Lucid has been oddly quiet since the fight with Mercy. It’s most evident in the thralls. They seem dejected, or almost introspective at times. It’s obvious that some of the human thralls are fighting it though, all smiles and gentle gestures to assure their partners are fine. The Baroness hides it the best, but she lets the facade slip when she thinks nobody can see her.
If Owyn thought Lucid was in the right mindspace, he’d ask why depressed people look cooler in thermal vision.
They couldn’t just sit still though. With Mercy out of the picture, the center of the cavern was up for grabs again, and the remaining dungeons weren’t going to sit still. Owyn teamed up with the Dungeon Rats, for old times sake, to do some dungeon delving. Clyde, the youngest, wasn’t able to join them, due to his unevolved nature. Owyn frankly didn’t believe that statement, since the young orphan obviously stood taller than he remembered, but he wouldn’t argue.
Mr. Vernant led some of the villagers, both enthralled and not, on hunting missions as well. They were less so focused on conquering dungeons as much as they were just trying to find some plump monsters to eat. Ratkin was edible after all, even if it didn’t taste the best.
Lefty was the unfortunate target. And since the humans were doing hit and run tactics, it encouraged the other two dungeons to do the same. The insect dungeon only ever sent out one large spider to do the hunting, but the ratkin dungeon freely antagonized Lefty at every opportunity.
Lefty was fighting back, and demonstrably holding its own. However, like Lucid originally, it wasn’t growing any further. With Lucid now on a fast track of growth, and the other two dungeons joining the scraps in the middle of the cavern for baby dungeons, Lefty was going to be slowly left behind. A slow death was unbecoming of a dungeon, but Owyn wasn’t going to complain with one less threat to the villagers.
Owyn’s thoughts returned to Lucid. He didn’t feel like he was going through a slow death. Just a depressive slump of sorts. Owyn couldn’t help but wonder exactly what happened between him and Mercy. Lucid had told him about the weird space the dungeons enter when they make contact, and how time seems to stop in the real world relative to them. Lucid could very well have had a long, heartfelt conversation with Mercy, where she begged for her life or something. Or maybe Lucid somehow managed to change her mind about killing him, but only one of them could actually escape.
The simplest explanation to Owyn was that Lucid had spent the time in there reminiscing from back when Mercy was friends with everyone, and now he was sad about having to kill her. It came to Owyn as a small consolidation that Lucid had some manner of conscience. Not that it was ever in question, especially since he was taking such good care of Setterton’s people, but still. It was nice to know he still had a human side.
He deserved a break, Owyn decided. He’d been working day and night to keep the people of Setterton safe. Hopefully he enjoyed his break.
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“I give ‘em three days.” Dweller argued from the other side of Silver.
How that dragon could withstand the rotting fish smell was beyond Owyn.
Silver snorted, spreading their claws.
“Five?!” Dweller shouted. “So you’re ugly and stupid!”
“You calling me stupid?” Owyn leaned over to raise an eyebrow at the undead. He had guessed that Lefty would only last six days at this pace.
Dweller nodded sagely. “Not even the boss’s teachings can help you at this rate.”
“One day.” Damian finally added to the conversation from below.
“He speaks!” Dweller shouted.
“What makes you say that?” Owyn asked.
Damian shrugged. “I figure it’d take that long to convince you to tell me where the core is hiding. Then I’d kill them myself.”
Mr. Vernant walked up to the group, casually munching on the last bit of his lunch. “We making bets? I’m sure that if Lucid wanted, we could storm their castle right now. Be done and over with it.”
“And he doesn’t want to because…?”
Mr. Vernant shrugged, wiping his hands. “Dunno. Haven’t heard a peep from ‘em.”
“Still?” Owyn laid back on the wall. “Wonder if he’s ok.”
“He seems to be.” Mr. Vernant joined Owyn, blatantly staying away from Dweller. “He’s just quiet. Grant used to get like that when he found an anthill. It’s like Lucid’s just watching us. No real emotion, positive or negative. Just watching.”
Owyn considered it. “Does that mean we’re kind of free to do whatever we want?”
Mr. Vernant shrugged again. “I don’t see why not. The Baroness has been taking some of the others to the upper caves, did you know that? I heard they were going to see if the dead end areas up there were safe enough to make more rooms for beds.”
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“I take it you helped them up?” Owyn asked Damian.
The demon snorted. “The humans finally got smart enough to use the ladder built into the stone. I very much enjoyed watching them tremble in fear.”
“You probably contributed to that fear if you were watching.”
“I hope so.” Damian muttered with a smile.
“Cowards.” Dweller scoffed.
“WHELP!” Mr. Vernant said, slapping his thigh. “If I’m going to win the bet, best get going.” He hopped off the wall, leisurely walking his way towards Lefty.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Owyn asked, even though he already knew exactly what was happening.
“You didn’t make a bet, stupid.” Dweller said, but he hopped off the wall to join him.
Mr. Vernant grinned cheekily at the undead. “Well then I bet that Lefty will die today!”
