I lay there as the water pushed me along, staring at the pitch black ceiling, thinking. My thoughts circled between an immense sense of satisfaction, and worry for what was to come. On the one hand, I’d finally done it. I had managed to form a core binding within my soul and magic would soon be at my fingertips. Just as soon as I figured that part out. I’d tried to sense the flow of mana within me and harness it over the last hour as I slowly floated with no success. For now that was fine, these weren’t exactly ideal learning conditions. But without the distraction my thoughts invariably turned back to where I was, and how in all the planes I was going to get back to the surface.

Raising my head slightly, I turned to look up the river but only saw more tunnel. That was something though. I could see the ceiling even through the complete darkness. It was strange, I could still perceive that there was a complete lack of light, but the craggy ceiling above was as clear as if I’d held a candle up to it. No doubt it was due to my now somewhat magical nature, but I was unsure as to how. I wasn’t actually doing anything, and yet I had perfect vision in the darkness. I’d heard there were mages with advanced bindings who could see through any fog, across any distance, but that required a working of mana. Although… I don’t really have much experience with actual magic, could be wrong.

I sighed, a long drawn out thing that echoed in the tight confines. The river was narrow, I could touch either side of the tunnel if I stretched my arms out, dragging along the slick rock. Pulling my arms back, I accelerated with the current. Might as well speed this up. I continued swimming, gently so as not to burn myself out. I had no idea how long this river might be, or if I’d suddenly slam into anything submerged in the dark waters.

As if to punish me for the thought, the top of my forehead suddenly slammed into a low nub of stalactite, scraping across my face as my curses echoed in the dark. Growling, I turned over to face forward and check the path for any more surprises, face halfway submerged to avoid brushing the ceiling before flipping onto my back once more. Nothing was coming that I could see, and I could only hold my breath for so long.

To pass the time floating along, I tried counting stalactites at first, but soon grew bored as I passed a thousand. Then I started measuring my body length against the roof and trying to gauge the speed of the current. Roughly… 1 length every two seconds, or thereabouts. Not terribly slow, but not getting anywhere in a hurry. After that I tried to simply relax, letting my mind wander. I was contemplating how to let my mother know about this most recent, momentous development when I began to notice that my pace seemed to be increasing. I’d only noticed it as I tried counting stalactites once more and found them slipping away before I could count them all. I tipped my head back, concern furrowing my brow.

The waters ahead had grown energetic, shedding their mirror calm, and as I increasingly whisked along the tunnel, a sound echoed up that sent a shiver of fear down my spine. A faint splashing roar reached my ears, signaling just one thing to his mind.

Waterfall.

I turned over and flipped my feet beneath me before paddling backwards, hoping to slow myself while keeping an eye on the tunnel ahead. I was definitely going over whatever fall was ahead, but going headfirst was an insane proposition, without even considering all the stalactites I might hit on the way through. I didn’t wait long. The water was frothing ahead as the tunnel simply ended, opening up into empty space dimly lit from below. I had hardly an instant to yell in surprise before taking a breath as I shot over the edge, taking in a wide round cavern ringing a deep black pool before I plunged into the cool water in an avalanche of bubbles and currents that tried to drag me down.

Fighting panic, I oriented myself, swimming down then out and away from the deluge of water hammering down before kicking back to the surface. Breaching, I inhaled a huge lungful of air, gasping as I blinked the spray from my eyes. Swimming to the narrow rocky shoreline ringing the cavern, I coughed as I dragged myself from the water. Leaning on all fours, I coughed up a bit of water, before I froze.

Rapid plaps alerted me as I spun to my right, and I cursed under my breath at the frankly ridiculous luck that had landed me here. Running towards me and clutching primitive shell spears was a pack of dregs. The small fish-like creatures stood only a bit above my waist, hunched over finned bodies forcing their bipedal run to be almost comical, had they not been armed with spears and mouths crammed full of needle sharp teeth.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

I stood, holding my hands up in a placating gesture. I’d dealt with the creatures before, they were a common sight among the dunes back home. They were dangerous, but not overtly aggressive to land dwellers, usually. Although, I was beginning to suspect that wasn’t going to hold up here as they fanned out around me, spears mere inches away from my naked torso. As the circled dregs bared their collective teeth, I stayed silent, waiting for their leader. There was always a leader when they moved in groups, no matter how small. They had a strict hierarchy, though it was simple. Biggest dreg is the one in charge. This typically wasn’t an issue for an adult human and most other races, but I had to force myself not to take a step back as the distant torchlight revealed the hulking form approaching.

