The Land: Alliances (Chaos Seeds Book 3)

CHAPTER 16

Richter immediately had Futen extinguish his light. He then cast Night Vision, but to his dismay, there didn’t seem to be any ambient light. Even with his vision enhanced he couldn’t see anything. Sighing, he had Futen emit the lowest intensity glow the remnant could manage. The level of illumination was so low that Richter wouldn’t have been able to detect Futen if not for his enhanced vision, but it was enough to get the job done. His sight came alive in a contrast of green and black. Richter reached out for Alma. The dragonling crawled up his arm and settled upon his shoulders. At his mental order, she crawled under his Cloak of Concealment. The he hitched up his hood and invoked Stealth. A blinking icon showed that his hurried flight had earned him some prompts.

Congratulations! You have reached skill level 5 in Dark Magic. New spells are now available.

Congratulations! You have reached skill level 8 in Air Magic. New spells are now available.

Your long flight through the night has increased your Characteristics. +1 to Agility. +1 to Endurance.

The only sounds in the tunnel were the faint drip of water and Richter’s own breathing. Judging by the amount of rot on the half eaten kills, this tunnel had been used at least a week ago. Just waiting here was not an option. An entire kobold tribe could be up his ass soon, and he would be unable to run. Looking up at the slope he had just fallen down, he judged that climbing back up would be difficult, but should be possible. Should be possible that is, once he faced an extremely unpleasant task. Fixing his injuries, namely, his shoulder.

First, he fixed his face. The rock giant’s hands had excoriated his forehead and nose. Worse, one strip of ragged skin hung over his eye like a creepy flap. He carefully picked it up and held it in place with one hand and did the brief hand gesture for Slow Heal with the other. With a muttered word of power, the skin healed back into place and the slow dribble of blood running down his face ceased. The spell unfortunately did not fix his shoulder.

It had been pushed mostly back into the socket by his tumble down the hill, but when he ran his fingers over the joint, it clearly was still not fully back into position. Looking around he found a small crack in the wall. Lips pressed tightly together, he guided the hand of his injured arm into the crevice until half of his forearm had disappeared. He then placed one foot against the wall, and making sure his arm was secure, he sharply twisted his body and yanked! With an almost audible pop, his shoulder was set back into place. Expecting the pain this time, he was able to grit his teeth and only a muffled shout escaped his lips. Though the maneuver definitely caused pain, a cool relief also spread through him now that all of his parts were where they should be. Richter cast Slow Heal again and felt the pain in his shoulder lessen to a barely perceptible level. The spell might not be able to fix broken bones, but it worked wonders for inflammation!

That done, he looked up at the steep hill that had brought him underground. Richter took out his dagger and started climbing. He jabbed the weapon into the earth as a mobile handhold and slowly inched up the slope. His entire body was sore, but he didn’t stop. Richter planned to get almost to the top and listen for the rock giant. If he didn’t hear anything, he’d ease his way out of the hole and make his way to the village while concealed.

As he got closer to the top of the slope, he started looking for the entrance to the cave but didn’t see anything. He finally found a spot where the dirt of the incline had been disturbed and he realized that the reason he couldn’t find the entrance, was that it didn’t exist anymore. The disturbance in the dirt marked where he had fallen and above it was only a pile of dirt. Richter didn’t know how long he had been out, but that damn giant must have kept banging on the cave until it collapsed! Richter’s face contorted in anger and it was only because he was in dangerous territory that he didn’t scream aloud in frustration. He only had one option now. He had to follow the tunnel.

Richter made his way back down to the bottom of the underground hill, silently cursing. Once at the bottom though, he stopped his lament. Sure he was covered in horrible burn scars and buried alive in an underground warren of intelligent lizard monsters who specialized in deadly traps, but as his grandpappy used to say ‘A little hard work never hurt anyone, but I’ll beat your ass if you don’t get to work.’ Richter got to work.

He drank a Potion of Clarity and gave another to Alma. No reason to waste any experience that might be coming their way. After that, he accessed his Traveler’s Map. With a bit of focus, he switched from an above ground view to a subterranean map. Richter sighed. He had hoped that the maps he had obtained from the kobold he had charmed in the catacombs, Tri’yerin, would link to where he was now. All he saw was the small bit of tunnel he was now standing in, though. Everything else around him was the pure black of unexplored territory.

