Corvayne lead the team up the stairs and stepped out into a concrete floored area with large metal containers and crates with a single brick wall, all forming a small room. The space had a few couches laid out with cargo netting over the back, a pair of restroom entrances in the brick wall, and a water cooler with paper cups. A white painted arrow with EXIT was pointing to a gap in the crates. On one of the couches a group of ghostly dwarves were strapping armor on and hefting hammers and axes. Another group looked like a special forces team, armed with guns, shotguns, and tasers. All four members were wearing synthetic fabrics and tactical armor. Some of the gear looked damaged.
Hari looked a little sad as she handed Wick back the sun dial. “I was unable to determine the details. I'm sorry! If I had a week or two, I could tell you more about what it is. It feels safe, perhaps use it outside without anyone else nearby.”
Wick looked at her then the dial. “I'm guessing she couldn't crack it?”
Corvayne said, “She said she thinks a week at least. A shame, but she said it might be safe to experiment outside and alone... in her words it's not self harming or catastrophic in scope. Either way... we're going to give Hari the book and the hood right?”
Wick unfastened her freezing shortsword and handed it to Hari as well. “If you ever find a way to Cascadia... well, don't lose it. It has sentimental value. Bring it back and I'll trade it back for the rapier. You've been a great team mate. Oh... also your share of the gold and silver.” Wick counted out some coins and put them in a bag.
Corvayne tried to translate for Wick word for word. Hari blushed and hugged Wick, who squirmed as soon as she had arms around her. “Ok enough! enough!”
Mosh held up a hand and went over the rites of Lythandies's mending on Hari. His hands glowed a little after which he stepped back. “A little pick me up cutie! Hey boss make sure she doesn't lump me with those psychos on the first floor!”
Hari smiled and bowed to Mosh. Grunt gave the elf a thumbs up, then gestured with his eyes to Corvayne. She looked at Corvayne and blushed.
Mister I laughed. “Well now the young lady has a reason to find her way to us! Here... Corvayne tell her this card has my address. I think if she ended up on Cascadia we would have to have a barbeque!” Mister I handed her a card.
Corvayne repeated what was said and added after speaking: “I mean, if she didn't have a translator I think she'd be in trouble finding it, but it's a nice gesture.”
Hari mimed writing with her hands. “Do you have paper and a quill?”
Wick got what Hari wanted before she could speak and took out her phone. “Tell her to give me her address.”
“If you end up on Nal Fer'al, I live in the city of Geshi in the Terruit Empire. Ask for me at Uphine's book shop in the hill district.”
Corvayne dictated that to Wick while looking at Hari, who nodded at him that he had related everything correctly.
Hari had turned to him. “Sir Corvayne. You are very kind. My only regret of our dalliance was that it was too swift, and I wish you and Wick well.” She smiled then hugged Corvayne, sneaking a kiss on his cheek.
He felt his own cheeks warm, then dug in his pouch and pulled out one of the sport drink healing potions. “To keep you safe and... the bottle you wanted.”
She laughed and accepted it. “You remembered! Thank you. You think we'll be split up after we defeat the guardian?”
“That's what the Innkeeper had said. Last time we faced a small but potent dragon. If the same trial awaits us, the frozen sword we gave you wards against it's fire. I would advise our slower members to stay near the buildings if we face the same monster: It jumped up on one and breathed an arc of fire. Larger dragons can do the same trick I think too, on a much larger scale.”
They split their healing potions and Corvayne made sure his weapons were ready in the right spots so he could draw them quickly. He knew his shadowy limbs were clever in a way that they seemed to know when he needed a new weapon, but he wanted to make sure he could switch without them. He took the airfoil rapier off and passed it to Wick as he was more likely to need his spear or the cleaver assuming they fought the dragon again.
