Oswald Manfred, The Crawling Death

My hand shook as I gripped the letter. My hand closing like a vice, as it crumbled and caught fire. Charles used one of our private letters to hint at there being more than just the words that had been written there. I wouldn't betray him, even if it called for his death to protect all he stood for. I took a deep breath, as I felt something inside me shift. The same feeling whenever I accepted one of his pacts, memories and formula coming back to me. Secrets buried and locked away where others couldn't touch it, unlikely to be pried by the gods themselves.

I smiled to myself, realizing how cunning that bastard was when he felt like it. A certain feeling, a certain revelation, as he abused the vagueness of his talent. A dark wisp of my smoke moving into the bag of holding, as ingredients were mixed together for what I will need. I took a few minutes to organize everything, even putting my old satchel inside the bag itself. It was so much better than the ones we had during the wars, and conflicts. It all felt so much simpler back in those days.

The safe was cracked open, any coin put directly in my pocket. The documents were skimmed, but there was nothing important on them. Just in case any seer or individual was tracking my movements I put an irradiated bar of mithril behind the safe that I placed back in its hole. The stone melded back, as I muttered about the king's tribute. The metal itself would be safe to hold in a couple years, leaving a pleasant surprise for anyone that discovered it naturally. Otherwise some poor group would be met with a slow painful death.

I walked out of the room, taking my time to leave the warehouse. Everything within the bag organized and cataloged, before I covered the bag itself with my gas. Dust, and flakes of metal I had ground and mixed in my younger years was slowly moved through the gas. A stream of it cutting through my skin, some of the metal absorbed into the blood, while other bits coated the lower layers of my skin. The invisible fires of radiation kept contained just beneath my cloak. My goggles glowing brighter as I adjusted them to pick up more spectrums of light.

As I left the warehouse, I recalled the monoliths and their impossible secrets. The formula I would have never discovered on my own, that would have eluded me had our Queen not deciphered them. The knowledge Charles was forced to hide within Eclipse, while he destroyed so much more before we left. The gods kept us from sailing among the stars, as they had before coming to this world. They would find their end after my life expired. Charles would find a way to kill them, but I have already lived too long.

A part of me felt this whole mission was a convoluted ploy to inspire me to continue living after it was over. That the memories returned from the pact might keep me around. I knew Charles would have felt it dissolve, he was probably laughing to himself at the castle right now. A part of me wanted to believe he changed, that he would do something like that to garner pity and force me to stay. Deep down, I knew he accepted my stance and he wouldn't force it. I have my mission, and I intend on seeing it through, nothing beyond that.

I stalked around the warehouses, taking anything that might be useful. All my gear properly stored inside my bag, allowing me a lot more space and hanging bags to use to carry supplies back to the Piklins. The Freed? I shook my head, not even wanting to attach a name to the group. They could call themselves whatever they wanted.

Figuring it would take just enough time for the slurry to finish its thing, I started heading back to the town. I melted a few mimics, taking side tunnels to let anyone that found them guessing as to what was moving and where it was going. The entire thing was rather peaceful, save for stumbling upon a small group of doppelgangers, from a queen mimic, searching the general area near the town's tunnels. The group was knocked out, before they even realized something was watching them.

I walked back to town, informing a patrol about the group that was knocked out, and where to find them. Then I dropped all the supplies next to a building before floating away before any questions were asked. It would be rough for them, but there were enough minerals to keep the town going for a couple months. Though that wouldn't even become an issue with gaining access to the Underneath and gaining the Wet Beards as allies to the Piklins.

I jumped into the spiraling hole, mostly sliding, as I moved fast enough to lose anyone trying to follow me. The slurry was exactly where it needed to be, as I continued down the tunnel I made. I passed Ann carrying some stone armor upwards, her trips likely taking up most of her time. Though I had to admire the endurance. She started to say something, but I had more important things to tend to. I continued sliding, allowing the slope and my gas to carry me to the soon to be entrance.

I broke through the thin wall of rock, shards of stone exploding away from my cloak as I looked around. The tunnel was filled to the brim with mimics. The slurry reforming the wall to make the entrance seamless. With my passage sealed, I decided to take the time to experiment on the mimics closest to me. Rays of radiation hitting their cells, allowing me to control them once altered. The weaker the soul, the easier it was to use magic on something like this. Mimics held no souls, allowing them to blend with the environment as best they could, but it also made them especially weak to this kind of attack.

