A Sodlier's Life - 482 - They Grow Up So Fast

Chapter 482: They Grow Up So Fast

Kyrenic was the first to join the table, his eyes travelling back and forth between us, trying to figure out what was going on. He poured himself a mug of warm beer. “I have some thoughts on how we can handle a few of the deep worms,” Kyrenic said while pointedly making eye contact with me.

I reached into my belt and pulled out a pouch, and poured the essences from worms into a bowl. “Alhar and I spent the night thinning them out. There are more out there, but they were getting harder to attract. Our effort should help the locals.” Kyrenic took the bowl to examine the essences more closely.

“And you said you would make them some fire potions,” Alhar said, taking a pull on his mug.

My face creased in a grimace. I had said that while we drank, but I only half heartily meant it. I had used half of my hellhound ash on the first batch, and would hate to use it all on these simple flame burst potions. There were more powerful recipes for explosive flaming potions.

Kyrenic was already nodding at our harvest and my generosity. “Would the guild purchase some weak explosive fire potions?” I asked Guildmaster Avanti. He was currently bringing us breakfast, and I could hear Maveith’s footfalls coming down the stairs. I guessed the aromas of food had drifted to his room as he was sniffing the air audibly.

The Guildmaster had served us the ale when we returned and had been privy to our conversation and knew how effective the fire potions were against the deep worms. “I can give you a voucher for redemption in a larger city if we don’t have the funds on hand. A gold for each potion?” He said after some consideration. The bounty on the worms was two gold coins each, and he had said the payout would likely drain the coffers at his hall. Avanti wanted to wait till mid-morning before riding out to confirm the kills before paying the bounty.

I nodded slowly. “Agreed. I will give them to you before we leave for the dungeon.” It was a reasonable price since they were not really good for much more than starting a campfire—or igniting something flammable. It would probably only be slightly more than the ingredients were worth. The sacrifices I made to do the noble thing—was Kyrenic’s closeness influencing me?

I took back the bowl of essences, pulling ten of the minor coordination essences and extending them to Alhar. He hadn’t asked for any of the harvest and seemed slightly surprised at the offering. “Do you not want your share?” I asked, amused. He opened his hand, and I released spheres as they clinked together. I rolled a minor coordination essence to Kyrenic, who nodded his thanks. I had actually thought he would have rejected it, but it would look petty to ask for it back.

Maveith plopped into a chair with a thud, the old wood creaking under his weight as he began to eat. I excused myself and retreated to my room, where I immersed myself in potion-making. Familiar with the process, I worked steadily for just over an hour, carefully stretching the catalysts to craft twenty-two potions. It would be up to the adventurers who used them not to get themselves killed.

The sun had just cleared the horizon, and everyone looked well-fed in my absence. I went to the clerk's window to deposit the coins and get my voucher for nineteen gold and eighty silver. The Empire tax was ten percent in guild halls, and apparently, Avanti followed the law.

Everyone seemed ready for the dungeon, and our group had six members—the maximum allowed. The table had been talking with Avanti about the dungeon while I had completed my alchemy. They looked confident and probably had a right to be.

I paused in front of Alhar. If I hadn’t fought with Alhar last night and let him see the collector, I probably would have asked him to stay behind. “Let's go,” I said, and the group eagerly got to their feet. They must be a little crazy to want to go fight monsters, but I guessed the reward of essences and treasures overrode their self-preservation.

As we walked in the early morning sun, a light fog drifted from the south. Alhar had the same thought as I did. “Strange, the weather isn’t cold enough for fog.”

“It’s not coming from the direction of the dungeon,” I observed. “We will continue as planned.” As we walked, my mind raced to think of creatures that could create fog. Everything that came to mind was only active at night. As the light fog rolled past us, it didn’t seem magical in nature either.

“A fissure,” Kyrenic announced. We all looked at him as we walked, and he explained, “I believe there's a fissure to the south leading to the Endless Dark, which is releasing cold, but humid air. That’s what’s causing the fog. We should investigate it either after the dungeon—or before.”

Of course, there was always something. “Maybe after the dungeon, or we can just tell the Guildmaster your suspicions,” I said non-committingly.

The walk to the dungeon took fifteen minutes. A sawmill powered by a waterwheel was near the entrance, and the guild building was right beside it. The riverbed had little flow, and the mill was still. We entered the guild building, finding only stale air inside. Two side rooms each had half a dozen dusty bunks, and the main room featured a large fireplace filled with ash. Four large round tables were spaced out in the room, but only about a dozen chairs were placed around them. I guessed someone had burned some chairs to stay warm.

