Garnedell and Zilnek seemed to double down but Garnedell finally frowned and shook his head.
“I’m sorry, Joe. I do not see anything.”
Zilnek pushed himself a bit more before growling a bit in disappointment, “I do not either, Joe.”
Joe huffed, frowning in frustration as he struggled to identify what he was seeing. Or am I going crazy? Something happening in that I cannot see or notice? That seems… really … weird. Why can I see this stuff, but I’m from ‘literal’ Absence of this stuff… but they, growing up with it all around, seem blind to it. So… weird.
Joe frowned and turned inward, talking to himself, “Really didn’t see anything? Huh…”
Both boys didn’t notice the rhetorical nature of Joe’s statement and took it as a repeat and shook their heads no.
Joe noticed, took a second to realize what they were responding to, then quickly replied back not wanting to be bothersome, “Ah… OK. Well, let’s keep going then.”
The two boys nodded at that, immediately acquiescing to Joe’s demand and obediently lined up behind him and Joe immediately grimaced, angry at himself for having been so demanding. If I want them to start being independent, I gotta let them have the space to be independent. Joe turned to speak to them and apologize but was interrupted by another yowl and quickly turned back, a cat screaming around the corner and charging straight for them. Joe frowned, annoyed, and dealt with the interruption. He killed it easily and just as he flung it from his blade, another yowl came from deeper in the maze. Joe readied himself, glancing at his surroundings carefully before finally seeing the cat. It turned the wrong way, sprinting back away from them and Joe quirked an eyebrow in surprise. Huh… someone following us?
His curiosity didn’t have a chance to be explored as another yowl cried out loudly in front of them. Joe quickly backed against the wall and rapidly glanced back and forth, keeping his eye on the earlier retreating cat while trying to find where the new cat was coming from. He didn’t need to wait long as another cat came running around the nearest corner so quickly it slipped across the floor before powering itself directly towards them. He glanced back one last time to make sure the other cat was still running away from them before turning to the newest cat with outstretched blade when it leapt. As before, the cat impaled itself on his blade, making the fight one of the easiest he’d ever been a part of. He rapidly slung the corpse form his blade before turning back. He felt relief as he caught a last glimpse of the cat charging around a further corner. Huh… must be people behind… that’s where we came from. Should I go back to help the…
Once again, his thoughts were interrupted by yowling cats. What sounded like another three or four quickly screeched out and Joe grimaced. OK. This… is going to be a long day! Now it’s a bit dangerous. Something with getting too close to the next level? Or… Joe’s thoughts quickly stilled as he found himself facing the charge of three cats. Hmm… still not too hard. No coordination. Far enough apart that I should still be able to kill them as easily as before… Just dump the corpse faster… maybe? Maybe add… Joe’s thoughts mellowed out as he settled into his stance, the first cat already leaping for him.
Throughout all this time, his mind wrestled with concern for Kilniara and Gwenvair, considering options and struggling to figure out what to do, but finding almost no viable option to resolve this. He even wondered if there were a way to halt the bond, but then discarded it as he grew certain that such a thing would be quite harmful to Gwenvair and Kilniara, even leading to him losing both. While he wasn’t driven to see this relationship through to the end, somehow he knew that the relationship would likely end badly with another. An odd thought that Joe couldn’t seem to shake.
When the cats attacked, he quickly dispatched them, his mind focusing rapidly on clearing out the beasts as they appeared, but when they were dead, he found his thoughts drifting back to how he could figure all this out. It was a struggle and one he found no answer to through all his long fights.
* * *
Lanly and Carlister, simple adventurers yet still two of the greatest delvers of Coushar, slowly returned from their latest delve. Two others trailed after them, including a third man in rough-hewn clothing struggling under an overstuffed pack. Lanly and Carlister ignored them for the most part while the other three followed behind, unnaturally silent. They traveled exhausted but exuberant, conversing with one another disjointedly as they continually searched the depths for any attack. They’d fallen silent when returning approximately halfway back through the dungeon, this floor incredibly dangerous as they moved silently if confidently to the next exit. When they finally made it through that floor, Lanly grinned and finally relaxed completely.
“Well, another successful delve!”
Carlister said nothing but did grunt.
Lanly joked back, “Hey. Show a little more excitement. We made out pretty big! Almost twenty cores in two weeks!”
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Carlister frowned, “Still not out yet!”
Lanly sighed, “Always so stiff! We’re past the hard part.”
Carlister’s eyes narrowed, “But still not out... and… something’s… off.”
Lanly immediately tensed, “Something? What!”
Carlister remained silent but shook his head, saying nothing.
Lanly sighed as he relaxed once again, “Too tense for your own good! You need to hit Elbetha’s after you shower! You need to relax.”
Carlister grunted again in silence.
Lanly fell silent and the two wandered through each floor’s mazes. They walked for a good while, almost a bell, before Lanly soon found the silence frustrating and began again.
“Really could use a bath!”
Carlister chuffed a laugh, “You need it after two weeks!”
Lanly smirked, “Can always get you with that.”
Carlister shrugged, “I’m the one who has to…”
Both cut off as a monster careened around the corner and the two quickly settled in to fight. They fought together in silence. No communication was necessary. As always, Carlister stepped forward to engage allowing Lanly to slip around the side. The fight ended quickly after that, with the sword pierced directly into the heart of the beast. The monster fell to the ground and both quickly knelt by the animal and began butchering.