The flesh I took over began to divide and grow explosively. A tumor turning into cancer, robbing the creatures of important resources. They were already dead by the time I walked past them. The remains melting to goo to scare off anything that might enter this tunnel. Everything in these tunnels leading to the River would suffer the same fate, while I tried to find the most effective way to kill these creatures. I probably had a few hours, or even days if they changed the tunnels. I hummed a tune to myself, while making some hydro blight inside my bag. The Underneath needed to be checked and purged before the mimic queen was dealt with. My slurry would let me know if any Piklin or doppelganger broke through the tunnel.

Thinking about it, I carved letters into the stone with the slurry telling them not to enter. Though that really depended on if they could, or would, read it before breaking through. If nothing else they would follow the trail of gore I left behind me. Hopefully some Wet Beard, or doppelganger from there would follow it to give me an idea of what was going on in their kingdom.

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Todd Mor'Surf

Water filtered through my beard as I walked along the bottom of the dark river with my webbed feet. The algae in the water glowing without another source of light in the water. I gripped my trident with my webbed hands, following the current towards the Underneath. The tunnels had gone silent for a few days, and I was the dwarf unlucky enough to be sent out by the queen. I swallowed hard, watching the algae moved by unseen fish or snakes. Their forms dark, only leaving a trail as they moved.

I kept my mouth closed, while my gills pumped away under my beard. I flexed the fins on the back of my arms and legs, ready to jump back or lunge forward if something came out looking for a meal. Past the algae veil was where the true danger lurked. I gripped my trident a little more firmly, steadying my resolve. Someone needed to do this, and I had been chosen to scout. If I died, then more would come. I just needed to find out what was going on.

I moved through the last of the algae that clumped together like a thin wall. Some of them stuck in my beard, giving me a bit of light to see around me in the dark depths. Nothing attacked immediately, but that didn't mean I had time to relax. I flapped my fins, slowly ascending. I knew nothing dangerous would follow me out of the water, but I would lose my source of light if the algae dried out. I pressed forward while ascending, the water starting to feel prickly for some reason. It felt wrong, so I backed up.

I broke the surface of the after a few minutes later, blinking at the sight. The surface of the river was alight with a pale blue flame, that I could hardly see. Bodies of monsters and beasts were littered along the ground, some having stains where they fell from the wall already bleeding. There was no life in the start of the Underneath, all of it just dead. I saw movement in the corner of my eye, and watched as a shadowy figure with glowing green orbs for eyes dragged one of the bodies to toss into the pale blue fire. The body itself turning to dust the second it touched the strange flames.

The water around me suddenly got warmer, as I tried to sink back into the depths to report this, but something started to burn the soles of my feet, some of the webbing eaten. I looked down, seeing nothing, before looking back to see the figure looking at me. I shivered under this creature's gaze, as it pointed at me. I winced, bringing my trident in front of me to protect myself from whatever it was doing. Then nothing happened, save for the water around me moving with a current to guide me to dry land.

A low voice whispered from the creature, "What is your name?" I shuddered at the eerie whisper, clamoring onto the stone pathway carved from years of the river rising and lowering. The tunnel so massive I couldn't even see the stalactite hanging above in the dark void. "T-Todd..." It didn't respond, as I put the butt of my trident on the ground to lean on. It was always harder to walk on land, than moving around in the water. The silence dragged on, "My name is Todd Mor'Surf..."

The figure nodded its head, "A name from the kingdom of Fire?" Its voice carried to me as it still whispered. I could see its dark cloak flowing around it, like smoke keeping itself hidden. It grabbed another body, throwing it into the fire. "Do you know the wet beards in this area? What can you tell me about the current state of things?"

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

I swallowed hard, "Things were going well until now, if you're looking for my brothers I'd rather die here and preserve some dignity." I hit the butt of my trident on the ground in a quick motion. The prongs vibrating as I used my magic to amplify and contain it. I needed to distract it and flee to inform the queen.

The figure tilted its head back, "Are you using wind magic, or a talent? Perhaps you're one of the extremely rare sound mages I've heard rumors about." Its face was only shadows flowing, and yet somehow they seemed to sink and form a smile. My fins stretched out, flapping in the air as I wanted to get away from whatever this was now.

The bodies around the monster started to melt as it took a step towards me. I unleashed a shockwave of sound at the thing, not even waiting to see how it would react. I turned, running the few meters to where the algae veil sat. My movements on land sluggish, my fins flapping to try and give me a little more speed, but this wasn't water. The fire spread atop the water, following after me as I slipped on a loose rock, sliding on my side.

