Riftside - Chapter 52

The Twisted Titan's trunk stretched upward until it vanished into the thick, low-hanging clouds. In the two short months since we’d been there the first time, rot on the dead side had spread, consuming nearly two-thirds of the ancient steelhusk's surface. Black veins throbbed beneath peeling bark, reaching deeper into the living wood like corrupted rivers.

I paused, letting my party pass me by, except Eryn who stopped next to me, studying the changes.

My first time here, I'd simply stared in awe at its sheer size. Now I studied it for those subtle shifts. Why? I had no idea, but things just felt different. Almost as if it was my duty.

“Big tree,” Eryn said.

“Yup,” I agreed.

“It feels aware,” Roq said. “Almost like it's waking up? Do you think it's watching us? Waiting?”

“Maybe. But it won't matter. We're shutting down that breeding chamber today.”

“Good. Though you better let me be the one to deal the killing blow. You know, for science’s sake.”

Commander Edwin's voice cut through my thoughts.

“Take up your formations!”I turned to Eryn and leaned in, pressing a quick kiss to her lips.

“I love you,” I whispered.

Her smile was bright, and she kissed me again before pulling back to study my new armor. Her fingers traced the scaled surface, as if memorizing every detail.

“I love you too,” she whispered. “Try not to do anything too heroic in there.”

“Hey, that's my line,” I said, before taking a slow breath, straightening, and walking towards the dungeon.

“On me.”

My group responded. Knut moved forward, his shield already out. Wade checked his crossbow one final time while Benedict and Nabeeh fell in behind him. The two mages had verbally sparred the entire walk, but at least neither had done anything physical. Or in their case, magical. Like throwing around spells.

Behind me, Garret's voice rang out as he organized my scavenger group. I'd asked Eryn if she'd like to lead, but she'd turned it down, talking of how she was a supporter, not leader.

The sound of Nina, Finn, Eryn, Enar, and Garret shuffling into their loose formation brought back memories of that first expedition, and how green I'd been, how nervous. Now I stood on the other side of that divide, an adventurer leading his own party. A bulwark that was supposed to keep those very scavengers alive.

Edwin's party moved to the portal first, being the strongest group and the ones who would establish a beachhead if monsters waited. He kept the massive tower shield up, despite how we shouldn’t be facing anything but simple enemies at the entrance.

He turned, meeting my gaze. A slight nod passed between us. Then he stepped through. Rowan went next, short sword at the ready, followed by Isaac and his bow. Next came their replacement for Benedict, Ming, a lightning mage, and finally, Alex, who turned to wink at Nina.

The portal swallowed them one by one soundlessly.

Shay's party went next, then Richard's.

We would enter last as I was the lowest level and my party still untested. As the others vanished into the darkness, Benedict suddenly stepped forward, breaking formation.

My hand shot out, catching his shoulder in an iron grip. The ice mage stiffened under my touch.

“Tank first,” I said firmly. “Then melee. Then ranged and mages. That's the order.”

Benedict scoffed, trying to shrug off my hand.

“I know what I'm doing. I don't need—”

“I’m not having any of your crap, Benedict. We aren’t friends. The only reason why you’re here, is because I owed you. Do anything to harm any of my friends or party, and I’ll smash your skull in. Be a team player, and you’ll have a place in my party. It’s up to you,” I said, my voice dropping low. It carried an edge that surprised even me. “Decide now. Either you go home, or you play ball. And if you won't do either, I'll crush your windpipe, break your limbs, and leave you here. I'll carry you back myself when we we’re done. If something hasn’t eaten you by then.”

Benedict's face darkened, his fingers twitching on his staff. For a moment, I thought he might actually try to fight me.

“Maybe hit a bit too hard? Let me absorb his power? I'm sure it'll bring me to level ten and we’ll get new abilities! It’ll be worth it, I promise!”

Then something shifted in his expression. He studied me carefully, as if seeing me properly for the first time.

The tension held for several heartbeats. Then, unexpectedly, Benedict exhaled and inclined his head slightly.

“My apologies,” he said, the words clearly unfamiliar on his tongue. “You're right. I do not want to mess around and find out. I'll maintain formation and do my part.”

I released his shoulder, barely hiding my surprise.

“Damn it.”

Somehow it seemed I'd gained a fraction of respect from the arrogant mage. It wasn't much, but it was something.

Knut stepped forward.

“Ready when you are, boss.”

It was odd hearing the big man calling me boss, but then again, after my transformation, we were just about equally big. Add in my golden bird status and Roq, and it only made sense he had thrown his lot in with us, and it proved to Benedict and Wade where his loyalties lay.

I nodded, and he entered the portal without hesitation. Taking a deep breath, I followed.

