Chapter 2 – Ah Man… I Died…

The twin moons shined brightly in the night sky. Illuminating the clearing along the road. Grass swaying as the night breeze lightly brushed the countryside.

I stood staring up at the night sky entranced by the twin moons. Was it Heaven’s Day already? No, that couldn’t be right; we still had several more months until then. Heaven’s day was when both moons were full at the same time. People used to say this is when the land of the dead is closest to the land of the living.

Everything was foggy. I was trying to think of what was going on and how I had gotten there. Oh, that’s right; there were dire wolves… and Merle and the old man, hopefully, they got away safely. As I stood there, I realized my memory wasn’t the only thing that was foggy; my body was too. My body was like a translucent mist, only reflecting in the moonlight.

“What was going on!?” I tried to say, but nothing came out. I guess that would make sense. If I’m a mist, how could I speak? Still in shock over my current situation, my memories started to return. The dire wolves ripping the other guards and me to shreds. I cringed a bit at the memories that were returning. I stood there for what felt hours contemplating what had happened, repeating the events in my head.

The darkness creeping in like on that day. My consciousness slowly starting to fade, then I remembered my dream. That’s right! My dream to travel the world with a beautiful woman on my arm. I had so much I still wanted to do. I wanted to visit cities I’ve never seen, go exploring deep dungeons like the adventurers, eat exotic cuisine in the coastal towns. There was so much I had left to do; I couldn’t let it end here.

With a renewed sense of purpose, I set off. To where? I didn’t have a clue. I knew I just had to press forward. How was I supposed to do that? I hadn’t the slightest idea; I continued to walk, thinking along the way. Maybe, find an Arch Priest? I had heard from some adventurers Arch Priests sometimes could resurrect the dead. There might be someone who could bring me back to life.

*****

After traveling a fair distance, I noticed the light from a campfire in the flickering about. Oh, good, finally, people! I drew closer, then it dawned on me if they were adventures, would they cut me down as soon as they saw me? I could see three men were sitting around a campfire, and nearby there was a fancy looking carriage. It had had engravings that looked like flowing waves along the outside. I stood there listening, wondering if I should approach.

“This is decent pay for just escorting some nobles son.” A gruff sounding voice chuckled.

“Well, it isn’t just some noble. It’s Duke Strafton’s first son. If anything happens to him, it will be our heads on the chopping block too.” Another man spoke up.

The third man sat there dressed in plain gray robes and had a staff with a sizeable red gem affixed to the top was laying across his lap. He spoke up in a cheerful tone, “It’s simple, just don’t let anything happen to the young man.” Then clapped his hand like he solved their problems.

The other two belted out some laughs.

Maybe this third man was a priest. Perhaps he could help? Caught up with that thought, I briskly walked up to the fire. All eyes immediately turned to me. All the men now were scrambling to get up as I tried to speak, but nothing came out. I waved my arms about, trying to explain to them the situation. How did I think this was going to go again?

I could feel the man in the robes gathering mana. I had some aptitude for it myself, but I never could sense it to this degree, like it was some tangible force. That mana gathered at the tip of his staff. This must be it the resurrection I was hoping for! I let a huge smile slip across my face and put forth both my hands, gesturing that was ready. Finally, I would get my body back.

“Infernium!” The robed man shouted. An enormous ball of flames shot straight for me. I was stunned; both my hands were still out. It happened so quick, then well then nothing it passed straight through me. It felt a little strange, but there was no heat or pain.

Dejected, I sulked back into the shadows. I could still hear the men shout something and scrambling around. I continued walking away. After getting my hopes up, the following hopelessness I felt seemed to double. My consciousness once again faded off.

*****

Gray Robes Viewpoint

“What are you doing, Gregor? I thought you went to get firewood.” I said sternly

“No, Hemlet is doing that. He’s better at that sort of thing.” Gregor replied while trying to explain his reasoning.

