《The Runesman》


 Prologue

    In the small Kingdom of Guleress, a long forgotten dwarven fortress was discovered by miners, deep in the mountains. After several years of looting it was sealed off, until, with the dungeons overflowing, the king declared it a prison. Ordering the mages guild to construct a magical one way portal, he began secretly dumping the excess prisoners there. But like any good secret, people found out and began to exploit it.


    At first it was the nobles, paying off the kings guards to look the other way while sending their political rivals or other undesirables in to vanish without a trace. As the years passed it became common practice and for the right price you could send anyone to the dungeon under the mountain, never to return. Mages were hired to enchant tracking collars so that their enemy, safe on the outside could watch thru viewing mirrors as their victims withered and died in the caves. Eventually it became a local custom to watch whenever it was announced that someone was being sentenced to the dungeon under the mountain.


    Magic users of every kind were summoned and even those that studied the darker arts had a place in the dungeon under the mountain. They began delving deeper than even the dwarves had gone. Expanding the dungeon to epic proportions, they then began summoning monsters and creating constructs to haunt the dungeon¡¯s halls. Mages specialized with earth work were in charge of expanding the dungeon, engineers and enchanters added traps and other dangers. Summoners, necromancers and beast trappers filled the dungeon with creatures of all kinds. With every new batch of criminals they would change the dungeon¡¯s layout slightly ensuring that none had knowledge of what lay below.


    At some point it became commonplace to bet on the condemned and as the years went on it was slowly turning into a death sport even more gruesome than the gladiatorial games were. Great warriors came to the king begging permission to test their might in the dungeon. Groups of heros flocked to the capital from across the land, placing all their worldly belongings into the hands of the local adventurers guild to be paid out to the first survivor that completed the dungeon and escaped. Many went in but none ever returned, and as they died, the death games popularity grew. Now all but the poorest of homes had a magical viewing mirror and many spent their evening meals watching men and women get butchered by the denizens and traps of the dungeon under the mountain.


    The portal to the dungeon was moved to the center of town so that the entire population could watch as the prisoners were marched down the road from the castle''s dungeons. Greedy merchants lined this road, offering their wares to the condemned at exorbitant prices getting every copper they had before entering the portal. This portion of road that the merchants gathered became known as death row. These merchants sold every type of item imaginable from swords and armor to survival gear and food, even foreign slavers were given permission to build a stall. The first building on the road was a gate house where the guards would strip the prisoner naked passing off all their items to the buying merchants. By royal decree these merchants were required to give fair value to the prisoners for their goods.


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    Because the condemned could only spend money they had on them at the time of arrest. It became commonplace to risk the thieves of the city and wear your riches on your person at all times, just in case one of your enemies found a way to get you imprisoned. Though slaves were illegal in the Kingdom of Guleress the slave traders were allowed to place a single stall in death row allowing prisoners with enough coin to purchase extra bodies to enter with them. These slaves wore special collars that were magically tied to an owner''s bracelet. The slaves couldn''t walk more than 30 yards from their owners of their own volition without being magically yanked back as if on a leash. The same went for orders, collared slaves couldn''t disobey a direct order from their masters. This form of legal slavery made being attractive in the lower classes less desirable since only the most beautiful slaves were taken to death row¡¯s slave trading stall.


    To force the condemned to go deeper into the dungeon and not just loiter near the entrance, mages placed spells on the walls. If any individual or party lingered for more than 24 hours in any one spot the walls would slowly begin to close in on them, and if they didn¡¯t go deeper they would be crushed within an hour. Certain floors and many of the dead end tunnels were exempted from this trap and several of the more open floors had been colonised by the early prisoners.


    These rough and often lawless settlements have to fend for themselves and rarely aid new prisoners unless they have goods or skills to trade. Food and metal weapons have become the currency of the dungeon since only some of the dungeons fungus and beasts are safely edible. It''s said there is an end to the dungeon if your skilled enough to find it. The mages guild even confirm that the final room has a teleport pad that will return any who activate it to the platform in the center of town. None have even come close to finding it, not even the great heroes who still flock to Guleress in hopes of being the one to collect the enormous fortune for completing the dungeon.


    The portal room is said to be the home to the final guardian, one of the first dungeon mages. Valter the lich lord who now rules the lowest floors of the dungeon. Choosing the life of a lich rather than dying of old age Valter swore an oath to his king. He swore upon his undying soul to never attempt to leave the bowels of the dungeon and in exchange the mages of the kingdom would allow him to live out the rest of his days in peace at the bottom of the dungeon. This oath was magically bound with a portion of his soul to an amulet that the lich can never remove, if he attempts to remove the amulet or leave the dungeon his soul will be destroyed completely with no hope of escape.


    Centuries have passed since the dungeon came to be and the mages who operate the dungeon have mastered their craft. The dungeon under the mountain is the deadliest and most watched place in the known world. Now even the neighboring kingdoms send their prisoners to the dungeon. Long columns of barred wagons full of prisoners head to the capital of Guleress each month, to be march down death row and sent into the depths of the dungeon.

 Chapter 1

    Hello, my name is Llond, and, if you¡¯re reading this, I am most likely dead and you''re in a similar predicament. If that is the case and I have died, I hope that my story is at the least entertaining in your final moments of life. Being stuck down here and having my handy enchanters book I figured I should start keeping a journal.


    Master Bertol told me every good runesman keeps a journal tracking every success and failure for later study and contemplation. I don''t think this was the use he meant for my journal but writing makes me feel a little better. It helps me forget where I am, like I''m a watcher in my favorite tavern recording the story of a condemned man rather than being the condemned man.


    It all started last week, when I met her. Well no, that¡¯s not exactly correct, I suppose if I''m keeping a journal I should start at the true beginning.


    Three years ago my parents died, not from an accident but from the Dungeon. They were accused of stealing from a noble, it wasn''t true of course but since the nobles run the courts it was over quickly. My parents were the owners of a shop that sold antiques.


    One day the Baron of some chunk of land beyond the cities walls came to them demanding that the pair of lions flanking our homes walk be sold and delivered to his estate. The lions in question were an old family heirloom that had been passed down from father to son for several generations. The Baron, while riding by in his carriage had stopped and demanded to have them. Naturally when my parents refused the baron became furious. The next day both my mother and father were hauled to the king¡¯s prison, the nobles son in law tried my parents for stealing the statues and awarded him our home and all belongings.


    My parents cries of protest were ignored and they were deemed the worst kind of thieves and were sentenced to join the very next wave of prisoners going to the dungeon later that day. I had only enough time to pass the coins I had been saving for mothers birthday present and give them a hug before they were marched away. They had just enough coin to purchase a small basket of food and an old rusty short sword. They were marched down death row in nothing but a loin cloth and the few items they were able to purchase.


    Our neighbor Master Bertol took me in when they came for my parents, he was an old friend of my fathers from their adventuring days, that was how father got into the antiques business to begin with. Master Bertol and I watched my parents in his viewing mirror. They didn¡¯t even make it to the second floor before they were cut down by other prisoners. The prisoners that went before had hidden in the first hallway branching off from the main one. They jumped out and cut my father down before he could react. The two men then raped my mother before killing her too.


    Those men were killed shortly after. The man looting my father had a dagger stuck thru his ear by a goblin that snuck up on him from behind. The man who was still having his way with mother¡¯s corpse was stabbed in the back several times by more goblins with sharpened sticks. The goblins took everything and hauled off the bodies as well, to their cook pots I imagine.


    I blamed the baron for my parents gruesome death and spent all my free time making plans to kill him or somehow get him arrested and thrown into the dungeon too. It happened a year later, though not of my doing. One of the baron''s own son¡¯s had him arrested for treason, he was taken away in the dead of night so he had even less on him than my father had. He died quickly, probably to the same goblin band that took my parents bodies away. I bet all the money I had on him not making it to the second floor and won a small purse of gold for my troubles. It wasn''t enough to make up for the death of my parents but it was a start.


    It''s been two years since the Barons death, the pain is still there and I sometimes have nightmares of my parents traversing the dungeon but they come less often now. Master Bertol had taken me in on the condition I help him around the shop, he was a Runesman. He sold the enchanted objects that he made to the rich and powerful. Runes are a type of magic that anyone can learn but few can master. It takes a deft hand to carve the complex runes into an object, since the slightest error can have catastrophic effects most don''t pursue the path. In the year between my parents death and the Barons sentencing I didn''t do much around the shop, mostly sweeping and re-arranging display cases.


    On my 17th birthday Master Bertol gave me this enchanted book of endless pages and offered to take me on as an apprentice if I wished, now that my vengeance was complete. Not knowing what else to do, I agreed to become his apprentice. There on the table after my birthday dinner was cleaned away he taught me my first runes. The core runes for fire, earth, water and air, they are the building blocks that make up all of rune magic.


    I spent the next year tracing these runes on scratch paper until I could draw them perfectly blindfolded. Once copied properly while blindfolded, I was then allowed to copy them into my journal. After mastering the 4 core runes and copying them into my book with all the notes I had taken during his lessons I was finally granted the choice of a true rune to learn. Master Bertol told me to start small and offered to teach me either a rune of protection or the rune of unending drink both being fairly simple and safe variations of the earth and water runes.


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    I chose the protection rune since rings and amulets that can protect you from harm are always in high demand. Upon mastering the rune of minor protection I was finally allowed to have it in my book. After that rather than teaching me a new rune he started teaching me about materials. He taught me that all materials hold magic in them at their very core and if you tried to draw too much power from that core it would fail. Failure usually meant destruction of the item and depending on the rune you were carving it can have dramatic effects, including injury or death for the runesman as well.


    Finally on my 18th birthday after months of memorization he finally told me I was ready to start scribing runes for real, not just copying them on paper. Master Bertol handed me a finely wrapped box and with a great smile he urged me to open it. Too small to be another book I excitedly tore off the wrappings and was stunned when the lamps light glinted off the silver object in the box. It was a beautifully crafted silver Runesmans scribe. For the past year I had been using a bronze Runesmans scribe specifically for apprentices which only allowed one to write on paper. Marvels in their own right due to never running out of ink and able to write on nearly any surface they are still simple toys in comparison to a true Runesmans scribe.


    Runesmans scribes come in many flavors, most true Runesmen¡¯s scribes can write or carve what you wish on nearly any surface though the highest ranks of tools are made of silver and gold. The only objects that a silver Runesmans scribe can¡¯t write on is some of the rarest metals and gems in the world which only a gold scribe can work safely. Most master Runesmen never own a gold scribe unless they get a job where they are asked to use said rare material and must get one to complete it. Many never even acquire a silver one let alone gold, this gift is so much more than I could have ever hoped for.


    It must have cost him a fortune, even if he did all the work in making it himself. The six layers of pure silver sheets which were covered on both sides in tiny runes then layered and shaped into a scribe would still cost several hundred gold coins each to acquire. It was too great a gift for a lowly apprentice like me to have. When I said as much he laughed and told me how he and my father had discussed me becoming his apprentice long before they had been taken. My parents had been giving him coin to procure a gold scribe once I was accepted to the mages college. Since they were taken a decade before they had saved enough for a gold scribe, Master Bertol had continued adding to the savings and had enough funds to make my scribe with silver.


    Carefully withdrawing it from the box I held it up in wonder examining each visible rune in awe. Laughing at my gentleness with the tool he instructed me in it''s activation, silver and gold scribes were bound magically to its owner. Being nearly indestructible and only usable by the owner there was no reason to steal them, making the scribe one of the safest yet most valuable objects a runesman can own.


    Binding it to me was quite painful, I had to cut my palm open with the sharp tip and smear my blood all over the outside. I also had to remove a small cap on the end and fill a reservoir with blood as well. After filling the reservoir and reseating the cap the tool became hot in my hands, he ordered me to hold it tight in my injured palm until the magic was done.


    Being right handed it was in my right palm that I gripped the scribe. I felt a sudden searing pain as the magic branded my hand but it soon faded with the light and heat. Willing my hand to open I could see many tiny runes faintly glowing in my palm which faded with the light of the scribes magic.


    "Happy birthday Runesman Llond" master Bertol said clapping me on the shoulder with a broad smile.


    "I''m a runesman?" I asked surprised at his announcement.


    "Well no, you''re still an apprentice, but that scribe is the only tool you will need to become a master runesman and you may never have the need to get a gold one. Most runesman spend years saving to acquire their silver scribe so you''re already ahead of your peers".


    With my new silver scribe Master Bertol began to let me practice on a box of junk jewelry he had acquired from a jeweler''s apprentice and even allowed me to sell the successful pieces. I had a small basket in his display window labeled apprentice pieces. Though he informed me that once they sold I would be responsible for obtaining my own things to enchant.


    That box had been the rest of my birthday gift, now that I was making some coin I had to learn how to barter for what I needed in order to become a true runesman. I made quick friends with many of the local jewelers apprentices and made arrangements to purchase all of their successful practice pieces in exchange for putting my minor protection rune on some of their best work.


    I didn''t focus entirely on jewelry, though it did make for the best income. Master Bertol also instructed me on the placement of runes into clothing. Adding the protection rune in the proper way to the soles of a pair of shoes before it was assembled would increase the life of said shoes several years before ever beginning to show wear.


    Within months I had an entire set of work clothes all enhanced with my protection rune as well as most of my other clothing. I even made a deal with the cobbler''s apprentice to place runes on the shoes for his final cobbler test. This trade got me a finely crafted pair of boots tailored especially for me.


    The next rune I began to study was a water rune used for making objects that would always be full, such as water skins or drinking cups. This one was far more complicated and took a lot more time to master, there was a ton of math involved to ensure your cup never overflowed but remained full.


    Several of the arcing lines of the water rune acted as measurements that determined the volume that would be produced. I had all the notes for the rune, guides to help me in calculating how much water would be kept and when the rune would stop gathering water in the object. The rune hadn''t been scribed in my journal yet since I hadn''t perfected it before meeting her.

 Chapter 2

    She was beautiful, only a year or two younger than I was. She came in with her father to procure an enchanted something from Master Bertol. It was a big hush hush secrete and Master Bertol wouldn¡¯t even let me look at the object. Her name was Danalise and I showed her around the shop while they talked in Master Bertol¡¯s waiting room. I guided her through the tables explaining what things did when she pointed.


    We wandered the tables chatting, her pointing out things that she deemed pretty and I would explain its properties. Eventually she asked about what I did for master Bertol and I showed her my work. I explained how my parents were cheated and thrown into the dungeon and that master Bertol was an old family friend taking me on as an apprentice Runesman. After my explanation she asked to see my work and so I showed her.


    She picked out my best piece right away, it was a small amulet, also the best piece from my friend Ranan the apprentice jeweler a few shops down the street. I had worked hard intending to save it for the crafters festival next month. The amulet was by far my best work, I had expanded on the protection rune improving its properties slightly as well as making it a backup. After your usual enchantments faded it would kick in to be a final line of defense.


    It was in the shape of a small locket, the runes were scribed into the inside of the locket and an insert covered them so it didn''t seem to be an enchanted object at all. The wearer could easily place images of family or their love inside and claim that it was a keepsake. She liked it soo much that I gave it to her, I couldn''t help it, her smile was so nice and I could always make another one. After helping her put it on I was awarded with a kiss on the cheek and fishing for another I also gave her a water ring.


    It was a failure of sorts, I had intended for it to be worn on a necklace and when in need of a drink you would place it on your finger, after being activated a steady stream of water was supposed to squirt out from an impression in the ring. The ring had an additional loop added at my request so that it could stay on the necklace and still be worn for a drink. The rune I used was supposed to pull moisture from the air turning it into water for drinking but it wasn¡¯t powerful enough and only made condensation build up on the ring. It would work if you were in dire need of a drink but you could only lick the condensation off it''s surface while wearing it.


    It was a simple silver band but she liked it so it was also added to her necklace to sit next to the small locket. This time after helping her get the necklace back on I was awarded with a hug. This hug happened at the exact moment that Master Bertol and Danalise¡¯s father came into the room. A sharp reprimand from her father ended the hug quickly and she obediently moved to stand at his side, her father glaring at me as she did.


    They finished their business quickly, the nobleman paying Master Bertol for his work and then they left. Her father shot daggers at me every chance he got until they left the building. I was kind of relieved when they had finally gone, I couldn''t figure out why the man was so angry over a simple hug.


    Once they had gone Master Bertol smacked me in the back of the head, he had never hit me before. As I turned to ask why he had done that I was bombarded with many names, a dolt, idiot, stupid and may other more colorful variations. Still confused since I had done nothing I voiced my disagreement and he finally calmed and explained.


    "That man is a Duke, he¡¯s Duke Gervais to be exact, second cousin to the king and the man in charge of death row. He is the last man anyone wants to get on the bad side of since he will send you into the dungeons quicker than you can blink".


    "You''ll be lucky if there isn''t guards beating down my door by dinner time, get your satchel and keep your tools on you at all times. Since you''re considered a mage, if you''re taken you can keep your tools if you''re sent to the dungeon. It''s probably a good idea for you to start thinking of that now anyway. You are of majority now and can easily be imprisoned for any minor offense".


    Weeks past with no guards and my worries had begun to fade, Master Bertol still kept on me to keep my tools with me just in case but I eventually decided that I was tired of looking over my shoulder.  Duke Gervais wasn''t coming for me or he would have already. That decision was the biggest mistake of my life. It was only a few days until the festival and I had to visit Ranan to get more pieces, especially since my best piece had been given away to Danalise.


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    Halfway to the jewelry shop I was grabbed and drug into an alley, they beat me pretty good though I was lucky to not get seriously injured, I had on nearly half of the pieces I had made, as well as all of my clothing being protected. The thugs didn''t know that or they would have searched me better. After beating me senseless they only took my coin purse and ran. Climbing to my feet and shuffling to the main street I was stopped by the city watch. Ignoring my complaints about having just been mugged they arrested me for disturbing the peace and hauled me off to jail.


    I sat in jail all afternoon, no one would listen to me and they refused to tell my master where I was. My worst fears were realized when Duke Gervais strolled into the jail house. I''ll never forget that meeting, he is a very odd man, scary but odd all the same. He paced for several moments in front of my cell, stopping suddenly he holds up a finger and says.


    "You are a baker".


    Confused I replied, "no sir I''m a runesman, I''ve never baked in my life. Though I did try once to make a pie for my mother, it didn''t turn out so well, I''m most definitely not a baker".


    "You ARE a BAKER he says again glaring at me through the bars, and you''ve just baked the greatest cake you''ve ever made. After placing it on the counter, you go to get your loved ones to show it off".


    He began pacing again before continuing.


    "Upon returning, with friends and family you arrive to the horror of rats. Rats eating your masterpiece, climbing all over it with their grubby little paws".


    "What do you do"? He asked turning to face me with a look of pure rage. The anger on his face took me by surprise, so much so that I took an involuntary step back in my cell and was glad at that moment that the bars of my cell separated us.


    "What do you do"? He repeated, stepping closer and pointing a finger at me.


    "You kill them all" he said quietly, a smile appearing on his face.


    "They are rats after all, no one misses a dead rat, especially when it has been pawing your masterpiece".


    Having finished his rant he strolled out of the jail tossing a coin purse to the jailor, I couldn''t help but think that it looked a lot like my coin purse that those thugs had taken.


    I''m not stupid, I got the metaphor, to him were all rats and even though nothing happened, in his mind I spoiled his perfect daughter. I didn''t even hug Danalise back, I had just stood there dumbfounded that I had made a girl happy enough to hug me in the first place. If I had known this was where I''d end up I would have at least hugged her back, maybe even grabbed her ass, something to at least deserve to be mugged and tossed in a cell.


    The next morning Master Bertol found me, still stuck in the cell. He had a flyer with him, he didn''t speak until I had taken it and read its contents. It was a list, it was THE list, the list of those who were scheduled to walk death row at the festival. The festival that takes place tomorrow.


    "I''m only 19 I don''t deserve this"! I cried aloud, thumping my head on the bars, the flyer falling from my hands.


    "I know my boy, I know" Bertol said, patting my hand as I clasped the bars.


    "I already talked to the magister in charge of this, he said there was nothing he could do since it was a direct order from the duke. I''m going to get your book and scribe, since you''re technically a mage you should be aloud to bring them with you".


    "You might be able to survive if you band with some of the others going in. Find someone strong and offer to enchant their equipment for protection, it''s the only way you might survive. I will get your satchel to you as they take you down death row". With a final pat on my hands he kissed my forehead and was gone.


    I spent the rest of that day and into the evening fantasizing about Danalise mostly, though a few other girls I had seen during my short time living with Bertol made appearances as well. Mostly I thought of all the missed opportunities, I could have done so much with my life but, due to a jealous noblemen my life once again was crushed just like when my parents were sent into the dungeon.


    I''m not sure what I can do even if Master Bertol is able to get me my book and scribe, I could add some minor protection to what, the loincloths we are given, protected from a knee to the groin that¡¯s about all that will do. There¡¯s also the water rune I have nearly memorized, with a little trial and error I could probably make a rock that sweats water so at least I wouldn¡¯t die of dehydration or contaminated water. With the core fire rune in my book I suppose I might be able to light something on fire enough to cook maybe but that¡¯s about as useful as the core runes might be to me in the dungeon.


    I thought about a lot of things, all wishful thinking I think but it helped to keep my mind away from what I knew was coming. I¡¯ve watched several times as the prisoners were slaughtered while betting on the outcome in the tavern with friends. Now those friends are probably going to be betting on when I will die, I''m amazed I¡¯ve lasted long enough to sit and write what I have thus far.


    Well I should probably get on with the story or something might find me before I finish and that would be a shame.

 Chapter 3

    I was awakened in the usual way you would expect for a prisoner, a boot to the stomach. It took several moments to drag myself off the cold, hard, cell floor and stand so the guard could shackle me and lead me out of the guardhouse. The time had finally come, they led me out and down the street towards death row. Adding me to a line of other prisoners headed to the same place I looked back at the guard house that had kept me these last 2 days and was glad to be gone. I was so stupid, I wish for the safety of that cold dark cell every time I lay down to sleep now.


    We marched down the streets towards the beginning of death row to the shouts and jeers of an already large crowd. You would think they had better things to do at dawn than harassing doomed men but apparently they had decided this was more important. I was hit with no less than three pieces of rotten produce and at least 2 rocks by the time we made it to the large guard house that marked the start of death row. It took dozens of guards to keep the mob back while we were brought into the house one by one.


    I had already soiled my clothes by the time it was my turn to enter the guard house. I remember hoping that it wouldn¡¯t drop the price I would get for the minor enchanted garments. The guard pushed me thru the door and halted me in front of a large wooden table, behind which sat two older men with stuffy looking official garb. They ordered me to remove all items from my person, money and jewelry into a bowl on the table and all my clothing in a pile on the floor and to place any enchanted objects on the table next to the bowl.


    It makes me laugh even now, remembering the look on their faces as I stripped and placed each article of clothing on the table next to the bowl. Standing there naked in front of two old men was quite humiliating, not to mention the cold draft made my balls want to climb up into my stomach even though I was cupping them to hide my nakedness.


    ¡°Where did you get these boy?¡± The man asks, a bit of anger in his tone.


    ¡°They are mine sir¡± I said in reply. ¡°They are my work clothes, I wear them every day. I only have two such sets so they aren''t laundered every day but the runes of protection should ensure that they have several more years in them I assure you¡­¡±


    ¡°Don''t lie to me boy, there¡¯s no way the likes of you would have clothing like this. Answer me thief, WHO did you steal these items?¡± he demanded pounding his fist on the table.


    ¡°Well I purchased the clothes from good tailor Alwen¡¯s apprentice. The runes I added myself, I am Master Bertol''s apprentice, why wouldn¡¯t every piece of clothing I own be enchanted. All the jewelry in the bowl is enchanted as well. All items have a rune of minor protection on them, the clothing is protected from damage but the rings and amulets protect the wearer.¡±


    With a grunt of annoyance the older gentleman at the table pointed to a corner. ¡°Stand there¡±.


    Standing in the corner didn''t help cut the chill but at least I wasn''t marched away without a copper to my name.


