Chapter 98
They ran as fast as they could and practically tripped over each other's feet as they appeared to compete over who could get closest to M'redith. They were being chased by monsters but there seemed to be more of them than usual. The use of so many class abilities had stirred up the monsters something fierce and the noise around M'redith and her group-mates was far louder than it had been up to that point.
M'redith ran on and took side passages whenever the ones in front of her became blocked by fast approaching monsters. There were so many of them that M'redith was running out of alternative routes to take. They were fast approaching the map room but M'redith was having difficulties finding a clear route that led there.
They turned a corner and came almost face to face with something made up of mostly eyes and tentacles. Norri screamed as she saw it and the monster screamed back, spitting and hissing as it did so. Other screams called in reply from all around them. M'redith led the group down a passage to their left to put distance between them and the tentacled horror.
As M'redith reached the door to the map room she attempted to open it but it was locked and shut tight.
“Open up!” she yelled loudly. Another tentacled horror was approaching her from down the hallway. Around it ran smaller six legged creatures roughly two feet long and covered in spines. The mass of monsters pressed onward and came closer and closer to the group's position. Meanwhile, behind the group their pursuers grew closer, sounding louder as they did so.
M'redith yelled “Duck!” to the group and everyone ducked their heads. Reaching in to a pouch tied off on her belt she withdrew two stones and threw them behind the group. Immediately she did so again but instead threw the stones in front of the group.
A rumbling could be heard before the sounds of cracking and grinding stone could be heard and two thick stone pillars shot out of the floor and grew until they reached six feet, almost touching the ceiling both behind and in front of the group in the hallway.
M'redith and her friends were now nestled safe within the protection of the pillars, two in front and two behind. They were too thick for any of the monsters to fit through and completely blocked anything in the corridor from reaching them.
A scraping sound could be heard from inside the map room and then a thump. It was the sound of a crossbeam being lifted and then dropped to the floor. Moments later the door opened and M'redith's group ran inside, closing and barring the door behind them with help from Glenda.
“What was that?” Glenda asked M'redith curiously, not appearing upset at almost being eaten by monsters a moment ago.
M'redith grinned. “A magic item I won. First time using it!” she said as she read off the item's description.
Pouch of Pillars – uncommon – A small gray leather pouch held closed by a drawstring this pouch contains four square stones shaped like six sided dice. When a stone is thrown and touches the ground a six foot pillar will grow from that spot. The pillar will be two feet across and made out of a deep black reflective rock that is resistant to damage. The pillar will remain for a period of fifteen minutes before disappearing. Once used the pouch will regenerate one stone every 24 hours. This item must be bound before use.
The group nodded and Aiden groaned. M'redith looked at him and then at her pouch curiously as if she had just realized something. She tilted her head in thought for a moment before staring at Aiden and narrowing her eyes.
“Aiden.. remember when I got this pouch?” she asked in an odd tone of voice as she waved it about in front of him.
Aiden nodded. “We all got something, didn't we?” he said with a gloomy tone of voice as if he was expecting and dreading what would come next.
Norri nodded, “I got a sticker.” she said happily, not understanding M'redith's point just yet.
“Yes, but, Aiden specifically got something as a reward. Remember that Aiden?” M'redith said seriously.
Aiden sighed and looked a little upset, “Yes,” he finally admitted begrudgingly.
“Then would you please explain to the group why we aren't all eating grilled cheeses instead of chalk wafers?” she asked sweetly as it dawned on everyone else what she was talking about.
Aiden groaned again and looked from face to face around him. He shrugged and shook his head. “I forgot it! Ok? I forgot to bring my sandwich maker! I had it laid out on my bed with all the things I was packing! I put it on my pillow so I wouldn't forget it. I packed everything I put out on my bed but not the one thing I had set aside specifically so I wouldn't forget it. I forgot.” he said, clearly upset.
Aiden rubbed his head with one hand and spoke in an apologetic tone. “Its been killing me this entire time, knowing that I didn't have to be eating these wafers. I'm sorry guys. Really.”
Surprisingly enough it was Glenda that moved to Aiden's side and placed one heavy hand on his shoulder. “You ok. Everyone forget.” she said simply and he looked up at her and smiled sadly. He was more upset at himself than the group could ever be.
Jay grinned and waved it off. “We all forgot to bring food except for Glenda. If it weren't for her we'd be eating gruel instead. So no worries Aiden. I swear to Gaia though that I will never leave on an adventure without proper food again if at all possible. I thought your grilled cheese maker was a novelty when I first saw it. It wasn't until we arrived here that I began to understand just how important of an item it could be.”
Jay's long comment gave Aiden time to stop beating himself up over his lapse in packing and finally Aiden shrugged and sighed.
“You lot done arguing yet?” asked a soft voice from a table in the corner. Fred was dressed in an immaculate and vibrant purple dress and was seated and reading her usual three books, her head bent over in concentration. She had unblocked and unlocked the door and then went back to her studying.
