Grand Game 216: Delving through the Earth (Patreon)

You have entered sector 106 of the Endless Dungeon. This sector is level 2 of 5 of the Guardian Tower.

I spilled out of the portal into darkness.

Dropping into a crouch, I extended my senses. The ground beneath was hard, cold, and rough-hewn, while above, I could feel a weight of rock pressing down. And the air… it tasted of rock, soil, and dirt.

I’m deep underground, I realized.

Pivoting about in a slow circle, I scanned the surroundings. Lightless though the area was, its every detail was laid bare in my night vision. Naked rock, glistening with water, surrounded me on most sides. Only up ahead, did the rock give way to empty air.

I’m at the end of a tunnel. Or, rather, considering how I got here, the start of one.

The passageway was about three yards across, and nine feet high, leaving me plenty of space to maneuver if the need arose. Feeling more relaxed than I had in hours, I straightened from my crouch.

The darkness was… soothing.

Within it, I had less to fear than I ever had in the lava basin or even Nexus. I bared my teeth in a wolfish grin. This level may turn out to be easier than the first. Padding forward, I advanced down the tunnel.

The passageway corkscrewed madly, twisting left, right, up, and down, with little rhyme or reason. Sometimes, it even felt like I was doubling back. But no matter how wildly the tunnel contorted, the darkness embracing it remained constant, and I stayed relaxed.

An hour went by, then another, and still I kept walking. I encountered neither forks, nor side passages, nor strangely enough, any whiff of hostiles.

