When he reached the last platform Callan almost slid off the far end. Not that it would have been the end of him, but he would’ve been rather embarrassed to have to start all over again. Besides, he’d had enough of these sudden drops at this point. The sooner it was over, the better.

You know, you could have just kept going and leapt for the ledge, Xeph commented as he jumped up and down a few times to ensure this was the solid platform. It was. None of these platforms collapsed for at least the first fifteen seconds. Theoretically, we could have just kept moving and made it the whole way across.

“What, and just left Sevvir behind? Little bit cold of you there, Xeph.”

Do you honestly think that mjolk incapable of keeping pace with us? As he spoke, Sevvir landed beside them in total silence. Callan noticed that she didn’t slide across the platform. Were there claws hiding inside those boots of hers?

“I—Why are you only suggesting this now?” Callan asked, as the mjolk took another leap and reached the ledge containing the exit out of the room. She walked over to the door, peeked through it, then gave a backwards thumbs up in his direction.

It only just occurred to me.

“Great. Just great.” Callan shook his head. “Probably for the better we did the slow and steady method. What if I’d built up too much forward momentum? Or had to stop to tie a shoelace? What if knowing the pattern on the way back is important for some reason? There are too many ways rushing it could go wrong.”

Possibly true, Xeph admitted. It would have saved your hands a bit of damage, though.

Callan glanced down, wincing involuntarily. Even though Sevvir had healed them each time, he felt a residual ache from climbing up Wurmchain a dozen times in rapid succession. Maybe one day Mountainform could protect him entirely, but given his weapon’s stone-cutting nature, he doubted it would be anytime soon.

Another leap carried him over to the ledge. Despite being ready for a break, he hastened to join Sevvir in the doorway.

A short hallway lay ahead, with another door maybe thirty feet beyond. No other branching tunnels or options.

“Is that usual for... whatever this place is?”

Sevvir looked at him curiously. “You seem to be under the mistaken impression I’m an expert. I’ve only been to one other such place, and that’s assuming these two are actually in any way related.” She paused, then added, “But no, it’s not. That one was filled with branches and intersecting hallways. This place has been nothing but one long tunnel. Always just one door, one way forward.”

Different styles of puzzles, maybe? Xeph mused. Or perhaps Veritas simply lacked the time and materials for anything more complex.

“I’m curious why she bothered at all,” Callan grumbled. “If this was Veritas’s idea of keeping Athakolu at bay, their time would have been better spent building regular fortifications, not puzzles.”

Another mystery we’ll have to ask about, if we get the opportunity.

“Oh yeah, first thing I’ll do when we see her again.” Callan rolled his eyes and started after Sevvir. “So, any ideas what’s behind there?”

“As I just said—”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re not an expert. But didn’t you say you’ve been through, what, like two dozen of these rooms so far? Was there a pattern to them or anything?”

The girl paused. She turned to study him for a moment. Callan couldn’t say why, but there was something noticeably... hungry about the expression.

“A pattern. That is an intriguing idea, and one that I hadn’t considered before. Are you certain that you have never been here before, Callan?”

“I can promise you I haven’t.” Though to be fair, he’d played enough dungeon crawlers with Lyle that it was the first thing that had immediately occurred to him. It always seemed like there were recognizable patterns in those games, even in the supposedly randomized ones.

“Hmm. Assuming that what I’ve seen so far continues to hold true, then this room should be... a battle room, I think.” She glanced back, and seeing Callan’s expression, added, “Monsters.”

“Oh,” he said, relaxing. “So this should be an easy challenge.”

“Why do you say that?”

They reached the door. Callan noted that while it appeared to be made from the same copperish material as the platforms, this one wasn’t smooth. Instead, it was inlaid with small inscriptions and geometric shapes. He leaned in but couldn’t make any sense of them. Apparently Xeph’s translation powers only went so far.

He glanced back as Sevvir pulled on the handle. “Didn’t you say everything here was dead? Or does that not include the monsters?”

I should hope so, Xeph added. What would they have been eating all this time?

“I did say everything here was dead.” Sevvir opened the door. “However, as you saw in the last room, that doesn’t always make the challenges easier.”

“Yeah, but...”

The mjolk stepped through the doorway, and Callan followed. The flames in her hand illuminated a chamber maybe fifty feet in any direction, with a floor patterned in copper and steel plates. Several light fixtures hung overhead, but they were as dead as everything else in here.

Also scattered about the room were small brass-colored orbs, about a dozen in all. None reached higher than Callan’s knee.

