Morcster Chef 3 - Chapter 25 (Patreon)

“Agreed,” Belmont said. “Arek, are you still able to lead?”

“I am. I’ve got most of my energy and I still feel in control of myself,” Arek replied, adjusting his grip on the guandao and setting off once more.

The bugs continued to plague them, but the group kept their awareness higher this time around. None of them were eager to get surprised by another monster jumping out of the dense trees surrounding them.

They only walked for a few more minutes, but it felt like hours in the sweltering heat. When Arek’s guandao swept through air instead of plant matter and they stumbled into a clearing, the orc nearly cried in relief.

Crisp, running water flowed down a large creek in the center of the clearing, disappearing off into the jungle. It sparkled like gemstones, but was so clear that Arek could easily see the smooth stones at the bottom of the riverbed.

“Oh, wow,” Ming said. “It’s beautiful.”

“The bugs aren’t entering the area either,” Belmont observed, stepping into the clearing and looking around. It was completely empty aside from the river. Even the trees stayed outside of it, forming a leafy wall.

Arek breathed a sigh of relief. “Perhaps it’s a rest area. Gods knew we needed one. I think I’ll be happy if I never see another bug in my life.”

“We’re going to run into them as soon as we leave this area,” Belmont replied, still looking around cautiously. “But this makes me wonder why the bugs aren’t here. Could it be they’re scared of something?”

“It could be the area of some stronger monster that left,” Malissa said. “Perhaps that big cat we killed?”

“That could be it,” Belmont said, allowing his back to lose some of its stiffness. He approached the river and squinted at it. “Doesn’t look deep. Nowhere for monsters to hide.”

“Probably a good place to rest, then,” Arek said, allowing his armor to fade away. “I was starting to get a little tired, so this is for the best. We can keep some watches to make sure we don’t get jumped by something angry.”

“Do you think the water is safe to drink?” Malissa asked.

Belmont pursed his lips. “Hard to say. It’s flowing and looks very clean, so in nature I would typically say yes, but we’re in a dungeon. I honestly don’t know. Let’s stick to our supplies for now. Water can carry more things than food can. We could always boil some if we need to, but that doesn’t make it completely safe.”

“Food,” Ming said, latching onto only a single word out of everything the warrior had said. “I’m hungry. Arek, when are you making dinner?”

Arek looked up at the sun, which was still high in the sky above them. They hadn’t spent more than a few hours in the dungeon at most, though it was a little difficult to tell exactly how much time had passed. Still, it wasn’t even slightly close to dinner.

“It’s the middle of the day,” Belmont said, kneeling beside the water and cautiously poking it with his sword. “Dinner happens at night.”

“What if the sun doesn’t move here? It could always be day.”

“I’m pretty sure I’ve seen it moving, even though that probably isn’t actually the sun,” Malissa said. “It’ll turn to night eventually, or the sun will reset. We only ate a little while ago.”

“Well, I’m hungry,” Ming said. “I cast magic. That means I need to eat.”

“We’ve got rations,” Belmont said, setting his sword aside and poking the water with a strip of jerky. He pulled it out and nodded, touching it to the back of his hand. When nothing happened, he tossed the jerky into the river and washed his hands in the water.

“What are you doing?” Malissa asked.

“Checking to make sure the water was safe,” Belmont replied. “I had to make sure it wouldn’t dissolve flesh before touching it.”

“How many times have you run into rivers of water that dissolve flesh?”

“None, but imagine if this was the first?” Belmont raised an eyebrow. “Then I’d be very glad I tested it.”

Arek sat down beside Belmont and scooped some of the water from the river, splashing his face. It was cool and crisp, a stark and welcome contrast to the oppressive heat of the jungle.

“It feels fantastic. If it melts my face later, I suppose I’ll just have to deal with it,” Arek said, laying back on the ground and covering his eyes with his chef’s hat. “The sun makes me feel like a cat.”

“I’ll keep an eye out,” Belmont promised. “How long do we want to stay here?”

“Not too long,” Arek replied, stretching his arms out behind him. “Not a good idea to just sit around for too long since we don’t need to tuck in for the night yet. How about an hour or two?”

“That should be fine,” Malissa said. Arek heard water splash and she groaned in relief. “Oh, this feels great. If there was such a thing as premium water, this would be it.”

