Luke ran Whispering Edge along the nearest wall. He hoped the sound of metal grinding against stone would alert the pack of monsters to all rush toward him. At this point, the Reaver would prefer they come to him.
“Let me do the cool scraping against the wall! Please? With a cherry on top?” Xera asked.
“It’s not for that, Xera. I can hear more than one group of monsters around here. I’d rather they bunch up and find us all at once,” Luke said.
“Ok…” Xera sounded excessively disappointed.
“Cheer up, lass, you’re out the chest, and I’m no longer stuck in a fish monster pond,” Wayfinder said.
Luke ignored the asynchronous beat of his heart. Eventually, the two hearts would sync up or become one. For now, he became acutely aware he wasn’t quite as human anymore.
The excessive sound only grew the racket around him. The monsters were clashing with something. The Reaver wasn’t in any mood to stay patient, so he switched to a brisk pace and walked further down the path Wayfinder’s needle guided him on.
Wayfinder’s passive Twilight Vanguard, in combination with the faint light of the blue roots, let Luke see perfectly down here. He didn’t bother to flow essence to his eyes. After the strain from the fight against the Spectral Lord and gaining a new heart, he tried not to stress his body too much.
As the group walked with purpose, the clang of rusted metal and wood smashing grew louder. Luke was confident the monsters were fighting. He no longer used Whispering Edge to make sound; his plan had been dashed.
Sooty sat nestled on his shoulder. She had closed her eyes, trying to rest. Waves of fatigue hit him, but he was too close to the finish line to pause now.
He thought, Leave the cave, and I can find some food and rest. Hopefully, it’s warm, too; I’m still cold.
As he finished the thought, Luke observed a cave monster territory war. Two sides were locked in battle, a mixture of goblins and kobolds. The kobolds chanted in a strange cadence.
“Harg doz goel!” They said over and over.
Not even attempting to make sense of that, Luke paused momentarily and kept his body against the cave wall. Neither side of the monsters had noticed him. He pulled up the Interface on both sides.
[Goblin]
Level: 3
HP: 21/21
Lost sight of human prey, came too close to Kobold territory while searching. Inadvertently caused a war—poor dude.
Luke whispered, “Either another human came down here, or me running away caused a monster war. The irony.”
He then examined the window he pulled up for the kobolds.
[Kobold]
Level: 4
HP: 33/33
Busy trying to keep their candles safe from goblins.
The goblins had more in the way of numbers, but the Kobolds were stronger individually. Luke had no thought of supporting one side or the other. He edged around the cave wall at a swift pace. While he didn’t want to busy himself with slaughter, he had no fear of the situation. A single well-placed Essence Lance would end any protest of him passing by.
Luke made his way, and the cave wall he traveled across brought him to the goblin side. He had to admit. The choice was intentional, as he still held a grudge for the crude club mashed against his stomach at the start of this crazy adventure.
If his sneaking this way alerted a few spare goblins, Luke would be more than happy to return the favor from earlier. The two artifacts had gained more situational awareness, and neither talked. He felt proud to see Xera learn not to ruin his stealth.
The two sides battled with such enthusiasm they’d make religious zealots proud. As anticipated, a few goblins noticed a tasty human trying to sneak past them. Each had a black blade stab them through the skull before they could make another move.
Low-level mobs were horrendously slow to Luke now. The only reason he didn’t just barge in and ruin both sides was mainly out of slight reluctance and that Sooty still tried to take a nap in the middle of all this.
His bird definitely knew how to do things her way. He had to give her that.
A few more goblins died a fruitless death, and Luke had gone around the two sides in conflict. The group continued down the cave path. More light stemmed from the roots the further they went. Luke vaguely remembered some of the turns, but he absolutely wouldn’t have been able to trace them without Wayfinder’s guidance.
The cave became quiet once he passed by the monster territory war he likely caused. Occasionally, he bumped into cave rats; most were intelligent enough to scurry away, and Luke didn’t bother to chase them. The few who didn't were too stupid to sense the difference or too bold to care. Soon, they stopped contributing to the rat gene pool.
One stab from Whispering Edge, and they were skewered to death.