He felt a little nervous as he lead the way between the crates into the dark and emerged on a blue-grassed cube, smaller then the ones on floor 1 but obviously inspired by them. Other party members were fading in as they stepped through a locked wood gate, orange runes appearing as they stepped through. Looking across the field, he saw a huge hobgoblin standing there, clutching a blue stone battleaxe and waiting. It looked lanky like the one he had dispatched on the first floor. One difference was this one was wearing crude armadillo armor. It might not be as easy to score a fast kill with a heart shot. One other thing to note: given the battlefield, and some caves he could spot from where he was, there might be other goblins too.
Everyone was assembled. Corvayne noted they were on a pretty good defensible ramp, mirroring the boss's platform and the door out behind him. Grunt drew a metal bat and his real mace, slightly bent due to hard use.
“Get ready to shoot him. Me and Grunt up front. Wick and Mister I on the ramp. Mosh stay back, try to keep anything off the ramp that isn't us. Hari, wait until you see the boss's first trick, then attack with me. If hordes of goblins come out, Mister I and Wick pick them off, Grunt help them, I'll slow the big guy down.”
Grunt and Hari followed him as he stepped down the ramp onto what he thought of as the battlefield. He memorized the uneven terrain as best he could, then when about a third of the way across the arena motioned for Mister I to open fire. With a crack the boss took a shot to the head, knocking him back but then focusing his anger as the monster pulled his axe to his side.
“Scatter! Get off the platform!”
Mister I and Wick were stunned for a half beat but Mosh acted immediately, kicking them both then diving off the five foot drop. Wick rolled off and Mister I dove into a bush as the Hobgoblin completed a swing, sending a green axe blasting across the arena and blasting chunks of wood out of the walls around the door. Mister I was crouched and shot again, scoring a hit on the Hobgoblin's shoulder. The monster started charging across the ground, hollering which caused two groups of goblins with knives and axes to come boiling out of a cave charging.
“Grunt, take the left group! Everyone else right!” He dove forward to meet the Hobgoblin. The monster saw him running forward and hefted it's axe above it's head. Corvayne waited for it to start chopping then used [Flows-Like-Water] to dash forward. The monster could throw it's axe, but he still aimed to cripple the monster's leg as fast as possible. He managed to land two spear strikes as he dashed past the monster's right leg. The monster's axe crashed down a moment later, and Corvayne used a single [Cross-Skill: Backstab] on the same leg to add a third hole in the monster's leg. He then saw the beast pulling it's axe out of the ground and looking his way over it's shoulder. Corvayne guessed from it's pose it was going to backswing off a pivot. He moved to the other leg as the beast brought the axe back, actually almost above his head before the monster spun.
Corvayne ran in a circle and was perfectly placed to once again [Cross-Skill: Backstab] on the same leg, causing blood to start gushing from the monster as it cried out and fell to a knee. Corvayne used the moment to check his allies and saw Hari was fending one group of three remaining goblins off from Wick and Mister I. Grunt had killed all the goblins attacking him and was aiding the others. One little monster scored a hit on the huge man but not hard enough to both slice through his thick pants and do more then draw blood. Grunt was poised to crush the monster. Mosh stood specifically behind Grunt and waved his hands, undoing wounds while Grunt lined up with the giant hobgoblin.
He focused on the back on the large enemy, using [Flows-Like-Water] to simply move away on instinct as the monster tensed up then exploded into a whirling strike that looked like three different strikes. It was an axe technique that Mugs-Empty-Again had used. Probably called tornado of death or something. The Hobgoblin's whirl ended and the beast staggered. Corvayne didn't hesitate, drawing his cleaver. [Butcher] activated as he chopped at the already injured leg, and activated again. There was a crack as the bone in that monster's leg broke. Corvayne had a shred of empathy for the huge beast as it tried to get up without using that limb. He knew fighting a bunch of enemies with a broken leg was just not fun.
