Abby ran with terror powering her legs. Though neither her expression nor Owyn’s really reflected the sentiment, she knew they were both terrified. That… event, that brought Grant back to life. That wasn’t normal. That was… powerful. For a lack of a better word.
Her thoughts were scattered. She knew she should be focusing on getting to Setterton and collecting medical stuff, but she just couldn’t stop thinking about Grant. Alive. Back from the dead.
Live.
Lucid’s voice had reverberated through her very soul. Even though she hadn’t even been the target of the spell, she felt its power. She felt herself desiring to obey that one, simple word.
Not for the first time, she checked her shield, just to ensure she was still maintaining her light. Now that she knew enthralled couldn’t cast magic, it was the only solace she had. Hopefully, it wouldn’t become a habit.
“Do you think Lady Bellamy heard it too?” Owyn asked.
“What does it matter?” Abby refocused on running through the caves.
“Well obviously it wouldn’t enthrall her, but do you think it’ll maybe rub off on her?” Owyn spoke in a rather uptone voice. “I mean, the spell wasn’t directed at her, but I felt it. You did too probably, and right now I seriously feel like I want to live. Think Lady Bellamy feels the same way?”
“She’s unconscious.” Abby reminded him.
“Right, but like what if she’s still influenced by the spell? Maybe she’ll hold on longer than normal.”
“You say that as if she’s going to die!”
“She won’t if we keep this pace up.” Owyn said. “Hell, we could probably slow down and still make it with plenty of time to spare. But I’m just saying like if she didn’t have help, would she last longer now that she heard Lucid compared to if she didn’t?”
“That’s stupid.” Abby really just couldn’t think of anything else to say.
“What do you think we can trade for?” Owyn continued. “I mean, he said he doesn’t have anything we want, but that’s obviously false. We could trade some cores for Lady Bellamy’s freedom, don’t you think?”
Abby thinks about it as they round a corner. “Well, he did say we were allowed to trade with him. And I mean, what else would we trade for?”
“You think he’ll let me keep one of those fish things?”
Abby gave Owyn an incredulous look. “Really!?”
“What?!” Owyn says. “It’s not any different than owning a cat or something.”
“It’s a dungeon monster.” Abby harshly points out. “It’s very different. What the hell’s with your complete turn around? You can't be both for and against Lucid at the same time!”
“I know! I know. But listen. What if we actually work with Lucid? Hey? I mean before, I was frustrated since Lucid isn’t acting like a dungeon should, but then I got to thinking. What if he’s just a new kind of dungeon? What if working with him could help revolutionize our understanding of regular dungeons! I mean think about it!”
“Please don’t tell me you’re not seriously thinking of getting intentionally enthralled.”
“No!” Owyn quickly defended himself. “Of course not, I promised you. But if… you know.”
No. Abby didn’t know. She would never fully understand Owyn’s obsession with dungeons, but she wouldn’t get in his way either. That would risk their relationship as adventurers together. However, this change Lucid was making Owyn go through… ah, she didn’t know!
They ducked slightly as they came to the mouth of the cave, taking the last few steps out. Almost immediately, they came face to face with the church’s camp. They both took in the sight of it, even if they didn’t slow down as they ran on.
“And there’s something else to consider.” Owyn says quietly.
“What’s that?”
“You saw it. When we got there, we saw the archer and crossbow guy fire into the dungeon. And it goes without saying what they were aiming for. Grant’s got a bolt through his neck. Even an amateur archer knows not to aim close to where people are standing.”
“You think Lucid’s telling the truth about the church?” Although Abby was the one to voice the question, even she wasn’t sure herself. Lucid or no, the evidence was there. The church wasn’t exactly above killing people. The fact that it was in a dungeon was all the more suspicious.
“I think we need to be more cautious.” Owyn says, beginning to run out of breath. “I don’t know of a safe way to confirm anything yet. It’s not like we can ask them directly without tipping them off.”
“It’s the Baroness, all over again.” Abby muttered. “Why can’t it be easy, like with enthrallment? Just check if they can’t use magic or something. Is there something the church isn’t allowed to do?”
“Kill people in dungeons.” Owyn says. He’s too out of breath to say more.
They run into Setterton, not slowing down to acknowledge the random passers-by as they run deeper into the town. They take the back route between buildings to get to the general store as fast as possible. When they crash through the door, they almost come face to face with Old Jenny as she helps another customer inspect some candles.
“Oh dear! What’ got you-”
Abby cuts her off. “Lady Bellamy broke her leg. We need a splint, some bandages, and… Owyn, what else?”
“I don’t know?!” Owyn bends over, placing his hands on his knees. “I know dungeons! Not medicine!”
Old Jenny quickly shuffles to the back of her store, ignoring her previous customer. “You didn’t leave her in the dungeons alone I hope!”
“Barry and Grant are there.” Owyn waves her off. Abby noticed he deliberately didn’t mention the Baroness.
“Does that mean the dungeons are safe again?” Asks the customer. “We don’t need to worry anymore?”
Abby and Owyn share a look.
“Not quite.” Abby says. “Lady Bellamy went into the dungeons without asking us permission. She got hurt in the process.”
