Kyto and the three of them crouched by the edge of the bubble. Kyto was trying to work out how they could get to Tiddles's prone form or prevent the Geblex from spit-roasting him, looking at the huge metal spike they had near his body. He had been splayed out, and it looked like his thick fur had been cut away, but the Geblex had struggled to skin him properly and given up, leaving thick patches of his fur still attached to his dead form. The sight of his abused body sent sickness and anger through every inch of Kyto, but they could not just attack. There were too many Geblex, not just inside the bubble here but in the ones nearby. As he observed the Geblex, he watched as the two stood by Tiddles turned and walked away from his corpse, still arguing.
They stayed still and silent for several minutes until Kyto reached out and tapped each of the companions gently before he began to move around the bubble, working to the side nearer to Tiddles. They followed him silently. Kyto guessed they were nearer the end of the chamber but could not be sure. The area was easy to see from the large fires cast light, and just as he decided to move away to communicate with the others, he noticed a strange sight. The two arguing Geblex had returned by Tiddles and were stood there again. He stayed watching them again before they turned and walked off. The other Geblex were away from the fire and Tiddles's corpse, and he frowned, looking at them. He stayed watching them, and as he did, he understood what was happening. He tapped the band again and turned, leading them from the fire to be able to talk.
The companions moved from the nearest bubble, and Kyto spoke hushedly.
"This is a puzzle. It was a maze to get here by seeing the bubbles, but the Geblex inside the bubble are repeating what they are doing," he said.
"What do you mean?" Sniffer whispered.
Kyto could not see his face clearly in the dark, but he could sense the hatred in his whispered tone towards these creatures, and what he had seen had happened to Tiddles. "There are too many nearby to overpower, but as I watched them, the groups repeated their actions. It was like they were in a loop. The two arguing Geblex returned and stood in the same positions, arguing again before they walked off. I think this is just one giant puzzle, and when they walk off, there is a window before they return when we can remove Tiddles."
"A loop?" Brandon whispered.
"Yes. A loop. If we return to the fire, you will see what I mean. hopefully, now I have told you." Kyto checked the timer left on the side quest. "We have 1 hour 11 minutes left on the side quest. Let us go back and check my theory and see if we can find a plan to get him out without being noticed."
He turned and began heading back to the bubble again. The others followed. When they returned outside the mana bubble, they crouched and watched again. The pattern was being repeated. It was subtle, but the same actions were continually occurring. Now that he listened and watched, he started to hear repeated croaks and gradually picked up the timings of when to expect them. They stayed for several minutes before he thought he had the plan configured. He knew all four of them would be needed to move Tiddles's corpse, knowing how heavy he was. There was no way that one of them could move him alone. He tapped them again and turned away, getting distance before explaining his thoughts.
"They are looping," Sniffer whispered. "There is an opening of about 45 seconds where none of the Geblex are looking at the spit area, just after a louder croak on the far side."
"Yeah. I noticed the same." Brandon replied.
"I think we need to get Tiddles out of the bubble without being seen, but all four of us will need to move him," Kyto added.
"Definitely will. There is no way one of us could move him alone." Sniffer replied.
"When we return next time, we will wait for the guards to walk from the spit, and as soon as they do, we all go in and grab him, carrying him out."
The companions returned to the edge again and watched the repeated scene unfold twice before Kyto signalled for them to move. The arguing Geblex had walked away. Keeping low, they crept into the circle of light from the fire. Kyto's heart was thumping in his chest, his nerves on fire and every hair on his body on end. Tiddles’s body lay thirty feet inside, and being as silent as they could, they scurried across to it. Lars and Kyto grabbed his rear legs, and Sniffer and Brandon grabbed his front.
Tiddles's corpse made Kyto's stomach churn as he saw the damage that had been inflicted on it and the patchy remains of the fur left on his raw and bloody form. All four of them had gritted teeth as they heaved his body upwards. He weighed a tonne, and they began to move as quickly as they could back to the edge of the bubble. The strain on their faces confirmed the exertion of lifting his massive form. Kyto did not know how much Tiddles weighed, but for four of them to struggle to move him was enough to confirm it was a lot.
As they reached the edge of the bubble, the arguing Geblex turned back towards the spit. Tiddles's form was outside. Only his front leg remained, with Sniffer still in the firelight glow. Sniffer froze, not moving, standing perfectly still as the two Geblex moved back. He was in plain sight, and the companions could only wait for him to be noticed. Lars had already unsheathed his blades and looked about to charge them. Kyto quickly placed his hand on his arm, stopping him. The Geblex walked back to the same spot, not even noticing Sniffer stood like a statue a mere twenty feet from them. Kyto could see the beads of sweat running off Sniffer's brow as he waited for the inevitable.
