CLANG!
Sylas found herself back in the forest. The sword, on the ground, beckoned Sylas to pick it up again. "Who was that woman?" She thought as her senses returned to her.
The man hunched over low to the ground. He ran towards the sword while swinging his arms wildly. He picked it up, then kicked Sylas. She was slow to react, she heard the man's heavy footsteps, but didn't turn around until she heard the scraping of the blade against the dirt and leaves. The shock of where she had just disappeared to, stunned her.
She barely blocked when the kick went through. She blocked her face, while the man kicked her in the stomach. "GWAH" She yelped as she fell to her back a few paces away.
The man raised his sword. He took two steps forward. He towered over her. She held her stomach, coughing up saliva and curses to the man. He swung down at her. The sweet taste of victory and blood ran through his mouth. He said something, but the message was lost.
Sylas interpreted it as, "You've lost," and he was right.
CLINK!
The man's sword split in half. Guy with a bloody nose that ran to the tip of his chin, held in his hand a pickaxe. He had swung up with the flat edge side of the pickaxe, splitting the sword in half. A harrowing roar emitted from the split in the sword. It was deafening to Sylas. She watched the broken half of the sword spin in the air and land next to her head.
Guy flipped his pickaxe, then smacked the man with the wooden handle of it. His neck stretched to catch his head, which had just gotten hit. Guy then smacked the wrist of the man with the handle of the pickaxe. The man's grip on the sword loosened. He whined. Guy dropped his pickaxe.
He raised his fist to guard his chin. He lowered his body. Guy took a deep breath. The man stabilized himself. Guy delivered an uppercut to his chin. He continued with a barrage of punches: left hook, right hook, left, right; hesitated, left, left, left. He grabbed him by the few strands of hair on his head. He delivered blow after blow until the man was a bloody paste on the ground.
His breathing was heavy. Drops of sweat mixed with the drips of blood. He wiped the blood. He walked over to his pickaxe, picked it up and kicked the sword the man was holding away. He grunted towards Sylas, and used one hand to cover his eyes. Sylas nodded and closed her eyes.
She heard the swing of metal in the air. Followed by a SQUISH, then the cracking of some hard material.
"System, I don't get EXP from assists do I?"
[You must deliver the finishing blow]
"Okay."
Sylas heard Guy grunt. She kept her eyes closed as she heard the ruffling of clothes, the rustling of leaves and the shifting of feet against the dirt. The smell of blood lingered in the area as she heard Guy's footsteps get farther away from her. The source of the rancid smell, a mix of feces and other bodily fluids, went away with Guy.
After a few moments, Sylas heard Guy walk back to her. His pickaxe scraped against the ground. She heard the swinging of the pickaxe in the air. She opened her eyes.
THUD!
As the pickaxe hit the ground it disappeared.
"What the hell was that?" Sylas asked as she got up
[Dwarvish technology]
"There are dwarves in this world!"
Guy squatted down. He placed his hand on Sylas's injured shoulder. He examined it, then took out bandages from his pocket.
"How deep are your pockets Guy?"
He carefully pulled down Sylas's sleeve. Sylas blushed and allowed Guy to treat her. As they walked to the horse, Guy ranted to her about something. She felt the pain in her shoulder twice as much as she should have. "Heightened senses really make the pain hurt like balls." Sylas said as she held her shoulder.
NEIGH!
The ride was smooth sailing from there. Sylas didn't know where they were going and she realized that she didn't have breakfast yet. Her stomach growled as they left the forest, and onto the barren wastelands with the charred people on it. Sylas couldn't exactly tell where they were, but the small rock formations, and familiar charred people reminded her of where she met Guy. Sylas wanted to beg and plead for food as they passed the charred people. However she restrained herself. He was in some mood, Sylas couldn't see his face, but she knew by the bitter taste of the air mixed with the aroma of a summer barbecue's smoke. Guy ignored her.
"System, am I a high enough level to know who the hell that crazy painted face goon was?"
[You know.]
"What was that weapon?"
[A byproduct of half of your creators.]
"Who was that woman?"
[You are too low level to know.]
Their first stop was a hole in the ground. It was a deep one. Sylas stood at the edge of it, and looked down. The diameter of the hole had to be about a city block long. She couldn't even see the bottom of it. It reminded her of the void she went to when she picked up the sword.
At some point while looking down the hole she felt someone breathing down her neck. She froze. She knew that if she jumped, she would lose her balance and fall.
"Chk'ulehy!"
Sylas stepped back. Guy was already back on the horse ready to go. Sylas got back on the horse and they went on their way again. They didn't go too far, a few minutes of travel brought them to yet another hole. This time they never got off of the horse, only slowed down for a few moments before speeding off again.
Sylas's stomach growled again. She began tugging at Guy's shirt. They stopped at a cave entrance. The sun beamed down on it. It was odd, it looked like a wider termite hill mixed with a bulkhead door.
"Is this a dungeon entrance?" Sylas asked as she followed Guy's movements of getting off the horse.
[This is no registered dungeon.]
"So there are dungeons in this world as well?"
[I cannot disclose that.]
Guy planted a pike into the ground, and took out a lasso. He tied the horse down to the pike. He fed her an apple, and tossed one over to Sylas. She barely managed to catch it. He gestured to her to follow him. She nodded and followed him into the cave. It was an easy walk. The cave had steps built into it, and they descended further down.
It was damp and cold. The walls were a muddy brown with hints of beige minerals shining. The only source of light was the sun beaming down into the cave from above. It was oddly silent. The only sound came from sylas gobbling down her apple. The crunch of the juicy apple echoed throughout the cave. Water dripped on the stone around them.
At the end of the stairs was a small platform. It was wide enough to fit the two of them and the family. When Sylas finished her apple she held onto the core of it. Guy looked out from beyond the platform. Curious, Sylas walked next to Guy and looked with him.
Another deep hole. This time the abyss at the bottom held a fragrance of nostalgia. She threw her apple core down the hole. Her ears perked up as she tried to hear the echoes of the core hitting the bottom.
Her breathing was soft. Her heartbeat, steady. A moan from the abyss crawled out, scraping against the stony walls. "Baaaaabyy~" The voice was nasally, in between gasping for air and screaming. She never heard the thud of the apple core falling.
She backed up, "Guy, I think we should-" She turned around.
PUSH!