Rune Seeker

The group was kind enough to wait for the debuff side effects of Hiral’s Enraged and Eloquent to fade before moving on, though Wule also used the time to patch up the few small injuries they’d received. When his head finally cleared and his limbs didn’t feel like dead wood anymore, Hiral stood up.

“Sorry about the wait,” he said, rolling his shoulders to work the last stiffness out.

“No problem,” Seena said. “We need everybody at their best, and it was only a few minutes.”

“Not going to set any time records this run, though,” Yanily said, giving Hiral a good-natured punch in the shoulder, but then his face scrunched up. “Hiral…”

“Yanily?”

“Your… ring thing is glowing,” the spearman said, chinning in the direction over Hiral’s shoulder.

“Really?” Hiral turned his head to look at the strange ring floating behind him. And, yes, just like Yanily had said, it was glowing faintly. Ah, that wasn’t exactly true. It wasn’t the ring glowing, but the inlaid script—just not all of it. Starting at the top middle, the script glowed all the way to the right until it almost reached the bottom middle. “Why is it doing that?”

“Was hoping you’d tell me,” Yanily said.

Hiral reached out to the center of the ring with a thread of solar energy, still feeling that slight pull for it, but the ring once again rejected his offer. It wanted solar energy, just not his solar energy.

“He figured something out,” Wule said flatly, and everybody took a step back from him, Nivian even lifting his shield between Hiral and the kid.

“What?” Hiral asked.

“You usually explode when you figure things out,” Nivian said, only peeking out from behind his shield.

“Not that kind of figuring things out,” Hiral said, but nobody moved any closer. “The ring”—he rolled his eyes—“absorbs energy from the things we fight. Maybe the things we kill? I’ll need to test it. Anyway, that’s why the script is filling up now.”

“What’ll it do when it’s full?” Seeyela asked.

“Probably explode,” Nivian said, then glanced at the kid by his leg. “Stay behind me, where it’s safe.”

“It’s not going to explode!” Hiral snapped, then stopped. “It… might not explode. Probably.”

“You really don’t know, do you?” Seena said with a shake of her head.

“No idea,” Hiral admitted.

“And you’re still letting it float around your back,” Yanily said. “Trusting.”

“Seriously, though, Hiral, keep an eye on it,” Seena said. “Let us know when it’s getting close to being full if you haven’t figured out what it does by then.” She paused. “All jokes aside, you do tend to explode.”

“You got it, boss,” he said. “Do we know where we’re going?”

“Livik,” Nivian said, patting the child on the head, “says his mother might be down the street and around the corner. Not too far if there weren’t crazy monkeys running around.”

“We’ll start there,” Seena said. “Wule, why don’t you look after Livik so Nivian can do his job?”

“Sure,” Wule said, crouching down and waving the child over. “Come on. Why don’t you walk with me?”

The child looked at Wule, then scooched in closer to Nivian’s leg.

“Go on with Wule, Livik,” Nivian said, gently pushing the child away. “I know he’s funny-looking, but he won’t hurt you.”

Livik looked from Wule, to Nivian, back to Wule, then finally settled his gaze on Nivian, brow furrowing. “He looks like you,” the kid said quietly.

“I know. Funny-looking, right?” Nivian squeezed his eyes and stuck his tongue out.

Despite his tear-streaked and dirty face, the child giggled.

“Go on,” Nivian said, giving another gentle push, and Livik finally shuffled over to Wule.

“Hi,” Wule said. “Don’t worry. I’m much nicer than my brother. See?” He offered one of the small rations to Livik.

The child’s eyes widened immediately, and he reached out to take the food, though he winced and let his left arm drop to his side. “Thank you,” he said, taking the food in his right hand and digging in without another word.

“I’ll look at his arm while we’re moving,” Wule told Seena, standing up and gently putting his hand on the kid’s head.

“Good,” Seena said. “Usual formation, Livik in the middle.”

The party started down the street.

Hiral’s RHCs came out in his hands as he joined Seeyela at the back of the group. “Left,” he said, “keep an eye on the streets. I’ll watch the roofs.”

“Understood,” the double said, moving up beside Nivian.

A quick scan of the roofs showed them clear of threats for the moment, which, considering the sheer amount of monkeys that’d attacked them, was a good thing. If there were more packs that large running around, the city was in serious trouble. With that thought, Hiral’s eyes went to the massive crack in the cavern ceiling, rain still pouring through like a waterfall, then to the black shapes continuing to drop down within the water.

