The Proven ran through the tunnels with Dunar, frantically mapping their progress. With every few twists and turns, he would call for a halt so he could compare his findings to those shared on the Communication Scroll. The team exited the tunnel and entered another open cavern. Dunar shook his head.
"People say the Safe Zone is in a cave. Let''s backtrack and try a different passage," he said.
"Oh, ho! That''s good. I did not want to risk running into them Hellbats again," Helga observed.
"You won''t make it in time!" Ziplocke screeched from Jeze''s shoulder.
The Goblin was ignored and the team went back into the tunnels to try a different way. They moved fast and with less caution than usual. The communication scroll kept pinging with updates from other teams that were sharing their progress. Dunar did the same. Again, they ended up overlooking another cavern.
"Maybe we are in the wrong spot?" Mikal wondered.
Dunar''s eyes narrowed as he scanned the lava-filled cavern. He shook his head.
"This tunnel system we are in is the largest. There are no others that match it, the Safe Zone has to be in there. We back track again!" The Leader replied.
Jeze perked up. "I have a thought, if you would give me a moment," she said.
Mikal snapped, "We don''t have a moment."
Dunar nodded for her to continue. Jeze removed the beaded necklace she received from Raina from the Safe Zone Squad. Mikal''s eyes narrowed as he studied the Runes.
"Spirit aspect?" He asked with a deepening scowl on his face.
"What''s wrong with that?" Jeze wondered.
"Spirits are meant to be at rest. This aspect is no worse than Necromancy," Mikal spat.
"How can it help us?" Dunar asked.
"You can''t be serious, Dunar?" Mikal asked.
The Healer was ignored as he looked at Jeze. They were desperate.
"I have been practicing the Runes on this necklace ever since it was given to me. We can summon a guide to at least let us know if we are going the right way. If we should remain in these tunnels or enter the cavern," Jeze stated.
Mikal crossed his arms and turned away. Dunar nodded.
"Do it," he said.
Jeze focused her Will and completed the gesture to Summon a spirit. To the others, it appeared like nothing happened. For Jeze, she felt the energies snapped into place. A gentle presence was near.
"It didn''t work," Mikal hissed.
Dunar shushed him. Helga and Rolfe looked around and wondered what Jeze was doing. Ziplocke sulked with his ears pulled back. The Goblin was shivering.
"Which way should we go? The Tunnels or the Cavern?" Jeze asked out loud.
There was no response, but Jeze caught movement in her peripheral. It looked like a fluttering of silver light. Like a curtain flowing in a breeze. When she turned to look it was gone but to Jeze the message was clear.
"We are to head into the tunnels," she said.
And so they did. They rushed through many different corridors, tunnels, and passages. On their sixth backtrack, they heard the sounds of fighting.
"We are near!" Dunar exclaimed.
"About time," Rolfe growled. The large Protector was sad to not have a shield to thump.
The Proven rushed toward the sounds of combat and turned a corner at a sight that caused them to pause in shock. A stream of Hellhounds was rushing down the tunnel like a river of beasts. The sounds of fighting rang ahead of them. Several Hellhounds broke off the main group to attack the Proven.
"Form up!" Dunar barked.
The Proven formed their battle lines to engage the howling beasts. More and more Hellhounds broke away from the main horde to attack them. Dunar chopped one Hellhound in half with his axe and stabbed a second through its open maw. The Leader glanced around and saw that his team was about to be overrun.
"Mikal, slow them down. Jeze, give us a wall," Dunar ordered.
The two Rune casters, familiar with the tactics, immediately responded. Helga and Rolfe also reacted and interposed themselves to block the Hellhounds. Mikal Summoned and Shaped water to freeze the Hellhounds in front of them, while Jeze Summoned and Shaped Earth to form a stone wall. This gave the Proven space to retreat. Dunar glanced around and nodded.
"This is a more defensible position," he observed.
The Proven retreated down a winding tunnel passage and found a narrow enough space that allowed them to fight and not get surrounded. In addition, they were located at a bend, so the Hellhounds needed to go to them to fight. This prevented the Proven from being bombarded with range attacks.
"Oh, ho! What have gotten into these beasties? They are going berserk!" Helga observed.