With another mental command, the map drew back to encompass a greater area. He kept zooming out until he found the tunnels Tri’yerin had drawn. Richter’s nostrils flared. He had to be miles away! No, he realized, it was worse than that. He was miles west AND miles up from where he had found that abandoned temple, and all that he could see was black in between. Tri’yerin’s maps were almost useless to him right now! It would be like if he only had a map of Manhattan, but had to find his way there underground from Long Island. If he got close enough, the map might come in handy, but otherwise he was just stumbling around in the dark. The only saving grace was that his flight from the giant had brought him roughly north and east, so he was at least closer to the Mist Village than he had been before.

Richter closed his map and whispered softly, “Futen, stay invisible and speak quietly. Can you get us out of here?”

“I have no ability to tunnel through rock, my Lord,” came the reply.

“What CAN you do? Can you guide us home underground?”

“I have no navigational abilities, my Lord.”

Richter nodded to himself in the dark. He had known it was probably a long shot. “If only you could just transport us home.”

“I have no ability to transport you home, my Lord.”

Richter paused for a second and thought about the remnant’s phrasing. “Do you have a way to get yourself home?”

“I am tied to the Mist Village and specifically the Great Seal, my Lord. I am only able to be this far afield because of my proximity to you. I can return to the Great Seal at any time.”

“Why didn’t you say anything about this before?” Richter asked tersely.

“My duty is to serve the Master of the Mist Village. I can only do this effectively while I am with you. Also, you never asked, my Lord.”

Richter covered his face with both hands and breathed deeply three times to calm himself. He could NOT start yelling at Futen when they were in a monster den. He suddenly knew exactly how Dr Evil felt after being thawed. “You have to tell me these things! I’m the boss! I need the info!”

“Yes, my Lord,” came Futen’s monotone reply.

“So you can return to the Great Seal,” Richter continued softly, “How? Is it a spell?”

“It is an Ability, my Lord. I can at any time invoke it, and I will be instantly transported.”

“Can you come back afterwards?” Richter asked.

“No, my Lord. I will have no way to return.”

“And I’m guessing that you can’t take me and Alma with you?”

“I have faint memories of transporting others in the distant past, but that would be beyond my current capability. Perhaps when the village levels, my Lord, but currently I cannot.”

“So when you’re gone, you’re gone,” Richter said to himself.

“Yes, my Lord. When I leave, I will not physically be present any longer.”

“What? I wasn’t talking to… Just be quiet a second and let me think,” Richter said waspishly.

Silence reigned for a full second before he heard in a deadpan tone, “Yes, my Lord. Being quiet.”

Richter glared at the remnant, outlined in the green and black. “I KNOW that you’re fucking with me man.” As ordered though, Futen remained quiet and did not respond.

Turning his mind from the irritating orb, Richter thought it through. Communicating with Hisako and Randolphus was important. The last information they would have received would have come from Terrod. That report would just say that he was about to fight two trained killers. They would have every reason to think he was dead or captured. What they would do in that case was anyone’s guess, but they might waste time and resources coming to get him. When there was so much to be done and so many threats to face, that was not a small consideration.

Richter also had to factor in that while both he and Futen were here underground, no mist workers were being summoned. That would dramatically slow down the growth of the village and the construction of defenses. He had no idea how long he would be stuck down here, and he couldn’t just waste this time. There were many reasons why sending Futen back would be a helpful move. There was one obvious reason why he shouldn’t though. Namely that Futen wouldn’t be here to help him.

Right now, Richter was reliant on the remnant to even see. He could always cast a Light spell, but it would be like sending up a signal flare down here. Even though Futen was emitting out light, it was much less conspicuous than a bright ball of white light. Sending the grey orb away would seriously compromise his position and Richter refused to be the dumb sorority girl with the perky tits in the horror movie. ‘Oh no! Who could have foreseen that my decision to have sex in the middle of a murder spree with the weird guy in the van with blacked out windows could have gone wrong?’ You know who, Richter thought, ME! He wouldn’t shoot himself in the foot by sending away a needed ally.

He also doubted that kobolds were the most dangerous things down here. In stories, underground monsters were usually bigger, meaner and toothier than their aboveground counterparts. There was of course, no way to be sure that even the faint light Futen was exuding wouldn’t be seen, but it was certainly less conspicuous than his Light spells were. He decided that he couldn’t send Futen back until he found another way to see in the dark, but it was good to know that he had the option.

