Several days passed and there were no more signs of enemy launching an assault on the Great Wall.
They were able to verify the truth of the message Justiva delivered from the documents Kihet retrieved from his expedition. The Dragonkins had purposely forfeit control over some lands to the Scalemen leading to the Azure Tower.
However, it wasn’t as simple as it seemed to reclaim the mountain passes as Tower Creatures now freely roamed those unoccupied areas. Dungeons spontaneously emerged one after another, slowing the Scalemen’s advance.
They weren’t as difficult as only one Tower Monster variant guarded the core, but it wasn’t as simple as it sounded. There were traps to be cautious of and one could easily lose track of the exit if they were distracted for one moment.
“Is this all the dungeons in the area?” Kihet said as he was the last to emerge from the cavern.
“En. That’s all from this list.” Lily answered, crossing off one destination from the list. “This one was a bit harder to navigate, but we got lucky and found this reflex bow.”
“I’ll string it later.”
Kihet patted for the roll of silk in his bag he brought all the way from Vivrus. Once he determined it was there, he opened the map of the dungeon.
With managing Scalemen affairs delegated to the chiefs, Kihet had more time to perform his role as the Oracle. As more dungeons were conquered, the Scalemen gained access to resources they wouldn’t have gotten by normal means.
There were times they were rewarded with rich mining deposits of rare ores one wouldn’t normally find. On extremely rare cases where ancient catacombs had surfaced, there would be one or two well preserved weapons to be discovered.
“Have your Shikigami deliver a message to Carmyn and let her know there’s an abundance of magic crystals down there.” He rolled up the map and passed it back to Lily. “When you’re ready, let’s meet up with the next group Draigh wants us to supervise at the next cluster.”
“Just about done.”
Dungeons made for excellent places to train soldiers against Towered Creatures. Although they could not replicate large open field battles, they allowed one to fortify their mentality of facing large hordes.
A group of eleven Scalemen waited at the entrance of the next cavern. There were five Lizardmen, two Nagas and two Tortoise Folks. The other two standing away from the group bore familiar faces.
“Ainig, Krullu? You two here?” Lily asked.
“Draigh made us join.” Krullu grumbled. “All because he said how the Oracle wanted Ainig to become a hero. Just so you know, I’m against it!”
“What does Ainig want?” Kihet turned to the Tortoise and received a jumble of incomprehensible words due to his timidity. “I won’t force you, but I promised to help you grow with the Pale Dragon’s blessing. I only hope you’ll consider becoming a hero.”
Kihet smacked Ainig’s arm before leading the group into the cavern. Ainig quietly casted his gaze down to ponder about the offer but was interrupted by Krullu’s nagging.
Once they reached the wall of miasma, silver flames flashed over them to have their weapons enchanted. “Here’s the plan. Lily and I will take care of the creature guarding the core. The rest of you will be fighting monsters along the path we encounter.”
““Understood!””
“Retreating is also an option. If you guys aren’t careful, you may be the first of the groups to have casualties. Don’t try to be a hero.” Kihet recited from his cue card as he led the Scalemen into the dungeon’s entrance.
In the confines of the cave, the Scalemen positioned themselves to fend off Tower monsters rushing them. At first, they were stunned by overwhelming numbers pushing the two Tortoise Folks back.
Kihet observed the Scalemen reactions from the rear. He could sense their desperation to keep a good front in his presence but doing so rapidly exhausted them. Shield bearers funneling the monsters were constantly being pushed back while the fighters suffered from a lack of morale and energy to defeat their foes in one hit.
“Pikemen, put your back to it! If you don’t take down the enemy, the shield bearers will fall! Spellcasters, what are you two standing around for? Don’t stop supporting your allies!”
The first step was to get the Scalemen experienced against Tower monsters. Although their weapons were blessed with the Oracle’s flames, their foes were unlimited. If their morale waivered at the sight of enemies outnumbering them by a large margin, Kihet wouldn’t have a chance to enter the Azure Tower. Hence, Draigh’s training was to have certain Scalemen be exposed to more number’s disadvantage battles and hopefully they could inspire their allies.