I heard a small laugh, and turned my trident towards the monster as death itself floated towards me. "You have good instincts, I've never met one of your tribe before. I've worked on a few of the bodies, thinking you weren't dwarves. I mean you have scales on your arms and legs, more like flesh that hardened." It kept talking about the bodies of my tribe, which was fine with me as I had the prongs vibrate again. It was much closer now, and I was hoping it might think I broke something by just laying there with my trident pointed at it.

I was about to unleash another shockwave towards it, when a tendril of fire washed over my trident. The heat staying in one spot as it melted the part between the head and the shaft. "None of that now, if I wanted you dead you would be feeling the side effects of acute radiation poisoning right now."

"Radi-what?" I scrambled to my feet, grabbing the head of my trident. It was still vibrating, the power stored up, and still feeding itself.

The figure shook its head sadly, "I forget how poor information is outside the kingdom. Though I suppose you wouldn't really need words for concepts you might never see in practice. The tendril of fire moved between us both, laying on the ground like a wall between us. The shadowy cloak pulled back to reveal the face of a dwarf with green goggles and a slightly frayed beard. His skin was wrong, almost glossy with a sort of metal sheen to it. His lips black, as the shadows began to reform around him. "My talent is Death. I can control all things that would lead one to death, and shield myself from it. I've lived in the Underneath for decades honing my talent. A good friend of mine, named Oswald was supposed to be coming through here."

I relaxed a little, just seeing the face of a dwarf, and knowing that he could have killed me many times over. I had no idea if he was speaking the truth or not, but I did hear something about such a dwarf. I scratched my chin, "Oswald? I think he's dead? It was a rumor not too long ago? Maybe a few months?"

The flames started to die out, the bodies left behind reduced to ash or goo. The flames seemed to crawl out of the water, turning to a blue salt before they rolled up his leg and into the darkness. "That is terrible news, do you know why he came here?"

I gripped my trident head, pointing it at him. "You broke something that belonged to me, and scared me half to death. I'm not telling you anything else."

He bowed his head, "My apologies, may I offer you a gift to make it up to you?" Before I could say anything he pulled out a bottle of some strange liquid that was glowing crimson. It cast a bright light that filled the place, glowing brighter as he shook it. "If you shake it, it glows." It dimmed after a few seconds, "Do not open it, and it should work underwater just fine." He tossed it towards me, and I caught it.

I looked it over, pleased to find it wasn't warm to the touch, and only cast its light. "You still can't follow me, I'll inform some others in town about you cleaning up this mess." A light like this would sell for a lot, I could probably even buy some armor and a few tridents. Still orders were orders.

The dwarf bowed again, "I shall wait here until you return. I would like to find someone that knows what exactly Oswald was here for, and why."

I nodded a little, "Certainly, a whole group will come out here in a week or so. What's your name, anyway?"

He laughed a little, "Osmand Godfrey. The water should be safe for you now, I trust you don't want to ask any questions about my powers since people will call you crazy otherwise. Until a few weeks? Maybe bring some ale, will ya?"

I smirked, "Sure, so long as you keep the Underneath from coming here during that time. Until next time Osmand."

He bowed one last time, "Until then, Todd." I turned, walking away. My heart still drumming at the near death experience. I didn't trust the dwarf, but there wouldn't be any harm in getting someone to meet with him. Especially if he kept the Underneath at bay for the foreseeable future. I walked past the algae veil, jumping back into the water, impressed that the mystery liquid worked so well even under water. I might get enough coin to live like a noble for a few decades. Especially if someone figured out how to make another one.

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Oswald Manfred, The Crawling Death

The fool was off swimming away while I stood there cleaning up what was left. I was glad he took the everglow potion, making it so I didn't have to somehow stain his loincloth or track him with the remnants of hydro blight that lingered on his shaft and trident head. After ten minutes passed, I started following the general direction he was going. Following the trail while above ground. I was curious about how the Wet Beards built their cities compared to the No Beards.

I recalled how mysterious they seemed in my youth, how some of us claimed they weren't dwarves at all, but fish that took our forms. Those notions were dismissed by my talent, and dissecting the few bodies that found their way to Dark Fall. The Wet Beards were dwarves that adapted into amphibians. They could last maybe a day outside of water, and two of their chest slits were turned into gills, while the center was made for breathing humid air through their beard.