    "Sargent!" the first man snapped.


    "Go fetch Master Bertol, if this is his apprentice I''d imagine he is nearby."


    Calling to another guard they ordered all my things to be placed on the ground and the next prisoner to be led into the room. I stood there while they processed 3 more individuals before the guard returned with Master Bertol in tow. He looked exhausted clutching a satchel to his chest, he must have not slept all night by the looks of his disheveled state. He tried to rush up to me but the guards grabbed him and made him wait by the door until the current man was processed. The man they were interviewing was handed a small purse with a few coppers in it and shoved towards the rear exit by the guard.


    ¡°Master Bertol I presume?¡± the man at the table spoke.


    ¡°Yes sir¡± Bertol said, bobbing his head.


    ¡°Was this your apprentice Master Bertol?¡± He asked pointing at me, still nude, and shivering, standing in the corner.


    ¡°Yes he is my apprentice¡± Bertol replied.


    ¡°Was.¡± the man corrected him. ¡°The boy is now a condemned criminal. For the crime of umm¡­¡± the man shuffles papers around on his desk. ¡°Ah, here it is. He is accused of assaulting a noble and was found guilty so, no sir he is no longer your apprentice.¡±


    ¡°I was hugged by the duke''s daughter!¡± I cried out interrupting the man. ¡°If there¡¯s anyone guilty of assault it''s the duke, his men beat me in an alley and the duke paid the guard there with MY coin purse.¡± I accuse pointing to the guard who had been my jailor over the last few days.


    ¡°Nonsense!¡± the second man said, scoffing at my accusations. ¡°The duke is an honorable man of the city he would never stoop to such acts.¡±


    ¡°Enough!¡± the first man shouted.


    ¡±Master Bertol, please evaluate the items on the floor here and give us your best estimate on a fair market value, remember that falsifying fair value is a crime punishable by your own trip down death row.¡±


    With a reluctant nod, master Bertol sighed and began going through all my items evaluating each piece, only glancing at me when he came to my wet pants and undergarments. Once finished, he pulled out a small pocket abacus and after doing some math announced.


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    ¡°42 silver and 3 coppers is what this would sell for in my shop as apprentice work.¡±


    ¡°Very good then¡± the old man said, here you are boy 21 silver.


    After handing me the silver pouch I was ushered towards the door and had nearly been shoved thru when Master Bertol yelled


    ¡°Wait! By rights as an apprentice Runesman he is considered a mage and according to tradition mages are allowed to bring in the tools of their trade. I have Llond¡¯s Satchel with his journal and scribe.¡±


    ¡°A mage is only allowed a single spell and their wand not their personal spellbook.¡± the man behind the desk said frowning at Master Bertol.


    ¡°Well that¡¯s good then because Llond has only mastered a single spell, the rune of protection.¡± Master Bertol said gesturing to the pile of clothes on the floor beside him. ¡°Also this scribe is a runesmans weapon, much like a wand or a staff is for a mage, it is also bound to him so is worthless to anyone other than him.¡±


    ¡°Let me see.¡± the man said reaching out for the satchel.


    Master Bertol handed it over and the man raised his arm up ending the bag, dumping both my journal and silver scribe onto the table. After looking in to ensure there are no hidden pockets, he flipped through the first few pages of my book stopping to look intently at the pages of notes and my single mastered rune. Picking up the scribe he looked it over and after attempting to write with it dropped it in the sack and handed it with the book to a guard.


    ¡°Sargent!¡± he snapped. ¡°What is the going rate of a sword and shield in the row?¡±


    Thinking for a moment the guard replied, ¡°It would be 15 silver for a sword, shield and sack similar to that one.¡±


    ¡°Very well.¡± the man said, holding out a hand and looking at me expectantly,. If you wish to take your satchel with you it will be 15 silver.


    With a sigh I dug into my coin purse and after paying him, I was left with only 5 silvers. After draping the satchel over myself so that it''s covering my nakedness I was shoved roughly towards the door.


    I hear Master Bertol yell, ¡°Llond do not forget to read your notes once your thru, with your knowledge you should be able to puzzle out how to use fire on stones in the dungeon.¡±


    Any further aid was cut off as the door slammed shut behind me and I was guided towards the shouting merchants of death row. Stopping at the first booth they handed me a loincloth free of charge and I happily tied it on to further cover my nether regions from the gawking crowd.


    I quickly bypassed the arms merchants, though I did stop and pay 2 silvers for a pair of sandals that fit snugly and laced all the way up the calf to just below the knee. From my memory of watching others going into the dungeon, they always have a hard time when running or fighting barefoot so I feel it''s a good investment.


    Next I picked up a water skin and a couple packets of travel rations. With food, drink and a sturdy pair of shoes I was officially broke and the guard hurried me past all the other vendors. The final vendor before the gate was the slave pens. Not truly pens really just a long chain between two columns with lines of beautiful naked people shackled along its length. With an auctioneer shouting while some of the more wealthy prisoners sat on benches bidding.


    I was halted across from the slave pens while awaiting my turn to go through the gate. Watching the auctions I was surprised to see one prisoner buying up half of the people there. They were all amazingly beautiful, it''s always been surprising to me that people would throw such beauty away in the dungeon simply for entertainment.


    For some reason the masses enjoy watching attractive scantily clad people be butchered in the dungeon better than ugly or normal looking people. Every one of them, man and woman alike were statuesque in appearance like they were sculpted by an artist''s hand to be the perfect combination of athleticism and beauty rolled into one.


    The slaves for the most part are all bread for this, I''ve always felt sorry for them, they are mostly uneducated though they know the common tongue, any foreign prisoners who purchase them have to learn simple commands in our language. The slaves are bread and taught only to fight from birth. At the age of 18 they are sent to death row with only the most beautiful and skilled of each generation staying to be used as breeding stock for the next. It must be a truly horrible life but right at that moment, I wished I had the coin left to purchase even one of them. Any aid, even just company in death would be better than going in there alone.


    Once the man was out of coin the slaver carried a silver bracelet, touching it to each of the newly purchased slaves collars. Once they were all bound the slaves were released to their new owner, the slaver handing the man his bracelet. After putting it on the man was marched over to the gate and once they clamped on his viewing collar they immediately sent the group through.


    I was 5th after the rich prisoner with the horde of slaves to get sent through the gate. Once my turn came they clamped a tracking collar around my neck and I was led up the steps to stand on the dais in the center of the square. As I got to the top the announcer shouted.


    "The Runesmans apprentice is number 8 today."


    The central dais had deep runes etched into it and I tried to memorize as much of them as I could before they sent me through. I thought at the time that if I could learn how gates work perhaps I could create a gate out of here. It was wishful thinking, I know, but at that point in time why not aim for the top. Gate crafting is the pinnacle of runecraft and requires a minimum of a silver scribe in order to create the finely detailed runes used in it''s construction.


    As the light of the gates runes began to glow I saw the Duke across from me, his daughter standing at his side. The man had his hand wrapped firmly around his daughter''s neck forcing her to watch as I was teleported away. She had tears in her eyes as she gazed up at me, the locket I had given her clasped between her hands. Glancing to the duke I could see a look of pure pleasure on his face and an urge to get back at him hit me. In an act of defiance, I looked towards the duke and smiled at Danalise, I blew her a kiss and then waved. My smile grew even wider at the look of pure rage coming from the duke.


    I was distracted from goading the duke further by the platform I was standing on. Five points around me at the edges of the dais began to glow and a metallic liquid flowed out from each of them. Flowing out like water, it followed the carved paths of the runes. I could see mages chanting off to the side of each point, their outstretched hands aglow with a nimbus of energy as they powered the dais.


    After reaching the center and forming a large intricate spell circle a cylinder of light shot up and the liquid metal began to pool at my feet. I hadn¡¯t been paying attention when the last group was ported away I was so absorbed in taunting the duke. It was quite the shock when the rising liquid metal began to slosh around me like a pot of water at a rolling boil. There was a flash of blinding light and an instant of searing pain and then nothing.

 Chapter 4

    I awoke in a heap on the ground, my muscles spasming slightly. Apparently it hadn¡¯t been too long after I was teleported, either that or it had a far worse effect on the body than I expected. I stood up shakily as my vision began to clear and tried to take a few uncertain wobbly steps. My legs gave out and I fell like a sack of potatoes on the ground next to where the portal had dumped me. The feeling of vertigo and nausea finally began to fade while I sat there feeling sorry for myself. Deciding that sitting in the entrance to be crushed by the walls wasn¡¯t the best way to go, I forced myself to get to my feet and take stock of my surroundings.


    I was in a large circular room slightly larger than the teleportation dais had been. It had the look of being magically carved from solid stone, the walls were perfectly smooth and no crumbling rocks or debris could be seen in the faint torch light. Torches hung at intervals around the room and they continued down the corridor that broke the smooth wall in front of me.


    Deciding it was best to try and keep moving I pushed myself off the wall and attempted walking again, I didn¡¯t want to be there when the next batch of criminals came thru. It was quite possible that they could be murderers or thieves and try to take the little food and water I had.


    Still not steady on my feet I decided I most likely had a good 10 to 15 minutes before the next prisoner came thru, they go fairly slow so that each person or group has time to move on. Sliding back down the wall I relaxed my legs and I decided to take a peek at my journal, Master Bertol had reminded me to read my notes, perhaps he slipped in a farewell note or something.


    Pulling out the journal and opening it to my notes page I was confused at first, it looked right but something was kind of off. Closing the book and looking at the cover, I couldn¡¯t quite put my finger on it but the book seemed wrong. It looked like my book from the outside and even the notes I had written appeared to be my handwriting but it just didn''t feel right.


    I attempted reading my rune of protection page but my eyes got all fuzzy and I had a hard time focusing on it. Confused I looked more intently and notice something odd that I didn¡¯t remember having in my journal. In each corner of the right page that I held my mastered minor protection rune was a faint circular symbol. They each looked slightly different and on closer inspection it looked like they were each of the 4 core runes.


    Curious I brushed my finger across the bottom right one, the fire rune, and to my surprise the contents of the page changed. Instead of the minor rune of protection there was a master fire rune in far more detail than I was able to scribe on my own. Looking to the left page I found it had changed as well. The first page appeared to be a list, sort of like a table of contents that a text book might have.


    I held the book close in my lap and hunching over it, touched one of the runes in the list, the one labeled explosive fire rune. To my surprise both pages shifted, the list changed as I watched and quickly scanning it I realized, it was instructions on how to make an exploding projectile along with a list of suggestions for random objects I might find in the dungeon.


    I snapped the book closed and after a moment, took a deep breath then opened it once more. To my surprise it appeared to be my old journal once again. Flipping to the first page where I had been describing each milestone of my apprenticeship I noticed one word in the first sentence that really stood out, it wasn''t in my handwriting. Holding my breath and reaching out I gently touched the foreign word, The whole page blurred and I got a lump in my throat as I hunched over and read the hidden note from Master Bertol.


    My boy, I hope this journal is enough to aid you and keep you alive through the next part of your life. Mages always live the longest so I think with a proper arsenal of tricks and a bit of luck you should be able to make it to the first settlement in the dungeon.


    That above all else should be your goal. If you can make it there you will have the potential to become the most powerful man in the dungeon since I''m pretty sure you are the only runesman in the dungeon with a silver scribe. Knowing that they only allow mages a single spell I''ve been working on a journal for just such an occasion as this, I keep it with me always.


    I began building one for you as well after taking you in. I started planning what runes would be useful to a runesman on the off chance that I might be trapped in a similar situation to the one you find yourself in now. I''ve written yours so that even a novice like you can understand.


    In these pages are the training instructions for you to master all 4 of the core runes and enough information that an astute student should be able to tease out the modifications necessary for any kind of master rank runes. I¡¯ve also included exact instructions for many of the most valuable survival runes, I suggest you begin studying the explosive fire rune. If you look closely there is 3 steps I''ve outlined in building the runes.


    Be sure to follow the steps and test out each step several times so that it looks like you have figured it out through experimentation. If it became known that I falsified your journal I would be sent there in short order and most likely without my scribe. I intend to move to a far off kingdom and start over under a different name in the hopes of escaping this horribly corrupt kingdom. Please give me a few weeks to escape before you blatantly begin crafting runes from the book without pretending to develop them yourself.


    This is the most I could do for you Llond.


    May the gods protect you and guide you safely along your path.


    Your Master and friend,


    Edward Bertol


    I had to close the book before I soaked the pages, I began crying half way thru the note. He had always been there for me, a second father even before my parents were taken. I had to be sure that no one would ever find out he had aided me, I would make sure it looked like I learned it all on my own.


    I now had a goal, the first village. It was a great plan since there were very few enchanted items in the dungeon. A runesman who could enchant anything he wished could become a hero to the people down here. I just had to live long enough to get there. Getting to my feet and dusting myself off I headed down the passage, stopping every time I found anything small enough to throw with a smooth enough side that I could scribe on easily.


    Upon finding the first intersection in this damned dungeon maze I decided to stop and practice my fire scribing. I found a spot in the curve of the hall that cast natural shadows on one side of the tunnel and sat down to practice. From this location I should see anyone coming from either direction well before they spot me.


    Flipping the book open I activated the fire rune page, I decided after reading Master Bertol¡¯s instructions to practice by drawing a base rune first just to see what it did. Sifting through my satchel I found a rock that was mostly flat on one side, spitting on it and rubbing it on my loincloth I began scribing.


    The first stone I scribed the core fire rune onto burst into flames almost immediately upon completion, making me throw it across the hall before I burnt myself.


    ¡°Well I know how to start a campfire if I ever get anything to cook¡± I said with a wary chuckle while rubbing the singed bits off my loincloth.


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    By the time I had found another stone to try my fire rune on the first one had died out. To my surprise the entire stone had burned away leaving nothing but a pile of ash where it had landed. Pulling out my book and flipping back and forth between my rune notes and the guide master Bertol had given me I figured out what I had done wrong. There was an additional line I had to add in order to tell the rune when to be triggered.


    In order to have it activate on impact there were 3 additional lines I had to add to the rune, and to make it explode on impact I had to change the flaring lines on the bottom half of the rune. Cocking my head to the side I also realized that the rune, if turned upside down looked a lot like a flame and that the flaring lines looked a lot like an explosion when done. The second time around I made sure I had scribed in the activation command before completing the fire rune, I really didn¡¯t want it exploding in my face.


    Setting the stone gently aside I dug through my satchel and found the smallest stone I had picked up. After duplicating the exploding rune on it as well, I hurled it down the hallway in the direction I had come from. Upon striking the ground there was a loud crack and flash of fire, I then hurled the larger stone and as expected the larger stone had a larger blast. I had guessed that the amount of power inherent in the stone determined the power of the blast.


    Since the larger stone naturally had more power in it, it''s blast was much greater. Happy with the results of my tests I flip to a blank page in my journal and made additional notes detailing my discoveries as well as drawing the exploding rune on the page next to my notes. I spent the next hour sitting there scribing the exploding rune on many of the rocks and made two impact activated fire starters out of a broken bone I had found. Gently placing most of the stones in my satchel, I kept one stone in each hand as I started down the hallway again.


    I wasn''t sure how long it would be before another prisoner came behind me. I had already spent several hours in this hallway so if there was someone coming they had to be close. I picked up the pace and walked for at least half an hour before finding myself in a small room. There were 6 other paths leading up to the intersection I stood in, it was a small circular, slightly egg shaped room with tunnels going off in every direction. Looking at the ground I could see many tracks. All the tracks looked human to my untrained eyes but they all entered the room and went off in the same direction. Scratching my head I examined the tunnel that they all seemed to go thru more closely.


    It was at the point of the egg shaped room and did look slightly different than the other tunnels, it had a gentle downward slope all of the other tunnels didn¡¯t have. Well that explains why I didn¡¯t run into anyone else, it appears we all entered thru a different room and the groups all came together in this intersection, looking around on the ground I found 2 more small stones and notice a trail of bloody footprints leading back down one of the other tunnels. Gripping my stones tightly in each hand I crept slowly down the tunnel, following the bloody trail. It didn¡¯t take long to find the body, it was only 30 yards or so from the intersecting room.


    Once I got closer I could see that it was the body of a naked woman, her long hair splayed around her soaking up some of the blood pooling beneath her body. Completely naked not even a loincloth means that whoever killed her must have looted the body before moving on, but I decided it would be best to search her anyway just to be sure there wasn''t anything useful left behind. Tentatively reaching forward with my foot I kick the bottom of her foot and jump back. She didn''t move or make a noise at all.


    ¡°Must be dead¡± I said to myself out loud. Taking another step closer from behind her just in case she was only playing dead, I reached out and poked her hip before jumping back again.


    ¡°Still no reaction, she¡¯s most definitely dead.¡±


    I rolled her body over gently and found several stab wounds in her torso that were no longer leaking blood. She wasn¡¯t very warm so she must have been dead for a while, long enough at least for her to stop bleeding. After rolling the body completely onto her back I noticed a glint of metal and, upon closer examination I found she had piercings, both of her nipples had small rods through them.


    Kneeling down I closely examined them and to my surprise they didn¡¯t have any rune markings at all, why would someone pierce themselves with an object that didn''t give some sort of magical benefit. Reaching out gently I fiddled with the rods until I was able to work out how they were attached. While removing the second one it dawned on me that this was the first time I had ever touched a woman''s breasts and I blush deeply.


    It was quite embarrassing, kneeling next to a naked body, both hands cupping her left breast for support while trying to steal the nipple piercing. If anyone was watching me I bet they were all rolling on the ground laughing and that makes me flush even more. Finished with the second piercing I search the body for more treasures, while avoiding her genital area, I decided that even if she had more piercings there it wasn¡¯t worth it, playing with a dead bodies junk even if she had been pretty in life just seemed wrong.


    The search brought up nothing at first but after moving her around I noticed another glint of metal, but this time it seemed to be on her torso. Looking closer I couldn''t find where the glint had come from until using her arm as a lever I twisted her body and there it was, it appeared to be a piece of metal in one of the wounds she had received.


    Taking out the pointy fire starting bone I had in my satchel I poked it into the wound and yes, it appeared to be the tip of a blade. It looked as if the tip of a sword had gotten caught on a rib and broke off inside. Hoping it was big enough to be a spear point or small knife I used the sharper edge of the bone to rip the wound open more, and once I had the hole bigger I tried to pry the metal piece free.


    It didn''t come free on the first try and I ended up having to carefully wedge the bone between her ribs and the corner of the metal. After working it for a bit the chunk of metal came free, it was only about two inches long and was definitely the tip of a short sword or large double bladed dagger.


    Holding the blade tip carefully I cut a notch of cloth out of the top of my satchel and wrapping it around the base of the blade I now had a small hand held cutting tool. If I found a stick I could definitely make some sort of spear from it or possibly a small knife with the right handle.


    Looking the body over once more I decided that, rather than letting it rot, I should take her hair as well. After rolling the body onto its side I tied it in a knot as close to the scalp as I could. I began to braid it and after about half an hour I finally was able to knot the other end and cut the braid free from the body.


    I looped the braid through the belt of my loincloth rather than putting it in my satchel, I didn¡¯t want to get blood all over my journal. It was quite gross gathering up and braiding all that loose hair and I had more blood on me from braiding the hair than I had gotten from prying the point out of the bodies torso.


    Happy with my loot I was even happier to be away from the body. I was sure that some beast or another would find the corpse soon or that one of the dark mages that monitored the dungeon would reanimate the body. Come to think of it, if I had been smart I would have crushed the skull just to be sure that it wouldn¡¯t come after me later but I wasn''t about to go back down the tunnel just to mutilate a corpse. I would just have to hope it became food for something after I had gone.


    Once back to the intersection I cautiously walked down the tunnel that all the tracks used, praying I wouldn''t stumble on a group of people making camp in the dark. This tunnel had far less lighting than the one I had started in and all attempts to pry a torch free had failed. I ended up just creeping along the passage, keeping to the shadows as I went. Hoping my clumsy attempts at stealth would be better if I stayed in the darker parts of the path.


    I nearly screamed when I stepped on something soft and wet. Jumping back and peering into the darkness I was relieved to see that it was another dead body and not some foul creature conjured by the dungeon mages. Taking the smaller of my bone fire starters and dropping it on the ground I took in the sight before me. There were 3 bodies hidden by the dark of the unlit tunnel. They all looked to be men, I remember the one I stepped on, he and one other had gone through the portal before I was sent.


    All four men were naked so it seems someone survived the battle, in the fading light of my fire starter I wound my way through the hall avoiding stepping on the bodies and searching for any missed treasures. I didn¡¯t find any so apparently whoever had done the killing here had a light source, all the bodies had been stripped and closer inspection granted me no additional goodies like searching the first body had.


    I remembered watching one of the more industrious criminals had purchased several women and once inside cut their hair and braided a rope from the hair. He had used the rope to get the items from a body that had fallen into a pit trap. Seeing that first body with the long blond hair had reminded me of him and so I''d decided to collect hair from all the bodies I found. Unfortunately these didn¡¯t have hair long enough to scavenge.


    All four men had the look of hardened criminals, two with scarred shaven heads, the other two had hair cuts short enough to make salvaging it not worth the effort. Betting that these men were the ones to kill the woman I had found earlier I was glad they were dead and hoped that whoever had defeated them was still up ahead clearing my path to the next floor.

 Chapter 5

    I napped fitfully my first night in the dungeon, well I think it was night. I hadn''t even passed a torch in several hours and with no sunlight the only way I could determine the time was when I got tired. I had found an especially dark nook and decided that it was probably the safest place to sleep. Even if someone came by with a torch, if they weren''t looking directly into the crack in the wall they would probably pass right by me.


    My ammunition collection had gone far better than expected and to avoid grabbing the wrong rocks by accident I decided that I had to get another sack in order to keep them separated. I ended up cutting the cover flap off my satchel making it into just a bag with a shoulder strap now.


    Using my small blade I sharpened a piece of bone I''d picked up into a needle and after braiding a few strands of hair began sewing together the sides to make a long rectangular pouch. It was long like a sock which I could carry with one hand and store all my small unenchanted objects. In a pinch I could even use it as a makeshift sap to club someone over the head if I was lucky enough to catch them by surprise. This left my now open and easily accessible satchel for the enchanted items. I cut down the straps of my knee high sandals, turning them into regular sandals with just a single wrap around the ankle. Salvaging the extra leather cord from each foot gave me more than enough cord to make a shoulder strap for my new bag.


    Next I decided to cut down my loincloth a bit. After a bit of awkward measuring I stitched the end in a loop around the rope belt in the back. This made it into a pair of underwear instead of just a piece of cloth draping in front of my junk, it also helped keep the breeze off a bit and gave me some more material to work with. I had just enough cord left from my sandals to make a sling with the strip I had cut off my loincloth. Once I''ve practiced a bit I should be able to fling exploding stones quite far. I hoped that it would give me more time to launch projectiles than just throwing them would.


    Happy with my progress I decided it was time for bed and squeezed into the crack in the wall. I tried to get comfortable while nibbling on my meager rations and a sip from my water skin. With rocks jabbing me from nearly every side I curled up to get what sleep I could. I don''t think I slept long and eventually gave up, I had some breakfast and a long drink of water.


    My goal for this morning was to scribe the water rune on my waterskin allowing it to stay full so that even if I ran out of food I would always have fresh water. It didn¡¯t take long to scribe the waterskin, I ended up putting the majority of the rune onto the bottom and sides of the cork. I then added the rest of the water rune to the opening so that once the cork was fitted into the skin it would begin filling replacing what had been used from moisture in the air.


    This way every time I took a drink even if I drained it the skin would refill when corked. Since I had been practicing to get this result with the water rune before I was arrested it was fairly simple to figure out how to make the two partial runes work together. With my water supply squared away I tested several rocks with my new sling launching them back down the tunnel the way I had come. After using up most of my sack of unenchanted ammunition I was able to hit my target one time out of three.