Afterall, they were not expected to defeat both the Dragonkins and Tower monsters. The Scalemen’s purpose was merely to stall for time until Kihet and his band accomplish their mission.
With the first wave driven away, Kihet ordered the Scalemen to mend any injuries while Lily kept the perimeter clear. Shadows would continue popping up around corners as Lily easily sniped them all.
“Kihet, it looks like there’s a chamber ahead.” Lily reported.
“Alright. Ainig, I need you to go on the front with the Defenders.”
“M-me?!” The Tortoise shook his head. “I can’t!”
“You haven’t even tried. Krullu, you’re joining the pikemen on the next one.”
“But, Oracle. I’m not a warrior. I’m here to observe Ainig.”
Kihet ignored the Chameleon’s excuse and tossed a spear into Krullu’s hands. “Those who don’t fight, get no food. I’ve let you sit out for this long. You two should have an idea what to do.”
“You’re a slave driver!”
“I could leave you guys alone in here to fend for yourselves. Is that what you want me to do?”
Krullu grumbled some words to himself and obediently followed Ainig to the front of the group. He heard the others gossip behind his back.
The Scalemen weren’t too fond of Ainig and Krullu joining the line since the duo were infamous as cowards. Ainig had the worst reputation of the two after news of his rampage spread throughout the Scalemen.
Ainig timidly greeted the Tortoise Folks he paired with. In response, his partners snorted and ignored him.
“I’m not doubting them, but I’m a bit worried Ainig’s being ostracized like that.” Lily said.
“I’m only laying out the foundation for him. It’s his job to walk the path or not.”
And thus, the second wave of monsters approached. They crashed into the Defender’s shield with absolute ferocity, showing no signs of yielding to the invaders.
They were instantly met with troubles.
“What are you doing?!”
“Stop moving back! You’re going to break our formation!”
“I’m sorry!”
Given Ainig’s low combat experience, Kihet suspected he would cause issues. The Tortoise’s stance was sloppy, unlike others beside him holding twice as many Shadows at bay. Ainig’s weight was the only thing keeping him from being toppled over, but as more climbed on his shield, he was on the verge of tipping.
A Lizardman hope to lessen the burden and thrust wildly to defeat as many Shadows off Aing as he could. His efforts help relieved the Tortoise a bit until a group of three agile humanoid Shadow used Ainig’s shield as a ramp to jump behind the shield wall.
“They got past! Eep!” Krullu shrieked.
They were Greater Shadows specializing in swift strikes. Their form imitated a marksman’s as one drew a shortbow and loosened a fan of arrows at the Spellcasters. Two unsheathed their daggers and lunged at the pikemen.
Both Spellcasters were struck with shallow wounds. One landed atop of Krullu and stabbed down. Its dagger was caught by the shaft of the spear, slowly pushing down. The other pikeman swapped to his sword and buckler, struggling to defeat it.
“Help! I’m going to die! Help me, please!” Krulle cried.
Before the marksman could unleash another volley at the defenseless spellcasters, a wall of silver flames expanded outwards. The Shadows within the radius were annihilated, but the ones prowling at the edge of the fire were left alive.
“That’s enough. Retreat to the entrance. Lily, I’ll cover the rear. Make sure the path back is safe for the others.”
The Scalemen helped those who were injured and followed Lily out of the cavern where they tend to their wounds. The Spellcasters took the most damage, but nothing too grievous. Krullu’s chest bled from the tip of the dagger and that was sealed up by healing ointments.
Although it was great there were no casualties, Kihet deemed they were too emotional to dungeon dive again. He ordered them to rest until tomorrow to attempt one more try.
A look of frustration washed over the Scalemen’s faces. They were silent for the most part, until one of the Tortoise Folk lashed out his anger towards Ainig.
“Were you trying to get us killed?! You let them through!”
“I didn’t mean to-.”
“Do you even know how to block?!”
“You only had one job and you couldn’t do it properly!”
Perhaps they felt as though their pride was damaged as being the only group to have retreated. One by one, the others joined to blame Ainig for his incompetence. Ainig couldn’t squeeze in a word without being shouted by ten more. In the end, the Scalemen tired themselves from scolding Ainig and separated from him.
The Tortoise sat alone, weeping.