They did not react, though, and after a few moments, again turned bickering and walked off. Kyto signalled for Sniffer to move as they lifted Tiddles from the last couple of feet outside the bubble again.
Kyto's display triggered.
Congratulations, you have completed the side quest and saved the soul of your companion. 10,000 bonus experience has been awarded to eligible party members.
As the message appeared, so did the light. The whole chamber became as bright as daylight, making the companions scrunch their eyes, partially blinded by the brightness. The clear view of the cavern and its contents became visible to them all. The number of Geblex was ridiculous, looking at the forms now apparent to them. There were swathes of them dotted around the fires, and as they watched, the bodies all began to shimmer and blink from existence.
Tiddles’s battered and mutilated body was suddenly bathed in the resurrection light and lifted from the ground as though it weighed nothing. Beings spun until it vanished.
"That was terrifying," Sniffer said as he slumped to the floor, looking exhausted. His face was pale and clammy.
"I honestly thought we were going to get killed again," Brandon said.
Lars was still holding his blades and again sheathed them, but only once the last of the Geblex forms shimmered out of existence.
"We should go back and collect Tiddles," Sniffer said.
"That means going through that damn corridor again," Brandon complained.
"I think we need to go back and rest for a bit," Kyto added. His whole body was still tense, and he felt his adrenaline leaving him. He dismantled some of his strands, pushing them into his body and flooding them with endurance, slowly taking the edge from his terror-filled mind.
This dungeon and its trials were nerve-racking and fear-inducing, and he knew he could not be the only one feeling the pressure of the situation. The fact that he had the whole town's potential survival sat on his shoulders was nothing he had ever or would ever have wanted. They headed back to the safe room. Kyto's mind churned over what had and potentially would be next. Before they had left the chamber, they had seen the exit door at the far end and knew where to head to.
They had not reached the safe room before they heard Tiddles howl carried down the corridor as they returned.
"We are coming, boy," Sniffer shouted up the corridor.
Tiddles sat in the safe room, waiting for them to return. His fur was covered in his blood, but at least he was no longer a splayed corpse. The image made Kyto's anger surge. The System was playing horrendous mind games with them, making them witness the horrific form of Tiddles's remains.
"That was fucking horrible. I was dead but wasn't! I could see everything those fucking shit-eating creatures did to my body." He said.
"What?" Kyto said, frowning worriedly.
"Everything, it was as if I was still in my body but unable to move or do anything. There were no System messages, just a sense that I was being taken slowly. I cannot describe it, but it felt like I was fading." He stated.
Kyto could feel the anger and hatred seeping from him. It was so palpable. He could not fathom being able to see what had happened to his body after he died.
Sniffer was lovingly scratching Tiddles behind his ear, and Kyto noticed a tear trickling down his cheek. He drew no attention to it, looking around the group. "We need to rest; this place is fucking with us, and I want to spend time going through my level increase now that Tiddles is safe again." He said.
There were no complaints from the group; they all took time to eat, drink and rest.
"I need to go and grab food," Tiddles said.
"Sure. You should be good to leave and come back in. Have you checked your level?" Kyto replied.
"Yes. I have also levelled but will sort when I get back." He said.
Tiddles could not explain how he felt but needed fresh air. The dungeon's atmosphere was not stale, but the constant smell of Geblex was bugging him, especially after what he had just been through. He jogged up to the barrier, touching it.
Would you like to leave the infestation dungeon? Yes/No
He accepted yes and walked through the barrier. The guards on the far side jumped at his sudden appearance. He paid them no attention as he ran across the chamber and up the tunnel to the mine entrance.
TJ had been busy, and the entrance had a spike wall pointing at it, and two guards were standing by it. Tiddles did not slow down and ran, leaping over them before running across the area. Startled cries came from several guards as his form flew by them. The skies were grey, and there was a fine rain in the air, the feeling as he ran refreshing him.
It felt good to be back outside, the rain washing over him, and the air smelled of fresh ozone. It felt heavenly as he ran. He was furious, and he needed to calm himself. His blood was pumping, and he could feel his core burning, comforting him. The stresses slowly faded as he ran, but the anger did not. It took him a while to pick up Wild One scents due to the vicinity of the Geblex area and where they had made them flee. Elbou were one of his preferred food types, and he headed towards the scent as he caught it on the breeze. He soon tracked them down to an open field area a few miles from the mine. The speed he could run at when he wished made the distance seem irrelevant.
He would typically only kill what he needed for food for himself and the cubs, but today, he just needed to kill. He tore into the small herd with no caution, no care, just massacring what he reached before many of them bolted. He felt his anger and frustration of what was happening beginning to fade, and it was good to be free running again. He took his fill from their remains, feeling a little guilt once he was full, having killed more than he needed, but it had felt good and brightened his mood. He found a river nearby and went for a swim, the icy water not affecting him, but the fast flow washing over his fur as he swam against it, washing the remaining blood away.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Once he felt clean again, he turned and began to head back to the mine. It did not take him long, and as he approached this time, he triggered his stealth skill and crept through the outside before walking back down the tunnel to the barrier.