“Let me do some fun stuff. Mr. Silent had his turn.” Xera said.
“I’ll save you for the more important battles, Xera, although I doubt we’ll find anything like that down here.”
Xera took that to mean she was the ‘important’ weapon and promptly let out sounds of happiness. Luke started to figure out how to manage this cheerful weapon of his better. He soon smelt faint traces of moisture.
“We’re close to the pond now, aren’t we, Wayfinder? I think I can smell it.”
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“Sharp nose lad, although with all those levels, it ain’t a surprise. Sure as shite, we’re near to the pond. While their like isn’t a threat to you now, that pond is a hot spot for the beasties.”
“I’ll try not to be too arrogant about it. But if they’re comparable to those kobolds, I doubt it’ll be an issue,” Luke said.
“That means it won’t be important enough for me to do the slashing. Right? Mr. Silent wins this round,” Xera said.
Luke walked steadily down the center part of the cave path. The occasional bug would skitter along the walls around him. He hadn’t noticed before, but the entire cave was exceptionally smooth in most sections. Scattered claw marks, scratches, and burns decorated the cave the closer he got to the pond.
Signs that the pond was a nexus for conflict, just as Wayfinder warned when they first met. Luke had a relaxed enough current situation to wonder what amount of luck it took to follow Wayfinder’s needle all the way down to the door of trials without meeting another monster back then.
That, or Devil’s Needle, the seven-day active cooldown of Wayfinder, had more to it than described.
Rough sounds of splashing water and grunts of exertion dislodged Luke from his thoughts. Four monsters, each a different species, were locked in battle at the pond’s waterline. One was a colossal goblin; Luke guessed it to be a hobgoblin and didn’t care enough to use the Interface to find out.
The other three monsters were a small kobold, a giant lizard, and a cave troll. The four circled and appraised each other; none partook in the pond water. The four-way showdown paused when he casually entered the area near them.
Luke returned the gaze and asked, “What? Can’t a man take a walk in a monster-infested cave in peace? Monsters these days. So rude.”
None of the monsters could understand him, so they only looked at him in confusion and wariness. Unlike the earlier goblins and the minority of not-so-intelligent cave rats, these four specimens were long-lived creatures. Evidenced by the various scars, signs of aging and the fact they didn’t charge him immediately without thought.
“If they’ll stand there, can’t you make me a wand and blast them? It’d be faster,” Xera said, ignoring the moment’s tension.
A talking weapon shocked the kobold and hobgoblin, and they looked at their crude weapon and then back at Xera. Both grew disappointed expressions. The two monsters without weapons kept looking at Xera and then Luke, unsure which to focus on.
“I’m in a good mood now, and my crow is busy trying to nap, so leave me alone, and I’ll leave you alone. Got it?” Luke decided.
The four monsters froze, and Luke took that as a sign of submission. He left the four in peace, although he heard faint sounds of conflict again after he left. Luke moved for a few minutes, and he recognized the path he was on. Later, he backtracked to the same spot where he initially tested Infusion and various parts of the Interface.
“Alright, we made it back this far. I remember coming from that part of the path,” Luke said, pointing to the left entrance out of the cave corner.
He continued his relaxed walk. The hurry of the moment once he left the door of trials had left him. Luke focused on staying aware of his location.
“The rest from here is completely based on vague feeling. When I ran from those two goblins, I didn’t keep note of where I was going. Although I do remember following those roots for light,” Luke said, pointing above him, “Guess I’ll trace my way further with them.”
With the roots as a guidepost, Luke continued his trek upwards. The ascending incline was steady but there. The air wasn’t stagnant anymore; he occasionally felt the occasional breeze brush past his face.
“Gargh! Gargh!”
“No way, what are the chances? We meet again, overly angry and green friend of mine. I met some of your family earlier. I’ll give you the same warm welcome,” Luke said.
Luke recognized the goblin that was busy getting ready to charge him. It was the same one that had smacked him in the stomach with a club. However, if he was honest, Luke noticed the club more than the goblin.
