Stepping Up, Draft 1, CH 60 (Patreon)

The stairs leading up to the door had changed. Tibs hadn’t noticed that when he’d spoken with Sto. The stone was polished, with a border of gold with black designs of rats and bunnies and they were shaped to match the curse as they went up the hill, instead of being random flat stones set in the slope.

The two guards by the door didn’t look at them as they approached, only the cleric stepped forward, blocking their way; an older man with a hard expression. He looked at them and placed a hand on Mez without asking, then stepped away.

Tibs studied the way the essence moved. He’d decided purity was the next element he’d work with, both because he felt a ‘work hard’ mindset would be the least destructive of the possibility and because being able to properly heal his friends would benefit them.

“Was it my imagination,” Khumdar said, once they were inside and out of earshot from the entrance, “or were the guards wary of us?”

“I don’t think they know what to make of the job they have to do,” Carina said, “keeping adventurers in the making under control probably isn’t something any of the kingdoms ever trained anyone for.”

“You’d think the guild would take care of that,” Mez commented.

“You’d think,” Jackal said. “But we had adventurer rejects first, then drafted thugs, and now men and women utterly out of their depth. I think no one knows how to handle a new dungeon and the Runners they send into them.”

“Why didn’t they just get people from other dungeons?” Tibs asked. “They’d know.”

“Maybe not,” Carina said. “It’s been a long time since there’s been in a new dungeon. The others have cities around them, with a proper militia. And this dungeon had a tumultuous start. They’re going to write books about it.”

“Is that good?” Sto asked, and Tibs relayed the question.

Carina shrugged. “It might mean the next dungeon to appear will be treated differently, especially if there are still people left of that group who tried to kill you by then. But ultimately, until the guild knows what dungeons really are, I don’t think they’ll ever be able to prepare properly. You don’t handle an animal the same way you handle a thinking being.”

“Ganny doesn’t think it’s a good idea we tell them I can think,” Sto said.

“I agree,” Tibs replied, then shook his head at Carina. “What happened to clerics being part of the teams once Sto was Rho? I didn’t see any teams with one.”

“Maybe they meant Lambda?” Mez said.

“Who knows,” Jackal replied.

“Jackal,” Carina called as she stopped, “the doorway’s here.”

“I thought we’d go through the first floor this time. You know, to see what changed.”

Tibs looked up.

“I can force you to use the doorway,” Sto replied. “But I didn’t make any significant changes. This floor is for Omegas, after all. Untrained Omegas,” he added with a miffed tone.

Tibs smiled. It was still early, but they’d gotten enough coin from the merchant as payment for the security the Runners now provided, they’d bought simple cloth armor for two full teams as well as low-quality weapons and provide them with better training. They weren’t told what they would face, but they knew how to handle swords, bows, and the strange essence that was in the amulets the child provided—that was one thing they couldn’t provide since only the guild had them.

There had been no fallout yet, but Tibs expected it was coming.

“Sto doesn’t mind,” he answered Carina’s questioning look.

* * * * *

“Can we agree that was a waste of time?” Mez asked as they walked down the stairs. “Sorry dungeon, I mean no offense.”

Sto chuckled. “I can’t be offended that you guys barely had to do anything to wipe the floor. Although watching the stone spear break on Jackal in the first room was a surprise.”

“No one else has done the first floor while stronger?” Tibs asked.

“Sure, but no one’s been brave enough to just step on a trigger and take the spear in the chest.”

Tibs chuckled. “Yeah, brave, that’s how I’d describe it.”

“Idiotic,” Carina said.

“Ah, talking about me behind my back?” Jackal asked.

“Where else are we going to talk about you?” Carina replied. “You’re way ahead of us.”

“I’m excited to face this upgraded second floor.”

“You just want the better loot,” Mez replied.

“Why is it you always sound surprised when you say that?” the fighter asked.

“Because I keep thinking you’ll have enough money, eventually.”

“That is blasphemy!” Jackal was facing them, arms crossed over his chest. “Even without the guild holding debt over our head, there is no such thing as having enough money.”

“Now that’s a noble way of thinking,” Carina said, stepping past the fighter.

Jackal sputtered, trying to reply, while Tibs walked to the back of the alcove. As he expected, next to the doorway from the first floor, there was another etched essence in the stone. Tibs used water to activate it, but every channel rejected the essence.

“Sorry, Tibs. You have to unlock it from the other side.”

Tibs studied the pattern closer. Unlocking it from the other side only meant he’d have to be more clever about how he did it here. Unfortunately, there were too many essences he couldn’t tell apart to work out the mechanism.

“You guy think I can get other elements?” He asked, joining his friends.

“Don’t you have enough?” Mez demanded.

Tibs shrugged. “I can’t do much with essences I don’t have.”

“What do you mean, much?” the archer asked. “What can you do to other essences that we can’t?”

Tibs looked around and signed. He kept forgetting his training had been different. “At some point, you’ll be taught how to sense there're other essences. You won’t be able to identify them, but with practice, you’ll be able to defend against them.”

“That isn’t something you do because of your element?” Carina asked.

“My teacher told me about it early, when he showed me he could disrupt my weaves. It’s just easier now that I have my element.”

“How about you use that element to get us across?” Jackal asked.

“My element can’t d that. I need water.”

Jackal smiled. “Well, your eyes are blue.”

Tibs rolled them. “So you know, Sto will have something new ready.”