“Finally a dungeon run!” he said. “Let's show these monsters what real power looks like!”

I stepped into the darkness, and the world outside ceased to exist.

A moment later, the portal's darkness melted away, only to be replaced by the eerie glow of bioluminescent fungi. My boots landed silently on the wooden floor, and I breathed in the musty air of the Twisted Titan.

“Home sweet home,” Roq said. “Though it could use some redecorating. Maybe some blood spatters on the walls? A few dismembered monster parts strewn about?”

“Those ain’t enough?”

Five Ring Beetle carcasses already lay about, their shells cracked and leaking green ichor. Above us, Edwin's group was already ascending the spiral ramp, his flaming sword casting dancing shadows across the curved walls.

“Not when we didn’t get to slay them. You know that.”

I slowed my breathing and nodded at Richard and Shay who stood with their parties near the base of the ramp.

Shay's group started up as the scavenger teams began filtering through behind me.

Rasek led the same group as last, followed by Dean's team, who scavenged for Edwin. Sally – who'd taken over Marcus' old group – came next. Finally, Garret appeared, Nina, Finn, Eryn, and Enar close behind.

Dean's group immediately pounced on the fallen Ring Beetles, swiping them into spatial storage.

“Look at them scramble for scraps,” Roq laughed. “Like rats fighting over moldy cheese. Though I suppose you were no better once upon a time.”

I turned the hammer in my grip.

“Anything feel familiar about this place? Any memories coming back?”

“If I remembered anything, do you really think I'd keep it to myself? I'm hurt by your lack of faith in my capabilities to share information.”

“Not even a flicker of recognition?”

“My memory is as clean as my surface is bloodless,” he declared. “Though I'd very much like to change that second part. Immediately, if possible.”

“Listen up,” I said.

Knut, Eryn, Nabeeh, Wade, and Benedict turned to me.

“Stay sharp and don't get fixated on the ramp. Ring Beetles can climb walls – the real threat may come from the sides, overhead, or even through the floor.”

Behind us, the scavengers shifted nervously.

“Clear!” Richard's voice echoed down from the ramp.

I took point, leading my party up the spiral, the wooden surface giving plenty of grip, and I felt a familiar excitement building in my stomach. It wasn’t fear this time, but rather anticipation.

The first platform was flat as mom's pancakes and still had two massive branches split off from the main trunk – one left, one right. 

“Good. The dungeon hasn’t changed layout since last time.”

“Can it do that?”

“No idea. I’m just glad it hasn’t.”

Edwin's group waited near the ramp further up, while Shay's team disappeared down the right branch and Richard's into the left. When the scavenger teams arrived moments later, Sally's group followed Richard while Rasek's team trailed after Shay.

“Aldrich,” Edwin called. “You're with me.”

I followed Edwin's team up the curved ramp, letting Knut lead.

“At least the lighting's dramatic,” Roq commented. “Though I'd prefer more red. As in…a river of blood!”

Ahead, Edwin stepped onto the next platform and the wet sound of blades cutting through flesh filtered down.

The stench hit me before we reached the platform. It was a putrid mix of decay and something worse, like meat left too long in summer heat. My stomach turned, but I forced down the nausea. This wasn't my first time dealing with the dungeon's lovely perfume.

“By the gods,” Nabeeh gagged behind me. “What died up here?”

“You'll see,” I said and stepped onto the second platform.

Five Blightpedes lay on the wooden floor. Their bodies were cut open, wounds charred, leaking their brown guts onto the floor.

Benedict made a repulsed sound, pinching his nose.

“I haven't missed these rotting bastards one bit.” He tiptoed between the corpses. “Disgusting.”

“No gems.”

“Understood.”

I looked at the three branches leading from the platform. Two left and one right. This was where my life had changed forever.

Edwin stood at the platform's center, studying the tunnels, his sword tapping gently against his shield.

“I've planned this since our last visit,” he said. “We'll take the right tunnel. Aldrich, your group takes first left. My scavenger group will defend the second left passage, and yours will follow after you. And if you find a way up, hold position and send the scavengers back for us.”

I nodded, keeping my expression neutral even as Benedict shifted beside me. The ice mage sidled closer, his voice barely a whisper.

“We should take the second tunnel on the left instead.”

I fought back a smirk. That's where Garret had lied and said the woodweaver had fled to after I killed it. The wizard must still be after it, and thinking the chance was greatest it'd still be there. If only he knew I held its treasure in my hand.

“I can't wait til the day you tell him.”

“Give up one first pick of loot,” I whispered back.

Benedict hesitated, clearly weighing the offer against his pride. Finally, he gave a slight nod.

“Commander. I'd like us to take the second left tunnel instead.”