“Evie, Baelira, and Maveith, here is a coordination essence from last night’s hunt,” I said, handing them out. The remaining harvest included three minor coordination essences, a major coordination essence, and three minor strength essences. I consumed the major essence and set aside a minor strength and coordination essence for Ginger. The two minor coordination and two minor strength essences would be for my son when he is older. I placed them in the pouch Maveith had made for me.

“Are we ready?” I asked. We headed into the dungeon.

The entry room was made of smooth black stone and looked like it had been scrubbed clean of graffiti multiple times. The light in this dungeon came from stone braziers built into the walls. Bright flames leapt high into the air from them, and I reached my hand into the flame. Evie jumped, but only smiled because the Guildmaster hadn’t told them this bit of lore. The flames felt cool against my black spider silk gloves. They were fueled by aether, not oil.

Everyone felt the need to test the flames before we were ready to move on. A short stone corridor opened into a broad forest. Small fire pits dotted the woods, emitting more light than should be possible. Shapes could be seen moving in front of the fires. Each fire pit had three or four small green goblins around it. At the far side of the chamber was the goblin chieftain with two warriors and a shaman guarding the entrance to the next room.

“Unlike wild goblins, these greens will attack without hesitation. Evie?” I looked at the teenager. “Are you ready for this?” Evie nodded enthusiastically. It would be Evie’s first time killing a sapient being, albeit a feral one. Was I rushing her into this? We moved from the protected corridor into the woodlands. A war cry from nearby had three goblins rushing through the trees at us. They didn’t stand a chance.

Evie confidently squared her shoulders and moved her right hand in slashing motions like conducting an orchestra. Limbs were severed and blood jetted from stumps. Deep slashes appeared across the torso, reaching the organs. All three dismembered goblins collapsed mid-run. Evie stood there, stunned—we all did.

“Evie, are you okay?” I asked. She nodded numbly at the devastation she had caused. The goblins were unarmored and had relatively fragile bone structure. Still, I couldn’t believe how effective the attack had been. Kyrenic leaned in and started whispering to Evie, trying to reassure her. I probably should do that as well but my analytical mind was wondering if I could have survived the attack Evie had just unleashed. My aether shield amulet would have prevented the first attack, and my armor would have stopped the wind blades. But my exposed face and unarmored biceps would have been susceptible.

I placed my hand on Evie’s shoulder. “You don’t have to do that again if you don’t want to.” I then collected the essences from the goblins, letting Kyrenic and Maveith help Evie’s shock.

Baelira handled the next group, and then Maveith took the following as we moved deeper. Surprisingly, there were few shadows for the goblins to hide in. When we reached the far side of the chamber, the chief remained seated, staring into the flames. He wore thick furs and had noticeable muscle definition on his green skin. The two warriors stood behind him in support but didn’t attack. The shaman was so old that his green skin had grayed, and pockmarks dotted his wrinkled features. The shaman only had two spells: an aether shield he would use on the chief and a weak flame dart spell.

“I am ready,” Evie said determinedly. She stepped forward and used her wind blades again. The goblin chief looked up, and all I could see in his eyes was fatigue. As the first blades struck, the four moved to counter. But even at thirty feet, Evie’s attack was deadly. Only the chief managed to get close, and a lucky slash nearly decapitated him when he reached ten feet away. I patted Evie’s shoulder again as she inhaled and exhaled deeply, the adrenaline coursing through her system.

“I…I get the chest?” She asked when she calmed, some excitement creeping into her hopeful voice.

I looked at the others before agreeing to reward Evie. A warped black wood chest had appeared where the chieftain had been sitting. Evie didn’t rush to open it, but approached somberly and cautiously. I collected the essences while Evie claimed the prize. “Two minor essences and a lot of copper coins,” she said, looking up.

“What are the essences?” Baelira asked.

Evie scrunched her face in thought. “Fortitude and endurance,” I confirmed. Soft red and dark blue spheres were correctly appraised before she nodded, indicating she could keep them. From what I read, two lesser essences were the common reward from this room, with one usually being physical and the other mental. We only claimed lesser essences from the other goblins, and I divided the haul, keeping three minor dexterity for myself—one for Ginger and two for my son.

