Owin groaned. It was all he could really do. Shade sat nearby, leaning casually against the wall. If the skeleton had been worried about Owin, he wasn’t showing it now.

“Are you finally awake?”

“How long was I gone?” Owin stared straight up at the ceiling. He could move if he had to, but the pain was far from gone.

“Odd way to phrase that, but I understand the question. Probably almost half an hour. For someone who doesn’t sleep, you sure slept.”

“Myrsvai and Suta?” Owin sat up slowly and rubbed his chest. The breastplate had some firmness to hit, though it hadn’t grown all the way back.

Shade shrugged. “If they’re alive, they’re in the next building.”

“Then let’s go to the next building.” Owin stood and squinted. He felt like he might fall right over again.

Shade scrambled to his feet and grabbed Owin’s shoulders. “People don’t taste death and just hop to their feet and start walking again.”

“Taste death? I had fifteen health left,” he said quietly.

“Maybe when you passed out, but I used a few health potions as your health started to drop. To be honest, I think I used too many.” Shade kept one hand on Owin’s shoulder while he bent and grabbed the bag from the floor. “Is five enough to get you through the rest of the floors?”

“Only five?”

“I used way too many.” Shade put the bag over Owin’s shoulder. “That’s not a big deal, right?”

“Uh.” His head was still fuzzy. He pressed his hand against the breastplate, right over the wound. It was still tender. “What happened?”

“Too many is better than not enough. Right? I just feel like a little confirmation that you aren't angry would do us all some good.”

Was he angry? Was there anything to be angry about?

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Shade took a step back. “Are you going to rip my head off? I thought that was only Suta. What if we made a deal where I kept my head and . . . and you didn’t have to resummon me? Fair deal, right? A great deal. Best deal I’ve ever made.”

“You talk a lot.”

Shade tapped the side of his head. “There’s no brain up here to contain the thoughts. They fall out.”

“You saved me.”

Shade nodded.

“Thank you.”

The skeleton took a big step forward and grabbed Owin’s shoulders. “Stop looking so confused. Your brain is clearly functioning better than mine.” His eyes got bigger. “Do you see one in there?” He stuck his finger right through his empty eye socket. “Nothing. Gone. How do I talk without lips or a tongue? So many mysteries, and you are still staring at me like you aren’t sure if I’m real or not.”

Pressure on his chest wound caused Owin to wince as the chitin breastplate formed a layer and compressed slightly. Normally, it wouldn’t have hurt. He might not have even realized it was happening.

Shade flicked the breastplate. “It’ll be solid before you know it.”

Owin escaped Shade’s grip and pressed his face to a nearby window. From the perspective, he couldn't see the top of the seamount or if there were still grenadiers above.

“Do you think they still have grenades?” he asked.

“Well, it’s been about a half hour, so if they ran out, they will probably have more on respawn, right? Do boxes of explosives respawn?”

“Wait.” Owin’s lich bone knife was immediately in his hand. He creeped toward the center of the room. “A half hour.” His head wasn’t clear and the pain radiated from the wound, even if it had been healed, but nothing was going to cause him to miss the opportunity.

The wizard boss respawned three feet in front of Owin. The cetanthro turned, eyes wide, as the knife slashed through its thighs. An Arcane Barrage flew wildly toward the ceiling before curving and pummeling Shade into dust while Owin drove the knife through the boss’s heart. He ripped the blade out to ensure the boss collapsed in a dead heap.

Summon the Withered Shade

“Sorry, I was trying to kill it before it got you,” Owin said.

Shade waved his hand through the gray dust. “I haven’t a single concern on the matter, Owin. That was a swift kill. Or, I assume it was, as I was beaten to death.”

Owin shook the body, following Suta’s strategy, and found a handful of coins and a mana potion. He shoved it all into his bag, which now felt empty with so many health potions missing.

“You weren’t beaten to death. You got hit by a spell and got summoned back right away. That’s different.”