As he entered the safe room, he noticed that only Kyto was awake; the others had taken the opportunity to catch some sleep.
"Feel better?" Kyto asked him quietly, not wanting to disturb the others.
"A little." He replied.
"You look better, at least."
"Should we level up now?"
"May as well be as good a time as any. Although I won't get any new skills, I need to save my points to get a Tier 3 level 4 skill. I need 12 points, and the level will only give me 5, so I need another level at least as well as my individual quest."
"My quest has not levelled again yet."
"Nor mine. Still need a few more heals to get it to level 5 for another point."
"I will have nine available when I level. I'm not sure what to advance yet, however. I was thinking armour again, but I don't know if I should focus on more offensive skills now instead.
"I am sure either bite or claw will boost well."
"I was thinking Flaming Claw, although I want to know my tier four skills, so I need another level before I can see them, considering I need fifteen points to increase one of my tier 3s to level 3. Yeah, I am going to choose claws."
Kyto focussed on his experience log, showing their combined progress.
Experience
Kyto
Tiddles
Total
164320
163965
Next Level
200000
200000
Level
27
27
Individual Quest
Total
124885
586
Level
4
5
Arcane Knowledge
Earned
68
72
Spent
68
68
Available
0
4
Would you like to increase your level to 28? Yes/No
Kyto accepted yes.
Congratulations on reaching level 28. The following bonuses have been awarded. +1 to each of your core statistics, +5 arcane knowledge points.
Kyto felt the subtle difference in his body as he levelled. It was not dramatic, just a sense of improvement overall. He focussed on his character sheet to check his progress.
Name:
Kyto
Title:
Enlightened
Species:
Homosapien
Sub-species:
Risen
Age:
20
Profession:
Chosen
Class:
Wielder
Figures:
Total points
58
Acrobatics
13
Brawling
10
Charm
10
Defence
9
Endurance
11*
Free thinking
16
Elite Skill:
Actualisation
Active
Specialisation:
Arcane Knowledge
68 of 73
Tier
Name
Cost
Level
Tier 1
Mana Manipulation
15
5
Tier 2
Wielder Support
20
4
Tier 3
Siphon
9
2
Heal
18
3
Familiar
3
1
Shield
3
1
Level
28
Experience
14320 of 50000
Tiddles focussed on his interface.
Would you like to increase your level to 28? Yes/No
Tiddles accepted yes.
Congratulations on reaching level 28. The following bonuses have been awarded. +1 to each of your core statistics, +5 arcane knowledge points.
He now had nine points to spend and selected his Flaming Claw skill without further hesitation.
Would you like to increase Flaming Claw - Tier 3 to Level 2 for a cost of 6 arcane knowledge? Yes/No
He accepted yes.
Flaming Claws activation costs 40 mana and 40 elemental sparks. Flaming Claws duration will last for 20 seconds. Duration will increase with level upgrades. +60% damage to lifeforms susceptible to fire damage. +30% damage to other lifeforms unless fire elemental when extra damage bonuses have no effect.
Tiddles opened his character sheet.
Name:
Tiddles
Title:
Enlightened
Species:
Wild One
Sub-species:
Beast
Age:
1
Profession:
Chosen
Class:
Melee
Figures:
Total points
92
Acrobatics
18
Brawling
18
Charm
12
Defence
15
Endurance
23
Free thinking
12
Specialisation:
Arcane Knowledge
74 of 77
Tier
Name
Cost
Level
Tier 1
Elemental Fire
15
5
Stealth
10
4
Tier 2
Elemental Combat
20
4
Elemental Support
12
3
Shadow Meld
2
1
Tier 3
Flaming Bite
3
1
Flaming Claws
9
2
Elemental Armour
3
1
Level
28
Experience
13965 of 50000
It was sometime before the others began to awaken from their rest. Kyto nor Tiddles was required to rest due to Kyto's endurance ability and Tiddles's exceptionally high endurance stat. Kyto had checked the Dungeon timer and knew they had just under seven days to complete it. The time seemed to go so quickly inside that he was concerned that the time it had taken them to clear the last room alone had absorbed so much already. Not knowing how many levels there were in the dungeon was also frustrating.
They headed back to the Geblex cavern, empty now that all the fires had vanished and brightly lit with artificial light. Kyto could not even see where the source of the light that bathed the whole cavern was coming from. They made their way to the door at the far end. Lars walked up to it and unbolted it before lifting the latch. The door swung inwards again, and as it did, the stench from the corridor that lay ahead attacked their senses. It was like a purified version of the Geblex stench, damp, mould, death, and faeces.
"That is foul," Brandon said, pinching his nose.
