—Bas—

The pass was up ahead, only a thousand feet, maybe less.

The air carried with it the sharp bite of cold, funneled down from lofty mountaintops that streamed sheets of cloud out into a crisp blue sky.

The wind was weak and intermittent, yet Bas still tightened the borrowed blanket around him in an effort to ward off the chill that had suddenly arisen this close to the mountain pass.

He would have rather foregone the entire experience, but Kort pressed on ahead. The dwarf seemed immune to the effects of 'a little nip t' the air', although, it was more likely that the armor he wore was keeping him warm.

Two thousand feet above the pass, the first speckling of snow appeared on the mountainsides, quickly spreading and thickening farther up, until the whole mountaintop was blanketed in cold and white, merging seamlessly with the clouds billowing off the peaks to make it seem as if the lofty summits were the pillars of the sky.

Bas glanced around him warily, part of him worried for the threat of potential predators nearby, yet a small voice urged him to face them, to take their Lifeforce for his own and experience the bliss of being united with their strength.

He shook the errant thoughts away, he would reach Rank II soon enough. Then he could begin his plans.

If the extensive history of Era was anything to go by, the world had been stuck in a semi-medieval period for tens of thousands of years, at least.

It was truly incredible that they had not even discovered steam power yet. Such a thing would tip the balance of power so firmly in a nation's favor that it would come to dominate the world within a century.

Bas was practically salivating at the idea of creating a steam engine. The uses of rapid transport, ranging from distribution of materials to troop movements would turn Era on its head. All he needed was to be the first one to create it in this corner of the world. It might not even require steam, this was a magical world after all. Controlled application of gaseous mana might be able to replicate the process, although he had no idea as to how much mana it would take to move a vehicle.

Kort's loud intake of breath ripped him from his plans for world domination, "Well fuck me with a fire iron. I'll be a liar if I say that's nae the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

They had reached the top of the pass.

Spread out below them was a valley bathed in a thousand prismatic hues. Patches of flowers, almost too bright to be real, carpeted the ground in color, their petals blurred by distance into a greater more cohesive whole. Bushes seemed to erupt from the ground in a riot of life and leafy shades, tossing their green manes in response to the breeze that funneled down the valley.

A gemlike river glinted in garish shades of sapphire and the whitish-blue of sunlight seen through fresh snow. Trees burst out from its banks in thick rows, before beginning solitary journeys towards the valley's sloping sides. Evergreen pine and red-berried mountain ash proudly braving the silent scorn of the frosty mountain summits that peered down from so high above, crowned in clouds and sky.

A small herd of deer could be seen grazing below, although they kept a wary distance between the tree studded riverbank.

Was there something in the water? Bas put the thought out of mind. The entire valley exuded a sense of peace and serenity.

Kort, however, was on edge, "This should nae be here." His eyes glowed blue, indicating that he was massively augmenting his vision with liquid mana.

The dwarf scanned the valley floor, searching for anything out of place.

"Huh? There ought t' be a Dungeon here. This ain't natural for so high up, and I've nae ever seen those flowers before."

"I never took ya for a botanist." Grimheld said, a teasing grin on his face.

"It's nae joking matter, Grim. Just give me a second." Kort was perplexed, his mana enhanced gaze darting from side to side, almost peeling away the vegetation with his scrutiny in order to see what lay beneath.

The dwarf scanned the area for almost a minute, before his gaze jerked up toward where the slope of the valley's side began to steepen.

"Huh?" Kort scratched his chin, working his gauntleted fingers in between the strands of his beard, "What are you doing up there?"

Bas followed his look, barely able to make out the abnormality on the opposite slope. It was only its shape that gave it away—an almost perfect ellipse. "Is that a Du—"

"Yes." Kort and Grimheld said, answering simultaneously.

"What's so strange about it? I understand why the valley is odd; it looks like an acid trip. But..."

"Acid trip?" Kort's eyebrows raised as he turned to face Bas, "Are you telling me, laddie, that acid is used for transportation in your world?"

"No." Bas laughed, "An acid trip is when... you know what. Nevermind. Forget I ever said anything."

But Kort wouldn't let the matter go, "Would I find anything about this acid travel in this book of yours?" He gestured towards Grimheld's pack, and the physics book that sat inside it.

