Chapter Thirty-Nine
Before they left to consult Bob, Jackson asked Melanie to share her status screen with him. He hadn’t realized it was possible until he asked Lazarus. He gave Jackson a small chuckle and a wry smile.
“Of course it is; remember, I can look at your status screen any time I want.”
Jackson scowled at him, unamused.
“Yeah, but I thought it had something to do with the skull. Never mind, Mels, can you share your screen with me?”
She shrugged, "Sure, it seems like something we should have done ages ago. How do I do it?” She directed the question at the spirit.
Lazarus waved a dismissive hand.
“Same as you do most things, simply will your intent to the Judge.”
Melanie did so, and her status screen unfurled before Jackson.
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Name:
Melanie Silver
Level:
50
Race:
Human
Lives:
2
Domain Rank/Domain Aspects:
Journeyman
Nature and Force
Class:
Druidic Ranger
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Attributes
Mind: 19
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 25
Constitution: 15
Will: 25
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Skills
Pack Loyalty (Journeyman Level 14)Bow (Journeyman Level 25)Survivalist (Journeyman Level 12)Fletching (Apprentice Level 10)Analyze (Basic Level 24)Unarmed Combat (Journeyman Level 38)
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Weaves
Nature’s Imbuement (Journeyman Weave Level 25)Wolven Devastation (Journeyman Weave Level 10)Pack Empowerment (Journeyman Weave Level 15)Wolven Regeneration (Journeyman Weave Level 2)
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Eden Coins
10000
Faction
Unsworn
Attribute points: 0
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Of course, Melanie’s skill in unarmed combat was a little higher than Jackson’s. She had been excelling a bit more than him in that area, so it did make sense. A thought occurred to him:
“I just realized I never knew your last name.”
Melanie smiled, “There’s a lot about me you don’t know, Jackson.”
Jackson grinned, “One day we have to fix that. Your regeneration skill, how good is it?”
She chuckled, “Not as good as some people I know. It will heal most superficial wounds pretty quickly, but that’s about it right now.”
That tracked with where Jackson's regeneration skill had started. He dismissed her screen and popped his over to her. Her eyes glazed over again as she read it. Then she shook her head, a resigned expression on her face.
“That regeneration skill of yours is simply unfair.”
Jackson rubbed the back of his neck, “I don’t know about that; it does have some costs, you know.”
Melanie snorted, “Costs my ass. All you have to do is feed on a monster or two every once in a while and maybe expend a little more mana. In exchange, your heart will literally grow back if it is damaged. That’s OP.”
Jackson pointed at her. “Okay, but you can summon a giant spectral wolf head that wreaks devastation over a wide area. How is that not OP?”
Melanie scowled, but her eyes twinkled with amusement as she replied, “It takes a while to weave. I’m rarely going to get that off in a fight. Besides, you can just heal from it like it’s nothing. What good does it do if it does no damage?”
It was Jackson’s turn to snort.
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"Oh, please, you can destroy like a hundred monsters with that weave. All at once.”
Melanie was about to reply when Lazarus let out a massive groaning sigh. “Children, can we move on, please? Things to do, you know, a dungeon to complete?”
Melanie and Jackson looked at him with guilty expressions, and Jackson sighed. They did need to get going, but it was nice to have that small break before they went once more into the breach. They left the tent in search of Bob. The camp was much the same as it had been, with people just existing. Various tasks were being done, including the reinforcement of the wall surrounding the camp, and it looked like a farm was actually being started. These people really did intend on living in the dungeon. Still, Jackson had to admit that there was a happiness about them—a sense of safety that hung in the air.
No worries about the dangers ahead; just trying to enjoy life. It had a certain appeal, and yet Jackson knew he could never do it himself. The reality is that there was a wider world out there, and they had been put here against their wills. Jackson had obligations—obligations to Fred and to Lazarus—that weren’t things he could ignore. More importantly, these people chose to essentially be prisoners. They stayed because they had no desire to fight to get out, willingly choosing imprisonment.
Even death would be better, in Jackson’s view. A part of him understood then that he didn’t have a lot of respect for these folks. Maybe that was wrong of him to judge them in that way, but it was true. He couldn’t respect people who would willingly choose imprisonment rather than fighting to be free.
Jackson shook off these thoughts as they found Bob chopping firewood outside of his tent. He looked up and grunted.
“I see y’all are back now. What can I do for you?”
Melanie answered him with a smile. “Yes, we just got back. Thank you. We were wondering if you would answer some questions about what you encountered at the mountain.”
Bob’s axe bit into the trunk with a loud, thudding chop, and he brushed off his hands as he regarded them.
“Hmmph. Plannin’ on goin’ up there, are you? Well, I s’pose I can tell you what to expect.”
He looked up, squinting his eyes against the light that shone down from the sky, and took a deep breath.
“I can’t say for sure it’s goin’ to be the same for everyone, ya understand?”
They all nodded, and Bob flicked a wood chip he found on his shirt into the dirt before speaking.
“Okay then. The mountain has four trials, or challenges, you might call ‘em. It doesn’t really matter; the point is, you gotta clear ‘em to get to the summit. One of ours was fightin’ this wyvern that spit acid at us. There were a couple of these puzzles—simple little things—but get ‘em wrong? These creatures would appear and attack. The final challenge before the summit was this big ol’ beastie, some kind of lion mixed with a serpent. A chimaera, I think. Unpleasant, for sure. Again, I can’t say it’s the same for everyone, but there ya go.”