“No monsters in here,” he said, noting the door on the far side.

“We’ll see about that.” Striding forward, Sevvir raised a foot and delivered a solid kick to one of the orbs. It rocked back and forth, but seemed more solidly attached than Callan would have thought. She repeated the process a few times. “Hmmph.”

“Expecting something more?”

“No. But I’ve learned it never hurts to be careful in places like this.”

Weaving her way through the room, she approached the far doorway. Callan lingered a moment, studying the walls, which appeared to be hewn from the same ironstone as everywhere else. This was seriously limiting his available powerset. Metal floors, metal walls, metal doors... Veritas’s mark was all over the place.

“Mother’s tits!” Callan glanced over to see Sevvir was now venting her anger against the door. She struck it multiple times, to little effect. “The way ahead is sealed. It is probably designed to open only when the challenge is completed.”

That certainly was a colorful expression, Xeph noted, as Callan came to join the mjolk by the exit. He looked over the door but couldn’t see anything in the way of a lock mechanism, or even a handle. If not for the color, it would have been indiscernible from the rest of the wall. Do you think it is a regional variation, or something unique to the mjolk? Ah, the etymological possibilities this modern era provides are near limitless!

“Glad you’re enjoying yourself, buddy.” He glanced over at Sevvir. “So what do we do?”

“There is a possibility I’ve tried in previous rooms, but...” She glanced at him. “Are you skilled enough to hold your own in a fight?”

When Callan just frowned at her, she added, “There is no shame in admitting you aren’t. Many races lack the natural battle instincts that a mjolk possesses from birth. If you fear for your safety, you can retreat out of the room. I will inform you when the battle is over.”

“Sevvir, I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, by my arms can literally turn to stone. Pretty sure I’m as ‘combat ready’ as you are.”

“Possessing claws does not automatically make one a hunter, Callan. If you are likely to freeze or panic during a battle, I would rather you tell me now. I will not think less of you for it.”

“I can fight.”

She looked at him doubtfully. Callan set his jaw. “I can.”

“Fine. Prove it.” She took a step back. “Hit me.”

“What?”

“Hit me. Preferably as hard as you can.”

Callan stared at her. “Uh, no.”

“And why not?” There was a mischievous quirk to Sevvir’s smile.

“You mean besides the fact that I don’t want to hurt you?” For some reason, the girl’s smile grew even wider at that statement. Callan resisted the urge to scrub at his face. “Maybe I just don’t like hitting—”

He caught himself before the next word could slip out.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

“Don’t like hitting what, Callan?” That dangerous glint was back in Sevvir’s eyes. She flexed her claws in a way that couldn’t be misconstrued as anything but a threat. “Please tell me. I’m ever so curious.”

I’m also curious, Xeph said. Is there an Earthling taboo against hitting mjolk? What a strange and ultimately one-sided custom. I doubt the Earth mjolk refuse to hit back, no matter what steps you’ve taken over the millennia to domesticate them.

“Dangit, Xeph, I already told you there are no mjolk on—” Callan paused again. Forced himself to take a deep breath. He started over. “Listen, Sevvir, you understand that I’m an avatar, right? That means my strength is multiple times what you could ever hope to achieve.”

Well, that’s an slight overembellishment... perhaps one day you might achieve such levels of Brawn, mortal, but until you start collecting faith in earnest...

Callan ignored his head-mate and focused solely on Sevvir. “That’s not even factoring in the abilities that Xeph has gifted me. A punch with Mountainform could break every bone in your body. My Wurmchain could flay the skin from your bones. My Rock—”

“Enough.” Sevvir held up a hand. “Just refrain from calling on anything but your god-given strength, Callan. I promise you that I’ll be fine.”

“If I kill you—”

The mjolk let out a sharp burst of laughter. “If you can kill me in one hit then I don’t deserve to bear my clan’s name. Anything else, I can heal afterwards. Now, are you going to hit me, or are we going to stand here until the meat rots from our bones?”

Again with the colorful expressions... Xeph noted as Callan stared the mjolk down. It seemed there was only one way out of this. With a thought, he dismissed Mountainform, stone crumbling off his arms like falling ash. Meanwhile, Sevvir stood there, waiting.

“Are you still hesitating, Callan? I promise, I’m not like those fragile yeth women you know. A mjolk is more than capable of—”

She cut off as Callan’s fist slammed into her jaw. He’d only been intending a quick jab, just to show her he knew how to fight economically, no wasted motions, but even so the punch sent her stumbling back. Blood arced through the air, and the entire room dimmed as Sevvir’s flames went pinwheeling with the rest of her.

