Having Drevock control the golem ended up being a very sensible idea. The Titan had no trouble moving the heavy stone construct, plus his increased reflexes and ability to conjure that orange shield meant that Gabe and the others were protected from any shrapnel or other after-effects of the traps going off. A spell cast by Professor Alrik caused the golem to leave glowing footprints so they knew which bricks were safe to step on.
There was a good variety of traps, however, most seemed to be some variety of projectile shot from the walls or a repeat of the same fire trap, though fortunately, that one was much less frequent. By the time the golem had reached the area where Simon detected the pit trap to be, it was covered in knicks, dents, and scratches and its left arm had been severed by a large glowing ax blade that had swung on a pendulum. That trap had actually excited Gabe because he was fairly certain that it was made of spellstell, but he couldn’t get confirmation as the weapon had disappeared back into the wall after disarming the golem.
The group debated what to do about the pit trap but ultimately decided to just let the golem activate it. They still had a good 60 feet to go before the brick path transitioned back to smooth, worked stone, and even with its durability, they doubted the golem would last that long anyway. So Simon walked back to where the traps began to conjure another golem and Professor Alrik began the chant that would sever the connection between Drevock and the golem so that when it fell into the pit Drevock wouldn’t be pulled along with it.
When the golem stepped on the correct brick a grinding sound reverberated through the area as the floor split and began to recede into the walls, a fissure widening in its wake. They were lucky Earthsense had been able to detect the size of the pit and that they’d adjusted the length of the mana tether accordingly because the hole in the ground extended several feet behind where the activation brick had been. The pit must have been very deep as it took close to 10 seconds before the loud crash of the golem hitting the bottom echoed out of the hole.
Gabe worried that getting across the pit would be an issue, but once Simon, Professor Alrik, and Drevock returned with a new golem, the young earth mage was able to manipulate the stone in the walls enough to extend a ledge wide enough that they would cross without issue. They didn’t have an issue with the traps on the other side, though by the time they reached the end of the brick path the second golem was looking much worse for wear. They briefly discussed keeping it with them as they moved forward but ultimately decided it would be too much of a hassle.
With a mischievous look on his face, Simon directed Drevock to guide the golem back to the end of the brick path but have it face the direction they had just come. Without explaining his plan to anyone he started moving his hands through the air, stone flowing up from the ground around the golem. Not only was Simon fixing all the damage, but he also gave it an extra set of arms for some reason. From the way it was positioned with its bottom arms extended out and its top set a crude facsimile of someone cupping a fist with their other hand, anyone coming down the trapped path might very well think that they will have to fight the construct. When he was finished, Simon turned to face the others with a self-satisfied expression on his face and indicated that he was ready to go.
After the chamber with the abandoned campsite and the trapped passage, Gabe wasn’t sure what to expect. They had already been in the tunnels for over a day and a half, though most of that was spent letting Professor Alrik recover. Sometimes adventurers spent weeks in here trying to find anything worthwhile, but you were also just as likely to stumble across a Dweller settlement after just a few hours.
The trapped path had been mostly straight, but the path they were on now curved much more extensively with several switchbacks. At one point the path just kept curving to the right and Gabe was certain they were going in circles, but the tunnel never intersected with any other. Gabe didn’t know if that meant they were going up, or down, or if there was more magic in these tunnels than they realized that was messing with their spatial orientation.
After a short stretch in which the tunnel dipped downward at such a steep angle that Simon had to conjure handholds for them in the walls, it leveled out and curved to the left while a second path opened up to the right. They were saved from having to decide which path to take however because the one on the left was blocked by a large pile of rubble. It looked as if the tunnel had collapsed, though the long gouges in the stone made Gabe wonder if the cave-in had been natural or orchestrated by some monster that called the tunnel system its home. Creatures with high levels of intelligence, even those bordering on true sapience, had been reported throughout the Dweller tunnels and were some of the most dangerous things an adventurer would encounter down here.
Gabe shared his concerns with the others and they agreed that they should proceed with more caution as they took the only available path. Unlike the smooth worked stone of the path they had been on, this one was rough and circular, more like something an animal would dig than anything else. Drevock took point, both axes out and at the ready. They walked in silence for a few dozen yards before Drevock signaled them to stop. He tilted his head and in the silence of the tunnel, Gabe could hear the large man sniffing repeatedly.
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“What is it Drevock?” asked Professor Alrik.
“I smell vater. And dere is somezing else, a noise. It’z faint.”