Damian needed no convincing to join the procession. Silver, likewise, did a stretch before taking flight.
“Are we really doing this?” Owyn asked himself. Again, he already knew the answer though.
He sighed, getting to his feet. Unlike the others, who carried their weapons with them at all times, Owyn didn’t have a weapon. No more arrows for his bow either. So rather than join them right away, he hurried down the stairs of the wall and into the core room at the back of the castle. It doubled as a storage room for the stone weapons that Lucid had assembled for the fight. A few of the workers piling up rock foundations for a few buildings watched him go curiously.
“What’s going on Owyn?” One asked.
“I’m getting a weapon!” Owyn called back. “Seems like some of the others are going to attack Lefty. See if they can kill them today!”
The workers looked at each other. A few of them shrugged. Putting down their loads, they jogged to join him.
It didn’t stop there. Owyn whistled to get Mycroft to come over and join them, which attracted Grant’s attention, and some of the other mimic crabs that had combat evolutions, and a large number of others who decided that they could ‘use the exercise’. A veritable army was being assembled based on the fact that Lefty was weak, and they were strong in numbers.
Why not?
Bombardier bats flew overhead, hauling rocks ahead of the army. Mr. Vernant took the lead for the ground troops, while Damian and Silver protected the flyers. They encountered Lefty’s monsters quickly. Advance troops meant to delay the army. Owyn, kneeling atop Mycroft with a spear in hand, fished out his necklace early, knowing just how useful this knowledge was going to be. The blue light swirling around in the core moved aimlessly, even as they phased into Lefty’s domain. They’d have to get closer for it to work.
Unlike Lefty’s monsters, Lucid’s impromptu army were able to shift out the injured. People and monsters unable to fight at their best capacity were moved to the back, protected by the onslaught of the frontline fighters. Stone weapons did quick work of the various monsters guarding Lefty’s core. Their leather armor protected them from the worst that Lefty could throw at them. Ratkin gloves, snake leather boots, all manner of protection made their various attacks basically useless.
And then the boss monster joined the fight. A giant three headed snake that waddled on two fat legs. Lucid called it ‘Hydra’. The beast towered over the army, roaring and hissing down on them. The army faltered slightly. Of course the boss monster would join the fight. Maybe it was time to retreat with the loot in the form of more meat and leather.
A white lance the size of a building pierced the darkness, aimed straight for the hydra’s center mass. It danced back, narrowly avoiding the attack. Rab towered over the attacking army, grumbling in his deep tone.
They all cheered. With renewed determination, the mismash army charged into Lefty’s dungeon, unburdened from the large boss monster. Damian swooped in from overhead, targeting the largest targets on his own, occupying them long enough for the army to simply overwhelm them.
Owyn’s necklace pointed in a direction. “There!” He pointed with his spear.
Lefty’s remaining monsters crowded around a hole in the ground, protecting a spherical core as it was brought out into the open. Bombardier bats released their payloads on the concentrated mass of monsters, mostly missing the more agile ground troops. The crowd surged, running away from the conflict. Mycroft broke away from the rest of the army, giving chase.
A few thralls followed after her, leaving the humans within the light that they brought with them. Distantly, Owyn could hear them cheer, having successfully fought off the giant dungeon. Owyn let them have their victory, switching to thermal vision to better chase the dungeon core. He considered throwing his spear for a quick victory, but he couldn’t trust his aim when throwing things. It just wasn’t the same as archery. Or a gun.
Their detached army of about four thralls, plus Mycroft and Owyn, chased the diminished army through the cavern. Though Lefty’s numbers were much higher at around 20 bodies, none of them were properly suited to fight armored and armed humans, much less Mycroft. She screeched with pleasure, enjoying this game of tag. Owyn grinned too, urging her to go faster!
Some ratkin joined in the chase, but any that got close to either group were slaughtered without a second's hesitation. If either group slowed down even just a little bit, the other one would win.
They eventually encountered the wall of the cavern, forcing Lefty to choose a direction. Going right would lead through the previous territory of the Lizard dungeon, and eventually to Lucid, and heading left would send them closer to Grove, the ratkin dungeon.
Lefty chose left.
They hugged the wall, and continued the chase. The humans and Mycroft were beginning to tire from all the running, and it was clear that Lefty’s monsters would not slow down. Not if it meant their dungeon paid the price for it. But they were so close, so the chase continued!
Until Lefty encountered a crack in the wall.
The monsters shoved the core in, scrambling to follow. Mycroft caught the last few before they could escape, clubbing and stabbing them with her many tentacles. Owyn dismounted, dispatching only one snake monster before it was all over. He approached the crack in the wall. He could probably crawl through it and follow the heat signatures escaping farther down, but it wasn’t a very smart plan. The human thralls caught up, murmuring to each other as they peered down the hidden pathway.
Unbidden, Owyn suddenly found himself thinking about the thausens Lucid had once controlled.
“Hm…” Tapping his stone spear on the ground, he turned, leisurely walking the group back towards Lucid. Maybe this would be interesting enough for him to come out of his slump.