A Soldier's Life - 172 - Safety in Numbers

Chapter 172 Safety in Numbers

I was anticipating a grand reunion with the company. Maveith would let me do all the talking to explain our journey so far in the dungeon. Mateo first entered the safe room and flamboyantly announced, “We found some wandering creatures in the dungeon. They smell like an ogre’s ass but are good people.”

This drew Castile’s attention, and Adrian and Blaze all looked up. Blaze had a massive grin on seeing us, and Castile smirked happily, not quite allowing herself to smile. Adrian looked mildly surprised but happy. I challenged Mateo’s statement, “I think it was us who found you. And the only one in the company who has ever smelled like an ogre’s ass is you.” There was a chorus of laughs at the truth of my statement and a short debate on who discovered who since Konstantin smelled me before I announced myself.

Adrian spoke seriously once the levity died. “Brutus and the Scholar didn’t make it?”

“We got separated when we entered the dungeon,” I indicated to Maveith, “He was struck by a specter and lost contact with the Scholar. We appeared on the lower levels of the dungeon.” Castile looked confused.

Adrian, who hated dungeons, asked, “Lower levels? That is not normal. Then again, nothing about this dungeon is normal. I have never heard of any dungeon this large before or with such a variety of beasts.”

Konstantin interrupted the reunion to get me to report the important information, “Tell them about the summoner and the others.”

I faced Castile, who was clearly happy we had joined them, “We saw Flavius, Kolm, Linus, Donte, Brutus, and the Scholar. We couldn’t reunite with them as an earth drake was in the room between us.”

Maveith leaned in, trying to help, “It was a really big earth drake, over sixty feet from snout to tail tip.”

I confirmed, “Yes, it was huge. But I think they are just a few rooms back. Brutus told us that the Scholar and he exited the dungeon, hoping to reenter near another group. They found the bodies of Remus, Cyrus, and Soren torn apart before they reentered.” Castile frowned at the news. Adrian looked like she had been slapped with the sting of the news of more dead. “The Scholar noticed bloody footprints leading back into the dungeon. He thinks an elf made them.”

There was a pregnant pause in the room before Konstantin voiced what he was thinking, “If the summoner is in the dungeon, he may be using goblins to disrupt rooms.”

Unable to hold my curiosity in any longer, I asked, “You saw a goblin?”

“Twice. Both times while we were fighting in rooms. Some angry spiders were chasing it the first time, and the second time, a winter wolf.” Konstantin uttered, frustrated. “We were occupied both times, and the same goblin managed to get away.” It appeared the little goblin got around. I immediately took a liking to it if it could cause Konstantin such anxiety.

Blaze asked me, hopeful, “Did you see any signs of the other group? Lucien, Pavel, Lirkin and Benito?” Pavel and Blaze were both company archers and worked frequently together.

I didn’t have any good news for him, though. Looking him in the eye, I noticed Blaze’s quiver only had two arrows. “No, but I am sure we will find them,” I reassured him. “There is a lot of dungeon to explore,” Konstantin grunted at the truth of my statement.

As the mood turned a little somber, Castile announced to everyone, “Prepare a good meal for the return of our lost companions.” She motioned for me to join her and Adrian.

I paused momentarily to place a large number of purple vitelotte potatoes on the stone, smiling as I said, “My contribution to the meal.” From what I saw, it looked like they had been living off of meat and nuts. The potatoes got greedy stares from everyone as they were added to Firth’s preparation.

Castile now had a genuine smile as we stepped into the corridor directed at me. “I am happy you survived, Eryk. How many rooms did you clear? And tell me about the ring.”

The shiny ring of sustenance was a bit flashy and easy to spot. I held it up, considering, “We came across it in a room. I think it allows me to get by with less food and sleep.”

Adrian arched an eyebrow, surprised, “That sounds useful. And the goliath’s ring?” I should have realized the artifacts were extremely noticeable. I would have to start wearing gloves regularly, or it would be an advertisement that I was wearing runic rings since they were never tarnished.

“He is less affected by cold wearing it,” I stated simply.

Castile nodded in understanding, “They are probably a ring of sustenance and a ring of warmth. Both are rare dungeon finds. We have had our share of luck in the dungeon as well.” She said, addressing Adrian. She focused on me again, “And the number of rooms you visited?”

“Our focus was on trying to find the others. When we learned we were in the dungeon’s lower levels, we tried to find stairs going up. Our biggest challenge was getting around the drake at the top of the stairs.” I said. I didn’t want to lie to either Adrian or Castile, but it looked like I had no other choice. I was probably showing a little discomfort the more I was cornered for the truth.

Castile seemed to notice and rescued me, “How did you find us? Did you find one of the messages we left behind?”

“Yes, a few rooms back, we found the safe room. It led to the cocoon webbing room. At first, I thought the cocoons were victims of the spiders.” Adrian scoffed at the thought. “Still, those spiders nearly trapped Maveith and I,” I admitted.

“Weavers. They are called weavers, Eryk.” She looked at Adrian, “We had seven to handle the room, and I was able to restrain three of the weavers. With just two of you, you making it through is remarkable.”

“Their silk sacs are extremely valuable on the market, making an incredible thread for durable garments. They were mentioned in the Scholar’s books. Do you know how to reach Flavius and the others?” Adrian pressed.

“Yes, I think they were in the direction of the sand room,” I said, acting like I was thinking. I was obviously unconvincing as Castile’s eyes narrowed.

Castile moved in a little closer between Adrian and me. “The sand scarabs are dangerous. We couldn’t get them to surface to fight them.” I felt uncomfortable under her assessing gaze, “Do you remember who I told you you could trust, Eryk?”