Good shot, mortal. Xeph had a satisfied tone to his voice, while Callan stared at the line of blood on the metal floor. If I ever need someone to rough up a group of unarmed civilians, I’ll know who to call.

“But she was the one who—!”

“You held back.” He glanced up and found Sevvir grinning at him with bloody teeth. She wiped a line of red away from the corner of her mouth. “And here I thought I’d gotten through to you.”

Callan, who was pretty sure he hadn’t held back, stared at the mjolk girl. She wasn’t missing any teeth, and other than a bit of blood seemed otherwise fine.

Remembering himself, he crossed his arms. “I just needed to prove I could fight, didn’t I? Well? Is that satisfactory?”

“Sure, sure. Though it’s going to take more than a few punches to win this next battle.” She held out a hand. “Give me your stones.”

“My... stones?”

“The red ones you have in your upper pocket.”

“How do you know—oh, right.” Callan pulled the memory shards from his pocket and handed them over to Sevvir. “But mjolk don’t steal, oh no. They just rifle through your pockets while you’re unconscious then demand what’s in them at a later date.”

“Exactly. I’m glad you’re catching on, Callan.”

Mortal, I don’t think she understands sarcasm, Xeph said, while Sevvir made a circuit of the room, setting a memory shard atop each of the metallic orb. What was she doing? Perhaps you should explain to her how sarcasm works, or else the nuance of your comments will be lost upon her.

“I think Sevvir understands sarcasm just fine, Xeph.”

“I do,” the mjolk said from across the room without looking up. She set a shard on the final orb. “There, that ought to do.”

“Do what, exactly?”

“This.”

All around the room, the brass orbs began to shudder. Then the one next to Callan rocked to one side, and a pair of legs emerged from underneath. And another. And another. They stretched out, raising the orb another foot or two off the ground. A single, humanlike eye rotated around the center, settling its gaze on Callan. The eye blinked.

Oh, so these are the monsters the mjolk meant. Xeph sounded far too calm for the situation. Callan backed up a step. I understand her confusion. For someone unfamiliar with more advanced technology, they must seem monstrous indeed.

“Uh, Xeph? Is this dveorgan tech?” Something told him the answer was no. The orb-creature gave Callan the same uncomfortable feeling as the platforms, only like ten times stronger. He raised his fists.

That is unlike any dveorgan creation I’ve ever seen, Xeph said, confirming his fears. These remind me more of divine summons, though they appear to have far more longevity.

“Like I kept saying,” Sevvir called from across the room. She was already surrounded by three of the eyeball-spider-things. No, not spiders, those had eight legs. What did you call something with only six? “Dungeons are full of monsters.”

“I was expecting something more like goblins or rats,” Callan called back. The eye-creature scuttled towards him.

What’s a goblin?

“Later!” As the orb barreled forward, a series of sharp spike formed along its surface. It let out a breathy hissing noise and launched at Callan.

Alert: 12.5% Apotheosis used.

Total Apotheosis is at 12.5%

The orb exploded as a stone nearly as wide across as it was fired off at point-blank range. Thrashing legs and pieces of torso rained down around Callan.

“Good job!” Sevvir called. “Keep going!”

Right. Callan noted the mjolk had already dispatched two of the orbs attacking her but was now fending off a half-dozen others. The remainder were headed in his direction. Can’t just keep using Rock Sling. But there’s no stone in here to manipulate. I could just punch them, but I’d rather not get close to those spikes.

That just left one option. He held out a hand to the side, letting Wurmchain drop into it.

Alert: 2.5% Apotheosis used.

Total Apotheosis is at 15%

Excess coils of the chain pooled at his feet. What was it again, fifteen feet or so? He glanced around him. Yep. He had at least that.

As the orbs approached, he started to spin.

It took two full turns before the entire chain lifted off the ground, but by then he had a spiral of death encircling him. The first of the orbs reached the chain, advancing without any fear or hesitation—and getting shredded to bits on Wurmchain’s teeth for their efforts. The others all followed in rapid succession.

Callan slowed to a halt, the chain dropping back the floor, leaving sharp gouges in the metal pattern wherever it dragged. “Talk about an efficient method for clearing a room.”

Yes, though admittedly one that would not work on more intelligent opponents.

