From Dungeon to Grace

[ScarletCinnabar]

The fight had left carnage everywhere; the dungeon reeked with talon marks and caved-in walls. The floors were stained with a thick coat of blood and innards of Shuro's and Kabru's party.


Falin's chimeric form towering in the center of the room with Kabru's upper half mushed beneath her taloned foot.


She let out a heaving breath as the wounds caused by Kabru's dagger continued to pour blood, wincing before turning towards the building magic around Rin.


"You fiend!" Rin's voice was tinged with disdain as her staff crackled with lightning magic, bouncing from her fingers to the metal circlet at her staff's end.


Though as Rin began to cast, Falin retaliated with her own. "Vasla, Tanea, Zaturi." Falin's voice radiated through the room as the air charged with mana, making Marcille's eyes widen with panic.


"That spell is," She turned quickly to Laios, Senshi, and Chilchuck before shouting, "Everyone stay close to me, now!"


Without time to react, an ear-piercing shriek erupted from Falin's throat, making those near her fall back. Though Laios's party was able to group up together as Marcille used protection magic to brace them for the power of the spell, Falin's magic flooded the room in a blinding white light.


When the light subsided, Falin was nowhere to be seen; in fact, the very dungeon they stood in had completely vanished, now replaced with what looked to be a crumbling church and shining sun above them.


"Was that teleportation magic?" Marcille said as she rose to her feet, turning back to the rest of the party. "Where are we? Is this even still in the dungeon?"


Laios sheathed his sword slowly as he looked around, his eyes scanning the new land before widening. "Marcille, is there any floor on the dungeon with a giant tree?"


"A giant tree?" Marcille and the others turned to Laios before following his gaze, soon sharing his stunned silence as they all saw the enormous tree, shining in a golden light in the distance.


"Well…we're definitely not in the dungeon anymore. The question is, if Falin used teleportation magic, where are we?" Chilchuck began searching his own pack, letting out a sigh of relief as he saw his lock-picking set at his hip. "Anyone missing anything from the teleport?"


Senshi shook his head as he slid the wok pan from his back and untied the rucksack placed within, with ingredients and his cooking equipment inside. "I have all my things. Seems the lady used some high-level magic back there; she must've even taken our items with us."


Laios nodded as he rested a hand on his own sword hilt. "Hmm, that must mean Shuro and Kabru's party must have also gotten teleported, right? Same with Falin." But as he looked out in the distance, he felt a little overwhelmed. "But here they could be anywhere. Back in the dungeon we were only dealing with the different floors; now we are dealing with a wider search and a place we don't even know."


"Well, maybe the locals might know where Falin and the others are?" Marcille suggested as she pointed the tip of her staff over to the clear trail stemming off the church going into the nearby forest. "She'd be pretty hard to miss, unless this place is also full of monsters as well…" Her eyes seemed to dim at the mention.


Laios, though, seemed to find the idea interesting, fishing the monster manual in his armor from the collar. "Do you think they have their own ecosystem here?" The pages of the book quickly flipped open as he looked over a few pages. "They must, right? And do you think they are similar to or different from the ones in the dungeon? Do they even have dungeons here, and if they do, I wonder if the monsters are solely there or if they roam free."


Chilchuck just sighed as Laios went off on a rant about monsters, stepping past him and over to Marcille. "Hey Marcille, are you still able to use magic? We're not in the dungeon, so the magic isn't as dense here, right, or does this place still have at least something?"


"I hadn't really thought about that yet." Marcille said as she looked at her staff, seeing the leaf at the end of the woven roots still up and healthy. "I can still feel magic like back on the surface of the island. Actually, it's nearly the same as the dungeon's, but it feels a little different."


To test, she extended out her hand, a few orbs of light forming from thin air and shining around her fingers. "I can still cast, which is good, and it seems like my magic is unaffected." She shook her hand and dispelled the orbs. "It seems to obey the same laws of the dungeon so far. Though I don't want to test anything else out unless I have to."


Everyone's attention was then drawn to Senshi as the wok pan hit the edges of the rig he made for it, a small fire already lit underneath. "Well, while we're getting our bearings, I'll start on some food. Laios, I'm fairly certain I saw some sheep nearby. Mind helping me get some for a meal?"


Laios finally stopped his monster mindset and nodded, his hand already going around the handle of his sword. "Sounds perfect. I wonder if the sheep here are any different than on the island." He fantasized as he followed Senshi out of the ruined church, going towards the entrance of the church, leaving Marcille and Chilchuck back near the fire.