This was by far the biggest dreg I’d ever seen or indeed even heard of. The corpulent fish creature stood nearly eye to eye with me, and the waving fin atop its scaly back reached higher still. Drooping flesh sagged atop thickly muscled legs supported by a far more ornate spear that it used as a walking stick as it strode toward me, the ring of smaller creatures splitting to let it approach. A deep gurgling sound arose from the creature, echoed by the others, rising in pitch as it stood straighter, trying to match my height. All at once, the noise ceased, and the creature's fleshy lips peeled back from rows of fangs as it began to speak in a gurgling, wet voice sounding as if from below the waves.

“Hume! No come here! Only food come here!” The creature waggled its spear staff threateningly as it made its opinion known. I nodded slowly, making the movement exaggerated and clear.

“Yes, I’m sorry. I… fell in a hole above, and I just want to go back to the surface. I will leave, but I don’t know how.”

The surrounding dregs hissed, and the leader slammed its spear down. “No! No hole above, no humes come. Cannot tell humes dregs here. Death-war will come.” It took a step forward menacingly, and I took one back, scrambling for the right words.

“I won’t tell anyone you’re here, I promise. You will have peace, I promise. I will leave and you won’t hear from anyone on the surface. I swear!” I said, trying to remain calm, or at least appear that way. My eyes flickered behind the leader, spying the rough huts ringing the shore. There were a lot of dregs here.

The huge dreg shook its head vigorously, thick spittle flying. “No! No leave, bring back more humes and orcs and nasties! No, only food come here,” it gurgled, raising the spear and gripping it with both hands now. My thoughts raced, and I found the decision was easy enough. Diplomacy hadn’t worked. Maybe surprise would.

I cowered for another moment, blood pumping hard in my ears, before my body language changed abruptly. I surged forward, turning to the side as I slid by the spear, the dreg reacting too slowly, stabbing forward an instant too late. I grabbed the spear with both hands, the jagged shells decorating the upper haft cutting into my palms as I twisted, planting a foot into the flabby chest of the dreg and kicking hard. I came away with the spear as the creature tumbled back, the surrounding dregs frozen in indecision at seeing their leader disarmed. Seizing the opportunity, I spun the spear and leapt forward, slamming the weapon straight down into the creature’s chest, plunging deep into the spongy flesh.

With a final gurgle, the massive dreg stared up at the spear and me above it, before its head fell back to the shore. There was an instant of utter stillness. Then, complete chaos. The surrounding creatures erupted in gurgling cries and shrieks as they fled and tumbled over each other. One or two thought to try and hold their ground, but I wasn’t sticking around to find out if I could take them in a fair fight. Adrenaline spiked through my veins, my instincts screaming at me, urging me to move. I ripped the spear free, turning to kick one of the smaller ones away and knocking another out of the way with the spear before sprinting through the gap and leaping back into the water. There hadn’t been any exits in the smooth stone walls of the cave, so I figured there must be one beneath the pool. The dregs had been concerned with being discovered, so the entrance must be hidden. I swam with all I had, blinking rapidly beneath the water to clear the bubbles in my vision. I turned every which way, and if the torches above hadn’t been lit, I might have missed it entirely even with my much improved vision. Along the side of the pool was a low stone ledge extending from the wall above, and below it a narrow gap above the true floor of the pool.

I kicked hard, pushing my arms awkwardly as I clung to the spear. Dregs were far more graceful swimmers than any human, I needed to put some distance between me and the frantic creatures. Reaching the gap, I squeezed under the ledge, scraping my back raw against the rough stone, but then I was away and free, though still far below the surface. Placing my feet flat in the sand, I pushed up powerfully, rocketing upwards as I felt my lungs begin to burn. Kicking as hard as I could, I continued to surge for a surface I still could not make out. As my vision began to darken, and the urge to take a breath became a nearly involuntary urge, I broke the surface of a glassy lake, heaving and gasping as I struggled to stay afloat.

The stars of a moonless night reflected in the ripples around me, lighting the path to the shore, only a short distance away. Raggedly, I paddled over before dragging myself out of the water and turned to watch for any pursuit. I stood there for a long, tense minute before retreating from the shore and letting myself collapse onto the rising hill just beyond the shale beach, luxuriating in the feeling of freedom, chest heaving as I stared up at the sky.

A sobbing laugh escaped my lips, as tears beaded at the edges of my eyes. The stars were beautiful. The vast expanse of tiny pinpricks was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen, because I’d made it. I had survived not only my first guild contract in 6 years, I’d survived an almost certain death twice over at least. I would need to find my way back to a road or village, then back to Balandor and Vera, but for now, I just lay there and stared up at the stars. Even as a chill wind raised the hairs on my arms and chest, I didn’t move. The light of the stars was all the warmth I needed, just for a moment longer.

The quiet was disrupted violently, when my stomach rumbled, echoing across the water.