Owin woke with a start. He was perched on one of the stone thrones and his head throbbed.

“Oh, you’re awake.” The Withered Shade was sitting on the floor in front of the throne with his head turned all the way around. “The magus said not to use a health potion. Something about preserving them and that you weren’t actually injured.”

Owin blinked a few times. “What happened?”

“I apparently hit you with an ability that causes the target to become unconscious. Difficult to use in combat, or something. I haven’t the slightest idea. I don’t know what the ability would even be called. The magus knew of something.” The skeleton waved his hand in the air. “It hardly matters. He took it as an opportunity to nap.”

Myrsvai was lying on the ground nearby on a sleeping roll from his bag. He looked relaxed.

“Good nap,” Suta said.

Owin almost jumped. He hadn’t noticed the familiar quietly sitting on the other throne. He had Myrsvai’s staff and sat like a child in an oversized seat.

“Should we wake him?”

“Yes.” Suta hopped off the chair and gently shook Myrsvai until the magus stirred.

“You aren’t angry in any sort of way, are you?” the Shade asked.

“No. You did what I asked you to. So, you are an assassin right now?”

“It appears that way.” The skeleton stood and offered a hand. Owin let the Shade pull him out of the chair.

Myrsvai stood and ran his hand through his hair a few times as he finished waking up. Suta quietly rolled the sleeping roll up and fit it inside the bag.

“I am glad you’re alive,” Myrsvai said.

“I guess we both had a nap.”

“Isn’t that a first time for you?” Myrsvai crouched so Suta could fit the backpack over his shoulders.

“Probably.”

The Withered Shade stood silently to the side holding the blue orb with both hands. He tapped his fingers against it and tried to make it obvious he was staring at other things around the room.

“Can I just call you Shade? You asked for a name, but I can’t think of anything. I’ve never named something before.”

The skeleton’s brow rose. Owin still didn’t understand how his skull moved like that.

“Shade, you say? That’s an interesting name. I believe the magus has already referred to me by that name before.”

“Have I?” Myrsvai took his staff back. “I don’t recall.”

“I can live with Shade until I remember my real name.” The skeleton smiled.

“Will you remember your real name?”

“Oh, probably not.” Shade pointed along the blue line extending from the orb. “Is it time to follow our destinies?”

“That seems maybe dramatic, but yes.” Myrsvai tilted his staff toward the hall they had come from. “Why don’t you lead, Shade?”

The skeleton sprinted to the hall and gestured. “Right this way, gentlemen.”

Owin stretched as he took his first few steps. “Is it a good idea for you to lead? What if a trap cuts your head off?”

“Do you have any glue available to reattach it?” Shade set off as soon as Owin got close. The skeleton turned his head all the way around while continuing to face forward. “Otherwise, you can always unsummon me and bring me back whole. I believe. It might be better not to test it. If you resummoned me without a head I would not be thrilled. You might not know about my lack of thrills if I have no mouth to speak from, but I want you to be prepared with the thought of disappointment in missing out on the lack of thrills, as one would be when not thrilled. Did I say that word too many times?”

“Yes,” Owin said quickly. “You should look where you’re walking.”

Shade immediately tripped over a ribcage. He bounced off the ground and jumped right back to his feet. “This is why you’re the master!”

Owin looked at Myrsvai, but the magus just shook his head quietly.

The room at the end of the hall looked like it had once been some type of sitting room or library, but it was difficult to discern after everything had been burned. Some furniture had been reduced to ash while many of the bookshelves and display cases around the edge of the room had scorch marks and some parts that still slowly smoldered.

“The aesthetic here does not match.” Myrsvai touched his staff against a bookshelf, causing it to crumble. “Who would have lived here? The lore of Nehadya and the Desert Dungeon is focused around creativity in making defenses from the mythical invaders of ancient Prouvaria. I don’t recall stories of nobility or anyone who may have inhabited a place such as this.”

Owin waited at the sandstone door leading into the next room. The blue line from the orb led through the wall.

Suta and Myrsvai finished checking the room while Myrsvai continued thinking out loud about Nehadya. Owin didn’t know anything about Prouvaria or the Desert Dungeon, so half of what Myrsvai said was nonsense. Shade seemed as uninterested in the rambling and just stood at Owin’s side.

When everyone looked ready, Owin pressed against the door. He had to use a little more strength than it took to destroy a cave wall to force the door open. It slid over tiles in the next hallway, grinding loudly.

The hallway behind was made of the same sandstone as the door. The walls and the patterned tiles along the ground were all the same.

“Another change,” Myrsvai said.

Shade sidled past Owin. “The orb leads!”

The hallway was only wide enough for one to walk through, so Owin had no choice but to let Shade lead the way. It was a short trek through, taking two turns, before they arrived at a circular room.

As soon as Shade stepped through the doorway, red lasers hit him from both sides. He shrieked, cradled the orb, and collapsed to the ground, becoming a shield for the object.