While Senshi and Laios went off, Chilchuck began searching around the church, finding an old rusted anvil along with a stone laid on top. "Seems like this place was inhabited once." He reached out and picked up the stone, running a finger over the rough surface before setting it back. "Wonder if whoever used to be here will be coming back. We should probably get moving after eating just to make sure we don't meet them."


Marcille took a seat near the fire, setting her staff beside her and crossing her legs. "Well, the place does look abandoned. Maybe it's forgotten; it would make a nice place to rest before we—"


Her words were cut off by a sudden loud strike into the ruined building, a visible golden axe now embedded into the entrance of the church as Laios and Senshi came running back in with a panicked pace.


"Chilchuck, Marcille, we need to go now!" Laios said as he ran over to Marcille, scooping her and her staff up while Senshi snatched his wok pan.


Before Chilchuck could even ask, the axe was pulled out of the wall, and a man clad in golden armor, a colossal axe in one hand and a similar shield in the other while mounted atop a horse, rounded the church, staring daggers at the party before his horse began galloping towards them.


"Laios, what the hell did you do!?" Chilchuck yelled as he nearly stumbled into a run alongside the others, not looking back as he heard the sound of the horses' hooves closing in.


"I didn't do anything, I swear! He was outside of the church, and I and Senshi tried to talk." The horse rider swung his axe once more, this time hitting the earth and nearly hitting them as they ran towards the nearby forest.


While in Laios's arms, Marcille looked back at the rider, her eyes wide with panic as she saw him approaching. "H-here, hold steady!" She pointed her staff at the armored rider, holding her hand out as well, "Aire, Faum, Orbis!" A ball of fire formed at the end of her staff, magic building before it shot out straight for the rider's center mass.


As the bolt of fire shot out at the rider, he braced himself, raising his shield to take the blow. But before the bolt had even connected, the shield began to glow with a golden light, forming a sort of crest, and as the fire hit, the golden light completely absorbed the spell and returned it with a golden burst shot toward the party.


"H-he can absorb magic?" Marcille was stunned to silence before she realized the counterspell was heading for them. "Everyone watch out!" The spell then connected with a tree beside them, causing an explosion to send the party all flying forward.


After the party had tumbled and fallen from the blast, Laios sat up with a small groan, his hand going to the back of his head as he looked around, seeing that the party had been shot into a cave with the entrance nearby. The armored rider was heard just outside, his horse letting out a huff as its hooves clopped against the ground, all before they faded away.


Laios let out a sigh as he looked back at his party, seeing them all slowly rising from the blast. "Is everyone ok? I didn't even know anyone could absorb magic and send it back like that."


Marcille winced as she pushed herself off the cold stone floor, with a few shallow cuts that stung on her legs and forearms from the fall. "At least in the dungeon only Falin could do that. Well, at least when the mad mage…turned her." A little melancholy formed at the mention of Fallin's transformation, but she shook her head to dispel the thoughts before standing up and heading over to where Senshi and Chilchuck were. "Are you two ok?"


Senshi stood up and dusted off his arms before giving her a thumbs up. "Just a little tumble, I'll be fine, and we've all been through worse." Chilchuck seemed a bit more disoriented, though, as he sat up. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little scratch."


"Come on, Chilchuck, I'll cast a quick healing spell for us. It will only be a moment." Marcille held out a hand, palm up, closing her eyes before speaking. "Sanatio, multa, vulnera." A soft green light radiated from her hand and filled the cave, the small cuts on the parties' bodies mending themselves together before it looked as if nothing had happened.


Once the spell had subsided farther in the cave, the sounds of whines and a few small barks hit their ears, Laios's sword even shaking in its sheath before he drew it. "Careful, it sounds like we got knocked into a wolf's den." He spoke in a soft whisper with the new threat in the cave.


Chilchuck and Senshi slowly stood up so as not to make any unnecessary sound. "A few wolves should be easy. I and Laios should be able to handle it ourselves." Senshi began to draw his Mythril knife. "Marcille, could you use one of those flashes like back with the bugs? Chilchuck, take this and try to get the wolves while they are blinded." Senshi took out another steel kitchen knife and handed it off to Chilchuck.


"Right, I guess I can handle that." Chilchuck took the knife firmly into his hand. "I'll try to get a few, but when the spell loses effect, I'll fall back. I don't think I can take one of them one on one."


"Are you sure I can't do anything more than a flash spell? I could take out most of them with an explosion." Marcille's hands worried at her staff's shaft at the idea of doing so little.


Laios shook his head. "An explosion could cave in this entire area, and we should focus on having the wolves as intact as possible so we can skin and prepare them." He smiled, though, as he placed a hand on Marcille's shoulder. "But a flash spell can disorient them, especially here, so it would be perfect."


