-Layer I-

-Duskwood Cave-

Marius

"Well…you see, daddy…" Marius began, suppressing the gag reflex that rose in his throat. "Mama said to watch the farm, and so I took yer axe and ran outside. Like you said: a man’s gotta protect the wumin’ o’ the house." (Marius was particularly proud of that one – he promptly filed it away as one of his smarter little flourishes of dialogue) "B-but then the wolves came, an’ there were so many that I jus’ had to fight em’. And their blood got all over me and I got all sticky like this!"

He made sure to sound as pathetically wimpy as possible.

"Hmpf!" the father sniffed again. "Yer mama’s a dumb bitch, but yer a good boy to protect her and your sister.’ (Oh yeah, her) ‘And ye’ve grown up to be quite the wee warrior! But remember what daddy told ye: fights aren’t just about brawns. You also gots ta use yer brain! Don’t ye remember the way daddy showed ye to kill those little buggers when they come ta the farm?"

Marius shook his head meekly. This should be good.

"Here, daddy’ll show ye again," he said, bringing the torch back up and raising it high, so it illuminated more of the cavern around them, including one tunnel to their north, practically coated in the orange Crocarachnid spume.

"Now, watch closely, see? Are ye watchin’ yer old dad?"

"I’m doing it, papa."

"What?!"

"…Daddy."

"Good boy!" the old codger suddenly shouted, filled with excitement from some source unbeknownst. "Now watch daddy clean this farm up!"

And he tossed the torch in his hand with a boar-like grunt, sending it twirling through the air in an arc of orange light. As it flew towards the spume coated tunnel, Marius was suddenly filled with a growing sense of trepidation. Even before the torch had made contact with the slime, he saw bubbles begin to ripple across its thick surface.

"Uh…" he muttered. "I don’t think…"

Then the torch touched down, and he and the old one were thrown back against the far wall of the cave as the tunnel erupted in a torrent of blazing flame.

Marius barely registered the searing light that singed his retinas. He only felt the power of the inferno on his skin a mere split second after the torch’s tiny light had touched the surface of the spume. Only when he found himself on the cave floor, after having his back bashed forcefully against the cave wall, did he register the noise of the explosion itself, accompanied by a persistent ringing in his eardrums.

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

He tried to blink through the pain in his back. Even behind his eyes he could still see the image of the red roar that was just belched from the tunnel’s throat – where now there was nothing at all but some residual flames and pitch darkness again.

The way had been cleared.

"-ou see? Huh?"

Marius twisted his head and tried to regain his balance again to no avail. He fell against the old man and felt his muscles clasp round his neck.

"Ye see?" he was shouting. "Ye see, Peter? That’s how ta take care of those pesky little wolfies. One good shot’ll burn right through ‘em. One shot and KABOOOM!"

Through a world of disorientation and pain, Marius could only barely register the crazy bastard’s wails. But he knew at least the jist of it – the old man had discovered something, all right. Again, that was info Marius’ Appraisal hadn’t told him. So, he made a mental note: sometimes dumb brute force and trying stupid things just for the hell of it trumped brains and logic.

He smiled. There was a little piece of him that liked that.

Up there, on Averix, logic had always been his enemy.

He saw the old one then produce another stick from thin air and strike it with a tiny rock from the ground. And just as soon as he’d drawn the little pebble across it, an orange light blazed into life on the wood.

"Daddy," Marius mumbled. "You are so very knowledgeable (if a little insane). Can you give your loyal son a torch so he might stand a chance against the wolves of the night?"

The firm yet gentle hand of Daddy touched Marius’ shoulder.

"Son,' he said. "Yer a man already. Sometimes I forget. But ye are – ye be wantin’ ta go out there and make this world safe fer mummy and yer little sis, ain’t ya?"

And to Marius’ ever-increasing disbelief, he saw tears in the old man’s eyes.

"I’m proud of ye, son," he sputtered, choking back his emotion. "I wish I’d told ye that before…before…"

He started scratching at his bald head.

"Amarata…what am I doing here..?"

Marius saw him turn his head slowly in confusion, scanning the cave around him as though he prospected it with new eyes. He absent-mindedly handed Marius a bundle of wooden sticks and then slumped down, hunched over, staring into the dark of the tunnel that lay before them both.

"Peter," he whispered. "I don’t even remember what ye look like anymore. There was a time – there was – there was a time when we’d play for hours in the meadow next to the farm, right there, and you’d smile up at me and I’d know that all the lives I’d ever taken had been worth it. That face – your face – I know it, but I can’t see it. I can’t even see it now. I never knew the last time was going to be goodbye. I never said goodbye to ye. And now I’m never going ta see you again, am I?"

It was like a question he was posing to The Everloft itself. Maybe he’d been mad with grief before they chucked him in here, and who knows how long he’d languished in this hellhole by this point. For him, this place was to be his tomb, nothing more.

"Don’t bother, old man," Marius said next to him. "It never answers back."

Marius sat up and dusted off his leather armor, twirling the sticks in his arms and picking up a piece of stone which he pocketed, fitting it snugly into a space in his weed-filled pants.

"Well, this has been a hoot and all," Marius said with a nonchalant whistle. "But I don’t exactly have time for a therapy session. Best of luck, and all that. Maybe don’t throw too many of those torches, yeah?"

The old man said nothing back. Now, his eyes were focused on the darkness of the tunnel, where once the burning flower of life had erupted, blazed with strength, and then vanished almost as soon as it appeared.

Then, as Marius walked off on his merry way, he heard the old one say aloud:

"Peter, I hope ye grow up to be a strong man, and a good man."

Marius stopped in his tracks. He sniffed the air, closed his eyes, and gave one quiet sigh of resignation.

"I’ll do my best…Daddy. Goodbye."

And as he walked down the now vacant tunnel towards the object of his quest, he heard an almost imperceptible reply echo down towards him, choked through tears:

"Goodbye, son."