Owin leapt over and caught sight of two ocular swarmers. That was hardly a swarm. Owin ducked behind a column as one focused on him and shot a barrage of quick lasers. As soon as it let up, he popped out from behind and ripped the eyeball in half with the lich knife.

Suta smashed the other against a column on the opposite side.

Myrsvai gently kicked Shade. “You can get up.”

The skeleton quickly climbed to his feet and followed the blue line from the orb to a giant, stationary figure in the middle of the room.

It looked like a statue. Owin had hardly even noticed it when he first entered when his attention had been on the ocular mobs. The statue was vaguely human shaped, but almost ogre size. Its shoulders were too wide and its head too small to be a human.

“An inactive golem.” Myrsvai stalked close and tapped the head of his staff against the creature.

Nothing happened.

“The orb looks like it would fit right there.” Shade held the orb up, gesturing toward a circle in the golem’s chest.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

A chest sat in the back of the room, almost hidden behind another column. Nearer the door was a huge block about two feet high. A sheathed sword sat on top. Suta had already noticed the sword and stood on the block, pointing.

Myrsvai pulled his attention away from the golem and approached the table just as Owin hopped up.

The Incandescent Blade of Captain Magnan

Unique Master Magical Item

Captain Lyra Magnan once sieged the lehboa city of Amnopis. At night, when Prouvaria grew cold, the lehboa could see the Incandescent Blade shining as a constant reminder of their enemy just beyond the walls. Captain Magnan waited until the lehboa were starving, then scaled the walls and slaughtered every living creature inside Amnopis.

The Incandescent Blade uses the wielder’s mana to ignite. The superheated blade can cut through any normal substance.

Note: Fire will go out upon loss of mana

Note: Fire will go out upon contact with too much water

“Uh.” Owin squatted over the sheathed sword. “A master item?”

“Unique items will generally be master quality. It doesn’t mean it is as powerful as a not unique weapon of the same quality.” Myrsvai looked over his shoulder at the golem. “This sword is not useful in the Ocean. It sounds as though it wouldn’t even be able to ignite once we leave the secret.”

“But while we’re here . . .” Owin picked it up.

The orb shook in Shade’s hands. He wrapped his arms around it, but the orb shook so violently that it fell out and was sucked right into the golem’s chest. Blue lines immediately formed through the golem’s skin, causing the creature to hum as it powered up.

Blue mana lines formed all over the walls, floor, and columns throughout the whole room. A barrier formed over the doorway.

“I told you that barrier was too powerful!” Shade ran to a column and hid behind it.

Owin pulled the sheath off the sword. He had a lot more mana than he used to, but he had no idea how fast the sword would consume it.

Tendrils immediately sprang from the ground and wrapped around the golem’s legs before it could start to move. Blue eyes opened on its face along with a flat line across, giving it a bored expression.

Ocean Mob

Ancient Golem

Level 35

Owin opened his index and found a new spell, simply labeled Ignite. He selected it and felt his hands tingle as mana flowed into the blade. The fire started at the crossguard and quickly shot up to the tip of the blade

A pattern of blue lasers shot from the middle two columns, forcing Myrsvai to quickly dodge to the side. They rotated, only getting blocked by the other columns, the stone table, or the golem itself, which seemed immune to any damage.

Shade shrieked and ducked under the rotating mana lasers.

Owin jumped off the table, away from the golem, and ducked underneath the stone as the lasers passed above.

Myrsvai shot an Abyssal Blast that harmlessly bounced off the golem. “I think this one is all you, Owin!”

Another wave of lasers passed over. He was going to need to move fast. And even if he did, he still might have trouble dodging the lasers.

He waited for another wave of lasers to pass.

Mana 69/138

His mana had already drained by half.

He couldn’t wait.

An easy hop brought him back on top of the stone block just as the lasers passed. Most of the blue lasers hit his armor and didn’t do much, but the ones that passed over his face and upper legs scorched his skin immediately, taking a huge chunk from his health.

Owin gritted his teeth and lunged at the golem.

It turned blue eyes to him and tried to step, but the tendrils pulled the foot back down, cracking the stone tiles.

Owin swung with all his strength, hitting the metal arm with a clang. The golem’s skin bubbled and melted quickly, but Owin wasn’t able to slice straight through. He had to force it, pushing with all his strength.

The golem gave up use of its left arm and rotated its body at the waist. It pulled the flaming sword, lodged into the melted metal, from Owin’s grip. Without access to mana, the fire vanished.

A metal fist caught Owin in the chest, sending him back over the stone block. He crashed beside Myrsvai as another wave of blue lasers passed overhead. Owin scowled and winced as he felt the burned skin on his face wrinkle.

“Not our most successful fight.” Myrsvai handed Owin a health potion.

Owin poured it right on his face, healing the skin immediately without giving him more than a few points of health. He had about 230/310 left, so it wasn’t that urgent. A level thirty five, while strong, wasn’t going to kill Owin in a single hit.

“How do we destroy it?”

“Take the orb out or destroy its brain,” Shade said. He leaned from behind a column. “The head will be easiest.”