“Don’t give the dungeons any ideas,” Ming said. “They’ll find a way to somehow make us pay for drinking it.”

Arek relaxed as the Happy Sunflowers chattered around him, drifting off into much needed sleep with a content smile on his face.

Someone prodded Arek in the side. The orc licked his lips and flicked the hat off his head to see Belmont peering down at him. He didn’t look particularly concerned, so Arek relaxed.

“Is the time up already?”

“It’s been two hours,” Belmont replied. “And the sun actually is moving. It’s starting to get a little cooler, so we were hoping that it’ll be easier to travel through the forest. We want to get moving before it’s too late, though. We don’t want to get stuck in a fight during the night.”

“Wise call,” Arek said, pushing himself upright. He brushed himself off as he rose to his feet, cracking his neck and yawning. Ming and Malissa were standing at the edge of the clearing and peering into the trees.

“Ready?” Belmont asked.

“As much as I always am.” The runes on Arek’s claws shimmered and armor formed around him. His hands wrapped around the shaft of his guandao and he strode up to join Ming and Malissa at the treeline. “Find something?”

“Caterpillar,” Ming replied, staring at an orange, fuzzy little insect. It reared up, wiggling two tiny little legs at her. It had small hairs all over its body that stuck up like a porcupine’s quills.

“Don’t,” Belmont said softly.

“I know, I know. It just looks cute!”

“It’s also probably poisonous,” Arek said. “Colorful things bad.”

“Colorful things bad,” Ming repeated with a sigh. “Right, I’m satisfied. Let’s go kill some shit.”

Arek’s weapon flashed and leaves fell away. Then they were off once more, pressing into the jungle. Belmont had been correct – with the sun considerably lower in the sky, it was much less frustrating to travel.

There were still far too many bugs, but their number had decreased and the heat was far more manageable. It wasn’t quite an enjoyable hike, but it was on its way to getting there. The Happy Sunflowers remained on guard despite the relatively improved conditions.

As the sun continued to lower toward the edge of the horizon, the buzz of the jungle started to die down. Then, without fanfare, it vanished. All the bugs that had been surrounding the group flittered away, giving them blissful peace.

“That seems convenient,” Malissa whispered. “What are the chances we’re about to get attacked?”

“Very high,” Belmont whispered back, squinting through a dense bush with large leaves. “I’m tempted to head back and see if the bugs return, but that might not be a good idea. I’d rather face whatever this is somewhere where we’ve got room to maneuver, and bosses usually have a dedicated room.”

“There’s no guarantee it actually has a room,” Arek said, pushing a low hanging limb out of the way to avoid having to cut the entire thing down. “This dungeon seems pretty organic to me. Not as constrained as the other ones we’ve been in.”

“Probably because it’s higher rank,” Ming said. She held a staff in each hand, as if they would double her magical output. Arek wasn’t sure if that wasn’t the case, actually. Maybe that was how it worked.

The leaves before him parted before his guandao could cut through them, leading into a clearing. Arek didn’t need to look back at Belmont to know the warrior had a smug grin on his face.

It was the largest one they’d seen yet. Thick trunked trees made a huge circle around a massive redwood in the center of the clearing. Large portions of the tree’s roots stuck out of the ground all over the clearing, many of them ending in jagged points.

“Chances that thing comes alive the moment we walk in?” Malissa asked.

“One hundred,” Belmont and Arek replied.

Everyone glanced at Ming.

“Doesn’t look like this dungeon is much for learning,” Belmont said. “Care to give it a teaching moment?”

“Oh, I love teaching moments,” Ming said, stepping forward and aiming both staves at the large tree. “As long as they aren’t directed at me. This one isn’t, right?”

“All the tree.”

Ming grinned. She drew in a deep breath, gathering the magic in her body. The staff in her right hand shimmered and motes of pure magic poured off it, illuminating her in the fading daylight.

Energy arced off her staff and slammed into the tree, twisting up the thick trunk before a series of explosions followed after it, tearing large swathes through the wood. The Happy Sunflowers charged into the clearing, bringing their weapons to bear.

Jagged roots twitched and groaned, ripping themselves free of the soil as the tree raised itself into the air. The front of it split, forming into what appeared to be a roughly carved face. Two hollow eyes and a gaping maw with jagged wood spines for teeth formed in the bark.