“We are. I just need Aiden to know we aren't angry at him for forgetting his sandwich maker. We're still going to tease him relentlessly over it however.” Jay said with a wide grin.
Aiden groaned again, “Can we just stop saying the words 'sandwich maker?' It is making me incredibly almost painfully hungry.”
Norri grinned, “Perfect! Good thing you're hungry because it's time to eat chalky wafers!”
“Hey, it's your own fault big guy,” Jay said jokingly with a grin.
“No fair! You all forgot to bring food too!” Aiden said after thinking about it for a moment.
“Yes, but you forgot to bring travel food and forgot your.. maker thingy.” M'redith said with a smile as she made an effort not to use the word sandwich.
Aiden shrugged but wore a tiny smile as he rummaged around in his pack for dinner. Taking out his pack of wafers he popped one in to his mouth and chewed. His face changed from a tiny smile to a look of profound sadness at the food he was forced to eat.
The sound of three books shutting one after another filled the room as Fred shut her books. She looked about at the group sitting and eating their wafers. “Have a good day? Find anything interesting?” she asked.
Norri smiled, “We found some things. Well, Jay mostly found the things. But I found a couple of things all by myself!” she said proudly which made the rest of her group smile fondly at her.
“Anything fun?” she asked with a smile.
The group took out their finds and showed them off to Fred who nodded appreciatively at each. “Nice loot! I love the Genesis Vault, that would be incredibly handy to have. I've found a few things here and there but nothing quite that nice.” she said with a nod. “I'm more of a book person than a loot person I suppose.” she added.
They quieted down for a bit as everyone focused on eating. Mostly they were focused on swallowing as the wafers were almost too foul to get down. The worst was when they became too wet and would stick to their tongues or the insides of their cheeks, forcing them to scrape it off with their fingers before swallowing the nasty white paste.
“Gah..” Aiden got out as some of the paste almost came back up.
“NO nonono, none of that now,” M'redith choked out as she pointed at him. “No returns!”
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That made Jay and Norri laugh and made Glenda grin. Even Fred, who had been watching the group eat in horror, cracked a faint smile.
Aiden however was not amused. “I hate this.” he said sullenly.
Jay nodded, “Tell me about your writing kit.”
Aiden forgot for a moment how nasty the food in his mouth was and began to chat, “Fancy Jeweled Writing Kit? It is certainly worth money – or at least it will be once I get it repaired. I wonder how much it will cost to be repaired and restored. There has to be someone in K'tharkle that could do the work, right? Gah..” he said but trailed off at the end as more of the wafer stuck to his tongue.
Jay grinned, sometimes it was best to redirect Aiden when he got too upset. Redirection could only accomplish so much though, the wafers really were unappealing.
“Well now seems as good a time as any to discuss our next moves. Anyone have an opinion on tomorrow?” Jay asked.
Aiden was scraping his tongue and paused to speak, “I vote more looting. We got some great items from just one room. Who knows how much else is out there?” he asked.
“Well, the room we searched could have been an outlier. The other rooms may not have as much to find. We have to be prepared to find nothing, but I think it might be a good idea to look a little more. We're already here.” M'redith said with a shrug once she had finished.
Norri looked on with wide eyes, “I vote for finding out how to find and withdraw books.” she said, surprising everyone present. “Loot is good but a good book could help us out more.”
Fred grinned and leaned back in her chair, “I like this one.” she said as she inclined her head towards Norri. “You don't have to ask, I can tell you. I've never done this myself but I have heard from others how it works and you're not going to like it. You have to reach the central desk. Once there you can each ask for a book as well as return any books you have.”
“I thought all the books are unreadable, how would that help?” Aiden complained.
Fred shrugged, “Mostly unreadable. I can read a bit of whatever language Ashagi uses. There are others that can as well but most of them spend their time much deeper in the building. I tend to stay on the outskirts where it is safer. I don't have a class, remember?”
“Ask who?” Glenda asked.
Fred looked confused for a moment, “Who do you ask for books? Ashagi. The black roiling mass above the central desk.”
“Talk back?” Glenda said, still staring at Fred.
Fred didn't shirk away from Glenda's gaze but merely shrugged, “Not that I know of. Maybe Ashagi does talk back but no one mentions it. Who knows? I've never heard of it responding with anything other than a book or a monster.”
The group went quiet before Jay spoke up again, “Anyone else have an opinion?”
Glenda nodded, “Books.” she said simply.
“Ok, that's two for loot and two for books.” Jay said tiredly. It was getting late and everyone had finished eating their meal replacement wafers.
“What if we just take a book off one of the shelves?” Norri asked suddenly as if just remembering it.
Fred chuckled, “You could do that but what you'd end up with is a book on a random subject which monsters would then unceasingly chase you for until it was returned. Not very helpful.”
Aiden scratched his neck and sighed as his itch went away, “So do we still get chased if we just borrow the book directly from Ashagi at the central desk?”
Fred shook her head, “No, those are good for a certain time that you will be told of before you leave with the book. After that time period elapses if the book has not been returned then the monsters will come for you and the book.”