He went back to working the problem. He had been trapped underground for weeks when unlocking his Life mastery. During that time, he and the sprites had eaten most of the dried rations that were in his Bag of Holding. He had enough left for perhaps a week, but no more. Checking his food stores brought the fact that he hadn’t eaten in a day to the forefront of his mind. His frantic pace while riding the okami hadn’t lent itself to eating, and then his fight with the Assassin and Warrior had exhausted him. He had felt the pangs of hunger, while he had rested under the tree, but sleep had seemed a more pressing priority. After that, his frantic escape from the rock giant had driven hunger from his mind again. After burning what must have been thousands of calories though, his belly was now starting to turn in knots. To emphasize how much energy he had expended, his stomach gave a loud growl. In the silence of the tunnel, the sound seemed overly loud.

Richter took a travel ration from his Bag. Before eating though, he carefully broke it in half and placed the remainder back in the Bag. He would have to ration until he found another source of food. That being said, he looked at the remains of the some of the animals around him. It all smelled terrible, but he realized that such scraps could very well be the difference between life and death in the near future. Picking up a piece that seemed less rancid than the others, he examined it.

You have found: Spoiled rabbit meat. This can be used as bait for carrion feeders. You will most likely become sick if you eat this.

Richter dropped it in disgust. He wasn’t that hungry yet. Further examination of his inventory showed he had several skins of water. Fresh water hadn’t been a problem in the last dungeon because of an underground lake so he had never needed to dip into his stores. At least he didn’t have to worry about that for a while.

Looking through his inventory revealed something else, the Sustenance Belt. He had all, but forgotten about the item. It would allow him to exist on 50% less food and sleep. Right now, he wouldn’t forgo the +4 that his Belt of Strength gave him, but if he ended up being caught underground for weeks then the sustenance belt might save his life.

The last preparation Richter made was to fill the Ring of Spell Storage. He decided to use Charm this time. His fight with the giant had showed him that the ring could let him cast the same spell in succession, cooldown or not. The idea of being able to convert two enemies quickly to his side rather than just one was something that he couldn’t pass up!

With all immediate concerns taken care of, Richter’s mind finally stopped racing. The battle with the rock giant and the run through the forest started to take its toll. His head felt like it was spinning and he had to sit down so he didn’t fall down. Not able to fight off his exhaustion any longer, he pulled his Cloak of Concealment around his body and dropped into unconsciousness.

Richter slept for several hours. His dreams were plagued by sadistic women with butcher knives and eighty-foot tall giants that slowly ripped off his arms and legs. When he awoke, he was covered in sweat and his heart was racing. He immediately stood and drew his shadow dagger. His breath came out in ragged gasps as he looked around for enemies.

Futen spoke up, “I have been scouting the tunnel ahead. No enemies have come near.”

Richter exhaled in relief, “Thank you Futen. How long was I asleep?”

“Only a few hours, my Lord. I need to remind you that your time to allocate your points is almost elapsed.”

Richter nodded. He was fairly sure that he wouldn’t be making it back to the village in the next day. He decided to invest in his most advanced skill again. 100% went into Herb Lore.

Congratulations! You have reached skill level 39 in Herb Lore. Herbs are 3% more effective. Increased chance of finding higher level herbs.

Dismissing the prompt, Richter got up and looked around. Nothing caught his eye so he activated Stealth and started moving down the tunnel. The path twisted like a snake and in several spots, Richter had to squeeze his body through tight junctions. At one point he was stuck for a heart thudding series of moments, but he was able to wriggle free and continue onward.

For the first couple hours, nothing happened. That was not to say that Richter’s travel was stress-free. Just by the fact that he was completely enclosed by tons of rock made him apprehensive. The air had a stale quality, lacking the movement of wind that he barely noticed when above ground. He had to force down his mild claustrophobia several times. Occasionally, he heard a scratching or scrabbling, but when he looked there was nothing there. He kept searching for traps, and when he finally found one, it was only luck that kept him from triggering it.

The tunnel had branched several times while he was walking, but he never deviated. The course he was following terminated in a blank stone wall. The tunnel itself continued, but it required jumping or climbing to a ledge eight feet above where Richter was standing. Undaunted, he jumped and was easily able to grab the lip of the ledge above, but when he pulled his head high enough to see over the edge, a red trip wire glowed not two inches away from his fingers. If he had thrown his arm over the ledge to pull himself further up, the trap would have been triggered.

