Chapter: 17

“Just give me a—” Len gabbed onto the sides of his armor vest, groaning as Rick tore out another crysal shard from his leg.

He kept going, not giving Len time to talk till he was done.

“All done now, see that wasn’t so bad,” Rick cleaned the blood from his hands and sat on his heels.

“You’re a bastard at times you know that?”

“You’d do the same for me,” Rick said, all to chipper. He’d only had broken bones! Much easier to heal.

Len closed the wounds together, he could still move the leg and his natural healing could begin. With a sigh he sat upright instead of leaning on the rock he’d found.

The soldiers had moved through the dead dungeon beasts, making sure everything was dead before using the web remainders to climb up to the area around the dungeon’s entrance.

“Nice day for a stroll,” Len said as Adrian moved over with the first squad.

“Just caught you lying on the job?” Adrian asked, before paling as he realized what he’d said.

Rick snorted and Len grinned. “Ah I knew there was an asshole in there somewhere, help an old man up will you?” Len held out his arm.

Adrian moved forward with a grin and grabbed his hand pulling him to standing.

Len blinked against the headache and rush. “Lost a little blood there.” He patted Adrian on the shoulder to let him go.

“We left the last one for you all,” Rick had stood. “Even though its stuck on its back it is still deadly. Out in the field you learn to use what you have. I want groups of three getting lengths of webbing together, fuse them into ropes. Anyone know how to make a lasso?” Rick looked around. “We’ll teach you that then!”

“Gibson, you changed out with Edwin’s people and make another two dozen spears, if you run out of dust, collect some from the dead in the pit. There could still be creatures in the dungeon,” Len said.

“On it.” Gibson said.

The groups fell apart to their tasks.

“Uhh, the two big dead spiders, can we pull it out of their backs?” Mackie asked, eyeing up the closest.

“Yes you can,” Len grinned.

“Oh, okay.”

“And if the others don’t realize that, harvest the webbing from all of them and lay it out. With spiders the webbing will become less stick and flexible. Want to get that out into straight strands so it’ll be rope, instead of needing to cut it all out,” Rick said.

“Yes sir,” Mackie smiled, turning to his group and heading for the spider.

Adrian noticed what they were doing and ordered others to help them out instead of picking up strands.

Gibson and his people retrieved the molds and spear lengths, people heading into the forest and in the pit.

Len drank and ate, letting his body heal naturally till he reached about eighty percent of his mana capacity and then used spells to speed up the process.

“They’re pretty good,” Rick said.

Len grunted in agreement.

“Wouldn’t be bad to have some extra help,” Rick continued.

“Been a long time since we worked with others not having to worry about their ulterior motives,” Len said.

“Contract certainly helps,” Rick said.

“Yeah, but they’re thankful for this opportunity, they get into their tasks, no matter what they are and work on them. Don’t have to babysit them.” Len put away his canteen as Adrian walked towards them.

“Gibson won’t take long to finish the spears and the troops are ready to learn about lasso’s?” He said.

“Good stuff, Len you want this one, you remember the knot right?” Rick asked.

“Yeah yeah.” Len stood and they walked towards the soldiers. They all had their eyes on the spider, talking to one another. Noticing the approaching trio they grew silent and faced them.

“Alright, everyone pick up your lengths of webbing,” Len picked up one at random. “Move in close and make sure everyone can see.” He had them tie the knots and turn the webbing into lasso’s checking everyone’s work afterwards.

Rick stepped up once they were done. “With these you’re going to lasso the spider’s legs in teams of three. Your job will be to restrain the creature and stop it from moving around. Gibson, in series of three throwers, take out the creatures heads till its dead. Questions?” Rick looked around. “Okay lets get to it!”

The squads picked up their lassos and went around either side of the spider. Len and Rick positioned themselves between it and the dungeon just incase there were any more surprises waiting.

The groups had some misshaps and more than a few misses with the lasso’s before they had the spider restrained.