"No."

Kort's eyes narrowed, "So, you would nae mind me checking, then? Just t' make sure."

It was a bluff, and Bas knew it, "Go ahead, be my guest." He dismissively waved Kort toward Grimheld. No one in Era would be able to make head or tail of its contents.

Kort was obviously aware of this. He smirked, before answering Bas' previous question, "Dungeons often send out creatures t' gather food for them. Like this one," He patted the side of his bag, where the strange beetle was stored. "When a Dungeon goes rogue, it will sometimes claim land above ground and colonize that as well. But, by all rights, those plants ought t' be up there, they should nae be down there." Kort squinted, "And those deer. Over there. They're completely normal." He said the last part in an accusatory grumble, as if the deer had just eviscerated his grandmother with a rusty spoon.

Bas stared at him. Were the deer meant to be anything other than normal?

He didn't have time to dwell on that train of thought. Kort straightened, moving closer and straining upward to loop a metal-encased arm around Bas' shoulders. "So, lad. Are you ready t' get stronger? I have a promise t' keep." He gave Bas a hearty, companionable thump on the shoulder with his free hand, completely oblivious to the the gauntlets he was wearing.

"Ow!" Bas, on the other hand, was all too painfully aware of the hard metal slamming congenially into his shoulder joint.

Kort laughed, "That's what I like to hear." He withdrew his arm from Bas' shoulders, giving him one final pat on the back, which, as usual, sent him sprawling face down on the grass.

The asshole dwarf set off down the hill, humming jovially to himself.

Bas, meanwhile, was spitting out the familiar tufts of grass that somehow always managed to intricate themselves into him mouth whenever Kort was being friendly.

Grimheld walked forwards, stopping beside Bas' prone form. "Ya know, kid. If ya used yer mana properly this wouldn't happen." Despite the seemingly reprimanding tone, Grim's voice was full of humor.

"And you're telling me now?"

"Ya have to let me have a little fun at yer expense. It's only fair..." Grimheld cradled his chin between his thumb an forefinger, smirking all the while, "Actually... Let me retract that last statement. It's not fair, but it was just too funny."

"Ha. Fucking. Ha."

"Glad ya see the humor in it." Grimheld helped him up, "C'mon, let me show ya how to develop yer Mitigator Variant. I'll show ya as we walk."

Bas perked up immediately, on hearing those words, quickly dusting the dirt and grass off his badly stained trousers. He followed after him.

"So, I've already shown ya the basics of how to heal and strengthen. Just let yer mana flow into someone. Simple." Grimheld paused, waiting until Bas realized he was supposed to nod along, "Good, so ya remember that, then. Now, that's only one side of the coin when it comes to the Mitigator Variant."

Absentmindedly, Grimheld drew a knife across his own forearm, "Heal this."

Bas did as requested, summoning out his mana cloud and letting it seep into Grimheld's self-inflicted wound.

"Good, so ya weren't just bullshitting me when ya said ya remembered." The dwarf seemed to radiate approval, "Now, let's move on to something more advanced. Stop this."

Grimheld stopped walking tossed the knife in the air, he eyed it for a second before taking one step forward and tilting his head to the side, exposing his neck.

The blade's upward momentum slowed and it angled itself downward, toward Grimheld's bare flesh.

Time seemed to slow for Bas. He tried to summon up what he had learnt, but little was forthcoming.

He could try to strengthen Grim's skin by letting mana flow into it, but if the mana he added wasn't enough the knife could do some serious damage.

Oh well, it was worth a try. He began to let his mana pour into Grimheld.

Wait! He wasn't going about this in the right way. Only one way would work for certain.

Acting purely on instinct, he struck Grim's rear with a hasty kick that sent the dwarf stumbling forward. The hurried kick unbalanced Bas, causing him to land hard on his backside.

The knife hit the ground, burying its point in the rocky dirt, denied of its victim.

Grimheld turned, choking back a guffaw as he saw Bas once again indignantly collapsed on the ground, "I shouldn't laugh. Ya did well, kid." Grimheld gazed into the distance, "My first teacher, back when I was still set on being a healer, had me do that exercise for days on end until I did what ya just did. I already knew how to absorb the energy of objects with my mana, but truthfully it makes little difference. He would throw a knife, this one, a hundred times a day up into the air and position himself below it."

