Runeguard 023

From a distance, I watched curiously as the Paragons began their summonings. It was my first time observing other players using spell scrolls, and despite the Paragons’ sudden dislike for me, I was fascinated by the process.

The spells were long ones, and for a time, the ante-chamber was filled with the sonorous voices of the elemental mages. Unconsciously, I leaned forward while I listened intently, trying to understand the words the four vocalized—any of the words—but they slipped quicksilver fast out of my grasp.

Disappointed, I returned to my study of the casters. The four seemed almost… possessed. Their bodies were locked motionless and only their eyes moved as they sounded out words they did not understand. They appeared to have no awareness of their surroundings.

That looks dangerous. I pursed my lips. “Adi, what happens if a caster is attacked while reading a scroll?”

“The spellcasting is disrupted and the scroll is destroyed.” 

Beth’s spell took form first. The air in front of her shimmered and turned hazy with heat. Wisps of smoke appeared. The smoke grew and thickened until a dense black cloud, the size of a small ball, hovered in the air. A moment later, flames burst outwards.

The red-haired mage stepped back startled. Concerned for her safety, I took a step forward. Then stopped. In the aftermath of the explosion, a living flame danced in the air, the shape and size of a halfling man.

Following quickly on its heels, three more humanoid forms—one of rock and sand, another of swirling water, and the last of billowing clouds shot through with lightning—materialized in front of Gavin, Lauren, and Jorge.

The lesser elementals. Focusing on Beth’s fire elemental, I examined the creature.

You have examined a fire elemental and have perceived more of its nature. Your target is a level 10 lesser fire elemental.

Impressive, I thought. The four elementals nearly doubled our party’s strength. “How long will the summons last?” I asked, walking forward to join the others.

“Five minutes,” Bayan said, not even turning away from his study of his guildmates’ summons to address me. “Let’s not waste a second of it. Dace, you bring up the rear.”

My lips thinned, but I didn’t say anything and only watched in silence as the others entered ahead of me.

✵ ✵ ✵

The dungeon’s final chamber was green. 

Every inch of the large open floor was covered in vibrant grass while the walls and roof were wreathed in vines. 

I was the last man into the chamber. The Paragons had already spread out in a line.

“Send the elementals in,” Bayan was saying. “Flush out the boss.”

The summons waded through the knee-high grass. In the rear of the party’s formation, I drew my weapons and readied myself to cast lesser heal. I had been demoted to the position of party healer and team’s reserve again.

I didn’t agree with Bayan’s chosen tactics for the battle, but a team could only have one leader. Trying to show him up or force my way into the fight would only needlessly disrupt the party-dynamic further and likely get someone killed. So as much as I seethed, I swallowed my pride and followed the battle plan. 

It was to avoid petty politics like this that I had avoided joining a party in the first place, but to tackle this dungeon, I had no choice but to join the Paragons. Right now, I need them more than they need me, I thought. But that will not always be the case.

My eyes narrowed as I spotted the grass near the rock elemental shiver. I opened my mouth to warn the others, but Gavin had seen the movement too. “Found it!” he crowed.

“Send the elementals in,” Bayan ordered.

As the other summons converged on the spot, and the Paragons stepped warily back, an undulating mass of green scales burst out of the grass and darted towards the rock elemental.

Serpent, I thought, examining the creature.

You have examined a dungeon creature and have partially perceived its nature. Your target is a level 15 giant swamp serpent.

 The fifteen-foot-long boss wrapped itself around the earth elemental and squeezed. The much smaller creature was completely engulfed by the serpent’s coils. Only its head was free of entanglement. 

It did not stay that way for long, though, as the green-eyed snake’s head darted forward and bit down on the elemental’s head. 

But the dungeon boss had chosen its target poorly.

Instead of shearing off Gavin’s minion’s head as it probably expected, the swamp serpent found its fangs stuck fast in the creature of rock and sand. Its attempts to strangle the elemental seemed to be likewise failing. Despite the boss’ straining coils, its grasp did not seem to be tightening any further on its prey.

I snorted. Good luck trying to strangle rock, beastie.

The administrator in charge of this dungeon didn’t appear particularly bright. “Adi, why in hell did the dungeon administrator send that boss against the rock elemental?”

“Dungeon administrators don’t have full control over a dungeon’s creatures. They can only define the dungeon’s layout and the location of its various denizens.”

I grunted. Alright, so maybe it wasn’t the administrator’s fault that the serpent had chosen the wrong target. Still. The administrator-in-charge, I felt, could have done better with the dungeon.

I refocused my attention on the battle. By this time, the other elementals had converged on the swamp serpent. The air elemental stood a few yards back and lobbed charged balls of static at the serpent, while the fire elemental laid hands to the snake’s coils and sent fire writhing into it, and the water elemental flowed into the creature’s still gaping open maw. Is it trying to drown it? I wondered.

