Chapter 46

[The 4th-floor arc was a last-minute addition included for the sake of world-building and Gwyneth's character building. It was written after I finished writing book 1 and forgot there were overlapping patches of dialogue. I apologise for the error and have fixed it.]

Old climber records described the fifth floor as an expanse of endless rolling hills, moors forever bathed in fog, and flat grasslands. All accounts started with a verdant sea welcoming new arrivals to the floor. However, when Diya passed through the gate, a grey frontier town awaited him. Buildings of grey stone and dull wood lined dirt roads. The De Lawney’s twin-shield emblem marked them all. Gwyneth donned her mask, and Diya proceeded without his coat. Its colour and texture would draw too much information.

They weaved their way through the narrow streets, avoiding guards or groups of climbers wearing the noble house’s colour. A couple of times, Gwyneth pulled him into a corner for a quick embrace until a pedestrian or group passed. Diya could feel her heart pounding through their clothes and the tension in her shoulders. It was much longer than he would’ve liked to exit the town. Gwyneth appeared unsurprised when they also found under-construction structures outside of the walls.

The FTF compass gave the pair a bearing, and they used the map to pinpoint their possible destination. Even though they couldn’t tell whether or not the De Lawneys controlled the gates in the area—Gwyneth claimed most known pathways out of the interval were under their watchful eye—the location appeared sufficiently far from the hub and sufficiently sparse.

Once the frontier town had disappeared beyond the hills and the pair were sure they had no one following them, Gwyneth removed her mask. She stuffed it in her coat pocket and released her fiery mane. Diya excitedly summoned his new coat. Ink burst from the pen’s nib and flowed over his limbs and back. It solidified into a smooth, velvety fabric on his exposed skin.

“That looks so much better,” Gwyneth said. “No extra bulk or saggy bits. I like the colour, too.” She ran her fingers along the rough black outer surface. “Is this all because of the shadow rune?”

Diya nodded. “The card I stole was too high a tier for me to use.”

“Speaking of cards, did you get a chance to sort through the loot?”

“I was too tired by the time I finished with the coat and my new spell. It's probably for the best if we build our decks together, too.”

Before picking through the cards, Diya selected spells for the journal’s blank slots. He tested Seeking Inkfire Blades first. Instead of firing a trio of bolts, the fountain pen conjured three blades. The handleless, throwing-knife-like weapons floated over Diya’s shoulder much like Seeker’s Lantern did over Gwyneth’s.

“Why won’t they fly?” Diya wondered out loud. Trying to make them shift or shoot. Instead, as he moved, they followed him.

“Maybe they need a target?” Gwyneth said.

Diya scanned his surroundings and settled on a tree. When he pointed at it, the blades shot forwards. They struck the tree trunk with dull thunks, biting three inches deep. After sitting for a couple of minutes, the knives shattered, causing minor explosions of inkfire.

“They fly a touch slower, but that’s a lot more damage,” Diya commented as they studied the impact points. The explosions had left deep gouges and several scratches on the wood. Black scorch marks left them darkened, too.

“I bet you can find decent uses for the spatial locked blades, too.”

The spell replaced Seeking Inkfire Bolts in the journal. After some thought, he left the spear and vines in their spots. The first had proven itself as a potent weapon, and Diya intended to figure out upgrades for it in the future. Meanwhile, the latter was just a tier-zero effect. However, Diya loved the utility it provided. He could use them as a whip for repositioning or disabling opponents.

The deck now had room for one tier-two card and two tier-ones. Tier-zeros would fill the remaining spots. There were a few cards Diya wanted to keep in his active and reserve decks but convinced himself not to make a decision without flipping through the new options. Gwyneth took inventory as they studied each card.

Flash and Bang (T2)
Light Sphere (T0)
Noisemaker (T0)
Quickstep (T1)
Double Jump (T1)
Burst of Speed (T1)
Shadow Grasp (T2)
Scorch Spider’s Sting (T2)
Intoxicating Rose (T2)
Dart and Chain (T1)

“This should be your tier-two,” Gwyneth said, pressing Intoxicating Rose into his hand. “You could add the rose’s essence to your ink.”

“It’s a bit passive to occupy a tier-two slot, don’t you think?” Diya asked.

