Divine Awakening - Chapter 50

[Author's Note - updated the spells in this chapter a bit since I first posted it.]

The first item Ash picked up looked like an old-fashioned water flask.

Name: Artesian Flask

Quality: Uncommon

Durability: 100/100

Effect (Passive): Flask produces three gallons of clean water per day.

Description: Water skin made from black leather. This Flask is connected to a mysterious aquifer.

Ash still wasn’t thirsty, but the item gave him another idea. For now, he set it to the side and picked up the next loot reward. It looked like a foot long icicle and had a cool surface.

Name: Wand of Water Spike

Quality: Uncommon

Durability: 25/25

Charges: 5

Damage: 6-12 elemental water damage

Range: 60 feet

Effect (Triggered): Water Spike - Shoots a dense arrow of water at the target.

The last pile had the typical copper currency.

Ash placed an arm through the flask’s strap, hanging it across his torso. His hand touched the fang taped to his chest as he considered one of the lessons from this fight again. Necrotic damage hadn't affected the wraith. He guessed such immunities would be common among the dungeon creatures. He needed to consider multiple types of damage with his spells and not specialize too greatly. At least not right now.

Ash used Third Eye to scan the area all around him. Satisfied no other Parched Wraiths had come, he recalled his pack. He placed the wand in one of the pockets—he’d give it to Nomad later. It only took a moment to find the bar of soap, and then he returned the bag to storage.

Ten seconds later, Ash had stripped off his clothes. Using the Artesian Flask, he soaked his body, and then used the soap to scrub the filth off his skin. It took longer than he expected, and he paused twice to search the walls, floor, and ceiling for any sign of ambush while standing naked in the middle of a dungeon tunnel.

Ash used the flask to rinse off, and while the cold water didn’t make for the best shower, clean skin felt amazing.

Stepping away from the dirty pool filling the passage, Ash retrieved his pack and quickly brushed his teeth, happy to be rid of all the blood and guts he’d somehow caught with an open mouth. There might be a lesson there.

Ash quickly put on clean clothes, storing his disgusting ones in a bag that went into his pack. He started back toward Blueprint and his team. He remained alert but let his thoughts return to his experiences in this dungeon.

Third Eye had proven its worth once again, alerting him to threats before they fully manifested. Without it, the wraith might have caught him off guard, with dire consequences. Seeing energy through solid rock excited him and it reaffirmed the need to work on Awakening all his chakras.

Ash reached out to Nomad over chat. The wraith is dead. Headed back.

Roger. Good work, Shamrock.

Ash continued down the tunnel, the sounds of his footsteps nearly imperceptible. The air grew warmer, and the scents of his companions—a mix of sweat and gear—drifted toward him.

Blueprint came into view at the tunnel's entrance, her rifle at the ready. She looked him up and down. “You find a spa?”

Ash smiled and tapped the flask. “Mobile shower.”

Blueprint returned the smile. "I guess god does answer prayers." She leaned closer and sniffed loudly. “Is that cologne?”

“No, Irish Spring.”

“Are you sixty?”

“What?” Ash smelled the back of his hand. “Fresh as a whistle.”

Blueprint took another smell and shrugged. “I guess it’s not so bad. You’re a Shamrock after all.”

Ash laughed and headed for the next tunnel.

“Find us a pot of gold,” Blueprint said to his back.

Ash didn’t turn but gave her a thumbs up.

On the last tunnel, the one that headed south east, and the direction they needed to go, Ash heard the whispered cries for the first time. He displayed what he knew caused the disquieting sounds.

Brother’s Keeper (1 of 5) - Echoes of the Past
Description: Follow the cries of the innocent to the forbidden ruins.
Task: Piece together ancient fragments to glimpse a tragic betrayal.

Just his luck. The forbidden ruins lay in the same direction as the Pit.

Ash returned to the main cavern and informed Nomad the tunnels seemed safe at the moment. He handed over the wand and flask so others could wash up as well.

Finding a spot against the wall, Ash sat and brought up the spell choices he’d received upon gaining level three. He needed to pick one so he could sneak off and train. He almost missed his Bamboo Viper and Chakra forms, and now he needed to squeeze in Elder Phoenix’s Cultivation routines as well.

No rest for the wicked, Ash thought as he studied the spells choices.

Name: Flame Dart

Description: Shoots a small, fiery projectile at a target.

Max Charges: 8

Recharge Rate: 6 minutes per charge

Damage: 6-12 fire damage

Range: 75 feet

Name: Wind Step

Description: Grants the caster or an ally a burst of speed.

Max Charges: 4

Recharge Rate: 15 minutes per charge

Range: Self

Effect: Increases movement speed by 50% for 10 seconds.

Name: Frost Touch

Description: Unarmed attacks cause cold damage with every touch.

Max Charges: 3

Recharge Rate: 20 minutes per charge

Range: Physical contact

Duration: 1 minute

Damage: +1 cold damage to all physical attacks.