Lily wanted to immediately comfort Ainig, but Kihet stopped her. He wanted to give time for Ainig to take in all the criticism and see if the Tortoise would simply run or grow from his mistake.
“He really isn’t running away.” Lily said, poking her head out of her tent.
Kihet stuck more kindling into the campfire. “That’s a good sign. It means he’s willing to change.”
He tossed Ainig a quick glance then back to Lily’s reflex bow they grabbed out of the catacombs. With a grunt and pulling the silk chord as hard as he could, Kihet successfully strung the bow. To his surprise, it took less strength than he thought.
It was very light, but it didn’t have nearly as much draw power as Lily’s other bows. It must’ve been designed to be use on horseback or skirmishes in tight corridors.
“Here. Give it tug to see if it needs to tighten more.”
“Thanks, Kihet!”
“Aren’t you carrying too many bows?” He looked at the two laying beside Lily. She had a longbow, a compound and now a reflex bow.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
“The more options the better. I can shoot very far with this. This other one is a bit heavy, but very strong when I need that penetrating power. The last one is light, which I can fire arrows faster at a cost of power.”
“Can you even use all of them?”
“I’ll choose accordingly for what battles we fight, but I want to keep them all in tip top shape.”
While Lily plucked on their strings like a harp, Kihet laid out his items to separate the used necessities in a separate bag. Noticing his lantern burning out, he replaced the wick and buried most of it in the wax before it hardened.
Kihet caught a glimpse of Krullu speaking with Ainig but was not given any response. The Chameleon gave up, waddling towards Kihet’s side and helped himself to the heat huddling close to the bonfire.
“Here, Oracle.” Krullu set a pouch next to him. “I completed the formula and even went beyond what you wanted. I forgot to give em to you earlier today.”
“Are these a roll of bark?” Kihet reached in, looking a cylinders with a diameter about the size of the bore of his firelance.
“It’s an innovative design! I figured it’d be hard to swab and press fire medicine quickly during the heat of battle. The bark wrapped around it is hardened by mucus.”
“Mucus of what?”
“You don’t need to know if it does its job. Extracting them from monsters are a pain.” Krullu waved off Kihet’s question. “Though you won’t find the mucus anywhere else, but if you plan on making some yourself substitute it with resin or sap. That being said, it’s a prototype. The ammunition and fire medicine are pre-packed inside. You just need to somehow ignite it.”
“I see. I’ll give them a test.”
While Kihet safely tucked his cartridges aside, Krullu stared into the fire.
“Look, I really don’t think Ainig and I are cut out for this kind of stuff.” Krullu touched the bandaged wound over his chest. “I can confidently say I’m a better person than I was, but at this rate, Ainig and I are just going to keep dragging down others.”
“Noted.”
“I’m being serious here! You saw how angry they were! Ainig wouldn’t even look at me in the eye anymore because he thinks it’s his fault I got hurt.”
“What do you want me to do? We can’t go back until we clear this dungeon and it’s dangerous to travel in the dark.”
“If I tell you about Ainig’s past, will you stop forcing him to stand in the frontlines?”
“Deal.” Kihet waited and asked when Krullu went silent. “So? Why aren’t you talking?”
“I wouldn’t have thought you’d agree that easily.” Krullu grumbled. “Where to start…”
Krullu met Ainig alone in one of the mountains he that was barely poking out from the direction of the village they encountered the Pale Dragon. He found the Tortoise caged in the middle of strange engravings the worshippers scribbled.
Once they moved away to add more nonsensible markings to the symbols, Krullu approached the cage to help Ainig escape. Though Kihet doubted Krullu, the Chameleon said he successfully broke the lock, but the worshippers were alerted to it and chased after them. They were Ainig’s family.
“Oracle, why are you doubting me? They then came after us with weapons! They were going to kill me!”
“Right… Continue.”
Bringing Ainig out of the ritual’s area, the fanatics chasing Ainig were petrified one by one. Their legs turned chalky white until their bodies turned into statues of marble as the ritual being carried out had failed and delivered its punishment.