The monster, not nearly as experienced as the hobgoblin Luke previously met at the pond, charged with all its might. The Reaver closed his posture, and the club missed. Whispering Edge snaked out, digging into the goblin's skull, the same ‘greeting’ he had given to the other hostile goblins he met down here.
“Good, with that, one started a war, and the other died; the karma is served between us, green bastards,” Luke said.
“Karma?” Xera asked.
“Some esoteric concept I read a few too many times on the Internet before I came here.”
“Internet?”
“A place where minds go to die.”
The answer only left poor Xera even more confused. And Luke preferred it that way. Some more time passed, and Luke found the spot he spawned at, or as the Interface said, ‘transferred.’ Both were the same difference. The roots grew thinner one way, and Luke followed them.
As the distance stretched on, Luke noticed monsters became absent once more. He was sure this was the right way out as the wind buffeted his body more often. The whistle sound of moving air rushed past his ears. He broke into a trot, with the promise of escaping the confined space so close, he couldn’t help but go faster.
The path suddenly spiked up and became steep, then after a few yards, a decline to match came next. At the end of the decline was an intriguing sight. A family of cave trolls settled on the cave mouth, demanding…tolls.
“Toll trolls? Is this a bridge?” He said.
Various goblins and other monsters were in an argument with the cave troll clan. Luke observed plenty of meat, cheese, and fruit in the troll’s larder. His stomach rumbled loudly.
“Look, Sooty, it’s fruit.”
The crow’s eyes snapped open. A reddish glare colored them as she followed her sight to where Luke pointed. The bird let out an excited and loud caw. Before Luke could stop her, the bird flew so fast she put diving falcons to shame. Much to the monster's dismay, she devoured the various fruits right before the toll trolls.
“The feathered lass sure left you behind as fast as she could, didn’t she?” Wayfinder said.
“It’s a good idea not to get between her and fruit, especially if she's hungry. Those trolls better let her eat in peace if they want to live,” Luke said.
Monsters in line began arguing, pointing at Sooty. While Luke didn’t speak monster, their body language seemed to him to be that of asking why Sooty could eat and not pay the toll to enter the cave. A few trolls grew agitated and roared at the crow, flustered by her sudden arrival.
His bird completely ignored the intimidation tactic as she gorged on something that Luke thought looked suspiciously close to grapes. One troll swung its fist at Sooty, the bird didn’t even look up as she released her Shadow Wing.
The shade took the attack casually, then tore apart the surrounding trolls. With the sudden combat, chaos erupted as the troll clan began to attack the shade, and other monsters, unwilling to pay the toll, tried to sneak by. One or two even succeeded. Luke watched as they ran right by him.
Sooty became full; then she acted perfectly oblivious to the monster battle she had just caused. The corvid flew over to Luke and then landed on his shoulder. She sat down and immediately went to sleep.
Her shadow left an Essence Screech as it turned into vapor; it’s time over. The shade dealt 30% of the damage Sooty did, but the level difference was too significant. The screech massacred the majority of the monsters. Pitifully few were left alive.
The survivor’s instincts kicked into high gear, and they all ran away in the face of overwhelming force. Moments later, the cave mouth was deserted.
“What just happened?” Xera asked.
“Sooty was hungry. Told you they should leave her alone.”
Luke examined the cave mouth, and only now did he notice it rained heavily outside. The cave trolls had made a fire that remained intact somehow. His eyes traced the troll’s larder, and he gulped once he rediscovered the cheese and meat they had.
He walked over, took some meat and cheese, then took a spare stick, skewered it, and cooked it with the fire.
The uninviting storm a few feet away from him struck Luke with an idea. With rain that heavy, he was against leaving and instead chose to eat by the fire. He’d keep watch for a few hours to let Sooty sleep. Once she was awake, he’d get some much-needed rest himself.
Luke stifled the yawns and kept feeding himself to sate his hunger. Once Luke no longer desired to eat, he put away as many foodstuffs as possible in the Inventory. Some would have to stay out until Sooty awoke to place it in her Spatial Feather. Luke listened to the patter of rain around him. He became content with his back against the cave and a warm fire in front of him.
After all, Luke finally escaped the cave.