Time froze as Jak fell into blackness. Jak floated in the nothingness, until he heard a rumbling voice.

“Hmm, what do we have here? My, my, my. What a lot of potential.”

“Who is that? Who’s there?” Jak shouted, panicked.

The voice ignored him, continuing on its monologue.

“What a lot of options for you. You could do much with many of the gifts I could bestow on you. What would you like, I wonder?”

“Like? Gifts? Who are you? What are you giving me?”

“Ahh, I sense your true self. You don’t want power to destroy, or power to rule. Your truest goal is what? Adventure? Is that all?” the voice carried on talking, seeming unable to hear Jak.

Jak calmed himself, trying to understand what was happening. Was this the dungeon?

“Are you talking about me? Are you giving me my stamp?”

The voice didn’t react to his questions, but Jak imagined that he felt something probing his mind.

“Hmm, I see you now. You desire to be renown and remembered forever. You want to complete the dungeon, don’t you? Why yes, I sense it. I have the perfect gift for you.”

The energy probing him mind left off and Jak felt it move onto his arm, seeming to wrap around his wrist.

“You want it, don’t you? Here, take it. Seize it. Make it yours. This gift will give you the power you truly desire. You will be strong. Perhaps strong enough to achieve your aim. But you will suffer for it. Oh, yes, you will have to sacrifice for it. But it will be enough to aid you.”

With that, the energy circling his wrist suddenly burnt, making Jak shout out in pain. Suddenly, the darkness disappeared and he appeared in the dungeon, holding Heth’s arm.

“That sucked” Jak said to Heth, letting go of his arm as he did and looking to his wrist. On his wrist he saw bright red image of a snake wrapping around his wrist and biting its own tail. It seemed to glow, shifting colours slowly. Finally, it dimmed, leaving a golden snake around his wrist.

“What did you get?” Heth asked him excitedly. “I got a bow! And it’s got two arrows nocked on it!”

“It’s a snake, all around my wrist. Is that normal?”

He put out his wrist, showing it to Heth, who put him wrist next to him. Heth’s mark was indeed a bow with two arrows, a green image on his inner wrist.

“I guess it shows that you should keep using you bow, Heth. But what does this mean? A snake? I should look for animals?”

“I’m telling you now, Jak, I’m not adventuring with you if you start carrying a snake around. They give me the creeps.”

They both chuckled, then started looking around the dungeon they were in. It seemed like a low roofed cave, with stalactites hanging down almost to their head height. The floor and walls were rough, but they seemed normal. There didn’t seem to be a light source, but the cave wasn’t dark somehow, as they could still see their surroundings.

“This is amazing!” Heth said excitedly. “It’s like being in a real cave!”

Heth was right. While Jak knew he was in a dungeon, it felt like a cave. Jak could even feel a slight breeze blowing on his back. When he turned, the strange blue light that they had entered through had disappeared, to be replaced by a typical cave mouth. It seemed so real that Jak reached out to touch it, feeling a strange resistance as he did. A flash of blue light glowed as he did, making the strange blue gate appear. A message appeared in his mind

[Do you wish to exit?]

Jak pulled his hand back and the message disappeared. He turned to Heth, who was staring down the tunnel. He was about to speak to him, before he saw Heth preparing his bow. Immediately wary, he asked Heth quietly “is something there?”

“Maybe” Heth whispered back. I think I can see something moving, but I’m not sure. I think the dungeon turns over there, so I can’t be sure.”

“Well, let’s check it out! Just like we practiced, right?”

“Alright, I’ll stick to the right, so I can shoot past you. Ready?” Heth asked.

Jak readied his club and shield, holding them loosely. He moved past Heth and started moving down the tunnel cautiously. As he approached the turn in the tunnel, he saw what Heth had seen. A single skeleton was walking back and forward randomly, seemingly with no purpose. Jak slowed as he approached it, walking as quiet as possible. He got to dozen feet away from it before it reacted to his presence by turning its head and staring directly at him. A light glowed in its eye-sockets briefly, but disappeared at Jak stepped back again, and the skeleton started to ignore him again. Jak moved back to where Heth was aiming his bow at the skeleton and started whispering.

“It looks like it’s only going to attack us if we get close to it. Why don’t you try shooting it so we can see if we can get an easy kill on it?”

“I dunno, Jak. I don’t know if my arrows will do much to it” Heth said doubtfully.

Regardless, he brought his bow up and aimed carefully at the skeleton’s head. He released, with the arrow speeding towards the skeleton. As the arrow got within a dozen feet of the skeleton, it’s head snapped around to look at it. However, it wasn’t fast enough to stop the arrow, which struck it directly, knocking it back. The skeleton stumbled then stood up again and starting towards the pair in a stumbling jog. As it approached, Jak moved to stand in front of it, holding his shield up to block it. The skeleton swung it’s arm at Jak, trying to scratch him. Jak blocked the strike on his shield, grunting and stumbling slightly at the force of the hit. He quickly balanced himself then pushed the skeleton back with his shield, making it stumble away. As he did, Heth fired another arrow at it, which glanced off it’s shoulder, making it stumble even more.