Gabe strained his senses but he couldn’t hear or smell anything. He assumed only Drevock was able to detect them because of his enhanced senses. As going back wasn’t really an option, the group continued forward. It wasn’t too much longer before the others began to notice the things Drevock had picked up on. Up until this point, the tunnels had been dry and the air was a bit stale. Now, however, small rivulets of water trickled down the walls and collected into puddles on the ground.
The further down the path they walked, the more the air grew damp and musty. Patches of a pale yellow lichen that glowed with a deep green light spread out along the walls and ceiling. Strangest of all was that Gabe could feel something coming off the lichen that resonated within his soul. After commenting on it to the others, Professor Alrik spoke a quick incantation that caused his eyes to glow with a golden light. He examined the lichen for several minutes, muttering indistinct spells as his eyes shifted through a wide variety of shades and intensity.
“Remarkable, I find this truly intriguing,” he said once he was finished with his tests. “This lichen is saturated with life mana, a likely reason for its robust existence within these tunnels. It is possible that these specimens could be invaluable in crafting potent healing potions. But observing your reaction Gabriel raises a fascinating possibility: could they be distilled into an elixir capable of awakening a dormant life mana node within a person?”
The professor’s words caused an immediate reaction from Simon as he walked over to the wall and started examining the lichen for himself. His tests were much less magical than Professor Alriks, the young man opting instead to sniff and even lick the yellow lichen. Turning to face Gabe, Professor Alrik continued.
“The sensation you are experiencing is the intertwining of the mana within the lichen with that of your soul. One of the most steadfast methods to awaken a new mana node involves a direct infusion of purified mana corresponding to the desired type.”
If unlocking new mana nodes was as easy as drinking an elixir, then acquiring one of them just became a top priority for Gabe. Once this job was finished, however, it turned out, he was going to get his hands on one of those elixirs. Images of him blasting sending out blasts of fire and flying through the air pass through his mind. Seeing the expression on Gabe’s face, the old gnome gave a small chuckle.
“Understand, though, that this approach is costly, given the scarcity and value of naturally occurring sources of prime mana types. Take for instance that the economic foundation of the Sylphame Queendom is rooted in water node elixirs derived from the dew gracing a unique species of lily that blooms only once a decade with a specific stretch of land deep within the Syliomo Rainforest. Each time the flowers bloom there is only enough dew produced to make 20 elixirs, yet that alone is enough to support the Queendom for the next decade.”
Gabe deflated hearing that. There was no way he’d ever have enough gold to buy something like that. He cast a glance over at the lichen. Well, maybe there was a way. If this lichen could be distilled into an elixir, then the gold he made from selling it should let him buy an elixir or two of his own. In fact, he could probably trade a life node elixir for any other elixir he wanted. He now understood why Simon had reacted the way he did.
“Professor, if mana node elixirs are so expensive, how else do people unlock new nodes? Simon recently unlocked his mind node, right? I take it he didn’t use an elixir?”
Simon scoffed as he rejoined the others, evidently finished with his explorations of the taste of random cave plants.
“I wish, would have saved me so much time. No, instead I had to do it the hard way. There are certain meditation techniques you can do that are similar to mana cycling that can unlock a node if do them long enough. It all depends on how blocked the node is to begin with. Sometimes people try for years, even decades, and never unlock another node. I guess I was lucky that it only took me 16 months to unlock my mind node, but it was one of the most tedious things I did. Hours upon hours upon hours of trying to sense the barest hint of mana so that I could connect to it and start cycling it. If not for Master Alrik insisting that I keep at it, I would have given up on it after a few months but I guess it was worth it in the end.”
“I am pleased to see that my apprentice has grown wise enough to recognize the importance of perseverance,” replied Professor Alrik with a slightly disapproving tone. “Regardless, we should gather a portion of the lichen and present it to a reputable alchemist for thorough analysis. Should it indeed possess the potential to yield a life node elixir, these tunnels will undoubtedly attract heightened scrutiny.”
Pulling out his knife, Gabe moved to cut a section off a section of the lichen. As the blade of the knife sliced through the lichen, a sudden transformation overcame the once-vibrant growth. The moment the section was severed, an ominous darkness started to spread across its surface, as if a shadow had fallen upon it. Simultaneously, the lichen began to disintegrate, crumbling to fine dust that fell through Gabe’s fingers like sand. The unexpected deterioration left behind nothing but a residue of obsidian-colored particles, leaving the entire party in an eerie silence. That silence was shattered by a piercing wail that echoed through the tunnel.