On instinct, Cooper barked when he spotted the person launching a sneak attack at Gregory.
Gregory somehow felt the bark was a warning, and jumped, rolling forward. His body still ached a little, but the time in the wagon and a night in a real bed had helped immensely.
A man with a huge club stood before him, facing Gregory while Cooper growled behind him.
Gregory glanced over at Olivander, who seemed to be having fun side-stepping attacks from an increasingly flustered man with a pair of swords. Olivander caught his gaze, and gave him a thumbs up.
“I don’t know what trouble Verris got into, but it seems like I need to take care of you, boy.”
The man looked just a few years older than Gregory, and they were virtually the same size, so Gregory didn’t understand why he had called him “boy.”
Gregory scrambled to his feet, pulling out his [Channeling Sword of the Desert Wyrm].
“Fancy blade, but it won’t help you!”
The thug charged at him, and he jumped back.
They were the same size, but that club was far larger than his sword, there was no way he could block it, and was willing to bet a hit from it would break bones.
Cooper was less hesitant. He lunged forward, biting the man in the calf.
The thug yelled and turned to swipe at Cooper. Gregory capitalized on the opening, lashing out with two somewhat practiced strikes. Olivander had been teaching him how to hold a blade, and make basic strikes, but he didn’t have any combat experience to go with the new knowledge. He would have to put things together as he went.
The sword wasn’t strong enough to cut through the man’s high constitution, but it left angry red welts when it struck, courtesy of the power inherent to the blade
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* When not channeling spells, this sword does additional scorching damage.
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The thug was clearly frustrated, unable to reach Cooper behind him while trying to fend of sword strikes from the front. He let out an ability enhanced shout.
Cooper yelped as he was tossed away, and Gregory felt the concussive impact rattle his bones before he was pushed away as well. He kept his feet, unlike Cooper, who had rolled to a stop some distance away.
“Are you ok, Cooper!?” he shouted, brow wrinkled with worry.
“Ouch.”
He was alive at least, and able to speak, or think? Gregory wasn’t sure how that worked. His attention snapped back just in time to throw himself into a roll and avoid another club strike. A cloud of dust was kicked up by the club and Gregory tried to get some distance.
What else can I do? Can I channel just plain old mana into the sword? Will that do anything?
The thug spotted him as the dust began to settle. Gregory let his mana push into the blade, it was a similar sensation as when he push the mana through his finger.
He just sidestepped another overhead blow from the club and lunged forward.
The thug’s flesh sizzled where the blade struck, his extra mana enhancing the sword’s original effect.
The thug yelled and then caught Gregory on the chest with a backhand, letting go of his club.
Gregory was tossed away like a swatted fly. He saw stars as he tumbled to a stop against a nearby wagon. His vision swam.
When it cleared moments later, the man with the club was standing before him.
“You are trouble, aren’t you? Not strong enough to matter though.”
The man brought his club up high, ready to strike.
This is a sad way to go. At least I didn’t run, Gregory thought.
The thug brought his hands down in a powerful smash, but his club continued hanging in the air.
“Huh?”
“That’s quite enough of that,” Olivander said, walking out from behind a wagon.
“Where’s Verris?”
“Who?”
“The man you were fighting!” the thug yelled.
“No idea honestly. I have a terrible spell that I save for people who actually manage to anger me. Would you like to see it?”
To his credit, the thug seemed to consider for a moment. Then his anger and stupidity got the better of him, and he tried to punch Olivander. A portal opened, and the thug vanished.
“Where did you send him?” Gregory said. He slurred his words slightly, and thought that part of his face might be swollen.
“It’s like I told him. I have no idea. In my youth, I developed a spell that I thought would be hilarious. It opens a portal to a random destination. I cannot control it, and it doesn’t seem to ever be the same place twice.”
“That seems a bit harsh.”
“Yes, it's not quite as funny as I had hoped, but that man was about to cave your skull in. I could have just killed him.”
“Now that you mention it, yeah. Thanks Olivander.”
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“No thanks required! I was the kindling that started this fire, so it's only right that I put it out.”
Olivander walked over to Cooper, who was still dazed, but had moved into a laying on his side position.
“Sorry about that Cooper. Good job warning Gregory though, great instincts. Let’s get you patched up.”
Olivander used a healing ritual spell that Gregory had seen him use before. He wondered if he would be able to learn that. Was it just a ritual?
“You two get back to the wagon and rest up. Tomorrow is going to be a big day! I need to find the caravan leader and apologize for the disturbance.”
Olivander walked away.
“Wait! You didn’t heal me,” Gregory called, but Olivander was already gone.
“Blasted man. Can you walk Cooper? I might need you to pull me into the wagon.”
* * *
Olivander did eventually heal Gregory, and he and Cooper fell asleep quickly, not waking until the next morning.
The two climbed out of the cabin to find the scenery had changed slightly. The Caravan had brought the wagons into a half circle, and there was a large cookfire at the center. People were gathered around, talking and eating breakfast.