“It’s not working, Jak. The arrows don’t do anything to it!” Heth’s voice sounded panicked.

“Relax, Heth. It’s just like in training.”

Jak pushed the skeleton with his shield again, knocking it further off balance. As it stumbled, he swung hard with his club, cracking the bones in the arm that the skeleton hastily threw up to defend itself. He swung again, cracking the bone even more, but failed to block the swipe that the skeleton made in return. Its fingers left long cuts down his arm, which stung but didn’t bleed much.

“Shit! That’s not fun!” he swore as Heth fired another arrow at the skeleton, hitting the cracked bone in its arm, which promptly broke and fell off.

“Haha! Hit! Get it, Jak!” Heth shouted in excitement.

As Jak swung again, the skeleton jerked its body, as though trying to block with its missing arm. Jak’s swing hit the skeleton directly in its face, cracking the bones there. Jak swung again, as the skeleton struggled to block itself with its one remaining arm. His club crashed right through the skeletons arm and into its skull again, knocking it off the body. As the head separated, the entire skeleton collapsed into a pile of bones, with the light in the skeleton’s eye sockets going dark for a final time.

Jak and Heth panted in exhaustion from the fight, before Jak turned to Heth.

“See, I told you! Just like in practice!”

Heth laughed back at him as he replied “it definitely feels more real. I’m just amazed it was so easy.”

Jak looked at his arm, seeing the long scratches that the skeleton had given him.

“I don’t know I would call that easy. It was only one skeleton, and it was a weak one at that. The ones that Master Dalem used to bring to training were harder than that.”

“Ahh, don’t worry so much, Jak.” Heth replied. “Are you going to heal your arm, or do you want me to?”

Jak looked at the scratches again, which were still leaking a bit of blood.

“I’ve got it.”

Jak focused, and cast one of the only spells he knew, the most basic healing spell. It wasn’t enough to fix the scratches, but it healed them enough to make them stop bleeding and to take most of the pain out of them. He stared at his arm, as the scratches changed to look like they were several days old, then frowned.

“I’m not so sure about this, Heth. That was just one skeleton, and it did that. If there had been two, or if it had been stronger, then we would’ve had a real problem. Maybe we should find someone to heal us.”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“It’ll be fine, Jak” Heth replied airily. “You heard Madame Cleclava. For this floor, we’ll be fine.”

Jak frowned doubtfully, but before he could speak, Heth continued.

“Anyway, we should see if the skeleton had anything!”

Both boys quickly started searching the pile of bones, but apart from a ragged leather belt that the skeleton had been wearing, there was nothing there. Jak held up the belt, examining it.

“What do you think, Heth?”

“Well, it’s not my style, but it seems like your style. You know, ripped and broken.” Heth mocked Jak playfully. Jak punched him in the shoulder, grinning.

“Whatever. I’m gonna keep it as a trophy of our first proper fight.”

Jak stuffed the ragged belt into his backpack, then picked up his shield and club again.

“Let’s get moving, Heth.”

“Alright, I’ll lead, then jump back behind you if something comes, so stay on the left.”

Having planned their formation, the two set off again, traveling through the tunnels again. After a short walk, Heth put up his hand to stop Jak, then quickly crouched and pulled him down.

“Did you see it?” he hissed at Jak.

“Where?” Jak whispered back quietly, not doubting Heth. Long experience had shown them both that Heth’s sight and hearing were better than Jak’s, which was why Heth had chosen to become an archer.

“About 100 feet ahead of us, there seems to be some sort of cave. I saw something in there. Wait! There it is again!”

Jak stared into the darkness of the dungeon. Although it wasn’t as dark as he had expected, as they had moved away from the entrance, the tunnels had gotten darker, making it hard for Jak to see that far.

“I don’t like it, Heth. I don’t think I’m gonna be able to see it until we’re almost on top of us.”

“Hmm, that’s true. I don’t think I could even shoot it from here, not in a single shot. And if it’s like the skeleton, as soon as we attack it, it will start the fight.”

Heth and Jak stared into the darkness, until finally Heth sighed.

“I guess there’s nothing for it. We’ll have to do the light arrow.”

“Won’t that just make it attack us? Besides, Master Dalem always said that it was stupid solution to fighting in the dark.”

“He’s just jealous that I thought of it! Besides, unless you want to just go out there and attack it, I don’t think we have another option.”