“I have to get the sword back first.” That meant igniting it, melting enough, and yanking it out before the golem could hit him too hard.

“Yes, that is normally how using a weapon works. It has to be in your hands!” The skeleton held his hands up like Owin didn’t know what hands were.

Owin looked around. “Where’s Suta?” The familiar had vanished after the mana lasers started.

“He’s behind the column by the chest. He’s safe and doesn’t know how to help.” Myrsvai’s index was open. “And my Dread Bind just ended.”

A heavy footstep shook the floor.

“I can’t do this without getting hit by the lasers again.”

“They’re coming from the central columns. It looks like the golem blocks them, so use it as cover. Latch on, like you often do in fights.”

Owin nodded. He wished the others had a way to help.

The golem’s footsteps were slow as it approached from the right side. Owin waited until its leg appeared, then jumped at the golem’s head. A seam between the massive torso piece and the head was big enough for Owin to grip as he swung around. The lasers swung past, harmlessly shining on the golem’s back.

Its left arm was still inactive with the sword stuck in its bicep. Owin grabbed onto the right shoulder as it tried to reach its hand up. The joints weren’t flexible enough to allow it to grab its own shoulder, letting Owin crawl across the top. He dropped back down as the lasers passed, then swung across and grabbed the sword. It lit up as soon as his fingers brushed the leather-wrapped grip.

Now, on the opposite side of the golem, it could reach him and struck Owin with a massive metal fist. His grip on the seam and the blade was strong enough that he stayed attached, but the golem’s attack shook his body, taking another chunk of health.

Without the chitin armor, Owin suspected he would be dead between the golem and the lasers.

A quick tug ripped the sword free, severing the golem’s left arm. Owin pulled himself up to the golem’s shoulders and drove the sword point down into the top of its head just as it struck Owin with another punch.

The blue light in the room faded as Owin smashed into the outer wall. He crumpled and hit the ground, moaning in pain. Something broke in his shoulder. Suta was immediately standing above him, rifling through Owin’s bag and pulling out multiple health potions.

“I—” Owin gave up trying to say anything as his chest burned with pain.

Suta pulled the cork and poured one into Owin’s mouth. Pain shot through his shoulder as bones stitched together. The next potion made his skin hurt again as cuts and laser burns were sealed. A third brought him to full health.

Owin sat up and thanked Suta.

The golem had been wobbling and finally collapsed onto the ground. Owin walked over, ignited the sword, and pulled it from the golem’s head. He stopped the spell before the last few mana points were drained and slipped the weapon into its sheath. While Owin liked having a sword, it was too long to wear on his hip.

Myrsvai helped attach it across his shoulders, but drawing it from behind his back was impossible. Owin’s arms were too short.

“I suppose you will need to pull the sheath off to use it. We can find a new solution in the future. The fire won’t be useful through the Ocean anyway.”

Suta and Shade tried to move the golem to check for loot, but the creature was so heavy the two weren’t able to move one arm. Even with Owin’s strength, he found lifting a portion of it to be impossible.

Owin checked the ocular swarmer corpses, hoping to find a heart, but they had been burnt to ash from the mana lasers that passed through the room in the fight.

The chest in the back of the room popped open on its own, creaking as the lid fell back.

They all turned to watch, waiting for some other mob to move.

Right on top of a pile of gold was a dusty gray bone. Shade nudged Owin and pointed.

“I see it.”

“Well, I would grab it but nothing good would come of that. Nobody wants to see someone grab their own bone.”

“What?”

“What?” Shade repeated.

Owin sighed and approached the chest. He took one step at a time, carefully getting close. No traps sprung and no mobs appeared.

Owin grabbed the bone, which immediately vanished in a puff of gray dust.

A dark purple scarf appeared around Shade’s neck.

“Wait,” Owin said. “You got clothes from me getting another bone?”

“Oh.” Shade grabbed the scarf. “It’s soft.”

“Can you even feel it with bone fingers?”

“No.”

“Are you stronger?”

Shade shrugged.

“Great.”

“Would you like to split the gold?” Myrsvai asked.

“Take it all. I don’t care. I got the sword. You take all that.” Owin helped Suta bring the pile of gold into Myrsvai’s bag. It looked heavy, but the magus didn’t seem to mind.

“Do you think there is anything we can do with the golem?” Owin tried to move it again, but it was so incredibly heavy. It reminded him of the Thunderstrike Maul where it was much heavier than it ever appeared.

“No. Perhaps we could have used the orb now that it has been activated, but there is no way to get to it with the golem lying on its chest.” Myrsvai walked around the golem corpse once. “I think it is better to leave it. We will see more in the Desert Dungeon anyway. They are somewhat common in the lehboa cities.”

“All that’s left is to get past Olmu and take the stairs to the fifth floor.” Owin checked his stash of health potions. He still had plenty left, but using four in one fight was a lot more than he had been expecting.

“Let’s move quickly,” Owin said, leading the way back into the hall.