Grimheld bent down to pick up the dagger, rubbing off the dirt with his thumb and a bit of spit, "Sometimes I would stop the knife before it hit. Other times I would strengthen him and watch the blade bounce off. I failed his test every time. On the eighth day I finally decided to not protect him at all." Grimheld turned the dagger over in his hands, chuckling, "Ya should have seen his face when the knife landed. I had to use all of my mana to heal that wound."

Grimheld tossed the dagger up in the air, "Do ya know what he said, kid?"

Bas shook his head.

Grimheld shrugged, "Better, but you still failed. Then he tossed the knife up in the air again, knowing full well that I had no mana left. Guess what I did?"

Ah, so this was where Grimheld's story was going. "Uh. You pushed him out of the way?"

Grimheld laughed, a deep resonant bass sound, "No. I punched him in the face and broke his nose. Ya should have seen him stagger back, clutching it. He didn't expect that."

Bas joined in the laughter, despite himself.

"Served him right, although his mana healed him pretty quickly, even if he wasn't a liquid mana user. Still, it was an important lesson. Not everything has to be solved with mana." Grimheld gestured behind Bas. "If anyone can tell you, they can."

Bas turned on the ground to look behind him. He twitched in surprise, Blue and Ola had been standing behind him, likely for the entire time.

Ola just gave them both a knowing look, eyes sparkling with a strange mix of sadness and humor. She gave him a brief nod, before catching up with Kort.

Blue, however, was keen to add her own bit of advice, "Pay attention to Grim, this is the most important lesson you will ever learn. Sometimes mana causes more problems than it solves." She fiddled with a strand of hair, saying nothing more. Then, with a faraway look in her eye, she followed after Ola.

Grimheld was still tossing the dagger up in the air and catching it between his fingertips. "Well... anyway..." He began to look slightly sheepish, "what I meant to say is... my teacher gave me this knife when I punched him out of the way, I've had it ever since... and, um..." Grimheld scratched the back of his head. "You see... uh... I would like ya to have it now. Although I would appreciate it if ya didn't punch me for it." He laughed nervously, holding out the dagger, hilt first.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Bas pushed himself off the ground and walked towards the dwarf, a maelstrom of emotions swirling in his chest. He reached for the dagger, almost reverently. Grimheld's hand drew back almost imperceptibly, hesitant to hand over the blade. The dwarf shook his head in silent self rebuke, pressing the hilt into Bas' hand. "Take care of 'er, kid."

Bas didn't trust himself to speak, but still he managed to choke out a brief: "I will."

Grimheld stood there awkwardly, fiddling with his fingers. Then, he opened his arms, "Ah. C'mere, kid." He glanced quickly at the knife, before adding, "And try not to stab me with that."

Bas stepped into the hug, making sure to keep the dagger well away from Grimheld.

The dwarf handed him the knife's sheath and clapped Bas across the back a couple of times, with none of Kort's excessive force.

Speaking of Kort...

A voice blasted up towards them, "Will you two lovebirds leave it till later? We've nae got all day."

Grimheld rolled his eyes, giving Bas one last pat on the back and walking towards Kort, he called out behind him, "Anyway, ya want to avoid getting sent flying? It's the opposite of healing, let yer mana cloud jar with whatever ya want to stop, resist its movement and absorb its force. Try it. I'll test ya as we go. Tell me when you're ready."

Bas let his mana cloud expand outwards, spending some of that mana to keeping the rest from being stripped by the wind. He focused on his mana cloud, trying to instill a sense of immovability and resistance into it. "Ready."

Grimheld bent down, his steps barely faltering as he scooped a small rounded pebble off the floor. With a flick of his wrist he tossed it into Bas' mana cloud.

The stone sailed through his gaseous mana without resistance, bouncing softly off his stomach instead.

"Try again, kid."

Another stone hit him unimpeded.

Bas focused harder, furrowing his brow in concentration, trying to imagine his mana cloud as immovable and unyielding. It did nothing as another salvo of stones rebounded off him.

"Why are ya trying so hard? Ya don't need to do it all at once. The goal is to sap its speed and strength, not stop it dead. Imagine yer cushioning it, not trying to force it to stay in one place."