    Happy with the results of my training I placed an enchanted stone in the sling and began forward down the tunnel once again. I hoped that my nap didn¡¯t put me too far behind the group that was keeping the road clear of bad guys. My goal was to catch up but stay far enough back that I wasn¡¯t noticed. That way they would deal with the brunt of the monsters and I would be close enough to beg for aid should any monsters come up from behind. I came across more evidence that I was on the right track when I found another group of bodies, this time there were several goblin corpses strewn across the path.


    The goblins had been stripped of everything useful and the only item I found was a broken spear haft. Unfortunately, the looters had taken the end with the pointy bit and left the shorter broken end next to a dead goblin. Deciding it would make a good knife handle for my sword point I picked it up, after finding nothing else I began sawing at the jagged broken ends with the sword tip and continued walking.


    By the time I found the next group of monster remains I had cleaned the stick and carved a notch in the wood to tie my blade point into. Scribing runes of protection onto the knife handle in a way that would promote durability I hoped that the magic would be enough to keep the crude knife from falling apart the first time I tried to use it.


    After scribing my knife I searched the remains of the group of goblin corpses and to my surprise the bodies were still fairly warm, I was getting close. I would have to be far more careful going forward to make sure I didn¡¯t alert the group to my presence. My guess was that with no human bodies in either of these battles the group ahead of me had to be that wealthy criminal who had purchased that large group of slaves. If that was the case and I stumbled upon them, I would most likely be cut down before I could even ask to join their party.


    I thought it would be much safer to continue following them deeper into the dungeon. At this rate I expected to reach the first settlement before I even had to worry about food, rationing the way I was there should be several days of food left as long as I wasn¡¯t discovered.


    Not even finding broken weapons from this group I moved forward, trying even harder to stay in the shadows while keeping up my speed, I didn¡¯t want to lose them if there was another split in the tunnels. I followed the group like that for nearly a full day. Moving forward as fast as possible while still remaining stealthy and then stopping to search the aftermath of the groups skirmishes with the locals.


    The only other times I stopped was to relieve myself on the nearest wall and to occasionally get a drink and snack on my travel rations. They never left me anything useful, stripping even the cloth fragments I suspected the goblins wore, though not seeing a live goblin I suppose these ones could run around naked.


    The biggest threat they had come across so far that day was an orc, I found the corpse of one of the male slaves and a large muscular green orc. The group had stripped both bodies and even pried the orc¡¯s tusks from it''s jaw leaving me with yet another naked body to look over before pressing on empty handed. It made me wonder if they knew I was behind them, perhaps they had seen me groping the first corpse I found and mistook me for a necrophiliac. It almost makes me wish I had been an apprentice necromancer rather than a runesman, I would have an army of undead by now to do my bidding.


    A sudden shout broke the silence, echoing down the tunnel from up ahead. With my heart racing I ducked into the nearest shadow and began to slink forward as quietly as possible. I soon came to an intersection and before me was the large slave group, it''s master standing in the middle shouting orders.


    They had been assaulted by a few orcs along with several goblins, though only two orcs stood and most of the goblins were either dead or severely injured. The slaves fought very well, at least to my eyes they did, they fought as a team working with the one standing next to them.


    Whenever the orcs left an opening the one to the left and right of him would slash at him or stab with their rusty swords. The slave fighters eventually moved so that they encircled the two orcs that remained and quickly cut them down. The criminal with the masters bracelet never even broke a sweat, standing in the center of his army shouting ¡°kill it!, kill it!¡± over and over.


    Once the battle was over they began looting the bodies, I was surprised that only one of the human fighters was injured, the orcs must not have been very good warriors. Hobbling around with the rest of the group he took a dirty loincloth off of one of the orcs and began to bind a large gash on his leg. The criminal still shouting orders noticed him bandaging his leg and ordered the slave to stand before his master.


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    To my horror, the man drew his sword and slashed the throat of the injured slave in one smooth stroke. After the slave toppled to the ground he pointed his sword at the next nearest slave saying something before pointing to the body of the man he had just cut down. The slave bowed her head and came forward to begin stripping the body of its valuables.


    I couldn¡¯t believe he would do such a thing, it was such a blatant waste of life, sure they were all going to die sooner or later but to kill a man just because he would slow down the group a little bit while he healed seemed wrong to me. His blade glinted off of the fire light in the intersection and I noticed that of all the weapons in the group his was the only one not rusty.


    Upon closer inspection I realized it was missing it''s tip as well, that meant that this man is the one who killed the woman in the entryway. I guess that explains why she was dead and stripped. She must have gotten injured early on or possibly even said something he didn''t like so he cut her down. I watched for a good 30 minutes while they looted all the bodies. The only delay was when the leader ordered one of the female slaves to service him while the others looted corpses.


    He gripped her hair tight as she knelt before him, still shouting at the others while she worked. Once finished he hoisted her back up to her feet by her hair, then slapping her on the ass he pointed down one of the hallways. After passing around a waterskin they started on down the passage once again.


    I remained hidden and only moved once they had faded into the shadows of the corridor ahead, I didn¡¯t even need to search this group since watching them loot the bodies assured me that there was nothing at all left for me to take. They had even taken the slave collar off the dead man, the killing blow to his neck had just missed it.


    I almost stumbled into their camp an hour later, I was getting tired but didn¡¯t want to stop until they did. I should have been paying more attention, if it had been a monster camp and I was spotted, I''d have probably been forced to stay for dinner. There was so much noise coming from their camp that the two guarding each end of the tunnel didn¡¯t hear my muffled curse. That pig of a man was having his way with one of the female slaves again while the others not on watch tried to sleep. Taking careful steps back the way I¡¯d come I found a small crevice in the wall and slid into it. I could just make out the silhouette of the guard watching my end of the tunnel. Laying my head on the stone floor I closed my eyes and tried to get some sleep.


    I woke some time later with a start, the disturbing dream I had fading as cognition returned. I peeked out the crevice and looking up the tunnel I groaned, the guard was gone. I must have slept through them packing up the camp and moving. Hoping I wasn''t far behind them I hurriedly did my morning business and set off down the tunnel.


    Snacking on rations and having a long pull from my waterskin helped to wake me the rest of the way as I walked. I came across the remains of another battle not long after passing their camps location in the tunnel. Several more dead goblins and another dead slave with minor injuries. What was that idiot thinking, if he kept killing off his slightly injured warriors rather than letting them die in battle he would run out of slaves long before we ever made it to the village. It struck me while I was picking thru the bodies that I may have to try and kill the man. If I could kill him without injuring any of the others, they might just aid me in getting to the village, especially since I wouldn¡¯t kill them off every time one of them stubs a toe.


    To that end I decided I needed to practice more, both my runesman abilities and my sling skills needed to improve greatly. In order to do this I decided that every time I stopped to search bodies I would also scribe an exploding stone and fling all the other pebbles I find back down the tunnel the way I had come. Searching the next battle site I found 4 stones, making one of them into an exploding stone didn''t take long at all. I had half a dozen in my sack now and aside from the one water rune I had made for my waterskin it''s all I''ve done.


    Getting ready to fling a stone I looked back trying to decide where to aim. It''s very hard to practice when you don''t have a target, so in the end I decided to prop up a goblin. I drug the body over and propped it up against the wall, like it was sleeping and using the wall as a backrest. All three stones missed unfortunately and I had to move on so I wouldn''t lose the party. Rocks from a sling, even exploding ones do no good when you can¡¯t hit anything. As bad as my aim was I definitely needed to focus more on collecting ammunition.


    Moving forward I spent less time trying to slink from shadow to shadow and more time looking for loose stones that would fit into my sling. By the time I made it to the next pile of bodies I had 8 stones. Keeping with the routine I had set, I scribed another exploding stone and the rest went into the sling for practice. It may have been luck but this time, the goblin target I had made was struck twice, once in the torso and once was a glancing blow on the head. With a successful round of training done I quickly moved on after picking up the stone that had hit the torso.


    The next battle I came across appeared to have been a bloody one, there were close to a dozen goblins and one large orc. There were also 2 dead humans with only one having their throat slashed. Both were female, and both had their hair cut off, so it seems that they may have had the same idea that I did with the hair rope.


    I checked the women for any naughty jewelry and tried not to grope them in the process just in case they came back as ghosts or perhaps if Master Bertol was watching my progress. I was gentle and even managed to keep my blushing to a minimum when moving the naked bodies. One of them had been cut up pretty bad, she had slashes all over her body so she must have died early in the battle.


    Lucky for me I was finally starting to get used to the smell since it took me quite a while groping through all the blood and entrails to ensure that there wasn''t any useful metal bits hiding. Finding nothing of value from this battle either, I rubbed my hands in the dirt to get the blood off and then launched a few more stones at another goblin corpse.


    Starting to get tired again I decided it''s probably better to begin sneaking once more, luckily I found their camp just round the next tunnels bend. It seemed they had been there for a bit, the place they camped was another larger intersection, it had four tunnels that I could see, not including the one I was hiding in.


    Shitter had all their burlap sacks on the ground and was sorting thru them and re-equipping his troops with the best of what they had collected. I decided to name the criminal shitter, since it was the closest thing I could think of to the feeling I get in my gut when looking at him. He is such a foul man that I was definitely sure he¡¯s the kind of person this dungeon was originally created for.


    Once done playing with the loot he moved onto playing with one of the girls. That¡¯s when I decided it was time for bed, walking back down the tunnel I found a lip near the floor that I could just slide into and be out of sight. So unless someone knew it was there or I was snoring it should be safe, I could just faintly hear shitter grunting in the distance.


    ¡°Hopefully I''ll be close enough this time to wake up when they pack up to leave in the morning.¡±


    I tossed my fire bone into the crack, the small flame produced a little light helping to ensure there wasn''t any creepy crawlies in there. The initial flash had burned a large web and killed several small spiders, that¡¯s when I decided I needed a light, who knows what i¡¯d slept with the last few nights. I remembered Master Bertol making some jewelry with simple stones that would glow when rubbed. Rubbing one direction would turn them on and the other direction would turn it off.


    I stowed my bags in the crevice once I knew it was clear and began studying my journal in the flickering fire light. After finding the glowstone rune I spent some time trying to puzzle out how it was different from the standard fire rune. I flipped the pages a few extra times to make sure it looked like I was studying more than I actually had.


    I pulled out a smaller stone and began scribing. The first stone I made to glow too hot and it eventually caught fire, this was to give myself a bit of practice and fool anyone thinking I already had the rune. The second was also too hot and too bright, I ended up tossing it deeper into the crack so it wouldn''t be seen while it burned itself out.


    The next stone I made was too dim, this one I kept as an emergency light. Since it was so dim it would last far longer than the one I intended to use daily would. If my main glowstone burnt out and I were stuck in an area with no lights at all I could still have enough light to scribe a new, proper glowstone.


    Pocketing the dim one I finally made a light that I could use reliably, it ended up about as bright as a torch and if I cupped it in my hand I could have just a single beam of light shining forward. I decided while laying down to sleep that I need to find a bone or stick tomorrow. One that I could hollow out the end and insert a glowstone, this would be far easier to carry and point than cupping the rock in my hand was.

 Chapter 6

    I awoke from a deep sleep to screams, jumping up to see what was going on I smash my face into the rock ledge that was only inches away from me while I slept. Once the stars began to fade I started to slide out from under the ledge. I pulled my hand back into the crevice quickly and held my breath as feet stomped by me at a run, they were definitely not human feet. I waited a minute and after the last set of feet passed I slid out from the crack. I could still hear shouts from down the hall but the sounds were fading like the battle was moving away from me. Pulling out my sling I set an exploding stone in it and move down the tunnel at a slow jog while trying to stay in the shadows.


    When I came to the branching tunnel where the larger parties camp had been I found bodies littered everywhere. It looked like nearly all of the party had been killed and I stop just in time to see a line of orcs carrying some of the slaves away. The three of them were bound and still kicking though one wasn''t struggling very much anymore. She had many wounds and I doubted she would survive to wherever the orcs were taking them.


    I was sure that she was the lucky one, the man and woman that were still fighting seem to be uninjured for now but who knows how long that would last. I couldn¡¯t see Shitter anywhere so it must have been him and the rest of his party still battling further down the tunnel. Waiting for the orcs to leave I slunk out into the corridor and was happy to discover that the bodies hadn''t been looted yet. Quickly picking thru the area I found a crude stone knife, a rusty short sword and one of the burlap sacks that the slaves were carrying.


    Taking my scribe out I mark the tunnel where the orcs had went with a small O near the floor. Somewhere it wouldn¡¯t be noticeable unless you knew exactly where to look. I wanted to know where they went so I knew which way not to go when I left the area. After marking the wall I began to hear loud grunts coming from the tunnel and I sprinted the other direction. If I got caught while looting their kills I would probably be the next one bound and slung over an orcs shoulder. I was just about to sprint through a tunnel directly opposite the orcs when I heard another scream coming from the next one over.


    Changing directions mid stride I went down that tunnel, if there weren''t many I may be able to help whoever is still alive that way. I thought I was making a huge mistake but didn''t care, I was getting tired of sneaking around alone. At the time I felt that even Shitters company would have been better than being alone.


    I didn''t have to worry about being stuck conversing with Shitter for long, I tripped over his body and did a faceplant on the other side of him. Lucky for me none of my stones went off when I hit the ground, that would have been a messy end had they all gone off in the sack at my side. With a sigh of relief that I was still alive and not another death caused by Mr. Shitter here I stood and dusted myself off.


    Looking up I was just in time to see an orc slam his club into the wall as a woman ducked under him. She dashed past the orc but didn''t get far. She was suddenly jerked back by her colar as if she had hit the end of her chain. As she hit the limit on her tether to the masters bracelet her neck was stopped and her feet went out from under her.


    Turning back to Shitters corpse I grabbed his arm and yanked the bracelet off. After sliding it onto my own arm I ran towards the pair still fighting up the tunnel. To my surprise she was still on the ground and scooting away on her butt while the orc stood over her laughing. When she hit the end of her tether again I felt a tug on my arm, alerting me that one of my slaves was trying to leave it''s range.


    Setting the smallest of my exploding stones in my sling I began to spin it over my head while I crept closer. Building up momentum I was waiting for the right moment to let it fly. The orc still looming over her, untied a strap at his waist and his pants fell to the ground, showing both me and the girl his large orc junk. Bending down to grab the girl, both her and the orc were surprised when she was able to scoot back further.


    Just as the orc stood upright and started to turn towards me I let loose my stone, sending a silent prayer to any who might hear that my aim was true. I had aimed for the orcs back but if I was off just a bit I could very well hit the girl and then I would have an angry, uninjured and half naked orc on my hands.


    Luckily, my aim was good enough and the stone struck the orc on his left ass cheek which had been pointed at me when it began to turn my way. There was a loud boom that echoed down the tunnel in both directions. When the smoke and dust cleared the orc was flailing on the ground his left leg severed at the hip. What was left of his leg lay on the ground across the tunnel. The girl just sat there dazed, both hands over her ears staring at me as I inserted another stone in my sling.


    The second stone was not needed though, as I began to spin up my sling again the girl recovered. Standing and walking over near the tunnel wall where the orcs severed leg had landed, She bent and picked up a rusty knife. Moving to the orc she began stabbing him repeatedly until it stopped moving. By the time she finished stabbing the corpse she had its blood all over her body.


    Although quite gruesome she was very pretty, standing there naked in front of me all covered in blood, I blushed hard before turning away. I seen a blur out of the corner of my eye too late, by the time I turned back to her she had already launched herself at me. Before I knew what hit me she was on top of me with her knife to my throat. Her muscles bulged as she pressed the knife to my neck with all her strength. With a growl of frustration she backed up and slumped in defeat before me.


    ¡°What will you do with me master?¡± She asked, venom clear in her voice.


    ¡°Well for one thing you can be happy I didn''t just let the orc have his way with you and sneak by while he was busy¡± I said in reply.


    Afterall I had just rescued her from a fate I think even she would admit would be worse than having Shitter¡¯s paws all over her.


    ¡°That¡¯s not how I was brought up though so, you can thank my parents for making me a morally upstanding citizen.¡±


    A snort was all I got from her in response and I heard some mumbling beneath her breath, though I only caught the words morally and dungeon.


    ¡°What was that?¡± I ask angrily, annoyed after having risked my life to help her. She¡¯s all attitude, I figured she would be a little more grateful and a little less bitchy about having been rescued.


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°I said, what kind of morally upstanding man gets tossed in here, only people like him end up here.¡± she says pointing to Shitters corpse.


    ¡°Well for your information, i''m only here cause I gave a girl a necklace. The duke didn''t like his daughter hugging me after receiving the gift and well here I am.¡±


    After a grunt in reply she asks ¡°so you just decided to pick up the master bracelet and put it on your arm cause it''s pretty?¡±


    Well she had me there, I did have ulterior motives when grabbing it. When contemplating killing off Shitter I remembered seeing free men fight over slaves who had dead masters, the slave, being better trained in combat killed both the men fighting over her and then died herself to goblins since she couldn¡¯t leave the place her master had died.


    I decided earlier that if I got the chance to kill him, I had to get the bracelet as quickly as possible or they would all cut me down. Relaying the fact that she couldn¡¯t kill me while I wore it as the main reason I had put it on she shrugged, not even denying the fact that she had meant to even after I killed the orc for her.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go before more orcs come.¡± I announce while stuffing the orcs pants into my sack. Stopping to grab Shitters sword I look at it for a moment before tossing it to the ground in front of her.


    ¡°This is the best sword our group had.¡± she said lifting it and running a hand down it''s length.


    ¡°You''ll probably want to grab Shitters belt with the sheath and his other stuff.¡± I said gesturing to the body.


    ¡°I''m Llond, by the way, what''s your name?¡±


    ¡°Why do you keep calling him shitter?¡± she asked Instead of giving me her name.


    ¡°Well he was an asshole, the worst kind of person that twists your gut in disgust when thinking about them, similar to the way the stench of a shitter does in the summer.¡± I replied with a shrug.


    ¡°I hadn¡¯t thought of it that way¡± she said Laughing.


    ¡°The others would have gotten a good laugh at that, we would have all been calling him shitter secretly for sure¡± She said the last bit sadly, probably realizing that they must all be dead by now.


    ¡°Well three of your allies were still alive last time I saw them, they were bound and orcs were carrying them off down another tunnel.¡±


    I asked for her name again but only got silence in reply and after gesturing back towards the intersection said ¡°let¡¯s go see if the orcs left any loot.¡±


    Nodding she silently followed me back through the tunnels to the intersection that their camp had been in. Only blood stains remained when we arrived, even the orc and goblins bodies had been taken. In all my time watching the dungeon I can''t remember ever seeing a goblin or orc encampment so they must block it from the viewing mirrors. I wasn''t sure but I figured that they ate their own dead as well as the humans. Why else would they take all the bodies, with all this stone I doubt they bury them.


    ¡°Do you want to try and rescue your friends?¡± I asked hoping the offer to get her friends back would cheer her up a bit.


    ¡°You need more playthings? One isn''t enough for you?¡± she said sneering in disgust.


    ¡°Yes I would like more bodies on my side, if we have a few more people we may be able to make it to the village. With my skills we could find safety inside the village, they wouldn''t turn a runesman away.¡±


    ¡°You would really attempt to rescue them?¡±


    After nodding in the affirmative I showed her the mark I had made before I found her.


    ¡°This is the tunnel the orcs carried your friends down, if we¡¯re quiet we should be able to sneak up on them and plan how to free the prisoners¡±


    We ended up deciding to try and rescue the prisoners if possible.


    ¡°If we''re lucky they¡¯ll wait to eat them until after all the dead bodies are gone.¡± I suggested hoping to lighten her mood.


    Sneaking down the passage we finally came to a Y in the road, we could easily see the drag marks along the path to the right and continue down it. Pulling out my journal I began making a small map marking the paths we had taken and the available options so we wouldn''t get lost as easily. I know that they change the dungeon from time to time but I can''t imagine they do it that often. Keeping up with the tried and true method of sneaking from shadow to shadow we finally found the orc camp.


    The orcs camp was located on the far side of an enormous cavern, the camp itself wasn''t all that large though. There was rubble piled up in a ring at one end of the cavern which formed a small barricade. There were smaller caves that looked to be the creatures homes carved out of the back wall.


    We could see goblins chipping away at the wall in another location with rocks. There was a large fire in the middle of the encampment and I could see the pile of bodies from the battle next to it, they definitely intended to eat the dead. We ended up having to move closer in order to get a clearer picture of the camp. Without being able to see in all those small caves it would be hard to determine how many orcs remained and where the prisoners were kept.


    Once closer I noticed only one of the caves had a door, just as I pointed out the door it opened. A massive naked orc was crawling out of the small cave and when the orc stood he wasn''t the only thing standing upright. Either the orc leader had just had some fun with it''s mate or we knew where the prisoners were kept. Considering how I had found the orc with my current companion, it was easy to assume that it was the latter option. Feeling sorry for the female prisoners and hoping that they were still alive after the orcs attention we discussed the best way to remove the orcs without accidentally killing the human captives.


    Looking around I began collecting some larger stones, small enough to still throw but large enough that they will make a nice big explosion. After passing her the extra sack I had snagged and several of my explosive stones I explained their use and began scribing the larger stones.


    My plan was to toss them at each of the cave entrances and hopefully cause a cave in, trapping the creatures inside. If it worked as planned, we would only have to deal with the few goblins outside and any that were in the cave with a door. My biggest fear was that we might bring the entire cavern crashing down on our heads, if that happened, we''d all be screwed.


    I also took a few moments scribing her sword with protection runes to help it not break again. Cutting up the pants I was able to fashion a loincloth for her and after adding the leftover leather cord I had, gave her a top as well, the material smelled awful but at least this way I was able to look at her without turning several shades of red.


    There was enough material left over that if we were able to rescue anyone we could clothe the whole group. I put runes of protection on her top specifically to protect her and not the cloth, it wouldn''t hold up much but might save her from a nasty cut or two before the top fell to ash. We decided that sneaking in as close as possible before assaulting the camp would be best. She would deliver the larger stones to each cave and I would use my sling and focus on the goblin miners and any of the monsters that got to close.


    Waiting until the orcs went to sleep gave me plenty of time to work, I had finished all my rune work and fixing her clothes well before the camp bedded down for the night. We had discovered that one of the caves was for storage, two were for the five remaining orcs and the last cave was for all the goblins that served the orcs.


    Just as we were preparing to dash out of our hiding place and attack she grabbed my arm keeping me in the shadows. I saw movement in the corner of my eye and looking in that direction spotted several dark figures racing towards the camp, so much for simple plans.

 Chapter 7

    A battlecry that echoed through the entire cavern erupted from the attackers as they flew by our hiding spot. The new attackers were nearly double the numbers of the camp below. The camp was slow to respond and the fighting was soon taking place right in the middle of the orc camp.


    Their low wall had been useless since none of the camps orcs had thought to block the entrance before sleeping, the enemy group was able to charge right in and start attacking them as they left the caves. I spotted one of the orcs in the attacking band broke off from the fight heading for the closed door of the prisoner cave, that¡¯s when we had to enter the fray.


    Standing we ran along the cavern wall down the slope towards the camp. Once I got my sling up to speed I loosed one of the smaller stones at the orc trying to reach the prisoners cell. The stone exploded with a loud boom and the blackened body of the dead orc fell face down just before the door with a smoking crater in it''s back.


    The explosion was loud enough to halt the entire battle until my partner shouted with exertion. Her muscles bulged as she heaved one of the larger stones right into the midst of the fighting orc bands. She wasn''t fast enough taking cover and was hit by chunks of rocks and dead orc bits as she dove to the side behind a stalagmite.


    She stood, looking at me in surprise at the destruction the large stone had caused. I blushed as I watched her top turn to ash and fall away, sliding off her breasts like a pair of tiny waterfalls. Not even phased by being topless once again she grinned at me before grabbing another, slightly smaller stone and hurled it towards the cave the goblins lived in. They hadn¡¯t joined the fight yet and were slowly starting to climb out of their cave.


    This time she was able to jump behind a stalagmite in time to avoid the debris that blasted out from where the stone had landed. Though it did block the cave a little, it wasn''t enough to completely close off the exit and after a moment goblins began coming out once again, albeit slower than before.