I caught his eye and winked slightly.

Edwin's gaze flickered to Benedict for just a moment. After a calculated pause, he nodded.

“Fine.”

I turned to my party.

“Knut, take point. Everyone else, sharpen up.” 

“Finally!” Roq crowed in my mind. “Let's go show these monsters that DADDY is BACK!”

We headed into the wooden tunnel, wide like Dawnwatch's main street, lit by the glow of fungal patches. Knut moved with his shield up, and I kept a few paces behind.

Wade's steady footsteps followed next, his crossbow making soft creaks as he swept it back and forth. Benedict and Nabeeh brought up the rear.

“This is disappointingly quiet,” Roq commented. “I expected more destruction and chaos. Where are all the monsters? What kind of humiliating homecoming is this?”

I glanced back to where Garret led our scavengers, looking like a classed warrior in his new platemail. The others moved in a tight formation behind him, weapons ready for what could appear any moment.

“Trees shouldn't look like this on the inside.”

“Trees shouldn't do a lot of things,” Roq replied. “Like spawn monsters, eat people, or imprison the greatest soul ever to exist. Me, if there was any doubt. And yet here we are.”

A scraping sound drew my attention. Up ahead, a Ring Beetle pushed its way out of the wood, leaving a hole behind it. I activated my eye sigil out of curiosity, outlining the creature in dark grey – far weaker than me now.

Knut didn't hesitate. His shield smashed forward with devastating force, crushing the beetle against the wall. The crack of its shell splitting echoed through the tunnel.

No one even flinched. These weren't terrifying monsters to adventurers. Ring beetles were now barely a pest.

More beetles began emerging from holes in the walls and ceiling. Knut continued forward, his shield a wall of steel. One beetle tried to drop on him from above, but he side stepped and slammed his shield down so hard it split the body in two.

Wade's crossbow thrummed, sending a bolt splattering through another monster.

“Too easy,” he muttered, reloading.

Behind us, Nabeeh sighed dramatically and flicked her fingers. A fireball engulfed a group of two beetles, the smell of burnt chitin filling the air.

“I don't mind easy,” she said.

Benedict cast an ice bolt on one more monster, crushing it, and I hammered the last.

“This is beneath us,” Roq said. “They’re barely giving me experience. Why were we nervous about this again?”

“We just started.”

“I have no patience, Ash. You should know that by now!”

I looked at the trail of broken carcasses behind us, and enjoyed the feeling of strength. The months of hunting had made me into something so much more than just a level ten classed adventurer; I was a devastating force in my own right. One who was more than capable of holding my own together with the other adventurers. These monsters that had once terrified me now felt like practice dummies.

Wade chuckled, kicking a shattered shell aside.

“Almost feels cruel,” he said. “Like picking on children.”

Knut's growl echoed off the walls.

“Do not grow comfortable,” he warned. “Dungeon warms up. Things get worse.”

I nodded, remembering all too well how things had gone to shit last time.

“Last time we were here, the danger ramped up fast,” I said.

Behind us, our scavengers moved only a few steps away, swiping the beetle carcasses into their storages one by one.

The tunnel stretched endlessly ahead, far longer than it had any right to be, considering how the dungeon looked from outside. We walked and fought, but the passage showed no sign of ending even after what felt like a good quarter of an hour had passed.

“How much further?” Eryn called from behind, voicing what we were all thinking.

“Not sure,” I admitted. “Dungeons don't seem to follow normal space. But I see a bend up ahead.”

Nabeeh snorted.

“Your girl has a point. This is getting ridiculous,” she said, casually incinerating another beetle. “Though I've learned to stop questioning dungeon logic. It only leads to headaches.”

“This had better be worth it,” Benedict muttered, ice crackling around his staff.

I signaled for the group to slow as we approached the bend. Knut peeked around, and turned, whispering, “Thirteen monsters.”

“Finally!” Roq exclaimed. “I can smell the violence in the air! Or maybe that's just more rot. Either way, something fun is about to happen!”

I tapped Knut on the shoulder and we rounded the corner, the passage opening into a chamber larger than the Timberline's common room. Eight Ring Beetles scuttled along the walls, three Sap Seekers stood in the center, and two Blightpedes crawled across the floor.

I tightened my grip on Roq, preparing for the fight.

“Look at all those beautiful targets! This is what I'm talking about! Let's have the others wait while we—”

“Portal pissed monster balls!” Benedict said and strode forward, shoving past Knut's shield. His staff swept up, frost crystallizing along its length.

“Benedict, wait!” I shouted, but he was already casting.

An ice bolt struck the nearest Blightpede in the side of the head, splattering it. The monsters all turned and charged. But Benedict continued running into the room.