My mind skipped back to the conversation. It felt like a lifetime ago. “Felix, Adrian, Mateo, and Blaze,” I recalled softly. Castile nodded.

Adrian looked a little shocked that I knew of their shared conspiracy to leave the Empire, “Felix is dead, Eryk. That leaves Adrian,” she nodded in his direction of her trust in him, “Mateo and Blaze.”

I could tell she wanted me to be honest with her. I was still having trouble sharing. Even Maveith only knew half of my secrets. I relented, “We killed the scarabs. After killing the first two, the others rushed us into the corridor, leaving the sand. Beyond the scarab room, there is a room with two harpies. The others should be just beyond that room in a safe room. That is what they told us, anyway.” Admitting I could have joined the others had Adrian eyeing me suspiciously.

“Good,” Castile said, relaxing with the information she wanted.

Adrian was not as quite content, “How did you kill the scarabs under the sand? And the harpies, for that matter?” He didn’t have a chance to ask why I didn’t join the others.

Castile gave Adrian a cold look, “We can discuss this at another time. Adrian, we will reconnect with the others after the shadow bear returns. Prepare the men with the good news.” As Adrian left, I peeked into the room to see a number of people talking with Maveith. Could Maveith keep my secrets under the scrutiny of the others?

Castile interrupted my concern, and asked me softly, “How many rooms did you clear?”

I tore my eyes from Konstantin and Maveith talking animatedly. It was hard to focus, but I thought about it, “Twelve different rooms, maybe.” I was not counting the number of times we cleared rooms more than once.

“Twelve?” Castile looked more than a little shocked. “We conquered seven rooms on the first floor and found six safe rooms.” She seemed to be considering me again in a different light—either as a threat or an ally.

“Is the summoner a threat? Can he summon creatures inside the dungeon?” I focused her thoughts on the other threat.

Castile looked me in the eyes for a long time before speaking, “I don’t know. If he can summon creatures in the dungeon, he has access to more aether, being so close to the ley line.” She sighed. “If he is in here, hopefully, he is struggling just as much as we are.”

“You seemed to be doing well,” I stated, realizing my mistake. We had lost two men in the city,  four men in the dungeon, and four were unaccounted for. I added quickly, “I mean, we are surviving well here. This dungeon could also be a major source of food for Sobral.”

Castile looked ill. “No, we are not surviving in here, Eryk. We got lucky that the shadow bear dropped a healing potion each time we killed it. Firth nearly lost his arm a few days ago, and Mateo got mauled by the shadow bear yesterday; either could have died. Although the essences boost morale, we put our lives on the line every other day just to eat.” I guessed they had not been as fortunate as us with as much variety of food in the rooms as we had. But then again, we visited twice as many rooms as they did, and they had seven people to feed.

“Did you know all the bears drop healing potions? At least that has been our experience.” I stated.

“Not all the time. You must have gotten lucky. We have killed six bears and received four healing potions,” Castile said heavily. I was guessing maybe the dungeon was pulling back on rewards because Castile’s group had nine people in it. This dungeon was definitely aware of us.

“If the summoner is in the dungeon, are we going to flee? He wouldn’t be outside to stop us.” I asked.

Castile’s eyes betrayed her as she was thinking the same thing. There were four men of the company we would potentially be abandoning if we left and tried to outrun the summoner. “If he is in the dungeon, I assume he is checking the exit periodically for tracks. We could get lucky and get a head start or ambush him when he exits. It will also depend on how many specters are waiting for us near the entrance.”

Castile added, “Adrian and I have discussed our chances of making it through the city to safety. If we try and have to retreat back into the dungeon, we will all be separated again.” I nodded, as these were a number of things I had not yet considered. “I would also like to confirm the fate of Benito, Pavel, Lucien, and Lirkin.” The burden of leadership was in her tone.

I nodded in understanding, “Just let me know what you need of me.”

Castile smirked, “Oh, you can be sure of that.”

We moved to join the others, and Mateo was complaining jokingly about the food, “We really need to find Lirkin. This dungeon fare needs a professional cook to make it taste edible.” Firth elbowed him as he had cooked this particular meal.

I was handed a bowl of purple mashed potatoes with charred bear meat chunks. On the side were some bitter round toasted nuts. I ate it without complaint while listening to the conversations. “So, Eryk. How did you get your armor melted?” Wylie asked.

I chewed some nuts while I spoke, “We encountered a female demon. She threw a fireball at me, and I failed to dodge.” I shrugged like it was not a big deal. Everyone went silent, and I pulled out an apple and started munching on it to cleanse my palette. I don’t know if they were more shocked at the apple or my fabrication about a demon. I tossed an apple to each of them in turn. I was careful not to reveal too much from my dimensional space, but it felt like the group needed a little boost in morale.

“I will never ask you to use your amulet again if you have a second apple for me,” Mateo pleaded after eating it, core and all. I tossed him a second apple. I could see Castile reassessing me. The mood was jovial as we cleaned and prepared to sleep.

Soon, everyone made to get some rest. The stone shelves and floor were packed with the nine of us. I was surprised Castile had not requested the dreamscape amulet. I had been expecting it. I utilized it for sword practice. The amulet worked with the ring, so I only needed two hours of sleep, so I was up quickly, even before Konstantin.

Firth raised his head as I moved but went back to sleep, seeing it was just me. I nodded to Blaze to get some sleep. Konstantin was supposed to relieve him, but he eagerly took the extra sleep and found a cozy spot on the floor.

Nine of us, soon to be fifteen. With so many, the dungeon rooms should not be as challenging.