Denizens of the Labyrinth

He travelled for days now, or so he thought. There was no change in its position of strength, it simply beamed down from above. Maybe this dungeon was like the others. Tango had said to him a while ago, that for each hour in real time that he was in a dungeon. It counted as a day inside. It had been six or seven hours since Jazmel had been inside the Xuanhuan for what would seem like almost a week. He had not found any of his party and he aside from the sisters he had saved, he had not found anyone friendly and that one stranger with the spear had also changed how he moved through the valley.

Moving through marshes he tried to stay on the ground that was not wet, or water trodden. This took a lot more effort than he had previously thought, and the waterlogged grounds were not easy on him. Even when he was careful.

He had not been travelling long when he heard the cry of anguish and fighting. He moved even quieter now, ensuring his approach was unheard of. He found the broken body of a young man, his neck bent at an unnatural angle. His weapon, a sword broken at the haft. He was surrounded by the bodies of a grotesque thing. a gruesome scene. He had died in the middle of a group, and one had attacked him from behind, one had broken his neck.

He did not know this monster, but something told him. He was soon going to meet them; Jazmel picked his steps through the corpses and came across other bodies. Some of the monsters and then some of other Seekers too.

But the fighting was happening still, just beyond the glade and he could hear someone fighting still. He made his way through the brush and saw a young girl leaning against a tree surrounded by almost ten of those things.

She had not seen him yet, but he could tell she was not going to last long. Her cloak had been ripped from her body, her hair was a sweat messy her neck and chest had bloody claw marks around. Jazmel worried immediately. He leapt in, sword drawn, and heads rolled. She noticed him now and her eyes glittered with hope.

GHOUL KILLED

The system told him what he was fighting, these were ghouls. Hairless and skin almost translucent. They were overgrown, her arms longer than normal humans. They ran at him on all fours long fingers clawed and gross. His sword flashed, striking fixed. An arm flew and then the leg followed, the ghouls did not even flinch to see another of theirs cut down. They ran over the body, trying to overwhelm him.

X4 GHOUL KILLED

Flight of the blue kite!

The force blew them back. The Mana that now formed a corporeal bird in flight pierced their group. The closest to him were hurt the worst their bodies flying back and striking those behind them.

Inferno!

She shouted and pointing a short stick, a fire boomed in the group of ghouls, and they burned to ash in seconds. She stumbled over, her opened waistcoat with a sort of holster around her chest. She pushed the single little branch she had, into it and flicking over to Mana eyes. He noticed that the single branch was burning with Mana. It had more Mana than Jazmel had ever seen in a singular thing, and he stared with interest. As she stood beside him, a single ghoul whimpered, blackened from her attack. In her other hand she held a short sword and stabbed deep into the head of the creature.

“Are they dead?” She asked, and he knew that she was speaking about the bodies he had seen.

“Yes.” He said and she swooned, he went to help but she waved him away. She wore three rings and pulling from one she pulled out a potion, the Mana incorporated in this one was much higher than any he had seen before. She drank some and then poured some on her chest to heal the clawed marks she had.

“Ghouls are carrion feeders, better to clean any wounds from them before they fester into something else.” She explained, noticing him watching her mystified. She drank some more and then washed her hands with the potion and poured it around her chest again, this time he turned away and waited for her to finish.

“Will you help me with the bodies?” she asked, and he turned to see she was finished, she looked a lot better, and Jazmel realised the potions he had seen before were not of a high enough grade.

He nodded and they strolled off to the closest body. She had sheathed her short sword on her waist and was walking better but Jazmel could tell she was still on the mend. They came across a first body and Jazmel heard her curse.

“I only knew her from the dungeon, but I could tell she wasn’t confident on her own.” She pulled that interesting thing from her chest holster and then whispered something that lit the body on fire, it burned and then in seconds became a pile of white ash.

“She will go back to the source.” She muttered and then stepped over to where two others were there. Doing the same thing, Jazmel watched with great curiosity.

“What is that?” Jazmel asked her, too curious to let it go again.

“It is a wand.” She said holding it up so he could see it, it was a slender piece of wood. At first glance, Jazmel had thought it a stick. But instead, it was carved intricately out of a piece of wood, a handle had been fashioned and then engraved with symbols that Jazmel had never seen before.

“Such Mana…” he whispered, and she stared at him, also curious.

“You can see the Mana in it?” she asked, and he nodded, then understanding fluttered across her face.

“Your eyes, they can see Mana?” she asked, and Jazmel nodded.

“Those are rare.” She commented and then holstered her ‘wand’ as she had put it.

“I have never seen someone with a wand before. Let alone use it as I have seen you use it.” He said, amazed and in wonder. She smiled at that.

“It is something I am trying to perfect.” She told him and Jazmel understood, he had been a witness to the flaws in her sword.

“I am Jazmel.” He offered and she shook his hand.

“Tera Nema.” She responded.

“Well, do you want to come with me?” she asked, and he waited for her explanation.

“There are some ruins beyond this marsh, which is what drew us here in the first place. I suspect there are artefacts or items.” She posed and he nodded, offering her to take the lead.

She did and Jazmel followed her lead as she hurried through the marshes. No monsters came this time and Jazmel was not displeased at all; the ghouls had barely given him any exp at all.

The marshes opened into a large vale; a huge ruin of a city remained. Or the bones of one at least, a wooden wall had once been erected but Jazmel could tell it had once stood strong and walled the city in. now different stone pieces stood at points where guard points might have once stood. But Jazmel imagined what the city might have once looked like, and he wondered who had made it their home.