“Oh, you just have to ruin all my fun, don’t you.” He glanced over to where Sevvir was tearing one of the orbs with her bare hands. Maybe he didn’t have to worry about the spikes that much after all. Of course, she was also laughing maniacally, so it could be the mjolk was a special case. “Hey, I’m done mopping up over here!”

So much for ‘no combat experience’ he thought with a grin. After fighting rival cults, these not-spiders are a piece of cake.

“Nice,” Sevvir called back. “Now work on the other ones!”

Other ones?

“Look up!”

Oh. Callan sighed.

He looked upwards at the ceiling, where dozens of the orbs were just beginning to shake and sprout legs. I guess I shouldn’t have expected it to be that easy.

The orbs chose that moment to start falling like rain. Callan raised Wurmchain and swung outward.

Which didn’t actually accomplish much, given the weapon’s length. Wurmchain flopped out like a half-dead fish, and Callan let out a curse. He started to spin again, but slowly. Too slowly.

The first orb dropped onto his shoulder, stabbing into him with its pincerlike legs.

“Gah!” Callan tore it away, hurling it across to the room to crash into another orb that had just landed. Both of the monsters went down in a jumbled heap.

Unfortunately, there were plenty to replace them.

They skittered across the floor towards Callan with unnatural speed. He tried spinning up Wurmchain again, managing to take out two of them with the weapon’s spikes. Two more however simply leapt over the chain entirely, and another one grabbed ahold and began skittering along its length.

Okay, this is no longer helping. Releasing the weapon, he left it to puff away into sulphureous smoke, dropping the one orb back to the ground. Callan raised his fists.

Alert: 5% Apotheosis used.

Total Apotheosis is at 19%

Should have just done this in the first place, spikes be damned, he thought as stone sealed over his fists. An orb leapt at him, but a solid punch to its center crumpled the monster and sent it bouncing back. Others followed.

Callan struck over and over again with a frenzy. However, for every one that he smacked or punched to pieces, two more seemed to replace them just as quickly. Another even dropped from the ceiling onto his back, though he was ready this time and managed to shift Mountainform to protect his shoulders from the worst of the damage.

But while he was doing that, an orb managed to wrap its legs around his right arm like a octopus. He hurled the first one away, then shifted his stone back, trying to get the other to let go. It refused.

“Back. The fuck. Off!” He punched it repeatedly, leaving noticeable dents in the orb’s frame, but this one appeared to be particularly tenacious and wouldn’t let go. Turning, he smashed his right arm against the nearby wall. And again. And again.

Finally, the orb slid limply to the floor, just in time for two more to wrap around his legs. Callan groaned.

“Cut me some slack, would you?!?” He kicked the wall, only to wince as his unarmored skin roared from the impact. The orb sank two of its pincerlike claws through his skin, adding to the agony. A third monster started crawling up its brethren, making its way towards Callan’s chest.

“No, no, no!” With each word, he punched downward, knocking the orb away, though doing little to dislodge the first two. With a growl he held out his hands and summoned Wurmchain again.

Alert: 2.5% Apotheosis used.

Total Apotheosis is at 21%

Instead of wielding it like a whip, he seized it in both hands. Blood ran down his palms as the scales bit into his skin, but he practically had callouses there from all the climbing earlier and it barely registered. Pulling the chain tight, he used it to shear the two orbs away from his legs, taking a bit of his pants along in the process. The orbs dropped to the ground, twitching.

Callan glanced back and forth, but realized the room appeared to finally have been cleared. A short distance away Sevvir stood amidst the smoking wreckage of an uncountable number of orbs. She grinned and gave him a thumbs up.

The door appears to be open now, Xeph noted casually. He’d been exactly zero help during that fight, Callan thought bitterly as he trudged across the room. Wurmchain dragged behind him, so he let it go to wisp away to nothing. With luck, he wouldn’t need it again for a while.

“You can hold your own in a fight,” Sevvir said, falling in next to him as they made their way out of the room.

“You sound surprised. Xeph and I have basically been fighting nonstop since we arrived in the Badlands.”

Except for the hiding in a basement for several weeks.

“I was healing, Xeph. After a ferocious battle against that glandular rhino, you might recall. Now that was a monster.”

You mean the domesticated dvorak that you and our priests ganged up on to kill? Yes, a mighty battle. Like fighting an overlarge housecat.

Callan looked at Sevvir, who was studying the way ahead. She must have felt his attention, because she glanced over at him and grinned.

“Clearly you’ve never met some house cats, Xeph.”