Cursed Explorer of the Arcana

“I am not the dinner, turn the heat down the Abyss damn it!” Valka yells as I crank up the temperature again to get rid of those stubborn and pointy rods of steel.

At first, I’ve thought a few seconds would be all it takes for them to liquify and fold but I’ve already burnt through a third of my mana supply and they’re barely beginning to glow.

“Shut it! Do you want to stay a pincushion or not?” She must be recovering if she can yap about some fire so much. It’s not even the blue flames…

After a few more seconds of constant care, I see the metal finally begin to lose its shape albeit only barely. Keeping the flames concentrated from this distance isn’t all that easy but the rigorous extra training with Martha to get a better grip on both my special flames and magnetic magic has finally shown their result.

“Okay, I think it’s done. Probably.” I know it doesn’t sound too reassuring but I don’t there are always unseen factors so I’m just being truthful.

“And what if it isn’t?” Valka asks the question I wanted to avoid.

“Well, after taking that leap either I die,” I chuckle like it’s nothing. “or you’ll be in for a whole lot of more pain.”

“That plan sucks.” She huffs but I can tell there’s a smile on her face even without looking.

Either my weight is enough to bend the spikes and allow me to slip to the ground or it isn’t. Too big of a leap and Valka might get her lungs pierced, too small and I’ll end up among the other dead stuff lying beneath us.

“I need to stand up.” I tell her straight without any dilly-dallying. “Ready?”

“Wait.” Her arms move and she grips the spikes closest to her torso, straining a little to add some additional leverage. A few deep breaths and a long grunt to prepare herself… “Go!”

Swift yet careful I push myself off my breathing platform and get my feet under me in record time. The faster the better yet just as I’m about to jump Valka speaks again.

“Just- if you fail just jump back. I can take it.” Her voice is strained yet determined. “If you die, I die and I can not die yet.”

Yeah, now I remember… This is why I picked her. Those eyes, that stubborn resolve…

“Good thing I won’t fail.” I wink with my heart beating in my throat and take the leap of faith.

Faith in my own judgment and abilities that is.

Right after stepping off, I plant my feet against the side of a spike and kick off with all the force of my cute little legs. This gives me enough momentum to kick the weakened weapon so perfectly that I lament wasting it here and not on August’s face.

The spike bends, slightly, but resists me stubbornly in the end. It’s still enough to find the slightest of footing and push against the adjacent metal rod. My balance is tested, muscles straight and nerves almost fried but I prevail.

I feel cool as fuck, sliding down between the two spikes with one hand helping me balance and landing on the ground charred by my own flames. Is it cool? I think it’s cool.

“You made it?” The question almost makes me chuckle.

“Yeah.” I reply nonchalantly.

“Thank the Gods, I never thought someone as light as you could ever feel this heavy.” Oh, that’s a compliment, I think.

“Hold on just a little longer, I’ll get you down as fast as I can.” I encourage her to… do nothing, but do it more bravely.

The work is simple, grab the rod, heat the rod, cool the rod, and break using leverage the rod.

The job is meticulous and time-consuming yet much faster and safer than my feat against the badger. First thing I do is clear off some space around my skewered damsel in distress to… actually to come up with a solution on how I’m gonna get her down.

Removing the rods one by one would result in increasing load on the remaining one and likely even more damage… I need to push her off the spikes somehow.

“Can you move? Maybe sit up?” I ask, just to get a more precise estimate of what I’m working with.

The blood pooling under her suspended body is a worrying sight but I don’t want to cause her any more pain or worse, have my actions lead to her death. I owe her one. The selfish ones would say we’re even because I rescued her from the slavers but it's not the same.

“I’d rather not.” Valka answers, her voice much weaker than the first time she started screaming. “I don’t think I can pull myself off these damned things, not without any proper grip.”

Not what I asked but I’ll take that as a yes. I’ve cleared the area around me already so all I need to dislodge her is a push. Ice is pretty cheap and so is air…

“Okay, don’t hold this against me. I’m an advocate of quick and simple solutions.” I give Valka a vague warning before getting down the turning mana into water.

“I don’t like the sound of that.” She mutters and gets slapped on the back by an aggressive stream of water aided by a strong gust of wind.