It was impressive how quickly Todd was moving, easily twice the speed a dwarf could run without the use of magic. He wasn't a doppelganger, and I almost killed him by accident when he entered through the wall of algae that for some reason separated the Underneath and the river. It was by far the most interesting specimen down here. Algae with the talent, Colony. It had adapted a sort of poison to repel monster blood, on top of bioluminescence. It was adapting to protect the Wet Beards and provide them with things they needed. Strands of the algae floated inside the river itself carrying complex messages through the chemicals they emitted. The whole colony probably spanned the entire Wet Beard network, making the prospect that they are doing okay, quite promising.

I wanted to study the algae, and watch its growth. It could be the beginning of a new hive mind creature, the birth of a species of aquatic plant creatures, or so much more. All of them were probably linked together, each new stand floating in the current carrying a potential to get a talent that made something snap together. It would answer so many questions, and raise even more, while disproving some theories and confirming others. It was exciting, and I had it right in front of me. Unfortunately I had a job, and I needed to check on the local population of much less interesting dwarves.

I grumbled to myself, when Todd's trail led me to a rocky wall where some of the ceiling collapsed. There was likely a tunnel underwater, and I really needed to check on how these dwarves were doing. I put some hydro blight in the water, letting some metal oxyidize before it reverted, the oxygen stored in a slowly expanding sac between my cloak and skin. I put my hands on the water itself, trying to find the mixture of ingredients that would repel it. An hour spent refining the process, and I was comfortable enough to walk on water.

I walked to the center of the river, slowly covering the material so that I sank. My muscles tense as I did my best not to let the water touch me as it surrounded me from all sides. I grinded my teeth, really not enjoying the sensation, a common fear among dwarves. I sank, adjusting my goggles to see better in the depths as the algae floated as if nothing changed. I made sure not to kill it, a nice bubble of hydro blight gently moving anything too close to me, away. I found the hole Todd went through, using the hydrophobic material I made propel me towards it. My cloak covering parts, and revealing others as I got the hang of letting it carry me through the currents and water.

I made it through the hole, finding different tunnels spreading out in a sort of network. I continued to follow Todd's trail, taking note of the etchings and carved bumps along the tunnel walls. My talent revealed it was some kind of message written in a language the Wet Beards used underwater. I had no idea what it said, and no where near enough time to pick up another language. I continued through the tunnels following the path Todd used, as I continued to keep track of his position in relation to my own.

My steady pace was nice, until I passed one tunnel, where a trident was launched at me from another. A Wet Beard looked me over, blinking as the trident failed to pierce my cloak. The dwarf started bellowing underwater, making a kind of thumping sound. Which suddenly explained why their language used bumps. I heard others return the call from different tunnels. I grabbed the trident, letting it fall to the bottom of the small tunnel before moving on.

The Wet Beard that attacked earlier continued to follow after me. I could feel it trying to use water magic to send bits of ice, and stop me from moving, but the dwarf was much too weak to really hinder me. It bellowed again, and this time the others were much closer. The strangest thing was that none of them were doppelgangers. I couldn't even feel mimics down here. It was looking better by the tunnel. I continued to move, until more of the Wet Beards showed up, their tridents at the ready as they bellowed at each other. I could see their chests vibrating to produce the deep thumping sounds.

I let them push me to the bottom of the tunnel, raising my hands in surrender. I wasn't here to kill them, and I was curious how they treated trespassers. They were clearly arguing with each other about what to do with me. A few pointing their tridents at me, while a couple more shook their heads and made gestures towards the tunnels that pointed upwards. Five of them cramped in a tunnel that could probably fit two dwarves side by side. The whole thing circular like all the tunnels in this part of their territory.

They continued to argue for a whole five minutes before a couple threw their tridents at me, accelerated by water magic. I let the hydro blight flare up, melting the tridents before they even touched my cloak. I crossed my arms while their eyes bulged from shock and horror. All of them had loin cloths, but beyond that they had no armor. They had shells fastened to their braided beards, but I couldn't even tell them apart. One of them ran away, bellowing out as it swam through the tunnels. The others bellowed out in response, shaking their fists angrily at the only one smart enough to run. I looked at the tunnel they had pointed to before, and propelled myself into it while they were distracted.

I heard startled bellows, as they moved after me. It would be so easy to kill them, since they were surrounded by the hydro blight. I singed their fins a little and let them feel a bit of burning on their fingers. I raised my hands in surrender again, pointing where they had before. It took them half a minute to realize I was letting them capture me.