Its roar split the clearing and two thick, pointed roots whipped at the Happy Sunflowers, moving with terrifying speed. Arek rushed forward, slamming the closest root to the side and knocking it off its course. The other shot for Malissa and Belmont’s shield flashed to life around her.

Malissa leapt into the air and the root scraped along the bottom of the pink magic with a grating screech. Ming fired blasts of pure magic into the tree as roots rose up all over the clearing.

“Focus on keeping yourself and Ming safe!” Malissa yelled, darting along one of the roots toward the tree. She leapt over a spike of wood that shot out from it at her and used another root to launch herself into the air like a trapeze artist.

Arek took the more direct approach. He charged the tree, slamming roots aside as they jabbed and lashed out at him. His armor shuddered with every strike that got past his guandao, but he pressed onward.

Battle rage tugged at the back of his mind, urging him to give in. He didn’t give it any headway. A heavy log slammed into his side, sending cracks spiderwebbing through his armor and knocking him to the ground.

Arek rolled, launching back up to his feet, just a few paces away from the tree. It creaked, swinging a huge branch at him. The orc rolled to the side, but the ends of the branch still scraped along his armor.

Malissa reached the monster’s trunk and let out a battle cry, unleashing a flurry of strikes into it with her daggers. They bit into he wood, carving strips of bark away and digging into the tree, but Arek couldn’t tell how effective the attacks really were.

A root slammed into his side, staggering the orc. He snarled, hunching his shoulders and charging forward. Branches shifted around him, trying to block his path, and Arek’s guandao sang.

The sharp blade carved through wood and leaf, tearing everything in front of him apart. He was vaguely aware of explosions ringing out around him, but his focus was fully on the fight and everything else soon faded away.

His body moved to an invisible tune, dipping and dodging around the roots as he drew up to the trunk of the tree. Jagged wooden limbs whipped through the air, but Arek’s guandao was a blur of glowing energy and destruction.

Lunging forward, the thrust it into the center of the tree and ripped it out. Large pits were missing from the wood in various patterns, but he barely registered it. He just reared back and thrust his blade into the tree again. And again.

It desperately tried to force him back, but Arek refused to give even an inch. He grabbed a branch as it swung at him, using it to pull himself off the ground and jump onto the monster’s trunk. It creaked in protest and Arek brought the guandao with all the force he could muster, chopping clean through a branch as thick as his thigh.

The branch crashed to the ground and he thrust his weapon into the tree’s trunk as he fell, carving a long furrow through its side all the way down. Blue flashes lit the dimming sky and a series of loud cracks rang out.

Fragments of wood rained around Arek and the tree lurched back in pain. A blur of silk and steel flew around it, repeatedly striking the already growing wounds. Arek shifted his stance and charged the tree one last time.

He slammed the guandao into the center of its trunk with a roar. It pierced through the bark and hit something solid, stopping for an instant. Arek dug his feet into the ground and shoved. Whatever was stopping his strike gave way and the blade punched deeper.

With one final creak, the tree tipped back and crashed to the ground. All around the clearing, the roots withered and collapsed. Arek’s chest rose and fell with heavy breaths as he scanned the surroundings, checking for any sight of continued combat.

Nothing arose. Slowly, he lowered the guandao, allowing it to flicker and disappear. His armor faded as well and he leaned against the fallen trunk of the monster to catch his breath.

“Arek?” Belmont called. “How’s the battle rage?”

“Fine,” Arek called back. “It didn’t pose too much trouble this time. I did feel oddly focused, though. Nothing to worry about right now. Is everyone all right?”

“Doing fine,” Malissa said, hopping down from the tree and landing beside Arek. She had a few small scrapes on her arms, but no serious injuries. “Belmont’s shields did their job as good as ever.”

“I’m okay too,” Ming added through a mouthful of jerky. “Not my favorite fight. It didn’t blow up as nicely as the flowers did, but I guess we can’t get everything we want. Did it have anything useful?”

“Wood,” Arek replied, examining the tree. “Lots of it.”

“Boring,” Ming said. “Why couldn’t it have an axe or something?”

“Does it look like it’s got an axe on it? I think it would have been using it if it did,” Belmont drawled. “Does anyone see any other monsters in the area? Could this be a multi-stage fight?”

Arek sniffed the air and cocked his head to the side, straining to listen. Aside from the distant chirp of birds and crickets, there was nothing.