“And what would you know about it?”

“I summoned you.”

Shade strode over to the door, yawned, and leaned against it. “That you did. Summoned into this wet nightmare of a dungeon. Can you imagine having wet socks for hours? Or days? I mean, days for you. Look how fast we’re going.”

“What are socks?”

Shade cocked his head. “Alright.” He opened the door and gestured into the dark. “I have no further comments. Would you like to rejoin Myrsvai and Suta so you can ask them stupid questions instead?”

“What was stupid about that question?” Owin whispered.

Shade dramatically placed a cupped hand at the side of his head. “You will need to speak up. I have this condition called ‘I have no skin and therefore no ears to hear properly.’”

“Then how do you normally hear me?” Owin stopped at the threshold and stared at the building across. It wasn’t that far, but as soon as grenades started falling, it was the most dangerous stretch of dungeon he had experienced. A few hundred feet of explosions.

“Stop asking me questions that I don’t want to or intend to answer. If you have a question along the lines of ‘Oh, Shade, why are you so handsome, kind, and intelligent?’ then I will be happy to give you a lengthy explanation on the matter. But socks? Hearing? Human anatomy? Goblin anatomy?”

What would Suta and Myrsvai be doing a half hour later? Were they safe?

“I’ll resummon you when I get across.”

Shade patted Owin’s shoulder. “See you there.”

Summon the Withered Shade

He poofed into a cloud of gray dust.

It wasn’t that far. If he sprinted fast enough, he would be across and gone before the grenades even hit the ground.

It was only dangerous because they were moving slowly before. Waiting wasn’t going to help.

Owin bolted through the door, launching himself as fast as he could toward the lava brazier hanging outside the next building. A quick upward glance confirmed cetanthro were still high above as little silhouettes that stood out from the bright, distant surface.

He crashed into the wall, bounced off, opened the door, and slammed it shut behind him. A second later, the first grenade hit the ground outside. For the next ten seconds, all he could hear was the constant rumble of explosions, followed by shrapnel pinging off the bricks and door.

A sigh of relief brought a sense of calmness, finally letting some of the pain in his chest fade. Owin checked his bag and his belt, then turned and saw four cetanthro watching him. They were each in a personal tub that somehow had steam rising only from the water inside the tub.

“Myrsvai? Suta?”

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

The fish looked at each other.

“Anyone?”

Summon the Withered Shade

“Are those baths?” Shade looked back and forth quickly. “A bathhouse under water? I don’t remember this. What kind of nonsense is this?”

“What do you remember?”

Shade pointed to Owin and stalked toward the cetanthro. “What about you, gentlemen? Did you see a man with one arm and his pet insect walk through?”

The fish looked back and forth again.

“Can you talk?” Owin asked.

“Yes,” the closest cetanthro said. “Can you?”

“Uh.”

Shade stepped into the bath beside the cetanthro and gently pushed the fish aside. Each bath was clearly meant for a single person, and the fish’s response of punching Shade in the face seemed reasonable, but even that didn’t stop the skeleton.

“It’s a little cozy. What is it? Lava running beneath? Magma? Molten rock? A touch of elemental magic?”

“It’s magma,” the fish said.

“Yes, that’s what I said.” Shade put his arm around the fish and pulled it closer.

Three of the four cetanthro were grenadier fish with small heads and bulbous eyes, while the other two were phyraena with long noses and sharp teeth. The phyraena seemed far more annoyed than the grenadiers who just shied away when Owin looked at them.

“Would you like to be friends?” Shade asked.

“No,” the fish said, trying to pull away.

Shade was incredibly weak. Why was the fish struggling?

“Oh, what a shame.” Shade used his free hand to lift the end of his scarf. “I got my scarf wet.”

“Everything is wet, Shade.” Owin opened his index and used Examine on the grenadier cetanthro.