Gibson’s people nailed the beast in their first throws the spider stilled to the cheers of the soldiers.

“Break them for lunch and water break, afterwards we’ll be heading into the dungeon,” Rick told Adrian.

“Sir.” Adrian hurried off, yelling out his orders.

“Get another scan of the dungeon?” Rick asked.

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“Yeah. I should probably tell the farmers that we aren’t all dead too.”

“Good idea,” Rick said.

Len pulled out his sound transmission device and activated it, his father picked up immediately.

“We just beat the dungeon overflow, we’re going to eat up something and then head into the dungeon. Nothing got past us but it’d be best to keep a watch going.”

“We heard a bang, never heard nothing like it before in my life,” Edward said.

“Yeah, just got a bit creative there,” Len chuckled.

“A bit creative?”

“Yeah, it worked out. Though it was a fringe case I’d say. Anyway, got to go.”

“Take care of yourself son.”

“I will dad.” Len put the sound transmission device away. It was odd having someone call him son.

“Dungeon check?” Rick asked.

“Yeah.”

***

“Mister Krondel to see you,” Everett said to the room as he let another man in wearing the clothes of a butler.

The doors closed behind him as he stepped into the room and bowed to Lady Carolyn Isendia in her wheelchair.

He had a simpering demeanor that melted away as he straightened himself, his furtive eyes becoming focused.

“It has been some time Krondel,” She said, the man nearly leaping out of his skin as he drew a dagger from under his jacket. It just as quickly disappeared.

Carolyn stood up from her chair regally.

“My lady!” His voice filled with joy and embarrassment.

“I was able to find a way to defeat the poison that Tryus was using upon me.”

“That wretch,” Krondel growled.

“Stop bowing. We have work to do and it must be carried out before the finals,” Carolyn said.

“What do you need from me?” He asked.

“What is the situation of the family?”

“Tyrus controls most of the families that live within the city. He does not control the military at large so he has been sending them to pursue every contract possible to fill his coffers and keep them at bay.”

“And the finances?”

“He makes sure the soldiers and their families are paid at least ot make sure they don’t return home. Though he went into a deal with some nobles and took the brunt of the financial losses. He had to take out loans to cover for it and hide it. We are heavily in debts.”

“The funds I put aside for Rick and Lydia?”

“When Rick turned eighteen instead of handing over the funds he took them for himself. He is working to use the funds put aside for Lydia as a dowry, half of which he will get back from the man he sells her off to,” Krondel said.

“What of the family?”

“He has brought in those that will look over what he is doing as long as he supports them financially. The rest of the family has been pushed to the side. Most of them are on campaign.”

“How soon can we recall those that are off fighting?” She asked.

“If we wanted a small force, four days, to recall an entire regiment, it would take two weeks to a month.”

“Have them complete their contracts, then they are to return to Goran. Do we have enough farmers to operate our fields and who do we know that trades in metals?”

“We don’t have the farmers. Many of them that live further from the city are going to other places or moving closer. We’ve got a lot of farmers coming into the city, unable to find jobs they’re heading to other places that offer factory jobs.” Krondel said. “We have contacts with several mining companies. Though our connections have become colder as we’ve not ordered or worked with them in a long time.”

“Warm those connections back up. See what farmland is available to be bought up. I want lists of all the soldiers that were fired from the Isendia family guard and where they’re located. Then I want you to go through the records of all those that were medically discharged, those that are loyal to the family I want at the top.”

“Yes my lady,” Krondel said.

“Everett can send out your messages to the necessary people. Then I want you to walk me through the family, what they are doing and all that you have seen transpire from Tyrus’ side.”

“Yes my lady.”

***

“As you were,” Len said as he and Rick approached the group of troops eating.

They were rotating people from watch over the dungeon entrance, a trench had been dug across the entrance and a new berm created with Rick had ‘buildering’ it into a harder material.

