Grand Game 306: Lying in Wait (Patreon)

Before leaving the cavern, I wrapped myself in shadows but didn’t cast my buffs yet. On this, my first venture into the tunnel, I only intended on scouting.

Time was of the essence in more ways than one. Safyre and the pack were waiting for me back in the arctic tundra, as were Loki’s agent and Saya in the valley, not to mention, I wouldn’t retain memory of the stolen spell much longer.

Still, rushing would be foolish.

Until I understood the dungeon’s true challenge, Ghost and I would take things slow, nor could I forget this was a tier five dungeon. After all the stories I’d heard about elite players and creatures, I was a little anxious about fighting foes above level two hundred. Would I be up to the challenge of facing them?

Only time would tell.

Setting aside my musings, I focused on my surroundings. Like the cavern, the tunnel appeared to be a natural formation. But where the entrance chamber had been spacious, the tunnel was… cramped. There was no way I’d be able to navigate it upright, and swinging a sword in its depths wouldn’t be a good idea either.

That was not all, however.

Formed of irregular boulders, the tunnel floor was replete with tiny crevices and cracks, each eagerly awaiting a misplaced foot. Making matters worse, lichen grew everywhere, fed by the tiny rivulets of water trickling between the rocks. There was no light source either, which didn’t bother me but would hamper most players.

The burbling water made it hard to pick out aberrant sounds and the lichen’s strong fragrance masked other scents. My night sight also failed to reassure. Up ahead, the corridor turned sharply, rendering the rest of the tunnel invisible.

The overall effect was… unsettling and made me reluctant to advance. Not budging from the cave mouth, I tallied up the results of my observations. Treacherous footing? Check. Dulled senses? Check. Tight confines? Double check.

I didn’t need to be an expert scout to figure out what all that meant: ambush.

It was a strong possibility—I snorted, a near-certainty more like—that something—or many somethings—were waiting ahead to jump me. The question was what did I do about it? Ordinarily, I would have trusted my abilities to see me through.

But this was a tier five dungeon. This time my abilities may not suffice.

I swept aside the doubting inner voice. Regardless of the danger, I had no choice. The tunnel was the only way forward, and I would have to risk its confines. But caution was not unwarranted. Opening my mindsight, I swept the area.

No mindglows popped into view. Other than for me, Ghost and the rampant lichen, the tunnel was barren of life. Not reassured, I cast trap detect.

You have failed to spot any traps.

I sighed as it, too, came up empty. I’d not expected either ability to uncover anything. Still, it had been necessary to try. There was only one other precaution I could take. I turned to my companion. “What do you think, Ghost, is it safe?”

I sensed her confusion and immediately realized I’d asked the wrong question. As a spirit entity, Ghost had little concept of physical dangers. “Does anything about the ground ahead strike you as odd?” I amended.

Ghost took her time answering, her attention flitting from me to the tunnel and back. “No…?”

I bit my lip, realizing I would have to be content with her answer. And really, there was no reason to doubt her. Dire wolves were strong natural telepaths, and the spirit wolf’s mindsight was more finely tuned than mine.

Over and above that, Ghost had been a disembodied entity for years which would only have honed her mindsight even further. By now, I expected her telepathic abilities rivaled that of the pack elders. Ghost would spot things I had missed, and if she said the patch of space ahead was clear, it was likely true.

But what about the rest of the tunnel?

“It’s clear. I’m sure of it,” Ghost added in the face of my continued silence.

I nodded absently. “There is something else I need you to do.”

“Yes?” she prompted when I didn’t immediately go on.

I hesitated, considering my next words carefully. It had not escaped my notice that Ghost would make an ideal scout. Most corporeal creatures would be oblivious to her presence.

Unfortunately, most did not equate to all.

There was always the chance that there was something in the dungeon that could see—and attack—her, and if that happened it would spell disaster. Ghost had no defenses to speak off and it would only take one hit to snuff out her life.

But then, I thought wryly, a single strike from a tier five creature likely would do for me too.

The stark truth was that I couldn’t shield Ghost from the dungeon’s perils. To get out, we would both have to shoulder more risks than I was comfortable with. “It’s dangerous,” I cautioned.

Unsurprisingly, my warning did not daunt her. “I’m ready,” she huffed.

I wasn’t so sure, but I set aside my doubts. “I want you to scout the rest of the tunnel beyond the bend. If you find something or sense anything odd, return here and report.”

“Got it,” she replied and slipped by me, impatient to begin.

“Ghost,” I called. She halted. “This is important: if you detect anything amiss—anything at all—you head back at once. Clear?”

“Understood.” She fell silent for a moment, thinking. “What if I don’t find anything? What if the tunnel is empty?”