Jak sighed, before agreeing with Heth. Heth nocked and arrow, then drew it back. As he did, Jak cast his light spell, attaching it to the arrow. Heth fired the arrow, making it hit the ground well in front of the monster he had seen. The arrow bounced and then bounced again, finally stopping a few feet from the monster. The light from the basic light spell that Jak had been taught as part of the training was enough to illuminate most of the cave, which was a rough dome, about 20 feet in diameter. Jak and Heth both stared at the monster, which was some sort of beast. It looked vaguely like a dog, with patchy brown fur, but it’s rear legs were almost absurdly oversized, as was its head, with tiny black eye, a large bulbous nose and a wide, slobbering jaw.

“Ahh, crap. It’s a Hynous.”

“Shit, shit, shit!” Jak swore. “I hate these things.”

“Don’t worry, it doesn’t seem like its realised we’re here. The arrow must not have been enough to make it attack us, since it didn’t hit it.”

Jak realised that Heth was right. The cave-dwelling monster didn’t seem to know what to do with the light spell on the arrow. It was staring at it, moving forwards in a sort of shuffling hop to sniff at it.

“Do you think it will smell us?”

“Nooo, I don’t think so. Remember, it’s a dungeon monster, not a real monster. It probably doesn’t really use it’s sense of smell to hunt, so it’s just acting on reflex right now.”

Jak remembered the lessons that Master Dalem had given them about dungeon monsters and agreed with Heth. While a real Hynous would definitely have smelt and attacked them by now, dungeon monsters always followed the rules of the dungeon, and they were clearly too far away from the waist height monster for now.

“What should we do about it?” Jak asked Heth in a whisper. “I don’t wanna run out there. Those things can jump way too fast for me to hit it with my club.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll shoot it in the back leg to stop it from jumping. Then you just stay by the entrance to the tunnel and hit it if it gets too close, while I shoot it. Hopefully, it’ll never get close to us.”

Jak frowned at Heth.

“Are you sure you can make that shot? I know you’re good, but this isn’t like the practice targets.”

Heth gulped, as he looked at the beast.

“I’ll get it, you just watch! Now, get ready. Remember, just focus on keeping it out of the tunnel. Ill keep shooting at it.”

Heth nocked an arrow, drew back and carefully took aim. He tracked the beasts movements, trying to predict where it’s leg would be. Finally seeing his chance, he loosed the arrow! Unfortunately, the beast moved the wrong way, and the arrow that was supposed to disable its leg instead hit it in its side, until its ribs. It went in deep, making the beast howl in pain and surprise. The hynous quickly turned and started towards the two boys.

“Crap! You missed, Heth!”

“I know, I know! But it’s fine! A shot like that should be enough to slow it down!”

Indeed, while the monster was hopping towards them, it wasn’t the huge jumps that the beast was famous for.

Jak braced himself, holding his shield up. As he did, Heth fired another arrow, this time hitting the beast’s shoulder. It snarled in pain, then quickly bit down on the arrow and broke it. As it did, Heth shot it again, this time only scratching its face, as the beast moved again. The beast finally made it to the tunnel entrance and lunged forwards, biting at Jak. He blocked it with his shield, then pushed it as hard as he could, forcing it back. Jak moved back into his position, focusing on keeping the beast out of the tunnel.

While Jak did this, Heth was busy lining up another shot. As the beast stumbled back, Heth shot it again, finally hitting it’s overgrown rear leg. The beast howled in pain again, and finally slowed down, limping at them again.

“Got it! Quick! Hit it, Jak!”

Jak leapt forwards, swinging his club as hard as he could at the beast’s head. The beast was unable to move in time to dodge and took the blow directly to its face, spraying blood around the cave. Jak swung again, but the beast dodged back, before lunging again. Jak blocked the lunge, but the force of the blow knocked him off his feet and onto his back. The beast tried to jump on him, but Jak kept shield between the two of them, holding the beast off of him. As he did, Heth fired a final arrow, piercing the beasts head and killing it. The hynous slumped down, but Jak quickly pushed it away with his shield, before he stood up again.

“I bagsies that you fight the next one” he said, groaning at his sore muscles.

“Don’t be such a wimp, Jak!” Heth replied, laughing. “You didn’t even get a scratch.”

“Yeah, but falling over hurts, and injures muscles. And you know that the healing spell we have won’t fix that. That could’ve been bad.”

“But it wasn’t. Sure, it didn’t go quite as planned, but the tactics we learnt in training worked just fine. Anyway, do you think that thing has treasure or anything?”

Jak sighed at his friend.

“How would it have treasure? What would it even do with it? But if you want to look, go ahead.”

Heth made a rude gesture at Jak, before moving forwards. He quickly pulled out his arrows, checking to see if they were still good, before cleaning them and putting them away. Then he looked at the beast’s corpses, before saying “I think you’re right. Nothing there.”