Jeze agreed with the warrior maiden. In their last encounter with Hellhounds, the beasts exhibited more intelligence and utilized their range attacks and rudimentary tactics. What has driven them into a frenzy? Jeze wondered. Dozens of Hellhounds broke away from the main force to attack the Proven, and the team intensely fought for several minutes. Without shields, the front-line fighters took on more burns and wounds, with Mikal working extra to keep the team from bleeding to death. The number of Hellhounds that attacked them dwindled to a trickle.
"Proven, push forward!" Dunar roared.
"Hurrah!" The others cheered, and the team rushed forward into the hallway.
They fought their way down the tunnel and eventually came to a wide cavelike chamber where other two adventurer teams fought. The site of the Proven reinvigorated the teams and in moments the final Hellhounds were routed and eliminated. Jeze saw the shimmering repurposed portal and sighed with relief. They found the Safe Zone and it appeared to be in a centralized hub with nearly a dozen interconnecting tunnels. It was an ideal space for monsters to branch off and attack adventurers.
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"This will be a hard position to secure without a significant sized force," Dunar observed.
"Jeze! It is so good to see you!" A gentle voice called out.
An athletically built young woman with short dark hair approached. She wore tanned leather armor and her bare arms were lined with Runic tattoos. A beaded necklace was around her neck along with feathers in her hair.
"Raina!" Jeze called back.
The two embraced, and Jeze showed Raina the beaded necklace.
"I used the gift you gave me. That was how we knew to head here!" Jeze exclaimed.
Rainia smiled gently and replied, "The spirits are good guides to those who can listen."
Rolfe cleared his throat. "Jeze, are you going to introduce us?" The large Protector asked.
Mikal came forward and was fixing his hair. Helga shook her head.
"Knuckleheads," Ziplocke muttered. The warrior maiden nodded in agreement.
Jeze introduced Raina to her teammates. Rolfe was flexing more than usual, and Mikal smiled more than usual.
"I see you are a Spirit Walker. That is a noble profession," Mikal stated.
"What?!? You said it was no worse than Necromancy," Jeze pointed out.
Raina gasped with a hand to her chest.
Mikal smiled at her and said to Jeze, "You misheard me for sure."
"No, that was what you said, Micky," Helga added.
The Healer scratched his head and told Rainia, "Sometimes words can be misunderstood when we are on an adventure. I said no such thing."
Jeze glanced over and saw that Dunar was talking with the other Team Leaders. The Frostsworn was pointing at the many entrances, and the other leaders nodded. Merchants and their guards were already entering through the portal to set up shops. Jeze nodded. They could restock and repair their equipment. She wondered if Hannah would come this far into the Spire? Or would the merchant remain on the first floor? The conversation brought Jeze back to the moment.
"I fought bravely and defeated many monsters," Rolfe boasted.
"That is nice," Rainia said.
"What is wrong with them?" Jeze asked Helga.
"Men!" The warrior maiden snorted.
"Knuckleheads," Ziplocke added.
Raina''s other teammates approached, and Jeze greeted them. The Spirit Walker team consisted of Raina, three other young women, and one man. They all wore light-padded armor, while the man wore mail armor. Jeze spotted Channeling tools on the women from rings, bracelets, and necklaces. Like Raina, they were all Rune casters armed with knives and staves. Jeze suspected that each utilized Aspects that allowed them to operate as a Striker, and Healer. After using Raina''s Spirit spell, she guessed that they could also operate as Scouts. It was clear that the man was the Protector as he wore heavy armor with a long kite shield strapped to his back that came down to below his knees. On the man''s hips were a sword and mace.
Rolfe and Mikal acted even more strangely when the other women appeared. Jeze shook her head, but she had a thought.
"What can be done with the Hellhound bodies?" She asked Raina.
The Spirit Walker was smiling politely at what Mikal and Rolfe were saying. Jeze was pretty certain it was rubbish. Upon hearing the question, the Spirit Walker gently excused herself from the two Frostsworn men. They continued to talk enthusiastically with the three ladies.
"Many things! The most common is that their hides make excellent armor," Raina answered.
Jeze glanced down at her own torn gambeson and wondered if she was already due for a new set. They should visit Hannah before adventuring further into the second level.
"But, the most interesting thing that can be done with Hellhounds is to use their Fire organ," Rainia continued.
"Fire organ?" Jeze asked.
"It is how the beasts spit fire. It is located just below their throats. The organ can be repurposed to fit a Wand," Raina asked.