    I had no time to catch my breath either, launching stones from my sling as fast as possible. The initial explosion had killed many of the orcs that had come to raid the camp but there were still plenty left to deal with. Careful not to hit my companion I sent my exploding stones at the new orcs or goblins that were charging in towards the fight. I let her deal with the ones who had decided we were a larger threat and charged our position.


    I almost cheered when I hit an orc in the back of his head, taking it right off of it''s shoulders. Either I was very lucky or my sling skills were definitely improving. Just as I was reaching into my sack for another exploding stone I heard a noise to my right, spinning quickly I was just in time to see a body crash to the ground next to me.


    Startled by the impact and blood splattering across my side I flinched, dropping my rock in the process. Lunging forward again I caught it just inches above the ground. With a sigh of relief at having successfully not blown myself up once again I went to investigate. The flattened lump had been a human male before falling to his death, he had apparently been climbing on the cavern wall above me and lost his grip.


    Looking up and squinting into the darkness above I could just make out more movement. There was at least one more person climbing down from up near the ceiling of the cave and I was not about to take any more chances. I moved further away from the cavern wall just in case the other one slipped. I launched another stone into a pair of orcs coming up on my companions left. I smiled as the explosion knocked both combatants down and only one got back up.


    The girl was very good with a sword, I could see her darting in and out, slashing at her opponents with the short sword before jumping back to avoid their attacks. She seemed to be doing even more damage than I was with my stones. I had to step up my stone slinging speed if I wanted to keep up. I glanced over my shoulder towards the other human trying to sneak up on us from behind. Deciding that I still had time I continued to launch more stones into a pack of goblins. My assault killed several and scattered the rest, an orc cutting one down as it ran past screaming while clutching its mutilated hand.


    Having run out of the smaller stones I grabbed one of the larger ones, all thoughts of heaving it at the enemy fled once I hefted the rock and stood, there was no way I could throw this. Standing there I contemplated scribing more small stones, but that would take far too long.


    A thought came to me and for a moment I stood there looking stupid while the battle raged around me. I dug out my scribe and made one tiny adjustment to the large stone in my hand. Running towards the battle I threw the stone, it bounced a few times and rolled into the middle of the battle. I shouted duck to my companion just before jumping behind a stalagmite myself. I grabbed another stone from the pile we had made and began making the edits to another large stone.


    I¡¯ll admit it, when the grimy hand came out of nowhere and grabbed my forearm I squealed like a little girl. I had just made the finishing touches on another rolling ball of doom when the man grabbed my arm. He yanked the scribe from my grip making me drop the stone as well. Without a second thought, I threw myself down the hill, allowing the gentle slope to take me further from the top. I shouted get down to my partner as loud as I could mid roll.


    The explosion that ensued rocked the entire cavern and caused many stalactites to fall, crashing to the ground all around. My roll finally came to a stop when I collided with the corpse of an orc. I quickly looked around, hoping that my companion had heard my warning otherwise she might have gotten a back full of stone shards.


    Surveying the battlefield I couldn¡¯t see anyone, not an orc, goblin or human still standing. I sighed in relief a second later when I saw my companion jump back to her feet and begin to stab the downed enemies as fast as she possibly could. Apparently she was the only one to listen when I shouted.


    The blast had obliterated the large stalagmite that my scribed stones had been piled up against and sent hundreds of rocks raining down on the battle injuring or killing any who were standing when it went off. The man had either gotten away with my scribe or he was in pieces across the cavern. Either way I''d have to wait till after the battle to go looking for it.


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    Climbing to my feet I raced over to help in the stabbing, many were on the ground with their hands over their ears or holding some damaged body parts, a few were even missing limbs. If I had known it would work so well without taking down the whole cavern I would have just put one rune on the stalagmite to begin with and just thrown a rock to set it off.


    Joining her in the stabbing I killed several goblins that were still moving nearby. I groaned loudly when my sword tipped stick came back from the plunge into a goblin''s heart, minus its shiny metallic end. It had been a good tool and I was sad to see it go. I had to draw the stone dagger I had taken from the battle earlier to finish off the last moving goblin in this pack. It suddenly became eerily quiet without the din of battle or the moans of the injured. The only sound was our heavy breathing, the two of us standing amidst a battlefield of broken bodies.


    ¡°What was that?¡± she asked looking at me, a bit of awe still on her face.


    Gesturing to the only unbroken cave with a large wooden door I explained as we walked, telling her of the man who stole the scribe and made me drop my delayed stone. I was happy when she offered to help search for it, once we had released her friends from captivity. The door was locked and far too strong to break down with only her broken short sword. Since neither of us knew how to pick a lock we had to go back and search the bodies for the key. We looted everything quickly, piling it off to the side to sort later.


    We got quite the haul though even if all three of her friends were still alive we wouldn¡¯t be able to carry it all. We found my scribe while searching the bodies, it was still clutched tightly in the man¡¯s hand. His arm had been severed at the elbow and rolled down the slope towards the battle. We found the key a moment later, it was on a leather thong around the neck of the largest orc I had seen yet. One of the rocks from the blast had killed him, a large shard of stone was still sticking out of his head where half of his face should have been. Pulling off the key we both rushed to the door, swinging it open we quickly crawled through the entrance, weapons at the ready.


    I was glad for the brief darkness as we entered the long tunnel. The darkness hid my deep blush and helped avoid the embarrassment of being caught looking at her naked ass. I had followed her into the tunnel and it was swaying only a few paces in front of my face as we made our way towards the light ahead. My blush deepened when we reached the end and I got an eyeful of all her assets as she climbed to her feet in a well lit room. Her cry of anguish that echoed through the room was enough to immediately clear my thoughts and let me know that our rescue attempt had most likely been too late.


    I found my companion on her knees crying, face held in her hands. I was horrified at the scene before me, all three bodies ad been tied to posts. Their limbs stretched tight enough with the bindings that their bodies were suspended several feet off the ground. All three had been badly beaten, bloody and bruised. The two women had it worse though, they had obviously been well used by the orcs. One had severe bruising on her neck and seems to have been suffocated while enduring an orcs attention.


    The second girl looked much like the first though no bruising on the neck, she had trickles of blood running out of her mouth and after stepping closer found she had bitten off her tongue and drowned in her own blood to avoid further abuse by her captives. At closer inspection of the bodies I noticed the first girl had a similar look to my companion, enough that they had probably been related. Not knowing how to console her, I did the only thing I could think of.


    Drawing my stone knife I gently cut down each of the dead and laid them down in a peaceful pose to one side of the cave. Once done I searched the cave, only finding an old threadbare blanket, and a small wooden lock box. With nothing else to do, I wrapped my companion in the old blanket and put out the torches.


    I sat down next to her and after wrapping an arm around her shoulder, she leaned into me. Her arms snaked around me as she placed her face into the crook of my neck, I don''t know how long she cried in the dark while I held her. We sat in the dark like that for a while, her crying was the big hitching sobs. The kind that shakes the whole body and end in hiccup''s and lots of snot once the crying calms down. It was pretty gross since the snot ended up running down my neck but I endured, it also helped distract me from the fact that I had a beautiful naked woman in my arms.


    Once she had cried all she was able to, she sat up. I activated my light stone and after she cleaned her face she noticed the mess down my neck and torso. With a mumbled apology she half giggled half sniffled while attempting to wipe it off with her blanket, with more smearing than cleaning. Finished with me she looked again at the bodies that now looked to be peacefully resting. Looking fondly at the body for several moments she began to speak.


    ¡°Ida was my twin sister. Mother named us Ida and Iva¡± she said smiling at the body.


    ¡°We were born in the breeding pens, trained from birth to fight back to back, to be sold as a pair.¡±


    ¡°We were the best in our age group, none of the others could beat us even the larger boys didn''t want to spar.¡±


    ¡°When we got older the guards began to ¡°visit¡± us in the evenings, ¡°training¡± they called it.¡±


    ¡°They only came to our bunk twice, the second time one of the guards decided he wanted to bed twins.¡±


    ¡°It was the last time he attempted to bed anyone, when he told us to pleasure him Ida bit it off and spit it in his face.¡±


    ¡°We were beaten for it but they left us alone after that, we were the only ones who didn''t receive ¡°night training¡±.


    ¡°We were all told what to expect if we were taken alive, it was suggested that we not be taken alive.¡±


    ¡°We were taught to bite off our own tongues and bleed to death, it would be a better alternative to being used until death or even worse, birth a half-breed.¡±


    ¡°It''s well known that without a proper healer, humans usually die during childbirth with a half breed.¡±


    ¡°Ida must have seen that I escaped, she probably held out knowing that, if possible I would come for her.¡±


    ¡°They used her up¡± she said beginning to cry again.


    ¡°Because she had hope, I failed, I can''t even give her a proper warriors pyre, there¡¯s no wood here¡±.


    ¡°I can help with that¡± I said smiling, I patted her shoulder holding up my scribe.


    ¡°I can make her pyre, and we don''t need any wood.¡±


    After a nod from her I moved over to the bodies and began to scribe the rune of fire on each of their stomachs, stopping before completing the activation portion of each. I walked down the line quickly finishing the runes and stepping away before the intense heat could burn me. In seconds all three bodies had burned away to ash, once the magic fire consumed them there was nothing left, not even bones for the monsters to chew on.

 Chapter 8

    With the Funeral pyres finished we took the loot and left the cave, we had to sort it all and decide what was worth keeping. Assuming that they were all dead, Iva began moving rubble from one of the caves that had housed the orcs. If there was decent loot to be had it would probably be in their caves, we were mostly hoping for some clothing, maybe even some armor pieces, anything would have been helpful at that point. With Iva''s help we got through the pile of rubble fairly quickly.


    We found a worn hooded cloak in the cave along with a few more loincloths, in one corner we found the sacks of food Iva¡¯s party had brought with them. The second orc cave was a bust, nothing useful at all just some smelly old rags that I had no desire to save. We didn''t even bother with the goblin cave, doubting that orcs this poor would allow their goblin slaves any riches. While Iva began sorting the loot we had gotten into smaller piles, I pulled out the small locked box we had found and fiddled with it some.


    After messing with it for a good 10 minutes I decided I wasn''t ever going to be a thief. I had found a few bone fragments and attempted to pick the lock with no success. Eventually I had the brilliant idea of a tiny explosion, just large enough to damage the locking mechanism without breaking the box. For this I dug out the pair of nipple piercings I had looted from the first body I found. The jewelry was very simple, they consisted of two small iron balls with an iron rod connecting them together, the ball on one end twisted off showing crude threading underneath.


    I scribed tiny exploding runes on opposite sides of the ball that didn''t screw off. The rune I chose from my journal would generate a blast of energy away from the rune. I placed the activation portion of the rune on the back of the ball that screwed off, it would act like a switch when it touched the end of the rod. Sliding the small piece of jewelry into the keyhole so it rested firmly against the back of the lock I tapped the activator ball onto the rod. A small pop rocked the box slightly in my lap and to my surprise the lock fell off of the box.


    Screwing the ball back onto the rod I now had a safely storable lock breaker, smiling at my ingenuity I was about to drop it back in my sack when Iva came over. After having heard the small explosion she became curious and upon seeing the piercing I was holding she confronted me angrily.


    ¡°Those were Sasha¡¯s!¡± she said stabbing a finger towards the jewelry in my hand.


    ¡°Um, well possibly, I took them off of the first body I found shortly after waking in the dungeon¡± I replied.


    Iva then told me of how Markus killed Sasha when she talked back to him at the start of all this, she had been the top fighter on the slave block that day. The piercings prove that she had mastered both the combat and scout training before reaching the age to serve a new master.


    ¡°Well, now this one¡¯s a lock breaker, see?¡± I said. Holding up the rune''d jewelry I explained it''s use.


    After taking it and examining it closely she pinched her nipple, pulling it tightly she jammed the pointy end of the rod through the base of her nipple and screwed the ball onto the bloody end.


    ¡°I''ll hold on to this¡± she said smiling at me.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the other one?¡±


    I dug it out of my bag and after another slight wince of pain she was screwing the second ball on. I suggested she let me put a rune of protection on that one the next time we had a break, since it was metal it should last quite a bit longer before failing.


    After a nod she walked off again leaving me alone with my broken lock box. Looking at it closer with a glowstone I realized that the lock had just been a decoy. It originally looked like it was inset into the box but it had actually been a metal plate that didn''t do anything at all. What I held in my hands was actually a puzzle box not a locked chest. Deciding to play with it more later when I had time I slipped it into my sack and went to aid Iva in deciding what was worth bringing with us.


    She had found quite the haul of semi useful loot. We ended up taking nearly all of the food, mostly travel rations and some unidentifiable dried meat. We kept several of the best weapons and the sack of collars that matched my bracelet. You never know down here when we might run into someone who would be of better use captured rather than killed.


    I had donned the cloak and buckled a short sword onto my belt to accompany the stone knife I had taken a liking to. Iva had taken several weapons and had belted on multiple loincloths, two around her waist covering both front and back and another pair with one centered over each breast. It was quite humorous watching her try to tie them on and after she glared at me for laughing, I helped her tie them in a way that would stay in place. We also acquired a decent length of rope and an old rusty grappling hook, this we intended to put to use right away.


    Once loaded up we went to the wall where the man who attacked me had died and after several attempts hooked the grapple onto the ledge securely. Climbing up to the top, we found that the ledge was very short, the first man had fallen after losing his grip right at the end of the walkway. It led up to a small cave out of sight from the camp below. It made us wonder how long those two men had been here, they were probably the batch of prisoners before ours at least.


    From the looks of the cave the men had been here for quite some time, possibly even before the last batch of prisoners. It was a disgusting mess, they had used one side of the small cave as the latrine so the entire cave smelled of urine and feces. They had a torn blanket that, upon closer inspection was actually several of the prisoner sacks that we each got before entering the dungeon, they had been cut open and crudely sewn together. We ended up draping the nasty blanket over the even nastier pile of refuse. The stench dissipated somewhat after being covered and it was tolerable enough to attempt to sleep.


    I studied my runes a bit in the faint light of the glowstone I had made days ago while Iva ran a whetstone over her newly acquired weapons. We ate some of our new provisions and I scribed a second water skin for Iva to carry. Eventually we both began to yawn and prepared to sleep.


    Putting out the light stone we cuddled in the dark corner furthest away from the refuse pile. Spooning for warmth under the single cloak I wore, now acting as our blanket. I actually slept well for the first time since being in the dungeon. Whether it was the warmth of a body next to me or the feeling of safety Iva and this hidden cave provided I didn¡¯t know.


    I awoke feeling both warm and well rested, I was on my back and felt a weight on me, more so than the cloak could have offered. Blinking in confusion I was surprised to see Iva straddling me, she had stripped off her makeshift clothing and was gently rocking her hips rhythmically. I had never actually bedded a woman before and thought it felt wonderful, I remember blushing, looking up at her as she moaned. Then without warning she cocked her arm back and punched me in the ribs. Pain exploded in my side and I groaned, trying to clutch my side but one arm was pinned and for some reason I could no longer see.


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    ¡°I asked you to stop¡± Iva growled her, voice sounding angry. I was so confused, I didn''t remember her speaking at all, besides she had been the one doing everything and I had just laid there. Rolling over and facing me she continued to glare for a moment before laughing out loud at the total look of confusion on my face.


    ¡°You were rubbing on me and wouldn''t stop so I elbowed you.¡± she said laughing.


    ¡°I think you might have been having a wet dream!¡±


    I was glad for the darkness at that moment, I think I turned several shades of red. Apparently I had been humping her rear in my sleep like an overly excited dog that just found your leg. I think I can safely say that was the most embarrassing moment of my life. I rolled over and mumbled an apology as I curled up into a ball and wished I could wake up from my newest nightmare. Laughing she pulled me closer and wrapped her arms around me after adjusting the cloak to cover us both once again.


    ¡°I didn''t hurt you did I?¡± she asked amusement still clear in her voice


    ¡°if I''d known you were having a wet dream I would have just let you continue¡± she said patting my arm.


    I only grunted in return still totally embarrassed and wishing I could just disappear but with my whole body fully awake it was difficult to find sleep again.


    Iva woke me some time later, telling me that the goblins had broken free from their cave. They were now dancing around a roaring bonfire made from a mound of orc bodies they had collected some time in the night. Luckily for us the acrid smoke wafting up from the top of the fire was flowing along the top of the cavern in the opposite direction.


    ¡°With the amount of smoke pouring from that fire I''m guessing that it smells horrible.¡± I said while nibbling on some rations for breakfast, a grunt was Iva¡¯s only reply.


    After taking a big swig of my water we began packing, we needed to get moving if we had any hope of finding the village. Iva kept giving me funny looks while we packed and after a few moments of this I turn to her.


    ¡°What? do I have something on my face? I asked angrily.


    ¡°No.¡± she replied with a giggle.


    ¡°I was just wondering if I should expect to be woken up by getting poked in the ass every night or if it was just a one time thing?¡±


    I groaned loudly holding my head in my hands, I had thought that I had dreamt that, especially with her saying nothing when I first got up.


    ¡°Oh you thought it was all a dream?¡± she laughed.


    ¡°Should I try to be a little more gentle when I wake you next time?¡±


    In an attempt to change the subject I suggested we get moving and began packing up a little faster. With one last laugh she let it go, and began belting on her weapons and hefted her pack. Sneaking down to the edge of the walkway we lowered the rope and shimmied down trying not to alert the goblins.


    It took several flips and yanks on the rope to finally get the hook to come loose allowing us to retrieve our rusty grappling hook. I had to jump back as it fell and the loud clatter when the hook hit the ground where I had been standing made me cringe, after glancing back at the fire we both sighed in relief. The goblins hadn¡¯t even noticed, they were still happily dancing around the fire waiving chunks of what I could only guess was burnt orc meat in the air.


    We worked our way back to the large intersection where the battle had taken place yesterday. Our current dilemma was which way to go next, we knew where the route we had come from due to my marking the orcs tunnel. I was pretty sure only one way was safe and other paths would probably take us to other traps or encampments.


    Since we didn''t know where we were going to begin with one way was just as good as the next. We walked down the leftmost tunnel, I figured we would just check each until we either died or found the right path. After walking for at least an hour we noticed that it was getting darker, the wall sconces were becoming less frequent until finally we had to pull out a glowstone just to continue.


    I groaned after activating it, this was the last place I wanted to be and immediately suggested turning back. Upon Iva¡¯s request I had activated the brightest glowstone and the scene before us terrified me far more than the orcs and goblins ever could. From where we were standing we could no longer see the stone of the tunnel. As far as we could see both in front of us and behind, every inch of stone was covered in the greyish white webbing of cave spiders.


    I immediately readied my sling, dropping a scribed stone into the pocket and after taking a step forward sent it flying down the tunnel. When it struck the ground far ahead of us in the darkness it ignited, flaring up brightly and burning away the webs nearby. We heard an inhuman shriek and even from where we stood I could make out the shadowy hulks of multiple enormous spiders in the flickering fire light.


    Running back the way we had come, we put some distance between us and the ignited webbing, if we hadn¡¯t moved we probably would have been roasted along with the spiders. Unfortunately the flames had irritated the spiders more than harming them. It wasn''t long before we heard the clatter of chitinous feet, clacking on the ground and getting closer with each moment we waited. Once I felt they were close enough to hit I sent an exploding stone down the tunnel, scoring a lucky hit. The explosion splattered spider guts all over the walls and onto it''s fellow spiders charging in from behind.


    Seeing one of their number fall didn¡¯t even slow the horde of spiders and I was soon sending stones flying as fast as I could get them into my sling and up to speed. Iva began pulling out the few stones I had readied for her the night before. Once they were close enough she began throwing them at the rushing monstrosities. I only had four scribed stones left once the final spider met its end, decorating the tunnel in a macabre scene.


    It was like a painter had painted a long dark tunnel then in a moment of madness dipped each finger into a different color and swirled them around until nothing else could be seen. It was far worse than the orc camp had been, chunks of spider goo still dripped onto the ground. Here and there a chunk fell or a severed leg still twitched. I was suddenly struck with a gruesome thought.


    ¡°I wonder if spider legs taste as good as crab legs?¡± I said giving Iva a quizzical look.


    Handing Iva half of my stones I led the way as we wove through the carnage. Occasionally we stopped and I collected spider bits, an intact leg here, a thicker piece of carapace there. The spiders hard exoskeleton could be used as armor plates if I was ever able to find a way to cut it. Most bladed weapons down here can''t even scratch the shell let alone cut thru them.


    We must have killed two dozen of them and spent nearly all of my ammunition in the process. As we walked through the mess I started looking to the ground, picking up small stones wherever I could. I had a few left that weren''t scribed but I couldn''t carry many from the other cavern without being seriously burdened.


    Eventually we came to a dead end, all around us were the shriveled and now charred husks of the spiders victims. Luckily we had killed all of the spiders and I promptly flopped down in the center of the room. Digging out my silver scribe I began frantically scribing my newly acquired stones to replenish my stock. We hadn¡¯t even been walking long enough to be hungry for lunch and already I was out of ammunition yet again.


    While I worked Iva spent the time poking around the piles of dead, she came up with several broken swords and bones but nothing immediately useful. The broken swords I decided to keep and use as fuel for cooking fires. I could scribe them with fire so that they would glow red hot, the perfect lightweight cooking set.


    I remembered seeing Master Bertol turn a thick round metal plate into a travel stove, the trick was to scribe it with an ignition key that acted as an activator. That key for the burner was actually what gave me the idea for the lock breaker I made yesterday. The bones I used to make more standard fire bombs similar to the one I had launched first, they lit things on fire when struck instead of exploding.


    We stayed there until lunch, allowing me plenty of time to replenish our stock of sling bullets, I also fashioned Iva a sling out of the scrap I found, it wasn''t as nice as mine with the leather cords but she could send a stone further than she could throw it. Being a warrior she was able to carry far more stones than I could without getting tired so it wasn''t smart for me to be the only one with a powerful ranged weapon. After lunch we headed back and started down the next path. Though I didn''t think it possible, I was wishing for more of those spiders by the time we got half way down the next tunnel.

 Chapter 9

    Learning from the previous tunnel we had our glowstones ready well before the sconces disappeared. We reached a point in the tunnel with large nearly connected stalactites and stalagmites. This was most definitely where the dungeon mages had placed the new guy. The columns of nearly connected stone were mismatched and not in line at all, they weren''t even straight, a couple of them leaning at odd angles. As we continued the air began to get thick and damp, it felt like we were walking through a fog bank only the fog was hot.


    Before long we could hear dripping and the walls were slick with a slimy goo. Sharing my concerns with Iva I let her know that we might be up against slimes, I assumed that with all the moisture and slimy walls that must be the next enemy. I remembered seeing a party fight one of the giant slimes once a few years ago and since they are immune to all but magic weapons they were wiped out completely. The only way to kill one without magic is to destroy or remove it''s crystal heart which dances through its gelatinous body. They are quite dangerous since they can look like a puddle or slip out from holes in the stone It can be quite difficult to find them before they surprise you.


    After another few minutes of walking I called a halt to our party of 2. It had gotten even more damp and the smell that now permeated the entire tunnel was starting to make me gag. Fitting an explosive stone to my sling I spun it up, before launching the stone straight down the tunnel. It bounced several times without exploding and finally slid to a halt somewhere beyond our glowstones light. I was seriously beginning to worry, if it was so wet and slimy that the stones didn''t go off on impact we were screwed. I dug out my scribe and began working on a time delayed stone so that I could launch it down the hall and hopefully blow up whatever was hiding in the darkness.


    Setting the new stone to go off in about twenty seconds I let it fly. When the stone landed it slid several feet before coming to a stop in a puddle, sizzling some before finally exploding. We crouched down huddling under the cloak hoping to avoid getting any of the slime on us when it exploded.


    The stone must have had some rare materials in it since the resulting explosion was much larger than I had expected, it rocked the tunnel knocking us off our feet. The roar of pain we heard made me shiver to my core, it echoed down the tunnel as if it came from everywhere all at once.