“Do you think those are more monkeys?” Hiral asked Seeyela before gesturing towards the pillar of rain.

“Or worse,” Seeyela said at his side. “This is a dungeon, remember? Wild or not, I’m still expecting to run into Mid-Bosses and a Boss. And”—she looked up at the solid stone roof above—“it’s called TheBuried City.”

Hiral looked around, then back to Seeyela, catching on. “It’s not buried… yet.”

“Yet,” Seeyela agreed. “We haven’t gotten a countdown like in the Troblin Keep or The Mire, so I think we’re okay for the moment, but I wouldn’t be surprised.”

“That’s why Seena was okay waiting for my debuffs to fade before moving,” Hiral said, and Seeyela nodded.

“Be careful using Eloquent and Enraged unless there aren’t any other options,” she said. “We may not be able to wait next time.”

“Got it,” Hiral said as the group reached the intersection.

The road continued on towards the center of the city—and the pillar of falling rain—as well as splitting off to the left and right. To the left, empty streets and the echoing hoots of monkeys. To the right, the first building that wasn’t a square. Peaked roofs and a steeple gave the place a very temple-like feel, and even the glowing roots growing up its sides had a more refined look to them.

“My mommy might be in there,” Livik said. “That’s where we go when the adults want to talk.”

“Walls look solid, but the front door isn’t in good shape,” Left said from his spot at the front of the group. “I think it held, though barely.”

“We probably attracted all the monkeys in the area to our little fight,” Seena said. “Still, stay on guard.”

She tapped Nivian on the shoulder and the tank stalked ahead, moving at a speed Livik could keep up with, while everybody else watched the nearby buildings for any signs of movement. There weren’t any. Screams and the hoots of monkeys echoed distantly in the city, but the immediate neighborhood was eerily still. The glowing roots, a constant since Hiral and the others had come to the surface, took on a new atmosphere when seen through empty windows and broken doors.

Light through a window normally made a building feel… alive… That somebody was living there. The roots, though, were unchanging and everywhere. Yes, there was life here, but it was also like that part of the city had been abandoned. Like nothing had lived there in years.

Hiral shook his head at the thought. That obviously wasn’t true. Well, maybe it was out in the real world, but not here in the dungeon. Livik, and hopefully the kid’s mother, were alive.

Weren’t they?

What did it mean if they were creations of the dungeon? Did saving the child from the monkeys really change anything? Did it mean anything?

Wule’s hand on the child’s head, Seeyela’s wince every time the kid mentioned his mother, and Seena’s determination to get him to his family—those were real. Their feelings were real. So, did it matter if Livik was or wasn’t? It wasn’t like they could sit by and watch the child die. They couldn’t leave him alone in the street.

Hiral let out a breath, the philosophical questions along with it, and turned his focus back to making sure no threats were sneaking up on the party. The roofs remained clear, the narrows spaces between the square buildings were still, and the street was empty behind them.

A few minutes later, Nivian reached the wide stone steps leading up to the front door of the temple and, after a nod from Seena, climbed to the top. “Hello?” Nivian called before banging on the scratched wooden door with the bottom of his fist. “Anybody in there? We’re here to help.”

“Windows are small,” Hiral said quietly to Seeyela, his eyes scrolling along the front of the building as Nivian knocked again. “Monkeys wouldn’t be able to fit through those. Wall looks like thick stone, and not broken, unless there is damage around back.”

“Doesn’t seem like the monkeys got through the doors, either,” Seeyela said. “Not for lack of trying. They wouldn’t have held much longer.”

“Hello?” Nivian shouted again. “We’ve got a small child named Livik with us. He’s looking for his mother.”

That got a response, and Hiral could faintly hear quiet voices on the other side of the door. “That worked, Nivian,” he said. “Somebody heard you.”

“Livik, call out to your mother,” Wule instructed gently as he crouched down beside the boy.

“Mommy!” Livik called. “Mommy, are you in there? This nice man gave me food.”

“What!?” a woman’s surprised voice came through the heavy door, followed by more muttering. “Get this out of the way. Yes, I know my own son’s voice. Move it or you’ll find that beam so far up your…”

The rest of her words got buried under the sound of debris being moved from the far side of the door. Then it swung inward, and a short woman came dashing out. She stopped almost immediately, Nivian practically towering above her in his thick, bark-like armor, but then her eyes settled on Livik, and her face softened.

“Mommy!” the small child cried, rushing straight into his mother’s arms.