The hobgoblin couldn't use it's leg under it's knee but hadn't given up, instead bellowing and calling forth another group of goblins from caves. Corvayne thought he saw two groups of four with spears. Corvayne used [Cross skill: Flows-Like-Water] away from a poorly swung axe strike and then used his shadow limbs to hold his cleaver as he swapped to the fire breathing dagger and simply sprayed a group down with a torrent of red and blue flames. All four of the goblins ignited and fell to the ground unmoving. He then turned and saw the monster, even on one leg, pulling the huge battleaxe back while on his belly, readying [Whirling Axe]. Corvayne took his cleaver and activated [Cross-Skill: Fastball] from his throwing training. Hitting the monster's elbow normally would be a poor choice, but in this case the huge cleaver stuck to it's arm, causing it to fling the air blade harmlessly into the air when it swung. Corvayne didn't bother to draw his spear, running to the giant and leaping with his dagger.
On the monster's back, he used [Backstab] over and over, each impact blowing out chunks off monster until it's spasming fell still. He slowed down as the last twitch happened. He went to wipe the sweat from his brow and discovered he was covered in blood. He shrugged hopped off the monster's back to retrieve his cleaver. Everyone else was putting their weapons down as there were no more goblins. Corvayne also spotted that the door seals had faded. Thinking for a moment, Corvayne grabbed the huge axe the monster had. It's armor had been shredded by him into being useless. It would have been too big anyway for a person to wear. No other trinkets on it. Everyone looked like they were in good condition, so Corvayne turned to Hari.
“Hey Hari, I don't know if this will spit us out in the same spot... get home safe.”
She was breathing pretty hard. “Thank you Corvayne. You are a fine young knight.”
“If I wasn't covered in goblin blood my face would be pretty red.” He got out the blood rag and started mopping himself off as best he could, then dragged the titanic axe to the door. As he was about to go through, his mind went blank.
He fell through dark clouds, blue tinged with lightning, and slammed into the ground unharmed but without grace either, forming a ring of dust as he hit with his arms trying to protect his face. The stop without impact was jarring and he was surprised when he felt dirt under his hands. He looked up and saw he was once more in the middle of massive stone arches, stretching into the haze on hills above a thick mist. The dark sky rumbled as if any moment the swirling storm above him would break. He glanced about and saw near him the huge glowing blue figure he had seen last time. The thing had little waves of lightning sliding over it's armor. Even without a face, he could tell from the tilted helmet it was looking down at him.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“NOT. READY.”
With that it jetted off into the air, leaving him alone under clouds that crackled with distant thunder.
“At least let me ask what the heck is going on...” He stood and dusted himself off. Okay, so the gates did something to unlock a power, it seemed: He had gone through a shadowy gate and received shadows. He was pretty sure all the gates from before were there. He tried to imagine what they were offering: There was the gate leaking paint, and it had a paint brush. He was pretty sure it was paint: up close it smelled like it. He wasn't planning on being an artist, so that one didn't draw him to it. The one with air currents might be good. It's triple slash mark didn't tell him what it would give him. The webs... possibly useful, but he wanted to be sure that it wasn't a gate that turned him into a spider. The thought of being trapped in another world as a spider bothered him. The dark stoned one... he had no idea. Touching the stone past the thorns wrapped around it didn't tell him anything. The bear trap and arrows... perhaps it was a hunting skill? Mister I would be happy with it, but Corvayne hadn't had trouble finding food when walking to town. The previous gate with a magnifying glass on wood was replaced with something like a skeletal dragon wrapped around tombstones. Thick thorns swirled around it, and the gate was marked by a skull. He really wished he had some help with the results of going into a 'death' gate.
The big shadow gate was there too, closed again but without thorns. Near it was the other large gate he could get to, the one with the red mark on it, made of obsidian. The extra thorns on it made him wary. He decided to leave the two gates with more vines alone: The thought of pulling vines open and screwing up his arms to the point where he was bleeding to death alone... wherever this was... was not appealing. He was missing everything but his spear in this place, and it didn't help him clear the vines without getting hurt.
He didn't want to even risk becoming a spider, not even a little. The hunting skill was redundant. Paint he couldn't think of as useful. So, air current... a running skill... and the bowling ball webs one which could be anything. He had to admit... the bowling ball made him curious. So he set about using his spear to slash the door open, vines ripping and shredding his arms and legs even when he wasn't close to them. The pain was searing him but he grit his teeth and just kept going: he didn't think there was any other way out.