    ¡°We made something very angry¡± I shouted as the roar continued.


    Iva unable to hear me pointed back up the tunnel and we ran as fast as possible with the ground rocking. To our horror the tunnel was collapsing ahead, the stalagmites falling over and ¡­ the stalactites too? They were both slowly laying down much like a snake¡¯s fangs when they close their mouth. I groaned as the realization of where we were dawned on me. Those weren¡¯t simple cave ornaments of stone placed by an inept mage and the cave wasn''t collapsing, whatever beast I had angered was now closing its mouth with us still inside.


    Grabbing Iva¡¯s arm I drew my rusty short sword, once I had her full attention I stabbed it down into the ground with all my might. After watching my blade sink down nearly to the pommel she did the same. These pinpricks in it''s tongue must not have bothered it because it didn''t make any additional noise.


    After fishing an unfinished stone from my pack I quickly scribed another delayed explosion rune on it and sent it flying towards the sinking fang in the hopes that a tooth ache might make it open its mouth again. The blast shattered the stone fang, one small piece landing next to me which was quickly added to my pack. The roar after this explosion was nearly as loud as the first one, the rumbling worsened as well. Unfortunately the mouth started closing even faster.


    ¡°Keep blasting its mouth¡± Iva shouted over the roar.


    ¡°It will eventually decide we taste bad and spit us out¡­ I hope.¡±


    Nodding to her I grab a handful of stones and begin throwing them one at a time in the hopes of hitting something hard enough to set them off. Finally, after the 4th one we got our explosion followed by several more in rapid succession. We ducked our heads and held on to the pommels of our swords as the debris began to rain down on us, chunks of stone followed by bone and bits of flesh. The creatures skin was apparently, at least partially made of stone. Some of the pieces of stone had flesh stuck to it as if it had grown that way.


    When the dust cleared, there was a hole in the creature¡¯s maw just large enough for us to climb through. Yanking our swords free we sprinted the last few yards to freedom. Iva following after me as I squeezed through the hole while trying to avoid the oozing wound with its jagged shards of shattered bone sticking out.


    My clothing and satchel caught wherever a sharp bit protruded as if the creature, even while wounded was trying to keep its meal from escaping its broken maw. We ran down the tunnel, stopping only when we had made it back to the intersection, bent over and breathing heavily with our hands on our knees.


    ¡°A list of things to avoid in the future...¡± I said between gasps for air.


    ¡°Stone teeth and squishy wet floors.¡±


    ¡°Noted¡± Iva replied with a nervous laugh.


    ¡°What was that thing anyway?¡±


    ¡°I''ve never heard of a creature like that, they only taught us to fight beasts and humanoids closer to our size at the training camp.¡±


    ¡°I think it''s a cave worm, I remember that Master Bertol acquired some bone fragments from one last year.


    ¡°He had explained that they were perfect for making charms and weapon handles because they held a much higher concentration of energy inside them¡±. Fishing out the tooth shard to get a better look at it I explained a little how runes work.


    ¡°Everything in the world has some magical energy in it, you, me, all the plants and animals, the stones of our world...everything.¡±


    ¡°When Runesmen scribe runes into an object it pulls on that magical energy to create the effect described in the rune.¡±


    ¡°Small things like those stones we throw have smaller effects because they have very little magical energy in them.¡±


    ¡°You may have noticed that occasionally they have a much bigger boom than the others, that¡¯s because the stone has other higher quality elements inside which contain more energy.¡±


    I Looked at Iva to make sure she¡¯s wasn¡¯t lost, she nodded still looking interested so I continued.


    ¡°Honestly the stones here should not have even half the power they do when they detonate.¡±


    ¡°I believe that¡¯s because this place has been magically altered so much over the last few hundred years.¡±


    ¡°I think the objects here contain much higher amounts of energy then they should.¡±


    ¡°Normally stones of this size outside would only make a small poof of fire and might at most singe your target.¡±


    ¡°Magical beasts have even higher quantities of energy which is why beasts like unicorns and dragons have been hunted to near extinction.¡±


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    ¡°Master Bertol explained to me that cave worms are a minor magical beast.¡±


    ¡°They are extremely dangerous due to their stone skin, as they tunnel beneath the earth they digest the stone and it grows out of their skin as an added layer of protection.¡±


    ¡°They then surface near mountains or stony outcroppings and sit with their mouth open to sleep.¡±


    ¡°Creatures of all kinds come and make the apparent cave their home but after going in too far they find a slope and slide down into the beast''s stomach to be digested.¡±


    ¡°Either that was an enormous worm or the dungeon mages didn''t place it here correctly since we never found the slope into its stomach.¡°


    ¡°So we were lucky.¡± Iva said nodding in understanding.


    ¡°Yes, had we gone in much further I think we¡¯d be worm food by now.¡±


    ¡°We were doubly lucky to have this land next to my head after the explosion.¡± I said holding up the chunk of stone I had been examining, I explained what it was to Iva.


    ¡°This is the tip of a tooth that got blasted off when the stones exploded.¡±


    ¡°If this worm has been here eating stone for any length of time at all it''s probably ten times as potent as a similar piece from a worm outside the dungeon.¡±


    ¡°If I ever have the time to make the proper tools this could become an extremely powerful weapon or charm.¡±


    Beginning to get bored with my lecturing Iva suggested we check the next tunnel and after nodding to her absentmindedly, I followed as she led the way. We went down the middle tunnel this time, it was directly opposite the tunnel we had originally came from and I expected little good from it. While we walked I continued to examine my find, a piece of tooth this large had so many possibilities that it boggles the mind.


    If I had proper cutting tools I could carve it up into a dagger, possibly two daggers, a matching pair. If I took the time to study properly I could even make them able to collect energy from the ambient magical energy in the air so it would last much longer. All the best runesmen enchant their objects with a way to generate power over time but that is well beyond my current capabilities.


    My thoughts were interrupted about an hour later when I walked into Iva¡¯s back, she had stopped in the hall and was peering ahead when I smacked into her. Grumbling at me under her breath I notice that we¡¯d found a room and she has stopped us before entering. Dropping the tooth back into my sack I quickly took in the room, it was a squat rectangular room with a pedestal in the center and a door set into the stone directly across from us on the far wall.


    Not seeing any immediate danger I walked into the room to examine the pedestal. Iva rushed in after me, grabbed my arm and spun me around to face her.


    ¡°Idiot! What if there had been traps or hidden monsters?¡±


    ¡°Well I guess I''d either be dead, trapped or invited to dinner.¡± I replied smiling at her, I didn''t see anything that even remotely looked like a trap.


    It seemed more like a puzzle than a trap so I figured it was safe. The fact that she was standing there scolding me now was proof that it wasn''t dangerous. Then in the middle of the argument we heard a grinding sound and stone slabs slammed down over both the door forward and the passage back.  Iva then smacked me upside the head and called me an idiot once again. She followed it up with many more colorful words while she paced like a caged animal. They all revolved around me being an idiot and how bad she had it being stuck with such an idiot for a master.


    Ignoring her I got a closer look at the pedestal, it was about chest high and had a rectangular depression like something had been on it at one time but had since been stolen.


    ¡°I think some sort of key goes here¡± I announced interrupting her continuing tirade and halting her pacing.


    ¡°We just need to figure out what it is and we can continue¡± I said, sure that I was on the right track.


    ¡°Ooo maybe it''s an asshat stand¡± she announced sarcastically and grabbing my head she pushed it down with a thunk onto the pedestal.


    I had been looking closely at the top of the pedestal so it didn''t really hurt when my head hit the flat stone. The way she had forced my head down, left me with my head on the stone as if I was trying to listen to it. Unable to move for a moment while she held my head I noticed something in the stone slab where our tunnel had been. Pushing her off of me I went and ran my hands over the wall, it was totally smooth but after looking closely I could see patterns in the stone, it reminded me of wood grain.


    Walking the perimeter of the room I examined every wall and to my surprise the entire room seemed to be made of this petrified wood. The patterns changed from time to time but it was all similar just sometimes there were rings and other times the grain went vertical rather than horizontal. It almost looked like¡­


    Rushing back to the pedestal I dug into my bag and pulled out the lock box I had taken from the orc cave. Placing it on the pedestal it was a perfect fit. Taking a step back I stood there, breath held, waiting in anticipation for the doors to open and let us go forward.


    After a minute my shoulders slumped and I exhaled the breath I had been holding. Iva started up again this time teasing me. She had gone from angry to sarcasm and was once again pacing the room. I don''t know how long I stood next to the pedestal. I spun the block trying it on every side to no avail, the doors just wouldn''t open. I was sure that the box was the key but I had no idea how to make it work. Luckily the room wasn''t air tight or we would have ended our adventure in that room. Feeling the slab that had closed off our exit we could still feel air from the cracks.


    Unable to open the door we ended up sleeping in the room that night. Having given myself a headache trying to figure out how to make the box open the door, I slumped in the corner thoroughly defeated. The room was small enough that a single hot blade, as Iva had started calling them, warmed the room.


    After announcing that there would be no snuggling or wet dreams for me she took over the corner in the room opposite the latrine, scooping the sand on the floor into a makeshift bed. We had dug away the sand in one corner of the room down to stone to make our latrine, and we spread sand over the refuse with every use so it didn''t stink up the room. I curled up in my own sandy bed a few feet away from Iva and was soon asleep.


    We were stuck in the room for two more days before I figured out what I had to do to open the door. The box I had found was a puzzle box, the kind that require sliding the correct panels in the correct order to open. After looking closely to the walls by light stone I noticed that some of the patterns matched the boxes patterns.


    I spent the next few hours investigating the rest of the room, sketching the patterns of each wall in my journal. I found that nearly every single wood pattern on the walls had a corresponding pattern on the box. Once I discovered that, it was easy to find the one that didn''t match. I began fiddling with the odd pattern and found that if I pushed and slid my thumb in the right direction the whole piece moved.


    It took me most of the next day just to figure out the correct pattern that allowed me to open the box. Twice when I moved pieces in the wrong order traps went off. The first was a spear trap, knots in the wood grain pattern suddenly grew into sharp pointed wooden shafts.


    Iva screamed which made me flinch, lucky for her when I jumped, I had slid the piece under my thumb back to its original place. She had been pierced in the thigh by one of the spikes as it grew up from the floor. After bandaging her up I began moving the pieces of the puzzle box much slower.


    The second trap was actually away out if we wanted to go back the way we had come. Though apparently when we had set off the mechanism that trapped us in here it alerted the local denizens of this level. When the panel that had blocked our retreat started to slide up several goblins had ducked inside before I was able to slam it back into place. Iva made quick work of the ones that made it through and we heaped the bodies over by our compost pile after looting them. For the rest of that day whenever Iva got bored, I would slide that panel blocking the door up and let her kill a few of the waiting goblins.


    At one point an orc tried to slip in instead of goblins, too bad for him I was ready and slammed the slab down on him, cutting him in half. It was kind of messy and took quite a bit of the sand to cover up, after that I took one of the goblins stone axes and put a delayed explosive rune on it. The next time Iva was bored we slid up the panel and after activating it she threw the axe under the door and I quickly slammed it back down. After a moment we heard a muffled boom and a little cloud of dust blew in from the cracks around the door.


    Sliding the door back up again we were happy to find the tunnel clear of enemies, well whole enemies anyway. There were pieces of them all over the tunnel. They must have been bunched up pretty good when the blast went off. Deciding she didn''t feel like picking through the mess we just shut the door and she didn''t complain about being bored again.


    I finally finished the puzzle around mid afternoon on the 5th day. The panel covering the door slid up and upon placing the finished puzzle box on the pedestal the door clicked open. Out of curiosity I removed the box and the door clicked shut followed by the puzzle resetting itself. After another bout of name calling from Iva I was able to complete the puzzle in about an hour. This time instead of picking up the puzzle we grabbed our things and rushed thru the door.

 Chapter 10

    We stood there, on the other side of the door for several moments. It was like we had stepped through to another world. Gone was the jagged stone tunnels, with broken bits of bone and small rocks scattered everywhere. We stood in what looked to be a grand entry hall. Though it was crumbling due to its possible ancient origins, the highly detailed carvings that remained were still beautiful.


    Examining the statues more closely they appeared to be carved from marble by a master stonemason. Several of the statues were damaged and crumbling, some seem to have been moved or knocked off their pedestals. Perhaps when the wizards moved the dungeon around they caused earthquakes, or it could have been a fierce battle where the combatants crashed into them. However it happened the stone they were carved from should make for excellent rune potency. I greedily scooped up several sling sized stones and a few palm sized ones before noticing that they already had runes on them.


    Launching myself to the side I tackled Iva just as she was reaching out to touch one of the beautiful statues. Quickly drawing her knife upon impact she slashed my chest as we fell, stopping once she realized that it was me who had attacked. Pulling out a cleanish piece of cloth from her sack she began to press it to the wound while glaring at me angrily.


    ¡°What do you think you''re doing?¡± she barked, the rag in her hands quickly turning crimson.


    ¡°Scribed statues¡± I said wincing in pain as I attempted to sit up.


    Looking at the proffered chunk of marble in my hand she relaxed after seeing several dark black lines carved into what looks like the cheek of a statue.


    ¡°I''m sorry¡± she said finally, ¡°Remember that you shouldn¡¯t attack me in the future, were trained to react before our minds realize what¡¯s happening.¡±


    ¡°It''s ok, I''ll live.¡± I said to reassure her that I wasn''t angry. ¡°It''s not that deep, I''m just glad you didn''t have it pointed straight at me or I¡¯d be a goner now.¡±


    Digging thru my sack I got out my scribe, journal, and the large chunk of cave worm tooth. Pulling the steel dagger from her belt I attempted to break off a shard along a large crack without success. She took both the blade and tooth from me after she watched me struggle for a moment. She worked the blade into the crack and eventually broke the piece off. Sheathing the knife she handed me the small fragment which I quickly began scribing on after finding the page with the healing rune on it.


    ¡°This should be potent enough for multiple uses if I can figure out how to make it stop when the injury is healed. I think I can set it to stop once the injury it''s pressed into is repaired. It would only work for smaller surface wounds but considering the place were in, I''m sure we¡¯ll get plenty of use out of it.¡± I said explaining what I was doing.


    The lecture helped keep my mind off the itching burn in my chest that was growing more and more painful as I worked, I even had to ask Iva to flip the pages in my journal at one point to avoid getting blood all over it. I made the carving take as long as the pain allowed without making mistakes. I even cussed at Iva a few times while gesturing angrily though that caused the pain to flare more each time.


    It was all for show of course, I was still trying to ensure that Master Bertol didn''t get in trouble for giving me this journal. I¡¯ve been taking the time to study my journal every night before we sleep, practicing the new runes I expected we would need so when the time came I would have an excuse for flipping to a page and copying the runes found there.


    Once done I quickly pressed the scribed surface into the bloody gash on my chest which triggered the rune. Immediately I felt the pain ease but the burning, itching sensation increased. It felt like an army of flaming ants were crawling across my chest biting me as they went. Seconds later the wound had completely sealed up, all that remained of the wound was a thin scar under the smears of blood. The tooth chunk I had scribed remained in tact still in the palm of my hand.


    With an audible sigh of relief, both Iva and I relaxed visibly. I fished out a piece of the Hair Iva had been braiding into smaller cord in the evenings while I studied and made a bracelet, wrapping the tooth piece into it with the runes showing so that I could heal either of us at a moment¡¯s notice. With our new healing charm out of the way we picked ourselves up off the ground and walked to the door avoiding the statues as if a single touch would cause instant death.


    ¡°Thank you¡± Iva said quietly after several moments of silence had passed while we studied the door. ¡°If you hadn''t stopped me I would have set off whatever trap those statues held and we would probably both be dead by now.¡±


    Stopping my inspection I turned to her. ¡°It''s ok, it ended better than it could have. Though I do have one question for you. How come you can hurt me even while I''m wearing the master bracelet? I thought you couldn''t hurt your master when you wear that collar.¡±


    It took her a moment to reply but eventually she answered. ¡°You haven''t ordered me not to.¡± she said, a bit of wariness mixed with a tinge of fear in her voice. ¡°Direct orders are permanent until rescinded or a new master takes the bracelet. If you ordered me to never hurt you I couldn¡¯t even involuntarily injure you, the magic would prevent it.¡±


    ¡°I order you to never hurt me,¡± I said in a loud clear voice, the look of betrayal and fear plainly visible on her face. ¡°Unless¡± I continued a moment later with a pause for the dramatic, ¡°It is necessary to save my life or if you feel I''m being an ass and deserve it.¡± I finished with one of those gotcha grins on my face.


    Reaching out and placing a finger under her chin I pushed up gently, closing her open mouth. Her look of fear had changed to one of shock. She clearly hadn''t expected me to allow her to retaliate if there was some sort of abuse on my part. I''m sure she fully expected me to take advantage of our master-slave relationship sooner or later. The click of her teeth as her mouth shut must have kickstarted her brain a little because she began to sputter but couldn''t find her words.


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    ¡±I didn''t expect so much leeway in your orders.¡± she said, once she had collected her thoughts..


    ¡°Well, I''ve never been one to push my opinions on others and honestly I think losing your friendship isn''t worth a few moments of forced pleasure.¡±


    ¡°Huh.¡± she grunted in reply, still confused about my actions. A moment later she turned back to examining the door.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± she said quietly after another minute of silence. ¡°For not using me like most masters do.¡±


    ¡°Never!¡± I announce still grinning ear to ear, patting her on the shoulder I followed up with the obligatory. ¡°Unless you want me to?¡± while waggling my eyebrows at her.


    With a snort she gestured at the door and said ¡°Are you gonna figure out how to open this or are we camping with the creepy statues tonight?¡±


    It was a large, arched, stone double door. Decorated around the edges with swirling leaf and vine patterns, it was quite beautiful and I was surprised to find something so artistic buried down here with only the likes of us to see it. In the center was a large circular depression inset into the door and at our feet were odd symbols in a haphazard pile.


    I knew immediately that it was another puzzle, there were notches here and there in the circle that would fit the oddly shaped pieces. I asked Iva to watch the statues as I worked on the puzzle, every time I placed a piece wrong I flinched, afraid that they would all come to life and attack.


    I finally completed the doors puzzle about an hour later, the pieces now forming a large knot pattern in the center of the door. Once complete the pattern began to glow and a bright line cut through the center of the door from ceiling to floor and I heard a faint click as the doors began to swing open.


    My cheer of triumph at opening the way forward was drowned out by Iva¡¯s scream. Whipping my head around I could see the five remaining undamaged statues stepping off of their pedestals and turning towards us. I shouted for Iva to run and quickly turned back to the door. If we could get through and possibly barricade the doors we might survive the animated constructs. Turning to wave Iva forward I yanked the doors the rest of the way open and waived her to go through first. The look of confusion wasn''t what I expected when she came to a stop before me.


    ¡°Quick go through and I''ll close the doors behind us.¡± I said, a bit of fear in my voice as I watched the statues marching slowly towards us.


    ¡°Is that supposed to be funny?¡± Iva said glaring at me before bolting off to the corner furthest from the statues.


    Completely confused I turned to go thru the door and nearly walked face first into another closed door which had been directly behind the first. This one was a large metal banded door with a big metal lock box present near the center with metal rods extending from it in several directions. Cursing my luck I ran to where Iva had stopped and began digging through my sack to get my exploding stones. I didn''t think my small knife would have any effect on the stone constructs.


    The statues spread out before us in an attempt to trap us in the corner. We attacked the one closest to the wall and made a run for the other end of the long room. The statues were slow but not stupid, they nearly got ahold of me as we ran by. The good news was that they were very susceptible to exploding damage and I was able to destroy the first one easily. After the first one fell they began to defend themselves whenever I started getting my sling up to speed. They would raise their off hand up covering their head and torso, in an attempt to catch the projectile.


    It worked for the most part, even though they were slow they could still move their hands in time to intercept the stone. After wasting several stones on them all I had achieved was an army of statues with stumps where their left hands should have been. A thought distracted me from the battle momentarily, I wonder why they are all right handed? Are there no left handed statues? Or maybe those are in the next room? As I stopped to ponder these seriously important questions they continued on, plodding ever closer. My contemplations on the subject of left handed statues was rudely interrupted when I was smacked in the back of the head by Iva.


    ¡°Wake up!¡± she yelled, as she threw me bodily under the swing of the nearest statue to roll across the ground away from the attacking constructs.


    Diving after me she lashed out in an attempt to hamstring one of them, Her sword merely clanked off the back of the statues leg with no visible effect. Cursing as she got up off the ground, she ran up next to me as I let loose another stone. This one like the rest impacted and only broke off small chunks from the already damaged stump on the statue''s left arm.


    ¡°Aim for their feet stupid!¡± she hissed, elbowing me out of the way and reaching into my bag to get herself a few stones.


    I let loose just a moment after she threw her stone and was awarded with a proper impact. The statue had moved to block her thrown stone and didn''t bother trying to stop mine. It impacted right in the statues nether regions blasting both legs off and ruining any chances of it ever making tiny evil statue babies. This plan worked one more time before they began to ignore her un enchanted stones and only block mine once again.


    We had to switch it up and whenever Iva had a runed stone in her hand I launched a regular one. In another ten minutes we were awarded with several crawling legless statues. To avoid wasting what was left of my supply of runed stones we lured them to one corner of the room then ran back to collect better weapons.


    After hefting some of the limbs from the previously damaged statues we proceeded to hunt them down and bash them to pieces one by one. Another half hour went by before we finally had ground the last one into gravel. We found the second doors key in the torso of the largest stone warrior.


    ¡°Stupid dungeon wizards¡± I muttered. ¡°If I''d known there was a key inside the statues I would have just broken them all before they animated!¡±


    ¡°Hah, if it were that easy to continue then this place wouldn''t be a death sentence.¡± Iva replied.


    After resting for a bit we decided it would be better to set up camp and open the second door in the morning. While Iva heated up some food I spent my time learning from my journal. I also used up the last of our stones to make more explosive ones. I really hoped that we would come across another good source of projectiles. The broken statues having already been scribed on were useless to us now, their energy already tied up in the animation runes.


    Once I''d had my fill of studying I laid down next to Iva who had already gone to sleep. Her light rhythmic snoring was making me sleepy so I got out our blanket and after draping it over her snuggled up beneath it. Careful not to touch anywhere that would get me in trouble I gently laid my arm over her midsection and promptly fell asleep.

 Chapter 11

    I had many dreams that night, I woke at least twice to nightmares. I did have more good dreams than bad though, I dreamt of my parents before they were taken away and of the girl Danalise. I also vaguely remember something about the baker''s daughter who lived down the street and used to bring Master Bertol fresh bread on occasion. I even had a dream about Iva straddling me again though this time it didn''t end with a fist in my ribs.


    After the wonderfully vivid dream of Iva I dreamt of fishing with my father and Master Bertol, there''s a spot about an hour ride from town where the Rhys river flows into lake Irwen. Where river and lake meet there is a 100 foot waterfall, father had a special spot that we would fish at. He had proposed to mother on that spot so its always been his lucky fishing spot even if we never caught anything there. I was shaken awake mid cast by Iva, I was confused since I could still hear the roar of the waterfall from my dream and she wasn''t in it.


    ¡°Remind me to take you to my father''s lucky fishing spot when we get out of here.¡± I said smiling at her and rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.


    ¡°If you don''t get your ass up we won¡¯t be going anywhere!¡± she shouted over the roaring.


    The sudden silence caught me off guard, I was so confused, was I still dreaming? My questions were answered when Iva activated the light stone and illuminated the room. Before us stood an enormous stone golem, all of the broken bits of statue had moved together and formed a new monstrosity. I could see the random unbroken body parts here and there. For fingers it had the unbroken legs with the thinner female torso statues for thumbs. It had absorbed not only the statues we had destroyed but also the ones that had already been broken when we entered.