That is, until the third hour.

~~~

There was an unfamiliar smell in the air.

Something was up ahead.

Something I’d not encountered before.

Shaking myself alert, I broke free from the trancelike state I’d been lulled into. The gyrating tunnels were almost hypnotizing in their effect, and if not for the taint on the wind, I might not have recognized the danger until too late. Drawing to a halt, I tasted the air again.

And immediately wrinkled my nose.

Whatever was up ahead, it smelled unclean… filthy.

The tunnels’ twisting nature meant I couldn’t see whatever awaited me. But there is more than one way to see. Opening my mindsight, I probed the surroundings.

Nothing.

I frowned. I didn’t hear anything out of the ordinary either. Perhaps whatever I’d smelled was still too far away. Shrugging, I strode on.

The stench grew stronger, and a new sound entered the tunnels too. Under the slow drip of water, I heard… squeaking? Growing more puzzled, I continued advancing.

Then the darkness brightened.

That gave me pause, and I stopped again. Somewhere up ahead, there was a source of light. Light meant life—hostile life, no doubt. Dropping into a crouch, I padded forward softly.

Nine feet later, the tunnel went through another of its abrupt changes. Turning a sharp corner, I found myself in an arrow-straight corridor that stayed unbending as far as I could see. The walls were smoother too, and even the roughness of the ceiling and floor had been chiseled away.

Had I finally reached an inhabited section of the tunnels?

I thought so.

Eighty yards in front of me, under the light of two torches, were  a pair of furry creatures. The source of both light—and stench.

Neither creature gave any sign that they’d seen me, but if they required torches, they had to have poor night vision. Staying where I was, I studied the pair intently.

Both were humanoid and about five and a half feet tall. Their feet and hands were uncovered, revealing clawed fingers and toes. They had long elongated snouts and large square teeth. Their eyes were round and large, as were their ears. The pair were clad in rags and armed, if with only primitive looking weapons. One wielded a crude spear, and the other a studded club.

Reaching out with my will, I analyzed both creatures.

The target is a level 110 ratman warrior.

The target is a level 116 ratman warrior.

Ratmen are a savage and almost feral species of were-men. Like with many other blends of sentients and beasts, their animalistic nature is the more dominant of the two. But despite their somewhat lowly origins, ratmen possess the crude cunning of their forebearers and should not be underestimated. They prefer living in dark underground spaces and are fiercely territorial and protective of their nests.

Rat…men?

I’d never heard of the like but could definitely see the resemblance. What was confusing though, was their pair’s levels. I was almost a match for both, and in a tier four dungeon, I did not expect that.

Staying unmoving, I continued to observe my targets.

Neither moved from their position, and after a while, I became convinced they wouldn’t. They’re guards, I concluded. But how much threat are they?

Low levels did not necessarily equate to low threat. I knew that better than most. If the Game’s description and the ratmen’s gear were anything to go by, the creatures possessed a rudimentary intelligence. Enough to call for help? I wondered.

Likely.

The passage beyond the two guards was dark and unlit, but I was sure that somewhere beyond more ratmen awaited. I will have to dispatch the pair quickly and quietly.

The best way to do that would be up close. Drawing my blades, I crept up the tunnel, placing each foot with care. My footfalls were so soft I doubted even a wolf wouldn’t have heard me coming.

Two hostile entities have failed to detect you! You are hidden.

Little by little, I closed the distance, eyes fixed on my targets and blades held at the ready. As I drew nearer, the tunnel grew brighter, but the flickering torches were not large enough to banish all the shadows and I stayed unseen.

Two hostile entities have failed to detect you!

I was thirty yards away and nearing striking distance. Suddenly, the ratmen on the left swung towards his companion and emitted a strange sequence of squeaks and grunts.

Squeaks and grunts, I understood.

“You smell dat?”

Startled, I froze. The ratmen could talk? And what does he mean: ‘smell?’

A second later I had my answer as the second guard raised his snout and sniffed. “Human!” he growled.

A hostile entity has detected you! You are no longer hidden.

God damnit! I cursed as the guards’ heads swung around to fix unerringly on my position. The pair couldn’t see me but that hadn’t stopped them from locating me.

Letting the shadows unravel, I dashed forward. I couldn’t let them sound the alarm.

The ratmen’s eyes widened, and reflexively they hefted their weapons. In an eyeblink, I covered half a dozen yards. Almost there, I thought grimly.

Then the ground fell away.

You have triggered a trap!

I had only a split second of warning.

Danger! my intuition screamed, the same intuition that had saved me multiple times. Despite the warning, I was moving too fast to halt, and so I did the only thing I could think of.

I began casting two-step.

The air rushed by, and I dropped like a stone. But even as my legs windmilled for purchase, I wove psi frantically. Half-caught glimpse of the surroundings flashed by. Dirt covered walls. A gleam of steel.

Two grinning faces?

A spiked trap has injured you!

I didn’t finish my spell in time. My right leg crunched down the pit floor, bringing my fall to an abrupt end and driving one of the thin metal stakes that had been planted there up and through the arch of my foot.

Searing white agony jolted through me and my leg quivered, almost giving way beneath me. But somehow, I managed to hold onto both the threads of my spell and my footing.

Fighting against the nauseating agony, I completed my casting. A heartbeat later, my left leg came down on solid air, inches above another metal spike.

Yes!

Wrenching my right foot free, I leaped forward onto a step of air and flung up my head.

The guards were peering over the edge of the pit, staring down at me. I was no expert in ratmen expressions, but even I could tell neither was grinning anymore. Indeed, both seemed suitably horrified to see me still alive.

I started falling again, but thanks to the guards’ inquisitiveness I had a way out. Smiling in savage satisfaction, I cast shadow blink and pulled myself free of the pit.

You have teleported 6 yards.

I emerged from the aether behind the spear wielder and, without hesitation, I plunged ebonheart through his back and out his chest.

You have killed a ratman with a fatal blow.

The second guard spun around to face me, his club rising. Turning aside his descending blow with the sword in my left hand, I wrenched ebonheart free of the corpse, then darted forward and skewered my foe through the throat.

You have killed a ratman with a fatal blow.

I sank to the floor with the body, my breath coming in short gasps. The encounter had come to a brutal and abrupt ending, and adrenaline still choked my system.

Ignoring my bloodied right foot for a moment, I glanced farther up the tunnel. The alarm hadn’t been given, and it remained dark and silent. The last of my tension fading, I closed my eyes and summoned psi.

A moment later, soothing ripples of energy spread into my leg, mending some of the damage done by the damnable trap. It was as bad as it felt and would take multiple attempts to heal fully.

The Adjudicator was right, I reflected. The ratmen are not to be underestimated.