“Launch ranged attacks, now,” Bayan ordered. Lowering his own staff, the guildmaster sent a psi bolt racing towards the serpent.

The other four Paragons followed suit, and soon a plethora of magical projectiles were hurtling down on the hapless dungeon boss.

The swamp serpent is doomed, I thought. 

Turning away, I ran my gaze across the rest of the chamber and kept watch for any more hidden movement. The Paragons had matters with the boss well in hand, and with their elementals fulfilling the roles of tanks, they had little need for me.

✵ ✵ ✵

A few minutes later, the battle ended. Despite my vigilance, the dungeon threw no more surprises at us.

Dungeon Notice 1050-B-04

Congratulations Paragons + 1, your party has completed Dungeon 1050-B. Claim your rewards before exiting the dungeon.

I stared at the System message in bemusement. Given my lack of participation in the dungeon finale, it all felt somewhat anticlimactic.

The Paragons felt differently obviously. 

Whooping in joy, they congratulated each other. The battle, it seemed, had restored their confidence in themselves and their abilities.

Bayan’s gaze slid to mine. Raising his chin, he stared at me with an indecipherable expression. I didn’t look away. 

So what is he trying to tell me? I wondered. That the Paragons were the top dogs and didn’t need me? Because if that is what he thought, he was not as smart as I gave him credit for. One battle, one triumph, no matter how well fought, meant little. 

Gods, people can be stupid. 

With a shake of my head, I broke off the staring contest with Bayan and headed towards one of the newly-materialized bronze chests. This was the moment I had been waiting for. This was why I was in the dungeon. It was not for some foolhardy notion to prove I was the best, but for the rewards I hoped to find. 

Rewards that I expected would ease my way in this world. 

Rewards that would not just help me survive but allow me to thrive.

My excitement building, despite the byplay with the Paragon leader, I reached out to the chest. I sensed the others approach their own chests before my awareness of them disappeared altogether. I had attention only for my own rewards.

I closed my eyes as my hand touched the chest. Then waited in breathless anticipation.

A System message flickered across my vision.

Dace Tolman, you have the choice between 2 rewards for completing the dungeon: A Swampy Place.

Option 1: A healer Class Stone and a minor healing wisp spellbook.

Option 2: A guardian Class Stone.

My eyes snapped open, and my brows drew down in consternation. I had not expected a choice. Still, it was not a choice, I had to think overly hard about.

You have acquired a guardian Class Stone.

Item: Guardian Class Stone

Tier: 2. Description: grants a player access to the skills of the guardian Class. Human compatible: yes. 

Warning: this item cannot be sold or traded. If not used within ten hours of acquisition, this item will be recycled into the System for: 2 gold.

Congratulations, Dace Tolman! You have discovered your first tier 2 Class.

I smiled. Finally. I was tempted to slot the Class Stone there and then, but heeding the voice of caution, I decided to wait for a moment of privacy first. I still had no idea what form Nightstalker’s reward would take, and I was not willing to risk revealing its nature to the Paragons.

The Paragons displayed none of my own caution. Turning away from my chest, I found each of the other five surrounded by a silver aura. Something was happening to them, but I wasn’t sure what. “Adi, what is going on?” 

“The silver halo around your companions is a side-effect of a tier two Node installation.”

My eyes widened in surprise. “So, they all received tier two Essences,” I murmured, more to myself than Adi. She answered, nonetheless.

“All except the one named Bayan. If you look closely at the halo surrounding him, you will notice it is double-ringed. That is indicative of a Class Stone installation.”

I peered more closely at Bayan. Adi was right. Two faint, but clearly identifiable, silver bubbles surrounded him. I frowned. “Does the halo-effect happen every time a Node is installed?”

“It does, Dace.”

That meant my own previous Essence installations would have been visible to any observers too. I was doubly glad now that I had chosen not to slot my Class Stone immediately. Better to do it in the privacy of my room.

Sitting down, cross-legged, I settled myself to wait for the Paragons to be done.

It was nearly a full minute before awareness returned to the others. In soft murmurs and whispered voices, the Paragons exchanged words with each other. I waited in silence. I doubted any of them would tell me what they had been rewarded with.

Beth was the first to turn my way. Her face carefully expressionless, she asked, “Happy with your reward, Dace?”

I nodded. “I am. You?”

A small smile stole across the redhead’s face. “Definitely.”

Before she could say more, Bayan interrupted. “Alright people, we are done here. It must be late in the day already. If we don’t want to be caught outside the town when night falls, we better get a move on.” He glanced around. “Anyone see the exit?”

“There it is,” said Jorge, pointing to a partially concealed staircase set in the far wall of the chamber.

Bayan swung in the direction the youth pointed, “Let’s go then,” he ordered.

Rising to my feet, I followed on their heels.