We were escorting young master Servil between the towns that his father controls. Who am I? I’m the Strafton’s court magician Dustin. I was lucky enough to get hired as an apprentice to their court magician when I was young and have been serving them ever since. Duke Strafton wanted his son to see the world a bit. Stating he couldn’t know the faintest about managing the lands if he hasn’t even visited them.

We hired a few retired adventurers who were supposedly pretty highly ranked. First, we have Gregor; he is a bit of a meathead, but he moves as if he was still in his prime. Earlier, when we were attacked by some dire wolves, he took care of them all without any help.

Our other escort for this trip is Hemlet. He may not seem like much, but he detected those dire wolves before they showed up. I believe they said he was an expert scout. I’m not sure how he does it, but he sensed the wolves long before they approached us.

“Hey, where is the young master?” Hemlet asked on his way back from the forest. Carrying an armful of firewood.

“He is already asleep.” I replied, “For the first time leaving the mansion, I imagine all this travel is a bit much for him.”

“I bet it is. Seems like he is having plenty of fun, though. Never met a kid his age with so many questions.” Hemlet said as he threw some of the timber into the fire pit. “If you would be so kind, sir Dustin.” Gesturing towards the fire pit.

“Ignitius,” I murmured; a small fire sprang to life in the fire pit.

“That sure is handy,” Hemlet said watch intently as the flame spread across the wood.

We all sat down around the fire as the sunset, letting the fresh night breeze pass by. Lightly joking amongst ourselves. I could tell these men were good at heart. They were earnestly trying to speak correctly in front of the Duke’s son as not to offend. However, when it was just us, they were letting their formality slip just a bit.

“This is decent pay for just escorting some nobles son.” Gregor chuckled.

“Well, it isn’t just some noble. It’s Duke Strafton’s first son. If anything happens to him, it will be our heads on the chopping block too.” Hemlet spoke up.

 “It’s simple; just don’t let anything happen to the young man,” I said, then clapped my hands together. They got a good laugh out of this as if it were that easy.

At that time, a chill ran down my spine. Emerging from the darkness was a see-through form of what used to be a man. It strode right up to the campfire and began waving its arms around. Missing flesh and parts of bone exposed. Its throat ripped out. It was a truly horrifying sight.

I was speechless, and so were my companions. Whatever this thing was, it surely meant us harm. The eerie aura it gave off it had to be evil. Grabbing my staff, I began to build mana at the tip to cast a spell.

Which spell should I cast? It was a spirit of some sort. However, I wasn’t a priest or a cleric; I couldn’t use holy magic to purify it. Undead and spirits should be vulnerable to fire. I chose a second-tier attack spell Infernium. A powerful fire-based attack spell.

I pointed my staff at the specter, forming the spell. The creature put out both hands as if inviting me to attack it head-on. A sinister smile creeping across its half-eaten face. I launched the spell, “Infernium,” I shouted, releasing the magic.

The creature didn’t as much as flinch. Standing there with both arms out, taking the spell head-on. The spell had passed through the specter and vanished. Almost as if the energy had been sucked clean out of the spell. The spirit’s face turned sullen, peering downwards as it faded back into the shadows.

“Get some torches!” I shouted to the other two.

“Uhh… Uhh… On it! Boss!” Hemlet replied.

“Just what the hell was that!” Gregor exclaimed while grabbing his sword.

“I’m not sure. But it seemed malevolent, did it not?” I asked.

“I dunno, but it sure gave of some seriously creepy vibes,” Gregor spat as he continued looking towards the shadows.

Needless to say, none of us got any sleep that night except for the young master. When we had finally made our way back to the mansion, I had asked the church to send out some priests in search of the creature. To find it and purify it.

It had crossed my mind; maybe it wasn’t evil, but instead was searching for salvation. When my magic didn’t so much as faze it, it had left with a sullen expression. Sadness, perhaps, that I couldn’t destroy it and end its suffering? That is what I had thought, at least.

*****

I found myself once again staring up at the rising twin moons. Where had I gone after I had run into those travelers? I couldn’t remember; a cold empty void filled my memory. Somehow, I was back. Standing in the spot where I died. Just like when I first awoke.