His arms and legs were covered in blood as the thorns all fell away and faded to nothing. He pushed the door open and the next thing he knew he was back where the boss had been, getting helped to his feet by Mister I and Grunt.
“Ah! Wick told us you'd sort of fainted last time. We'll join her if you wish to give Hari a private goodbye.” The monk winked. Mosh elbowed Corvayne.
He did sort of want to say goodbye with a little more certainty so he let them filter out then turned to Hari, who had stepped very close to him. “I think we'll see each other again. If the tower wanted us to meet once, it might do so again.”
“Didn't you say you loved me?” She smiled at him.
Corvayne folded his arms. “It doesn't count if it's under duress so ask me again next time. Also... I wouldn't dream of stealing Wick's girl.”
Hari came up close to him, pulled out a cloth, and wiped his face. “A shame for me. For I would declare my love for you.” She kissed him, and when she pulled back she looked embarrassed. He felt stunned as she backed away, then turned bright red and stumbled once before running through the door. was one of those people who tries to look cool but gets embarrassed midway though. There were a couple of people like that at his village.
Corvayne, now that she was gone, admitted he was a little confused by Hari. Maybe he was feeling a was a little bit of mania from the mend spell. Or a drive to forget what happened with her old party. He did like her, and if not for Wick he'd probably go for a nice girl like her. He hoped she got home okay.
Stepping through the exit he saw the group was opening a treasure chest placed on a picnic bench. The area was once more a clearing that looked like the ones in the park. The chest, once he looked, resembled a red metal toolkit. Hari was looking around. “I guess the split will happen afterwards...”
Wick laughed. “You wanna see the loot right?” She gestured at the chest, which Hari did pick up on.
“Well, since I'm here...” The elf woman stepped forward, cheeks still red.
Inside the chest was a blue steel short cutlass. Wick pulled it out of it's sheath, and frost formed on the blade. Hari accepted it then closed her eyes a moment. “Cutlass of frost. Same enchantment as the sword I got.”
Corvayne repeated it. Wick looked at Hari “Want to trade for your short sword again?”
She held up the Cutlass. Hari nodded and they swapped swords to give Wick back her original frost blade.
Next were camo pants and a jacket. Hari held them up. “Minor protection: makes them more durable.”
Wick looked at them. “I say Mister I.”
The monk took them before waiting for anyone else to say anything. “Ah! Many thanks! I wish they were a bathrobe, that would be comfortable!”
There was a six pack of beer. “Enchanted anti-hangover-”
Grunt gently pulled it out of Hari's hands.
“Wait, Corvayne didn't get a chance to tell him what it was!”
“I think we give it to him.”
Mosh coughs. “Maybe I wanted one, did you think of that boss?”
Grunt passed him a can. Mosh laughed as he accepted it. “See, that's why your the BEST big guy!”
The next item was a six pack of spearman brand condoms. Hari flipped the package around. “I don't know what these are... Investigate tells me these are blessed, but it says that it makes the wearer more sensitive... usually that's a cursed effect...”
Corvanye turned to everyone. “Magic condoms.”
Mosh raised a hand. “I humbly request those.”
Wick looks at them. “One for everybody.”
Hari looked at Corvayne. “What's a condom used for? Alchemy?”
“It prevents disease and pregnancy during sex.” He forced himself to respond seriously to her.
Hari laughed. “You have a strange sense of humor Corvayne.”
The last item she took out was a red orb about the size of a pool ball. She actually dropped it on the picnic bench when she tried to pull it out, sucking on her fingers. “It's really uncomfortable for me to touch. What are you?”
She leaned over the table and squinted down at it. “It's not... I can't get a reading on it.”
Corvayne offered, “So it's a mundane item?”
“No.... mundane things are gray. It's like I can't see it. It's very odd. I can look at an empty cube in front of me and it lists the vapors in them.”
Corvayne grabbed his towel and tried picking it up. The thing reminded him a little of the glass from the watcher's village.