The next room was even easier for our group. The ceiling looked like a river of flames, brightly illuminating the large room with a rocky mountain in the center. The circumference was about a quarter of a mile. At the top of the mountain, a ladder led to a safe room in the ceiling. The ladder looked odd atop the mountain as it ascended into the river of flame.

Small llamas roamed the rocks, but they weren't the real challenge here. Somewhere, a big mountain lion prowled the slopes. According to my readings, it used only two tactics: it would either attack openly or wait until the last person was climbing the ladder before striking.

There were dozens of crags in the mountain for the llamas and the large cat to hide, but that didn’t matter much with my earth speak ability. I had promised to bring back some wool, so we wandered the mountain and collected the small llamas. They were barely larger than a wolf, but their dense coat and expert navigation of the rocks enabled them to escape predators. However, with Maveith’s bow, escape was futile.

When I found the cat huddled in a deep crevice, I handled the beast myself with Heartseeker and dragged out the carcass. The cat was over two hundred pounds, and Maveith expertly skinned it after the essence was harvested.

The cat gave a major quickness essence, while the llamas gave more minor dexterity essences. Reluctantly, I gave Evie the quickness essence so she could fortify her attribute. The rest of the minor essences were divided among us, with each of us getting two.

The chest was located at the base of the ladder and was a simple box with an image of a leaping cat burned into it. There was some artistic value in the box and it should be worth at least a gold in a city. Opening the chest revealed a set of intricate copper miniatures and no coins. It was terrible luck, as these were pieces to an ancient strategy board game. No doubt the polished copper representations of titans, elves, humans, orcs and dwarves were worth a lot of gold, but I would have preferred a major essence, which was the most common reward.

I was the first to ascend the stone ladder. To reach the safe room, we had to pass through the river of flames on the ceiling, and it took a moment for my mind to ignore the danger. The safe room was a large oval with a single fire pit in the center, providing light, while two springs fed a basin on one side. The fire pit in the center was surrounded by seating and emitted intense heat, unlike the other flames we had encountered so far. It was intended for cooking in the safe area, not that we needed any rest or food. A heavy stone door was the only exit from the room and led to a wide corridor that was the next room.

Once everyone was in the room, I focused on observing Evie. She wandered around the room before settling on one of the stone benches around the fire. “Do you want me to skin the cat and llamas?” Maveith asked.

We had been in the dungeon just over an hour, so I agreed and emptied my space. I added some spices so we could roast some meat while we waited for Maveith to take care of the eight llamas and the large cat. Alhar helped Maveith, while Kyrenic and I cubed the meat and speared them on skewers.

The intense heat quickly cooked the meat. It was not fatty, but formed a nice crust on the outside. I found the loin cut tender and the meat slightly sweet. It reminded me of venison but lacked the gamey taste. My senses also told me the meat was saturated with aether. The effect was harder to notice in the dungeon since the air itself was already denser than on the surface. Liking the taste of llama, I helped them process the kills and added some of the tender cuts to my space.

After the extended break, I took the skinned pelts into my space and signaled that it was Maveith’s turn to lead. “The third room is just a corridor with five alcoves on each side. Stone statues, about the size of a man, stand inside them, and when you stand between the statues, both come to life. You’re best suited for this room with your hammer.”

Maveith nodded eagerly, activating his sentinel gear as he headed for the door. For its enormous size and stone make-up, it swung cleanly on hidden hinges. The corridor beyond was lit by sconces between each alcove. The carved statues appeared to be human warriors frozen in time. Each one was unique in the armor depicted and in the ethnic features of the face. Maveith didn’t waste time, stepping between the first pair.

The animated stone moved stiffly and awkwardly. Maveith’s hammer shattered the first one with a single upward strike from his runic hammer. The stone these guardians were made of was less durable than the gargoyles. Maveith grunted as he shattered each statue and moved quickly to the end of the corridor, finishing all but the last statue in a single blow. The final statue, he removed the head, but it continued to fight, raising its stone sword. Maveith punched out with his shield and was shocked when the statue shattered from the force of the blow.

With runic weapons, the stone guardians were extremely easy. A modest blue-gray stone chest appeared between the last alcoves as Maveith removed his helm. He face dripped sweat, but he was breathing easily. A wide grin formed on his face as he looked at back at us. He had clearly enjoyed himself.

“Maveith! Can I open your chest?” Evie shouted.

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