Someone had got a fire going and used that with some spells to make hot drinks and warm meals.

“This is now what the dungeon looks like,” Rick said as he set down a carved outline half his size. Everyone leaned forward.

“The diamond shaped area in the middle has turned into an octagon made up of three floors. The first is burrows thrown in haphazardly that connect into one another leading down to the second floor. The second is cave-like with low light and the third is a large open area with pillars all over the place.” Rick pointed at the different areas down the length of the dungeon.

“We’re going to move through the dungeon and make sure we killed every creature,” Len said.

“Move in ten minutes,” Rick said.

They moved off to the side, Len eyeing the dungeon entrance.

“Shouldn’t be anything in there after a dungeon overflow,” Rick said.

“You never know. I was surprised that those larger spiders could get out of there, it widened enough for them to leave.”

They waited off to the side as the rest of the soldiers readied themselves. Adrian got them organized and moving for the entrance. Everyone hosted a shield and sword while some carried the explosive crystal spears.

Rick cast a spell, drawing the earth up, compacting it into a bridge into the dungeon and walked across.

Len drew his sword and followed.

The interior of the dungeon was made of crystal, partially formed inorganic shapes long the walls, floor and ceiling. Light came from some of the crystals, light reflecting and refracting off of the others throughout the place.

They came in all colors. The soldiers moved in three ranks abreast, following Len and Rick, watching everything.

They reached a room with five tunnels that went down at different angles.

Rick tapped the floor, then rose, pointing to a passage. “That one. Set a rear-guard,” Rick called back.

“Two wide,” Adrian said. The formation shifted.

They went into the burrow. Len could reach up and touch the ceiling with his hand. Instead he was a half-step behind Rick.

The walls and roof tried to look like they had been dug out, but had that geometric sharpness.

They continued onward a hole revealed. Rick moved to the side, the hole contained unknown plants and lumps of non-crystal material. They were thick with mana. There were also bookshelves carved into the side of the hole with books and alchemical tools on it.

“Dealing with an alchemist’s storage device with an obsession with crystals,” Rick said.

“Looks like.”

Past the resource filled hole it wasn’t long until they reached another hole.

A young fox started to raise its crystal head. Rick’s hammer bashed it in, before he pulled it back into his hand.

“Looks like they’re following fox burrows, first part has the goodies, second part the nest for their little ones,” Len said.

“Weak though,” Rick said.

They continued down and out of the burrow the flooe becoming flat instead of sloped and looking more like a cave instead of an attempt at a burrow.

“Bunch of crystal caves, going to take us on a loop.” Rick tapped on the wall, a hum coming from the crystal and spreading outward. He stayed still for a few seconds. “This way.”

He led them down the hallway, he tapped the wall, nodded to himself and swung. His hammer crashed into the wall, shattering it and blowing it outwards.

It looked like wanton destruction till one saw the pillars on either side of the new entrance that supported the ceiling. He’d ‘built’ himself a supported doorway.

Using the system tricks.

Len stepped through to see a ramp leading down, and a corridor to his left. “Clear!”

He walked onto the ramp. Rick followed and then the others.

They descended to the third floor.

It was the largest by far with large segmented pillars reaching from ceiling to floor. Other pillars were smaller with webs in between.

“Looks like there’s loot bundles on the webs,” Len pointed out with his sword.

“Have to get up there and check them out. Take the tunnels around the side down to the floor and climb up?” Rick asked.

“Seems the best way, loot from the bottom up?”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Rick said leading onwards.

They reached the bottom floor Len studying the pools and plants that were dotted throughout. Be good to get this back to an alchemist. Not having easily consumable and usable health potions was a real pain in the ass. He wanted to have dozens.

Len and Rick walked out of the tunnel onto the pool filled floor, crystal broke against the ground. They started, looking around for the source.

More crystal broke on the floor. The hairs on Len’s neck rose up as he tilted his head upwards.

“Fuck.”