“Are you going to just walk across the bridge?” Carina asked. “You seemed idiotic enough to take the spears.”

Jackal smiled at her. “I guess I’m not any more of an idiot than that.”

Tibs sent the essence ahead of him as he stepped off the edge and the water was solid by the time he landed, wobbling on the water as it expanded. He kept his footing as it expanded, and he controlled how deep it went.

“Someone’s trying to out-think me,” Sto said, amused.

He didn’t have to make it thick, his will determine how solid it was.

Something impacted the ice next to him and broke through. Jackal yelled in surprise and Tibs solidified the water under his feet before he was more than chest-deep.

“I’m not ready,” he told the fighter as he raised him even with the surface. He considered leaving him dripping, but was nice and pulled the water off him.

Jackal indicated the ice, wide enough to take a dozen people. “It looked ready.”

“If you’re in that much of a hurry, you want to run the bridge. I’m trying to make sure Sto can’t use the stone pillars on us like he did that last time.”

Jackal grinned. “That was fun.”

Tibs shook his head and went back to working.

“How is this going to be different? It can simply turn them on as we cross.”

Tibs shook his head, spreading the ice over the surface slowly. “He can’t make changes while we’re in the room. So those pillars are on a trigger. When I iced the pool last time, I did the entire water, and it somehow got bigger, so I figure he’s using pressure, either the pool’s floor or the walls. So I’m making something that won’t press against any of it.” With the ice wide enough for six abreast, he expanded it forward. “You can come down now. It’ll take the weight.”

“Why isn’t it slick?” Mez asked as he walked around.

“My essence, I control what it does.” He started for the other side and made it to the center when he felt movement under them. “Oh, come on!” He’s forgotten about that thing. “This is a trap room! Run!” he added and did so himself. Ahead, he made steps to take them to the other platform. He couldn’t afford to be— He skidded to a halt as the creature sped up before him and reinforced the ice around him and his friend.

Ice exploded before them and the ripping water caused the unreinforced ice behind to shatter as his platform bucked.

“Tibs!” Carina yelled, and wind buffeted him.

A glance over his shoulder had him cursing. He was the only one keeping his footing, and she barely kept the others from falling off using air. He hurried to make a waist-high wall around his platform as the creature crashed back into the water.

“What was that?” Jackal demand as the water calmed.

Heat bloomed behind Tibs. “Dead is what it is,” Mez replied. Tibs pushed more essence into the platform to combat the fire.

“Should you not hurry us to the other side?” Khumdar asked.

“It’s ahead of us,” he replied, sensing it go in and out of the edge of his range. “It’s waiting.” Did it know where they were? Could it sense him? Them? The platform? Or has Sto set it to attack anything moving? It wasn’t entirely mindless. He’d scared it off with a blow the last time. “There aren’t supposed to be any creatures in trap rooms,” Tibs grumbled.

“We can’t stay here,” Carina said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“I know, but if I move, it’s going to attack again. I don’t know if my ice can take a direct impact. Sto knows what I can do, it’ll have kept that in mind when making it.”

“If you can get it out of the water, I can shoot it,” Mez said. “I’d like to see that water jumper take my exploding arrow.”

Okay, he might be able to make that happen. He iced the surface ahead as fast as he could. Maybe it had broken it ahead of them because he’d stopped his friends in time, or it had wanted them to have to jump in. He didn’t know how crafty Sto could make the creatures.

As the ice bridge touched the pool’s wall, the creature swam in their direction fast. “It’s coming,” Tibs yelled as it angled up. “It’s going to be close to us!”

It broke the surface and Tibs nearly forgot to steady the platform as he watched it sail through the air. It was translucent blue, the shape of an ale barrel with fins around it and a snout with sharp teeth.

Then it exploded as an arrow of fire impacted it and water and shards of ice rained down on them. Tibs hurried to get them to the other side in case there was another in the water.

Once there were on the stone platform, Tibs looked at the ceiling. “This is a trap room!”

“And?” Sto asked, sounding amused.

“There can’t be creatures in trap rooms!”

“According to whom?” Sto asked smugly.

Tibs opened his mouth, then closed it. He looked at Carina, who shrugged, then Jackal. He was the one with the friend whose father had researched dungeons. The fighter gave a matching shrug. Who had told him that then? Someone had to have told him about that rule.

“Did I just assume there couldn’t be creatures?” he asked.

“Seems that way,” Sto replied.

“Then why didn’t you put any before?”

“Because until you came up with freezing the water, I didn’t think I’d need it. And the rest of the floor is tough enough as it is.”

“Alright. So no taking for granted what we can find in a room based on there being creatures or traps once we’re on the third floor.”

The other nodded, and they moved on to the next room.

The Whippers were the same; as were the rats. Tibs doubt Sto had left the room unchanged, but he couldn’t tell that anyone was different.

“You guys mind if I take this one on by myself?” Jackal asked.

“Yes,” Tibs replied, and glared at the fighter.

“The rats can’t hurt me,” Jackal said, “and I’m pretty sure I can take on five Whippers without trouble. You guys can jump in if you decide I’m in over my head.”

“So we might as well walk in with you then,” Mez said. “Since you’re already in over your head.”

“I believe it would be good for him to test his limits here, rather than against the boss,” the cleric said.

“I’m with Khumdar,” Carina said.

Jackal looked at Tibs.

“Fine,” he replied with a sigh, “but if you die here, I am going to hurt you.”