There was no time to think. Vash fell back on instinct, letting his awareness sink into his Core. Mana flooded his body, and his perception of time slowed to a crawl. His senses screamed at him to move, but no direction seemed safe. Normally embracing his Core would give him a tug in the right direction, to avoid danger and move to a safer position. This time, it seemed, there was no safe position to move to.
Vash cursed and took a gamble. Leaping forward and to his right, he tucked his shoulder and rolled. Behind him came the sound of a crossbow bolt whizzing through the air where he had just been standing. Vash heard it hit the stone wall and clatter to the tiles. Continuing his roll, he felt the tile beneath him give.
Click
You have got to be kidding me!
Coming up onto his feet, Vash leaped to the tiny wooden baseboard that ran between the support beams in the hallway. The baseboard was less than half a hand-span in width. Summoning the formula for Cat’s Grace, Vash used the mana and locked the Major Talent into place. A surge of mana flooded from his Core, much more than he had used for Enhanced Senses. He landed on the baseboard and spun to place himself on firmer footing, braced against the support beam and the stone wall. The tile he had just been standing on crumbled and fell away, along with three other neighboring tiles. Now a pit was yawning just below Vash’s toes. The pit was around ten feet deep, with sloped sides of muddy soil. At the bottom was a pool of dark, brackish water.
I don’t want to know how deep that water is, Vash thought, or what might be in it.
Breathing heavily, Vash considered his situation. His aura was sensing danger all around. That likely meant that someone had trapped every tile.
I knew I should have picked up Detect Traps when I had the chance. Vash thought, kicking himself for having focused so much on stealth and combat. Byar had counseled him to invest in utility Talents, but he had wanted to be a Hunter like Iona.
The warnings his aura gave him were about general danger, not focused on anything in particular. There was so much danger in the room that he couldn’t separate out a safe path. Each direction gave him a warning thrum, telling him that moving that way was a bad idea.
Meanwhile, holding his balance on the thin baseboard was sapping his mana. Unlike Enhanced Senses, Cat’s Grace was reliant on a steady stream of mana from his Core for the constant minute adjustments to balance and reflex. Vash had to do something soon, or he was liable to run out of mana.
He closed his eyes, trying to calm himself while he considered his situation. Moving meant triggering more traps. Staying in one place meant slowly draining his mana until he could no longer maintain his balance and fell, likely triggering more traps.
There has to be something… Vash thought. He wracked his brain, trying to think of anything from his training or his limited list of Talents that would help him. Nothing was coming to mind.
Can’t stab a trapped tile.
Then he paused and looked at the tiles, taking in the design. Or can you?
Each tile in the hallway had a small geometric design at each of the four corners. The corners seemed to connect, forming a design about a hand-span across. It was just enough space for a careful rogue to place his foot.
Need to test it, though. Vash thought, shifting his weight so that he rested his shoulder against the support beam and freed up the use of his right hand. He drew the dagger that Corwin had given him. Despite being weighted wrong for the purpose he had in mind, it was large and solid and should provide the force he needed.
Taking a deep breath, he focused on the nearest corner design. It was three paces away, but on the other side of the pit trap. Vash flipped the dagger in his hand, holding it by the blade, and with a flick of his wrist, sent it spinning towards the spot he had picked. The blade tumbled, awkward, not meant for throwing, but it struck its target point-first and with a good amount of force. The dagger bounced off the tile with a metallic clang and landed on a neighboring tile. It skittered and slid for a few moments, coming to rest balanced on the edge of the pit trap.
Vash cursed his luck. He’d hoped to recover the dagger, that didn’t seem like an option now. But it had served its purpose. There was no ominous click, no shifting of tiles or flash of danger from Vash’s Core.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
“All right, so that’s where I can step.” Vash muttered to himself. “Now I just have to get to it.”
Cat’s Grace was depleting his mana little by little as he held position. He would need it to make sure that his landing didn’t end in disaster as well. The jump was just within his range, but he still hesitated. Making a mistake here might prove fatal. Jabez had said that the Master Delver wouldn’t intentionally try to kill him. Suffocation, crossbow bolts, unclimbable pits with water traps at the bottom? Not deadly at all.
To be safe, Vash knew he needed to use Enhance Ability as well, to give him the added strength to make the jump. That meant he would have to layer his Talents, holding Cat’s Grace stable while calling up Enhance Ability. Holding two formulas in your head wasn’t easy, and it also wasn’t something Vash had done very often.
