The group assessed themselves before continuing into the castle. Yelsa’s foot was still slightly wounded which caused her to lean heavily on her good leg, but she insisted that she was fine to continue, eager to go home as soon as possible. Rep and Fran had no signs of injuries, leaving only Zalan and Gorb with bruises.
“I’ll be fine,” Zalan insisted as Rep was inspecting the wound on his ribs. “Once I’m home, I think it’ll disappear.”
“We do not know what happens between our worlds,” Rep said.
“I’m pretty sure I’ll just wake up. Gorb, are you fine with only one good eye?” Zalan asked. He knew Gorb would be fine, he was just really excited to use the name ‘Gorb’ to address him.
“I will not hinder our progress,” Gorb promised. “And I am close to increasing my Level. I am confident I will heal within the castle once we finish off the dragon.”
Zalan didn’t even realize it had been a while since he checked his own values. He tapped his fingers and inspected his Experience. It was at 96. He raised his eyebrows in surprise, then realized that he’d fought a Boznok and two Nargs since he last Leveled Up, and they were probably worth a lot of experience at his low Level.
Zalan made his way to the Narg he blinded with Yelsa, pulling at the sword stabbed into the calf. His weapon refused to budge as he pulled against it. He put both hands on it and pulled harder, only for it to remain in place. Fran watched him with amusement.
“Need assistance?” she asked.
“Let me just…” Zalan put one foot against the Narg and pulled with all his might. The sword didn’t move.
Fran smirked as she stepped forward and pulled the sword out with two fingers, placing it in Zalan’s sheath for him then making her way to the gates. Zalan went flush with embarrassment and followed. The chasm between their respective Strength was very apparent.
With that, the five friends made their way toward the crushed gates of the Castle of Docrun, ready to finally step inside.
“So how bad was it to take down your own Narg?” Zalan asked Rep as they walked.
“Awful. I feel so useless in battle, only serving to hold back the rest of you,” Rep replied immediately. “I tried to strike it with my sword, only for it to bounce off harmlessly. From there, the Narg wished only to target myself. Fran tried her best to bring its ire upon her by waving her flaming sword and slashing at its feet, but it only had eyes to do damage to me. It threw all manner of debris, including its burning club. It dealt me quite the blow right here on my face.” Rep pointed to where the bleeding cut had been on his cheek before he gained a Level.
“How did you end up taking it down?” Zalan asked.
“I used myself as bait to turn the Narg away from Gorb and Fran. They took the distraction to get above the Narg and slice its throat,” Rep replied.
“They’re a good team,” Zalan mused, looking at the siblings as they led the way to the castle.
“Indeed! They seem to instinctively know when to work together to send Fran skyward for her to deliver powerful attacks to weak points,” Rep nodded.
The five had arrived at the gates now, staring as far as they could beyond the crushed entrance to see if there were any other monsters awaiting them. Fran and Gorb checked on either side of the walls behind the gates and nodded back to their friends to confirm it was safe. Beyond the gates was a large set of double doors to enter, at least the size of the Nargs. The doors were slightly ajar and decaying, looking as though the weakest ember of fire from even Rep could burn them down in moments.
Before they stepped inside, Yelsa nocked her bow and fired an arrow into the opening of the door, listening to it clatter inside. They waited silently for any creatures to react to the projectile. There were no noises, but Zalan didn’t know whether to be comforted by that or to think that there was something intelligent inside waiting to ambush them. As they began to move forward, Yelsa suggested a second method to ensure they would not be surprised. She turned to Gorb and whispered something in his ear. He stoically nodded and took one step in front of the group. Taking a deep breath, he blasted the doors open with a burst of wind.
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
The doors disintegrated into hundreds of pieces, and the natural sunlight did much better to calm the adventurers in that there was nothing waiting in the first chamber to attack them. Fran led the way, igniting a small flame to check nooks that were not as easily illuminated by the hole where the door used to stand.