“… has to smell you!” Carlister continued the conversation from before the fight.
Lanly rolled his eyes, “You always say that, but I ain’t smelled nothin’ yet!”
Carlister growled, “Ya stink! We both stink!”
Lanly sighed, “I smell nothing!”
Carlister grunted at that again, “Yup. But ya stink. I stink. You stink. We stink. Bad!”
Lanly said nothing and the two fell silent, quickly finishing the butchering with Lanly sighing loudly and complaining with the revelation of no core.
“Always the worst when you find nothing!”
Carlister stood and began walking back towards the dungeon entrance, “We usually find nothing.”
Lanly moaned back, “Still sucks.”
Carlister grunted, but said nothing to that and Lanly began chatting with him without expectation of any replies, both finding solace in the common conversation they always had. The conversation was interrupted once again with another attack from another beast before flowing on again almost as if no interruption occurred with the death of the monster. They traveled through the floor like this, Lanly filling the space with his noise while Carlister diligently and obsessively searched their surroundings. When they’d almost reached the entrance to the next floor, Carlister grew quieter.
“You know. You always do this. The closer to getting out, the less you talk!”
Carlister said nothing, his eyes always searching.
“You can talk. Nothin’ on these floors’re going to get us.”
Carlister’s eyes flitted around, hearing but dismissing Lanly’s comments.
Lanly remained silent before falling back on what could always get Carlister to talk, “Really could use a bath.”
Carlister grunted but continued to look around. Lanly continued to walk, keeping in his sigh before trying again.
“You sure stink, though. You need a bath.”
Carlister grunted again, but ignored him. Lanly tensed at that, staring carefully at Carlister before staring around them with a diligence he usually reserved for the deeper floors.
“I’m fine though. Can’t smell nothing. Clean as a whistle. Might not even bathe!”
Carlister said nothing and Lanly felt his breath catch in his throat. His eyes darted around the various openings and visible hallways while his head whipped back and forth. He began walking sideways so he could watch both front and back. Carlister did not change his orientation, but Lanly already knew something bad was happening.
“Talk to me, Carlister. What is it?”
“Dunno.”
Lanly tensed further, slowing down.
“Don’t stop. Move. But somethin’s up!”
Lanly quickly matched Carlister’s pace again, reaching his side. They walked past another couple corridors and took a couple turns before Lanly began again.
“Figured it out yet?”
Carlister shook his head and kept moving.
“Monsters?”
Carlister shook his head again.
“You gettin’ a feeling?”
This time, Carlister nodded.
“What?”
Carlister paused a moment although he didn’t stop moving at all. He grimaced then growled out, “The dungeon’s talkin’.”
Lanly rolled his eyes, “Dungeon’s not talking nothing!”
Carlister grunted but said nothing. The argument was old and deep between them. While Lanly didn’t believe anything about speaking dungeons, Carlister’s preternatural ability to call unusual circumstances in the dungeon so often bought Carlister some trust. He grunted in return this time, his usual banter quickly fading as the two walked in lockstep with one another.
“Any details.”
Carlister shook his head with a grunt.
“Figuring anything out?”
“Upset.”
“Upset?”
“Upset.”
“The dungeon?”
“Uh huh.”
Lanly grew quiet at that but then replied, “You know, that ability is Loki spawn.”
Carlister shrugged, “Kept us alive!”
Lanly kept silent at that and the two remained silent for another good bell or two, crossing another floor and reaching the next before the conversation began again.
Carlister spoke in a growl, breaking his silence, “Real mad.”
Lanly grimaced. Not good! Not good at all!
They walked another few steps before Carlister suddenly froze, “Ooh… this is bad. Real bad!”
Lanly whipped around to stare at Carlister, is lengthy eloquence a shock. His breathing hitched as fear spiked through him, “What!”
Carlister stared at him, “I know this… Dungeon break!”
Lanly’s entire face paled in fear, turning utterly white, “Please tell me your spreading Loki’s lies!”
Carlister grimace and shook his head, “No lies. It’s a break. Still building!”
Lanly shivered, bouncing with some fear, “Find a hole?”
Carlister frowned, “No good. Monsters’ll always seek outsiders.”
Lanly froze at that, then replied rapidly, “Run out.”
Carlister grimaced, falling silent but rapidly began to walk. He set a pace just less than a jog, moving rapidly but keeping their feet always in contact with the dungeon to maintain silence. Lanly couldn’t understand why Carlister always insisted on this, but the man’s idiosyncrasies had kept them alive so many times Lanly cared little now, rapidly speed walking next to Carlister. They made it to the next floor, killing another dozen or so monsters as quickly as they could but leaving the precious bodies behind. Speed was the only option and frankly, Lanly almost wanted to run. He even started jogging on ahead of Carlister to silently offer the hint but Carlister immediately snagged his arm, pulling him tight.
“No. No running! No need to piss off the dungeon more! Move, but keep your feet on the floor.”
Whatever was left of Lanly’s calm shattered, his entire body shivering under intense fear. He spoke sentences! Whole fuckin’ sentences! Oh… we are so fucked!
<Chapter 96 Continued>