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The Third Peak, The Eighth Floor, The Dungeon

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Hallmark took heaving breaths as he let his sword arm go limp. The blizzard continued to rage outside, the howling wind chilling the air inside the cave even more.

Around him lay the bodies of more than two dozen monsters. They more resembled the lesser lizards from the third than the greater ones on the Seventh, even with all the differences. Their ferocity and strength, however, were more than equal to the more refined-looking lizards. Hallmark grasped for a healing potion and blinked in shock, realizing he only had one left.

Xerat had been the one carrying their excess potions, after all. Hallmark took a deep, calming breath, then took small sips from the silver-tinted red liquid. He only had so much now and would have to get by on healing just enough to keep moving. Under his watchful eyes, his open wounds closed and scarred while bruises faded slightly. As before, the potion did nothing for his more persistent injuries. His chest still ached and flared up occasionally with an incredibly sharp pain. His foot still twinged when he put weight on it.

It wasn't meant to be like this.

Hallmark placed the wardstones at the cave mouth, then walked back in and let himself slump against an ice-cold stone wall. He looked around, staring at the broken bodies around him.

As with the larger lizards, they wore customized clothing. No two wore the same arrangement of armor and cloth. Hallmark reached over to the closest and was shocked to discover the white fur, which he had assumed was part of the armor, was growing from the monster itself.

Lizards? with fur? Now having more energy, he shook his head, stood, and began looting. Their swords were resilient and unnaturally sharp, but they were sized for the monsters, and Hallmark could barely use them as daggers. Even so, he took two and strapped their sheathes behind the small of his back. They could be helpful. The monsters carried no potions he could take, but one did have a crossbow. No doubt taken from other guilders.

Hallmark took the crossbow, quiver, and all the bolts it had. He strapped the quiver to the outside of his right thigh and let the crossbow hang from the left side of his equipment belt.

Hallmark started harvesting the monster's fur using one of his newly obtained daggers. He didn't know what to do with it, but he was sure he could find a use for it. He also took a selection of scales of various sizes and hues, placing them in a pouch.

One carried a staff carved with runes and topped with a monster core that seemed attuned to ice. Hallmark picked it up and pointed it at the opposite wall, channeling a tiny amount of mana into the shaft. Three icicles erupted from the core in quick succession, shattering violently against the cave wall. They resembled the icicles that had killed Chana, and Hallmark wondered if these monsters were the ones that had ambushed them. He put the staff, more a stave in his hands, through the second set of loops on his back. The first set holding the sheath for his longsword, of course.

Either way, there was only one thing left to do. He knelt down and carved their chests open, one by one, taking the cores from their chests.

Hallmark stared at the oblong, pointed cores with an inscrutable expression.

He'd noticed the lizards had oblong cores, of course. He couldn't not. But the fact was that the cores in these monsters were almost indistinguishable from a human's manacore. He put them in another pouch, then put all the individual pouches into his larger pack.

Hallmark glared at the blizzard, still raging, and felt his anger returning.

It'd felt so good to finally have something to kill after the frustration of this floor. Losing the other members of his party, being attacked by the bird every few hours, and being unable to retaliate. All of it had been building. Finally encountering monsters that he could actually fight? It'd felt so good finally have something to slaughter.

It'd left him with a clarity of thought that'd been slipping away for a while now, lost in the haze of anger.

In his rage-fueled state, he'd been obsessed with killing the bird and had thought nothing of his strategy of killing the thing beyond reaching its nest and swinging his sword at it.

Now though, he had a crossbow and bolts and could actually hit the thing. In fact, he could attach one of his magical items to a bolt and ground it. Once it was down, he could do as much damage as he wanted and kill it at his leisure. Hallmark pulled out the pouch of enchanted items and started looking through it, a vicious grin growing on his face.

He knew just what to use.

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The Eleventh Floor, The Dungeon, Medea Island

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Wave didn't bother standing and just lay on his board as the wave carried onto the beach. When he reached the shallows, he slipped from the board and stood, walking through the foamy foreshore. The sun was just peaking over the horizon, Wave having left Isla Fuego in the pre-dawn light to make the trip to the... entrance beach?