It was then the Pale Dragon emerged in front of them. Its five spectral heads looked pleased at the outcome but didn’t speak a word. Instead, one of the heads inflicted a psionic shock to knocked him and Ainig unconscious. Krullu then recalled Ainig’s memories about his family and the ritual were wiped but not his.
“Questions?”
“Why were you at that mountain?”
“You heard from the Pale Dragon say I’m a faithless one. Devoting yourself to one of the four deities is a huge deal in Stusis. If you’re a Scalemen who doesn’t worship any of them, you can’t call anywhere your home. There’s no territory for faithless ones.”
“How did you become a faithless one?”
“By denouncing myself as a devotee and successfully run away from my village before they could lynch me. The four ‘Deities’ run its roots deep in tradition and heritage, indoctrinating the Scalemen to blindly worship them. Even before meeting Ainig, I know just how twisted they are. The Elder Dragons are manipulators.”
“What about Ainig? Couldn’t he also be a faithless one?”
“Being a Herald, he can’t escape the Pale Dragon’s grasp no matter what. He is spiritually and physically bounded until the Pale Dragon says so.”
“So, there’s no escaping even if he wanted to.”
Just like Ainig was chosen as the Herald of the Pale Dragon, Kihet was appointed as the Oracle by the Holy Creator. They were forced to either fulfil the wishes of the greater being who forcibly marked them or die trying.
Kihet pulled his sleeve back slightly to see the tip of the red sigil on his arm. Now that he knew the truth of the Creator chose him to bear this seal, he wondered what Henrick was going to use it for if it fell to his hands.
“Oracle, I’ve told you Ainig’s story. You better keep your promise or I ain’t gonna hand over that formula!”
“I won’t force him to stand at the frontlines. I swear on it.”
“I don’t know what you’re planning, but if you lie, I’ll stop developing that fire medicine you wanted any further.” Krullu huffed and wrapped a blanket around himself, leaning against a tree.
Few minutes gone by and he was heard snoring.
Lily who eavesdropped the exchange then asked, “Didn’t you want Ainig to become a hero? If he doesn’t fight-. Oh… I see why you agreed to Krullu’s condition.”
“I won’t force Ainig to go on the frontlines, but that doesn’t mean I can’t persuade or suggest him to fight.” Kihet said, thinking some of Tama’s cheeky tactics rubbed off on him. “Anyways, get some sleep. I’ll wake you when it’s time.”
“En. Good night, Kihet.”
He lit the insect repelling incense as soon as the buzzing started and placed it near Lily. Chatter from the Scalemen’s side began to die down as taking shifts of night watchers were determined by drawing sticks.
With Lily fast asleep, Kihet looked at his inventory to find he didn’t bring nearly enough Healing Ointments as he’d thought. Thankfully, the white petal flowers used to make them were commonly grown in all sorts of places in the world.
A bed of white petals grew at the edge of his camp. He plucked a batch, making sure to not damage the roots of others and dropped the petals in an airtight flask.
He suddenly heard a sound of stone scrapping along the ground very close. Curious, Kihet went to investigate as he drew his hatchet and illuminated the way with his lantern. He shortly came across a large boulder in his path slightly budging.
The dim lighting revealed someone pressing its weight against the boulder as if trying to roll it.
“Ainig? What are you doing?”
“O-Oracle! I’m, uhh… Nothing! Nothing at all!”
“You know, if that boulder slides into that ditch, it’d block our carts from passing through.”
“O-oh. I… didn’t know.” Ainig suddenly sulked. “I-I should get some sleep. Good night, Oracle.”
Kihet inspected his surroundings and found a mound of dirt behind Ainig’s heels indicating the Tortoise was trying to move the rock. Actually, it was safe to assume Ainig was practicing his stance by trying to move it.
“Ainig, you’re not off the hook. I need you to push it away.”
“Eep! B-but I couldn’t even nudge it at all!”
“So, you were trying to move it to the middle of the road?”
“No! I didn’t mean to!”
“You better move this rock to the side before sunrise.” Kihet felt a little guilty but if he didn’t push Ainig, there was no way the Tortoise would improve. “Otherwise, I’d suspect you of sabotaging this training. There will be punishment waiting for you otherwise.”