With the explanation, Marcille's demeanor softened a little before smiling and nodding, "Alright, that makes sense. I'll prepare a flash spell; just try not to take them out quickly before their eyes adjust."


The rest of the party nodded as they began slowly heading deeper into the cave, each one at the ready as the sounds of the wolves' whines and yawns grew louder. Once they were far enough in, they took cover behind some of the pillars of stone supporting the cave.


Laios glanced over to see several wolves within the cave, the majority looking common, while one had a white pelt and was larger than the rest. He looked back at Marcille and gave her the go-ahead, her shoulders squaring as she readied the spell while everyone else kept their eyes to the floor.


"Lux Ocularis Explodens!" Marcille shouted the spell as she stood from behind the cover, the wolves all now alerted and growling at her. But as the spell was completed, a blinding light came from the woven roots of her staff. The light filled the room and caused the wolves to flinch back and let out cries and whimpers while they pawed at their eyes, and when the spell subsided, the party made their move.


It didn't take much for the party to dispatch of the wolves thanks to the flash spell, Laios taking down four of them using Kensuke while Senshi took out two in the back using his mythril knife, and surprisingly Chilchuck got the larger of the wolves with a quick stab to the throat.


Once the cave silenced, Laios's eyes widened as he knelt down to one of the four wolves he had killed, finding a shining gold circular item left behind. "Is this gold? Why would wolves have gold?"


Senshi and Chilchuck also found some gold ring-like items, neither of them really having a clue as to why the wolves had dropped them. "I mean, if it's real gold, it must sell for a lot, right? Maybe there is a town nearby we could sell these at for some gear and information." As Chilchuck spoke, he turned the round bit of gold in his hand to examine it.


Senshi let out a small contemplative "hmm" as he took his knife and lightly tapped it against the object, it responding with a slight ringing sound. "Well, it's definitely gold, though the glow is something I've never seen before." He too examined it for a brief moment before handing it off to Laios. "Here, I trust you with it more until we can find a sure use for it. Till then, help me with these wolves if you will; we should be able to get a few days' worth of food off them."


Yet just as he was about to begin skinning the closest wolf, a loud, almost monstrous roar erupted near the back of the cave, making the party quickly ready their weapons towards the sound.


Once the sound seemingly stopped, Laios began slowly stepping towards the origin of the sound, motioning with his hand for the rest to follow him. As they made their way, they found a path that led even deeper, soon leading them to a large chamber within the cave. The sunlight leaking in from cracks in the ceiling of the cave.


Laios then suddenly raised a fist to halt everyone, his eyes wide and curious on something within the chamber. The silence made the rest of the party much too curious, so slowly they tried to peek inside before finding themselves in a similar state of shock.


Inside was a beast of sorts, something bipedal yet unlike any sort of demi-human they had seen before. The beast's fur was dirty and rough-looking, its teeth sharp and predatory. Yet it wielded a large curved blade with a singular hand, a silent show of its strength. Along with that was what looked to be a makeshift camp: torn red cloth hung up with wooden rods stuck into the floor and a campfire set up nearby.


After a silent moment between the party, Laios spoke in a hushed whisper while keeping his eyes trained on the beast. "Marcille, can you possibly cast another light spell? If you can, I need you to try and catch it when it swings at me."


Marcille's eyes went wide with near shock at Laios's request, a hint of nervousness in her whispered words. "Laios, you can't possibly be thinking of rushing in there, right? We've never seen anything like it. I-I mean, I don't even think I've heard of something like it in the dungeon handbook."


"All the more reason, Marcille. If we kill it, we could document what we see and maybe even get some more gold like we did from the wolves." Laios then turned to look at the party. "Senshi, Chilchuck, could you both go for its legs as well? If we overwhelm it, I'm sure we could defeat it."


"I'm sure I can get a hit off, just don't be stupid and go in there all willy-nilly." Senshi looked the beast up and down with an appraising eye. "And if nothing else, we could also use it for some materials like the wolves."


Chilchuck, though, seemed a little more apprehensive. "Laios, are you sure about this? We don't know anything about it or what it's capable of; we could be heading right into something really bad." But when met with Laios's sure gaze, Chilchuck just nodded, letting out a reluctant sigh as he switched the grip of the knife, now holding it in reverse. "This is stupid."


Marcille clutched her staff as she looked at the beast, the idea of fighting it daunting, yet with everyone else's acceptance of the plan, she tried to reassure herself. "Ok, I'll cast the moment it swings. Just make sure to close your eyes when I cast so you don't get blinded."


With the plan set, Laios set his eyes back on the beast, his grip tightening on the hilt of his sword. "Wait till it's back to us, then rush it."