M'redith sighed then looked up and realized it was loud enough for others to hear. She leaned her head down on the table, “I'm tired.”
Fred smiled, “Lights out soon. You all had best be heading off to your rooms before the cleansing fires start up.”
Everyone took deep pulls from their water bottles and each of them tried to wash the taste of chalk out of their mouth. It didn't work very well but at least none of them would be getting thirsty any time soon.
They piled up in front of the door and waved to Fred.
“Thank you for the help Fred!” M'redith said as Glenda took off the beam barricading the door and set the wooden beam on to the ground off to the side.
M'redith kicked once, nothing. Twice, nothing. She whipped open the door and was caught in a spray of acid. A giant snake like creature was hunched in front of the door and spat a bolt of acid at M'redith. It hit mostly her left arm and chest. Her armor took the brunt of the attack but the skin on her arm sizzled as the acid bubbled. M'redith screamed and went to shut the door but it was blocked by the creature.
It struck out with a tentacle at M'redith's chest but she stood fast and did not move. Her leather armor again took most of the force from the attack and M'redith had finally had enough. With a howling scream she began slicing aggressively at the monster.
This monster was different from the others and looked more green than black. Her sword cuts went right through the monster's flesh and lopped off more and more of it as she grew angrier and angrier. The monster was now just a mess of sliced and cubed flesh jumbled across the floor covered in a slick green ooze.
Glenda grabbed the back of M'redith's armor and forcefully dragged her back in to the room. Norri slammed the door shut as Aiden lugged the cross beam back over and lifted it in to its fittings and barricaded the door.
Glenda was careful not to touch M'redith where the acid had melted her flesh and set her carefully on an empty seat. Aiden rushed over and began to lay hands on her wherever she was injured. Thankfully the wounds were easy for Aiden to heal but M'redith cried quietly from the pain until Aiden had finished with the last patch.
“There,” Aiden said as he withdrew his hands from her previously wounded skin and flesh. “That was a nasty one but you did great! You're ok, it shouldn't be painful anymore.”
M'redith nodded her head but it appeared that although the pain was gone the memory of it was still quite fresh.
Aiden looked over at Jay but he was already moving and carefully put his arm around M'redith and comforted her. He whispered a few things in her ear and she finally nodded her head and took a deep breath.
“What the Goddess-loving heck was that?” Aiden asked as he turned to Fred.
Fred looked back at him unflinchingly before she spoke. “Be honest. Has your group been using any of your class abilities today?”
The whole group looked at Jay who sighed and nodded, “Let me guess, this is my fault.”
Fred grinned, “Yup! Some monsters are more tenacious than others. If you use a class ability you will get a visit from some nastier monsters. Thankfully this one was easily killed by M'redith.”
M'redith grinned at that. She had beat the monster in to the ground. All that work back at the Guild hadn't been for nothing.
“Maybe try the other door?” Fred offered with a smile.
M'redith got up with a nod and pulled herself together. “Let's do this.” she said and sounded sure of herself.
The rest of the group stacked up behind her at the door across from the one they had first tried and mentally prepared themselves for whatever was on the other side. M'redith gave one kick, two kicks, whipped the door open, and ran full tilt out of the room as her group-mates followed her.
The group ran through the hallways as M'redith plotted their path as they ran, updating their route as they were cut off by monsters. She didn't stop to fight them because no matter how many monsters you started fighting there were always more arriving as you did so. It was a losing battle to fight stationary in the corridors.
She led them on a winding route before finally stopping in a corridor marked K1-20. Their group split up in to the same pairs as last night and waved goodnight to one another.
Closing the door behind her with a click M'redith joined Jay on the bed and sat next to him. She leaned up against him and sighed. It had been a brutal and long day. Tomorrow would probably be even tougher.
The two changed in to sleeping clothes, one at a time, while the other turned around to give them privacy. Jay was pretty sure he caught M'redith peeking once even though she swore she would never do such a thing.
Finally it was time for lights out and Jay and M'redith curled up in bed for comfort and warmth. It wasn't long before they both stretched out and fell asleep as they each retreated to their own sides of the bed. They fell asleep almost as soon as their heads hit the pillows.
M'redith awoke some time later shivering cold. She was laying on a tiny slice of the bed with no covers. Turning her head she could make out Jay spread across the bed and wrapped up in all of the sheets and blankets. M'redith didn't hesitate but poked Jay in the side until he woke up.
“Wha? What is it?” Jay asked groggily, still half asleep.
“You! You're hogging the entire bed and all the blankets! Move OVER,” she hissed as she bumped him with her butt and forced him back across to his side of the bed. She leaned up and rearranged the sheets and blanket so that they would both be covered before she collapsed back in to bed once again.
“You take all my blankets away again and I'll make you pay,” she said jokingly as she was far more awake than Jay at the moment.
Jay mumbled something before he moved his arm so that his hand rested on her back. Soon his breathing slowed and M'redith was pretty sure he was already once again asleep. Thankfully he didn't take up the entire bed again after that and M'redith quickly drifted back to sleep.