Can’t stand here and dither, Vash thought. If I wait too much longer, then I won’t have enough mana left in my Core to do both.
Layering Talents was a tricky process. Vash pushed the formula for Cat’s Grace to the background in his mind, feeling it tremble a bit, but still holding, as he structured the formula for Enhance Ability on top of it. It was like tracing a shape with your left hand while drawing a new shape with your right. Awkward, but possible. Finally, he had the completed formula for Enhance Ability worked out. He held his breath and connected the formula in his mind to the mana in his Core.
A flood of warmth flowed into his muscles, wicking away fatigue and strain. The Talent snapped into place and Vash felt the mana being pulled from his Core. It was a minor Talent, so it locked the mana in and would only function once. Even as the Talent locked into place, Vash could feel it fading. He had to hurry or it would waste the mana.
Vash pushed off from the wall, leaping across the pit—and overshot his target.
He sailed over the small diamond-shaped design and hurtled towards the opposite wall. Acting on instinct, Vash twisted his body so that he collided with the wall feet-first. Vash pushed off again, gentler this time, letting the landing absorb most of his momentum. As he did, he absorbed the last of the mana in Enhance Ability. The formula collapsed and Vash struggled to hold on to the structure of Cat’s Grace. He landed on the ball of one foot, any more and he would put pressure on the neighboring tiles. Cat’s Grace faltered, the structure trying to break apart in his mind. Vash felt his balance shift, his body fighting against inertia and gravity. Willing the formula back into place and spending more mana, Vash stabilized his Talent. With a few awkward flailing motions, Vash regained his balance.
Nothing happened.
Vash let out a relieved breath. I can do this. He reassured himself. Now get moving before you exhaust your mana.
In a few quick hops, Vash crossed the hallway. It stung to leave the dagger behind, but he knew he didn’t have the mana to retrieve it and get across the hallway. Judging by the ‘evaluation’ so far, he was going to need whatever mana he had left for the next part.
Vash reached out for the door handle and felt a pulse of warning from his Core. He paused, hand hovering a finger-length from the latch. Is the door trapped too?
Pulling his hand back, Vash felt the pulse of warning fade. He fought the rising panic. Taking too long here would deplete his mana, leaving him vulnerable when he needed Talents, but moving too fast would put him in danger from any traps on the door. Running his hand over the wood of the door and around the latch, Vash paid attention to how his Core reacted. The pulse became stronger the closer he got to the door handle itself, and weaker as he moved away.
Maybe something happens when I open the door?
Vash checked the hinges and the door frame for triggers. The pulse faded the further he moved from the handle. Frowning, Vash peered at the metal door handle. It was nothing special. He couldn’t see any triggering mechanisms, needles, or blades on the handle. In fact, the only thing out of the ordinary was that it was slightly dirtier than the others that he’d seen. A thin coat of grease layered the back of the handle where it met the latch.
Right where my hand would go. Vash thought, Contact poison?
There were several substances that could be absorbed through the skin. Most were annoying, some were debilitating, and whatever was on the door handle would no doubt cause him trouble. Vash reached into his pocket and withdrew the length of cloth that he found in the previous room. The cloth was a coarse weave, meaning that it wouldn’t provide as much protection as a leather glove would, but it was better than touching the handle with his bare hand. He wrapped the cloth around the handle, carefully avoiding touching the ‘grease’ with his bare skin. When the handle was wrapped, Vash’s danger sense barely made a whisper as he reached for the handle.
Vash carefully turned the handle and opened the door. Beyond was a dimly lit room crowded with wooden crates. Mage-lamps on the walls provided a small amount of light, but the illumination was barely enough to see the outlines of the crates. Vash hesitated at the doorway, careful not to rush in and get himself into trouble. He stretched out one foot and gingerly touched the floor on the other side of the doorway. His Core remained still. Vash put his weight on the extended foot. Again, his Core did not pulse in response to danger.
Let’s see what’s in this room, shall we?
He stepped into the room, cautious and alert. As soon as he passed the threshold, the door behind him slammed shut and the lock clicked into place. Vash dropped into a crouch, peering into the darkness. From somewhere in the room, beyond the rows of crates, he saw a few faint yellow glows.
UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS. A voice from the darkness boomed. Authoritative, but strangely flat, the voice had a slight ring to it, like it was coming from inside a well or some place deep. INTRUDER, MAKE YOURSELF KNOWN AND YOU SHALL NOT BE HARMED. RESIST AND THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES.