I woke up in darkness. The world was pitch black except for the clear image of saul's avatar self. He looked up at me the second that acknowledged him mentally.
*Welcome back. * he said moving closer to me. it was strange. Even though the room was perfectly pitch black, I could see him as if he was lit by the light of the sun.
I turned away. *is there any way you could lower your brightness. I can't see the rest of the room. *
he visibly dimmed and it allowed my eyes to adjust to the murk.
*I thought I died, what happened?* I said taking in that we were alone in a simple stone room, similar to the one that I started in.
*So when you died, I got a lot of notifications. Apparently when a Vitre kills an incarcerated, or delver, or adventurer, they are moved to another location in the dungeon. This location is picked at random, and they are incarnated there. I am unable to tell perfectly where we are, but its somewhere to the east of where we were. * he said trying to fill me in.
I took a moment to check over everything that I had in my possession. My staff was here, next to me. My storage ring was on me, as my book case and Saul. My armor was untouched as well.
" Why would it go through all the trouble to remake all of my things again?"
* it didn't, as your entire ensemble was made correctly, it equipped directly to your soul just like I was. It simply moved with it. The reason that it looks remade is because of the auto repair feature that was designed with it. *
" Woah. I am so lucky that you had the designs for it. Frankly, I am pretty lucky that you are with me at all. " I said to saul.
Saul did not respond, and I let him stew. I got the feeling that he was being bashful. So I stood up from my spot on the ground taking my staff in my hand for the first time in who knows how long. I clasped the strange little aparatus that applied the aether to my hand and blew a few more bubbles of mana. The entire area shifted in hue as the small blue glowing orbs changed the color of the room.
I intensified the light and changed the color, and the room really changed in feel, probably helped that the shadowy miasma retreated from the room. Sliding under the door as if it already knew how to exit the room on some instinctual level.
There really wasn't anything in this room. In fact it was strangely bare. Like it was designed to be empty. Maybe that was just how it worked. I slid over to the door and pressed my ear against it.
Cracking the door open proved to be fruitful. The hallway was fortuitously empty of everything except the sounds of shattering glass coming from down the hall. I poked my head out, and saw an open doorway with light coming out of it.
killing my light and allowing the miasma to flow over me once again, I slid into the hallway. Walking forward toward the light. When something terrifying and amazing happened. I saw the miasma next to me begin to swirl in a strange whirlwind. Then a light purple glow erupted into my personal space and a skeleton rose out of the floor.
I almost screamed, but sauls voice cut through my mental freak out. * Hold your breath. It hasn't knoticed us. * he said.
The skeleton was looking right at me. I could see the divets where its eyes probably were when it... then it occured to me. It was not alive, it was never alive. it wasn't even a skeleton. It was a vitre. The miasma had produced a vitre.
The skeleton turned and began to walk down the hallway completely ignoring me. It was moving with earnest abandon toward the sound of combat.
* wait... so the vitre are generated by the miasma? and thats why it feeds them? * I thought
* it's possible, or they were transported through it some how. The dungeon is apparently alive after all. * Saul responded with
* Huh, theres no way for us to be able to experiment with it at this time. If only we had a safe place to study it. *
*arn't you a customer service rep? keep talking like that and you might start to sound like a real mage. * the sass on saul.
I crept forward down the hall, letting the miasma pour over me until I stood in the door way looking down into the crypt below.
The sight below was rather strange. There was a man in a leather jacket, with a blonde pompadour, beating skeleton vitre to dust with a metal baseball bat. Every three he took down he would have to straigten the sunglasses that attempted to slide off his face. Who wears sunglasses in a dark crypt in the middle of who knows where.
A vitre stepped past me and into the room, before turning to look directly at me. It continued to be aggressive until the miasma poured back over me. Then it acted as if I wasn't there and began to join the fight below, heading down the stairs.
*neat. Well the guy down there won't die if the vitre kill him so I should just go the other way. Best to avoid guys like that. *
* what? why is that. "
* They are always nice and helpful, until they stab you in the back or do something worse. at least they are if the movies have taught me anything. *
*huh, i am going to need to pour over your memories so that I can understand these things your talking about. * oof, he did not sound super enthused about being left out.
I backed further down the tunnel, turned, and started walking away. not that it did me much good, as about two minutes in here comes the man with the bat high tailing it past me. His light knocking my cover away like a storm. I started running too. I KNEW that what was coming after him was going to be in jot pursuit of that light now after all.
He turned his head back, " Hey. Who the hell are you? Why are you following me?" He shouted at me.
" Oh I dunno. Probably has something to do with the skeletons with swords. " I say struggling to keep up. I knew I wouldn't be able to keep up this grueling pace though. So the only option was to fight. I turned my mind back to my bubbles of mana. I only had three with me at this point in time. His light was the problem. I needed to get away from him as soon as possible but the tunnel had no bends or twists. Or off shoots. It was just a straight line.
" huh... huh... this isn't going to work for me. " I said. I DREW my hands to my mouth and blew a few more bubbles. only one of them though was successfully filled with mana. " I am not gonna be able to make this work either. Not for that many of them. "
If he heard me he wasn't saying anything. I did my best to keep tabs on the skeletons hot in pursuit of him. The vitre. If they killed me I wouldn't die. But it wouldn't be fun. The arrow I took last time sucked.
I needed to do something and fast. Or these skeletons would keep coming forever. Then I turned back again. They were mostly gone. Only about six remained. Each carrying a rusty iron longsword.
