Stepping Up, Draft 1, CH 36 (Patreon)

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“Up you go.”

Tibs came awake as someone picked him up. He looked around as Jackal carried him through an empty room. He had trouble remembering why there was an empty room until he noticed the broken trap door.

“Did you get the loot?” he asked.

“If course we did, and before you ask again. No one’s seriously hurt.”

“Again?”

Jackal looked at him, worried.

“What?”

“You asked me that not five minutes ago.”

“No, I just woke up when you picked me up.”

“Carina!”

Carina was next to them.

“Tibs says he just woke up.”

She looked at him. “You’ve been commenting on the fight since you could see this one.”

He shook his head.

“She’s right,” Sto said. “You had trouble forming words, but it didn’t stop you.”

Tibs tried to remember, but the last thing he recalled clearly was Jackal picking up before crossing onto the second floor. He vaguely recalled being deposited down, but not where. He couldn’t remember talking at all.

“I don’t like that you can’t tell remember you were talking.”

“I’m just tired.”

“You’ve been sleeping for days, Tibs,” she replied.

“Guys,” Mez called, “it’s here.”

He and Khumdar were in a long hallway, the cleric studying the wall.

“I am afraid Tibs will have to unlock it. I cannot make out the essences in this lock.”

“Can’t the dungeon do it?” Jackal asked.

“Sorry,” Sto replied. “I can’t just give it to you. It’s as simple as I can make it, although I guess I should have made it so your team could open it.”

“S’okay,” Tibs replied. “I can do it. I did the maze while tired and hurt. This is going to be easy.”

“I can sense air,” Carina said, “no, wait, it’s a conduit made of air essence. I guess the two others are the same, but out of different essences?”

Jackal placed him down, keeping an arm around Tibs’s waist to steady him. “I get what you mean.” He had a hand on the wall. “I think we need to fill it. There’s a third one.”

“Water,” Tibs said. “Air, earth, water. It’s the lock that opened it when I had my audience with fire. It’s easy; just fill the tube with the essence. It’ll contain it. It’s not like the maze.”

“Then we each handle ours,” Carina said.

Tibs chuckled. “They’re all mine.”

“Then share with the rest of us,” Jackal replied.

Essence moves within the air and earth tubes without Tibs willing it, and he was momentarily confused. He decided not to question it and filled the water one.

With a grinding sound, the stone lowered into the floor.

“Didn’t it go up last time?” Mez asked.

Tibs didn’t answer, mesmerized by the light that spilled out of the ever widening, glowing, gap.

Carina cursed and covered her eyes, quickly joined by the others. Then a hand was over Tibs’s eyes. “Don’t stare into it.”

“But it’s beautiful.”

“It’s the kind of beauty that’ll claw your eyes out,” Mez said.

“More like take a burning stick out of the fire and shove it into them,” Jackal replied. “I didn’t know light could be that bright.”

“This is not only light,” Khumdar said, “but the pure essence of it. It is not something that occurs naturally. I have to wonder at how large a dungeon’s reserves are for it to do this.”

“They’re big,” Sto said, “but they do have a limit. Tibs, you need to get in there if you’re going to do this.”

“Right.” He stepped forward, only for Jackal to hold him back, hand over his eyes.

“Is this safe?”

Tibs shrugged. “It’s got to be safer than fire.” He moved the hand off and stepped forward again. He wobbled, and reached for the wall to steady himself, only it wasn’t there and he lost his balance. The floor hit him hard and Tibs cursed.

“What did I do to you?” He demanded as he pushed himself to his knees.

“That is not how I am usually greeted,” a deep voice answered him.

“Harry?” Tibs asked, looking around.

“No, I am not Harry.”

“You’re Light?” He thought he could make out a form, some denser light.

“I would have thought that was obvious.”

“But…” he trailed off. “I didn’t feel like I was dying?”

The form, Light, crouched before him. “I think suffering qualifies. I am impressed, child of humans. It has been a long time since anyone used this method to reach me.”

“Why do you sound like Harry?”

“You would be the one able to answer that question. The voice is the one you associate with me for some reason.”

“He had light as his element. He’s the leader of the guard in town.”

Light nodded. His form becoming more distinct as Tibs got used to the surroundings. “A righteous human, strong in light and truth.”

“You must like him.”

“That is not how I am. To use terms from your own understanding, I am like the guild you work for. And this Harry is simply one of many. He had his audience and survived it. What he does with the light I grant him is up to him.”

“But you affect how he thinks. My teacher said that our element influences who we become in small ways.”

Light took his time answering. “If that is the case, it is not because I impose my will on you.”

“If you aren’t doing it, then who is?”

“Maybe he is. Maybe the belief I am forcing him to behave the way he does, because it is what I am, brings him comfort. Humans can be… interesting. Just like you. Putting yourself through so much, and for what?”

“Water said I need to do it.”

“No, Water did not say that, child of humans. You cannot let falsehood cloud you if you wish to have me in your arsenal. I do not impose my will once you leave, but I do have rules as to how I expect you to behave in my presence.”

What had Water said? “I need to get the audiences if I want the rest.” It reminded him he had to find the shadow. Light wouldn’t give it to him. But how could he find something when the light blinded him?

