Rune Seeker

After a simple glare from Seena for killing the Mid-Boss without giving the girls a chance to fight it, the party leader sent the others on to start clearing the worm swarms on the way to the Boss, while the two of them hung back.

“You calmed down now?” she asked, sitting beside him with her hand in his.

“A bit,” he admitted, the emotions still rolling around in his chest. “I just… I can’t believe they went through that. Worse, I can’t believe I didn’t know. How could I have not seen it?”

“They were obviously hiding it from you,” Seena said quietly.

“That doesn’t make it any better,” Hiral said. “Actually makes it kind of worse.”

“Why? It means they love you.”

“I know that, but… you know what it was like for me. As the Everfail. Sure, I’m over it now, but at the time, it was hard. Still, even then, I kind of felt like it was my fault. So I deserved it…”

“You didn’t,” Seena interrupted. “And we know it wasn’t your fault.”

“Yeah, I know that too.” Hiral gave Seena’s hand a gentle squeeze. “When I was a kid, though, I didn’t. And this is going to sound a bit twisted – thinking it was my fault somehow made the bullying easier. Like, if I could just pass the Shaper test, it would all stop. It was as if I could control the bullying, or at least control stopping it.

“For Nat and Milly, though? Nothing was their fault. There wasn’t anything they could do…”

“They could’ve fought back,” Seena said. “Could’ve pretended they hated you for what was happening to them. Could’ve actually hated you.”

Seena’s words stopped Hiral’s mouth before he could say anything else. That was true. His sisters could have hated him for how they were treated. He was to blame, wasn’t he? Well, no, not really – he wasn’t a Maker. There was no way he could pass the Shaper test. Except, nobody knew that.

His sisters would’ve been well within their rights to despise him for getting bullied. How could he…?

“Stop,” Seena said. Though her voice was soft, there was an urgency to it that pulled him out of his spiralling thoughts. “I can practically see the wheels turning in your head. Don’t let your mind go to those places. Your sisters don’t hate you. And they didn’t tell you so you wouldn’t worry about them. Maybe you missed how strong they are? I don’t just mean their rank or tattoos.

“They handled it. Sure, go beat the hell out of the people that bullied them – and let me help, if I can – but don’t lose sleep over how they’re doing. They’re fine, obviously.”

“But…”

“No buts,” Seena interrupted. “Take it from a sister, we’re stronger than you boys. If Nat or Milly couldn’t take it, you would’ve known. They could. They did. They’re fine. You’re fine. Just be happy with that.”

“After I beat the hell out of the bullies,” Hiral quoted her words.

“Maybe twice. Can you do it twice? Is it allowed?”

“If they’re dumb enough to accept my challenge the second time,” Hiral said, his fingers tracing along the Emperor’s Greatsword lying on the ground beside him. “Thanks for talking to me, Seena.”

She squeezed his hand in return. “Anytime.”

“And, as much as I’m fantasizing about getting some of these people into the Amphitheatre, I’m not going to have time to, am I? We’re going to be coming right back down to go find Nivian and Wule.”

“I was going to wait until after the dungeon to talk to you about it in more detail.” Seena looked ahead through the smashed Mid-Boss room to where the others had to be fighting. “But, now’s as good a time as any.”

“You’ve got a plan for finding them?” he asked.

“Two, actually,” Seena said. “You’re the first one.”

“My Rune of Connection?” he immediately asked. He’d already considered the idea. “I’ve thought about it. Except, I’m not sure I can pick out which strands actually connect to them. There are bound to be other things we have connections to on the surface. I could lead us in completely the wrong direction.”

“I’m sure you’d manage,” Seena said, reaching over with her other hand to pat his knee. “Still, that’s why it’s only part of the plan. The other half of it is kind of the same though – we’re not sure if it’ll work on its own.”

“What is it?”

“There’s another Grower who has a rare ability to track things by solar energy signature,” Seena explained. “If they’ve seen the person – or monster – use an ability before, they can track it. I’ve even heard they can pick an energy trail out of the air and use it to follow something. It’s pretty impressive.”

“A tracker, huh?” Hiral said while he considered the idea. “Nivian’s energy signature must’ve changed when he became a Death Knight, though. Oh, is it that other member of the party you mentioned the first time we came down to the surface?”

“No, and even if it was, his situation hasn’t changed. Baby was just born, and, if I’m being honest, he couldn’t keep up with us now. He’s still E-Rank.”

Hiral’s eyes widened a little at that. It was true. When they’d gone down to the surface, they were E-Rank – while Hiral was no-Rank – and they certainly hadn’t expected to get stranded, let alone rise all the way to B-Rank. Their old party member would be completely outclassed now.

“That’s… a good point,” Hiral said, not sure how to talk about it. So, he kept going with the previous topic. “Can this other friend of yours track Nivian’s energy?”

