5. THE BAAA-RN

Stepping inside the barn was like being swallowed by a great beast: Nanoc and his friends were surrounded by walls of oozing, raw muscles that formed a maze within the barn. The ground was uneven and slippery with mucus. What little light there was came from purple and inconstant particles hovering in the air. Thin tendrils hung from the roof, twisting without wind to caress the trio’s faces. The walls and floor shivered, flicking wet drops into the air. The trio of heroes huddled together in the darkness.

“I feel like we’re in a stomach,” Nanoc muttered.

His own stomach rumbled, but the others ignored him.

“We need to get out of here,” Rotcel ‘Loc moaned. “This is a bad, bad place... it’s a dungeon, I’m sure of it! We need to leave!”

The lizardling drew a glowing crystal from a pocket; the stone cast a bright white light wherever she pointed it. She immediately turned her attention to the barn doors, trying to open them. They were shut fast and overgrown with purple flesh. The doors would not open.

“Help me look for another way out!” Rotcel ‘Loc ordered.

“Leber’s Reading-under-the blankets,” Dren said, and a bright orb of light appeared before him, lighting up the walls of skin.

This was the first spell he had ever used, starting as a child. Dren’s parents banned him from reading in the hope that he would instead turn to a more respectable hobby, like accounting, but young Dren had loved books. Dren had found Leber’s spell scribbled in the margin of an old catalog of maps and had started using it immediately to read beneath his bed covers at night. The spell created a clear light that Dren used to help Rotcel ‘Loc search the barn doors for a way out, the two heaving and pushing, cutting and casting spells with no effect.

Nanoc watched them, a little upset that everyone else had brought a source of light and he had not thought to, but then smiled. Like Dren, Nanoc had also learned a handy ability as a child.

“Summon fire elemental!” he said, and a little flame burst from his fingertip and dropped onto the ground, where it danced around joyfully.

The gnome placed the tip of his club on the flame and the elemental climbed onto it, forming a torch. Rotcel ‘Loc and Dren stared at the flame in shock.

“A fire elemental? Those are totally illegal!” Rotcel ‘Loc snapped. “Put it out!”

“Nobody’s going to complain,” Nanoc replied. “And besides, it's tame.”

He patted the fire elemental. The little spite danced playfully, then spat a blob of flames on the gnome’s left foot.

“Ouch!”

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Nanoc should have expected it. Fire is the element of the goddess Chaos, fickle and ever-changing. It's always worth remembering that the same flames that cook your dinner can burn your house down.

“Put it out! They’re so very, very illegal!” Rotcel ‘Loc pleaded. “If you thought we were in trouble before—"

“Do you know, we’re trapped in here,” Dren reminded them. “I think the only way out is to kill Mary’s possessed lamb.”

“What if we can’t defeat it, though?” Rotcel ‘Loc said.

“Then we’ll burn this place to the ground,” Nanoc said, the flames in his eyes mirroring the fire in his hand. “And at least Mary will be free.”

“But we’re inside,” Rotcel ‘Loc protested. “We’ll die!”

“Do you know, I’m fairly sure we’ll die anyway,” Dren said helpfully. “We seem to be very outpowered.”

He was right, yet there was nothing they could do except step deeper into the maze of quivering skin walls. Nanoc was about to take the lead when Rotcel ‘Loc pushed in front of him.

“I’m the scout,” she said. “I’d better go first to keep a lookout for traps.”

“Or treasure?” Nanoc suggested.

“Or treasure. Come along.”

The barn was only an entrance; the maze led inward, downward, away from the sunlight and into the cold earth. The tunnels twisted and turned like the intestines of some demented beast, but Rotcel ‘Loc had been trained by master scouts who thought nothing of navigating through great labyrinths and dungeons in search of shiny, shiny treasure.

“You’d better be quick,” Nanoc said, stomach rumbling. “I’m beginning to hate this place.”

Rotcel ‘Loc ignored him. Scouting for traps was slow, dangerous work. Only a fool would try to push past her, and nobody tried it twice.

She activated her detect trap skill.

“I sense… hunger,” the lizardling said, sniffing the air. “Bone and tendon, blood and talon. This place is expecting us. There!”

Rotcel ‘Loc jumped backward, banging into Nanoc.

“Hey!” the gnome protested. “Be a little more—"

A dozen sharp bones slashed through the walls where Rotcel ‘Loc had been standing a moment before, cutting up the air without hurting anyone. The bones retreated back into the walls, disappointed. Rotcel ‘Loc bent down and poked the ground with a knife. There was a sharp snap as her disarm trap skill was successful.

“Too easy,” Rotcel ‘Loc said, smiling.

The maze was filled with intersecting corridors, but Rotcel ‘Loc walked through them confidently. She stepped to one side as a massive loop of oily woolen rope dropped to the corridor, constricting as if to strangle her. The rope twitched and spun, trying to find a victim, but Rotcel ‘Loc stepped forward and cut through it until it lay motionless on the ground.

“Predictable,” Rotcel ‘Loc announced. “This place has weak traps.”

“Unless that is a trap in itself,” Dren said, making a strangling motion with his hands. “Several easy traps to make you overconfident, then woop and they get you.”

“True,” Rotcel ‘Loc agreed. “But that sounds like a lot more intelligence than I would expect from a possessed sheep. Now—”

A ghostly lamb materialized in front of her and rushed forward. Rotcel ‘Loc sidestepped the beast, which slammed into Nanoc, sending the gnome flying. Gnome and ghost wrestled for a moment before Dren hit the apparition with a burst of lightning and it faded away.

“What about that one, then?” the gnome asked as Dren helped him up. “Why didn’t you see that coming?”

“That wasn’t a trap but rather a beast of some kind!” Rotcel ‘Loc protested. “But, hey, look, we’ve reached the end of the corridor!”

The corridor ended in a wooden door set at a slanted angle. Purple light leaked around the doorframe and spilled into the corridor. It looked unholy, but at least it was the end of the maze.

“Do you know, Rotcel, you are quite a good scout,” Dren said, slightly surprised. “I thought we were going to die in the maze, but now I think we will die fighting whatever’s in the next room! Well done, everyone!”