"Wand? Is that like a Channeling tool?" Jeze asked
"Exactly! Except it does not require any Rune skills or Will to activate," Raina answered.
The Protector on the Spirit Walker team turned toward them. He was the man in the group, in heavy mail armor, equipped with a sword and shield. He was clean-shaven, a little taller than Jeze, broad-shouldered, and had a lighter complexion than Raina and the others.
"I like to use the term gun," he said.
"Gun? Did you make that word up?" Jeze asked with an arched eyebrow.
The Protector laughed and said, "Yes, I did. It has a nice ring to it, don''t you think?"
"Jeze, this is my brother, Ahanu," Raina introduced the two.
"Nice to meet you," Jeze said and shook hands with the man and she asked, "Why are you dressed so differently than your team?"
Ahanu narrowed his dark eyes and asked, "How do you mean?"
Jeze pointed out that the others wore leather and were equipped with Channeling tools. He wore metal armor.
"My armor? Steel armor makes more sense for the team''s Protector," Ahanu said, his face stoic.
Raina laughed and nudged her brother. "He is my half-brother. We have the same mother and different fathers. His father hails from the lands north of the Plains of Liawpia, where we Spirit Walkers come from."
Ahanu''s stoic face cracked into a wide grin that also made his eyes sparkle. "A kingdom called Pana where there are knights and nobles."
"My brother dreams of becoming a knight," Rainia stated.
Ahanu shook his head and corrected, "I used to dream of becoming a knight. Now, I am an Adventurer. That is much more exciting than serving some pompous lord. However, the armor and weapons I still prefer to use."
Dunar arrived. He had just purchased three round center-gripped shields from a merchant and handed one each to Helga and Rolfe. The Team leader hung the final around over his shoulder.
"What type of shield is that?" He asked Ahanu.
Dunar stood a head taller than the Spirit Walker Protector.
"It is called a Kite shield," Rainia''s half-brother answered. He unslung the shield and handed it to Dunar.
"It is lighter than I would have expected," the Proven Leader observed.
"Still pretty heavy. I purchased one reinforced with steel plates for more durability. I see you use the Frostsworn round shield with a center grip. Those are very versatile shields, but I imagine they break often," Ahanu said.
Dunar chuckled, "Aye, that they do. Especially against all the beasts on this level with their blasted fire attacks."
"You should have a tanner reinforce your shields with Hellhound hides," Rainia suggested.
Jeze perked up. "We can have Hannah do that for us."
"I plan to do that. Do you think your friend can work on my shield as well?" Ahanu asked.
"For a price," Jeze replied with a grin.
The Spirit Walker protector nodded.
"You can adjust the straps to this shield for different grips?" Dunar asked as he motioned to the inside of Ahanu''s kite shield.
"Yes, though I mainly hold it like this," the Pana warrior said and showed how he held the kite shield.
The top part of the shield protected Ahanu''s shoulder and chest. The shield narrowed as it went down with the lower tip protecting his legs and ankles. It was only a matter of lower his shoulder to protect his feet if needed.
"Seems pretty rigid. The Frostsworn round shield is more maneuverable," Dunar commented as he unslung his own shield. The Proven Leader demonstrated how he could swing the shield around easily from the center grip.
Ahanu smiled. "That is true. I mainly turtle up as the rest of my team dispatches our enemies with their Rune casting. Occasionally, I will stab or bash things, depending on the best way to kill."
"Perhaps we can have a friendly sparring match to demonstrate each other''s shield capabilities?" Dunar asked. To Jeze, his smile looked predatory.
Ahanu had the same grin as his eyes narrowed. "I would like that."
"Not now, brother. Let us restock," Rainia said.
"True, I need a new long knife and armor," Jeze added.
Dunar''s face softened as he noticed his own damaged gear. "I think we will need to get Devil Steel armor."
"We can take the portal and head to Hannah''s location. Hopefully, she is there. Plus, we can ask her team to collect the Hellhounds we defeated," Jeze suggested.
"We will come with you," Ahanu said.
"Yes, we can take a break from this blasted heat!" Rainia exclaimed.
Rolfe and Mikal appeared happy to continue talking with the Spirit Walkers. Helga rolled her eyes. The teams headed toward the portal that would take them outside. From there they will enter the portal that will lead them to the Safe Zone where Hannah was located.