He threatened Ainig to quickly drop into a clumsy stance then leaned onto the boulder. The rock wasn’t massive, but it was roughly larger than Ainig.
“Hrrggh!”
“Use your legs. If you’re pushing with your arms, it’d only be a waste of effort.”
“Errrgggghhh!”
“Keep your back straight!”
“ARRRRRGGGGHHH!” Ainig grunted. “I-I can’t… it’s, too heavy!”
“Is that so?” Kihet slowly reached for the handle of his weapon. “Ainig. Grab your shield. I’m going to test you.”
As soon as Kihet declared his intention, he drew his hatchet and rushed Ainig.
“Wah! Wait! Wait!”
The Tortoise heaved his shield to the front and was suddenly blown back by the impact of Kihet tackling him. The Tortoise did not expect someone smaller could have topple him down in an instant. Ainig dropped with his belly facing the sky and powerlessly flailed around.
Kihet stepped on his stomach, holding a weapon in the air and swung the head towards Ainig. The blade stopped before biting into Ainig’s neck.
“If I was a Tower creature, you’d already lost your life.” Kihet shifted his hatchet back to its sheath and hopped off to the side. He grabbed Ainig by his carapace edge and flipped the Tortoise’s plastron facing the ground. “And no. I didn’t use magic. I just know how I should move to get the most of moving things heavier than me.”
“What am I doing wrong?”
“From what I can tell, two things. You’re not taking advantage of your own weight which was why it’s easy for me to tackle you down.”
“And… the other?”
“You’re not using the Pale Dragon’s blessing.”
“I’m scared to use it. I might accidentally hurt more people like Krullu.”
“Well, if you want to win, you’d better use anything you can or you might just end up dead at this rate. As you can see, it’s also why I’m still alive.”
To not use one’s resources was no better than a fool whose purpose was to lay down to die. Kihet understood it most.
When he was kicked out of the village and thrown into the forest at a young age, it took time to understand how unforgiving the world was. Those who didn’t act would starve and be preyed by monsters. Those who did, survived and adapted.
“Anything you’re experiencing now, I lived through it. Just like you, I hated to be chosen.”
“B-but you’re the Oracle who’s supposed to save the world.”
“That’s what I hate. I feel alone and out of place when others think I’m just a tool to give back their peaceful lives.” Kihet then pointed his finger at Ainig. “By the way, I’m not saving the world. I’m gathering people to do that for me. You’re someone I promised the Pale Dragon to bring and help.”
“Why me? I’m not confident, I’m clumsy and I’m not as smart as Krullu.”
“I don’t want those who are perfect at everything they do. That only makes them a stuck up with no room for growth. People with flaws are ones I see with potentials. I’m not going to lie. I also need you on the team because you have the Pale Dragon’s blessing. That itself is already a boon.”
“Can I really be a hero?”
“You will. I’ll make you one if you agree to step up. Just a warning. If you accept, you can’t stop halfway because you want to.”
Even Kihet wondered why he wanted to help Ainig by saying all these encouraging words to him. Perhaps the Tortoise shared some resemblance to his friend Malth who was equally as timid. Maybe Kihet found someone he could relate to as both shared similar fates to become someone the greater beings expected them to be.
As he thought about that, he procured some wedges by breaking off flats from nearby stones. He stuck them underneath the boulder and made sure there was no chance it’d roll onto the middle of the path.
“Anyways, forget the boulder. If you decide you can’t take on the role as a Hero, I won’t force you. Think about it and get a good night’s rest.” Kihet waved, making his way back to his camp.
Ainig casted his gaze downward as Kihet returned to his post and fed the dying bonfire with more kindling. He stood there silently, his fingers played with the amulet hanging around his neck. He thought about the past Heralds who wore this same amulet to act as the light in Stusis’ darkest times and wondered if they were as much as a failure as he was at first.
How did they change to become the legends he once admired so much about? How could he become like them?
That thought clouded Ainig’s mind until he squarely faced the boulder in front of him.
----------------------------------------
“Let’s try this again. Check your equipment and make sure everything is in order. You won’t get a chance to fix yourselves in the middle of the battle.”