Richter froze. His eyes darted back and forth searching for more threats, but nothing else started to glow red. He started to experience the slightest of tremors in his fingers from supporting his whole weight while his arms were flexed. It was clear that the trip wire was only meant to cover part of the tunnel. The entrance to this new segment of tunnel was five feet across and the trip wire was only four. Richter moved himself to the right until he reached the section where he wouldn’t risk triggering the trap and then carefully pulled himself up.

Once he was standing again, he examined the trap. Unfortunately, the wire ran into the wall of the tunnel through a small hole. Richter stared at it. There must be a hollow space behind the wall. He remembered that the kobold Tri’yerin had said his people were masters of traps, but the time and dedication it would take to drill through solid rock to set this trap up was both impressive and disturbing. Even the trip wire itself appeared to be the same color as the dirt floor it rested above. If not for the red glow from his Trap Detect skill, Richter doubted he ever would have seen it.

Richter swallowed, fighting against the sandpaper feeling that now characterized his throat. If this was only the first trap he had come across, how much more diabolical would they become? Richter looked around for what would have been triggered if he had touched the trip wire, a fall of rocks, a series of spears, or maybe a giant buzz saw that only the penitent man could pass, but he didn’t see anything. Part of him wanted to bash at the wall to see what was behind it, but it was a foolish risk. What if he triggered the very trap he was trying to avoid? In the end, Richter just kept walking and left the tripwire behind.

The trail of the kobolds was easy to follow thanks to his new Tracking skill. Over the next couple of hours, his path continued in a serpentine manner and he encountered no less than ten traps and dozens of tunnel offshoots. Some of the traps were pressure plates and others were trip wires. Twice, he came across small caverns with cleverly disguised deadfalls. None of them offered him a retrievable mechanism unfortunately, and most seemed to trigger simple darts, rock falls or trap doors. Richter didn’t have too hard of a time to detecting and avoiding most of the snares. That was until he discovered one after he had triggered it.

Richter was in a room where three patches lit up red. He was stepping around one of them when he realized that he was sinking. Looking around frantically he saw that instead of solid ground, he was actually standing on a heavy tarp that matched the rest of the floor exactly. The ends had been weighted down, so his own weight would only overcome the anchors when he was near the center of the trap. Richter made a lunge, which only caused the tarp to drop faster, but he was able to get a hold of Futen. The remnant’s levitating power was not enough to fully support his weight, but it was enough for him to high step back to solid ground.

Richter dropped to his butt when he was safe and looked at the deep cavity that had almost claimed him. A few wooden bars circled the periphery, giving more support for the tarp that had hid the trap. He sidled up to the edge of pit and saw that it went down at least 50 feet. The bottom was covered in sharp rocks. The walls sloped inward like a cone so that the base was twice as wide as the opening. A broken limb would have been likely and climbing back up, with that angle… well it would have been a bitch and a half to say the least!

None of that seemed as important as the fact that it hadn’t lit red though! Richter didn’t know if it didn’t qualify as a trap somehow or if it was just so masterfully concealed that his Pierce The Veil skill just wasn’t up to snuff. Whatever the reason, he felt like his chances of getting out of the tunnels alive had just been cut in half.

He allowed himself a few moments to regain his cool after the near miss. He couldn’t just keep sitting on his butt though and, before long, he was forcing himself back onto his feet. He slowly shuffled around the pit and tested each patch of ground before fully committing his weight to it. Once he was on the other side of the cavern he followed the tunnel that had the greatest density of foot traffic and continued further into the earth.

Richter maintained Stealth constantly while he was underground, with Futen several dozen yards ahead. Alma remained comfortably nestled atop his shoulders. Side tunnels had been appearing with greater frequency while he walked, some even leading straight up into the ceiling or down into the floor. He remembered how Tri’yerin had told him kobolds often dug out side tunnels for the express purpose of trapping intruders, though. He decided to keep following the kobold tracks, reasoning that at the very least he wouldn’t be led into a blind alley or some kind of death trap.

More and more tributaries sprouted off of the main tunnel and not all were small little rat holes. The tunnel forked again and again and soon the amount of tracks was equal in both directions. When that happened, Richter chose the path that took him in the direction of the Long Fang’s territory. His journey took him deeper and further into the earth. Richter was painfully aware that every step was a step further into enemy territory. One truth dominated Richter’s life now, though. The only way out, was through.