I went back to get the spears I had left on the ground as I had urged the kids away from that barbaric scene. Pushing at the invisible wall, I couldn’t help but relate to the forces that had me frozen when I was brought here. Part of me couldn’t help but wonder if I could break down the barrier, but as it was the only thing keeping the goblins from swarming us, I managed to hold off on assuaging my curiosity. The barrier also managed to prevent any of the exp from getting through, having a lot of trouble believing what was happening I again started to wonder if I had entered a lit RPG world instead of Wuxian. The barrier stopping after five had me questioning exactly what might be going on here. But when calling out a number of gaming terms still didn’t manage to bring forth any blue boxes, I decided there had to be another reason the wall sprang up after the five of us entered.
Giving up on my experiments, I looked over to the kids who were staring at me like I was insane, so I decided to try and break the language barrier in the most basic way possible. Pointing to my chest I said Jack multiple times, poking at each repetition before pointing to the bear and saying Gaian. After several tries the eldest finally seemed to catch on before giving her own name which I mangled as Sienna. While she named her brother and sister’s best approximations I could come up with were Aspen and Lotus respectively.
They were either siblings or cousins as they all bore a strong family resemblance. Blond, the two older ones had their hair falling below the shoulders, well I’m assuming the boy’s would have if it wasn’t tied up. The younger girl had it cut to just below her ears. None of them had an ounce of fat on them, telling me they hadn’t led rich lives with full diets. But their clothes seemed sturdy, everything looked to be leather and decently cared for, forcing me to assume the dirt and mud were from the last two days. They all wore long sleeve shirts and pants that could only be in deference to the cooler mountain air, and I could see the fur that lined their thick boots.
Holding out the second spear to Sienna, I pointed to her sister indicating to pass the club on to her. Before when I thought this was just a cave, I figured that we would be able to leave here with her mother to take care of. Now that I understood this was a dungeon, that most likely would be trying to consume us, I didn’t think any of us should be unarmed. Hoping that it was a starting dungeon, I wondered at the mechanics of this world that would have such a thing. Trying to think back on my conversation with the rabbit leader I realized that the home he had been referring to was this, I hoped it was filled with the fodder type and that was why the goblins had no problem sacrificing the endless tiny monsters. If they were all that was produced by this cave, we were going to have a much easier time surviving this curveball.
Calling Gaian back to the group, I made sure he never entered the tunnel. I didn’t want to violate the supposed sanctity of the entry room by crossing the threshold and signaling we were ready to begin our trials. Or I was just making it up in my mind and the hordes were gathering ready to charge as soon as the bear turned his back. Wishing I had a better way to speak with the kids I was sure they had more knowledge on the subject than I did. But I couldn’t even play twenty questions with them like I could with the bear. Speaking of which I called out. “Hey, can the kids understand you?” When I got a left paw raised, I sighed to myself. No, because that would be too easy… Raising two middle fingers to the sky to let the rulers of this world no my displeasure at how hard they were making this for me. Did they not know how isekai’s were supposed to work?
At a barking question from Sienna, I waved to the dungeon and replied, “It’s nothing, just a pregame ritual from where I’m from.” No doubt it sounded like nonsense to them but they got the gist of my meaning and all of them raised their fingers up to salute the rulers themselves. I found myself laughing out loud at the ridiculousness of it and I soon found them joining in with me. Whether it was because they found the situation equally ridiculous, or because they were in a cave with a crazy man and didn’t want to upset him, I didn’t really want to know. As the little girl’s laughter turned to tears, I picked her up and rocked her gently, patting her head with my hand while trying to soothe her. I had no doubt after the horror of what she had witnessed, even if she could understand me, the nonsense I was saying would be a cold comfort to her in the wake of having to watch her parents be consumed by monsters.
Looking over to her sister I could see that she was conflicted. It was obvious that part of her wanted to rip her sister out of my arms, but locked in a cave with a stranger they also didn’t want to upset me and have me abandon them in a pique of anger. Her brother also seemed to be gripping the club I had given him more tightly. Not wanting them to think I had evil designs on their little sister, I quickly past her back to Sienna who laid down the spear to take her. Deciding to take the time to check on the supplies while they calmed her down I walked over to the bear and leaned my own spear up against the wall next to him. Slipping out of my own pack so I could go over the three containers that had made it into the dungeon with us.