They all waited for the beast as it continued to wander the space, watching as it sniffed the air and licked its maw before finally turning its back. Once it was finally turned, Laios, Senshi, and Chilchuck made their move, rushing into the room with swords and knives drawn.


Laios was the first to make contact as his sword sliced across the beast's chest, causing it to let out a small roar as it readied its curved cleaver for a swing. Just as it raised the weapon above its head, Marcille raced into the room, pointing her staff at the beast. "Lux Ocularis Explodens!" Just as before, the room filled with a bright light and caused the beast to swing and miss, its curved sword burying into the stone floor.


While the beast was dazed, Chilchuck got a couple stabs and slices in with a strained effort, finding its thick fur and tough skin hard to slice through. But with the attacks, the beast began swinging its weapon wildly around itself, hitting Chilchuck in the leg and severing it completely.


Chilchick let out a scream of pain as he fell back onto the cold stone, the knife falling from his hands as he clutched his gushing leg wound while trying to keep from losing too much blood.


The beast was quick to recover, sniffing the air as the coppery tang of Chilchuck's blood hit its nose and turned to face him. It raised its curved cleaver once more for another attack, and as it swung down, a metallic clang filled the room before it met Chilchuck.


Before the attack made its mark, Senshi used his knife to block the blow, his arm straining as the beast poured all its strength to break his guard. "Laios now!" Senshi shouted as he strained to keep the blade from hitting him.


"Right!" Laios said as he rushed behind the beast, squaring his posture before charging from behind the beast and thrusting the tip of the blade into its back, slicing through tough skin and meat before it pierced through the other end.


The beast struggled for a moment, its weapon falling from its grip as it frantically reached behind it for Laios. But when it left itself open, Senshi used his knife to stab upwards into its skull through the jaw, the beast's limbs falling slack before collapsing to the floor dead.


With the beast now defeated, Marcille ran over to Chilchuck's side, her eyes wide with panic as she knelt down. "It's ok, Chilchuck, just stay with me, ok!?" She reached over for Chilchuck's dismembered leg and lined it up with the cleaved stump left behind, closing her eyes and concentrating on her spell. "Sanatio Vulnus Maximus." A light formed around Chilchuck's leg as the blood he had lost began to return to the wound, the severed leg slowly stitching itself back onto his severed wound before all that was left was a clear white scar and a shortened pant leg from the cut.


Chilchuck winced in pain as he felt the wound heal, Marcille's quick healing magic causing some healing pains that made his hands ball into fists. But once it was over, he slowly sat up, running a hand over his leg as if making sure it was there. "Thanks, Marcille. But couldn't you have healed me a little slower?"


"Actually… I can't. If you bled out anymore, you could've died, and I don't know if I can revive you here." Marcille's hands worried around her staff, but she smiled as she saw Chilchuck was at least all together. "Just rest for a little; we can probably just rest here for the night, right, Laios?" She turned to see both Laios and Senshi examining the fallen beast, Laios looking up from his fascinated gaze on the beast.


"That seems like our best option. We can cook up the wolves we found earlier in the cave." He then looked back at the beast. "As for this guy… I'm sure we could cook him up into something, right, Senshi?"


"Are you crazy!?" Marcille suddenly shouted as she looked disgusted. "That thing looks filthy! Who knows what kind of diseases it could have!?" She crossed her arms into an "X." "I'll eat the wolves, but not that!"


Chillchuck shared a similar look of disgust, his nose wrinkling as he flinched away from the corpse. "I'm with Marcille on this. It looks disgusting, even as far as monsters go, and I don't need to die from whatever it has."


Senshi then chimed in with a nod. "They actually have a point, Laios. We have no idea what this thing is or how to prepare it." But as he crouched down to examine it closer, he actually seemed a little interested. "Hmm, I might actually be able to try something. It looks close enough to a wolf, and from the looks of it, it's more beast than demi-human."


He then stood up and sheathed his knife. "I'll cook it separately to try; after all, we should get all the notes we can on these new monsters." But before doing any prep work on the beast, he turned back to the entrance of the chamber. "But first let's get the wolves skinned and prepared for everyone to eat, then we can experiment with new foods, Laios."


Laios nodded as he followed Senshi, looking over his shoulder to Chilchuck and Marcille. "We'll be right back. If you could try and get some things together for the night, it looks like the beast had a small camp set up already, so we might as well use it."


As they left, Marcille sat down beside Chilchuck, sighing as she rubbed the back of her neck. "We can get the camp together here in a moment. I'll start, but you should still rest; after a night's rest, you'll be feeling better." Marcille patted Chilchuck on the shoulder before standing up, starting on the camp.

 

[Kadehex]

Good fic look forward to more maybe