CHAPTER THIRTY

  Into the Dungeon

  ALERT! You have ehe dungeon [Red Ruin]!The first thing Bram did after he crossed the threshold of this new dungeon was to pull out one of the torches he kept stashed in his pack. He meant to light it right away, but the maise that came with the foul sten the air made even sparking a match a challenge for the prince.

  “Bloody hell…”

  Bram took a moment to stop his hand from shaking. He did this by recalling what he’d doside—the sin of murdering seven people and the nameless faces added to his ledger. The weight of those deaths was heavy indeed. Enough to still his shaking hand.

  Wheorch was finally lit, the st of sage wafted out of it. Bram breathed in its uplifting aroma a a calm return to his mind.

  “It’s not cloud weed, but it’ll do in a pinch,” Bram said, chug inwardly at his inside joke.

  In truth, the prince wouldn’t have minded a puff of cloud weed right about now. Though he figured that the ill feeling he’d felt as he walked into the Red Ruin wasn’t his alone…and the Loom agreed.

  WARNING! The master of the dungeon is trying to influence your thoughts. You may be inflicted by [Fear] or [Panic] if your mental state is weakehe fel voice we heard in the forest is much louder here,” Ravi said as he drew close to Bram. “Although it’s been muted by the st from your torch. Do you have more?”

  At Ravi’s suggestion, Bram passed the remaining two torches to the others. One for Hajime who took up the rear position—mostly to keep him calm—and the other fet who was swift enough to move between the rear and front of their formation at a moment’s notice.

  Bridget elbowed Hajime on the shoulder. “ you believe it…we’re in an actual dungeon like in the games we’ve created?”

  “I hope we survive the experience, Bridget,” Hajime replied worriedly, though it was clear from the wonder in his expression that he was also enjoying this new challenge. “And maybe find treasure…I would like some treasure.”

  “We’ll survive so long as we all stay vigint,” Bram promised.

  “And the treasure?” Hajime pressed.

  “That too…probably,” Bram ceded.

  With his sage torch held high, the priook the lead, though he had Chris close by and ready to defend against attacks that might e from beyond the torch’s light.

  The Red Ruin’s interior wasn’t uhe dungeon where Bram met Rowan. At least that’s how it seemed in the beginning. The party traversed through a narrow passage with sto walls covered in vines, ahered stone floors carpeted with moss.

  “It’s too bad we didn’t get the ‘first visit’ boon,” Bridget ented, “but I guess we aren’t the first group to disturb this dungeon, are we?”

  “No, we’re clearly not,” Bram agreed.

  The light of his sage torch spread over the floor, capturing the appearance of a rotting corpse in robes much like the one Ravi wore. The dead man y half-seated on the right side of the passage, his back resting against the wall while its vines embraced his body.

  “Another one of yuys?” Chris asked.

  Ravi nodded.

  A quispe of the dead man’s pockets uncovered a small pouch of gold griffins, a half-full potion fsk, a ring of three woven gold bands, and a yellowing scroll preserved by a wax seal.

  “This is Rinzen. He was a Shamvan like me though you wouldn’t be able to tell now that he’s lost all his hair…” Ravi said.

  He passed the ring to Bram.

  “This was Rinzen’s treasure. It’s called the Ring of Three Protes, and it was made by a famed jewel crafter of Shamva. It should help keep you safe, Yhness,” Ravi expined.

  None among the party took it lightly that Ravi thought of Bram’s safety first and foremost. This seemed to them a sign that the Shamvan was finally choosing to serve the prin ear.

  “I’ll put it to good use,” Bram promised.

  He was about to put the ring on his finger when Bridget grabbed his arm to stop him.

  “Sorry, Prince, but this could be the perfect time to test the Loom’s em feature with the parameters Hajime and I taught the system,” she said quickly.

  “Right,” Bram said, nodding.