Taking into account the weapons we were carrying we had the two spears, while the smaller children were armed with the better made goblin clubs. I had a club that I had slipped into my ax’s old sheath for easy access, it still had the bit of paracord I had attached to it so I could put my wrist through it making it harder to lose. On the other side was my Bowie knife, with the bear spray having been sacrificed to cause a distraction. Two more goblin made clubs had been added to my pack along with one of the daggers. The ax and shovel that had made the journey with me were also in mine. Between the two of us, we had nearly a hundred pounds of calorie dense food, along with another ten to fifteen separate packages of dried fruit.
We still had the grass mats that had made up our tent and several of the baskets I had made to hold water, along with the now empty bucket I had tucked away rather than leave behind. One of the tightly wrapped packages held the two pounds of salt and I also had kept my kitchen tweezers as they would always be useful if we ever had fresh meat to grill up. Water was going to be our sticking point as we had only the two pigs’ stomachs, which between the two of them had maybe a gallon or two of water left.
Deciding the best thing to do was rest, as we had all had a long day. I hoped the dungeon would continue to respect the sanctity of the starting room. Pulling the tent poles out from their secondary function of holding the bear’s burden together, I quickly assembled the pieces and laid down some of the mats for bedding. Calling the children over I indicated they should go into the smaller tent. The boy made a small protest which was quickly cut off by his older sister. As she passed Lotus to Aspen and walked up to me while starting to pull down her top, only to stop as rage began to spread across my face.
Horrified at what she thought I was demanding of her, I quickly grabbed her by the wrists before she could expose herself to me. Cursing in my head at a world where children’s first thought would be to let an adult have their way with them. For the first time since I had stepped foot out of the hell ball, I truly prayed that I would never find my children, better they remain on earth than be transported to this awful hell of a world.
Thinking that my actions would reassure her, if anything her face seemed to fall even more into a mask. Snapping out an order she said something to her brother, who protested at first before dropping his club and started pulling off his own shirt. As I screamed out in anger, he quickly pulled back on and snatched up his club while his sister grabbed her spear and they both jumped in front of the littlest girl, not willing to let me have her.
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As horrified as I was that they thought the worst of me, I consoled myself that they didn’t know me from Adam and the way they were willing to throw themselves in front of their sister should be applauded. Calming my face down so they wouldn’t think my anger was directed at them, I backed up, holding onto the bear’s neck so we could give them their space. Making circular motions with my arms I tried to tell them that the tent was for them and they should use it to rest.
Staring at me like it was a trap they finally took the hint and started going into the tent. Stopping when I called them back, I pulled out one of the packages of dried meat and fruit, and cut it into three pieces. I held the larger one out to Sienna, taking a small bite of it to prove it was okay before passing out the two smaller pieces to the younger children. Pulling out one of the water bottles I pointed to a point a third of the way down, hopefully indicating that they should only drink part of it. Backing away again I moved off to the center of the cavern to stand guard with my friend. As they entered the tent I hoped they would get some sleep. Talking to the bear I told him to lie down and I would take the first watch.
Heading back to the entrance with my spear, I once again tapped on the invisible barrier with it, marveling at how securely we were trapped. I was hoping the dungeon was counting on starvation to force us to progress and we could at least get one night’s sleep before being forced to once again fight for our lives. It seemed like the monsters were content to feast up above, as all of the bodies of the fallen had been carried away. Leaving only the mud churned ground as the remaining indicator of the battle that had happened.
Turning back to face the dark tunnel that led away from the room we were in. I continued to pace back and forth as silently as I could so the rest of the party could get some sleep. As the last of the dying rays disappeared from the entrance the barrier started to glow with a pale green light that was reminiscent of the energy I could gather after the battles. Wondering if it was the same, I wandered over and put my hand on it trying to pull it into me, but I guess it was just similar in look, as it refused to be consumed.
Looking deeper into the tunnel I thought I saw a faint glow coming from around the corner, hoping for a magical lighting system, I would settle for glowing lichen, as the few pine branches I had left would only give us at most fifteen minutes of light. Eventually, I woke the bear up and laid against his side to get some sleep myself. Despite the minimal light I still pulled out the pictures of my kids to modify my prayer, now hoping that they were still back on earth.
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Waking with a start, I saw the children standing over me. Grateful they weren’t poking me with the weapons I had given them, I still wished they had found another way to pass the time they had been up. On the other hand at least they had let me sleep so I would be fully rested when we ran into the trials I was sure the dungeon had in store for us.