“Then why do you want it?”

“To—” the words wouldn’t come out.

“No lies, child of humans.”

He wasn’t going to lie; he wanted to say, but again, the word wouldn’t come out. Light watched him in what Tibs thought was amusement.

“I want the power to avenge my mother,” he said. “But not just that,” he added defiantly. “Also to protect my friends.”

“Yes. As with most humans, your motivations are complex. It’s what makes you interesting.”

“So you don’t mind that I’m going to hurt someone?”

“I told you, what humans do with what I grant them is up to you. You are the ones who have to endure the consequences of your actions. But you, child of humans, must remember that you are taking on a far greater responsibility and most. You will not be the bearer of my essence only, but of all of us. That will exact a price on you. Multiple, in fact.”

Tibs nodded. Water had implied as much. “I’m okay with that.”

The chuckles resounded around him. “Only because you do not know what it is.”

“Will you tell me?”

“No. It is not our place to tell you that. It is something you will discover in time, should you survive that long.” Light fell silent.

Tibs waited, searching the form for the shadow. Focusing hard enough, spots appeared at the periphery of his vision.

“Is that it?” Tibs asked.

“Obviously not,” Light replied with another chuckle. “If it was, you would have left.”

“Can you give it to me?”

“No, it isn’t how I work. It isn’t how any of us should work, but we each have our reasons to do what we do. We are like the being outside of us in that way.”

Tibs rubbed his face. “This is going to take a while, then. I can’t see anything. How am I going to find it?”

“You can see. You simply refuse to look,” Light said. “You believe you know the truth of what I am, and you are limiting yourself to that.”

“It would really help if you told me where I’m wrong then.”

“It does. If only you understand it.”

Tibs glared at the form. “Is being obtuse normal with you all?” He was surprised to realize he even knew the word. Had Alistair explained it, or was it from what Carina had him read?

“It sounds confusing only because you are limiting your understanding.”

“The shadow is in you,” Tibs stated.

“That is correct.”

Tibs pointed to the form. “But I can’t see it, you’re so cursed bright it’s causing spots.” He pointed to the side.

Light watched him silently.

Tibs reigned in his anger. What did he get wrong? He’d tricked the others, well more like took advantage of the situation and grabbed the shadow. Except with Fire and Corruption, who had offered theirs to him, Fire because Tibs was dying and he wanted to see what Tibs would do, and Corruption for… he still hadn’t worked out why corruption had done it. But those two were the only ones who’d behaved differently.

No. Air. Tibs hadn’t tricked Air, he’d given chase. Played her game, controlled his fall until he’d surprised her and…

Air had said something. Something about her and where Tibs was.

Tibs looked around and groaned at himself when all but one spot moved with the motion.

“All of this is you,” he said, and he took hold of the shadow. It melted into his hand and a new reserve pushed itself between air and corruption.

“Well done.”

He blinked in the darkness and doubled over as pangs of hunger hit him.

“Okay, how did that happen?” Sto asked.

“Tibs?” Jackal was next to him. “Are you okay?”

“I’m hungry,” he said.

“You’re alive,” Carina said, “and the light’s gone, so I take it that it went well?”

“How is the light gone?” Sto asked. “Tibs, did you do this?”

“Light showed me I’m not always as smart as I think I am,” Tibs answered her. “And no, I didn’t do it.”

“Sto,” Ganny said, “look at your reserves.”

“Can I eat now?” Tibs asked.

“I would advise against it,” Khumdar said, “unless you are no longer planning on attempting an audience with Darkness in two days.”

“How is it not empty?” Sto asked. “I had to use everything I had, just like with Fire and I had nothing left after that.”

“Sto?” Tibs called, ignoring his friends. “Can you and Ganny take that elsewhere? I can’t keep track of who’s saying what, and it sounds like what’s going on with you doesn’t really affect me right now.”

“Right, I guess it isn’t easy for you to follow multiple conversations. We’ll leave you, but it does mean I won’t be able to answer you.”

“We can talk on the next run,” Tibs replied. He sighed in the following silence.

“Can you hear yourself think now?” Mez asked.

“Barely. I’m tired again. I wasn’t in the audience.”

Jackal helped him to his feet. “Then we can keep going. There’s still the boss to take down.”

“Should we?” Mez asked.

“It’s the only way we get their loot,” Jackal replied.

“Okay, but we have to think about Tibs. We’re all in decent shape right now, so the bridge will be simple to pass. If we get hurt fighting the boss, we might have to try to turn the trigger on the bridge off to cross it, and I don’t trust myself to manage it at the best of time.”

“You are forgetting the doorway from the boss’ chamber to the entrance,” Khumdar said. “We have made it this far without Tibs to cover our back, and we have the healing potions from the bunnylings. I believe it will be easier to let Jackal get his loot than convince him to turn around now.”

“You know me so well.” Jackal grinned.

“You are rather simple to get to know,” the cleric replied.

“I keep telling you all that I’m simple.”

Carina patter his shoulder. “That you are. Come on. Let’s do this, and also figure out how we’re going to get back to our room without the cleric forcing a healing on Tibs once we get out.”