Although the hike to Innate that would allow him to hit two things at once if he wanted - or one thing twice, if the occasion warranted it. The only real concern was how? As befits a Dwarf, he loved hammers and axes, but he also had training with swords, and they were quicker - but axes and swords both had the problem of ‘cutting.’ The edge of the blade would bite into the opponent, increasing the lethality but also dragging and slowing the weapon down. Hammers, after the transfer of energy from the impact, tended to ‘bounce,’ making them faster, if the momentum was used effectively. There was also his armour selection. He was stout and powerful, and could wear heavier armours with little hardship, but why incur a handicap at all? A good chain shirt over padded linen offered good balance of protection and movement, without being too draining.
Reinhardt, for his part, couldn’t pin down a single vision of himself. He could wear any armour and swing any weapon. He didn’t even really have a favourite, except the observation that well treated and maintained leather smelled better than steel armour, and that the defence and offence fusion offered by both the ‘sword and board’ or ‘spear and shield’ combination appealed to him greatly. He could do both, wielding a spear and maintaining distance, but having a sword on hand for when in close quarters. His father’s machete bounced on his hip, letting him know that he would test his close combat proficiency by the end of the day.
In the end it didn’t matter. Preferences were nice to have, but as fresh school leavers on their first delve without a single copper Dungeon
In addition to all this, Otto was excitedly telling them of the mushrooms, flowers and boar that existed in the ‘Cave’ and ‘Dark Forest’ sections of the Innate imaginable, and that God was obviously punishing him by not gifting Reinhardt
After lunch, the boys stashed their packs in the dry shade of a snarl of roots, covering them with loose weaved deadfall and branches. You’d never know anything was there if you hadn’t put it there yourself. They took only what they could conveniently carry. Otto did not require anything, as his spellcasting came from the wellspring of Aether that replenished itself naturally. He still carried his satchel with a notebook and his copy of ‘
There was a moment of silence, true stillness - not even a breath of the wind disturbed the leaves, and no sound penetrated the hollow in which they stood - when they first gazed into the pitch darkness that filled the cave that was the entrance to
“Awrite ladies, ain’t gonna get our names in Hero’s Hall just by standin’ ‘ere,” he spoke gruffly but still with a reverent air. He hefted his hammer and block-splitter up to his shoulders and marched forward. Otto and Reinhardt shook themselves free of their stupor and trailed in Magdi’s footsteps.
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“Such a fascinating phenomenon!” Otto’s eyes were alight with excitement. “Many theories talk about the science behind Dungeons
“Otto,” Reinhardt looked pained. “Don’t drain the excitement out of this!”
“I don’t think I could!”
They walked into the tunnel, barely making it through the cave mouth before there was one of the most peculiar sensations Reinhardt had ever experienced. It was like floating in the river, except there was no wetness. It was very hot for a moment, then the temperature dropped rapidly. There was a squeezing pressure equally on every square inch of his body, like he was being sucked through one of those reeds that grew alongside the creek, but there was no physical contact. Despite the feeling of being compressed, he got the impression that he was being stretched. Time dragged out, but it took no time at all. The entire time-dilated compressed stretching took place within the space of a single step. By the time one foot lifted and made contact it was all over. All three stood transfixed for a moment, then quickly checked themselves, making sure everything was in the right place.
Finding everything in the correct position, Otto pulled a torch from his belt, lighting the pitch soaked rag with a flick of a from a fingertip. Warm flickering light radiated out, illuminating the tunnel that perfectly replicated a natural cave. Some manner of creature skittered in the darkness beyond the edge of the firelight.
“Fascinating!”
All three stood below the flickering light of the torch, staring out into the darkness. Off to their left, the light revealed the rough, uneven rock of a cave wall - a wide opening extending out into blackness. To their right, the wall curved around to a large fissure that was the source of scuttling noises, and directly in front of them a wide passageway emitted the sound of dripping water. A good 10 feet above even Reinhardt’s head, the ceiling was a mess of stalactites. Otto began reciting information at a rapid pace, recalling the detail found in ‘
“The caves are one of the most extensively mapped sections,” his voice was lent a certain hoarseness as he tried to whisper, but also talk loud enough to be heard. “When the Dungeon
“Why we whisprin’?” Magdi’s bellow seemed loud enough to dislodge the stalactites from the ceiling.
Otto and Reinhardt both cringed and ducked, eyes darting to the roof while also trying to scan the darkness for any creatures drawn by the sudden noise. When no cave-in occurred after the first full second, the boys straightened to glare down at the grinning Dwarf.
“Nervous underground?” Magdi snickered and turned to stump off down a passage that was directly in front of them as they entered. The humans could only grimace at each other and scurry to keep up.
“As I was saying, there is a map that plots the shortest route through the caves,” Otto hissed at Magdi. “And this is not that route!”
“Oh, lighten up, Lightnin’ boy!” the Dwarf was bobbling along, his face alight with excitement and curiosity. “This be tha first time! Tis more excitin’ to experience it as an experience!”
“Pray tell, since when do you read Latche?” Otto scowled at the back of Magdi’s head.
“I can’t read,” Magdi shrugged. “People who read end up like you.”
“You mean you’d be taller if you read more?”
The Dwarf turned to snarl over his shoulder, eyes flashing in the torchlight. As he opened his mouth to retort however, his eyes locked onto the roof over the heads of the two humans. Having trained to the point of reflex, Reinhardt and Otto both reacted instantly, Otto dropping the torch and leaping back, calling a to hand while Reinhardt spun off to the side, dragging the machete free and brandishing it before him.
From the ceiling, a stalactite had unfolded and billowed out into what Reinhardt could only describe as a bat-like squid - a forgivable comparison, as Reinhardt had only seen illustrations of a squid, and had never seen a bat with tentacles. Its colouration and texture matched the stalactites it had been nested in, except the “inside” of its “wings,” where it looked suspiciously like the colour and texture of a tongue. As it dropped, whipping its tentacles where Reinhardt’s face had been half a heartbeat before, it twisted and shot forward, chasing Reinhardt’s head. It lost momentum after the initial lunge, however - flapping its “wings” in a strange hiccoughing manner of flight.
From the side, a large hammerhead appeared and slapped the creature out of the air. It wrapped partly around the hammer, its boneless, spongy body dissipating most of the impact. It flopped to the ground, tentacles lashing out to envelop the hammer before Magdi could withdraw it. Reinhardt shook himself, darting forward and chopping at the flattened “base” while it was distracted. Where the flat face of the hammer just “blompfed” into the springy mass, the keen edge of tempered steel bit into the creature and carved deep lacerations into the flesh. It emitted a high-pitched “scream” from its lamprey-like mouth, releasing the hammerhead and rolling down the passageway, trying to propel itself along using its tentacles as legs. It slapped half of its legs down and dragged itself frantically toward the wall but before it could kick off with its remaining tentacles, a sharp “ZAP-zap” cut through the sounds of swinging weapons and heavy breathing.
Two wicks of incandescent light shot at the Enveloper, one into the knot of writhing tentacles and the other drilled into the main body. With a little ‘pop’ the two points were linked for an instant, drawing a glowing line down the length of the creature. The spell worked its