It looks like it is Heaven’s Day again. Had another six months passed, or had it been longer? I had to come up with some other strategy. I couldn’t just approach travelers. That didn’t work out so well, and I wasn’t sure if there would be another chance if I lost consciousness again.

Whatever my next move was, I had to be smart about it. I seem to be some sort of monster based on the way those travelers acted. I heard from the town’s adventures that monsters don’t leave the Dungeon because they live off the mana that emanates from them.

That would be my next step; I would go to the closest Dungeon, Black Gate. It wasn’t too far from here. I should be able to walk there before daybreak. I went back down the road towards Ullmet and took the path leading north towards the Dungeon.

As I walked, I realized I could sense the creatures in the forest around me. The tiny field mice in the tall grass. The owls flying overhead in search of food. It was a bit surreal, but so was being a ghost. It was strange how well I was handling this, but how else could I feel about it?

I managed to make my way to Black Gate while lost in thought. I could see the wooden walls built around the entrance with guard towers on either side. Both were unmanned. It seemed the entire camp set up at the entrance of the Dungeon was abandoned.

I continued walking straight through the wooden gate that should have barred my path. My mist-like body seeping through the cracks and forming on the other side. I had thought I would just try going through because I’m like a ghost, right?

Standing before the enormous twin black gates, I was in awe. The colossal gates were pitch black and appeared to be carved from a single piece of stone. One of the gates was slightly opened, but the gates themselves were so large I don’t think they would typically be able to move them. They probably just left them open or couldn’t close them.

I walked inside the gates looking around; the inside was much like a cave. It was dark, but I still had no problem seeing. To begin with, I didn’t have physical eyes, so I wasn’t too surprised. I was wondering how I could hear and see for a while now and yet couldn’t speak.

I traveled down the winding passages of the cave-like structure, noticing a few goblins along the way carrying torches. Constructing what looked to be a crude shrine. Twigs and branches wrapped together and ordained with shiny bits of coins and other metals. They didn’t seem to mind me too much before scurrying up into a tunnel on the adjacent side.

It was one of my dreams to explore dungeons. When would be a better time to do that than right now? I went closer, inspecting the shrine, and noticed what they had done. Adventures traveling down this dark path would see this glimmering shrine. It would pull their attention away from the path on the adjacent side. With low visibility and only torches to see in this cave, most people would have missed that. When they walked forward, the goblins would most likely ambush them from behind.

Wow, even goblins couldn’t be underestimated. Especially if there was another group of goblins attacking them head-on. I could imagine that ending badly for any adventures who were distracted by that totem.

As I ventured further into the Dungeon, I could feel new strength flowing into me. So my idea coming to the Dungeon did seem to have some merit. Maybe I really was some sort of monster now.

 According to the adventures I drank with at the pub in Ullmet, the monsters would get more challenging the deeper you went. The reasoning behind it was, the closer you were to the heart of the Dungeon, the denser the mana was. If the mana was denser, I hoped it would help me stay conscious. So I continued to look for a way further down into the Dungeon.

I had met a few monsters now, those goblins and some giant spiders about the size of a dog. The spiders didn’t seem to mind me as I proceeded further into the Dungeon. Eventually, I came across a large archway built of sperate stone blocks; faint glowing runes were inscribed on each. I’m not the most knowledgeable person, but they were completely different from any writing I knew.

Inside the archway was a set of stair leading down. I usually would have been too scared to proceed, but so far, nothing had attacked me. Even if it did, I don’t think I would get hurt. It would be like trying to fight with fog. You just couldn’t do it.

*****

The second floor had more of an outdoor feel to it. It was spacious and filled with all types of forest growth. Looking up, I could see the night sky, or at least what looked like the night sky. On closer inspection, the stars that were twinkling turned out to be small glowing stones. It was hard to distinguish the walls and ceiling since they seem to be so far away.

It was bizarre. I didn’t think I had walked down far enough for the ceiling to be this high, and why was there such dense vegetation here with no sunlight. There was something else going on. Dungeons really were mysterious places after all.