They needed to name this part of the floor to distinguish it from the islands. Something The Creator would approve of. Wave's eye was drawn to the rising sun, and he knew he had to include it in the name somehow. Rising? Ray? Shining? Glittering? No. None of those sounded right. Then the name struck him.

Dawn. Dawn Beach. The beginning of what was sure to be a true odyssey for any guilders who made it this far. It was orders of magnitude larger than the rest of the dungeon's floors, even if most of the floor was still unused. Wave glanced up and down the yellow sand, noting the hunks of glass shining in the sun. He remembered they'd been made when the Fire Elementals walked or hovered over the sand. He picked up a piece and examined the smoky glass. It wasn't clear, but he hadn't expected it to be. The sand on this beach wasn't silica sand.

Wave dropped the chunk on the ground, walked up the dunes, and stopped when he reached the top. Squinting, he saw what looked like a minotaur approaching the beach. Curious, he slid down the dune and walked out to meet them.

A few minutes later, they were close enough that he could identify them. It was Taura, the eldest daughter of the First Bull Asterion.

"Hail, Taura. What brings you to the Eleventh?" Wave called, raising a claw in greeting.

"Hail, Wave. You do, actually." The minotaur cow admitted, making Wave blink in surprise. "You mentioned building a home on the Eleventh and that you would return to trade. It's been a while since then, and I was sent to discover why you hadn't returned yet. Has moving the Court to their island taken so long?" Wave shook his head.

"I finished moving them over relatively quickly once I worked out how to do it. Let me tell you, if they weren't afraid of the ocean before, they certainly are now," Wave chuckled. Taura smiled sadly.

"I am glad they made it over, but if that is so... I wonder if they regret making their home on an island?" she questioned. Wave shook his head.

"They love it there," he explained. "They settled in fine, and none I talked to seemed to have a problem with being on an island. The island is quite suited for them, and they can make tunnels to expand underground. If they really wanted to, they could make a maze of tunnels and never step foot on the surface again." Taura nodded, looking happier.

"You haven't answered my question," she continued. "If it didn't take long to move them over, why haven't you returned for materials to build your home with?" Wave rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed.

"I've... been enjoying myself, to be honest. I made this thing. It's called a surfboard," Wave answered, waving to the board he was still holding under his right armpit. "With my water magic, I can make waves out of nothing and surf from island to island. When I first got out on the water... I felt free. Like I could go anywhere. Do anything." Wave glanced over his shoulder at the dunes, listening to the crashing waves just beyond. He was brought back from his longing gaze by a giggle.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

"Sounds like fun," Taura stated, smiling. "But you can't just 'surf' all day. You need somewhere to come back to. A home to put your things in. Don't you Drake-kin like collecting things?" The minotaur asked, obviously curious.

"Technically, I'm not a Drake-Kin. I never was. Before I was... changed... I was a Snowbold, and before that, I was a Kobold. I lived in one of the three original villages. I was among the first to see my village's shaman after she was bonded to her Pheonix," Wave bragged, remembering the awe he'd felt at the sight.

"Wow. That's amazing," the minotaur gushed, stars in her eyes. "Wait. I thought you were named Wave because you were a water mage?" she asked, now confused. Wave scratched the back of his head again.

"It's a coincidence, actually," Wave admitted. "Kobolds have simple names, and since I liked to wave at the Hunters and Shaman as they went off to fight the guilders, the other juveniles called me Wave." he waved at her. She giggled again.

"I'd have never guessed!" Taura said.

"Promise you won't tell?" he asked, almost begging.

"I promise," she agreed, smiling. Then she frowned and pointed at him again. "Stop dodging the question! Don't you want a place you can put your things?" Wave sighed. This cow was relentless.

"I haven't really thought about it. All my stuff is in my expanded pouch," Wave said, patting a pouch at his side. The minotaur nodded, then took his left hand and pulled him up the dune behind him.

"Wha? What are you doing?" he exclaimed as he let Taura pull him along, not wanting to pull her over if he dug his feet in.