“Gem-curses, class-breached, monster loving, piss buckets!” Benedict held his arms forward and a cone of pure cold swept out, freezing the three Sap Seekers solid.

The Ring Beetles chittered as they charged. I ran after the mage, readying to fight the beetles, but the ice mage wasn't finished. He slammed his staff down, and a ring of frost exploded outward. Every single beetle died instantly, their shells cracking from the sudden temperature change.

I barely got my shield up in time as the wave of cold hit me, and I stumbled back, teeth chattering. My armor, now covering nearly my entire body, protected me from the worst, but frost still coated its scales.

Through my new crystal lenses I saw Benedict hurl ice spells, dropping the remaining Blightpede and watched it skid to a halt right in front of him, before he methodically destroyed the frozen Sap Seekers.

Silence fell as the last pieces of frozen monster hit the ground with quiet tinkling sounds. Benedict lowered his staff slowly, then sank down onto his haunches, head bowed.

“It's over,” he whispered, voice raw. “It's not here.”

“Well,” Roq said. “That was actually pretty impressive. Still a rift rotten move, but impressive. Think he's having a mental breakdown? Can we watch?”

I stepped forward carefully, resting Roq against my shoulder.

“What in all the cracked walls was that? You trying to get yourself killed?”

Benedict ran a hand through his perfect hair, exhaling shakily. For a moment, I thought he wouldn't answer as the other adventurers filed in behind me. Then he spoke, his voice lacking its usual arrogance.

“I've been chasing a rumor,” he said. “That spider we saw last time, the one I very nearly killed. It might have had a rare gem. One that could change everything.”

My stomach tightened. He meant the Woodweaver and its soul gem. The very one I'd used to forge Roq.

“Oh, this is delicious!” Roq cackled. “Should introduce me? Please tell him! I want to see his face! Actually, no — let's string him along a bit first. This is too good!”

“I thought... hoped it would be in this branch.” Benedict's shoulders slumped. “But it's not. So it must be in Edwin's path. I'll never get it now.”

Nabeeh leaned against her staff, small flames dancing across the back of her hands, warring with the lingering cold from Benedict's spells.

“Chasing wealth for personal greed is a fool's dream,” she said, her tone holding more resignation than judgment.

Benedict shook his head.

“It's not about the wealth. Not really,” he said quietly.

“Sure seems that way,” I said.

“It's about a woman,” he said, sighing. “A noble one.”

I turned to look at Knut, shocked, as Wade raised an eyebrow. 

“Some women have strange tastes.”

Knut's deep laugh echoed off the walls.

“Love makes men crazy, yes? I know first hand.”

“With a title,” Benedict said, so quietly I almost missed it, “I could have won her hand.”

The pieces clicked into place. Benedict's recklessness, his desperate need to find something valuable. It was to buy his way into nobility, and soon. Before someone else could win her over first.

I looked at his perfectly pressed clothes, his carefully maintained appearance, and the way he carried himself.

“He’s not just chasing a title. He’s preparing himself to be the noble he thinks he needs to be.”

“Still a rotten bastard, though,” Roq pointed out.

“Oh, absolutely. A massive one at that, and I think he’s going to be trouble, Roq. I definitely do, but if we hit him over the head, we might get kicked out of the guild. Patience. For now.”

Benedict stood suddenly, brushing imaginary dust from his pristine coat. His familiar mask of arrogance slipped back into place, though it seemed thinner now.

Nabeeh rolled her eyes, but I noticed both Knut and Wade watching Benedict with more understanding. They likely knew what it was like to want something beyond your reach. Someone.

And maybe I understood him, a little, but not enough to forgive his arrogance or forget how he'd abandoned Marcus to die.

“That was your one and only get-out-of-jail card,” I said firmly. “I don't care if you see that spider running past with a target on its back — you play it safe from now on or you’re on your own.”

Benedict waved a hand dismissively, but nodded.

I gestured to the scavengers, and they moved forward to collect the scattered remains. While they worked, Roq's voice whispered in my mind.

“Two gems in this bunch. The Blightpede Benedict killed first, and that beetle near the wall.”

I caught Eryn's eye and subtly directed her toward the Blightpede while pointing Knut at the beetle. They swiped them up fast.

As we started back toward the platform, I felt a familiar excitement building. The next branch would lead further up. Finally we were climbing higher into the dungeon.

“Let's find something worthy of our strength! Something that will make Benedict's little ice show look like child's play!”

I smiled, adjusting my grip on the hammer.

“Careful what you wish for, as it often becomes reality, Roq.”“You have no idea what I’m willing to do for a wom—I mean, umm, for an upgrade to my being. Yes! For upgrades and destruction!”