead, that he wanted to walk up the hill. But Caldwell was not going to run ahead now. He walked alongside his student and kept him company. It wasn’t that far of a climb. When they reached the summit, he heard a very familiar voice say, “Nice hat, wizard. I’m glad to see you enjoying yourself, in your leisure hours.”

Another, richer voice purred, “And who is your delicious friend?”

“Thank you, Boland. The hat was a gift. Steenie, this is the wizard Zuglah, my student.” Zuglah shuffled forward in a way that was a bit unlike him. His face had a pale blue pallor, and his hand trembled when he went to shake hands with Steenie. It took Caldwell a moment to realize what the problem was. “Boland, do you mind? He’s yuon sazal, for pity’s sake.”

The Fighter looked sheepish as he trotted a few feet away. He shrugged his massive shoulders and gave a Shout. The Daunting Aura lashed out in a ring of Holy Damage that came close to Zuglah but did not reach him. He did not flinch, for which Caldwell was fairly proud. That Shout would have knocked him directly onto his ass.

“Sorry about that, lad. Yuon eh? You look like you’ve been within melee range! Now that’s my kind of Wizard!” He laughed, and clapped Zuglah on the shoulder. Caldwell knew how much that clap smarted. Boland was a rough friend to have.

“I suppose you’ve found him then?” Caldwell asked. Boland nodded.

“He’s part of Pylex’s inner circle now. I guess even Pank can’t resist his level of power. Even if he is a known snake. At least now we know who he’s working with.” Caldwell nodded, thinking. They would need a full party for this raid, beyond doubt. “We have found you a Mana battery. By the name of Destyon. He’s a Gnome, but he’s not squeamish. Necro. And he knows the Plane of Scorn well.”

Caldwell could barely keep his eyes open. Zuglah was sitting on a camp chair, swaying in his seat. “Boland I will see you at your compound, before this time tomorrow. You have my word. But right now I need to sleep, and in the morning I have to sort out my apprentice. As you can see, he’s a little tired. He solo’d his first dungeon today.”

Boland was astonished. “What? I thought you said he was tier two.”

“He was eoan sazal when we started. He was just supposed to get the feel for things, but an Instance unfolded, and things just ran away from there. I’ll tell you all about it. Now please. I just want to sleep.” He opened a portal for them.

“But you’re going to eat first though, right?” Boland could out-eat Zuglah.

Caldwell sighed, and closed the portal.