  He recalled the first time he’d shared the Loom’s ‘Administrator Toolkit’ with the otherworlders—a toolkit the Loom itself provided Bram when he asked it to give Hajime limited administrative access to its inner ws—and how Hajime’s and Bridget’s priority was to create a system that would allow the Loom to identify, analyze, aermihe use and impact of ahat art of a user’s iory.

  inally, the Loom had to ask an otherworlder if they waister an item with the Loom, which had been the case with the Young Griffin’s Wand. Such a process would bee tedious if done for every item the otherworlders collected, set suggested they teach the Loom to automate the process.

  Hajime further rationalized the Item feature update’s priority by pointing out that Earthers were obsessed with colles, and items as rewards for quests was a guaranteed way of earning his people’s cooperation. Thanks to this viewpoint, the two otherworlders had spent part of their first day in Bastille cataloging any items they could find in Bram’s stronghold that weren’t nailed down to something. They theheir new catalog to teach the Loom how to uand an item’s status—its i abilities and usage—and how to give ratings based on these varied statuses.

  “It’s the w of supply and demand,” Bridget had said. “The rarer the item, the more people will want it.”

  “Creating new value for an item beyond the i of its creation,” Bram had deduced.

  “Yes,” Hajime had weighed in. “This is how we’ll get pyers to do the big quests that will help Lotharin raise its rank in the empire.”

  Ba the here and now, ohe Loom’s All-Seeing Eye was finished analyzing Bram’s new ring, a new blue windoeared in the air. Ohat he gdly shared with his panions to shet and Hajime that their hard work had borne fruit.

  ITEM:Ring of Three ProtesQUALITY:RareTYPE:Accessory (Ring)DESCRIPTION:A ring crafted by a famed jewel maker of Shamva. Each of its golden bands tains an entment of proteeant to keep its wielder safe from three likely dangers.BOONS:stitution +5, 50% ce to activate the Barrier spell to protect against a physiagical attaUMBER OF USES:3COOLDOWN:24 hours“Yosh!” Hajime cheered—to which Bridget replied, “It works!”

  They high-fived each other.

  “The fvor text is almost exactly how Ravi expi,” Bridget noticed.

  “And the boons are defined by the item feature’s analysis without needing input from Ravi,” Hajime observed.

  They turo Bram, each of them with their hands in the air—and the priurheir glee with a hard sp to each hand that made both Hajime and Bridget grimace afterward.

  “Perhaps lessen the force of your excitemeime,” Rowan teasingly whispered into Bram’s ear.

  “I-I’m not used to…camaraderie,” Bram whispered back.

  “I know… But your days of going at it alone are over,” she promised.

  Bram couldn’t help but smile at Rowan’s words.

  He hought that the Ill-fated Prince would ever be accepted by others—to know what it meant to have panions who didn’t look at him with spite or talk ill of him behind his bad yet here he was on an adveh those who’ve willingly shed their blood at his side. To Bram, this was a sign of ge that was more than he hoped for.

  Ahought struck Bram, and he asked Hajime if he could see the status of his wand.

  ITEM:Young Griffin’s WandQUALITY:UYPE:WandDAMAGE:1.5 x INTDAMAGE TYPE:WindPROPERTIES:VersatileWEIGHT: 0.08 lbs.DESCRIPTION:A wand made of top-quality materials whose are focus is a griffin’s feather plucked frhtcloud, the personal steed of Sn Johanna Barbara of House Attin. This ornate wand was the Sn’s present to the seventh prin his seventh naming day, though the prince cked the talent to use it properly.BOONS:+2 to Intelligence, +20 Magic, +5% spell damage, 2.5% increased magic regeion speed.“It has more details now,” Bram said, sounding impressed.

  However, in his mind, the prince couldn’t help feeling a tad frustrated. If the system had only been this helpful when he was young, he never would have given his old wand away.

  “If y’all are done celebrating, let’s see what else this Rinze us,” Chris suggested.

  The liquid ihe potion fsk ale green color which turranslut when touched by the light of their sage torches. A lock of coarse bck hair floated within its depths.

  “It’s a ‘Brew of Giant Strengthening. Drinking it will temporarily raise one’s strength to mimic a giant’s power, though the duration of the entment will be less sihere’s only half of the potio here,” Ravi expined.