“It is, but you shouldn’t underestimate the power of disorienting enemies. Your weapon and traps will both greatly benefit from it.”

“In that case, you should use Shadow Grasp and either Quick Step or Double Jump. Since long-range attacks are your bread and butter, getting away from hostiles should take priority.”

“I agree, but why Shadow Grasp? It doesn’t fit as well with Lamp.”

“It does, though,” Diya said. “Think about it. I don’t know how this woman’s soul worked, but she needed shadows to get the most out of it, right? Maybe, when in complete darkness, she needed to create shadows. It’s probably her reasoning for carrying Flash and Bang and Light Sphere.”

“Right. With Lamp constantly casting light, I’ll always have shadows around me.” Gwyneth frowned as Diya explained his point.

“Exactly! Since your lightning spells are hard to aim, you need some sort of disabling effect.”

“I can see it now,” Gwyneth said. “Lamp will create shadows around hostiles that get too close, and I can disable them with ease. Then use Quick Step or Double Jump to create distance between us while charging up a powerful lightning spell.” She nodded. “I’m sold. Do you mind if I take Dart and Chain, too? They’re made of iron. So, they’ll conduct lightning especially well.”

“Have at it,” Diya said, leaving Gwyneth to sort out her tier-zero cards.

The Haste runes on his coat already made Diya faster than most. He didn’t need Burst of Speed for their current foes. However, he loved the feel of tier-one Burst of Strength. After some thought, he assembled the rest of his deck and absorbed the cards.

Intoxicating Rose
Burst of Strength
Ensnaring Vines
Marksmanship

The four cards felt sufficient for his needs. Mole’s Claw and Climbing remained in his reserve deck for trap-making.

“I think you should switch Burst of Strength out soon,” Gwyneth said. “Your axe play is pretty devastating. However, you seem like more of a precision fighter. As you get used to the Slimeskin constructs, brute strength will most likely hinder you.”

“True, but I often need brute strength to keep foes busy. Otherwise, they might rush past me and get to you. Once you’ve improved your martial skills and can successfully keep hostiles at a distance, I’ll happily remove it from my repertoire.”

While they walked across the hills, valleys and fields, Diya guided Gwyneth through different forms and stances. He didn’t expect her to slay her opponents but evade and defend. Not every target would be immobile like the slime lord, after all. She needed to throw her opponents off balance before striking with her spirit. If that failed, she had Shadow Grasp and Quickstep. Unfortunately, they came with usage limits, and relying solely on them would get her killed.

After heading north from a De Lawney fort, the pair found a stretch devoid of Climbers. The uneven terrain required slow descents and careful ascension. Diya soon discovered that not carrying a hook or clamp had been a big mistake. Whipping the tentacle to latch onto a branch or ledge was easy. When it was a matter of scaling a tall rockface using a rope, he’d have to throw it a long distance. The stretched-out Slimeskin vine was much too light for that purpose.

Refusing to climb freehand all the way to the top, Diya used a mixture of whip slinging and hunting for handholds. He found himself loving the Stick command. The more he used it, the better he got at localising the part of the Slimeskin he wanted to make adhesive. When he got thirsty, Diya wrapped the tentacle around his waist and stuck either end of it to the stone. It held him in place following the Stiffen command, letting him use his hands freely.

Once at the top, Diya extended a long rope from the pen and attached it to a nearby boulder. Gwyneth wrapped it around her waist, and Diya sucked the ink back into its home. The vine retracted, pulling his companion to the top. They were both all smiles after the little manoeuvre. Traversal had just gotten a whole lot easier.

The guidebook spoke of little goblinoid creatures that threw rocks at people early in the morning. They’d occasionally roll boulders down at them as well. If they killed a target, the creatures would climb down and carry the carcass away. The guidebook claimed that they travelled in small groups and were a moderate threat to the unaware. Diya expected a tribal society similar to the lizardmen. When they spotted a pair in loincloths carrying clubs, his hypothesis proved correct.

White, red and yellow paint covered their faces, torsos and arms. The rest of them—including their backs—was covered in thick-matted hair. The green, brown and grey colouration would make it easy for them to blend in with the bushy, rock-covered terrain that they called their home. During their approach, Diya especially worried about the critters’ long, pointed ears. He hoped they didn’t come with a heightened sense of hearing. It would ruin the element of surprise.