Ocean Mob

Grenadier Cetanthro

Level 10

“He’s only level 10,” Owin said. A quick scan of the room showed all grenadier fish were low levels with the phyraena in the early twenties. That still left every mob in the room below the floor’s normal level. They deserved to be on the second or third floor.

“Do you think Suta took a bath?”

“We don’t need to take baths. We’re already soaked.”

“But do you think he would try? He seems like the type to try anyway.”

“I don’t think Suta takes baths.”

“Is that why he smells?” Shade patted the cetanthro on the head and climbed out of the bath. He paused, pointed at Owin, and said, “Don’t you dare ask how I smell.”

“You can smell?”

“Better than most.” Shade finished standing up and adjusted his scarf. “I don’t know why I’m lying to you, but I don’t intend to stop.”

Owin finished his search of the room. The whole bathhouse was just a single room of five circular baths. There were some decorations that looked valuable on pedestals near the wall, but he was more focused on the door leading to the next area. “You’re distracting me.”

“Rather spectacularly, aren’t I?”

“You think Myrsvai and Suta are dead.”

“Well, when the evidence presents itself, I tend to accept it.” Shade crouched beside the central bath and stuck his hand into the steam. “This one is warmer.”

“They’re alive,” Owin said.

“Okay.” Shade patted the grenadier on the head then stood back up. “So, Master . . . what is our plan? Search for the missing magus?”

“Yes.”

“How do we know they didn’t continue to the next floor?”

A rapid series of explosions sounded above.

“Because Myrsvai would go to help other heroes.”

“Oh, you self-righteous morons. Most people aren’t worth saving. Look at me. I was a mess then and I’m a disaster now.”

“We’re going to help.”

“Ugh.” Shade walked over and flung the door open. “Then let us continue into the wet, dark abyss.” He held up a finger. “Not the capital A Abyss. Lower case, like you know, a hole. A pit.”

“I don’t know what you’re saying.” Owin walked through the door and kept an eye on the top of the seamount above. There were a few silhouettes that seemed to be looking over them. “Hurry.”

“Who doesn’t love running? Skeletons sure love running. Let us run.”

When Owin didn’t respond, Shade groaned.

Two hovels like the one holding the stairs were off to the left, with the farthest sitting near the corner where the boundary walls met. To the right was a long, narrow building with a tower in the back. The ramp circling the seamount looked like it started at the top of the tower.

An explosion went off on the ramp above them, sending a flash into the dark water.

“We’re skipping the hovels. Go for that building.” Owin pointed to the long one.

“Got it. Following you.”

Owin sprinted. Before long, grenades exploded behind him. If he had been slower, they absolutely would have hit him. A few shards of shrapnel bounced off his armor, with a few sticking into the sinew that filled the space between the chitin. The sinew was strong enough to stop the shrapnel, allowing Owin to press himself against the edge of the building, under an overhang.

A few more bombs went off near the bathhouse where Shade was still standing. The skeleton was missing a leg and simply waved when he noticed Owin looking.

“Stupid skeleton,” Owin muttered.

Summon the Withered Shade

Summon the Withered Shade

Shade pressed himself against the building. “What a run.”

“You were never going to run, were you?”

“Absolutely not. Look how fast I got here.”

Owin sidled toward the door. There were going to be mobs inside protecting the stairs up to the ramp. There were always some enemies protecting narrow passages, whether it was the snail on the first floor or the swarm on the third.

“Go in first.” Owin moved to the other side of the door. “I’ll open it for you.”

“Sure. I can do that. If you find that helpful, I don’t mind.” Shade opened the door, waved, and lost his head to another Arcane Blast.

Summon the Withered Shade

Summon the Withered Shade

“They have a wizard.” He squealed and ducked as another spell flew over his head. “Why did you summon me right in front of the door?”

“Run inside and distract them!”

“There’s three enemies! Who am I distracting?” He jumped into the air, hoping right over another violet spell.

“The one attacking you!”

