Rosalyn had a problem. A problem that was steadily getting worse as the seconds ticked by. She was told to live and protect the mysterious black box that Mother Cham handed her, but she didn’t think she would be able to follow that order. With no firm destination in mind, Rosalyn had ran blindly into the foothills of the mountain range while the undead were steadily gaining ground on her.
Like all the other children in the area Rosalyn had grown up on this mountain playing in the valleys and shallow caves that were common on this side of the peaks, and none of the hiding places she could think of could offer sanctuary from the pursuing undead. She could keep running into the mountains themselves, but she was battered and bruised from two seperate explosions and the terrain was rugged and treacherous. It was a miracle that she wasn’t more hurt, but she knew the undead were tireless and they would easily run her down if she didn’t find somewhere to hide and rest. Unfortunately, she still didn’t have a destination in mind. Except… there was the deep cave. Yes, that was probably her only chance at life. She might be able to lose them in the deep cave.
The deep cave, as the local villagers called it, is an example of a naturally occurring phenomenon known as a “monster pit.” Pits are naturally occurring areas with so much ambient mana that it attracts creatures and can even mutate the surrounding flora and fauna creating monsters that are unique to that pit. Also, according to some adventurers in especially dangerous pits the monsters can literally spawn out of thin air, created by the mana lingering in the pit’s halls. Most of the time these creatures become hyper aggressive, but thankfully are generally content to stay in the area that spawned them as they become addicted to the mana in the air of a pit. Adventurers covet the locations of monster pits as materials and meat from the plants and animals inside a pit are usually worth huge sums of money for the magical and alchemical applications of their body parts. Even eating flesh from a pit beast can increase the power of one consuming the flesh, but they are incredibly dangerous to harvest.
That is why the cave entrance had been sealed. The fact that none of the several groups of adventurers that had passed through the village ever returned caused the local constable to seal the cave entrance to prevent children from going inside. This meant that this particular pit was not very well mapped, and no one knew what caused the build up of mana that mutated the creatures living in it. Of course, the children found a way inside regardless and regularly explored the large circular entryway. It was kind of an open secret which the adults largely ignored as the actual danger was past a sheer drop that would probably kill anyone who fell, but that didn’t stop the children from feeling extraordinarily brave for conquering the entrance.
Squeezing through a gap in the wood barricade and rushing past the warning signs, Rosalyn stood over the drop and instantly had second thoughts. Maybe the horde would pass her by? No, that was foolish thinking. She had to get as far away as possible. “Oh, this is a terrible idea…” she mumbled… then Rosalyn heard it. The sound of pursuit. She heard the unnatural slap, slap, slap and hissing of some abomination that was chasing her. Her mind raced at the possibilities of what could be making such a noise and she decided it was best to not find out. They were coming for the box and it was now her duty to protect it from the lich and his minions. She instinctively knew that she was being hunted and her only chance at survival was to put as many obstacles in between her and her pursuers as she could.
She frantically searched the edge of the cliff for a safe way down, but none became evident. Suddenly scratches and hissing erupted from the other side of the wooden wall covering the entrance to the pit. She saw claws snake into the cracks in the construction and rip out large chunks of wood. She didn’t have long, so without thinking about the consequences too deeply she adjusted her satchel and made a rather rash decision. For Mother Cham and all the other slain members of her family, she would keep the lich’s prize as far away as she could from his evil grasp and if she was fated to fail and die then she was going to make them work for their prize as much was in her power.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
She jumped.
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Serena was bored. Of course, she was always bored, that was basically the point of imprisoning an immortal being such as her self. To torture your captive with boredom and prevent them from doing the things they loved to do. Letting out a sigh Serena rolled her bulk and rested on her back. She stared at the translucent barrier that had kept her locked up for… she wasn’t sure. A century? Time tends to get a bit fuzzy when you are at the bottom of a dark hole for such a long time.
Focusing her will on the tiny holes in the mesh of the spell holding her, she extended her power throughout the cave system to see what was happening in paradise today. Some days she really regretted being functionally immortal, but there was nothing to be done about that. She knew that she couldn’t die here. Even if it took a thousand years for the spells to wear down enough for her to leverage her own power enough to break them. She was the last and she had a duty to live on.
Creating her favorite avatar, a small blue wisp, Serena slowly floated past the nest of her only companions. She greeted the current Matriarch of the Snare Setter kobold tribe and asked about the state of affairs. Despite her reverence for Serena they chatted amiably, as the Matriarch knew that Serena didn't really care about any kind of formality. They worshipped her as a sort of god, but she didn’t really get involved in the minutiae of their everyday affairs. They were perfectly capable of taking care of themselves despite each individual kobold’s low combat potential, as many groups of very unlucky adventurers had found out. Kobolds really just wanted to be left alone mostly, but woe unto the group of very edible people who intruded on that. Looking around she saw a couple of hatchlings wrestling in one side of the large common area. When they noticed that she was watching they starting doing flips and cartwheels to try and impress her. She told them how smart and talented they were and after a few moments of watching the continuing antics of the young kobolds she bid farewell and started moving her awareness towards the entrance.
Maybe she would get to watch some of the village kids play at the entrance? That was her most favorite thing. Something about watching them fight pretend monsters and save imaginary damsels really made her biological clock tick in a strange way that the kobold hatchlings didn’t. If she ever got out, maybe she would adopt a few orphans? It might be a nice distraction while she finished her other project. After so many years she really didn’t hold a grudge against the humans that trapped her here anymore. They were more than likely all dead after so much time, so what was the point? Regardless, she needed to check the wards that kept the nastier animals and plants from making the entrance dangerous.
Musing on the short life spans of humans, Serena was shocked to see one of the village kids… Rosaline she thought… at the edge of the cliff. It had been several years since she had been in her cave. Serena wondered why she was here now. She looked like she had crawled out of a warzone, and there was a terrible scratching noise coming form the blockade that the adults had put over the cave entrance. Before she could wink her avatar out and get into a good position to watch what was going on though the girl took a panicked look behind her and jumped off the cliff edge.
Panicking herself, Serena moved her avatar to intercept the girl with only one thought in her mind.
“Humans are crazy.”