" Hey. there's less. " I said to him. " you got two choices. We cans and and fight together or you can run and leave me to die. " I said stopping.
I turned back to the skeletons. With a though one of my glowing bubbles became a dart. It wasn't perfect, like the first one. This ones shape was more like a shard of spiky glass. It flew back and imbedded into the skull of one of the skeletons with uncanny accuracy. But that didn't take it out. I Waved my hand unconsciously as I forced into the small missile the concept of an explosion. With a bap the skeletons skull exploded. The sound was somewhere between glass shattering and bones breaking. Which was strange.
I worked on attempting to blow another bubble when the skeletons slowed down taking defensive stances.
I attempted to fill another bubble and it worked. I fired another one at the skeleton who was closest but he cut it with his sword. Dispensing the mana.
" Fuck me. That's cheating you bag of bones. " I shouted before launching two more. I sent them after the first one from two different angles. When they blocked one the other got him. " Well at least their kinda stupid. BUT that leaves me with one left. " I started blowing another bubble. Four left.
To my surprise. The Greaser with a ball bat stepped between us. He readied himself.
" Do you think we can win?" He said.
" Yes. If you can keep them off me for a few precious seconds. " I said.
He charged the remaining four. Forcing them to back up. They couldn't fight as well as he could because they were standing side by side. It constrained their movements.
I didn't waist the chance though. I focused on my bubbles. The confidence that he could hold them off for at least a little while, kept me from messing these up.
In the mean time he managed to score a kill. His bat coming down on the arm of one of the skeletons shattering it off. The creature died a second later to an undefeated strike to the skull. " fuck yeah. Take that you bastards! " He shouted. a second later he was put on the defensive though because the three now had more space to move. The skeletons who died didn't hinder them as they turned to dust and blew down the hall into the dark.
I shot my last whole bubble at the skeleton on the right. Catching it off guard. With a bap their skull fragmented. Leaving two of them.
the greaser was hard pressed to keep from being killed with just two. I took note that I should have waited the extra few seconds to kill all three at the same time, WHILE finishing the bub les necessary.
THE vitre on the right moved in its blade striking out, and I managed to get it just in time with the bubble necessary. ITS sword however flew across the ground trying to murder me as collateral. I had to dodge by jumping up. LIKE some hero out of a videogame.
In one on one combat the greaser wasn't as skilled as the skeleton that fought like a trained swordsman. HOWEVER he still managed to catch the skeleton off guard by throwing some kind of small explosive. It bapped next to its head giving him the small opening he needed.
" C'mon. We cant stand here. " I said to him barely able to keep moving down the hall.
" Huh.. huh... ok... why though. " He said following after me.
" The light your carrying. It attracts them. " I said.
" What do you mean it attracts them? What are they?"
" they are vitre. YES, They resemble skeletons, but they are not. Their specifics are complex and tiresome. " I said.
" Uhuh. Try me. "
" Ok. They are physical manifestations of the miasma that creeps through the darkness created to kill and extinguish any light that's not compatible. " I said plainly.
" Ok. Thats.... wierd." He said clearly not getting it.
" Anyway. If we keep moving it should keep them from appearing. We need to find a safe zone. " I said.
" What's a safe zone. " he said.
" Its a safe location that the vitre won't spawn inside of to kill you. " I said.
" well where's the nearest one?" He said
" I have no clue. I just arrived here myself. "
" Then how the hell do you know so much?" He said.
" I saved a goblin. "
" What the hell is that?"
" Its a type of small person with green skin. "
" WAIT people come with green skin? "
" Yes. Keep up. ANYway she told me all about them. The vitre. As long as we keep moving and don't linger we can avoid most of their spawning. Course that means no sleep for us. " I said.
" Oh great. Just what I needed. " He said accepting his fate.
" C'mon. This way. " I say pointing down the hall.
* Hey saul. We past the spot where I woke up right?* I thought of him.
* Yes. We have. *
* Geuss were gonna find out what's this way. *
" My name is Tommy what's yours. " The greaser said interrupting my conversation.
" Huh... " I huffed.
" What ? Should I just call you the wizard? " He said
" Oh you know what a wizard is but you don't know a goblin? "
"YEAH. There was a pizza place near my house called Cheese Wiz. It had a wizard as it's logo. "
" Fuck me. That's how you know what a wizard is?"
" Yeah. So... your name?" He grinned sheepishly.
" Malindr. " I said. As we ran I tried blowing a few more of my bubbles.
" You don't seem confused by the concept of pizza." He said.
" why would I be confused by that?"
" Well arnt wizards from places with no tech? Fantasy type places?"
" I suppose that's true, but the truth is I'm not a wizard yet. " I said.
" What do you mean?"
" Before this I was a customer service rep At Wall world. "
" What's that?"
" a big store chain that sells pretty much everything. "
" What?"
" Oh yeah. Bet your used to mom and pop type businesses. Little spaces run by individual store owners. "
" Isn't that how they work?. "
" no. Where I am from we have things called megacorporations. Their huge and all over the country. Some of them all over the world.
" wow. Ok. " He said. But I could tell that he didn't believe me.
" Anyway. So yes. I KNOW what pizza is. And burgers. Cars. Trains. And a lot more. "
" k. Well that will make things at least a little less confusing. "
"K, well we're stuck going the same direction. So let's see what's next. "