Gregory took in the shimmering wall, he had seen it yesterday, but he had been too distracted trying not to die to appreciate it properly. It was massive, and stretched off into the distance on either side of the road.
Olivander wandered up, setting a plate on the ground, and handing one to Gregory.
“Today, you get breakfast.”
“What is this thing?”
“Magical anomaly. Basically the mana in this area has gone too far out of balance. When that happens there’s a reflexive action that happens. You get a big bubble, and eventually it contracts all the unbalanced mana that it has soaked up, and forms a temporary dungeon with it.”
“A temporary dungeon?” Gregory asked, starting to eat some of the eggs on the plate. There wasn’t any bacon, but there was a fried potato.
“Indeed. They’re rare, because mana rarely goes out of balance without something triggering it. It will offer some unique challenges. That’s why you’re getting breakfast! Fuel up boys, you’re going to need it.”
“What! I’m not ready for a dungeon! Are you coming with?”
“You aren’t ready? What have you been doing for the last week?”
“Well, I’ve been working hard, but I don’t know if—”
“Let me stop you right there. You’re never going to be completely ready. You need to push yourself, and you’re not going to get that with some morning runs and pushups. That’s why you came on this trip. You and Cooper are going to go in there and clear this dungeon!”
“I’m doing what now?” Cooper’s attention focused on Olivander as he finished his breakfast.
“You’ll be joining Gregory. It’s one of the fun activities I promised you.”
“Gregory seems a little nervous about this…is it safe?”
“Probably not. Listen, Cooper, you want a class right?”
“I think so. I feel like I need to grow.”
“Well there you go! Remember what I said, in order to get a class and grow stronger, you need to put yourself in danger. A dungeon is the perfect opportunity. I promise if you both go in there and do your best, you’ll be very happy with the results.”
* * *
Gregory would not stop pacing back and forth. His nervous energy was starting to infect Cooper’s good disposition. He was always calm, always ready. But this human was really pushing him to his limits.
Olivander had explained to them the basics of the dungeon.
“When you get in there, you’ll be informed about any clear conditions and unique things you might encounter. Pay attention to the details, they may be important! If it’s just a straight combat dungeon, it will be the hardest on you. It will allow you to take your time, so rest in between fights. If it’s a race dungeon, your safety will be guaranteed, so just do your best! There are a few other types of dungeons but those two are the most common. If it’s a doom dungeon, leave. It will allow you to do so. A doom dungeon is something you’re not ready for, especially with one of you not having a class.”
Cooper had listened carefully, but didn’t feel any more prepared than before Olivander had started talking. That was alright though, he would just do his best to protect Gregory.
He was lying down in the back of their wagon, but perked up when he heard a shout from outside.
“Something’s happening!”
Gregory got up, and Cooper jumped out of the wagon.
The shimmering dome was starting to contract. Olivander was nearby, talking to the caravan leader.
“We’ll clear the dungeon, but it will need regular clears until it disappears. People from Serin should head up tonight at the latest. They definitely don’t want monsters running around.”
“Alright, Olivander, we’ll let them know. Sorry again about the confrontation yesterday. We don’t always get to choose who we let join on the caravan’s trips. Sometimes they choose themselves.”
Cooper didn’t think that was true, but he didn’t bother saying anything to the man. He had called Cooper a mutt. Cooper didn’t like him.
“Are you ready?” Olivander asked, leaving the caravan leader to gather his wagons and get back on the road, now that it was clear.
The shimmering dome had contracted enough that it was no longer blocking the road. The dome had apparently been centered somewhere in the forest off to the right side of the road, and not on the road directly.
Cooper, Gregory, and Olivander set off, following the dome of magical energy as it pulled back. Cooper thought it was odd that the dome just left everything looking the exact same as when it went up. He almost expected weird plants and monsters to be left behind.
His expectations were partially met when the dome finished contracting in a clearing in the woods, revealing what looked like a giant stone troll. It’s eyes burned with fire, and its mouth was the wide open entrance to the dungeon.
“We need to get eaten by this troll to enter the dungeon? I’m not sure about this.”
“It’s not a real troll, though that is quite the menacing visage,” Olivander said.
The mouth was ringed with sharp stone teeth. It had arms to either side that made it look like the troll was pulling itself out of the ground.
“I think I’m with Cooper on this. I don’t like the look of this.”
“You don’t need to like the look of it. You just need to go inside. Good luck! I’ll be out here, waiting for your triumphant return.”
With that, Olivander conjured his favorite plush chair and pulled a book from his library, settling in for a read.
Gregory and Cooper shared a look.
“Are you ready?” Cooper asked, hoping Gregory would say no.
“Let’s do this.”
“You know, you’re really not like your class. Coward doesn’t suit you.”
“Wow, thank you, Cooper! That’s so nice.”
They nodded to each other, and stepped into the troll’s maw.