Bas blinked. Was that what he was doing wrong?

He stopped focusing on his mana cloud as a solid object, instead viewing it as if it were a strong headwind that opposed movement but did nothing to actually impede it.

A stone came flying towards him. It entered his mana and began to slow as its impetus was stolen by the mana.

Bas could feel his mana being expended in slowing the pebble, up until it stopped.

Counter-intuitively, the mana drain remained, even as it reached a standstill, hovering in the air.

It wasn't moving. So why was it still costing him mana?

Unless...

Of course. Gravity was trying to bring the pebble back down to the ground, yet his mana was actively resisting that.

Satisfied with the conclusion, he let the stone drop to the grass slope beneath his feet.

"Nice work, kid." Grimheld gave him a thumbs up.

They continued down the slope, Grimheld intermittently throwing small pebbles that Bas would catch with his mana and subsequently allow to fall when their forward momentum had been stolen.

The valley wasn't far below, but they were blazing their own tortuous trail down towards the valley floor. It was mindless walking and soon Bas descended into uneasy contemplation and painful reminiscence.

He thought of Earth and his family. A twinge of pain settled in his chest, right between his ribs, he wondered how his parents were. Had they been transported here? Or were they back home? Wondering where he was. Waiting for their Sebastian to return.

It had dawned on him slowly, he'd been trying to ignore the facts. But he was here, actually here. His friends and family, everyone he knew and loved were elsewhere. Or perhaps, even more disastrously, they could be here, in Era. Trying to adjust to a world that wouldn't think twice about seeing them face down and forgotten in a ditch.

The last threads of self-delusion, which he had clung to so desperately, slipped from his fingers. This was no dream.

All the beauty and splendor of the world around him seemed strangely muted now. When he had still harbored some remnant hope of it being a dream, the world's rotten core had been easy to ignore. But this place was real. He could die here, as so many already had.

Danger did not stalk the shadows here, instead it walked brazenly in the sunlight.

Bas eyed Kort up ahead, walking with Grimheld, Ola and Blue. They were obviously strong, far stronger than him, and there was only one way to gain strength.

How many monsters had they killed? How many people?

Bas left the disturbing thoughts for later, they were nearing the valley now and a heavenly scent had begun to assault his nostrils, wafted up by errant winds. It smelled like home, warm chocolate cookies and that orange air freshener that sat on top of the table next to the couch.

Kort and his small group in front could smell it too, they had called a halt, blissful smiles on their faces as they luxuriated in the blasts of cold but fragrant air.

Bas jogged forwards to catch up with them, sparing a brief glance behind him, noticing Dirri and Gern's equally enraptured expressions. They could smell it too.

A few feet ahead, he heard Kort rumble in a strangely soft and broken voice, "It smells so much like the tunnels of home during springtime. Do you remember when they planted flowers just in front of the mountain's entrances?"

Grimheld and Ola nodded.

"Ah, I thought I was nae ever going t' smell something like it again. Every gust of wind would blow petals through the hallways."

Grimheld gave Kort a funny look, as if he were going crazy.

Now that Bas thought about it... when had Kort gotten so soft. He hardly seemed like the sort to appreciate the smell of flowers.

Oh well. They still had a short way to go until they reached the valley floor.

Then Kort spoke again, walking over to Bas, "Hey, lad. Do you want t' hear the Adventu—"

"It's not the Adventuring Song," Ola and Blue both said at once.

But there was no stopping Kort, and Grimheld was too busy grinning to offer his opinion on the matter. Kort didn't wait for Bas to respond, launching into an impromptu rendition that was simultaneously cacophonous and strangely melodious. It was actually sort of beautiful, in a very dwarven way...

Until Bas heard the actual lyrics that Kort bawled out.

My wife she waits at home for me

As faithful as the tides

Tis nae her fault that all I’ve got

Is bastards at me sides.

It was at this point that Grimheld couldn't take it anymore, and joined in. The only thing that stopped him from being criminally out of tune was the lack of any tune to begin with. It was pure anarchy.

My wife is warm and welcoming

'Specially between her legs

But nothing beats a toasty tavern

And draining casks and kegs.

You dragged me off t'Adventure

Where we drink and fuck and brawl

You made my wife wait for me

Buuut

You're brilliant bastards, one and all.