Shade dove into the room, narrowly avoiding another spell. He rolled awkwardly and lost his arm to an attack. With a quick gasp, more in anger than anything else, he was back on his feet and running with his single arm flailing wildly.

Two itajara flanked the wizard. Each one held an old, barnacle-encrusted mace. They watched Shade scream and run, but didn’t chase.

Owin pointed his wand and cast Ice Bolt, sending a chunk of ice spinning through the water until it smacked the wizard in the face. It tore part of the fish’s gills and spilled blood into the water, clouding the wizard’s vision.

Both itajara shifted and moved toward Owin.

“No, over here! Look at me!” Shade jumped up and down. An Arcane Blast flew from the cloud of blood and hit the skeleton’s breastbone, causing him to explode into gray dust.

“Okay,” Owin whispered with the wand in one hand and the lich bone knife in the other. Ice Aura formed as a visible spinning circle around him.

The wizard moved his staff aside, pushing the cloud of blood out of his face. He cast Arcane Blast, sending it right between the advancing itajara. Owin twisted and lifted his shoulder, letting the spell bounce off his pauldron. The blow was solid enough that he staggered a half step. Too many of those and the chitin would crack.

He would need to start dodging again.

As the itajara advanced, they closed off the wizard’s opening. Both huge fish slammed their maces down in sync, allowing Owin plenty of time to dive to the side and hop onto their shoulders. He stabbed with the lich bone, driving the thin knife right into the top of the fish’s skull. It wobbled, but didn’t drop before an Arcane Blast filled Owin’s view.

Everything was violet. He felt the impact on his forehead, right on the chitin helmet.

Right after, he felt the impact of the ground with his back.

The living itajara shoved its dead counterpart aside. The lich bone knife remained in its skull as the mob fell to the ground.

“Finish it,” the wizard said.

Owin rolled backward and landed on his feet. The itajara grinned as much as a fish could grin on its wide face.

“Are you out of mana?” Owin asked.

“Don’t speak to me.”

He was out of mana. Owin had been there enough times to understand.

Now, how could he take out a huge berserker fish without a weapon? He could try to slip past to get the knife and finish both itajara the same way, but that would take extra time, and any extra time allowed the wizard to recharge some mana.

Both mobs were weaker than Owin, but he had five floors left. He couldn’t afford to take hits that could cause any serious injuries.

Owin looked at the wand in his hand. Long ago, he had used a wand against Naxile. Owin looked up at the itajara. Fish eyes were big. He jumped in close as the itajara swung the huge mace.

Owin ended up pressed against the cetanthro’s belly. He leapt back and immediately lunged at the itajara’s face. Before it could lift the mace and attack again, Owin stabbed the wand into its eye and cast Ice Bolt.

The back of its head exploded out as the ice ball flew through the water a few feet before losing momentum.

0 Experience

Owin pulled the wand out and jumped down as the fish collapsed. He tore the knife out as he advanced on the wizard.

“Wait,” the fish said.

“What?”

“I will—” Violet light flared on the staff.

Owin pushed off the ground hard enough to shatter the wooden floor. He ripped the lich bone through the wizard’s face, from one end to the other, without losing any momentum. He landed with a cloud of viscera floating in the water behind him.

Summon the Withered Shade

Shade grabbed the wizard’s eye, which floated near his face. He tried to fit it in his own eye socket, but it was too small and slipped into his empty skull. “Ah!”

“Are you ready to go up the stairs?” Owin opened the next door, which held a spiral staircase. It was a steep set of stone stairs without a railing anywhere.

“I wish this staircase brought us to the surface. But, yes. I am ready.”

Another explosion went off above.

“As ready as I can be. I would love to not explode again on this floor.”

“I think you’re going to explode again.” Owin started up the stairs. “Just try to dodge faster.”

“Oh, you dodge? I thought I was supposed to let the enemies hit me. You’re so smart, Master. What would I do without you?”

“Sit in a box.”

Shade grumbled as he followed up the staircase.