  “Which kind of giant?” Bram asked.

  “We won’t know until one of us drinks it,” Ravi answered.

  “The Loom might know,” Bridget suggested.

  She was right.

  Acc to the Loom’s item feature, Ravi’s expnation ot on except for oiail. The giant whose strength was imbued into this potion beloo the mountains.

  “You think there are many kinds of giant, Bridget?” Hajime asked.

  “Probably,” she replied. “At a guess, there might be giants representing the elements like this mountain giant does… So, fire, ice, and air…?”

  Bram didn’t bother to tell Bridget she had guessed correctly. It was unnerving enough to know such terrifying beied on Aarde. He didn’t want to give her nightmares about them too. At least not until she entered one for herself.

  The st item Rinzen’s corpse gave to the party was the scroll whose seal Ravi had just broken.

  “Hell hath no fury like a woman sed…” Bridget read the words written in dried red ink that was scrawled over a hastily dra of the Red Ruin’s interior.

  She frowned. “I feel like I’ve heard this line before?”

  “You have,” Bram answered with a furrowed brow. “It’s from the song we heard on the Vice Master’s sonusgraph.”

  “Loveless,” Ravi supplied.

  “ht,” Bridget’s face lit up. Then her frown came back. “But why would he write this on the map?”

  “Good question.” Bram g the strengthening potion into the potion’s pack clipped to his belt. “But Rinzen’s reason is his to keep. Dead men tell no tales.”

  “Mysterious messages aside,” Chris poio the drawing, “acc to this here map, we’re getting mighty close to this dungeon’s main hall.”

  All gazes turned back to the darkness ahead of them.

  “Stay vigint,” Bram reminded everyone.

  Then he led the way forward once more.

  Rinzen was not the st of Ravi’s fellows the party would meet along this narrow passage. Two other sorcerers of the of Stargazers appeared along the path in a simir deteriorated state as Rinzen’s body, though her of these members possessed any items of note like the ring that now adorhe middle finger of Bram’s left hand. These sorcerers had been dead for months, leaving the party with little doubt that they might not find any survivors iargazers’ expedition.

  “You know, Ravi,” Chris gnced over his shoulder, “you never said why your fellows went on their field trip?”

  The Shamvan, who was beginning to look more and more forlorn with each discovered corpse, smiled wanly at Chris. “I’m sorry, but that is a private matter ing my . I ’t divulge our secrets to an outsider.”

  “Fair enough,” Chris replied. “Guess we’ll just ask your master after we rescue them.”

  Everyone could tell that Chris was trying to sound upbeat for Ravi’s sake, but the slim hope of finding survivors was dwindling.

  “Yes,” Ravi replied, a hint of appreciation in his tohank you…”

  Soon enough, Bram felt the breeze on his cheeks and the path finally widened ahead of him. He crossed through an arched entryway of bowed trees and then arrived at a darkened hall se that his sage torch’s meager light could barely pee its veil. This cloying darkness brought with it a maise that even the st of sage couldn’t push away pletely.

  More importantly, the fel voice was louder in here so that even magicless Bram could hear its murmur in the air. It was unintelligible, like the sound of many crickets in a forest, but there was a malevoleo it that was unmistakable. Listening to the fel voice’s call sent a cold shiver snaking up his spihat had nothing to do with the chilly atmosphere around him. He mao keep this feeling to himself though. While Chris, who stood at his side, wasn’t as subtle in trying to still the quaking of the hand holding his shield.

  “No sense c in the dark…” Ravi strode forward and then raised his hand high. “Light bright like the sun — Solis!”

  A ball of golden light came to life in his hand and then shot upward to hang suspended in the air a good thirty feet high. Ohere, the golden ball fred light sht it was like a tiny sun had desded on the Red Ruin to bathe its interior in a pale m light.

  “Iing,” Rowan whispered.

  The dungeon’s main hall was a massive space with a vaulted ceiling whose supp pilrs had crumbled beyond repair. It was a wohat the roof hadn’t caved i.

