Dragon Mage 3 Chapter 8: Pathfinding (Patreon)

368 days until the Arkon Shield falls

You have spellcrafted a ward from the Discipline of earth magic. The name assigned to this casting is poison ward. This spell will coat any entity that enters its field of effect with a harmful toxin that will inflict damage over time. The ward can only be triggered once. Its casting time is very slow, and its rank is uncommon.

You have spellcrafted a touch-based disabling spell from the Discipline of earth magic. The name assigned to this casting is stone grasp. When this spell triggers, the very rocks beneath the ground will rise up, entrapping all hostile entities that are within touching distance of the caster. Entrapped hostiles will be unable to move until the casting is dispelled. Stone grasp’s casting time is average, and its rank is rare.

The night passed without incident. I didn’t get much sleep, though, which was no one’s fault but my own. My spellcrafting went on deep into the evening, but by the time I finally called it quits, I’d achieved my goal and crafted two more spells that Lance was sure to find useful.

Come morning, I awoke only reluctantly. Still, I couldn’t afford to delay rising and pushed myself into motion despite my tiredness. I had four or five spells that I needed to teach Lance, and I knew Tara and Arneson would want an early start.

Thankfully, I was no longer a novice when it came to teaching the wizardly arts. Only a few weeks ago, I’d successfully taught Cedric the wilting waze spell. And now I had a method—of sorts. Then, too, Lance was both an eager and bright student. 

Passing on my repertoire of life and earth magic spells to him went quicker than expected, and in the end, we only kept the rest of the party waiting an hour.

“At last!” Arneson rasped in exasperation when Lance and I finally opened our eyes.

Glancing up, I found the village leader and Tara looming over me and Lance. Arneson’s foot was tapping furiously, and even Tara looked impatient. 

“We can get going now,” I said, rising to my feet before either could berate us further.

“You’re done?” Tara asked.

“We are,” Lance confirmed, following suit.

Arneson swiveled on his heels. “Good. Then, let’s go.”

✵ ✵ ✵

The morning began easily enough. We rejoined the main tunnel we’d left last night and took up the same formation we’d used yesterday, with Ash leading the way and me guarding the rear.

An hour passed. Then another.

And Arneson and Daryl’s map of the lair grew. Yet curiously enough, no attacks were forthcoming from the shadowcats. At the back of the column, I frowned to myself. We had never gone this long between ambush attempts yesterday. Were the creatures changing tactics?

“Company, halt!” Arneson barked suddenly from the front.

Why were we stopping? I wondered. It was not because of an attack, I knew that much. Ash’s emotions were quiescent and absent of the excitement and glee she usually felt during battle. 

Jogging through the ranks, a soldier stopped before me. “Mage Jamie, you’re wanted up ahead.”

My frown deepened. “Now?” I asked, glancing meaningfully at the open stretch of tunnel expanding away from us. It appeared empty now, but who could say if that was truly the case?

“Now,” the soldier confirmed, his own eyes darting in the same direction. “Arneson says not to worry about an attack. We’ve been this way before—and not just today, I mean. Yesterday.”

We had? I studied the tunnel anew, but nothing about it looked familiar. Then again, by this point, we’d traversed through so many tunnels that they all sort of blurred in my memory.

I glanced at the silently watching Lance. “I’ll be fine here,” he replied in response to my look.

I turned back to the soldier. “Alright, I’m coming, but let’s make this quick.”

✵ ✵ ✵

“We’ve figured it out,” Tara said the moment I drew up to the head of the column. She jerked a thumb in Daryl’s direction. “Or rather, he has.”

I looked between the two. “Figured what out?”

“The lair’s design,” Daryl answered, surprising me.

“Oh,” I remarked. I hadn’t even realized it had one. “I assume this benefits us in some way?”

The former rebel soldier nodded enthusiastically. “It does. We now know how to get to the lair’s center.”

“We do?” I asked, not sure what else to say.

“We do,” Daryl said. “To get there, we continue down this tunnel for another mile, take the right branch we didn’t last time we were here, avoid the next two forks, and then enter another central passage. That one should take all the way to the central cavern.”

I stared at the other man in disbelief. “That’s incredibly precise. How do you know all that?”

Daryl shrugged. “It’s obvious.”

It wasn’t obvious to me, but I hadn’t spent as much time underground as Daryl and some of the others. Their ability to navigate the tunnels was almost spooky, and after overhearing the soldiers speak, I knew a few of them had acquired some sort of pathfinding Discipline. Given this, I supposed I shouldn’t have been as surprised as I was that Daryl had figured out which way to go.

Still, I couldn’t help but glance at Arneson for confirmation. He had remained quiet throughout. His expression, though, was free of concern. 

He agrees with Daryl’s assessment then.

“Alright,” I murmured to Daryl, “I’ll take your word for it.” I swung back to Tara. “I take it you believe we should make straight for the central chamber?”

