As I stood there, right at the threshold, it all made sense, didn't it?
Those cunning cultists had found a way to keep the dungeon beasties at bay, and of course, it was enchantnts! What else could it be? So device must be cloaking the place or sending the monsters packing. That was about as far as my imagination was willing to stretch at the mont.
Now, smack dab in front of , was the entrance to cultists' lair. No grand door, no flashy entrance—just the outline of a solid tal gate, like the bloody thing had vanished but left its shadow behind. Usual shade of black, obviously crafted from Orichalcum. Filthy rich bastards. A SINGLE KILOGRAM OF THIS STUFF COULD KEEP A LOWER HOUSEHOLD FED FOR A YEAR! And who knows how much of it they'd squandered on this setup? First, those tal pillars, and now this! Hah, pointless to dwell on it.
Maybe Stephan could scrap it later and make a pretty penny. A plan for another ti, perhaps.
But it wasn't just the tal that caught my eye. Oh no, it was that damned enchanting script again, etched all over its surface—a web of runes and symbols, now lying dormant. Probably shut down when that white shockwave hit.
Now, I was no expert in enchantnts, but I've learned the Empire's official script, Vel' Tan, for crafting magic tools. The more I looked at this ss, the more it felt like it was either derived from Vel' Tan or maybe the other way around. Ehh, not worth fussing over right now. But I could recognize a few runes here and there. That shield-like one? Definitely Aegira. The diamond-shaped rune with mirrored halves, each side reflecting the other? That's Reflectis.
The hexagonal rune with six evenly spaced lines radiating from the center? Stabilos, no doubt. And then there was one on each side of the fra, a spiral-shaped rune curling inward like a vortex. A bit off, with thinner lines than I'm used to seeing, but it had to be Absorix.
Huh, sothing that siphons mana? From the bottom of the fra, no less? HOH, did those sneaky cultists have hidden mana batteries stashed underneath? Makes sense, considering I didn't see anything else that could let this fra soak up ambient mana.
Based on what I could piece together, the whole script seed to form one massive barrier. Probably the very shield keeping those dungeon nasties out! Cracked it, didn't I? Again! Take that, you daft pile of Manaroe shit! Vel' Tan was always superior! But I'll give credit where it's due, whoever crafted this was no bumbling beginner. Oh, it does make one wonder, just how far do these cultists' tentacles reach, and who might their Patron be?
But no sense in getting your knickers in a twist now, Jade! What's done is done! Best scarper before their mates pop by, all inquisitive and botherso.
So, the final verdict? That plain old tal fra was a fortress in disguise! Hah, magic—never ceases to leave flabbergasted, even now. And there, just beyond the threshold, I could see the outline of another cavern, cramd full of webs. White, thick, everywhere! It's no wonder the spider critters were all over the place the mont this barrier crumbled.
But it does make scratch my head! What on earth is the entrance to this base doing smack dab in the middle of a spider monster's den?
Maybe they never used it, opting for those nifty portals instead? But then, what was the point of this grand protective barrier? Why not just—oh, I don't know—block it off with so great hulking iron gates or make the whole thing collapse into itself? Voilà, natural barrier!
Once again, I might be missing sothing glaringly obvious. Oh well, on to the dungeon, Jade! Off you go, step outside, please! Hehe!
I raised one clawed paw...
Erm...
I slowly turned my head and flashed a grin at the wall. Nervous, was I? And talking to walls again, Jade? Tsk, tsk, bad habit.
With a sigh, I steeled myself, blinking four tis to refresh the ol' focus. Then, with a long, serpentine neck, I peeked outside. Reconnaissance, I say! No way I was about to get caught out in the stalls again!
Ah, the place looked more like a tunnel than a cave—a bit of a geographical faux pas, really. It was rather spacious, though, all hollow and echoey, with dinsions that'd certainly make my father grin. He was always banging on about natural caves and rocks, though I never quite caught the bug myself.
The chamber stretched maybe about ten ters in diater, with a ceiling height of at least eight ters, adorned with jagged stalactites like oversized, threatening icicles, all covered in webs of course.
Despite all that webbing laced about, one glaring question nudged at my thoughts: WHERE, PRAY TELL, WERE THE BLOODY SPIDERS?
I slinked out and swatted away a particularly annoying web that dared to obstruct my view. The hues in the air, as usual, were putting on a bit of a light show, bright and flickery, but those pesky webs—ah, they were sohow …holding onto these hues, glowing faintly in my vision.
Made it a right bother to see through them, so I took to them with a vengeance—one-two, one-two! Hacking away like an overly enthusiastic lumberjack. Every ti the sticky stuff clung to my claws, I gave them a good shake. Stupid, sticky webs!
A few slashes later, sothing caught my eye. Instinctively, I slipped into stealth mode, scrunching up like a startled cat, eyes giving that reliable four-blink routine. Was it…? My gaze settled on what appeared to be a spider, but… no, not quite.
Just a few ters away lay the twisted remains of what had once been a spider—no mistaking that. Its abdon was torn open, the poor creature lying belly-up in a grotesque display, with a trail of gore that suggested it had been dragged there, perhaps after sothing had violently disemboweled it. I swallowed hard, taking in the sheer size of the thing—it was monstrous, easily six tis larger than the spiders I'd seen in the tunnel earlier. Hulking, really.
But what in blazes was it doing there, just lying about like yesterday's rubbish? Nothing seed to have feasted on it, which was odd, considering the general rule of the place seed to be "eat or be eaten." Huh.
My gaze lazily wandered about, until it landed on another distressing sight—an ominous green print sared on the wall. Naturally, my eyes couldn't help but follow the trail upwards, leading to the ceiling.
Hoh.
HOH!
Ah, of course, silly old !