As dawn approached, the Scalemen prepared themselves to dive into the dungeon for their second attempt. The encounter in the halls was an overwhelming victory. Since they knew what to expect, the Scalemen were able to act correspondingly to the Tower Creature’s rush and fended the initial horde off.
However, the difficult section of the Dungeon now started.
Lily scouted ahead to report the room was occupied by roughly thirty Shadowed Creatures. Krullu and Ainig who weren’t participating until they reached the chamber steadily followed the group.
“Ainig, Krullu, you’re up.”
“Oracle, with all due respect we are against that.” A Lizardman objected. “Everyone came to the consensus the Herald would only hinder our efforts.”
Scalemen behind the Lizardman nodded with some throwing loose insults at Ainig’s incompetence. True, they had one of the strongest starts Kihet had seen, but that was thwarted by Ainig inexperience. As a result, they were forced to restart this dungeon dive.
“That’s not for me to decide.” Kihet side eyed Ainig. “I’m only doing my job and fulfilling Draigh’s request.”
Although at the back of his mind, he thought how this training was slowing him. If he tackled dungeons with only Lily and Aten, Kihet was confident he could clear all the dungeons on his list in three days instead of two weeks.
All eyes turned to Ainig who was the person in question. Surprisingly, the Tortoise was able to remain calm under all the gazes directed at him instead of withdrawing into his shell as usual. To say the looks received didn’t affect him was false as he tried to say something only for it to come out as a whisper.
“You don’t have to fight if you don’t want to, bud.” Krullu patted Ainig’s side and shot a glare at the Oracle. “No one’s forcing you.”
The Defenders stood at the front followed by a row of pikemen and lastly, spellcasters. Unbeknownst to everyone, Ainig stepped up. The Tortoise earned Scalemen glares but endured the pressure as he positioned himself beside his fellow Defenders.
“Ainig? Are you serious?!” Krullu angrily whispered. “We finally got our chance to not do anything! Why are you going up there?”
“I… I want don’t want to be called a coward anymore.”
“Oracle, stop Ainig! He’s unhinged! His mind isn’t right!”
“If that’s his choice, I can’t force him.” Kihet shrugged and tossed a spear back into Krullu’s hands. “But that doesn’t apply to you since that wasn’t part of our deal.”
Krullu couldn’t find the right words to object and left his mouth agape. A spear rolled out his hand and after it hit the cobblestone tiles was when Krullu snapped out of his shock. He grumbled and picked up his pace to join the ranks of other pikemen. Imitating their last attempted formation, the Scalemen clashed with the horde of Shadowed Creatures in the chamber.
The enemy rushed towards them, throwing their weight onto the Defender’s shields which they were unable to break. Even a pack of Greater Shadows challenging them were unable to slip through the tight shut defense.
Ainig tremendously improved his stance, now holding off against ten creatures piling at his shield.
“There’s only a few left! Fold in towards them and let the others finish them off!” Kihet commanded.
One by one, pikemen picked their targets and eventually the room was cleared. It took longer than expected but they achieved a flawless victory. In the end, the Scalemen fought to the chamber containing the dungeon core where Kihet and Lily defeat the Immortal and Greater Shadows guarding it.
This dungeon didn’t provide any useful resources, but they hunted monsters also inhabiting the cavern. Kihet hoped to study which parts would be useful for crafting.
“It’s a good thing it went as planned.” Lily said as she noticed the Scalemen stopped criticizing Ainig. They didn’t act towards the Tortoise in positive light, but it didn’t seem like they had forgiven him.
“From here on out, it all depends on him. If he succeeds, then I won’t have to worry about Alc’Bruk as much and focus on the other Oracle.”
“Do you think Ainig could match up to that Dragonborn?”
Passing by the place where the boulder used to be, Kihet saw it moved across the path and into a side ditch. He was sure he put wedges on the side towards the pathway. He was surprised to discover wedges he placed around it were pushed alongside the boulder.
“After seeing the effort he put in today, I’m hopeful.”
“Same here.” Lily made a fist and moved it near her chest. She strongly met Kihet’s eyes and pursed her lips for a moment. “Hey Kihet, I have a request. When the time comes, would you let me be the one to kill the Ogre who murdered my brother?”