It was a pertinent question and reassured me somewhat. Ghost was thinking through her task beyond my basic instructions. “Then you scout the passage’s entire length. Give it… ten minutes. If by that time, you don’t reach its end, return to me. But under no circumstances are you to leave the tunnel.”

“Yes, Prime.” The spirit wolf bounded forward, then paused again. “Can I begin?”

I waved her on. “Go ahead and be careful please.”

✵ ✵ ✵

Ghost zipped into the tunnel, and I gripped my blades, ready for anything, but nothing reacted to her passage and a moment later, I relaxed.

There was no guarantee that Ghost would uncover any lurking creatures—especially if they were hidden and their minds shielded—but I fancied her chances better than I did my own.

Tracking the spirit wolf with my mindsight, I watched her make her way around the bend ahead without pausing. Five yards beyond that she kept going, accelerating. I wanted to urge her to caution again but refrained. I’d said all that needed to be said, and Ghost knew her own capabilities better than I did. I had to trust her.

A little later, Ghost disappeared.

I’d expected it, of course. She’d hit the limit of my mindsight’s range—twenty yards—but that didn’t stop my own concern redoubling. If anything happened to the spirit wolf now, I wouldn’t know until too little.

All I could do was wait.

My mouth twisting sourly at the thought, I sat down cross-legged. A minute passed. Then another.

What was taking so long?

Unable to help myself, I cast my buffs and strained my senses. If I heard anything, the least hint that Ghost was in trouble, I would set off.

Another minute passed.

That’s nearly four minutes gone. Why hadn’t Ghost returned yet? Was it time to go after her?

No.

Schooling myself to patience, I clenched my hands together, and to distract myself, contemplate my slaysight ability. It was what dictated the range of mindsight. Was it time for an upgrade?

Definitely.

The urge to do so immediately was strong, but I could no more afford to act rashly than Ghost could. Gathering my thoughts, I considered the matter carefully.

Slaysight was one of my only two Class abilities—the other being void thief—and the last time I’d upgraded it was before I’d entered the guardian tower. It was past due for an upgrade.

But...

But, I conceded, I had only two Class points remaining—I’d used the other four advancing my mental focus trait to tier four—and in as short supply as Class points were—I gained one every twenty levels—I couldn’t spend them carelessly.

So, was investing in slaysight further the right approach?

I thought so.

Not only would upgrading slaysight improve my mindsight range—and consequently increase the distance over which I could communicate with Ghost—it would also add another mental manipulation to the ability. The first tier of slaysight had given me mind blind, the second, terrify. What would the third bring? Something equally good, I was sure.

There were other considerations too. While my other Class ability, void thief, had potential, it was still something of an unknown whereas slaysight had already proven itself.

The telepathic-based Class ability had been especially useful against higher-tiered foes—like the savants—and I expected that would hold true in Draven’s reach as well. Given my rank seventy-one Mind attribute, high telepathy skill, and the forty percent boost provided by mental focus, of all my abilities, slaysight had the best chance of succeeding against a tier five foe.

For all those reasons and more, it made sense to advance the ability. Reassured that my choice was not a rash one, I closed my eyes and willed my intention to the Game.

You may advance your Class to rank 7 at this time.

Class points available: 2.

Do you wish to proceed?

I signaled my intent to do just that to the Adjudicator and selected slaysight for advancement.

Commencing Class upgrade…

…

Upgrade complete. Class points remaining: 1.

Congratulations, Michael, your voidstealer Class has been advanced to rank 7!

You have upgraded your slaysight ability to superior slaysight. The third tier of slaysight ability adds another mental manipulation to a mindslayer’s arsenal: sleep. Additionally, the range, number of targets, and duration of the spell have increased.

With superior slaysight, you may detect any mind with 50-yards and sleep, terrify or mentally blind any 4 targets for 30 seconds. This is a Class ability and does not occupy any ability slots.

“Perfect,” I murmured as I felt the bubble of awareness around me expand to fifty yards. My mindsight range had expanded to the same limit as long shadow blink, with the not-so-coincidental effect of doubling the distance I could teleport when using Ghost as my target.

In fact, the ability’s new range made coordinating with the spirit wolf easier in nearly every aspect, leaving me wishing I could upgrade slaysight again. Unfortunately to do that, I first had to raise my telepathy skill to tier four. I will make that a priority, I decided.

A moment later, I had more cause for celebration as a familiar mindglow entered the range of my awareness. A relieved smile slipped on my face. Ghost was finally on her way back, and from the taste of her mind, she was unharmed.

Rising to my haunches, I prepared to meet her. It’s time to find out what secrets this tunnel is hiding.