The door opened behind them. “Is that so? What about my knights guarding the entrance?”
Abby and Owyn made space for the high priest Franz. He wasn’t wearing his usual priestly robes, and instead dressed like a casual person. He looked at Abby with genuine worry. Or at least, Abby had to interpret it as genuine. What he was exactly worried about was suddenly a mystery to her.
Owyn covered for her lapse of silence with a lie. “From what Lady Bellamy told us, she snuck into the dungeons with her Troop. The knights caught them and chased them into Lucid’s dungeon. They sacrificed themselves to save them.”
Franz deflated. “Oh dear. That’s… is everyone alright?”
“Lady Bellamy broke her leg.” Owyn said.
“Grant didn’t make it either.” Abby had to make an excuse somehow. There was no way Grant would be able to come home as he was, so it would probably be for the better if he was dead to the rest of the world.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
“I thought you said Barry and Grant were with the Lady?” Old Jenny asks, shuffling some items into a bag.
“Forgive us for being worried about the person we might actually be able to save.” Owyn says, glaring at Abby.
“If it’s that serious, I’m able to cast some healing magic.” Franz offers. “You just need to give me a minute to collect my cores from the inn.”
Abby and Owyn silently debated it. Finally, Owyn nodded.
“I’ll take him there. You go ahead and make sure everyone’s still safe.”
Which Abby knew was really code for ‘go make sure he doesn’t see anything we don’t want him to’.
Just before she was about to go, Old Jenny shuffled close, hefting up a bag laden with various medical things. “Take this anyways. Just in case.”
Abby gratefully took the bag with one hand. “We’ll pay you back later.”
She just nodded, shooing her out.
Abby ran. Her feet thundered with every step, pushing her forward. Unbidden to her, thoughts of Lucid returned.
Live.
She felt the wind blow past her. The streets of Setterton blurred, turning to grasslands and trees in an instant. Her heart pounded fast in her chest. Heat rose up from within her, dispersing in the wake of her step.
Live.
She was running.
And Abby felt alive.
----------------------------------------
Abby ran all the way into Lucid’s core room. Rab and Mimi were in the process of removing the armor from the knights when she burst onto the scene.
“Franz is coming.”
The Baroness was sitting with her daughter's head on her lap, and Barry and Grant were studying the waters surrounding the room. Grant had his arms in the air for some reason. All three conscious minds turned to look at her, not quite understanding the implications.
The Baroness understood first. “The high priest. He’s going to suspect something’s off if he sees me… No, I doubt- Abby? What’d you tell him?”
“Grant’s dead, and so are the knights. We were in Old Jenny’s store when he found out we were getting stuff for the Lady.”
The Baroness nodded, tilting her head to listen. Abby was getting really frustrated that she couldn’t hear what Lucid was saying. Not because she wanted to hear Lucid, but because she just didn’t like being left out.
“Okie dokie!” Grant garbled, dropping his arms and marching for the exit that led deeper into the dungeon.
The Baroness gestured for Barry to come closer. “Take Isabelle into the next room over. Rab will pretend to be stuck in the door, unable to get to you guys while you wait for Franz to come.”
Barry jogged over to her, scooping Lady Bellamy under her legs and back. “What about you?”
“Grant and I will just be over there, out of sight.” Her face softened a little. “Take care of my daughter. Will you?”
Barry nodded, gently walking Lady Bellamy over to Abby. Rab followed. When they left the room, rab stuck his lance through the door. Barry went to set Lady Bellamy down a few steps in, but Rab gestured for them to move even further back. Barry and Abby obeyed, stopping about halfway through the neighboring room.
Rab opened his mouth and began screeching. His body slammed into the doorway, rocking the earth slightly. His lance claw waved wildly in the air, scratching the walls and floor on their side of the barrier. If Abby didn’t know he was acting, she would genuinely be terrified.
Actually, she wasn’t entirely sure he was acting.
Barry and Abby found a nice position to lay Lady Bellamy in. Abby wasn’t entirely sure any position could be comfortable for her, considering the fact that her leg had a bone protruding out the back, but it was the best they could do.
A small rush came over them. Lucid’s presence became known.
Lift her leg higher than her heart. Helps with the bleeding.
His presence faded. Unlike the first time, his voice was quite normal this time around.
“Thanks.” Abby said, doing just that. “Um… I’ve been wondering though. What happened to the blue squares? I feel like you were able to talk to us a lot better through those.”
A pause.
The blue square appeared in a corner of her vision. Barry flinched, swiping at the thing that Abby couldn’t see. She snickered.
“I think it’s too late now.”
If a blue square could disappear in embarrassment, it did.
Abby giggled.
“Can you stop talking to the dungeon?” Barry asked. “It’s weird.”
“Oh, who cares. Talking won’t hurt anyone.”
“Maybe.” Barry pouted. He studied an errant rock for a while, allowing Rab’s screeching to be the only sound. Then he looked up to Abby.
“Do you think what we did was ok? With Grant?”