Her initial surprised yelp turns into a muted cry as the metal finally leaves her flesh, signaling for me to give her a sideways nudge else she’ll just drop back down on the spikes and make things even worse. Maybe. I’m not sure the trap would be effective against her Blessing without the fall and my added weight… Best not to check.

For a moment I consider cushioning her fall… Then I realize that neither can I create more water quickly enough nor use my pitiful strength to do anything without breaking my arms and legs. So I just let gracelessly impact the ground.

The slap she received from the bear was harder, she’ll live.

“Fuck you and your stupid plans and your garbage magic!” The round of curses barely suppressed by a groan was within my calculations so no suprise there.

“Just turn on your stomach and stay like that for a while!” I instruct Valka sounding very much like Mom. “And drink this, you lost way too much blood!” I hand her one of our few health potions without hesitation.

Although we’re no longer in direct danger I’d bet an arm on further dangers lurking around here or more traps at every step. I want my meat shield in top condition to face those threats and don’t trust her healing abilities alone to do that job. She’s a warrior first, a moron second, and healing only comes in at third.

“But I can-”

“No buts, drink and heal! I’ll look around in the meanwhile.” I put on the gloves, ready to use her contract if needed.

She begrudgingly follows my instructions allowing me to finally relax and think about step two. Namely looking for a way out of here. This place looks old, like ancient old, and both the craftsmanship that lasted for however long this place has been standing along with the illusion I failed to notice are foreboding signs. That and the pulses of mana in the air that have grown even stronger down here…

I don’t know who decided to build a sophisticated trap like this one in the middle of a forest but it seems to be working mindbogglingly well. The amount of bones, rotten meat, and other bodily remains on the ground creates a real obstacle. And I’m not just talking in a physical sense.

Melting the rods is still my best bet but when heat and rotting flesh meet… fuck me it’s horrid.

To mitigate my suffering I try looking for clues about who or what might’ve built this place, or for what purpose… Not that I get anywhere without reference or proper knowledge. Some old carvings on the walls depicting what seems like serpents and a flooding river and… is that a dragon? Is this a cultist hideout or something?

Wait… a trap to gather sacrifices, in the middle of nowhere and well hidden… Shit, this might actually be a cultist hideout. A former one at least. This place looks more abandoned than the crumbling houses in the slums so I highly doubt anyone is still around.

Feeding a little more to my flames I finally get a glimpse of the opposite side of the room and the thing I was hoping to find while at the same time not really looking forward to. A doorway. Climbing back out where we came from doesn’t sound plausible to me, even if I tried building a platform and dying here is also not on my agenda but at the same time… I don’t want to know what else this place might hide.

Vampires? Failed experiments? A demon? Or some other monstro-

“How’s it going?”

“Kyaaa!” I scream as Valka scares the living shit out of me.

I’ve been so engrossed in my thoughts and the horrors this place might hide that I didn’t even notice her sneaking up on my back.

“What is wrong with you? And why are you moving already?” I yell, flustered and still a bit twitchy.

“Wrong with me? Nothing, the wounds weren’t that deep so I healed pretty fast.” The reply comes a bit too nonchalantly compared to what she just endured minutes ago. “What now?”

And she’s even asking me what to do… Maybe the side effects of the healing potion.

“See that door across?” I point across the room. “We need to get there but it’ll take time and plenty of mana. These spikes are annoyingly tough.”

“I’ll help.” Valka declares and steps up to the two rods still enjoying my fire treatment.

“And how do you plan to do that, rub the metal until it melts?” I huff at the ridiculous idea before having my mouth shut.

The warrior just simply steps over little sitting me on the ground, grabs both the metal poles, and pulls. And I just quietly chuckle when she fails, not that I expected anything else. I’ve already weakened the structure but bending metal as thick as my wrist isn’t-

Steam escapes Valka’s mouth, just like when she smashed the badger’s side in, along with a straight grunt coming not just from her but also the metal. She’s strong, like really fucking strong but this doesn’t prove much. I could’ve done it without her, she can’t make it budge without me.

I still don’t like being proven wrong, or the cocky eyes watching me from above but I also know when to shut up instead of making things worse. She deserves this much for catching me.

“Just don’t run out of breath on me.” I comment before getting to work on the next pair of spikes, using much more heat and putting all my mind to work.

I won’t be outdone.