    It''s head was a mass of broken stone, where it''s eyes should have been, were two unbroken faces. Their mouths open in a silent scream with their eyes glowing an angry red. For a mouth the thing had a pair of unbroken arms on either side of it''s face, hands clasped on either end of it''s mouth. It was almost comical how all the pieces fit in, it was as if an artist had spent hours taking all the broken bits we had left and had rebuilt a giant statue with them.


    ¡°That shouldn¡¯t be possible¡± was all I could get out.


    ¡°Well obviously it is possible since it''s right there¡± Iva said sarcastically


    ¡°Someone has to be here now, controlling that thing! There¡¯s no way they could be expending that much power remotely¡± I said, looking around in the hopes of seeing one of those horrible dungeon mages.


    The monster seemed to be able to hear us because it smiled and after flexing it''s fingers and forming fists several times it roared at us and charged. Though it was much larger and made from the same stone this statue moved far faster. It nearly caught me under it''s clenched fist as I grabbed my pack and dashed away. Iva hurled a stone at it which exploded on impact, blasting chunks away from the golem. We stood there in stunned silence as the stones stopped in mid air and flew back to the golem patching up the hole.


    ¡°We have to find that mage¡± I shouted ¡°He must be in here somewhere, he¡¯s either invisible or peeking in thru a hole in the wall, it''s the only way he could control that thing.


    Handing Iva a few stones I sprint to the far end of the hall, Iva dodging the golems blow, dashing right between it''s legs hurling a stone at the back of it''s head. Holding up the small chunk of bone I watched to make sure Iva could see me and once she held up the same stone I nodded and closed my eyes for a second. Hoping she got the plan I loaded the stone and got my sling spinning.


    Right as she threw the stone I let loose mine too, both stones impacted at nearly the same time releasing a blinding light. It was nearly blinding even thru my closed eyelids. I heard Iva scream on the far end of the hall, apparently she didn''t see my blinking gesture. I also heard another scream behind me near the wall, turning in that direction I sprinted and abruptly crashed into someone.


    I''ll say it right now that wrestling with an invisible person is not fun. After colliding with the wall I began flailing at my opponent. Just as I found a hand full of hair I felt a sharp pain in my stomach followed by the hot burning sensation. I had been stabbed and looking down I could now see a hand holding a small knife covered in my blood. With the last of my strength I slammed my assailant''s head into the wall before falling back and holding my side. Tearing into my bag I quickly found the cave worm tooth I had scribed healing onto earlier and pressed it to my bloody wound. It began to glow and I felt the burning pain turn cold and be replaced with an icy itching sensation before fading away completely.


    With my wound healed I looked on my attacker for the first time, it was a young woman, only a couple years older than I was. I almost felt bad for her, almost, though it was her own fault for entering the dungeon. Digging in my less used sack I grabbed one of the collars I had collected and quickly fastened it to her neck before she could wake and fight again.


    In a loud clear voice I declared ¡°You will not attempt to harm, hurt, kill or hinder in any way myself or any of my slaves. You will follow any order given to you by Iva as if It were a direct order from me.


    I felt a tingle in my arm from the masters bracelet, it was just like when I had given Iva her orders. I then placed the cave worms tooth to her head healing her as well before moving to check in Iva, she was still over in the opposite side of the room though sitting now she looked to be meditating or something.


    ¡°Are you ok?¡± I asked worried she may have been injured and I hadn''t noticed.


    ¡°I''m blind¡± Iva replied sniffing. Covering her face with her hands she continued ¡°you might as well just leave me here, I''m only useful now as a sex toy and that¡¯s not even worth the food I''d eat. You have a new pet now just kill me and move on, if you''re lucky you might even make it to your village.¡±


    Laughing I patted her shoulder ¡°You''re a far better fighter even blind than I am, I wouldn''t leave you here or use you as a sex toy, well unless you wanted to.¡± I said an unseen smile on my face.


    A snort was all I got from her in reply. ¡°Hold on I''ll fix you right up!¡± I said fishing out the caveworm tooth once again. Placing the tooth to her forehead it glowed faintly before crumbling to dust. Iva blinked several times before her eyes focused on me.


    ¡°Idiot!¡± she said watching me wipe off the remaining dust from my hands. ¡°That would have been far more useful to heal your next wound rather than wasting it on me.¡±


    ¡°Idiot!¡± I said in reply along with a flick in the forehead right between her eyes. ¡°You are far more valuable to me than a broken piece of bone, I can always replace a healing item. You on the other hand I cannot replace. Come let us meet our newest companion, I have a feeling she can''t come and go as she pleases now that I''ve collared her so she¡¯s stuck with us.¡±


    ¡°You didn''t kill her?¡± Iva asked me shock evident in her voice.


    ¡°Nope I don''t particularly enjoy killing, remember I was a simple runesman. Before coming here the only thing I killed was a pie.¡± I said offering her my hand.


    After pulling her up and collecting our remaining gear that was scattered around the room we marched over to confront the earth mage. She had a look of horror on her face, tears streaming down her cheeks, hands pulling uselessly at the collar around her neck.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± I asked gently not wishing to agitate her anymore than I already had with that collar.


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    ¡°You''re going to have to order her to answer if you want any straight answers from her¡± Iva said sitting down against the wall to watch the show.


    With a sigh of resignation I gave yet another order to the poor girl. ¡°You will always answer immediately, any question I ask honestly and to the best of your ability.¡±


    With another tingle in my arm I see the girls eyes bulge as she tries to fight the command, she finally answers after loosing the internal struggle ¡°My name is Gwyn¡± she gasps panting heavily.


    ¡°Why did you come here personally?¡± I asked ¡°I''ve never heard of a mage entering the dungeon to assault prisoners.¡±


    ¡°I was contracted by duke Gervais to ensure you didn''t make it to the safety of the dungeon village.¡± she answered ¡°normally we don''t enter the dungeon unless we''re working on a specific room or puzzle. This room was my responsibility so I had access to it and when you defeated the rooms guardians I was ordered to finish you personally.¡±


    ¡°You must have really pissed off that duke guy if he¡¯s sending people in here to kill you.¡± Iva said


    ¡°Yes¡± I agreed ¡°I gave his daughter a necklace of minor protection and he walked into the room while she was hugging me in thanks for the gift. That earned me a mugging a week later and a one way trip to death row. Apparently now, my kindness has earned me assassins in the night as well¡± I said, sarcasm oozing as I looked down at Gwyn.


    ¡°I''m not an assassin!¡± Gwyn said angrily ¡°I¡¯m a student of the mages academy, currently mid way thru my advanced earth magics course.¡± she finished haughtily.


    ¡°You were an assassin¡± I corrected her ¡°You were paid to kill someone that is the definition of an assassin is it not. Also you''re no longer a student of anything, being my slave makes you a permanent resident of this dungeon. That collar will only come off if someone removes it or upon death. I doubt anyone is going to come in here to rescue you so you might as well get used to it!¡± I said in the most hurtful way I could.


    I did feel bad for her, she was pretty much in the same boat I was, stuck in a dungeon for doing nothing other than coming in close proximity to a nobleman. I wasn''t about to tell her that though since she had just attempted to kill us.


    ¡°I hate you!¡± Gwyn said quietly rage apparent in her eyes though she was unable to act on the feelings.


    ¡°You should be grateful!¡± I said in response ¡°I could have just as easily ended you rather than collaring you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d rather be dead!¡± Gwyn said with a huff covering her face once again with her hands and starting to cry once more.


    ¡°You most likely will be sooner than later.¡± Iva said dropping her sack laden with our loot at her feet ¡°Carry that.¡± she ordered before heading off towards the door.


    Pulling another collar out of my storage sack I placed it in my ammunition sack. I dropped my storage sack at her feet as well telling her she was now our pack mule before moving to catch up to Iva. She was standing at the now open second door scratching her head still holding the large metal key in her hands.


    Looking over her shoulder she called out ¡°hey pack mule are there any more traps or will this key open the door without further hassle?¡±


    ¡°There is a long hallway that slopes steeply downward¡± Gwyn said ¡°it gets so steep that it becomes a slide half way down though if you are quick enough you can jump onto the stairs to the left.¡± after a moment''s hesitation and another visible struggle she continues. ¡°There is a spiked pit trap at the bottom of the slide and multiple spear traps on the stairs that will either impale you or knock you off into the slide.¡±


    ¡°Use your magic to shape a sled from the stone, one we can all ride down safely and cross the pit trap¡± I order Gwyn hoping she still has enough power in her to complete the task.


    Still obviously struggling Gwyn stands, grabbing the two packs she walks up to stand beside me. I once again hear that rushing noise that sounds like a roaring waterfall. A large amount of the stones from the twice broken golems roll over to us. The stone begins to melt into one solid piece shaped like a long canoe with jagged saw blade looking teeth pointing out from it''s bottom and sides. They were shaped in a way to slow us down as we rode down the slide.


    ¡°At least she¡¯s useful¡± Iva said tossing her pack into the long sled before taking a seat in the back.


    Hopping in right in front of Iva I laugh and order Gwyn to lead the way. With a sigh of defeat she gingerly steps into her creation just a little ways up in front of me placing both packs between us. Once Gwyn had settled in the sled began to move all on it''s own, she was beginning to pant heavily by the time we made it thru the door and started down the slope she had mentioned.


    It didn''t seem like the sawtooth bottom slowed us at all as we rocketed down the tunnel, even Gwyn was screaming in terror. Apparently this wasn''t how she had left it, someone must still be actively watching us if they are able to thwart Gwyn¡¯s efforts to keep us safe. The jarring halt when we crashed into the wooden spikes at the bottom of the pit nearly ripped us from the sled. A groan of pain escaped me as I began to stand and step out of the sled, the river of red stopped me in my tracks. A steady stream of blood ran down the center of the sled towards the back where it began to pool around our gear.


    Rushing forward I found Gwyn still sitting and only being held up by the 3 long wooden spikes speared through her body. One had caught her in the shoulder just missing her heart, the other two went thru her stomach at odd angles. All three had gone completely through her body, I was surprised I had missed it when we had first crashed.


    ¡°Iva!¡± I shouted, ¡°Quick come cut these spikes but be gentle, we don''t want to cause any extra damage.¡±


    Grumbling about letting her die Iva obeyed my order and began hacking at the spikes near the wall. With each strike Gwyn groaned in pain as she sagged, the spikes the only thing holding her up. Lifting her face to look at me I had to smack her a few times before she was able to focus on me.


    ¡°I''m going to heal you but I need you to sit up as straight as you can once Iva cuts you free from the wall.¡± I said as I unsheathed my knife and began cutting her robes free from her body and the spikes.


    ¡°This is really going to hurt!¡± I warned Gwyn as I began to scribe the healing rune onto the first spike Iva had cut free.


    I scribed the healing rune on each of the three spears right near where they pierced her leaving the activation section until I had completed all three core runes. Grabbing a broken piece of wood I forced her jaw open and placed it in her mouth.


    ¡°Bite down on this, when I activate the runes it''s gonna hurt really bad¡­.. I think¡± I quickly began finishing the activation, setting it so that once three runes were connected they would all go off and heal independently.


    She screamed when I began scribing across her body, she bucked and I nearly stabbed her with the scribe. In the end I had to have Iva hold her down while I finished connecting the runes. The line across her stomach connecting the two spears was the easiest. The line up from each spear across her chest to the one in her shoulder was the worst. While one line went between her breasts the other ended up crossing near the center of her left breast. It was quite awkward and I had to have Iva hold it from both sides so I could carve the line as straight as possible to connect to the spear next to her heart.


    Once complete light flashed across the runes and the spikes quickly turned to dust while the holes in her body began to close up. Once done all that was left was the scribe lines I had made and three small black circles where the wooden spikes had been. Apparently the ash from them hadn''t left her body like I had hoped and was now stuck beneath her skin. I hoped that it wouldn''t cause her any additional pain since I wasn''t sure what the effects of leaving it in her body would be.


    Gwyn had fallen into unconsciousness once the rune had began to heal her and she was breathing easy now lying in the bottom of the sled. I had covered her with what was left of her robes and began laughing once the adrenaline rush was finally over.


    Iva looked at me quizzically while I laughed and finally I explained. ¡°One of my friends once told me that he would see a beautiful woman naked if it killed him! I''ve seen more beautiful women naked in the last week than I ever have prior and its gonna kill me haha.¡± I had tears in my eyes by the time I finished.


    Iva just snorted at me and went back to hacking at the spears though she did have a small smile on her face. Eventually I got up and assisted with the hacking, we needed to collect as much of the wooden spikes as we could carry and I took the smaller ones to build a fire tonight as we camped.


    Once camp was set up I went back to check on Gwyn, she was still sleeping but her breathing was steady and I felt she would recover completely. I ended up stripping Gwyn while she slept, Iva helped once I explained what I was doing and we were able to get her robes off without waking her. Gwyn¡¯s robes were made of some very nice fabric that would take to scribing very well.


    It was large enough that I could make several chest wraps for both girls as well as actual undergarments for their lower halves. I also made a pair of shorts for me, I ended up using the rest of the blond hair I had cut from the first body I found. Once the clothing was made I put runes of protection on each of them. We even had enough that Iva would have 2 extra tops since I was sure she would burn thru them quickly being our only fighter.


    Once we were both dressed in our new clothes, Iva and I lifted Gwyn out of the sled and dressed her before lying her down next to the fire. It was quite toasty with all three of us lying beneath the old blanket and I slept good even though our bed was the stone floor.

 Chapter 12

    I was awakened by screaming, far earlier than I would have wished. At first, I thought we were under attack, sitting up I rubbed my eyes and looked around. Once I noticed that Iva was doing the same, I immediately feared that I¡¯d had another happy dream and this time poked Gwyn in the rear. After a quick pat to ensure that wasn''t the problem, my next thought was that the healing had had some adverse effect on Gwyn. Iva began to laugh as soon as Gwyn spoke.


    "What did you do to my robes?" she screamed, glaring at me.


    "Well, there was so much material, it really seemed like a waste, especially after we had to cut much of it off you," I replied, hoping my explanation would calm her down. The dungeon wasn''t the best place for hysterics.


    "Cut it off me?" she questioned loudly, her pitch rising with each word.


    Apparently, she didn''t remember being injured, so I reminded her of crashing down through the room full of spikes and being impaled. The ear-piercing screech when she found the scars across her stomach and followed the line up under the wrap she wore made my head hurt.


    Gwyn''s screeching was cut short when Iva smacked her and hissed "Shut up!" in her ear.


    The magic in her collar took Iva''s words as an order, and Gwyn was immediately quiet, although her mouth still moved as if she were trying to continue her rant. In the silence, it quickly became apparent that we were not alone. I could hear faint shuffling from the ledge above us, and a few stones fell down. A moment later, we could hear the harsh whispers of goblins. They must have been a patrol that had heard Gwyn''s ranting and come to investigate.


    After a few tense moments of goblin arguing, we heard them begin to climb down. Once they were about halfway down, I decided to see how many more times our trick would work and showed Iva my light stone. She quietly drew her sword, and after a nod, I cocked back my arm for a throw. I was able to plant the stone right between them, and it erupted in a brilliant white light.


    Both the goblins and Gwyn screamed when the light flashed, but Iva and I, being ready for the flash, weren''t affected. Iva quickly cut down the first goblin as he fell. The second one landed nearly in Gwyn''s lap, and to my surprise, she immediately clamped a collar around its neck. Even as I felt the tingle of the slave collar taking effect, I had to jump to Gwyn''s aid, pulling the little beast away. After pulling the creature off her, I ordered it to stop, and to my surprise, it did. I wasn''t sure if the collars would work on other creatures; I had 10 more in the sac that Gwyn had been carrying.


    "You will not attempt to harm, hurt, kill, or hinder in any way myself or any of my slaves. You will follow any order given to you by Iva as if it were a direct order from me," I said, once again repeating the phrase I had used on Gwyn.


    "What about me?" Gwyn pouted. "I caught it, why does she get to order it around and I don''t?"


    Iva laughed as she looted the goblin she had killed, and with a sigh, I gave in.


    "You will also do whatever Gwyn orders you to, but Iva''s and my orders take precedence," I said, looking at the little goblin intently.


    "What dis prez-E-dance? Not know that," it asked in very broken Common.


    "It means you do what I say or what Iva says before what Gwyn says. OK?" I said with a sigh. I almost hoped he gets eaten just so I don''t have to teach the little monster how to speak properly.


    "No kill you," was all I got in reply from the beast.


    "Yes, you can''t kill us," I agreed.


    He looked at me angrily and said, "No kill you¡­ why?"


    "Because I don''t feel like dying right now," I said, laughing at the dumb question.


    "I think he wants to know why he can''t kill you," Iva said, pointing at the goblin. "See, he''s straining pretty hard to draw his dagger but can''t."


    "Ah, that makes more sense, haha. I didn''t think goblins were that dumb. You are my slave now," I said, walking up to him and pointing to the collar around his neck. "Slave," I said, then pointing to my arm band, "Master, is magic."


    "Take off!" he demanded, stomping his foot while tugging on the collar.


    "Only when dead," I replied to his request.


    The look of defeat on the thing almost made me feel sorry for it. Even though it was a monster, it still had feelings, and I guess even monsters don''t like being enslaved.


    "Great Esh not happy when Melk not come home," it said sadly.


    "Great Esh?" I asked, curious about who or what this Esh was.


    "Big, Big, Green," Melk said, spreading his arms wide. "Great Esh killed old chief, new chief now."


    "Orcs!" Iva said. "Probably like that last band we came across, using them as slave labor."


    "No Orcs!" Melk said, spitting on the ground in disgust. "Orcs Big yes, Great Esh big, big, biggest big," he was now trying to extend his arms even wider.


    "So bigger than an orc and green," Iva said, shaking her head. "That narrows it down to, oh I don''t know, like a hundred monsters we don''t want to cross paths with."


    ¡°Do you know where the human Village is?¡± I asked Melk hoping maybe he had been further down in the dungeon and knew a shortcut.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Melk said ¡°Humanz live deep, down down. Melk only scout once, then Great Esh come. Now only scout near cave.¡± Melk said, pointing down the path we had come from.


    ¡°Can you lead the way to the village safely?¡± Gwyn asked hopeful that the terrors of the dungeon wouldn''t be the death of her.


    ¡°Yes, can lead.¡± Melk says with a sigh. ¡°You tell Great Esh why Melk no go home.¡± Perking up a bit at the thought.


    ¡°We don''t want to see this Esh.¡± Gwyn said ¡°is there a way around Esh to get to the human village?¡±


    ¡°Must use path of Great Esh to go down¡± Melk answered. ¡°You ask Great Esh for key, if Esh happy, you go down.¡±


    ¡°And if Esh is not happy?¡± I asked


    ¡°Then Great Esh eat you!¡± the little goblin laughed.


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    ¡°Let¡¯s stay here one more night before we go make our appearance before the Great Esh.¡± I announced to the group ¡°I need to replenish our stock of scribed projectiles before we go into a possible battle.¡±


    ¡°And I need to spend all night accumulating energy now, because someone tore up my robes.¡± Gwyn said, angrily glaring at Iva. ¡°Those robes were enchanted to aid in accumulation so I didn''t have to actually focus on acquiring energy for my spells. I¡¯m nearly empty now and it''s going to take all night meditating just to get back to normal¡± she said pouting.


    ¡°What? It''s not my fault you decided to play pincushion and get yourself stuck with all those spears.¡± Iva said defensively. ¡°Also try not to get hit in the future if you don''t wish to be wandering these halls in the nude.¡±


    ¡°What!!¡± Gwyn shrieked, clutching the remains of her robes that were just enough to cover her feminine bits. ¡°You wouldn''t dare!¡±


    Laughing, I decided to come to Iva¡¯s rescue and explained, ¡°When we cut up your robe to make clothing, we inscribed runes of power into them. Your meager clothing is now a sort of armor. Any injuries you sustain will first damage the cloth. If it sustains enough damage in a short amount of time, the rune will drain the energy from the clothing and it will turn to ash.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± was all Gwyn said before wrapping her arms around her knees and starting to cry.


    ¡°You should have just let her die!¡± Iva said, looking at Gwyn in disgust. ¡°She will have the entire dungeon down on our heads with all that noise.¡±


    ¡°No, we collared her, so she¡¯s our responsibility. Besides, she has her uses.¡± I said to Iva while gesturing to the stone sled Gwyn had made.


    ¡°We all need to be quiet until we head out to see this Esh person so nothing louder than a whisper.¡± I said to the group. Turning I pointed to Melk and said. ¡°You are one of us now, no noise or alerting other monsters unless your told to by myself or Iva.¡±


    With a wide grin that showed far too many sharp pointy teeth he bobbed his head and said ¡°Melk be good goblin, follow all masters orders.¡± Then cocking his head, he continued ¡°Esh, new master, either way Melk probably dead soon anyway.¡±


    I sat down against the wall and began to gather my tools for a long night of scribing. As I prepared, a thought occurred to me. ¡°Gwyn?¡± I asked, hoping she wasn''t already meditating.


    ¡°Yes master,¡± she replied, her voice laced with bitterness.


    ¡°It''s Llond,¡± I said. ¡°Can you shape small round stones for my sling out of the rubble around us? Preferably using the highest quality resources available? Having quality bullets for my sling would be great and probably improve my aim.¡±


    ¡°I can''t do that anymore,¡± Gwyn said, gesturing to the sled we had used to slide down into the dungeon. ¡°They revoked my dungeon master status when we got into the sled. That was what allowed me to move freely through the dungeon. They told me that because I broke the rules, I am now a permanent resident of the dungeon.¡± She sniffed.


    ¡°So I can''t pull high quality stones from the surrounding area. At most, I can change the shape of the rubble in the room. I''ll have to meditate for a bit before I can do that. If you have your pet goblin gather all the loose rocks into a pile, I''ll alter them all once I''ve rested.¡±


    ¡°That sounds good, Gwyn. Change the stones as soon as you can. It will take me all night to scribe them,¡± I said. Turning to Melk, I continued, ¡°Melk, you are now a part of our party. That means you''ll have to help us, including fighting and protecting us when battle starts. This might mean fighting your own kind or this Great Esh, if they are hostile. That''s why I let you keep your dagger. You''ll have to fight with us. I don''t care if it''s your mother''s uncle. You need to fight to win.¡±


    ¡°Can''t kill mother¡¯s uncle.¡± Melk said with a sigh.


    "What?" I asked, confused by Melk''s ability to even voice working against us.


    With a heavy sigh, Melk explained, "Mother''s uncle was chief, before Great Esh, ate him now new chief. Was good chief, give Melk knife. As he spoke, Melk''s face brightened as he thought of his knife. He began rubbing the hilt with a wistful smile on his face. I couldn''t help but wonder what kind of horrific memories Melk had attached to his blade, goblins wern¡¯t known for their kindness or mercy.


    "May I see your knife?" I asked, hoping to build some trust with Melk rather than simply ordering him to hand it over.


    "Mine!" he shrieked, violently slamming the half-drawn blade back into its sheath. The sudden movement nearly tore his loincloth free.


    "I just want to see how good it is," I replied, trying to calm the agitated goblin. "I might be able to improve it so it cuts better. I''ll give it back, I promise."


    "Cuts good!" Melk insisted while covering his dagger with both hands, trying to keep it hidden from me.


    I decided it would be easier to just prove my point. I asked Melk to use his dagger to cut down one of the spikes that hadn''t been collected yet and to count how many times he had to chop in order to cut it free. Several moments later, a panting Melk returned with a three-foot-long length of wood. He had chosen the smallest one in the bunch.


    "Now, how many times did you have to hit it?" I asked him.


    "Two!" he said with another one of his toothy grins.


    "More like twenty-two," Iva said with a snort.


    Nodding, I drew my stone goblin dagger that I had scavenged days ago and Melk snorted at me.


    "Can''t cut with that, it break." he said, shaking his head.


    With a big smile, I held the length of wood out in one hand and hacked at it with the stone knife. It cleanly sliced the wood in a single chop. The goblin stood there, stunned, with his toothy maw hanging open in shock.


    "You cheat!" he whined at me before demanding, "Do it again!"