“She says it doesn't have a reading... but it certainly is doing something. I say we shelve it as a long term investment then... I might try to aim for a skill like investigate because of how useful it's been...”
He started handing it to Wick, and when she got near it she backed away so fast it looked like she had been burned.
Wick cried out “What the hell!?” and her pulling away as he was handing it over meant it was slipping out of his hand.
Before he could think about it Corvayne caught it with his non gloved hand. Sharp pain came as the orb seared his skin and he tried to drop it, but the thing had merged into his hand. He felt intense pressure as it forced it's way up inside of his palm. It was painful but more then that, the discomfort of feeling his skin flow around it made him queasy. He tried to grab at it's with his other gloved hand to pull it out, but the then he felt the pain fade to nothing. The orb had vanished, even though it couldn't have fit fully inside his hand.
He looked at everyone else, who were all looking at him, stunned. He was sure in a moment his heart would explode, or he'd grow wings, or his hair would go pointy... instead the pain faded and he felt nothing.
“Any... any ideas what happened to me? Please?” He couldn't keep a tremor of fear out of his voice.
Mosh approached and looked him in the eyes, then stepped back. “Try summoning a sword or something.”
He did a few hand motions and tried to summon a blade. He did make his tentacles emulate his hand for a while. “I think... I'll be okay.” he said while having zero conviction it was true. He did not like being a guinea pig for untested things. A minute of worrying and after Mosh checking him with divine assistance it seemed there was nothing obviously wrong with him. If there was going to be, then there was nothing he could do. What was done is done. Next time: wear gloves on both hands before touching anything. The last item in the chest were six stacks of paper credits and six mundane brass rings.
“Damn, the dungeon just paid us each about six thousand credits. Not bad!”
Hari took a ring and slipped it on her finger. “No magic, but perhaps the magic of a promise for you to come visit, should you find yourself crossing worlds.”
Mosh took one too, not putting it on but instead taking a copper coin from his pouch and whispering to it. The coin seemed to melt into a line then Mosh weaved it around his finger forming a fine chain. He took his nail and spun through the ring, then put it on his neck with another gesture to clasp the ends together, forming a seamless necklace. “Right!”
Corvayne shrugged and placed the ring on his finger. “Fare thee well, friend.”
Wick winked. “Tell the freak we'll miss her.”
Hari waved, and was tearing up a little, then turned to the exit and walked out. The third time's the real one. For sure. He worried that she'd be waiting on the back of Mister I's truck, pointing to her ring and calling herself his wife. Wait, why was that a bad thing? Three weeks ago he'd have slain a roc with his bare hands to have two girls interested in him. How quickly he got spoiled.
Grunt stopped waving and took the giant axe and walked out on the gravel path too. Mosh ran after him, laughing. “Hah! Freedom! Maybe even flushing toilets!”
Mister I followed him while sounding offended. “We are not that primitive!”
Wick walked with Corvayne. She looked up at him. “You think we'll see her again? I kinda liked having another girl around. Even if she gets weird in bed.”
He shrugged then smiled. “Banner suggested these towers cross worlds. We might find her home if we keep exploring them.”
Her face darkened a little. “Maybe not too soon.”
“Wick was that a hint of jealousy?” They started down the wooded path that would spit them out at the parking lot. No hand holding.
“Your damn straight. It's one thing to date different people. Having them jump your boy toy in front of you... I got a little bit annoyed it wasn't me. Only a LITTLE bit.”
He was about to respond that she had nothing to worry about but then he considered how Wick thought. “You were annoyed you weren't on top of me or that you weren't under her?”
Wick laughed. “I'm glad you get me!”
They arrived from the passage of trees into the parking lot. Corvayne stopped dead as a high pitched wailing sound filled the air. It took him a moment to note that Hari was there, but she was mostly just shocked by the others arriving. No, it was Mosh who was sobbing.
Hari instead looked at Corvayne sheepishly, face now entirely red.
“I'm here! Uh... Do any of you have a spare room?”