It was the damnedest summon Calista had ever seen. No portal. No sound. Just a big, old giant in banded mail armor with flaming hair, flaming beard, flaming axe, and flaming shield who appeared between the petrified trolls. He looked down at them, drew in a deep breath, and let out a deafening battle roar.
Above, Severin laughed maniacally.
“Fly spell?” Calista asked.
“Fly spell,” Lefty nodded.
However, as Lefty touched her shoulder and began his incantation, Severin stopped laughing and shouted another spell. “Mortuus Magicae!”
Lefty’s words died in his throat as a panicked look took over his face. “Run!”
Launching into a sprint, they went the only direction they could – away from the fire giant. Dodging petrified trolls and ducking under arrows, they soon themselves aimed at the stairway that led down to the second level.
As they raced down the stairway, Calista said, “What happened? What did he cast?”
Lefty answered, “An anti-magic field.”
“And what do you have that counters that?”
“Nothing.”
Calista was shocked. “What do you mean, nothing?”
Lefty threw his hands in the air as he ran. “I mean nothing. I’m a level thirty-six wizard for Pete’s sake! What do you expect me to do? Grow twenty levels in twenty seconds?”
“Well, you should have seen it coming. We could have planned. We could have figured that out before we faced off with him!”
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Lefty made a frustrated face as they raced across the second level. Arrows were whizzing past their heads and striking the ground near their feet. One of the projectiles lodged itself in Lefty’s robes. Another nicked Calista’s ear.
Lefty hopped over a dead knight. “I wasn’t counting on him doing that, okay? I didn’t think he’d break out an anti-magic field in the middle of a battle. Usually, they’re set up ahead of time and you can detect them.”
Calista weaved around a petrified troll. “Why couldn’t I have found an arch-wizard down here? Or maybe a nice paladin or a barbarian or three. Why did I have to find a half baked mage who’s insisted on role-playing that he’s afraid of his own shadow?”
As he ran, Lefty let out a sly grin, “Hey, I resemble that remark.”
Two trolls met them at the top of the next stairway. One with a long spear and the other armed with a buckler and cutlass. Calista dove at the troll armed with the sword and shield, her Emberblade slashing, but the troll’s buckler easily blocked her first flurry. Beside her, Lefty deflected the spear with his staff and tried to counterattack, but the troll backstepped the blow as he laughed. As Calista ducked beneath the cutlass, she glanced behind them to see a horde of trolls streaming down the stairway they had just descended. Archers had reached the edge of the third level and were notching their arrows. We have to get past these two or we’re dead meat.
She parried a cutlass blow and brought her Emberblade around at the troll’s face, but he raised his buckler again. This time, however, she had found her footing and was able to bring her full weight behind the blow and so her enchanted sword struck the shield, split it down the middle, and cut into the troll’s arm. Yowling, her foe staggered back, allowing Calista to grab the troll’s sword arm as she stabbed him in the belly. The troll let out a gasp as the light went out of his eyes and as Calista drew her blade free, the troll’s dead body tumbled down the stairs.
Then something dangerous came whistling through the air and she ducked as Lefty’s staff whipped over her head. This was followed by a loud crack and a grunt. When she looked up, Lefty was standing there with an astonished look and a comatose troll laying at his feet.
“Go!” she shouted as she grabbed her friend by the arm. However, as they took their first steps down the stairs, a light flashed in the air as Severin teleported before them.
His arms crossed, he gave them a self-satisfied smirk. “I don’t think I told you that you could go this way. In fact, I’m pretty sure I expressly said you two were supposed to die.”
Lefty raised his finger again, “Actually, I don’t think you actually said that. I think it was more just implied.”
Severin glared, “You know, you’re kinda getting on my nerves.”
“He tends to do that,” Calista admitted.
“Listen …” Lefty said. “Blake, can you just call this all off and let us out? I mean, we get it. You have a weird sex dungeon in a video game. It’s weird. You probably need therapy. But we’re not here to judge you. We just want to get out. Can you just let us out and we’ll call it even?”
Severin held out his hand. “Give me the sword.”
“Give you the sword and … you’ll let us out?” Lefty asked.
Severin shook his head, “No, just give me the sword.”
Now it was Calista’s turn to glare, “How about no.”
Then a long, dark shadow appeared below the stairway. Two glowing golden eyes looked up at the three of them as a serpentine maw opened to reveal rows upon rows of dagger-sharp teeth. It was Vevic. Her claws retracted, she had sneaked beneath Severin. Calista, seeing the serpent’s hungry eyes and cruel intentions, waited until the last moment when she saw Vevic begin drawing in her breath. She then grabbed Lefty and jumped off the stairway.