Melanie and Jackson shared a look. Then Jackson asked,
“Did you make it to the summit, then?”
Bob nodded, “I think I told you when we met that we did. Turned back though, on account of we weren’t fightin’ no freaking dragon.”
Jackson arched an eyebrow in surprise. “An actual dragon?”
Bob spit into the dirt. “Yep. Had these wings of fire,'cept the fire was the color of fresh blood. I knew because I was bleedin’ from my arm at the time, and the color matched exactly. It was huge, too, easily the size of two houses, with dark violet scales and amethyst eyes that seemed to pierce your soul. Thing was hungry too—radiating an incredible aura of violence. Like it couldn’t wait to destroy and keep on destroyin’. Never goin’ back there; I’ll tell you that for free. We hightailed it out of there as soon as we saw it.”
Melanie looked pensive and thoughtful. She nodded at Bob.
“Thank you, Bob. We will be going soon.”
Bob waved a hand and picked up the axe from the stump. “Y’all are always welcome here. I hope you don’t get dead; this safe zone is corrupted, and I’m not sure where you’d end up. Have a good day, now.”
Melanie, Lazarus, and Jackson all returned to the tent they were allowed to use. They needed to talk about this.
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“Are those trials going to change for us?” Jackson asked the spirit.
Lazarus shrugged, holding up his hands. “I don’t know. If I had to bet on it, I would say they probably will. Dungeons are predictable in some ways, less so in others.”
Jackson blew out a breath. “At least we know what won’t change.”
“The dragon,” Melanie stated.
“Yep,” Jackson replied.
Jackson looked at Lazarus, and he rolled his eyes.
“What am I, your personal library? Okay, fine, fine. Sheesh. Look, dragons, sometimes called wyrms, are bad news, children. This one sounds like a bloodfyre wyrm to me.”
Melanie raised a finger, but Lazarus glared at her, and she fell silent.
“These are the mythical creatures we are talking about, very rarely seen. I knew that this creature would be at the summit, though I thought it was a mere dragon. Bloodfyre Wyrms are so much worse. Their fire doesn’t just incinerate; it literally drains your life force as well. They are completely immune to fire and can even drain the natural mana from the element. Some say that blood-fyre wyrms are actually fallen angels who have taken that form. I have no idea how true that is, but they are incredibly resilient and tend to drain the life and mana from the surrounding area. This foe is what I was trying my hardest to prepare you for.”
Jackson actually gulped. Melanie didn’t look much better, her face going pale.
“Do you think we’re ready?” she whispered.
Lazarus rubbed at his face. “As ready as you can be, yes. Jackson will heal from most things, but the drain on his mana will be noticeable for him since he needs so much of it for his weaves and skills. This means a lot will be riding on your shoulders.”
Melanie sat down. Jackson went and took her hand as he sat down with her.
“Hey now, look at me.”
Her green eyes met his, and for the first time, he saw fear there.
“Come on, where is that fiery determination of yours? That explosive temper? This thing won’t beat us. We’ve come out ahead of everything this place has thrown at us so far. This won’t be any different.”
Melanie’s eyes looked away from Jackson, and her voice grew small.
“I’m afraid, Jackson. I don’t know that we can beat this thing. It sounds impossible.”
Jackson tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, a gesture that earned him a small smile.
“That’s okay. Being afraid. But come on, you know I’ll just end up eating the thing like I usually do. I bet its blood tastes like chicken.”
She laughed with a silvery musical sound and squeezed his hand before getting up. Her smile was like a ray of sunshine on a beautiful morning.
“You’re right. Honestly, though, all that blood can’t be good for your diet. I'm going to be shocked if you don’t end up fat, like a leech.”
It was Jackson’s turn to laugh. “I probably will end up that way. But hey, I’ll still be in shape.”
Melanie’s eyes twinkled. “How’s that work?”
Jackson grinned. “Round is a shape, you know.”
That earned Jackson a bigger laugh and an even better smile, with her dimples flashing. He felt the tension and fear drain away from the air, replaced by a steady companionship. As that settled over them, it began to dawn on Jackson that he wanted to keep making Melanie laugh. He wanted to see her smile all the time and know that he had been the one to put it there. His face turned red, and he turned away, letting out a small cough. Lazarus gave him a knowing look, a small smile playing on his lips. He seemed vastly satisfied somehow with their little exchange.
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Before they left, they decided to see if the people around camp could offer any supplies. They didn’t have many health potions left—just two, in fact—and wanted a few more. Unfortunately, no one wanted to give them any. They still had to deal with monster attacks, and a health potion could save a life, after all. It was frustrating but understandable. They did manage to get a few rations for the road and ate a meal before they went.
The campers didn’t hate them, but it was clear they were still happy for them to go. Jackson had killed several of their people, after all. Even if it was for their own good, that wasn’t something that was so easily forgiven. The trek towards the mountain was uneventful for the most part. It wasn’t long before they came to a vast stone arch, a stony path leading up from it, just past it.
Before they could enter it, words hovered in front of them.
To reach the summit of the mountain, you must clear four trials. This is the first of them. Are you ready to begin?