Warband

Chapter 9. Second Run.

“I guess we just step into it like last time,” Silas said to Buster. The dog looked up; his vision fixed on the pouch where Silas had stored the meat sticks. One thing was constant with that dog, food was always his biggest focus.

Stepping into the swirling portal, Silas found himself back on the same stone platform that he had appeared on before. Any evidence of his fight with the gnomes was gone. Whether that was due to the System just making them vanish like ones in the marketplace, or if there were some other scavengers to worry about was unclear.

Either way, Silas was going to be ready. The familiar, oppressive heat and humidity hit him like a slap on the face. It was a big difference from the dark and cool underground marketplace that he had just left. Buster didn’t look so happy about the situation either, and before Silas’ next trip to the pit, he needed to get the dog groomed.

That was strange, he was already assuming there would be regular visits down here. With what the System said, it was clear there was a lot of work to do, and the task was bigger than just dealing with a few rabid gnomes skulking about in the jungle. Whatever this Bhalkur guy was, Silas kind of doubted that this jungle was anywhere close to him.

The System had also mentioned that he and Buster were the only ones allowed inside. That cut down the idea of sending a military force inside to deal with this Bhalkur guy. Maybe if they made some progress on this task, the System would let him have some extra help in this fight. Surely, the System couldn’t believe one pissed off old veteran could deal with an army of otherworldly monsters.

When he thought about it, Silas realized that he wasn’t the only one in here fighting Bhalkur. There was also the mention of other competitors, though what they were competing for, and how they were supposed to claim victory, was a mystery. Silas wasn’t interested in games, he just wanted to make sure nothing else was going to come pouring out of the portal on his garage floor.

A System prompt appeared, granting Silas a bit more information, though the System wasn’t exactly generous with what it gave Silas.

You have entered the first layer of the Pit of Bhalkur. Tutorial mode is active. While in this mode, additional information about your new life will appear. A respawn mechanic is in effect while in tutorial mode. Should you or your companion perish, you will be revived here, at the top of the temple.

Explore this layer of the pit and locate a base of operations so you can grow yourself and your forces. Upon successful completion of your task, class options will be unlocked. Classes offered are based on your past experiences, as well as your performance inside the tutorial.

Okay, so Silas figured he was supposed to locate a base of power, whatever that was. Maybe it was like a town or military outpost or something. Perhaps there were more than just gnomes with space rabies running around the jungle. From his vantage point at the top of the platform, Silas tried to look around.

Most of the jungle was taller than his perch, but he could see over the top of some of it. What he was looking for was some kind of break in the foliage, a clearing where he couldn’t see the tops of any plants and trees. Silas saw a possible location, and pulled out his compass to see what direction it was in.

This pit place didn’t seem to have a magnetic north, and his compass just kept bobbing around pointing in random directions. The compass wasn’t going to be much help, but the System came through for him as far as directions.

You have unlocked an internal map. This map will keep track of areas of the pit that you’ve explored. It will also accurately mark your current position. Maps can be shared but use caution when selecting someone to share your map information with. Your map can be upgraded to provide more detailed information. Your previous tutorial visit information will now be revealed.

Some information pushed itself into Silas’ mind, and he knew how to instinctively open his map. The map overview appeared in front of his face, blocking his vision and almost causing Silas to stumble. Falling down the stone steps of the platform would probably be fatal, so Silas lowered himself down and tried to sit comfortably as he figured the map out.

It took a bit of getting used to, but before long, Silas was able to shrink and make the map opaque enough that it wouldn’t completely block his vision. He could also call it forth and dismiss it in an instant. As far as any information was concerned, the map was rather sparse.

This layer of the pit seemed to be circular in shape, and with the small area that he’d already explored revealed, Silas could tell that the overall area was huge. At least ten miles across would be a good estimate. The portal platform where he sat was in the southwest quadrant of the map, not too far from the edge.

“That’s our first mission, Buster, let’s go see what’s at the edge of the map. Hopefully it’s not an actual ledge that we can fall off,” Silas said, struggling a bit to get back on his feet. Aches and pains already were making themselves known, but if he was honest, Silas felt better than he could remember. Buster also seemed to have a bit more pep in his step, and carefully followed Silas down the steps to the jungle floor.