My wife's love is truly endless

She's even got a decent hole

But nothing beats a brothel

And a different girl each night, dancing on my pole.

Blue and Ola gagging quietly at the last line. Bas almost fancied he could hear Ola mutter that 'it's gotten worse'. His suspicions were confirmed when he saw Kort wink cheekily at her. And continue to sing. Four more verses to be precise.

By the end, both Ola and Blue were cradling their heads in their hands, trying to forget what had just taken place. Bas decided that it might be a little impolite to clap and demand an encore, given the content. Still... the singing wasn't that bad was it?

All of his misconceptions were immediately dispelled when he heard Blue curse loudly, "Dwarves."

Ola shook her head sadly, correcting her wayward friend, "Men."

Kort and Grimheld were grinning, completely unperturbed by the tough crowd. "It was nae that bad, we even spiced it up with a verse we got from some friendly lads in Valis. Only decent people there, now that I think of it."

Ola groaned softly to herself.

The grin never left Grimheld's face as he turned to Bas, "So, kid. Do ya have any songs where you're from." It wasn't really a question.

Bas chuckled, if only they knew... Earth had so much music, easier than ever to reach on account of the internet. He searched his memory for any familiar tunes.

And drew a blank.

Except...

Oh god...

Anything but that.

Grimheld and Kort looked at him in anticipation. "Well?"

Frantically Bas tried to summon up another song to mind. To no avail.

"Uhhh."

The two dwarves motioned at him to continue, while Ola and Blue looked at him with an expression caught between expectant fascination and wariness. Well... they had little to fear in the way of bawdy lyrics... this was far worse.

Oh well, he'd better get this over with. He'd try and wing it as best he could.

Heigh ho, heigh ho, adventuring we go...

The girls relaxed, cautious hope filling their eyes at the prospect of a song that hadn't been written by horny drunkards.

Bas' totally original, definitely not stolen song flooded across the valley. And while he hated to admit it, he sort of felt that Kort's Adventuring Song was better.

They reached the valley floor an hour later. The air was thick with the smell of the flowers and their pollen, which hung heavy over the valley like a golden veil in the noon sunlight. The flowers themselves were masterpieces, mind-bending arrangements of leaves and petals into impossibly intricate curls and spirals that framed perfect, pollen-laden anthers.

Hypnotizing veins of color and light drew the eye in deeper and deeper, stealing their consciousness away into the darkness of their petaled folds. Rays of eveni—

"The flowers! Their pollen is doing this!" Blue's sudden yell broke through the flower's strange mesmerism.

Bas' mind surfaced like a diver rising from a ice-laden ocean, shaking itself free from the clutches of the cold abyss.

A cloud of gaseous mana erupted from Grimheld and Dirri, expanding to encompass the adventuring team and expelling the pollen. Fear and worry, driven away by the pollen's effects, returned.

Bas shook his head, turning to glance at the setting sun. They had been standing there for hours, at least. He looked back at the flowers, without the soothing effects of the pollen, their cold beauty had taken on a crueler edge; like the sinister stillness of a perfect drop of blood poised on the tip of a blade of grass.

Blue spoke again, "We need to destroy that Dungeon. If these things have spread out here..."

Bas looked at her with a small sense of awe. How had the small gnome sensed something amiss? How had she pulled herself out of the flower's embrace to warn them of the danger? Bas had no doubt that if she hadn't broken that strange hypnosis, then they would have stood there until they died. He shuddered.

This valley was dangerous. He looked at the trees in a new light, noting how the deer were reluctant to venture too close to them. Why weren't they affected by the pollen? Although, perhaps they were, and their fear of the pines still won out over the calming effects.

His gaze returned to the flowers, basking innocently in the rays of the setting sun. Their designs where still eye-catching, but knowledge of their hidden dangers blunted their former power to ensnare.

Still... it was best to be on guard.

Heh. Fuck defensiveness. Out of pure spite, he drew his new dagger from its sheath and decapitated all the flowers in reach. After the first dozen he looked out over the valley and groaned. There were hundreds of them and he didn't want to risk the dangers of the pollen again, not with Grimheld or Dirri's mana protecting him. He didn't trust his own.