Tucking my wallet away in my pocket I went to pass out the breakfast. I handed out some of the dried fruit as a morning snack before putting the tent away and reassembling Gaian’s pack. Wishing I had a better way to communicate with the natives, as I had too many different ideas on how the dungeon might work and it would be nice not to go into a trial blind for once. Did rooms slam shut after you left them, stopping you from retreating? Were monsters tethered to a room forcing them to attack as soon as you entered their aggro range? Or were they free to run and gather reinforcements?
Praying for easy mode, I pulled my own pack onto one shoulder so it would be easier to drop while telling the bear to grab his own. “We are going to have to drop them every time we change rooms, but until we know better I don’t want us getting separated from our supplies and backup weapons.” When I got his grunt of agreement, I put the older girl in the back of the group with Lotus directly in front of her while I had Aspen standing behind me as I followed the bear forward into the tunnel.
Telling him to make sure and cover the right while I went left. We would both have to keep an eye on the center while covering our own zones of responsibility. I added, “Don’t go too far into the room before dropping your pack, I don’t know if traps are a thing here.” Hoping for the best, I doubted we would get lucky enough to be confronting the nonlethal variety. Not after seeing the boss’s blood-soaked face laughing at us before he went back to his meal.
Gripping my spear tightly, I followed the bear closely behind as he entered the tunnel. We went a short distance straight ahead that was followed by two quick dog legs, first one to the right and then back to the left as the elevation slowly lowered. After traveling close to a hundred yards the light seemed to glow brighter ahead, which I took to mean our first challenge was swiftly approaching after the next turn.
Taking the corner at a jog, the bear moved to the right before ducking out of his harness quickly, while I followed right behind me, clearing the path for the kids behind me. Dropping my pack to the ground I started scanning from side to side, blinking away the tears the sudden light had brought to my eyes.
With nothing to the side, I started waving my spear to the center of the room in big sweeps forcing several blurry figures to jump back to avoid the blade. Taking a second the space had bought me I quickly wiped my eyes with my sleeve as I fought to ignore the glowing scenery while I tried to keep my focus on the charging monsters. Leading the way were two shield bashers armed with clubs, who were followed by a singular larger goblin armed with a spear. So much for this being a starter dungeon, I thought. To the sides were numerous fodder goblins I had hoped would be the sole residents of the cave. I wasn’t able to get a count on them as my attention was immediately drawn to the monster standing in the back. It was a shaman who already seemed to be summoning a ball of fire into his hands. At least this one looked to be true fire instead of the evil hellfire the monsters sometimes liked to play with.
Not willing to play that game, I sent my spear hurling through the air that separated us while pulling my club and knife to replace it. Charging to the side, I looked to take out some of the fodder while the bear moved to the bashers. As they held their ground with the spear poking over them, Gaian was content with tying them up, pawing the blade away anytime it got too close to him. Feeling the beginnings of the energy funnel fight its way inside of me, I was able to tell that my throw had been successful without having to take my attention off the smaller goblins that came swarming towards me.
Taking a quick glance to the side, I saw four of the fodder work their way around Gaian and as he turned to try and get their attention, the blade snaked its way into his shoulder. Taking a second to scream at him to worry about the elites, I looked to my own horde. The kids were just going to have to look to their own defenses for now. The goblins were as big as Lotus, so hopefully their parents had taught the two older ones enough to hold their own. I know if I had to raise my children in a monster-filled world, that would be high on my priority list.
Swinging the club around in long sweeping strokes, I held off the ones trying to surround me, before darting to the side and driving my blade down into the side of one. Punching the blade into his torso before flinging him off, I managed to take out a group of three that had bunched together. Two of the ones I missed then took the chance to jump onto my back digging their claws into my thin shirt. Spinning wildly, I threw them off of me happily taking the scratches for my trouble. Charging at the last group of three fodder still standing, I heard the bear to my side roar loudly, but couldn’t spare the second to glance his way.
Slamming my club into the head of one that got a little eager, I forced myself to focus on the last two as he collapsed into a heap. I slammed my knife into the ribs of the second while kicking the third in the chest sending him rolling away. He had foolishly dove forward, thinking I had shot my wad with the two attacks that killed his fellows. Shaking the smaller one off my knife, I turned back to face the group of three I had bowled over, before whirling back to stare at the entrance as I heard Lotus let out a blood curdling scream.