"How do you think I feel? I smell much better than you." Tiddles replied, baring his teeth.
Kyto looked at Tiddles sympathetically at his comment. "Unfortunately, we have no choice but to go in there," he said.
Brandon grimaced as he entered the corridor, leading the group into the darkness, holding the lantern before him. Kyto had again called his familiar and hoped whatever was creating the stench was not as foul as the smell. The corridor was short, only running for fifty feet before they reached another chamber's entrance. In the chamber was a pit in the centre, and they could hear a buzzing sound. There did not appear to be anything in the cavern apart from the pit. The companions walked up to it and looked down at the grotesque and mutilated remains of Geblex. A swarm of large black flies covered them, and the remains were covered in the wriggling forms of maggots.
"What is this all about?" Kyto asked.
As he spoke, there was a slamming sound, and they spun around to see that a metal grate now blocked the entrance to the corridor, and their System messages all triggered.
Before you are the remains of your destructive path, you must find the four gems to proceed from this chamber.
"Four gems?" Sniffer asked.
Brandon walked around the pit to where there was a door on the other side. "There are holes in the door that look like they need the gems in them."
"So where are they then?" Sniffer asked.
"I think they are in there," Kyto said, pointing at the pit's rancid content.
"So, we must dig through the remains to find the gems. This place is sick." Brandon said again, pinching his nose.
The pit itself was about fifteen feet deep and wide.
"We need to get down into it somehow, but my rope was in the backpack in the safe room," Sniffer said.
"I am not sure I can go in there," Brandon said.
"We don't all need to go in, I don't think. It is not as if Tiddles can help as he has no hands." Kyto said.
"Thanks for stating the obvious," Tiddles replied sarcastically.
Kyto smirked at him. "If I hang off the edge, it will only be a short drop to the bottom."
Brandon pulled his top from his trousers and tore a strip off it, then wrapped it around his face. The material was filthy from their previous antics and covered in dried blood, but at least it gave him a little respite from the smell. "Good idea," Sniffer said, copying him.
Lars did not worry about covering his face and moved to the side to lower himself down.
"Wait. How do we get back out?" Kyto said suddenly. Getting in was easy, but getting back out would be challenging.
"If you stood on Lars's shoulders, you could probably reach the lip and pull yourself up. It would be getting Lars back out that is the issue." Sniffer said.
"Well, one of us needs to stay up here anyway, and as we find gems, we can pass them out to be placed in the door," Kyto said.
"I will," Brandon said quickly. The companions turned and looked at him. Lars raised his eyebrows at the speed of his response.
Lars shook his head and then began to lower himself. With his height and lowering himself by his arms, he only had a few feet to drop to the bottom. He allowed himself to fall, landing on the remains. As he did, the flies flew upwards in a swarm, trying to move out of his way. There was a sickening squelch, and Kyto saw the head of a Geblex explode where his heel landed. Fighting back bile, he went to lower himself. Lars took out one of his knives and moved to the far side of the pit, and as Kyto dropped in with him, he began searching.
Kyto began to pick through the remains, slowly piling them up to one side as he did. Every time he reached the mass, he felt the maggots squirming against his hands. It made his skin crawl, but he continued with the grim task. It took them over an hour to find the first gem. It was at the bottom of the pit itself, covered in filth and was a square shape with a pale blue colour. "Got one," he called, holding it up.
"Throw it up. I'll put it in the door," Brandon said. Sniffer was standing and looking down at them with Brandon. They were both covered from head to foot in the filth.
"Did you want to swap?" Sniffer asked.
"No point in anyone else getting covered in this shit," Kyto replied.
"Don't say I did not offer," he grins.
"I would not wish this on my worst enemy," Kyto replied as he returned to searching.
The next gem Lars found was another power gem, and he handed it to Kyto, who had again removed the other from his pocket and allowed them to combine the System message updating, saying they had now found three of ten. Two more hours passed before they managed to find the other three gems for the door and one more power gem. Two had been inside the Geblex bodies, having piled them up and not finding anything on the bottom. Lars had begun to dismember the bodies further. He had appeared fine while completing the work, at no point pulling a face at the stench or gruesome task, and Kyto could not help but think what he may have had to do in his past life as a raider. Brandon had placed all the gems in the door, and on doing so, the bars had cleared from the entranceway, and there had been the grinding sound of metal as a bar was drawn back on the far side of the door.
"I will go and get the rope," Sniffer said once the bars were open and had disappeared back up the corridor a while later, returning with the rope. He had lowered it to them, and with Tiddles pulling them up, it only took moments for the pair to return to the top. They both looked like they had been walking through sewage and an abattoir combined, and they stank awful.
"You guys need to get cleaned up," Sniffer said.
"Let us just keep going for now. We do not know what is next yet." Kyto replied, walking to the next door.