Grimheld, however, saw what Bas had been doing, "Good idea. We need to get this area cleared out. Then I need a drink."

"We do nae have any left. Someone," Kort directed a glare at Blue, "used the last of our sacchar t' burn down the Tinderbox. Although, I'll let it go, since you saved our asses. Probably..."

"How kind of you," Blue muttered, looking down at her feet.

"How did ya recognize that ya were being hypnotized by the flowers?" Grimheld asked.

"The pollen, I think it smells different to everyone. The flower scented wind of dwarven halls for you. Juniper smoke and wreaths of wildflowers lain on turned earth for me. The pollen reminds you of an old soothing scent from your past, a time when you could let your burdens fall from your back. Mine," Blue paused, "was bittersweet. Not as calming as it should have been."

"Why?" Ola lay a comforting hand on the gnome's shoulder.

"You know that the Adventurer's Guild draws its staff from those who can no longer fight." Blue said. Ola, and the other dwarves nodded in understanding. "They take soldiers too. The ones who aren't completely broken anyway. There aren't many of those. There aren't many of us."

"And?" Ola prompted.

"A small skirmish. Shouldn't have happened. It was all a misunderstanding, a stupid mistake. I pushed my body and my mana too far, I couldn't fight after that, not properly. It was like my life had been torn out from under my feet, and, at the same, it was a relief. No more fighting, no more battles. Just settling down." Her voice rang with melancholy, the end muffled as Ola drew her into a warm embrace.

"There, there. It's okay, my dear." Ola soothed, stroking Blue's back with a practiced hand, a conflicted expression on her face, "If it weren't for that we wouldn't have met you. And we wouldn't be alive. I wouldn't wish what happened to you on anyone, but maybe it happened for a reason."

Blue simply nodded into Ola's shoulder, sniffling quietly.

"C'mon, you just sit down here and we'll set up camp. I'll be right here." Ola gently lowered Blue onto the ground and sat down next to her, throwing pointed looks at everyone else.

Everyone else got the message and made themselves busy setting up the tents.

At one point Kort, Grimheld and Gern walked over to the trees by the river. They had noted the deer's strange behavior and were therefore watchful for any surprises. But none arose. The trees seemed normal, at least. Which meant that the danger was probably in the river.

Kort removed a gauntlet and slipped it into his belt, evidently not wanting to damage it. Then, his hand glowed blue and sailed into the tree trunk.

The pine burst apart in a shower of splinters and moments later Kort was lugging the remainders of the tree back to the camp. The bizarre spectacle drew a snort of amusement from both Ola and Blue.

At least they had plenty of firewood.

It was getting pretty dark and they didn't dare risk hunting the deer at night, so they settled down by the fire and feasted on their supplies. It wasn't fancy food by any stretch of the imagination, but they were all exhausted, and to be honest, it was good enough.

While Blue turned in for an early night, Grimheld and Dirri arranged watches throughout the night so that they could maintain a persistent mana cloud. They didn't want to risk letting too much of the pollen filter near them, even if they were aware of its effects.

Kort gathered them together, announcing the plan for the next day. "Tomorrow, we're going t' clear more of those damn flowers out of here, and we're also going to scout out the Dungeon, see if it needs destroying." Kort's voice turned decidedly sour at the last part.

Kort seemed as if he was about to say something else, but a small rustling sound came from Blue's tent. They walked over as a group, on the lookout for some creature that had somehow slipped past them.

It was nothing. Simply Blue tossing and turning on her sleeping roll, sleeping. Still, the prospect of unknown creatures in the dark was worrying. They added more logs to the fire as a precaution, driving the blackness back.

Ola sighed, hesitating for a second, before walking over and scooping up the severed head of a flower from the edge of the camp.

She crouched through the flaps of Blue's tent, lightly dusting the area beside the gnome's head with the flower, leaving a few small grains of pollen behind.

Blue's expression changed, becoming more calm, no longer twisting and turning. Ola nodded to herself, looking in for just a moment more. Then, she turned and tossed the flower into the fire, before making a beeline for her tent and some much needed rest.

Bas decided to follow her example, they would be exploring a Dungeon tomorrow. He'd never seen one, but he had some theories about them that the natives of Era might have overlooked. When he finally got there, he wanted to be fresh and ready.