The mana did seem thicker here on this floor. Since becoming whatever I am now, I could feel the flow of mana much more acutely than I could when I was alive. When I was alive, I did have a knack for manipulating mana but not enough to become a mage. I had tried to apprentice to a mage in Ullmet when I was young, but I just didn’t have the talent for it. However, now I seem to be able to easily sense mana. It was almost tangible.

I wonder if I could now manipulate mana better too? The most recent magic I have seen was that mages fireball spell he cast at me. If I were to try that I could foresee it going wrong. It just wouldn’t be a good idea for a novice like me with all the dense plants on this floor. I thought back to when I was trying to be an apprentice, and the mage was seeing if we had talent by using a small innocuous spell called create water.

I began to focus, trying to take in the mana around me. I then attempted to push the mana out to form a ball of water. However, I immediately began to feel tired as the mana left me. I quickly stopped, sensing that I might find my way back to that empty darkness if I continued.

Well, that was a failure. A bit disappointed, I continued my journey looking for the next floor. Paying more attention to my surroundings now that I realized I could sense the flow of mana more accurately. I could detect giant monsters and smaller monsters in the denser part of the forests. Even though I was quite confident, nothing could physically harm me, and I wouldn’t fade as long as I kept taking in mana. I still didn’t want to come face to face with them in this scary underground forest.

Focusing on where the mana was thickest, I continued along my way until I came upon another of the archways with similar runes etched into the stones glowing faintly.

“Ahh, it looks like I found my way down.”

I made my way down through several more floors, each with the mana getting denser. Some more cave-like floors, some more forest and field type floors, A floor which seemed to consist of flowing lava and fire elementals. I stumbled upon the likes of ogre’s, goblins, spiders, snakes, different types of elementals as I progressed through the floors. None of the creatures I came across seemed to pay me much attention as I continually searched for the next archway leading further down.

*****

I stepped out of the archway, and this floor was beautiful. Unlike the other floors, it looked man-made, but who would have crafted something like this so deep in the Dungeon was beyond me.

It was like the passageways in a castle. The floors were polished white marble with decorative grayish marble inlaid in it. The pathways were decorated with wooden end tables, vases with flowers, scones attached to the walls with magic crystals that gave off a crisp blue light. Along the walls were arched windows with crosshatched glass covering them. The glass itself was rare enough, but my attention was on the sunlight streaming in. Just as quickly as I got excited, I was equally let down. The sunlight was an illusion from magic stones on the other side, much like the other floors making it seem outside.

Still, this floor is impressive. The walls of the corridors were carved from precisely cut stone. Something I would have thought befitting of a noble or someone of high society. If adventurers made it down this deep, they would be able to fetch I hefty sum just from the light crystals and glass alone. To do that, though, they would need to be extraordinarily skilled.

As I continued my way through the hallways, I heard what sounded like people walking. This caught me off guard since I wasn’t able to sense them like I had the other creatures so far. I quickly made my way around a corner, peeking so slightly to see what it was.

Down the hallway came two skeletal soldiers, as if they were doing patrols. They wore beautiful looking metal armor, it looked like what guards of a noble house would wear. Each wielding a halberd was they walked along—their metal armor clanking with each step.

“Strange, I can’t sense them.” I  thought to myself as I watched them march onwards toward the very corner I was hiding by. Maybe I was unable to sense them because they were undead? Technically not alive? I wasn’t sure how they would respond to me. Still, if they were monsters of the Dungeon, surely they would just look at me and carry about their business like the other creatures of this Dungeon have done.

I stepped out from the corner, and both skeletal knights stopped where they stood. Blue flames flickering in their eye sockets as they stared at me. I began to walk past them as their heads turned, keeping their eery gaze on me as I passed.

Stupid skeletons starring at me like that. Geez, who do they think they are. Just because they got bones and I don’t.

After I passed, they continued their forward march patrolling the area.