    Reaching into the stone blade with my meager magical powers, I could sense that it only had two or three more strikes before it turned to dust. So, with a smile, I hacked at the wood one more time. Once again, it cleanly cut the wooden spike.


    Taking the wood from me, Melk began hacking at it again with his knife. Stopping him after a moment so he didn''t dull his knife too much, I waved him closer and pointed to the runes I had added to my blade.


    "These runes make it stronger and sharper," I explained. "With this simple stone goblin''s dagger, I can cut four or five times before it breaks. I have to let it rest to build up magic again. I could do the same for your knife, if it''s made of good metal. It would last a long time before breaking and always be sharp."


    Finally, after several moments of deliberation, Melk apparently came to a decision. Undoing the clasp on the sheath, he pulled the dagger from his belt and reverently handed it to me. It seemed far more important to him than anything else, and I was curious about its significance.


    Drawing the blade and examining it, I was shocked. Though the handle was scratched and dull, I could see that it had once been encrusted with jewels. The jewels had all been pried out at some point, and now it looked to be an old, pitted dagger. The gold, now dirty and marred by age, looked like an old, rusty hilt. The handle had been rewrapped with some sort of leather, but it was sturdy. The cap was on tight, so the blade didn''t wiggle at all. The blade itself gleamed in the firelight, with not a single blemish on its entire length. It looked to have been well kept, which was odd since it had been in goblin hands for quite some time.


    "Where did you get this?" I asked Melk in amazement.


    "Is chief''s dagger," he replied. "Passed to new chief when old ones die." Taking the blade back from me, he fished around in his tiny belt pouch and produced a rag and wet stone, which he must have gotten from a dead adventurer. He spat on the stone and began sharpening the tiny nicks he had made while chopping at the wood.


    Once he was done sharpening it, he wiped it off with the rag and handed it back to me. "You make sharp?" he asked.


    Taking it once again, I nodded. And after looking into the blade to determine how much magic it had, I was shocked once again. With the strength and sharpness runes, I knew this knife could cut wood all day long without worrying about expending its energy. I wasn''t going to take his family heirloom, but if the little monster died, I was definitely going to take it. By then, I would have learned new runes to add to it, making it even stronger.


    I began scribing on Melk''s dagger to pass the time while I waited for Gwyn to finish her meditation. I made sure to make the runes as small as possible, in a way that I could add more in the future. I asked Melk to collect all the loose stones and pile them quietly near Gwyn, and since I finished before she did, I ended up taking a nap.


    Gwyn woke me some time later, asking for more details on what I needed. I fished out one of the better stones I had and asked her for smooth, round stones like this, with the best material possible. I also asked for eight small, square tablets to be made of the best material we had. These were going to be healing plates. If we were injured, we could press them into a wound and it would heal as much as it had energy for.


    A few moments later, I had my eight tablets and roughly 40 round stones, about an inch in diameter, to work with. Once done, Gwyn laid down to sleep. I began examining my pile; it would probably take me the rest of the night to finish these. With a heavy sigh, I got to work once again, building up our stockpile of ammunition and healing implements.

 Chapter 13

    This time, I woke to the smell of cooking meat. Looking around groggily, it seemed that I had fallen asleep while scribing. Luckily, the stone I had dropped after falling asleep wasn''t even started.


    "Welcome back," I heard from the fire. Looking up, I saw Iva walking over to me with a smoking hunk of meat on a stick in her hands.


    Offering me the meat, I looked back at her and asked, "What is it?" I didn''t remember us having fresh meat, and the only thing we had killed recently was that other goblin. I really hoped it wasn''t goblin meat; I had no desire to eat goblin.


    "Try it, it''s quite good," she insisted. "It''s cave slug. I had set Melk to second watch, and after I went to bed, he found one sneaking up on us as we slept. He said it was a major food source in the dungeon, but you had to be careful at night because their slime is corrosive."


    She then informed me that Melk said cave slugs were quite common on this level and they would sneak up on unsuspecting creatures while they slept, dissolve them into a puddle of goo, and then feed. They were basically one giant muscle with eyes and a gland that secreted a corrosive ooze that could dissolve most organic things. They had to be cut up and cooked immediately, or the corrosive stuff in them would start eating away at the meat, making it inedible.


    Taking a tentative bite, I was surprised. Iva had been right, and it was quite tasty. Before I knew it, I had devoured the entire thing and was looking for more. Joining them at the small campfire Iva had made, I patiently waited for the next servings to be ready. We sat in silence, enjoying the feast as the fire popped and sizzled as the drippings off the slabs of meat fell into the coals.


    Once we were done eating, we packed up our camp and as much of the wood sticks as we could comfortably carry. While I had slept, Iva had fashioned packs for each of us using some of the smaller bits of wood, all tied together with tough leather cords made from the cave slug''s hide. Melk had apparently been a hunter for his tribe before Esh had taken over and knew how to take all the useful bits from the slug, leaving only the dangerous parts behind.


    The wood pole frames had padding where they hit my shoulders and lower back, and straps that went across the chest and over each shoulder to hold it in place. I was surprised at how comfortable the pack was while walking around. The only downside was that the shoulder straps had to be tied on. Iva explained that it was a quick release; if we were attacked, we could pull the cord and it would untie, dropping the pack to the ground in an instant, making us less encumbered in battle.


    The knot was brilliant, but it took quite a while to get ready to go while she tied each of our packs in place. I requested that Iva teach us all the next time we camped so that breaking camp wouldn''t take so long. Nodding her assent, we all turned to watch Gwyn work. She had been staring at the wall that led up to the ledge that the goblins had attacked from.


    After several moments, and some heavy panting from Gwyn, the stone began to move. Hand and foot holes began to slowly appear. "This was a lot easier when I had my robes and dungeon master status," Gwyn said, panting, a trickle of sweat running down her face.


    "That''s what you get for dealing with a nobleman!" I said bitterly. "After they''ve bent you over, they then proceed to take all your shit!"


    Gwyn said nothing as we watched Iva climb up the wall using the new handholes. She was probably regretting the day that Duke Gervais had propositioned her. Either that, or she was stewing about having been bested by half-naked, starved prisoners. Feeling I had been a bit harsh, I decided that I would go easier on her if she ever got over her snobby, "I''m better than you because I''m a mage" attitude. Well, that, and her inability to accept that it was no one''s fault but hers for agreeing to do that damned nobleman''s dirty work for him. Did I mention I really hate nobles?


    After peeking over the edge, Iva clambered to the top and, a moment later, signaled us to follow. Once atop the wall we continued down the passage, Melk whispering to Iva as we went, explaining where each of the passages went to and which to avoid if we ended up running away from the Great Esh.


    We made good time with Melk leading the way. We were able to avoid several patrols and get to a rocky ledge in another large cavern where the goblins lived. This cavern was nearly identical to the first goblin camp we had encountered. It was almost like the mages who made it were being totally unoriginal and following a pattern for each monster village.


    "Maybe this is where they put all the new or unimaginative mage¡¯s," I said to Iva as we hunkered down in the exact same cave we had slept in after wiping out the other camp.


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    "It is not!" Gwyn whispered angrily as she walked past us to dump her pack into the cave.


    "She''s right," Iva admonished me. She then followed up with, "In this cave, the former occupants shit on the other side!"


    Laughing, we both looked back over our shoulders to see Gwyn staring daggers at the pair of us.


    "Is goblin home," Melk said, moving up to sit beside us. "All same same. Camp above and camp below same same, even big big camp near human village same same."


    After asking about how a goblin village could survive near a human settlement, Melk continued to explain. He took one of the smaller sticks we had brought with us and began to draw a circle in a patch of dirt. He drew one large circle and several smaller circles. The large circle was probably four feet in diameter, and the smaller ones were similar in size to an apple. He also drew another circle inside the largest one. This one was probably a foot in diameter, but squashed into one wall.


    "Humanz village," Melk said, pointing to the squashed circle against one of the walls of the largest circle. "Shroomy forest," he said, dragging the stick in the area inside the largest circle, not far from the human village. "Goblin home, same, same, same," he said, pointing to a string of three small, apple-sized circles attached to the outside of the largest circle with lines. Pointing to a pair of similar, slightly larger circles on the opposite side of the map, he said, "Orc home, same same."


    He ended his explanation by pointing at every single circle saying "same, same, same" over and over again, ending with a final "Same same!" while pointing the stick out into the cavern we were in now. Once finished, the three of us looked expectantly at Gwyn, who eventually sagged in defeat.


    "It''s where the monsters were going to live!" Gwyn finally blurted out. "We were each given a picture of a cave and told to build something similar in each of our zones for monsters to live. It''s not my fault everyone else copied it stone for stone too. I spent all my time on the puzzle rooms I got to make. It was a lot more fun, and no one else had ever made it out of my puzzle box room, let alone found their way through the statue room. That stupid duke threatened to have me expelled since you beat the monsters and got through my puzzle room so easily."


    We were right. This whole area before the first village was definitely the newbie dungeon master area. Gwyn eventually explained some of how it worked. Apparently, new wizards who join the dungeon are given an area in the beginning. Whoever can make the deadliest area out of what they are given, or create something original, gets to move deeper where more complex dungeon mastery methods are learned.


    Deciding we should prepare for tomorrow, I told the others we would make camp here in the cave tonight. We could spy on the village below in hopes of figuring out what type of creature this Great Esh was. We set up in the back of the cave and, to our surprise, Melk fished in a crevice we hadn''t noticed, pulling out a large quilted blanket and draping it over the door.


    "Use cave for fun time," Melk explained while making the universal pelvic thrust motion for sex.


    Melk received an "eww" from Gwyn and laughter from Iva and myself. He continued explaining that having the blanket over the door would hide our light and also warn anyone from below that the cave was in use. After that, his explanations turned into arguments with Gwyn about how humans are disgusting and do it out in the open, while the more civilized goblins needed privacy to procreate. Gwyn''s only argument seemed to be that goblins procreating was disgusting in general, and that he shouldn''t do that gesture anymore.


    The two of them provided Iva and I with entertainment the entire evening. Melk had begun to do a half pelvic thrust, half shuffling walk thing every time he had to walk past where Gwyn was sitting, sulking. We only had one scare that night, when a goblin couple had come to the curtain and said something in their language. I almost gave us away when Melk slapped Gwyn on the butt while she had been bent over arranging her bedding, causing a squawk of protest. He then said something back to them in their language before grunting a bit. We heard them mumbling as they left, voices fading away. Once it was quiet, Melk''s grunting quickly became laughter when he saw the look on Gwyn''s face.


    Melk informed us he had both good and bad news after his laughing fit subsided. The good news was that they knew Melk was up here with someone and it would be an all-nighter. He said this with a sly grin, waggling his eyebrows at Gwyn. Next, he continued that the tribe would soon know that Melk was alive and probably hiding in the cave here to avoid Esh.


    Melk was quickly growing on me and his antics towards Gwyn endeared the little monster to me even more. Gwyn''s attitude was getting even worse as she struggled with the fact that she was now a prisoner and slave. She was becoming even more difficult as time went on, glaring at Iva and me just as often as she did Melk. Iva took to the little guy just as quickly as I did, and while I worked on my rune craft, they spent the night telling battle stories over the small fire we had made.


    Before lying down for the night, I finished scribing nearly all of the bullets Gwyn had made for me. My thoughts wandered while I scribed, the act having been done so many times now that I had time to worry about tomorrow while not blowing myself up.


    I woke a bit later with a start, the last thing I had remembered was scribing and thinking about the potential battle tomorrow. At some point, Iva must have put my tools away and pulled the blankets over us because she was now snuggling into my lap. To my surprise, I felt bare skin. She had apparently taken more than my tools while preparing our bed. Embracing her as my arousal grew, we quietly enjoyed each other''s company and eventually fell asleep. It was the best time I''d had since entering this horrible dungeon, and I never wanted it to end.

 Chapter 14

    Morning came too early. I was roused by Iva stealing my blanket and tossing my loincloth in my lap. When I didn''t move, she proceeded to dump a portion of her water skin over my head before dropping that, too, in my lap. The water was more than enough to wake me, but the half-full skin falling towards my groin had me bolt upright, cradling my softer bits protectively.


    "Good morning, sleepy," Iva said, smiling down at me. "Melk says it''s nearly Esh''s feeding time, so if we want to get a good look at him, now''s our chance."


    It was then that I realized I was naked and blushing. I grabbed my loincloth, unsure of what to say. Turning on her heels, she walked away, ordering Melk and Gwyn to begin packing up. As she walked, her hips swayed far more than they normally did. I was unsure if it was just to tease me or if she wanted me to look, but either way, I enjoyed every second of it, until I realized how badly I had to relieve myself.


    Standing up while holding my loincloth in place, I peeked out the curtain to make sure the path was clear and snuck to the privy. Melk had pointed it out when we first set up camp. It was a natural outcropping that had running water. A small underground stream came out of the rocks to form a tiny waterfall before running back into the ground. If you sat in the right place, you could both do your business and lean back to take a shower.


    After relieving myself with a huge sigh, I leaned back and quickly washed off the last two weeks'' worth of grime. The cold water was a shock at first, but totally worth it. I even washed off my loincloth before tying it back on and slipping inside to warm up and dry off by the fire as long as I could."


    By the time Gwyn and Melk had done their morning business, I was mostly dry and feeling nice and toasty. We had a small breakfast of our leftover cave slug meat before slipping out of the cave to watch for Esh''s feeding time. Apparently, whatever he was, he made the goblins feed him multiple times a day while it slept the rest of the time.


    We didn''t have to wait long before we noticed a large commotion below us. Goblins were rushing all over, heaping what looked like stacks of cave slug meat in a pile to the left of the large cave below. It was huge in comparison to the other caves, large enough for three men to ride through on horseback. Moments after the goblins had begun stacking food, a loud roar echoed through the cavern, goblins nearest the cave slapping their hands over their long, pointy ears. After the echoes of the roar faded away, a figure flew out of the cave, bouncing several times before finally rolling to a stop, revealing it to be the mangled corpse of a goblin.


    Melk winced when he saw the body slide to a stop. "Poor Vekt," he said sadly, shaking his head. "Vekt was here last night, told Great Esh Melk was hiding, I think."


    Iva patted Melk on the head, offering her condolences at the death of a tribe member he actually seemed sorry for causing. A moment later, we could hear the heavy footfalls of a large bipedal creature. Unsure what kind of creature could possibly walk on two legs and make that kind of noise, we all held our breaths in anticipation as shadows darkened the cave entrance before the beast finally emerged.


    The thing, Esh, was enormous. It was mostly humanoid, with a wide stance and fat, short, stubby legs and a huge, round torso. Though it looked like an overly fat merchant from its stomach to its feet, that''s where the similarities ended. It had massive, muscular arms dragging an enormous wooden club in one hand. Atop its shoulders sat not one, but two grotesque heads, though the skin was green like an orc, the features resembled humans more than orcs.


    "Bring me Melk!" its dual voices roared, slamming its club on the ground hard enough for us to feel the impact where we hid. It then sat and began gorging each of its mouths on the mound of slug meat.


    "Ettin," Gwyn said, her face pale as she watched the monster gorging itself.


    A slap on my shoulder broke my gaze from the beast Gwyn had named an ettin. I had never heard of one, but if we had to kill this thing to continue, we definitely needed more time to plan. Looking up at Iva, I saw her hurriedly putting her pack on and, upon seeing me still lying at the cliff''s edge, she pointed urgently past me. Looking in the indicated direction, I could see a small horde of goblins making their way to the ropes at the edge of the path below me.


    We quickly began strapping on our packs as well and, following Iva, we made our way past the privy. There was a dark, shaded area of the cliff where the magical ambient light that this cave''s ceiling put off didn''t quite reach. We all climbed down the cliff to a small ledge Gwyn had prepared earlier for us. As we hid, dozens of goblins ran all over above us, searching the cave we had just vacated for Melk.


    My fingers ached as we clung to the cliff''s face, waiting for the goblins to get bored and leave. Finally, after what felt like days, Iva slunk back up to the ledge and, after peeking over, waved us forward. Just as we were cresting the top, another loud roar echoed through the cavern, making us all cringe in fear. Looking down on the camp we were just in, we were just in time to see the massive Ettin grab a goblin that had gotten too close.


    Lifting it high in the air, he dropped the flailing goblin into its open maw. Biting down with an audible crunch, Esh turned his head, sharing the other half of the poor goblin with its other hungry mouth. Both jaws chomped down and, after a few yanks, tore the body in half before gulping the pieces down like hungry birds in a nest. After finishing his goblin meal, he roared at them once again to find Melk before turning back to his original meal.


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    All of the goblins scattered then, flowing like ants out of each of the tunnels. There must have been at least 30 goblins in this tribe, all serving this ettin who called himself The Great Esh. We waited a moment longer after they had all left before we relaxed and put our packs down again.


    ¡°We should attack now while they are all away!¡± Iva said suddenly.


    Nodding my ascent I began digging through my pack in preparation to attack, I needed to make sure I used my most potent exploding stones.


    ¡°You''re crazy!¡± Gwyn cried out. ¡°I''m not going anywhere near that thing,¡± she said, bolting back into the cave.


    ¡°You will come and you''ll help fight as well¡± Iva said, nearly shouting at the other woman as she entered right behind Gwyn.


    ¡°Shhh if he hears you were screwed¡± I hissed and at that moment a huge boulder exploded on the wall just above where I was standing. A little lower and I''d have lost my head for sure.


    Both Melk and I ducked at once trying to make smaller targets. Pulling out my sling I tied one end to my wrist. I had never tried launching a stone from this distance and I didn''t want to lose it over the cliff in the first attempt. Ordering Melk to fetch the girls I got one of my heaviest stones. Jumping to my feet after another large boulder exploded I spun my sling and the moment it was up to speed, sent it flying.


    The stone sailed through the air to explode a good 10 yards in front of the beast, showering it with tiny pebbles from the point of impact. Laughing, it began searching for another stone. Esh took his time finding the perfect rock to lob at me, all the while making sure he didn''t get within range of my missiles. Digging through the rubble a broken rock Esh had thrown I found the biggest stone that would fit in my sling. Dodging his next boulder I quickly stood and began to work the sling.


    I had to work much harder getting it up to speed and my arm burned by the time I let it fly. My aim was true and it bounced off Esh¡¯s shoulder. With a whoop of joy I ducked to begin searching for a similar stone that I could quickly scribe the exploding rune onto. I had gotten quite good at it and could practically do the rune blindfolded now and could scribe in less than a minute. Now that I knew I could reach it with the larger stone I was sure I could hurt him. The smaller bullets Gwyn made would probably just make him angry, so I needed something bigger.


    Esh laughed when this stone didn''t explode and bent over once again to find the right bolder to crush me with. Ducking down below the rim of the cliff I pulled out my scribe and got to work. I nearly ruined the stone when Iva, Gwyn, and Melk burst from the cave at a sprint towards the ropes, Gwyn yelling and flailing her arms at the same time. Iva must have given her a direct order and the magic considered it to come from me.


    I laughed as I saw Gwyn following right on her heels, all the while demanding Iva let her go and that she wasn''t going to die fighting an ettin.


    ¡°Quiet¡± I ordered as they ran by and Gwyn¡¯s jaws instantly clamped shut, earning me a glare as she silently slid over the edge and down the rope.


    I was working on my second larger bullet by the time the group got to the bottom and began to circle Esh. Gwyn stood back near some stalagmites shooting small stones at him with her earth magic. Iva and Melk, weapons drawn, had circled around him and were to either side ready to dash in and strike when Esh gave an opening.


    Esh roared in pleasure picking up smaller boulders in both hands, his two heads able to watch both fighters and keep Gwyn in his vision. Gwyn¡¯s stones did no noticeable damage and just seemed to bounce harmlessly off his rotund belly. She kept it up for a bit before sending two stones rocketing simultaneously at each head.


    Esh saw them in the last minute and ducked, Gwyn¡¯s sudden attack missed one head completely but cut a deep gash in the right head spilling blood down into its face. Just as Esh was distracted I stood and began twirling my sling once again, my arm really burned this time and I knew I had to make it count, I wouldn''t have the energy to do many more like this.


    Just as I got my sling up to speed Melk dashed forward and with his newly scribed blade slashed out catching Esh in the ankle. The blade bit deep into the back of Esh¡¯s heel and he roared in pain dropping to one knee while Melk sprinted out of his reach. The loud explosion rocked the cavern when my projectile met Esh square in the chest. It was powerful enough to knock the beast flat on his back.


    Not missing out on the momentarily stunned Esh, both Iva and Melk dashed in, each driving their blade deep into one of the ettin''s skulls. His big meaty hand caught Iva in the back and sent her flying through the air to bounce off a stalagmite, where she laid motionless on the ground. Eyes only for Iva, I flew down the ropes. Sprinting past Esh, I was happy to see his thrashing was beginning to look more like convulsions.


    Sliding to a stop at Iva¡¯s side I gently rolled her limp body over. I did not expect to see a naked and grinning Iva looking back at me. The ash from her clothes and healing charm fell aside as she wrapped her arms around my neck and whispered in my ear ¡°where''s that spare chest wrap?¡± Once the embrace ended I told her my pack was up on the ledge still and turned to deal with the Great Esh.


    Melk was staring as a nude Iva walked past, I saw him actually wipe drool from his chin and ordered him to find the key. He had a big grin on his face as he turned and began searching Esh¡¯s body. I caught myself reaching up to make sure I hadn''t either. Finding that I didn''t, I smiled and began to help search for the key.


    Not finding the key on the body we moved the search into the giant cave. The smell was almost enough to make me vomit, it was all I could do to keep from running away as fast as I could. Activating a light stone I walked to the back of the cave looking for the path out of this level. To my horror I found it, buried nearly to the ceiling in Ettin shit. Apparently Esh had been trying to hide the gate behind a huge wall of shit, he must have been working at it for quite some time.


    Turning in disgust I searched the rest of the cave finding only a few tattered pieces of clothing and a broken wooden chest. Tossing the lid aside a big grin split my face as I found the jackpot, a pair of steel bracers and a very expensive looking leather vest. None had runes on them and both looked to be made from quality materials. I slid on the bracers and vest before striding out of the cave.

 Note from the author and a poll

    Greetings everyone, I apologize again for how long it''s taken to get back to working on this project. I''ve spent the last week re-reading my entire draft and I''m undecided on how I want to proceed so I thought, why not post a poll?


    When I started writing this story I had planned on a series of short stories that, when combined would be an average-sized book. Llonds goal from his first step into the dungeon has been to find the first settlement and were nearly there. I have a huge crafting montage coming and I''m not sure if I want to end the first book upon arrival or end it after the crafting montage. I have about 8 chapters with a heavy amount of planning and crafting on the part of the MC''s party. Personally, I find huge crafting bits boring at the start of a book so I''m inclined to end the first book after the month-long crafting montage but my planned ending for this portion of the story has always been when the party gains entry to the village.


    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    The 8 chapters in my draft after their arrival are extremely rough and will take some time to rewrite and might even add a chapter or 2 to the crafting montages length. Right now it''s at about 25k words and I estimate probably 30-40k words once it''s been cleaned up.

 Chapter 15

    <h2>Chapter 15</h2>


    My elation was quickly dampened when I exited the cave. My party had their backs to me and the body of Esh was all that separated them from the horde of goblins that must have just returned. Melk sat cross-legged on Esh¡¯s belly shouting over the other goblins who shouted back just as loudly. Unable to understand a word they said I stood arms crossed next to Iva and watched the show in nervous anticipation. If Melk lost the argument it could be very bad for our side. Goblins aren''t generally that strong individually but there¡¯s enough of them to make it a very tough battle if it came to that.


    With a loud shout from Melk, the group silenced and he turned to look at me. ¡°Horde understand Melk not be leader that Llond Melk leader now. They want Melk knife, knife for chief, says Melk no take.¡±


    I let slip a sigh of relief, finally understanding the argument I scratched my head thinking for a moment. ¡°Melk, tell them to bring me their best weapon, besides your knife and I will make a new chief weapon, tell them I will add magic to it for new chief.¡±


    My headache was nearly complete by the time they finished the next round of arguing in their grating language.