"We're going to find you a place to put your house, then we're going back to the village to ask Daddy for the materials to build it." She stated, determination in her every step, even as she struggled up the dunes with her hooved feet.

"I don't have the Talons to pay for all that! I can make a house of ice or something!" Wave insisted.

"Nuh-uh." The stubborn cow exclaimed. "You can pay by doing some magic. We don't have any water mages yet, and I'm sure Daddy will have something you can help with!" Taura finished as they finally reached the top of the dune. She looked left and right, then pointed at the cliffs at the far right end of the beach. "That looks like a good spot. We can get an Earth mage to carve a staircase to the top of the cliffs and build your house on top of the cliffs. Come on! Let's go look!"

Wave sighed and let Taura pull him along. He knew there was no point in dissuading her from this. He walked forward and walked next to her.

They talked about all manner of things as they approached the cliff, then when they got there even picked out a nice flat spot near a large oak tree. As they were admiring the view from the cliff, Wave felt a familiar presence fill in an empty hole in the back of his mind. He froze, and his eyes fixated on the dark rock out to sea, where a teal light shone like a beacon.

I need you to bring the largest monster or human core you can find to my dungeon core. You have a week and three days to deliver it to me, or we all die in the largest explosion this world will ever know.

Wave's eyes grew wide as the presence retreated, and just as it had the first time, it left an aching void behind.

"Wave? What's wrong?" Taura asked, looking between him and the core out in the distance.

"The Creator spoke to me. He has given me a task. If I fail to bring him a large monster core in the next week and a half... He dies. We all die," he turned to face her, and her eyes went wide with fright as she took in his serious look, realizing he was telling the truth.

"I need to get to the minotaur village. Do you have air spirits there we can send messages with?" Taura nodded, and Wave relaxed slightly. "Good."

"I need to find the largest core in the dungeon."

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Obsidian Beach, Medea Island, Kalenic Sea

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Layla Losat stared at the teleportation pad as the hired guards led Auora Isirtine away. The raid group had just arrived in a flash of mana, drawing the attention of all nearby. She'd been making an impromptu inspection of the dungeon's entrance when the disused pad flashed to life and left the group of guilders awkwardly standing there. Everyone on the beach was staring at them, after all.

"Wait, we can teleport again?"

"We can?! Sweet!"

"This will make things so much easier!"

Layla locked her gaze with her aunt, and the woman jerked her head towards the guild hall.

"All of you to my office. Forget the reports; they can write them later," Layla ordered, waving off the administrators approaching with reams of paper. Turning, she then addressed the crowd. "Just because they returned on the pad does not mean you can do the same. I ask you to refrain from doing anything rash until we can confirm if the crystals are working again."

She turned and escorted the group back to the guild hall. Even as she did, she heard the guilders in the line behind them whisper excitedly to each other. Many would heed her warning, the careless and foolhardy having long been killed by the dungeon. But there would be some risk-takers willing to disregard her words.

It was only when they were all in her office- It was rather crowded with them all here at the same time. She needed to get a bigger office- that she sat down to ask her questions.

"First, I assume Auora Isirtine is the only survivor?" She asked. Jerrad shook his head.

"No. Hallmark survived and even now pushes deeper on his own." He stated, and Layla could only blink behind her blindfold in shock. "The other two, Xerat and Chana, are dead. Chana had the map and was killed on a snowy mountain on the Eighth, burying the map with her under who knows how much snow. We could recover the map, but it would be easier to make a new one."

"A pity. Keep an eye out for the man until we get confirmation of his death or have the opportunity to capture him. Did Auora tell you this?" Isid raised a hand, waving it side to side in a so-so gesture.

"Partly. The monsters of the Seventh, the Drake-kin, informed us of the deaths. Auora confirmed Chana had the map. Speaking of the monsters, these are run by a 'Shaman Council.' I assume their leader is one named Tear since their emissary, Ozone, said he was empowered by that monster to speak in the name of their people. Potentially the guardian as well?" the older, blindfolded woman theorized.

"Anything else about this potential guardian?" Layla asked. Many in the room shook their heads. "Very well. You had contact with the monsters then; anything else you can tell me? Are they why you could use the teleport crystals?" Haythem nodded.