Name: Mass Shield

Description: Summons a shimmering shield to protect party members.

Max Charges: 2

Recharge Rate: 60 minutes per charge

Range: 50 feet

Effect: Absorbs damage equal to three times the caster’s maximum health for 15 seconds .

The spell choices for level three all had value. Once again Ash imagined himself casting fireball, even though the spell was actually a dart, but he already had a distance damage spell with Grave Diggers.

The haste spell and shield both had excellent situational uses, but Ash shouldn’t need the extra speed and he’d trained hard to not get hit, making the shield of little value. He guessed the medics might like the Mass Shield spell, though.

The Decayed Fang in Ash’s amulet slot already provided one point of necrotic damage with his attacks and adding a frost component would increase the effectiveness of his strikes and kicks. The faster he hit things the more damage he’d cause.

Ash placed his Spell Point in Frost Touch and his skin prickled.

The cavern had an eerie silence. Half the group tried to sleep, and the other half guarded the entrances. Ash’s forms didn’t create a lot of noise, but any sound would echo in the chamber. Besides, he rarely practiced in front of people and felt a little weird about it. Not to mention he needed to hide the Spirit gathering forms and Condensing Breaths Elder Phoenix had entrusted to him.

The whispers, now that he’d detected them, sat at the edge of Ash’s hearing. It would make meditation difficult, and he immediately decided to pick the northwest tunnel, opposite the one leading to the Pit.

Ash stood and strode over to Blueprint.

“Again, Shamrock?” Blueprint asked quietly. “People are going to talk.”

“You have permission to shoot them.”

“I already have that,” Blueprint responded, her face serious.

Ash’s smile faltered, his Throat chakra revealing Blueprint wasn’t joking. It made sense the military team had orders that included scenarios that authorized shooting the civilians.

Blueprint’s serious mask broke and she smiled. “Lucky for you, I’m an engineer, not a sharpshooter.”

“Brains over bullets. Now I know I picked the right tunnel.”

“What do I tell Nomad if he asks about you?”

That was a nice way of asking Ash why he wanted to enter the passage again.

“I’m practicing my fighting forms, and I don’t want to bother anyone’s sleep. I’m only heading in a hundred feet or so.”

“Roger that. Yell if you need backup.”

“Thanks, Blueprint.”

Ash quickly entered the passage. When it bent enough that no one could see him from the chamber, he stopped. He stripped down to his boxers and immediately assumed the first position which both the Bamboo and Viper styles shared. In fact, when done one after the other you ended up where you started in the very same position. Kind of like completing a circle he supposed.

Because of this symmetry, Ash had never thought it mattered which style you started with. Grandmaster Echo had impressed upon him that everything mattered. Everything.

Ash had assumed Echo exaggerated to make a point. She hadn’t.

Now Ash stood, preparing to start. The cramped tunnel would require modifications to his forms, but the Steps easily compensated for such things. Instead of moving into the gentle first Step of the Bamboo style, he began with the snapping, quick, and violent Viper Steps.

Dozens of mistakes surfaced as Ash began, but he filed them away for later. He compensated for the errors, preventing them from cascading into later Steps. Appreciation and gratitude for Grandmaster Echo filled him as he completed the Viper Steps and transitioned immediately into the Bamboo. It felt like he had started all over, as if he had only just begun his training.

In a way it felt like Ash had completed a book he loved, only to discover the story continued for another twenty books.

When Ash stepped into the last Bamboo pose, he stopped. Grandmaster Echo had wanted him to stand still for a minute in reflection before starting the forms again. This confused him as he didn’t know what he should reflect on.

Ash recalled the conversation with Grandmaster Echo. He knew it held the key to his understanding. He knew, because she’d told him.

Echo had said:

“Nothing is more important than this fact—this truth. It’s the underlying foundation of everything. Embrace it. Clutch it desperately to yourself. It’s the key to not only the Steps but to whatever destiny fate has given you.”

Echo paused for another few seconds and then spoke. “The only truth is balance.”

“Balance?”

Echo closed her eyes for a few moments before responding. “I know you don’t grasp this truth yet. If you’re lucky—if you work hard—if you’re perceptive enough—then you’ll understand. My own comprehension is hardly a week old, and I remain shaken to my core by the revelation.”

Ash came back to the present, the stone cold against his bare feet, and reflected on his Sisen’s words.

Balance. The only truth is balance.

To Ash the statement seemed over simplified and so basic it confused him. Of course balance was important. How could you fight without balance. He’d practiced finding his center of balance since he turned five.

After a minute no revelation appeared to Ash, and he spent another thirty seconds dealing with the emotions that surfaced: frustration, guilt, worthlessness, anger, and confusion.

So many emotions for a simple reflection on balance and his Bamboo Viper Steps.

No closer to the question whose answer was balance—or the understanding that would follow—Ash began the forms again, moving into the first Viper Step as Grandmaster Echo had instructed.