If he were with Alexander and company, Diya would’ve had them split up. He favoured pincer attacks as they always made the targets panic. However, he didn’t trust Gwyneth to hold her own in case there were more of them hiding nearby. So, the pair took a different approach. First, she added lightning to her bladed staff. As expected, the sound of the spell activating alerted the little monsters. So, Diya burst out of the bushes and lashed one with his vines.

“Harden,” Diya whispered just when the five-foot length of ink made contact with the target. It curved under the centrifugal force, wrapping itself around the monster before stiffening. “Stick.” And just like that, the creature was trapped. He couldn’t be happier. Not all beasts would be that easy, but it was good to know that his experiment succeeded. “Your turn, Gwyn.”

When Gwyneth charged out of the bushes, the other hairy critter turned tail and ran. Diya summoned another ink vine and used it like a whip. He missed the neck but managed to catch the creature around the wrist. Diya tugged it backwards and ran past the monster to block its escape path. The hairy little hairball’s apple-sized eyes widened as it looked up at him. After judging him as an impossible target, it ran in the opposite direction, straight at Gwyneth, the club raised over its head.

It came as no surprise when her first thrust missed. Gwyneth’s arm muscles weren’t accustomed to the weight and form. She used the move Diya had taught her earlier and shifted her weight to her back leg before sweeping the spear towards it. The swing caught the beast in the side and threw it off balance. Gwyneth surprised Diya then by moving the lamp in front of the creature and having it fall on top of it. Lightning arced from the spirit’s metallic surfaces, making the beast spasm. Gwyneth finished it off by planting her electrified spearhead in its neck.

Before she could relax, Diya ran at the trapped monster—he named it a gremlin for convenience—and stabbed the sticky tentacle with his pen. Once it had absorbed the ink, freeing the creature, he kicked it towards Gwyneth.

“You arsehole,” she hissed before thrusting her staff at the gremlin. The creature blocked the attack using its club, surprising both of them with its strength. It lunged at Gwyneth, but she shot backwards with Quickstep, putting the lamp between her and her hairy opponent.

“Very good!” Diya exclaimed. “It’s shorter than you. Use your reach to keep it at a distance and look for an opening.”

When the gremlin tried to escape, Diya blocked its path. After the third attempt, it gave up and focused all of its rage and desperation on Gwyneth. She proved to have better stamina than the little monster and didn’t slow down as the fight dragged out. In the end, she managed to land a glancing blow on the creature’s right arm. The electrified spearhead stunned it momentarily, and Gwyneth jumped on the opening, planting her weapon in the creature’s stomach.

“You’re an arsehole,” she repeated, falling onto her bottom and panting.

“How do you feel about the bladed staff now?” Diya asked.

Gwyneth glared at him, her brows furrowed. “Better,” she replied. “But you said we’d take one each. That was a dick move.”

“Fights are often like that, though,” Diya said. “You don’t have a trained climbing party with upgraded spirits defending you anymore. It’s just the two of us. We might run into large groups, and I might be unable to hold off all of them at once. You might end up facing multiple opponents at once, or one after another. Trust me, Gwyn, this is good practice.”

“Since when are you shortening my name?” Gwyneth asked, raising an eyebrow. She used the staff to push herself back onto her feet.

“It’s less of a mouthful. I feel like a dick saying Gwyneth every time. Is it going to be a problem?”

She shook her head. “No one’s done that before. I’m just surprised more than anything. Do I have to come up with a nickname for you?”

“If you want.” Diya laughed, taking a sip from his waterskin. “Hydrate if you want to. We’re going to fight more of these critters and see if there is a village near here. Maybe we’ll stumble into a hidden gate.”

Gwyneth sighed, rolled her eyes, and had a drink. Diya couldn’t help but feel amused by her disdain. He wondered whether Baba had felt the same when training and pushing him. It was a good thing she didn’t argue or resist his instruction. He’d been a much worse student than her.

[Sorry for the late chapter. Things have been hectic in the house since my dog gave birth yesterday. I'm sleep-deprived and strung out. Will make up with bonus chapters in the coming week]