  “Fuck…” Bram cursed.

  The hall was made entirely from the same red rock found by the ruirao walls were covered in tree limbs and thick vihat stretched out like pulsing veins pumping cursed blood into the ruin’s bohe sto floor had a faded design of patterns Bram thought might predate the Imperium’s birth. These designs were hard to distinguish, however, as they were mostly covered by a carpet of moss and fallen leaves.

  “Fuck,” Chris agreed.

  A wide, sweeping staircase y about thirty yards ahead. It led up to the sed-floor nding where the party could glimpse the stumps of many broken statues. Waiting on this staircase was a small host of weargs. Some of them had taken the forms of fmetail leopards while many more had transformed into men whose bodies had taken o-like traits. The rgest of these leopard men stood waiting at the top of the staircase.

  Scarfang gred down at Bram. “I told you we would meet again.”

  For now, it seemed he still had his wits about him. Though the glint of hunger was clear on his mostly feline face.

  “Yes, you did, and I told you we were going to find our missing sorcerers,” Bram replied.

  Scarfang’s gre drifted to the grouweeaircase and the arched entryway Bram’s party was gathered in front of. “You’ve found them.”

  “Looks like it,” Bram agreed.

  It was a se that reminded him of his bedroom the day he met Rowan. The moss-cround was littered with the bodies of the dead, many of them cimed by Mother Nature’s embrace. It wasn’t hard to deduce their identities either because they all wore the trappings of the of Stargazers.

  Bridget’s eyes went wide. “Oh my God, this is horrible…”

  She reached out for Hajime’s hand almost as if the fort of his touch could banish away the horrific se. It wouldn’t.

  “Was it you…?” Ravi’s shoulders shook while his gaze took in the sight of his fallen members. When that gaze turoward the staircase, they bzed with maddening fury. “Did you kill them?!”

  The weargs growled though they made no move to attack.

  “Tell me!” Ravi screamed.

  He raised his hand, and with a flick of his wrist, starlight fred out of his fingers. This was the beginning of a powerful spell that might have wreaked havo the weargs if Bram hadn’t stepped in and pced a gentle hand on the Shamvan’s shoulder.

  “Wait,” he spoke urgently, “things may not be like they seem.”

  Ravi gazed sideways at him, and Bram could see the tears pooling underh the Shamvan’s eyes.

  “Look,” Bram pointed.

  The corpse y a few feet away. It bore no wounds that could have been made by beasts just like the body of Rinzen and the others in the passage. Indeed, if it were not for the pale pallor of their skin and the dead look in their expressions, one might think these sorcerers were only sleeping.

  “This…what is this?” Ravi asked.

  “‘Tis nature g her spoils,” Rowan answered.

  She strode forward, and every wearg on that staircase stiffened one by one like a wave of fear swept over them. Even Scarfang’s great bulk seemed suddenly smaller in Rowan’s presence. She ighem, of course, choosing io help Bram dissuade Ravi from starting a fight that might be unnecessary.

  “The wounds they possess”—Rooio a hole in the chest of a nearby corpse and the thick vine popping out of it—“were made after they died.”

  “No wearg did this.” Bram’s gaze drifted from the ground to the top of the staircase. “You didn’t kill these sorcerers.”

  “No, we did not,” Scarfaed.

  With his admittahe tension in the hall died down, and Ravi’s hand dropped to his side.

  “Then…how?” he asked in a desperate tone. “H-how did they die?”

  “I ahat,” spoke a wizened, raspy voice.

  A brown-skinned man with gray dreadlocks appeared from behind Scarfang. He wore the same robe as Ravi’s, though it had seen much wear and tear. He carried a tall wooden staff that resembled a tree branch.

  Ravi’s eyes wide the sight of this new arrival. “Kazem…is that you?”

  “You’re finally here, Vice Master,” the brown-skinned man smiled wanly.

  “Y-you’re alive?” Hope fshed on Ravi’s face. “You’re alive!”

  “Yes…” Kazem leaned on his wooden staff. “…And I have quite the tale to tell.”

  GD_Cruz