The castle keep was the only building that still stood. The windows had lost their glass panes to time, but they gaped dark and brooding. Tera lead still and scanning everything for any hint of monsters but none came. They walked into the keep, the doors ajar and half broken. Over time the roof had cracked, and claws of sunbeams borne through. Alighting the keep hall.

Ragged tapestries hung from the rafters, their symbols already eaten away and gone.

“All keeps have a cellar, let’s look.” She said and Jazmel did begin looking around. After some struggling, they found a single rusty iron ring and using both of their strength they pulled it open which allowed the cellar to open. It was pitch black and when Jazmel jumped down into it, he could not see any until he swapped over to his Mana eyes.

He was standing in a pit of gold. Gold coins literally littered the floor all around him and chests and boxes of varying sizes had been placed around. Tera fell in after him and using her wand like a torch she kept a steady flame lit above the tip of it. Jazmel stood again still amazed at her abilities.

“Well, this is really the wealth of a city.” She said and Jazmel had to agree.

“Take what you want and can, there’s only us to share it between.” She began literally willing things into her storage rings and Jazmel did the same to his satchel.

GOLD COINS HAVE SURPASSED THE AMOUNT

CONTRIBUTE MANA?

He offered it and the system drank from his source.

MANA CONTRIBUTED

16X WHITE GOLD COINS

867X GOLD COINS

“Do not fill up your storage satchel with coins, split up what you carry in different spaces. I use a storage ring for coins only. Then I keep items in another ring.” She said and Jazmel nodded, it was a clever idea, but he did not have a storage ring and he did not want to leave such treasures.

“Keep looking you might find something worth your while.” She told him as she searched deeper in the gold pit.

The first chest he opened was cold to touch and heavy, the lid flicked up after some toggling of the latch and in it was single lump of metal ore.

DING!

COLD IRON ORE FOUND

COLD IRON ORE, cold iron can be found in frozen places filled with cold attributed Mana. Used to create items or armour. Sometimes frost affliction can be passed on through the use of this ore.

He did not know what that was, but the system did, and he took it into his satchel immediately. Checking around, using his eyes he soon found other chests bearing cold iron ore too. After that most of the chests held gold and gems, things in which he was not currently interested.

He did find a storage ring, a simple gold band; that when he impressed his will onto it; he could see that a store the size of a wagon was inside. He followed the quip of Tera and put all his coins into it and put it on his left index finger. Continuing his search, he heard Tera whistle. Looking over at her, he saw her holding up a short cloak, it looked almost like a poncho. It was black, even in this darkness he could see that it was darker than the night.

“A sworn cloak! It can hide its wearer in the shadows, while also upping their agility too!” she threw off her old cloak, a long and dark green one. The sworn cloak had one obsidian clasp at the shoulder, and she clipped it on, it immediately fell about her, and Jazmel noticed that it grew in length a little.

“Keep looking, we need to leave soon. As soon as anyone sees the dead ghouls, they are going to get curious!” she pointed out and she was right.

DING

…

The system hummed to life as he clutched a broken plaque, it looked like part of an official badge, but he had not bothered to study it until the system chimed.

PART OF A PLAQUE

FIND THE OTHER PIECES

A PART TO PLAY IN FATE

A NEW PLOT!

Jazmel was rigid, this was another plot! He would investigate it after he left here. he pushed it into his storage ring immediately and kept on looking.

DING

…

The system sung again; this time he was holding an old piece of wood. It looked like a torch stave, but on closer inspection there was a small gathering of Mana in its centre. Jazmel put this in his satchel, this could be interesting.

DING!

NEW PLOT

…

RECALCULATING

…

ANCIENT RELIC FOUND

…

PLOT COMPLETED

…

RELIC RESTORED

…

DING!

Jazmel had pulled a corroded crown from a heap of other jewels but as the system threw a flurry of notifications at him, the rust fell away like autumn leaves and a metal very much like silver adorned the crown. It was light and nearly flexible in his hands. It felt like he could change the shape if he put effort into it.

TWILIGHT CROWN FOUND

NEW PLOT

MARCH OF THE MONARCH!

He did not have a chance to read the notifications, he simply put the crown in his satchel and then turned back, wading through the parts of the treasury pit from which he had come.

“Found anything good?” Tera asked, as she also began to make her way back from her corner.

“I found some cold iron and some white gold coins.” Jazmel offered.

“That is amazing! Cold iron is used to make named tier II and tier III weapons! You lucky Seeker!” she smiled at him in jest.

“What about you?” Jazmel asked and she pulled out a dirk.

“I found this; it is a tier II long dagger. Almost as long as my short sword, it might be even better. I also found some white gold coins and some jewels to sell.” She told him.

“Let’s leave.” He said and making his way to the opening. He jumped out of the pit, waiting for Tera to join him, they both closed off the pit.

“What will you do now?” Jazmel asked her as they walked out of the keep.

“I am going to make for the summit, you?” she asked.

“I am going to make my way too, but I want to look around more. You never know what you can find in a place like this.” Jazmel confessed, he was filling his experience and exp. He also wanted to make the most of the artefacts and items that could be in this dungeon, it was well worth it.

“Well, this is where we leave then.” She said and offered him a handshake again but pulled him in for a hug instead.

Jazmel sent her a friend request and she laughed.

“Are we friends now Jazmel?” she laughed.

“We could be.” He said, with all the seriousness and she laughed again.

“What tier are you?” she asked suddenly.

“Tier II, why?” he answered, and she nodded.

“You are strong for a tier II, stronger than I was. No way I would have survived a group of ghouls on my own.” She explained and he shrugged, he had been through a lot.

The system let him know she accepted. She left him at the keep, darting off towards the summit, he followed. But at a far more leisurely speed.