Exploring the floor, I found lavishly decorated rooms complete with elegant beds; it did seem that this floor was modeled after a nobles home of some sort. Complete with skeletal guards, and a few skeletal mages from what I could tell.

Really, what were dungeons? I thought to myself as I kept exploring.

After the excitement of exploring this floor died down, I decided it was time to head down to the next. Focusing on my surroundings, I tried to sense the flow of mana. It was getting more and more difficult with each floor, the thicker the mana was, the harder it was to detect the subtle differences in it. I had managed to pick up on the general direction of where the mana was thickest and began to head that way.

Even if I don’t get my body back, this may not be so bad. This way, I could explore this Dungeon all I want. No wait, that would be horrible to be trapped in this Dungeon for the rest of my afterlife. What was I thinking! I still had my dream to travel the world. I would just wait until someone came that was capable of resurrecting me.

“Yeah, that’s a solid plan for now,” reassuring myself.

The archway leading down this time was a little different. In addition to the runes being different, they had a red glow instead of blue. I took a step back to think about this. Why were these runes different?

Could it be this is the last floor? Or could it be it just meant the following area was more challenging? I really didn’t have a clue about dungeons, only what I have heard from the adventures in the taverns. They said on the last floor there was a boss monster and if you defeated it, the dungeons treasure room would open up. Making it that far in a dungeon usually didn’t happen as dangerous as it was. Once you made it that deep, and if you defeated the boss monster, you still had to go all the way back up carrying your treasure. With no rest stops, it was very tough.

It had always been one of my dreams to go dungeon diving with some adventurers, but as a guard, my skills were not on the same level. One day though, I wanted to join a party and give it a try.

Even if it was some grotesque monster down those stairs, I wasn’t too worried. Nothing else seemed to care I was casually strolling through their Dungeon.

I went deeper; as I stepped out on the other side of the archway, the pathway closed behind me. The cave walls were made out of some crystal and giving off a glow that illuminated this area. A throne of made of the same crystal sat at the far end of the room. On the throne was an enormous minotaur, a creature with a man’s body and the head of a bull.

Enormous may have been close to being an understatement. The creature was at least 15 feet tall, muscles bulged all over its body. All it wore was a small loincloth and some boots. Next to it sat an equally large double-headed ax.

With a roar that seemed to shake the very foundation of this cave, it stood up, grabbing its ax. Quickly lifting the ax with no effort, it charged for me.

For some reason, this got my blood boiling if I had blood. This was my first boss room fight. I was going to enjoy it! I was ready to go running forward; I charged toward the minotaur.

Swinging the giant ax in front of it as it ran trying to hit me head-on, I expertly dodged sliding underneath the swing. Sliding between its legs, as I did motioning like I cut its legs as if I had my sword.

The minotaur let out a painful howel falling to one knee. Shocked, I stood up. I was only doing this on a whim because it seemed fun. Did I actually hurt it?

While I was contemplating what just happened, the minotaur had turned, tossing his giant ax straight for me. I didn’t have enough time to move, it stuck into the floor right where I was standing. Right where I was standing, if I had a body, it would be in two pieces at the moment.

I clutched my chest and staggered back and fell to the ground. I wasn’t actually hurt, but it occurred to me the minotaur must have been faking too when he feigned pain when I pretended to cut its legs.

The minotaur let out a loud chuckle with a snort. Picking up his ax and heading back for his throne before setting back down. 

I guess it must get really boring down here too.

Attempting to communicate with the minotaur did me no good. It would just look at me puzzledly before waving his hand through me, after a while of doing this back and forth. It irritatedly stood up and pointed to a set of doors behind its throne. Shooing me in that direction.

The way I came down had not opened back up nor had the doors. The boss must need to be defeated before the doors would open back up. However, if we were to really fight, it would be a stalemate. He wouldn’t be able to hurt me, nor would I be able to beat it.

I moved towards the doors behind the throne. They were made of the same black material the gates at the entrance were made of, just on a much smaller scale. One of my new perks was that I didn’t need to worry about opening the door. I could just walk right on through. I stepped forward through the door.