“Oh, Liv, thank goodness you’re okay,” the woman crooned. “I was so worried.”

“I was so scared, Mommy. I couldn’t find you, then those monkey-men came. They took Daddy!”

Something in Hiral’s chest caught at that last part. They’d been so focused on getting the kid to his mother, they’d never stopped to consider why he wasn’t with her in the first place. His father…

“Your father? He…” the mother started, gently pushing Livik away so she could look at his face.

“I don’t know where he is,” Livik said. “Maybe the funny-looking men can save him like they saved me?” He pointed back at Nivian and Wule.

The mother looked from her son to the twins. “My husband—his father. Did you see…?” She trailed off as Nivian gently shook his head. “I… I see.” She forced herself to smile when Livik looked back at her. “Thank you for saving my son,” she said to the party.

“We couldn’t leave him alone out there,” Seena said, stepping up beside Nivian. “How many are in there with you?”

“There’s fifteen of us,” the woman said, then glanced down at Livik. “Sixteen now, I guess. Are you one of the tunnel patrols? You’re not from this neighborhood. It’s lucky you came back when you did.”

Seena looked at the others at the question, but that made sense to Hiral. Just as Livik and his mother were part of the dungeon instance, they’d probably see the party as people from the city.

“Yes,” Hiral said, just as Seena opened her mouth to respond. “We just came back from the tunnel down the street where we found your son. Like you said, we’re not from this neighborhood. We heard the crash”—he pointed at the hole in the ceiling—“and got back to the city as quickly as we could.”

The woman nodded along like it made perfect sense, then squeezed her son close against her. “And I can’t thank that coincidence enough.”

Seena eyed Hiral, her expression saying she’d want an explanation later, but turned her attention back to the woman. “What’s your name?”

“Oh, where are my manners?” The woman forced a chuckle, the shocking pain of losing her husband—and almost her son—still hidden behind her eyes. “I’m Bellina.” She must’ve seen Hiral’s face screw up at the familiarity of the name, because she added, “Please don’t hold it against me. It was a popular name when my parents had me. I thought about getting it changed after…”

“After…?” Seena asked, looking from Bellina to Hiral.

“Bellina is one of the Fallen’s names,” Hiral said, and the mother-Bellina made a strange warding sign by tracing some kind of glyph in the air and then pressing her hand against her stomach.

Wait, that glyph… That was the glyph of fertility. What does it have to do with all this?

“How much do you know about the Fallen?” Seena asked, and Bellina immediately shook her head.

“I’m sorry, it’s taboo to talk about them, and with…” Bellina looked at the giant hole in the cavern ceiling, rain pouring in. “And with that, I don’t want to tempt fate anymore.”

“She won’t be allowed to tell us anything the Tutorials don’t, I’d bet,” Left said quietly from beside Hiral, and Hiral nodded.

“I understand; don’t worry about it,” Seena said, just as another chorus of hoots echoed down across the city. There were still more packs of those Bladed Frenzy Monkeys out there, and by the screams that followed, their hunt was going unfortunately well. “Can you tell us a bit about what happened while we were in the tunnel? There seems to be too many of these monkeys for how short it’s been since we heard the crash.”

“The crash?” Bellina said. “Oh, the big one? How long were you in the tunnels? You know what? It doesn’t matter. About an hour ago, maybe two… I’ve lost track of time a bit… the first part of the ceiling collapsed. It wasn’t big, but it was enough to make us nervous. Then those monkeys started coming in. We hoped they’d stay up on the surface, but… you know what must’ve driven them in here.”

“The Enemy?” Seena asked, and Bellina made that warding sign again.

“Soon as I saw the ceiling fall,” she went on without answering Seena’s question, “I asked…” Her words stumbled. “I asked my husband to go get Livik—he was playing at a friend’s house. I knew it was going to be bad. Knew it. More of the ceiling fell—smaller parts at first—then the screaming started. Those damn monsters were everywhere.

“My husband was already out getting Livik, so I brought my parents here.” She looked back through the doorway at subtle movement in the darkness. “Knew we’d be safe here. We piled stuff in front of the door when the beasts showed up, and all I could do was pray my family was okay.” She managed all this through sniffles.

“I’m sorry for everything that’s happened to you,” Seena said. “Is there anything we can do to help you?”

The mother turned back to look through the door as an older couple came out to join the group. The man was shorter than both women, but with a hat clenched in his hands.

“There is… something you could do,” Bellina said. “If you’d be willing?”

And, just like that, a notification window appeared in front of Hiral’s eyes.