"Ozone said they would be willing to enter a trade agreement with us," he said. "He claimed they are blacksmiths, and from the look of the mines we saw, I'm inclined to believe them." Paetor continued where Haythem left off.

"They are willing to sell their magical metals, but only in final products and with the condition they are never used in the dungeon," he explained. "They'd be enchanted to glow in high-mana areas, and beyond that, I'd assume they'd recognize the workmanship of the weapons if we had the enchantment removed." Here Paetor took a breath. "Even if we could, I'd advise we don't. For all we know, they would cut off trade the moment they saw one down there."

Layla nodded. "I'm inclined to agree with you, Paetor. I'll have to consider this offer carefully. Now, the teleport crystals?"

Isid pulled one such crystal from a pouch, and Layla's eyes widened as it turned to dust. "Single-use crystals that they made themselves and can apparently bypass the traps made to interdict our crystals," her aunt explained. "Ozone gave them to us so we could leave with Auora immediately rather than risk her changing her mind halfway back. He told us the barrier at the entrance works by draining our crystals and marking their signatures in case we figured out how to recharge them inside the dungeon. If we'd done so and tried to use them... Well, they didn't explain the traps, but knowing this dungeon, it couldn't have been anything good."

"That... opens many doors. If we can trade for more of those, deep dives would be far more viable." Layla mused, resting her chin on her interwoven fingers. "I assume they have a similar problem as the Capriccio? They don't know what we have to offer?" She inquired, and Jerrad nodded.

"Indeed. The tricky part is finding what the monsters value enough to trade for the teleport crystals. They have abundant metals, and by their nature, food is more of a curiosity than a necessity." The man rubbed his unshaven chin, the hair there speckled with grey amongst the brown.

"What about some trinkets?" someone asked. Layla's eyes darted to the archer from Paetor's party. Jessikar, she thought the woman's name was. She stood at the group's back, and the guilders parted to let Layla see the woman more clearly. "They wore a lot of feathers, bones, and such on their armor. No two were the same. Giving them more options might be worth it to them." Layla weighed the idea, bobbing her head from side to side.

"Trinkets alone wouldn't do it," she said after a moment. "They understand the value of their goods, and giving them items practically worthless to us would be an insult. We can certainly add some small things to the deal, but I can't think of anything big worth the metal and crystals right now." She shook her head, sighed, then looked back at the three parties.

"You're free to go about your day. I still need to figure out how to explain your teleportation to the rest of the guild. Chop chop!" Layla ordered, waving them off. Isid made her promise to spend some time together the next day, and soon enough, it was just her and Felin. Layla let her head fall into her hands, rubbing her eyes through the blindfold.

"More and more every day, I understand Isid's absolute refusal to become a Guildmaster," she stated as he walked over from the desk where he'd been taking notes. "This job has just been one crisis after another."

"I doubt your grandfather saw all this coming when he offered you the job," Felin replied. "You've been working long hours the last few weeks, Layla. You need a break. Some time to relax and destress."

"You know why I can't, Felin," Layla replied, looking up at him. She reached up and caressed the outline of his face, longing for the days when she could still see colors. "We need to prepare. Has anyone responded yet?"

"Not yet. Some birds must have reached their destinations and may even be returning. We should know in a day or two if they're coming. The one headed to the king will take another week." Felin reached up and pulled Layla's hand from his face, intertwining their fingers. "The guild is neutral, Layla. If they invade and win, at best, this will be a regime change."

"And at worst, they'll try to kill us all. Or, at least, drive us from the island." Layla finished. They remained there for a time, taking comfort in the other's presence. They'd managed to keep the news of the impending invasion quiet, impressing the need for calm upon Lord Medean. If the ships had left their ports, the invasion fleet was at least three or four weeks away. That gave them time to organize transport ships to evacuate the non-combatants, and the island's militia was quietly preparing. The Lord had asked for some capable guilders to train his men, which would help but was by no means a replacement for professional soldiers in an army.

Still, the news would have to break at some point.

Preferably before the Bahrain stormed Obsidian Beach.

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© Max Porteous, 2021