The entryway was massive, likely a greeting ground for those that used to come and go. There were frayed remnants of tapestries that used to hang from the ceilings and ruined cushions and broken chairs scattered around the room. The sunlight streaming in revealed how much dust permeated through the air, the ground inside not having been disturbed for what may have been years. Other than the ransacking of what used to be set up inside, it didn’t look like there was any evidence of a fight having taken place. Zalan wondered what happened to the previous residents, this castle not looking not nearly as sinister as the remains of the Lost City of Xagon.
When Zalan stepped inside, he heard a faint squeaking coming from somewhere in a corner. He looked over to it, which drew the attention of the other travelers. Fran lit up the wall with a larger flame and Yelsa gasped quietly, going tight. The wall was crawling with tiny spider-like creatures, some of which hopped away at the first sign of the bright light.
“Cave crickets,” Zalan said, relaxing.
“You know of these things?” Yelsa asked, still taut with disgust.
“Sure, my mom used to get them in her basement all the time,” Zalan said, turning his back to them to continue surveying the room. He began to notice just how many crickets were living in and on the walls. It was a colony.
“So these are simply non-monsters,” Rep assessed.
“What’s the difference?” Zalan asked.
“You cannot gain Experience from killing non-monsters,” Rep answered.
“Oh. So, if I killed something like a horse, I couldn’t even gain a single Experience point?” Zalan asked.
They stared at him like he was an imbecile.
“Why would you kill a horse?” Yelsa asked.
“I meant hypothetically,” Zalan clarified.
“Why would you ever want to kill a horse, Zalan?” Gorb asked, stunned.
“I just meant it to know if there was a way to gain Experience from non-monsters,” Zalan quickly replied.
“Do not kill horses,” Fran told him.
“I wasn’t going to!” Zalan said.
“A horse is a majestic creature, suited very well for assisting in travel. You would kill one if you got one?” Yelsa asked.
“No! I just… Nevermind, I don’t want to kill a horse,” Zalan sighed.
“I am glad we could convince you otherwise,” Gorb said, nodding to himself.
“I… yeah, fine,” Zalan resigned himself to the misunderstanding and went back to looking at cave crickets.
“I find it amusing that you can withstand the sight of these creatures, but not a single Roach,” Fran smiled. Rep made a face agreeing with her, equally amused.
“These are nothing like Roaches,” Zalan said immediately. “If I learned that the dragon was weak to crickets, I would carry these in my hands to present to it. Roaches can all die in a fire.”
“Please do not bring any of these with you,” Yelsa pleaded, disgusted by the suggestion.
“I’m just happy this is the only thing we found here,” Zalan said.
“Do not speak so soon,” Gorb said, pointing to the rest of the castle. “There is much more to discover within.”
Zalan looked ahead at the dark, ominous halls ahead of them. They seemed so empty, yet foreboding.
“Could anything really survive that deep in the castle? They’d have to come out to the front to get food, right?” Zalan asked.
“Not all creatures have the same needs we do. They may be perfectly content feasting on the crickets they find on the walls,” Gorb pointed out.
Zalan’s mouth twitched in distaste at the thought, but it made him bring up his guard once more. He shouldn’t expect to be safe in the Castle of Docrun. The wind blew, howling the open chambers within like a massive wolf that was one with the walls. When no one else stepped forward, Fran decided to lead the way with her flamelight, the others remaining close behind and Gorb watching the rear for any surprises.
“Do you think the dragon will be easier to take on than the Nargs?” Rep asked suddenly.
“I think we’ll be fine,” Zalan said immediately.
He was only half certain, but he didn’t want to delay going back home. The other travelers seemed not to dismiss his false confidence, Fran especially, who was excited to take on the new creature. Zalan didn’t really believe much in the consequences of this world, the dragon included. He would simply grab the Homeseeker and go home. He didn’t need to defeat a single dragon. He would defeat the entirety of this realm by leaving it behind.
Surely, that would be an easy affair.