“Probably not,” Seena admitted. “Even Wule’s likely changed – since he doesn’t actually have solar energy at all anymore – which is why each tracking method is only part of it. Between the two of you, I’m hoping we can find something. If we even need to. They should still be in that undead city.”

“But if they’re not…”

“Exactly,” Seena said. “And, even if they are, we don’t know what the city is like at this point. It was already crawling with things that wanted to see us dead…”

“Which my assistant needs to hurry up and get around to being,” Li’l Ur said from where he sat on Seena’s shoulder.

“I like him the way he is for the time being,” Seena said. “Can’t you wait a little longer? For me?”

The little lich somehow blew out a breath – even though it probably didn’t have lungs, or need to breathe – then nodded. “For you, Mistress, anything. I shall be patient. I have eternity, after all.”

“Thanks, Ur.” Seena gave the lich a gentle pat on the head. “Back to what I was saying. The city could still be looking to kill us.”

“We are a lot stronger than we were before,” Hiral said, thinking back to their previous trip through the city at D-Rank.

“We are,” Seena agreed. “But strong enough to take on an entire city? We have Cycling to help with the solar energy situation, but the city was already thin on that. I don’t want us to get worn down by an endless sea of undead, which is what we saw there before.”

Hiral couldn’t repress a shudder as he considered the undead hordes. The sea of unliving flesh and bones stretching through the streets and packed shoulder to shoulder.

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“Then there’s the Shambling Graveyards,” Hiral added. “A-Rank Elites. Yeah, we shouldn’t take them lightly. Even with our evolutions and gear, I don’t know if we could take one.”

“You got the closest look at one,” Seena said. “No chance?”

“Far closer than I would’ve liked,” Hiral admitted, thinking back to the giant monstrosity chasing him through the city. Literallythrough, as it had waded into the buildings like he would into water. Stone didn’t do anything to slow its trail of destruction as it had chased him. “We could put up a fight, but with rank disparity and its Elite status, I don’t know if we could do enough damage.

“Maybe if we got to the Heart of the Graveyard core of it,” Hiral said, referring back to one of the Mid-Bosses they’d fought in the Necropolis of Ur’Thuldungeon. The small monster had gathered up corpses around it – almost like armor – to try and construct the massive Shambling Graveyard. Luckily, Hiral had been able to destroy it before it succeeded.

“We’d have to punch through how many feet of undead flesh to get to it?” Seena asked. “Let’s just avoid any we see.”

“And that’s why you’re the party leader,” Hiral chuckled. “All the smarts of the group.”

“Somebody needs to stop and think, with experience and adrenaline junkies like you and Yanily in the party.”

“Where does Seeyela fit in then?”

“Stabby junkie?” Seena asked.

“Her most recent abilities seem to be leaning back more towards the original gravity theme she had before she got the advanced class,” Hiral noted. “She may be less stabby in the future.”

“Nah, she’s addicted,” Seena said.

“Says the girl who has way too much fun burning entire dungeons to the ground,” Hiral pointed out.

“Okay, we’re both addicted to our new advanced classes,” Seena admitted. “Don’t see you complaining when we’re raking in the experience.”

“Oh, no complaints here at all,” Hiral held up one hand defensively. The other hand, well, that stayed comfortably intertwined with Seena’s. “I think we make a great party. Lots of synergy. And, honestly, Seeyela’s combination of gravity manipulation and poison is only going to get stronger and stronger. Her sponsor, though – that giant spider – used something else entirely, didn’t it?”

“Not entirely.” It was Li’l Ur who answered. “The Void-Venom Empress’s power is a derivation of gravity and poison. Well, venom technically. The void she creates is the absence of everything, through combining those two concepts. If she truly has taken a liking to the Mistress’s sister – and bestows her skills – Seeyela will become a very powerful disciple indeed.

“Should she survive long enough.”

“Disciple?” Hiral asked.

“That seems to be the path,” Li’l Ur continued in one of his rare coherent periods. “It has been… millennia since any of the Progenitors have taken on a potential successor, and suddenly we have five. To say it is momentous would be an understatement. The wheels of history are turning.”

“Five?” Seena asked, glancing at Hiral.

“Of course,” Li’l Ur said. “The Mother of Flame has chosen you – despite my minor rivalry with her. She is a very powerful sponsor, but she still owes me from a lost bet. As for the spearman…”

“Yanily,” Hiral reminded the little lich, who just waved his hand like the name hardly mattered.

“He has been chosen by Heaven’s Punishment, the storm dragon.”

“The dragon’s name is Heaven’s Punishment?” Hiral asked.

“Its title,” Li’l Ur said. “I don’t remember that battle-freak’s actual name. Too nasally and hard to pronounce, like all dragon names. I swear, they put consonants together for fun, not because they actually make words.”

“Ah.” It was all Hiral could say to the small rant.

“What about the other two, then? Is Hiral your disciple?” Seena asked.