While Heth did that, Jak looked around the room, seeing if there was treasure of some kind. Finding, nothing, Jak stood and stretched, while he waited for Heth. Seeing that he was ready, Jak moved to the opposite side of the save they had entered from, then looked down the tunnel. Only 20 feet from the cave, the tunnel became too dark for Jak to see.

“What do you want to do? Torch it?”

“Yeah, I think so. You hold the torch, while I lead. Keep your shield ready and we’ll see what happens.

They slowly made their way through the tunnels of the dungeon. The tunnels twisted and turned, entering caves every so often. Most caves had a beast or a skeleton in them, which Jak and Heth defeated using the same techniques they had used before. They continued onwards, until they finally came to a huge cavern, which had lit torches around the outside. They crouched down as far from the cave as possible while still being able to see into it, putting out their torch to keep themselves hidden.

“What can you see?” Jak asked Heth.

“Well, it’s not good. It’s big. Very big.”

Jak gulped, nervously. “What is it?”

“It’s a skeleton. Big. With a sword.”

The skeleton was six foot tall and wielding a two-handed sword almost as big as Jak was. It was wearing an old, rusted chain shirt and a holey helmet.

“Crap. This is gonna hurt, isn’t it?”

“I think we can handle it. I think if you move in and go left, I’ll move right and shoot it as it moves towards you. If we time it right, we can keep it off guard while we try to crack a leg or something.”

“And what if it goes for you, Heth?”

Heth shrugged nonchalantly.

“I’ll run towards you, so make sure you hit it as it goes past!”

Laughing, they both prepared themselves and moved towards the entrance to the cavern. Jak stepped through first and immediately moved left. As he did, the skeleton stared at him, a burning light in each eye socket. Jak stepped around the edge of the cavern, while the skeleton followed him with its burning eyes. He glanced over to see Heth, bow drawn, and then moved forwards. As soon as he stepped closer, the skeleton moved towards him, raising it’s sword and pulling the sword back in preparation to swing. At that moment, an arrow from Heth slammed into its shoulder, making it stumble forwards. Jak took the opportunity to swing at its leg. His first blow struck its knee solidly, leaving faint cracks. Jak moved to strike again, but then had to duck as the huge sword swung over his heard with a faint hiss of air parting.

Jak jumped back and shouted to Heth.

“A bit of help here!”

“I’m trying!” Heth shouted back. As he did, he fired another arrow, striking the skeleton’s back, which made it stumble slightly but nothing else. The skeleton swung at Jak again, forcing him to dive out of the way. He rolled, trying to get out of the follow up chop he was expecting, but it never came. He stopped rolling and saw that the skeleton had moved to attack Heth, who had hit it with another arrow. As Jak stood up, the skeleton lashed out at Heth, who dodged backwards and then started running around the outside of the cave. The skeleton chased after it in a jog, doing well at keeping up with Heth.

“Get ready!” he shouted.

Jak stood back, dropping his shield and grasping his club in two hands. He pulled back as Heth approached, then swung low as he passed, just in time to take out the large skeleton’s leg. It fell forwards, rolling over and landing on its back. Jak raised his club to attack the skeleton’s head, but the skeleton blocked his blow with its arm, then swung at him with its sword. He dodged back again, jumping back and picking up his sword. The two boys moved away from the skeleton, waiting to see if it would get up again.

The skeleton stood, turning to Jak, the light in its eyes burning angrily. The lights grew brighter, then the skeleton suddenly lifted its sword in both hands then quickly sliced down. As it did, the sword burst into fire!

“Crap, crap, crap! This isn’t good!” Heth shouted as he drew his bow. He fired, but the skeleton blocked it with the flaming sword. Jak moved forwards to draw its attention as the skeleton swung the sword at him. He blocked the blow with his shield, but was forced back by the power of it. The skeleton lifted the burning blade again, when suddenly an arrow from Heth struck it in the leg, making it stumble forwards. As it did, Jak attacked again, crashing his club into the skeleton’s arm. It stumbled again, then lashed out, punching at Jak’s face. Jak managed to raise his shield, but the hit knocked him back, making him stumble backwards. He jumped back as far as he could, as the skeleton swung at him again. He jumped back again, then turned to face the skeleton again. The skeleton stepped towards him, but it was slower than before, limping on the leg that he had struck before.

“It’s working!” Heth shouted excitedly, as he fired another arrow, smacking into the skeleton’s leg again, which cracked more. As the skeleton turned to face Heth, Jak stuck the leg again, finally breaking the knee, which made the skeleton fall over. It caught itself as it fell forwards, trying to lift itself up again, but Jak took the opportunity and smashed his club down onto its head, once, twice, then a final time, which smashed it loose from the body, killing it once and for all!