***

“What up Whitey, a little work made you lose your breath?” I taunt the warrior as we both slump down against the wall on the corridor we finally reached.

My head hurts from the almost an hour-long constant concentration and precise control of my wild flames while Valka looks like she’s about to collapse. It took her almost a minute of constant effort to bend the last pair of bars on the last stretch. We’re spent.

I’m surprised she lasted this long after losing… Of fuck me I’m dumb.

“Here, drink.” I hand her the waterskin and fish out some of the reserve meet I packed just in case. “And eat this.”

For a change, I don’t have to repeat myself, nor stress my words for her to see reason. She grabs the waterskin and empties it in one breath before setting out to devour our food supply.

Healing doesn’t just make your blood and flesh magically appear. It converts what resources you have, highly influenced by your diet and Endurance, and fixes the damage depending on the building material available. She lost a lot of blood and although the potion can help a little with that it’s not a cure-all miracle.

Although… that’s all our supplies. All our water and food.

“Why?” I ask, watching her wolf down the meat like it’s an actual feast.

“Why what?” She asks back with her mouth almost too full to understand.

“Why did you catch me? If I died you would’ve been free, might even be able to escape if not for my weight. So why?” This question has been bothering me for a while now.

A rough estimate tells me that she only made things worse for herself and that saving me wasn’t worth it logically speaking.

“Hmm, that’s true.” She agrees and then keeps on chewing on the cold and tough meat. “But you didn’t let go of me either when the ground disappeared beneath my foot.”

Huh? That’s… that’s why? But I was about to…

“But I thought about it.” I admit quietly, venting the guilt instead of allowing it to fester.

“But you didn’t.” Valka repeats herself and returns to her meal, considering the conversation as finished.

Heh, I can’t argue with that.

Seriously, it’s a miracle I’m still sane after an entire week in a forest with danger lurking around me every waking minute and only beasts to keep me company. Or am I still sane? Eh, there's a fine line between genius and insanity and I’m fine with slipping over to the other side from time to time. As long as there are people to drag me back…

Right now Valka is the only such person. I needed her more than I realized.

“Here.” I hand over one more thing from my bag without even glancing her way. Her contract.

Even without looking, I can hear all her vital functions grind to a halt from the shock my actions have just caused. Until now she was at my mercy even though I had nothing against her and thought of this more as a partnership of convenience. But that’s probably not what it looked like to her. I was just a new master, dragging her around and with the power to make her life hell on Aelion on a whim.

Not anymore. A life for a life.

I feel a gentle tug on the paper and one last massive gulp before the awkward silence gets finally broken. “Erase all orders.” She mutters.

Shit, I expected her to ditch me when presented with the opportunity but it still stings a little. I wasn’t the only one yapping constantly and being rude and… I probably would’ve done the same in her stead. It still sucks.

Well, I’ve survived without her before, I’ll survive without her now. Not like-

Then the paper lands in my hand again.

“Keep this safe for me, would you? I think I’ll pass on the runaway slave treatment.”

To say I’m utterly baffled would be an understatement. Even after I confirm things with my eyes and move closer to see any signs of this being a prank I can hardly believe her choice.

“Why do you look so stupid, your orders were meaningless to begin with. And although I’m still not convinced about what you said regarding the scrolls and collar I’d rather not try my luck.” She finally smiles, a genuine smile after all the frowning and furrowed eyebrows… I don’t regret anything.

Another mild growl shatters my happiness and I give Valka a flat look for being a glutton on a whole other level. She’s eating even now and-

“That wasn’t me.” She stuffs the rest of the meat into her mouth and stands up to welcome our uninvited guest.

From the darkness emerges a pair of beady red eyes, followed by a second, then a third, then a fiftieth, and so on. The noise the creatures make is also recognizable enough to know what we’re dealing with, the squeels and hisses.

I still have my little torch flare up to illuminate the creatures and throw an Identify into their midst silently praying for them to be just simple rats. No demon spawns, abandoned abominable pets of long-deceased cultists, or any of the weird shit.

[Rat lvl 65]

It looks big, green, sickly and has patchy fur but other than that… I think we might be okay.

“I hope you don’t plan on turning those into dinner.” Valka comments with a frown mirroring my own.

I’d rather starve than eat anything even remotely related to these things.