Glimpses 19 +20

Note- We are now 10 glimpses ahead or the Royal Road version. I'll be switching to one flash fiction every Wednesday now.

Additional Note - for the week of October 20th I'll be on a family trip to Paris France. If anyone wants to suggest ideas of what I could do, let me know. I'm unsure if I will be able to update during that week.

Hemlock -19

The complaints from the royal court sat unopened on Hemlock’s desk. Imagining that every one in the whole stack of them was potentially filled with poisons, hidden needles, curses, and strongly worded warnings was enough to brighten his day.  Ignoring the archaic physical letters, he reached out to the enchanted pyramid that connected to the guild offices.

Honored Helmlock, while advancing the contract with Dungeon A7 is impressive, we have no applicants interested in taking over the guildmaster position for you at your location. Unfortunately, there are no openings at our branch for you.

Best of Luck.

Sincerely,  Guildmaster Cal of Dungeon DV9

​

That application was a gamble. This was all a long shot. That statistical miracle of a girl drawing Haz'el Ri’s attention finally gave him a chance to leave this pit of a city. A punishment that had held no timeline, and now he had an accomplishment that would allow him to enter his trial for his fourth evolution and get him out of this posting.

The crystal on his deck blinked orange. With about a hundred inquiries out, Hemlock quickly accessed the call.

“Pigibald Randidly Hemlock, do you know the depth of shit you’ve piled upon me!” Guild mistress Thorne yelled through the connection.

“You promised me you’d refrain from using my middle name when I chose not to fight you on the three artifacts we owned upon the divorce.”

“The court is trying to claim we’ve broken the charter and want reparations. They are demanding that all scrying of the Ascendant Games stop now.”

“I really did get them good? The Dungeon spirits aren’t part of the charter and can do what they want. Their pesky information restrictions and embargo on quality goods. They’re lucky that revealing the existence of half-step potions has been one of the only bits of information leaked so far.”

“We’ll. They’re claiming you purposely used that loophole and want you questioned. They’re saying that those months you were in there were used to undermine the charter. I wouldn’t be shocked if Maekus Von Trell shows up on your doorstep.”

So that is what all these letters would be about. “I played no part in planning the Games.I will gladly pass any examination by Maekus and his furry crew.”

“Then what were you doing those months in the dungeon?” Thorne demanded.

Thorne’s passion was what he loved most about her. Even when things didn’t work out, there was no not loving her. “Arranging dimensional contracts and donating my power.”

“Oh.” She answered softly.

“Goodnight, Thorne.”

Hemlock ended the connection. Admitting he’d given up so much for this was hard. It would take years for his body and soul to recover. A blow from an unevolved could kill, now. This would be worth it. It had to be.

​

Gustov-20

Bea, here, walking next to him! Gustov disciplined himself not to stare at the beauty. He activated [Burial], but focused it on his emotions. This was another one of the theoretical aspects. This probably wasn’t the best situation to test it out in, but it would be better than staring like a love-struck wooze. He very suddenly needed to poop.

“Oh.” Time was short.

The dig boy! Their guide was hanging back. Tess probably out-leveled the kid, but he was the only one with significant experience in Old Bones. “Cole, is there a place where I can go to the bathroom?”

“This is the dungeon, not a stroll in the park. You should have gone back at the gym. Go find a wall to piss on.”

Gustov danced a little in place, as it was all that was holding it in.

“I see. Didn’t want to embarrass yourself in front of the girls.” Cole looked to Tess and lingered a little long on Bea with an extra sigh. “It’s unlikely you’ll be attacked even though we passed the start. Head back a little the way we came and make it quick.”

The shadows of the tunnel made the rest of the group disappear into the dark after a few steps, even as each had a personal glow stone to light the way.  The darkness was a relief as Gustov dropped trow and squatted.

It was not a relief as the shambler lunged into the light. The modified undead, though it lacked skills, the rotting corpses were strong, quick, and had razor-sharp claws.

[Burial] wasn’t up. Shit. Gustov shit himself, lucky to have his pants already down and in position. It’s not like it took much. Mortification took over at the idea of how they’d find his body.

A body lunged even quicker than the shambler into his little bit of light, intercepting the attack.

Even in the loose second-hand clothing, Gustov could see perfection hiding in the curves of the clothes.  Bea held the attacking zombie, one-handed, her fingers implanted around its sternum, keeping it at arms length. That didn’t stop the shambler’s deadly arms swinging in. With her free hand, Bea caught them in a blur, ripping off and tossing one, then the other, away like they were chicken legs to be pulled off.

“Inadequate. Lady White would never create such flawed beings. Function without beauty is a waste.” She proceeded to rip the rest of the shambler into chunks like it was a paper doll.

Gustov hastily pulled up his pants. “Bea… I…”

“Your use of necromantic skills attracts the undead. Like a flower attracts a pollinator. Our group already has enough extra attention on it. We need to go now to help the others. It would be embarrassing for House White to suffer any harm under these circumstances. Please stay with the group if you choose to use your skills.”

Gustov stumbled after her toward the sounds of combat, unable to shake the mortification gripping him.