Technically, they broke no laws. But morally? Abby wasn’t so sure. Being enthralled was just one of those things that everybody feared. Once you became a thrall, all your thoughts just told you to kill and consume. Some dungeons would use their thralls in uniquely creative ways, Abby knew that much from Owyn, but this was different. Lucid wasn’t mindless. Did that make him better? Did that make what they allowed him to do so much worse? Abby wasn’t so sure.
“Did you, uh, say goodbye?” Abby asked instead. “That’s what we resurrected him to do, wasn’t it?”
“This goes against the church.” Barry continued. “Everything they taught us. I… But they were the ones to kill him. I’m not sure we can blame Lucid for that.”
“Would it make you feel better to blame him for her broken leg?” Abby gestured to the growing pool of blood, careful not to jostle the limp leg she held up.
“Sort of.” Barry sulked, pulling into himself.
“I don’t know a lot about the church.” Abby said. “Mom only really ever went to church to sell them fresh cores. How do you know about the teachings of the church? Were your parents religious?”
“They were.” Barry acknowledged. “Dad stopped going when mom died. I wasn’t old then. Maybe about eight years old. We moved to Setterton about a year later.”
“Where from?”
“Hastings.”
“Oh! There’s a Summers family in Hastings! I don’t think I’m related to them though. What about you? Are you related to the Mayflower family there? The swordsman family?”
Barry chuckled. “Mom married in. Dad teaches me swordsmanship in the woods sometimes. But you’re not supposed to tell.”
Abby put a finger to her lips. “Is he alright with you using a spear? I know Mr. Brook used one before he died, but you don’t have to, right?”
“I want to.” Barry says. “Mrs. Brook is nice to me. I’ve known her for half my life. And if I can maybe remind her of her husband, then I think that’s cool.”
“Very cool.” Abby agreed.
“Dad says it’s honorable. Says I can use a sword, or a spear, or both if I want to. ‘S long as I keep safe.”
Abby chuckles. “Well, so much for your sword.”
They both look to the enraged Rab, who still had Barry’s sword stuck in its shell.
Abby decided to let Barry in on a secret. “Owyn and I joked, saying you’re better with your knife than your spear, because it keeps breaking all the time.”
Barry laughs. “I think so too!”
They hear two sets of footsteps approaching. Owyn struggles to enter the room, nearly collapsing once he does. A much fresher Franz continues into the room, carrying a small wooden chest. He eyes the enraged Rab, but otherwise focuses on Lady Bellany.
“Let her down.” He says. “Keep her leg as straight as you can.”
He sets the small chest down and pulls out a key from his pocket. Undoing the lock, he opens the chest and reaches inside. What he pulls out is easily by far the largest core Abby had ever seen in her life! It was a deep, dark green, and it didn’t fit any proper core shape that she knew. In fact, the jagged thing just looked like a fragment of a much larger core!
Franz held the large core fragment against Lady Bellamy’s leg, right at the break. He eyed the break up and down for a second before seemingly changing his mind. He places the core in his lap and grasps Lady Bellamy’s leg above and below the break. With a yank, and a disgusting stretch of muscle and skin, he sucks the bone back into her leg, straightening it completely.
Lady Bellamy jolts, her eyes going wide. She gasps in a deep breath.
“AHHHH!”
Quickly, Franz picks the core back up and places it over the break. A lime colored light blossoms out from inside the core. Abby shuddered as she heard snapping bones and slivering muscles. Even below the Lady’s armor, she could see her skin worming around as it reassembled itself.
“Oh fuck.” Barry leaned off to the side.
Lady Bellamy collapsed back, pale and sweating, but at least no longer shouting in pain. “T-Thank you.” She shivered.
“I can’t do anything about the blood. Or the bruising. Or the pain.” Franz looked a little sheepish. “Sorry, but fixing it is about all I can really do. If we get you somewhere comfortable, I can use this again to help the bruising a little more, to keep the swelling down. But as it is, I suspect the dungeon isn’t taking too kindly to our presence. You must have really angered it.”
“We killed Mimi.” Abby admitted. “Well, Lady Bellamy did, anyway.”
“Mimi?” Franz asked.
“The smaller mimic crab.” Owyn supplied, still breathing hard. “Come on Barry. Let’s carry her together.”
“But-”
Owyn gave him a harsh look. “We’re not leaving her here. Come on, up you get.”
Abby leaned in, giving him a questioning glance. They were supposed to leave the Lady here. Was Owyn really willing to antagonize the dungeon? Abby bet that if he really tried, Rab could easily break down the thin wall separating their room from the core room.
“I took care of it.” Owyn whispered, not so discreetly eyeing a pile of rocks behind him. Then, louder, he spoke to Lady Bellamy. “Don’t try to stand yourself. We’ll carry you.”
“I got it.” Barry says, taking Owyn’s place. Together, the boys hoist Lady Bellamy onto Barry's back.
Abby stood next to Lady Bellamy. She placed a gentle hand on her back. “Do you want to tell Grant's parents, or should I?”
Lady Bellamy didn’t seem to want to talk right now. She just buried her face in Barry’s back as they left. Abby intentionally, but discreetly kept her light away from the pile of rocks Owyn had eyed earlier. Buried beneath them, she could see the straps of the pouches that he used to carry their conquered dungeon cores.
Together, they left everything behind.