I began to retreat, ever so cautiously, inch by inch, attempting a spot of humor to keep the growing dread at bay. I suspect it didn't quite work, though, because before I knew it, my pace was hastily quickening, eyes fixed on the ceiling, not daring to blink.
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Four.
Four of those ghastly creepers, the very ones that had devoured the entire spider colony with such unsettling enthusiasm. Their claws were firmly embedded in the ceiling, unmoving, watching—or rather, not watching, as they had no bloody eyes to speak of—just waiting, with a hint of those barbed tongues peeking out.
Their hideous bodies almost blended with the ceiling, which, I suppose, is why I hadn't noticed them earlier. But there it was, the hues reflecting off their shiny, carapace-like bodies, giving them away. And saving my life, again.
I edged backward into the tunnel, slowly—very slowly.
Perhaps waiting for Barn to wake up wasn't such a dreadful idea after all…
As I slipped back inside, through the dormant protection gate, fully prepared to bolt like a startled Quiliar, I froze mid-step, my blood running cold.
Another one. Inside. Crawling ever so slowly along the ceiling. And, the mont I entered, it stopped, its head twisting ever so slightly in my general direction. It had no eyes, so I had to assu, of course!
Oh, dear lord, no. No, no, no.
I swiftly tore my gaze away, heart hamring madly.
It hadn't pounced yet—perhaps it was eyeing up, trying to decide if I was more snack or sport? Oh, what do stealthy critters do best? Lurk about, no doubt, plotting their dastardly sches before springing! But it just kept creeping, inch by insidious inch, and with every agonizingly slow movent, I could feel my blood turning to ice.
What was I to do? If I bolted, it would know I'd spotted it, and that would be practically begging for a chase! No, no, no, couldn't have that.
But I had no choice.
With a breath that felt more like swallowing a brick, heart jamd firmly in my throat, I readied myself. Oh, for the love of Thalador, I had no intention of becoming this beastie's next course.
Only one option left! No turning back now.
Just ahead, I felt the tingle—Quick Dash—surging through my legs, filling them with power while greedily draining my stamina. The beast on the ceiling inched ever closer.
I started the countdown, legs coiling like springs.
Three. I hunched a little, setting my posture just right.
Two. Tail stretched out, balancing .
One. Neck craned, eyes locked on my escape route.
AND ZERO!
I was off!
I think the creeper realized I was up to sothing because, in an instant, there was an explosion of pebbles and dirt as sothing hefty crashed right where I'd just been. But I was already five ters away, darting into the dungeon. I dared a glance back—bliy, it was just its tongue that caused all that chaos! If I'd been a second slower, I'd have been a dragon skewer!
But no ti to pat myself on the back—I could almost feel all four of them snapping their heads toward in perfect, terrifying unison, just out of the corner of my eye.
Wasting no ti, I bolted with another Quick Dash, zipping through the maze of webs in one mad blur. The blasted things stuck to everywhere—horns, eyes, mouth—one na it. But did that slow down? Not a chance!
The mont my claws hit the ground, I launched into another Quick Dash, then another, blinking past the dungeon tunnel. Five tis I did it, and by the end, I was knackered, but claws crossed the distance I'd put between us would be enough.
[Quick Dash has reached level 2]
Oh, splendid—a level up! Yay!
NOW WAS NOT THE TI FOR IT!
These monsters weren't just fast; they were ridiculously fast, and much, much stronger than . I'd have no chance against even one in a fair fight, let alone FOUR!
I heard crashes behind , one after another, but no way was I going to risk a glance back. It could have been more of those tongue attacks, or who knows what, but the fact that I wasn't already digesting in their bellies or skewered by so ungodly appendage gave a shred of hope.
OH CRIKEY, OH BUGGER, OH CRIKEY, OH BUGGER!
So, I ran. Like my life depended on it—because it did! The forest of webs ended soon enough, and I could finally see the dungeon tunnels for what they were: deep browns and blacks, now free of those sticky nightmares, with only the hues of my vision lighting them up.
The attacks seed to stop, so I risked a quick peek behind . My heart nearly leapt out of my throat—it was still after , barreling down on all fours like so bloody werewolf on a mission!
I didn't think it was catching up, because it seed we were practically neck and neck in speed. But alas, it had a trick up its monstrous sleeve: a ranged attack. That grotesque maw gaped wide, and with a sickening snap, it fired off that barbed tongue of its straight at .
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
I shrieked, darting sideways like a mad hare. Yet, those wretched barbs still managed to graze my toes, sending a shiver through the scales as they hardened in defense. The tongue crashed beside , missing by a whisker.
Speed was well and good, but I knew I couldn't keep this up forever. That thing was so much larger than —naturally, it had stamina points to spare, unlike little . And dodging its infernal tongue indefinitely? Not likely.
I whipped my head forward, eyes scanning frantically for salvation. Sothing—ANYTHING! Please, not now! I wasn't keen on becoming a skewered snack. What a bloody fool I was! Why on earth did I leave that cozy little hidey-hole?
Hues danced madly in my vision—on the walls, the floor, the ceiling. But wait—huh? HUH? Just ahead, there was a small spot devoid of hues, a hole, perhaps? A HOLE! And by the looks of it, just big enough for to squeeze into! Oh, sweet rcy!
A surge of hope propelled forward, making a beeline for the opening. Another lash of that cursed tongue caught my tail, pain shooting up my spine. But I was close—so close!
YES!
I launched myself toward the hole in the wall, carried by sheer montum.
But just as my head neared the supposed escape, my eyes widened in horror. It wasn't a hole at all—just a patch of tunnel where the hues had taken a holiday. Sa black-brown stone, no escape in sight.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
But the montum was unforgiving, and before I could even gather another coherent thought, I slamd into the solid wall.
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