She nodded. “It’s what we came here for, isn’t it? And why waste more time than necessary?”

I couldn’t argue with that. “What about the shadowcats? Does anyone have an explanation for why they haven’t attacked us today?”

But from the other’s blank looks, I could tell they were just as mystified as me in this regard. I sighed. “Alright, let’s do it. Let’s go get the lair boss.”

✵ ✵ ✵

Amazingly, Daryl’s directions proved to be accurate. Following his lead, we shortly found ourselves gathered outside the lair’s central cavern. Even more unexpectedly, we encountered no resistance on the way over.

“How do you want to do this?” Tara asked softly.

Lance and I had joined the others at the head of the column, and presently, all five of us were staring at the bend in the tunnel ahead. According to Daryl, the central cavern lay just beyond. 

“We have to assume there are shadowcats waiting for us in there,” I said slowly.

Tara nodded. “Agreed.”

Arneson grunted. “The real question is how many.”

“And what form the lair boss will take,” Lance added.

Daryl threw him a puzzled look. “What do you mean? Won’t it just be a meaner and more powerful shadowcat?”

“No, it won’t,” I said, shaking my head. “The lair boss will be a creature champion, we know that much. But we also know the champion cores have a way of… augmenting the creatures they control. The lair boss will be different from the other shadowcats, not entirely, but enough so that we shouldn’t expect it to share the same weaknesses that they do.”

Arneson stroked his chin. “Then we should scout the cavern before entering in force.”

My brows flew up.

The other man did not miss my expression, and a thin smile lit his lips. “I am not as entirely rash as you believe.”

I ducked my head in apology. “Sending in the scouts first is a good idea. But where do the rest of us wait in the meantime?” I glanced down both sides of the tunnel. “We’re too vulnerable here for my liking.”

“And mine, too,” Tara agreed. She glanced to her left. “Daryl?”

“The last left fork we passed shouldn’t go anywhere,” he said. “I’m sure it’s a dead-end. We can wait there.”

“How far away is it?” Tara asked.

Daryl pursed his lips, thinking. “Fifty yards?”

“That’s close enough,” Tara said, sounding pleased. “Arneson, pick out your best two scouts and send them on their way. As for the rest of us, let’s get moving.” 

✵ ✵ ✵

It took the scouts over an hour to return. 

It was not a pleasant wait, especially not with Arneson pacing up and down and muttering to himself. The rest of the Sanctuary soldiers were just as tense, leaving me to wonder if we had made the right choice by delaying. Eventually, though, the scouts did return.

Forewarned by the life ward I’d set in the tunnel, I swung around to face the cavern mouth in time to witness the pair’s arrival.

“They’re back!” the sentries called.

Breaking off from his pace, Arneson whipped around. “What kept you?” he demanded.

“There were some difficulties,” replied the first scout, a grizzled man named Henk. 

Arneson scowled. “Like what?”

Henk’s gaze flickered over the onlooking party. “Maybe it’ll be better if you heard our report in private?”

Tara began to nod in agreement, but before she could say anything, Arneson slashed his hand downward. “No. Everyone here will have to be informed anyway. Better, they hear what you have to say directly. Now, tell us.”

Henk pursed his lips, hesitating. His colleague was less uncertain, though. “We found the lair boss,” Kellar said.

Arneson’s gaze shifted to the second scout. “Good. What can you tell us about it?”

“It’s a level one hundred and forty shadowlion,” Kellar answered.

Watching from the sidelines, I exhaled in relief. I wasn’t sure precisely what a shadowlion was, but the creature’s level told me everything I needed to know. 

It was Seasoned rank and well within our party’s ability to defeat.

Tara, though, was frowning. “A… shadowlion. That sounds similar to a shadowcat. So, why wasn’t it hidden? Don’t tell me it was just sitting there waiting for you to analyze it?”

The two scouts exchanged glances.

Arneson noticed. “Out with it. Whatever it is, spit it out.”

“The shadowlion was not alone,” Henk said. “It was—” 

“Of course, it isn’t,” Arneson muttered, cutting him off. “There are shadowcats, too, presumably. Are you telling us they were also visible? How many did you spot?”

“Twenty,” Henk said. Arneson opened his mouth again, but before he could be interrupted anew, the scout raised his hand for patience. “They were all dead by the time we entered the cavern, though.”

“Dead?” Tara and Arneson echoed in unison. I could tell the news startled them as much as it did me.

Henk nodded grimly.

“Are you sure?” Arneson pressed. “Couldn’t they have been sleeping? Or maybe—”

“Oh, they were definitely dead,” Kellar said. “No question about it.”

“What killed them?” a perturbed Lance asked.

Kellar turned his way. “My guess? It was the four humans we spotted fighting the lair boss when we entered the cavern.”