“He would be my assistant if he died,” Li’l Ur clarified. “Not my disciple. In this form, I do not possess the power necessary to have one. And, considering what you did with my urn, it is questionable if I shall ever return to the necessary level.”

“Sorry about that,” Hiral said.

“Don’t be. If the other incarnation of me had gotten its way, Mistress would be dead. That I could not allow!”

“Such a good little lich,” Seena said, adding another head-pat. “Who’s Hiral’s sponsor then?”

“He doesn’t have one,” Li’l Ur said. “The other two are Nivian and Wule.”

“Whaaaaat?” Seena asked. “How do you know?”

“Their advanced class evolutions,” Li’l Ur explained. “Nivian emerged from the skull of Landbreaker the Titan, the giant progenitor. Also, the first Death Knight. I was very proud of him, though he may not have been… entirely on board becoming an undead. Meh, details. As for Wule, the lantern he came out of belonged to the Eternal Spark. Its… race is not one you would recognize – though perhaps we will see Spirits along our journey – but it commands a power that combines solar energy with lifeforce. The lantern it carries houses a spark of this unique energy.”

“Wule and Nivian both have sponsors?” Hiral asked, looking at Seena and the wide smile on her face.

“That means they’re strong,” she said. “Strong enough to survive.” There was relief in her voice.

Ever since the brothers had vanished from the Party Interface, they were all worried about what it might mean. If they had sponsors though – ancient Progenitors of immense power – then there was a much higher chance they were still alive.

Hiral gave Seena’s hand a squeeze. That was good news. Some of the best they’d had in a while. It may not have been that long since they saw the twins – not really – but it felt like an eternity. One full of worry whether or not they’d ever be reunited. This increased the odds dramatically.

“We’ll find them,” he said. “And soon.”

“We will,” she agreed, her eyes glazed over like she was imagining seeing Nivian and Wule. Or, maybe eating some of Nivian’s stew – she had mentioned how much she missed it several times recently. “Wait, Ur, are you saying Hiral is the only one without a sponsor from our original group?”

“It seems he’s not impressive enough to garner the attention of a Progenitor,” Li’l Ur said with a shrug.

“Ouch, Ur,” Hiral said. “Words hurt.”

“There, there,” Seena said, patting his knee. “Don’t worry, I think you’re plenty impressive enough.”

“Oh, will you be my sponsor then?”

“Depends on how many offerings of wine and cheese you present,” she said, sitting up straighter.

“Well, I just happen…” Hiral started, but movement behind them had him untangling his hand and leaping to his feet. Immediately at Seena’s back, a pile of six-inch-long worms was crawling over itself to stand up, with a humanoid shape clearly taking form. Two legs, the bottom of a torso…

This must be one of those worm-swarms. How did it get past the others?

He’d have to ask Yanily later, though for now he just wanted to end the interruption to his quality time with Seena. There shouldn’t be an issue in just smashing the damn thing since the girls weren’t around to benefit from it, right? Seena had barely even started to move, while Hiral was already on his feet with his hand cocked back, thanks to his high Dex and Atn.

Readying himself to strike, he picked out something unusual about the swarm – a single, blood-red worm amidst the pile of otherwise almost black wigglers. Something like the Heart of the Graveyard?

Without waiting to figure that out, Hiral coated his hand in Separation, and thrust it forward like a knife. Black worms parted in front of his razor-sharp strike, and he buried his fingers in the sausage-like body of the worm. While that probably was enough to kill it – he hadn’t bothered to wait for View to come up to confirm it was Elite – he was frankly still annoyed at his sisters getting bullied. And at his time with Seena getting interrupted.

Taking some of his frustration out on the poor worm-swarm in front of him, Hiral smoothly swapped from Separation to Runes of Impact, Expansion, and Increase. At the last second, he also added in a dose of Unsealing, just to disrupt any magic connecting the individual worms.

Not that he need have bothered, with the whole monstrosity bursting like an overfilled wineskin. Worms – and worm parts – shot in every direction, though a simple wall of Rejection protected himself and Seena from getting icky.

“What the…?” she asked, only then turning as worm-debris bounced off an invisible barrier just a few inches in front of her.

“Monster snuck by the others,” Hiral said at the same time a notification began blinking in the corner of his Party Interface. Wonder what that could…?

“Okay,” Yanily said over the chat. “We killed the last normal monster, so the Boss could spawn anywhere in the dungeon.”

Hiral’s eyes went to the blinking notification, though he didn’t open it. “Anywhere?” he asked slowly.

“Yeah,” Yanily said. “It’s a… hold on. What’s that Nat? What do you mean you got an achievement notification?!”

“Uh, she’s not the only one,” Seeyela interrupted. “I’ve got a dungeon clear notification blinking.”

“Hiral,” Seena said, looking from the pile of worm-guts in front of her to him. “What did you just kill?”