    Turning to me Melk asked, ¡°They want know why you help Melk and horde?¡±


    Rubbing my temples in a vain attempt to relieve my headache I replied ¡°As a member of my party you need a weapon, also we need to find the key and I need someone to clear that ettin shit from the gate so we can leave. We''re also hungry and tired, I would like to stay the night here, without having to worry about them killing and eating us while we sleep. Tell them if they let us stay tonight, help find the key and clear out the cave so we can leave in the morning, I will make them a magic weapon for the new chief.¡±


    With one last round of shouting the goblins scattered in all directions. Melk after clambering down announces with a large toothy grin ¡°they deal, finding new chief symbol and clearings poo tunnel, have big big feast with slug meat and party for dead Esh. Sleep, safe safe then leave when wakings.¡±


    Patting the goblin on the shoulder I asked him to help Iva get our things from the cave and found a comfortable spot to study. I knew there was a rune that would light up and display how much energy the item had left and figured it would be a good thing to put on a weapon I was trading to goblins. Don''t need them breaking it and taking it out on future humans who happen to make it this far.


    I nearly laughed aloud when I was presented with the best three weapons in the tribe, the first was a spear, which comprised of the rusty tip of a broken sword that had been tied to a shaft much like my own early weapon had been. The second was a bone-handled stone dagger similar to the one I had taken but in far worse condition. The final piece was an enormous butcher''s cleaver that must have been built for an orc and not a goblin, Its handle had been extended so that the little goblin who held it could wield it two-handed.


    I checked each one to ensure I got the best as far as how much energy it held, and in the end, the cleaver won out by a good margin. Though it was large and unwieldy for the little creatures it was made from solid iron and would hold its charge far longer than the other two weapons would. Once I made my choice I waived them all off and began to study the weapon, it needed some upkeep before I could begin work. Calling Gwyn over I asked her if her magic could be used to improve the blades properties and maybe remove some of the blemishes. That might make it a little more potent if it was entirely made of quality material.


    ¡°I''ll need a hot fire,¡± Gwyn said in reply. ¡°I can improve it and even reshape it to something more useful. Honestly, I¡¯d suggest some sort of pick axe maybe with a hammer on one end, if you scribe it to be resistant to damage it would probably last them generations.¡±


    ¡°Why a pick axe?¡± I asked, confused as to why goblins would need something so mundane.


    ¡°There¡¯s a large vein of iron ore below their love shack¡± Gwyn answered. ¡°It could easily be mined for iron ore. If we had been able to take this place over completely I would have suggested we stay here and mine it for a bit. With my magic, I could easily get some quality material after a few weeks of hard work.¡±


    ¡°Ok go get Melk and have him explain your suggestion and if they agree we will make it into a pick axe otherwise we¡¯ll stick to some sort of weapon, possibly a short sword or gladius they could wield two-handed¡±


    A short time later Gwyn returned in a huff, grumbling something about the stupidity of the lesser races, ¡°The little idiots want a sword!¡± she exclaimed. ¡°Damned fools, wouldn''t know a good thing if it fell out of the stone and landed on their heads.¡±


    Laughing I made my suggestion, we would fashion a leaf-shaped gladius on a slightly longer, hand-and-a-half handle. That way if a human happened to wipe out the village it would be a decent short sword while still being a quality weapon for the goblins. After my instructions, Gwyn hefted the large cleaver and marched off to the bonfire where the goblins were cooking our cave slug feast. Melk and another group of goblins were busy carving up the ettin¡¯s corpse, I guess they intended to cook him as well. After a moment of thought, I called Melk over again.


    Melk was covered nearly head to foot in ettin blood and smelled quite bad, it took me a moment to calm my stomach enough to ask ¡°Who made that bone-handled stone knife I was shown? If he is still around, bring him to me.¡±


    Nodding Melk wandered off talking to the goblins, I''m glad that he spoke our language even if poorly, it would have been far worse had we been stuck with no one that could communicate. A short time later Melk returned with the oldest wrinkled goblin I had ever seen in tow, apparently, this was the hordes crafter and the knife I had seen was made by his apprentice.


    ¡°Crur builder, he make everythings,¡± Melk said pointing to the elderly goblin.


    ¡°Does he speak common?¡± I asked thinking it would be easier than having Melk translate everything.


    Unfortunately, Melk shook his head and I went about explaining what I wanted. The goblin crafter used bone in most of his creations so after showing him the sketch of the blade I had Gwyn working on it didn''t take long for him to get my idea. After nodding he hobbled off and started shouting at the goblins who were butchering the ettin and before long he had them piling cleaned-off bones in a heap next to one of the smaller caves. My hope was that a good quality bone handle could improve the overall energy that the new blade would hold making it last a little longer.


    It took Gwyn less than an hour to heat the metal enough that she could magically shape it the way I had asked. She explained what she had done and gave me a chunk of very brittle metal castoffs suggesting it may come in handy in the future. I agreed thinking the clump of miss-shaped metal should be far better than simple rocks and thought about having her wrap my stone bullets in metal for a bit of extra magical oomph, something like that would have been nice in our battle with Esh.


    Crur came and sat next to me after Gwyn dropped off the blade, I had borrowed Melk¡¯s whetstone and was in the process of honing its edge. Gesturing at the blade I stopped my work and offered it to him. He deftly took it and after holding up numerous bone pieces up to it nodded and handed it back. Curious I watched as he sat beside me and began whittling away at the bone with a small steel knife just large enough for his hands. Crur asked for the blade two more times before getting up with a grunt and heading off into his tunnel. Guessing he was taking measurements I went on with my work, the blade now sharpened to the best of my ability was ready for runes.


    I began scribing the sharpness rune as well as the durability and capacity runes. Once the weapon was complete I would finish the activation sequence and the blade would never come apart or need upkeep ever again. As long as they watched the designated lines in the glowing capacity rune that denoted the item''s energy level they would never have to worry about it failing. Shortly after I finished the base runes in the blade the elderly Crur and his apprentice approached me. Holding out the finished handle I was shocked at its beauty, for being an all-bone handle it was exquisitely carved and would look very good once attached. We finished the handle only needing to shim up one tiny part to ensure it wouldn''t wobble and all was tight.


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    The pommel of the blade was the only issue, we had no easy way to attach it securely since the goblins didn''t have the tools most craftsmen did outside the dungeon. While thinking about how to proceed I called Melk over and requested his blade. It only took a moment to scribe the energy rune and divide the energy reserve into fourths. Once done with Melk¡¯s knife upgrade I began using it to carve out a hammer head from some of the Ettin bone scraps. Once happy with them I checked the knife''s energy it had hardly moved past the full mark. Handing the blade back I explained to Melk the new rune and to be careful not to go below the mark closest to the handle.


    Asking him to explain to Crur his new rune I began the final fittings of the handle. I had Gwyn soften the stone in front of me and slid the blade down to the hilt into it. Using my new bone hammer scribed with the protection rune I began hammering the end of the tang until it began to mushroom out over the end of the pommel. Gwyn softened the stone again allowing me to free the blade, I took a few experimental swings to make sure everything felt tight before I set to work finalizing the runes.


    The runes flared to life after the activation rune was completed and the whole blade hummed for a moment as the runes took effect. I had never created something like this so was surprised at first but remembered one of Master Bertol''s lectures about how potent enchantments sometimes had odd effects. Once done I handed the blade to Crur and once again asked Melk to warn about not going below the line or the sword would turn to ash. Crur nodded and turning to the goblin horde he strode up to the ettin corpse. Before him sat the two skulls that had been removed and cleaned. Gesturing to his apprentice the young goblin stepped forward his stone knife held high above him.


    Driving down with all his might the goblin stabbed his blade into the skull only to fall back as his stone knife exploded, raining broken bits down on the watching crowd. With a chuckle, Crur stepped forward and raised the new blade I had fashioned for them. With a deft swing he brought the blade down and the entire crowd cringed as the blade struck, expecting the new sword to explode in a brilliant shower of shrapnel as well.


    I have to admit I cringed as well hoping that my work held up to the powerful creature''s skull. The entire crowd, my party included held our breaths in silent expectation as the old goblin swung downward. The blade made a soft shht sound, much like a sharp knife through cloth as it sliced down through the skull splitting it neatly in two and embedding the point several inches into the stone below. The roar of applause that followed kicked off the celebrations as the blade was offered to one of the larger goblins who bowed to the elder Crur and held it aloft which sounded off another round of cheers. Goblins broke once again in every direction as they finished preparations for the feast. My party was seated at the small fire in the center of the cavern where the new chief and the old craftsman sat. We were handed cups with a dark sweet smelling liquid and plates mounded with meat. Leaning over to Melk I asked him what the drink was and he answered between mouthfuls of meat.


    ¡°Is cave slug milk, happy drink¡± Melk said chunks of meat falling from his mouth into his lap as he spoke. ¡°Special cave slug, eats only special cave moss, add water, happy drink!¡± he pronounced sloshing his cup as he held it aloft.


    After finally swallowing he leaned over and whispered conspiratorially ¡°alone cave full when happy drinks¡± waggling his eyebrows at me while also elbowing me in the ribs and gesturing his cup at Iva before taking another huge bite of his food.


    All the goblins at our fire burst out laughing, Melk¡¯s ¡°whisper¡± being loud enough that half the cavern could hear. Though they couldn''t speak common they could apparently understand it well enough, with an embarrassed chuckle, I glanced at Iva who was happily tearing into a large piece of meat and was already waving her cup for a refill. Several of the youngest goblins ran around from fire to fire serving their elders, our group had 3 such youngsters ensuring we never ran out of anything.


    Touching Iva¡¯s knee I warned her that she was drinking alcohol and she may want to slow down. She only laughed and whispered in my ear, ¡°I''m going to get good and drunk just in case my master decides to take advantage of me after the party.¡± I didn''t think our relationship had progressed far enough to even call it that but if she was planning on jumping me again tonight I suppose I shouldn¡¯t let her down and began to truly join in on the merriment.


    A pounding headache greeted me as I came too, which if I hadn''t woke spooning with Iva would have made me wish I was dead. The entire evening was fuzzy and my last memory was Iva telling me that I was going to take advantage of her. I wasn''t sure if it had been a request or an order but I guess either way it must have happened since we were lying naked in a heap of animal pelts. I froze as I looked down finding that both Iva AND Gwyn were naked, still fast asleep on either side of me. Gwyn¡¯s back was to me and I couldn¡¯t resist admiring the curve of her ass as I carefully extracted myself from between the girls and collected my loincloth and new vest that had been discarded several feet away.


    Getting my clothes back on I left in search of my pack and a place to relieve myself, that slug milk was far stronger than anything I''d ever drank before and I was already dreading when Iva and Gwyn woke. I was very happy to have woken up next to them, I''m not sure how I¡¯d have felt if I¡¯d rolled over and had a naked goblin in bed with me. The thought gave me a chill as I made my way through the mounds of sleeping goblins and I nearly tripped over one at that thought before finally making my way out of camp, and relieved myself on the cavern wall with a sigh.


    Stumbling back to the cave I had slept in I passed Gwyn at the entrance.


    ¡°Uh, did we? um¡­¡± was all I got out.


    ¡°Gods no!¡± Gwyn replied a bit too loudly, leaning on the wall I caressed my temples. Seeing my pain she continued a bit quieter. ¡°You were given all of the blankets in the cave and Iva wouldn''t let me into the pile unless I stripped. I didn''t want to join you but I didn''t want to freeze either soo...¡°


    Sighing in relief I walked back into the cave and snuggled up to Iva covering myself from the chill. I was glad I hadn''t crossed that line that would make me no better than people like Shitter, Iva¡¯s former master. I had just gotten comfortable when Iva awoke to answer the call, leaving me alone in the mound of furs. My headache coupled with Iva not returning to the furs was enough to finally make me get out of bed. Walking back out into the main cavern I could see the goblins getting up and starting the cookfires back up. I found Melk back at the chief¡¯s fire rocking side to side holding his head in his hands. He must have drank far more than I had. Teasing him about it he only moaned, mumbling something I couldn''t understand.


    A moment later he spoke, ¡°Melk make big big mistake, must leave before horde wakes up.¡± reaching over he looked at me pleadingly while tugging on my vest. ¡°Took gobliness to fun cave.¡±


    ¡°Gobliness?¡± I asked a bit confused.


    ¡°Yesss¡± He moaned, ¡°many, many goblinesses,¡± he said cupping his head in his hands once again.


    ¡°Ah so you want to get out before the ladies wake,¡± I said guessing maybe he didn''t want his conquests to begin talking amongst themselves. ¡°Ok, go tell the new chief we''re leaving and we can be on our way.¡± I did remember vaguely at some point in the festivities that the chief had gifted me with the key through the gate.


    ¡°Nooo!¡± Melk hissed tugging at my arm and after a moment he continued. ¡°Gobliness¡¯s I had last night... chief¡¯s daughter.¡± he said with downcast eyes apparently he was afraid of angering the new chief. ¡°And ¡­ Him¡¯s mate!¡±


    ¡°Oh!¡± was all I could think to say. ¡°Uh, I suppose we should leave right away then. Before everyone wakes and begins to gossip about who slept with whom.¡±


    Gathering up Iva and Gwyn we collected our things and headed towards the large cave with the gate. I hoped that the goblins had done as I asked and cleared the gate so we could use the key to get through. We were stopped by Crur as we entered the tunnel. Afraid that we had been found out and he would demand Melk stay here I stepped forward to push past him. Before I could take more than one step he bowed deep and began talking.


    ¡°Mighty maker of things, accept a gift from Crur.¡± Melk translated as Crur¡¯s apprentice stepped forward proffering the gifts Crur had made. ¡°In exchange for the ever-flowing water bag, take this bone flask full of slug milk, it was the last and most potent of the barrel. For the making of new chief blade, take bone axe¡± he said and the apprentice then held out a wicked looking double-bladed axe all made of bone.


    Taking the two items I bowed in return to the old craftsman, both items he had made were exquisite examples of craftsmanship far beyond what I could ever hope to achieve. Both items had been made from the ettin¡¯s bones and I was shocked when I looked into them to feel their potential. Ettins must be magical creatures because the potential both objects had were beyond anything I had ever worked with.


    To Iva, his apprentice held out a long slender slightly curved single bladed sword. It looked to have been made from one of the ettins rib bones, it came with a sheath which was another larger hollowed-out rib bone. Next Crur¡¯s apprentice stepped up to Gwyn and handed her an intricately carved bone in the shape of a wand. Melk frowned when Crur spoke and didn''t reply until after we had been ushered through the gate and heard the clink of the lock behind us.


    ¡°Crur say gift to Melk is time¡± Melk grumbled. ¡°Crur try delay new chief, so we escape!¡±

 Chapter 16

    We rushed down the cavern, unsure how long it would be until we had hordes of angry goblins on our heels. If we were lucky they would laugh it off and consider him already dead since we were going deeper into the dungeon. Melk led us deeper and deeper into the cave system and as the hours rolled by we all began to relax a bit. If the chief was going to come after us I¡¯d have thought they would have caught up by now.


    It took some time between panting breaths to explain what the rush was but once Iva and Gwyn got the gist of what Melk had done they were fine with the pace he had set. With Melk leading the way we were able to avoid several traps. If we''d known how easy it was to traverse the dungeon with a guide I¡¯d have collared one of the goblins from the first camp we had over a week ago.


    We set up camp in a small cave, we had to squeeze into the crack before we found an open room behind. It was obvious that the site had been home to numerous campsites in the past. We quickly spread out finding our places for the night, exhausted after the long night of partying and the even longer run this morning. Gwyn stood and with the last of her energy made a thin layer of stone flow over the crack making it look like solid rock.


    ¡°If we were followed they will just guess that the crack had been filled in by one of the dungeon masters,¡± Gwyn said. ¡°Unless they go hammering on it we should be safe in here till we''re rested.¡±


    Having been plunged into total darkness it took several minutes of digging and feeling runes by hand to be fairly certain I had found the correct stone. Tapping it gingerly on the ground it began to glow, shedding its faint light on our tiny cave.


    The moment we were safe Iva rounded on Melk, smacking the goblin in the back of the head, ¡°the next time we''re thrown a party as "Saviors" try not to sleep with the boss''s daughter and definitely don''t sleep with his mate. I don''t care what race you are, a claimed mate is generally off-limits. It''s just common sense, you can''t be that stupid can you?¡±


    We all got a good laugh at Melk as he spluttered trying to come up with some defense, finally bowing his head in surrender he said, ¡°always happens when Melk has much happy drink.¡±


    Our laughter was cut off a moment later when Iva hissed at us from near the cave entrance. Immediately sobered we sat in silence, ears listening intently for signs of an enemy. It wasn''t long before we heard the patter of tiny goblin footsteps. We heard them stop just outside the cave entrance and begin arguing. A moment later the ones arguing were joined by another who yelled at them and after a few more tense moments they moved off.


    ¡°They confused,¡± Melk chuckled quietly. ¡°They know cave here but no can find.¡±


    We stayed in the hidden crevice for the night, not wanting to get caught by Melk''s tribe. We enjoyed their hospitality and didn''t want to be forced to use their gifts to kill them. I spent the evening adding the now standard set of runes to my new axe as well as an additional rune to each of our items. The new runes formed a binding, it also required a few drops of blood from each of us to complete.


    It took quite a bit of convincing to get them each to cut themselves and dribble blood into the small stone bowl I had Gwyn shape without actually ordering them to. Once done I swirled it around ensuring that it was mixed up as even as possible. I then dipped the handle of each item into the bowl. The blood flowed up into the binding rune I had scribed, absorbing into the weapon and causing the binding rune to glow a faint red for a moment.


    This ensured that only members of our group could use our gear. Even after our deaths none but possibly our descendants could wield the weapons now. The weapons had several new nasty surprises aside from the strength and sharpness runes. I added the ability that would allow us to magically teleport them back to us at will if they were further than 5 meters away. If someone whose blood wasn''t in the mix picked up the weapon magical spikes would erupt from the handle. The spikes would pierce the hand of whoever was unfortunate enough to try using our weapons against any of us.


    Gwyn¡¯s wand was the hardest to work on, the elder craftsman must have had some magical ability, the item was enchanted to reduce the strain of its wielder while channeling magic. In the end, I had Gwyn use her magic to petrify and compress the blood left in the bowl to stone. After carefully carving out a small socket in the bottom of her wand I scribed a pair of binding runes onto the flat surface of the bloodstone and inserted it rune-side down into the wand''s socket. This was the only way I could think of to bind the item to Gwyn without ruining the wand''s enchantment, the second more basic binding rune simply prevented the stone from falling out of the socket. The only downside was that the stone could be used up and leave the item unbound if enough people grabbed it in a short period of time.


    Done with the weapons I added a rune to the flask I had been given, instead of filling with water the flask would magically refill itself with whatever liquid was last stored inside. If I ever needed to quickly collect some other liquid I could pour out the happy juice and then refill it with something else. I also bound it to me so it couldn¡¯t be further than 10 meters from my person. I really liked the flask and didn''t want some thief taking it while I was still breathing. If the flask was taken beyond the limits I had set it would teleport into whatever space was open on my person, a pocket or bag.


    Stolen story; please report.


    Assuming I had been down here for at least two weeks I didn''t bother to pretend to learn the new runes I just duplicated what was in the book. I just hoped that Master Bertol had made it to safety by now. Once the duke found out what my master had done I was sure the duke would have his spies searching for Master Bertol. After looking over the book I cut my palm open and filled a second bowl with blood. In this bowl I had Gwyn create another bloodstone, this one long and flat, after binding it to me with runes I slid it into my book''s bindings. The new binding I added to the book would ensure that none but myself could read it and if I ever dropped it or it was taken it would also teleport back to me much like my flask. The larger amount of blood I used should fuel it for quite a long time.


    Finally done scribing runes I was able to sleep, my eyes felt full of sand by the time I slid under the blanket I shared with Iva. Working in near darkness for so long had strained my eyes a lot and a slight headache was building. Melk slept off to one side by himself, he never bothered using a blanket, I guess he was used to the cold of the tunnels. Gwyn had acquired another clean blanket from the goblins similar to the one Iva and I had so she didn''t need to snuggle with us for warmth anymore.


    I grumbled when I was woken by a rough hand on my shoulder, weakly flailing with one hand trying to chase them away before I was completely awake. That earned me a kick in the ass from Iva who had tired of trying to wake me gently and had begun trying rougher ways to get me out of bed.


    ¡°Come,¡± she said quietly but forcefully in my ear. ¡° We need to get out of this tribe''s territory as soon as possible. Though Melk seems amiable enough I don''t think we want him actively working against us collared or not. While I was on watch I heard a large group moving back towards the goblin camp so we should move before they send another scouting party.¡±


    Still grumbling incoherently I did as Iva asked, dragging myself over to the corner we had designated as the bathroom to relieve myself. Apparently at some point, while I was scribing Gwyn had tired of squatting and created a stone seat complete with a thin lid to keep the smell from lingering. I sighed in relief as I did my morning business, nearly falling asleep as I sat there.


    ¡°You should seal this up when we leave,¡± I said to Gwyn as I adjusted my loincloth back into place. ¡°Better yet smooth it out and make a thin layer of stone so that if someone walks on it they will fall in,¡± I laughed out loud at the mental picture of the scouting goblins or maybe an orc falling into a pit lined with our excrement.


    Gwyn¡¯s lips moved up into an evil grin as she nodded and pulled out her wand. As I watched the seat melted away, flowing into the cave''s wall leaving nothing but a smooth flat cavern floor.


    ¡°Can you make a small stone that will flash to draw attention?¡± Gwyn asked as she finished.


    I shared her mischievous grin as I pulled out my scribe, ¡°That''s a rune I don''t even need my book for.¡± I said as I began scribing a small rock I found at my feet. ¡°The rune needs to face the cave entrance, can you put it in the middle without falling in?¡± I asked handing the stone to Gwyn.


    After melting the cave''s entrance away Iva scouted the tunnel a bit before we all moved out. We made several attempts at getting the light stone to trigger while we waited. I had Melk walk past the entrance several times as Gwyn and I peeked into the room, it took nearly a dozen attempts before I got the rune right. We had to grab Melk when it worked, he nearly walked into the trap himself when he noticed the flicker of light. We tried again with one of us walking past to ensure it would work for larger bodies as well before moving on. We left happy knowing someone other than us would have a bad day when they found this cave. I only hoped we weren''t giving the dungeon masters any new ideas for petty traps rather than the usual murderous ones.


    We crept along the tunnels this time, moving far slower with Melk in the lead and Iva pulling up the rear. We tried to travel as quietly as possible and didn''t even talk when we stopped in a small alcove for lunch. My legs ached when we finally made it out of the maze of tunnels that marked the end of Melk''s tribes'' territory.


    The cavern we had entered was enormous, I knew it was larger than the other caverns from Melk''s scribbled map but was wholly unprepared for the sight that was before me. We exited the tunnels near the middle of the cavern wall overlooking what could only be described as a forest.


    The forest was made up of giant mushrooms, the stalks of the shrooms looked to be at least ten feet in diameter on average. Occasionally some of the mushroom caps shifted and moved as if a breeze had shaken them only there was no breeze that I could feel. The forest was alive with the sounds of life. This was an entire ecosystem all its own and I feared what kind of beasts we would find as we traversed its depths.


    I assumed that the mushrooms were mostly inedible, I loved mushrooms in most foods but I had a feeling that I would be on their menu far more than they were on mine. The forest was flooded with vibrant greens, blues, reds, and purples, not the mundane browns and whites of normal edible mushrooms I was familiar with. I had hope though that we could find some edible mushrooms, I was getting tired of meat for every single meal and a bit of seasoning could make the smoked slug meat the goblins had given us taste way better.


    We could see caves exiting in every direction along the cavern walls, and at the far end stood a large walled city. We had made it, well we''d nearly made it. We only had to traverse this mushroom forest to get there. I''d begun salivating as we made our way down the path toward the forest, thoughts of a rich, earthy, mushroom stew heavy on my mind.