“That was anticlimactic…” I complained as I watched the shotgun in my hands dissolve into a multitude of light particles along with the remains of the thug on the floor. “I thought he’d be tougher than that.” I picked up the tiny bit of loot they dropped before exiting the room with Trouble in tow. I glanced around the roundish room which held a dim light peeking in from a crack in the ceiling which got refracted through some kind of crystal to give the cave a dim dusky glow.
“Kaw?” Trouble squawked out while pointing at something on the wall.
“Seriously, you think so?” I moved closer to the wall he was pointing at.
“Bukaw.” Trouble nodded his head with confidence.
“How can you be-” I reached out to touch a smooth column embedded into the cavern wall, it did not feel like any rock I have ever felt before, the feeling was closer to that of a bone. “No way…” I pulled my hand back as my eyes adjusted to the low level of light in the environment. My eyes traced the smooth bone column which was as wide as I was tall, from the floor to the ceiling.
“Kaw, bukaw.” Trouble waved his wing at the ceiling and then motioned to the other side. “Kaw.”
“It’s a damned rib cage…” I drew in a deep breath while trying to wrap my head around what kind of monster can claim these bones. “Does it belong to a pal?” I tap my Paldex in hope it could provide some answers.
[Connection Error] My Paldex reported in a distorted manner.
“Seriously? A technological marvel of a device that is so advanced it’s basically magic, and it stops working because I’m underground…” I just stare at the broken fancy magical wristband with disbelief. “And don’t you start on me mister!” I snap around to stare down a quaking giant ball of feather on the verge of bursting out in uncontrollable laughter.
“KA-!” Trouble couldn’t hold it back any longer, and just as his outburst began, I remembered to unsummon him. The damage was already done as his loud start of a laugh echoed throughout the oval shaped chamber of bones. While the echo was fading away, the sound of footsteps could be heard from both passageways.
“I swore I heard something!” A voice shouted as they approached from the left side of the chambers.
“You sure it wasn’t a wild pal?” A bored voice questioned the first before letting out a loud yawn.
“Grah!” A short wild pal stepped out of the other passageway to my right. It was some kind of big eyed mole faced bipedal creature with long arms ending in sharp looking claws.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
“See, it’s just a Fuddler you moron.” The tired voice sighs as I hug the left wall, making sure they won’t spot me right away.
“I’m telling you, I heard something else!” The first voice sounded a bit frightened. “These damn dungeons always freak me out, I don’t see anything, let's get back.” It sounded like they turned around and started hurrying away.
“What are you so scared of?” The tired voice followed after the retreating one.
“Depends on the island we are linked to, now hurry up!” I let their footsteps fade out before I start approaching that passageway.
“Guh!” The wild Fuddler starts slashing its claws against a humongous reddish brown colored boulder. I’m not sure it even knew I was in the large chambers.
“I feel like I should try and capture this pal, but another part of me says to hold onto these spheres until a bit later.” I glanced between the wild digging pal and my Paldex, where a small screen projected the list of my inventory. “At least some of the functions still work.” I sighed in relief that the connection issue only seemed to mute my Paldex and not fully break it.
“Next time.” I head into the left passageway, crouching as I slowly hug the wall. A short hallway leads into a larger expanse than the previous chamber. An everblue glow shaded the light in the room as four giant blue metallic tinted boulders stood in the center within a shallow pond. “Why do thos look fi-” I duck back into the passageway as two thugs step out from behind the boulders.
“Why are we leaving the Paldium untouched again?” One of the thugs asked while looking at the large blue boulders.
“Something to do with something way above our pay grade, I’d reckon.” The other thug rests his baton on his shoulder. “Guarding the pretty rocks beats hell anyday.” He smacks the back of the other thug’s head with his free hand. “Don’t touch them and screw it up.” They ordered.
“Shit!... I know!” The victim yelped in pain. “Guh…it stings.” The thug rubbed the back of his sore head as they headed further into the dungeon.
“Should have brought my pickaxe with me.” I whispered to myself from my hiding spot in the shadows. I slowly get up and approach the stones with caution, looking out for more guards. “So this is Paldimim- Paliumi- Paldun- The blue rock I need for things…” I pat the rock whose name I still struggle with remembering. Out of embarrassment, I can hear the phantom laughing of a giant chicken named Trouble, so I turn my head to the left. “Hmph… Woah, what’s that…” Something in the distance caught my eye.
I draw my bow and summon Trouble for backup. “Shhh!” I shush him before he can make any noises. Thankfully he understands and only nods while quietly tiptoeing while following my lead. A flooded tunnel with narrow slippery looking stepping path across greeted us, but it was the weird glow beyond it that drew my attention.
“Wha- Is that a tree?!” I shout in surprise after crossing the stone steps across the water. A hazy film covers the entrance into the next room, only the shape of a large dead tree can be seen. “What is this-” I touched it, which caused it to react.
The hazy foggy film blocking the view vanished, and behind us sprang a bright orange runic barrier. The room was mostly engulfed by a large willowy tree, with a trio of wild pals nestled among its roots. I froze on the spot as I recognized them as Direhowls, I gulped as I noticed that one was much larger than the others.
“Alpha Direhowl?” I stared at its rising figure, watching it tower over the other pals, making them look like puppies in comparison. “Oh shit.” Our eyes meet, and it growls.