With a shrunk down version of his map in the corner of his view, Silas began to walk toward the closest edge of the layer. There were supposedly 33 layers to this place, did that mean they were all stacked on top of each other like a layer cake, or was each layer some new place entirely? It wasn’t something he was going to figure out today, so he tried to focus on hearing and seeing anything out of place in the jungle.

They entered the jungle through the small clearing around the portal platform. Things darkened in the undergrowth, but the lack of direct light did little to minimize the heat and humidity. His vision and hearing weren’t what they used to be, but the gnomes hadn’t been too keen on being quiet, so Silas figured he’d have at least some warning.

Buster had a great nose on him back in the day, but Silas doubted that the aged pooch was much of a tracker anymore. Still, the dog was sure to let Silas know if he sensed anything. He felt a bit bad for bringing the dog with him. Buster was a good boy, but not exactly combat ready. Well, Silas had second thoughts about that. His buddy hadn’t hesitated to save Silas when that gnome got the upper hand on him.

If gnomes hadn’t been the size of a toddler, Buster might have struggled, but the old pooch held his own against one of them. Maybe there was something going on inside this place, helping them with their old bodies. That mana stuff that Gritvart was talking about might be the key. Whatever it was, he needed more of it given how worn down his body was.

Suddenly, Buster tensed next to him. The dog didn’t growl or bark, which Silas was thankful for, but Buster was sure showing that he thought there was a problem out there. Crouching behind some particularly thick plants, Silas tried to peer through the jungle growth. He heard only the wind through the treetops, nothing in the brush in front of them.

Buster started a low growl, and when Silas turned to hush him, he could see the dog’s attention was focused up, not out. Flicking the firing selector on his M16 from safe to semi-auto, Silas started to scan the treetops. Treetops were probably not all that accurate as they were more like giant jungle plants or an odd type of thin bamboo than the trees he was used to.

The colors were all off as well, holding a lot of blues and pastel oranges in among the traditional greens and browns of the jungles that Silas was familiar with. He slowly moved his vision around, looking for any movement. Human eyes were geared toward detecting movement and at the just the right time, whatever was stalking them decided to creep forward.

Silas slowly raised his rifle, sighting in on the moving branches which were slowly approaching him and his dog. About ten feet from where they were, the attacker finally struck. A body flew from the trees, causing Buster to start barking and Silas to shoot. He rapidly popped off three shots before rolling to the side.

Something big impacted the ground next to them and Buster charged forward to bite at the odd creature lying there. The creature was roughly humanoid, but more like someone had mixed a snake with a human. It turned its head toward Silas, hissing at him and spraying a stream of venom or something from the oversized fangs that popped out of its mouth.

Silas turned his back, letting the venom hit his right shoulder rather than the bare skin of his face. When the stream of noxious fluid stopped, Silas raised his weapon and fired a single round into the monster’s face. It turned out that a 5.56 mm round traveling at nearly 3,000 feet per second, ended snake people just a fast as it did human people.

“Nasty, stay away from that thing, boy,” Silas said to Buster who looked like he was about to tear into the now dead foe.

Silas quickly stripped off his shirt and rubbed the wet portions into the rich soil of the jungle floor. The thick material of the garment had kept whatever nasty stuff the snake man spit at him from touching his skin, but he didn’t want to give it time to soak through and do something horrible to him. While he worked, he got a closer look at his target.

You have slain a Mad Jungle Naga Warrior.

“Thanks for that, System,” Silas said sarcastically. The System description didn’t give him a whole lot of information, but at least it was something. His own examination showed the thing had no legs, only a long tail, but its upper torso was more human-like with regular arms and hands with short, sharp claws that would have no trouble using tools or weapons.

Its head was hairless, and its elongated mouth housed a rather impressive set of teeth and a pair of long fangs. It was those fangs that it had used to spray down Silas, so he avoided touching them. It wore a loose tunic that was torn, filthy, and basically just scraps of cloth at this point.

The System called it a mad naga. Was it like the gnomes with their rabies? Maybe this Bhalkur guy was putting something in the water to make all these things freak out. Before Silas could ponder it further, more rustling was heard both in the trees, and in the jungle floor in front of them. Buster began a low growl, trying to warn Silas of the coming danger.