James was rarely ever mad, and he rarely showed it went he did but when he woke up he was mad. His head hurt and the day had not been great for him thanks to the bickering novices and their lackluster skills. When he opened his eyes he saw Naomi watching over him.
“Where is the brat?” James asked as he sat up.
“He ran off to fight the skeletons and ‘prove himself good enough’ about a minute ago when you first knocked yourself out. I think he just wanted to get away from you and his consequences. Derek decided to stick with him to ‘keep him safe’ but he hasn’t needed it for a while.”
“So, it is just the two of you then?”
“For now, until we catch up to him. He went that way, but I don’t know where he went from there.”
Naomi pointed toward a ridge where scattered bones lay. James stood and turned towards the ridge. Under his feet and pointed towards where she pointed ran a new crack in the ground only about an inch wide and deep. Surrounding the crack, the ground was even more dried and light than the surrounding area.
“That’s new,” said James, “Our first priority is the safety of the two of you followed by regrouping with Ian and Derek. They may be disobeying but they are still mine and your responsibility. They will likely head towards the exit gate since Ian already knows where it is and the next few gates. We will try and cut them off since I can make and follow a more direct path there.”
James took off his bag and brought out a potion for Wes.
“This is for your speed. Throw your shield on your back. We won’t need it for now. They already have a bit of a lead on us. Understood?”
“We understand,” answered Naomi as Wes drank the potion.
James started his jog and Naomi and Wes followed. He kept the pace quick but not so much that Wes with his shield and bag on his bag was falling behind. The three of them stayed quiet as they ran. Around them in small groups of three or four skeletons wandered. Whenever they got too close or were directly in the way James fired off arrows destroying them without slowing down. None of his arrows missed always hitting the head dead on.
Occasionally they passed groups of scattered bones some of which were charred and shattered.
“Why haven’t the bones been removed by the dungeon yet?” Naomi asked as they ran.
“It is a feature of the dungeon. You can see it when we pass the next set of destroyed skeletons. Only the jawbone will disintegrate. There are some theories for it, but most prescribe to the idea that the left-over bones add to the theme and atmosphere of death this floor creates. Similar things will happen on the lower undead floors. The extra bones also add to the ones laying around. If I had more time I could show you one of the dungeon’s reanimation traps where the skeletons pop up from the ground and well reanimate.”
“Perhaps. I would like to learn more about this dungeon and its history. That was before I was paired with this group of course. It has already been quite expansive in the enemies and environments. I already know that I will need to come back another time to experience the scale of the lower floors. Is it true that one of the floors contains an entire mountain?”
“That would be floor 27. It is also one of the endurance floors with some goal pieces mixed in. Have you encountered one of them before?”
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
“I have dealt with the goal and puzzle-based floors before, and I assume Ian and Derek have done the same. I haven’t experienced an endurance floor before. I can’t say whether they have as well.”
“I haven’t done either,” Wes muttered.
“That’s ok. I don’t expect you to have especially with only one dungeon and zero finished under your belt. As for endurance floors, they are usually simple in concept and design. That doesn't mean they are easy. They can be deadly if not prepared for correctly. The simplest example would be floor 21 of this dungeon. It is a single hiking trail along which there is only one set path as you deal with the snow and many environmental hazards. The three-mile path can normally be run most of the time by experienced delvers, but it takes most at least an hour. Once you can start reaching the endurance floors for any dungeon then you are pushing into the upper tiers of novices.”
“How are we expected to get through areas like that? I don’t think any of us brought stuff like that except for Ian because he prepared himself to go all the way to the drake just in case.”
“With preparation and knowledge that you can likely get to the floors that you plan for. It also helps that once you are out of your novice period more information is available for you about dungeon floors, enemies, tactics, and the like. In all honesty, if you guys had better teamwork and weren’t fighting then you could be one of the better teams. Even reaching the 17th floor is a great accomplishment. Many petters out and become too exhausted to finish the 15th floor. You have got to remember that getting as far down as possible in dungeons is not a sprinting race but a long-distance one. Just because you can clear the first floors quickly doesn’t mean you can do – Wait.”
James slowed down and paused his eyes focusing on the distant hills.
“I see them up ahead.” He let out a sigh of relief knowing that Derek and Ian weren’t dead yet.
“What do you mean I don’t see anything,” said Wes.
“I don’t actually see the two of them but the changes in mana in the air are definitely Ian and I can see some death energy as well. We better get down there.”
James saw Ian and Derek first and then the others did. Together they were fighting the skeleton knight and were almost finished. The skeletal knight was covered in gray armor that was fused to its body while not impeding its movement. One of its arms lay on the ground holding its shield severed by Derek’s sword. The other was swinging wildly now trying to hit anyone before it fell.
Ian kept a constant barrage of flame going melting the metal armor and causing it to warp and bend limiting the knight’s ability to move in turn. It was all for naught, yet before Derek had a chance to finish it off an arrow whizzed by and then there was a bright flash. The knight disintegrated into light instead of mana under James’s arrow.
Ian barely had time to look over before James had moved to his side and was grabbing his robe collar. Ian tried to shift but James’s grip was firm.
“Hey! Let go of me.”
Ian resumed his struggle, but James tightened his grip and spun Ian around while taking hold of Ian’s staff.
“I will do no such thing and you know it. You have had your fun going a level lower than you should have but we are leaving. All of us. Now, what do you have to say for yourself?”
“I just wanted to get to the drake and kill it. I know I could have. You saw how I was handling the knight. If we had more time it could have been dealt with. Now you have ruined my chance this time.
“You’ve already ruined more than that for yourself. Novices are already on probation. I don’t know what you have pulled in the past, but this incident won’t fly you might not be able to delve again for quite a while. And fighting that skeleton knight by yourself was foolish. I can’t be expected to do my job if you don’t stay close and run away. And what would have happened if you'd killed it? Your ego would be overinflated then you would have run off to run the minotaur maze. No doubt with a map to the possible paths in your pocket. Have you ever thought of your actions? You have personally dropped your teammates' scores by several points. But you ignore that, and you wail about your failed opportunity to see the drake. But are you going to see it? Your failed skills, your inability to follow instructions and work with your teammates don't show me that you have the skill to get there. Now I don’t want to hear-”
“Um, sir.”
“What is it, Derek?”
James sighed.
“The exit portal isn’t on yet. Shouldn’t it have turned on by now?”
James spun his head around. The two portals were side by side and identical in every way except the one on the right glowed its normal blue. The other on the left was silent in sound and color.