Chapter 159: About What I Expected

  It was going to happen, no matter my reservations. As Maveith repeatedly pointed out, the danger level was too high in the dungeon, and we needed allies. I had two healing potions and two aether restoration potio. I handed Maveith the other healing potion from my dimensional spad held aher restoration in my hand. Maveith looked expetly at me. “I think I am going to remove my armor and store it. If she sees the red legion armor, she may panic.”

  After st the armor, I ged into some ordinary clothes. I had nice clothes I purchased in Telha, but I did not think they were appropriate for this ocaveith sucked his cheek, iing me. “Eryk, you look a little tough. Like someone who would be in a press gang.”

  Even though we had washed in the cockatrice chamber, we both looked a little rough. I took out my barber’s bag and used the small mirror. My scraggly beard from malnourishment had not fully grown back, my bck shoulder-length hair was matted from my helmet, and my teeth were stained blue from the blueberries. Altogether it made me look a little menag. I would run from me, too.

  I started with the mouthwash. The mint-infused liquid strengthened my teeth, purified my breath, and whitened my teeth. Spitting the used potioed in a dark blue stain on the wall. I tested my teeth and was happy they felt smooth; my gums had recovered as well.

  I gave Maveith a dose as well. Then, I had him hold the mirror while I shaved and trimmed my beard and hair. Maveith expounded on the bes of being hairless while I worked. I cut myself three times with the straight-edge razor, but it did not matter as I healed the cuts immediately with my spell form. It felt surreal doing this in a dangerous dungeon. Also, there was the fact I rettying up for an enemy who would likely try and kill me.

  Maveith was hairless. He just o wash his gray-skinned head and hands. I thought he looked much more imposing than me, as his body was filling out again with our increasing sustenance. “Better?” I asked the goliath, who ied me for a minute.

  “Yes. Do you think she will reize you?” Maveith asked.

  I thought about it. My helm covered my head fairly well and protected my cheeks, but my eyes, nose, and mouth were visible. She had alsnized me the sed time I pced her into my dimensional space. “Yes. She might not immediately, but she will eventually.”

  “Stand behihen, until I expin to her what is happening. Do you know her name?” Maveith asked.

  “No! Both times we met, she was trying to kill me. I did not have time for introdus!” I ughed incredulously, but something tickled my mind. I pulled the elven dagger off my belt. I was wearing the bck bde and her elven dagger. I looked at the small script. I did not remember what Schor Favian had said the writing was, but I was able to sound it out myself in the elven tongue. “Her name might be Raelia Gvien.”

  Maveith nodded, recalling the Schor’s deciphering. “Are you sure you don’t want to go back to the safe room to do this?” he asked again.

  Phantom pain spread through me. I could tolerate a lot of pain, but it was still extremely unpleasant. The ratack of the blue lizard would take a lot of work to overe. We could never kill it if it never came within range of my dimensional space. Also, if the creature shattered the id put us ier, we would be finished. Maybe if the chamber had not locked us inside, I would have had more fidence if we could draw it into the corridor. “No, Maveith. I think we will try our luck with the phase spiders.”

  We ed up the corridor, but the dungeon had not yet absorbed our bowel movements. It was what it was, and I was going to assume our mess would be the st thing she was ed with. I did not know how long we could linger in the corridor before the dungeon released the creatures in the rooms to pursue us, but the shapeshifters warned us that the dungeon would eventually pursue us.

  I stood behind Maveith and told him, “She was in bad shape. Get the potion into her quickly. It might not even help. I retty certain she was dead when I pulled her into my space.”

  Maveith took a deep breath. “I am ready.”

  The elf griffin rider appeared on the floor in front of Maveith. He already had the potion moving to pour into her mouth. Her body was a mess; blood flowed from puncture wounds caused by the drake’s bite, and her leather armor and clothes were damaged and soaked with blood. It had not taken a lot of aether to take her out, and I could send her back—or remove her head if necessary.

  Maveith was excited. “The wounds are closing! It is not going to be enough. I he other potion.” His voice was urgent.

  “It is our st healing potion, Maveith.” I could get by without healing potions, but Maveith could not. Maveith held out his hand emphatically. I pulled the potion from my spad ha to him. He uood the ramifications.

  The griffin rider’s wounds closed, and her face went gaunt as the potion did its work, using her body’s minimal reserves. Her chest began to rise and fall. Then she inhaled a deep, panicked breath. I guessed her mind had caught up and was remembering what had happened just before she had been stored in my dimensional space. “Search her for ons and items, Maveith.”

  Maveith hesitated briefly before removing her belt, which had a few pouches on it. He ha to me, and he found a knife secreted in her boot. I searched the pouches, finding three lesser dungeon healing potions. We had just used two greater healing potions on her, so I was taking these as payment ahem to my dimensional ste. These potions would have been useful when we were ba the library, I mented.

  The other pouches tained myid powder, dark moss, and spools of twine. I looked at Maveith, aiting for her tain sciousness. “Give me the ring,” I indicated the bright silver ring the elf wore. Maveith hesitated a moment before removing it and handing it to me. It looked like it could be an artifact, so I sent it to ste.

  Her eyes began to flutter, and if it was not for her blood-caked fad messy hair, I might have thought she was attractive. “Raelia,” Maveith whispered softly and reassuringly. “You are safe now. I am Maveith.” He started to repeat that over and over. What if her name wasn’t Raelia? Then Maveith would look silly, not me.

  A groan escaped her lips as she came to and moved slowly. Her crusty eyes began to flutter, and the moment on us. I whispered, “Be careful; she has fireball magic.”

  Maveith hissed, “Quiet. Elves have excellent hearing.”

  The griffin rider slowly turned her head as her eyes focused. The shimmering lights in the ceiling were probably not the best enviroo awaken to. She finally focused on the smiling Maveith, who was lucky I had the mouthwash to whiten his teeth. Otherwise, his dark blue lips and staieeth would have scared her. She finally spoke weakly and fused, “A goliath? Where am I?”

  “You are in a dungeon. I am Maveith, and I will not harm you. You have my word as a member of the Stoneskin .” Stoneskin ? Maveith had old me he art of a . I felt slightly betrayed that he told the elf first.

  She spoke softly with effort. “Why am I in a dungeon? What happened? I was with Vaeril.” She paused to think. “We were running from the accursed Telhian legionnaires.” Her body jolted. “A drake. I was in a drake’s mouth and helpless.” She was sitting up, and I could tell her heart was rag with the memories that were just a few moments ago for her.

  Her hands traveled over her body, feeling her bloody clothes and the holes in her armor. Her voice was slightly clearer. “Maveith, how am I here with you?” Yeah, Maveith, how is she here with you?

  “My friend saved you.” He moved aside so she could see me. The elf’s eyes had trouble fog on me as she had not quite gotten aced to the shifting and flowing dungeon light. There, I could see it happen; her eyes started to widen as reition occurred. She reached for her belt knife.

  I could not help myself. I pulled her runic dagger. “Looking for this?” It was an idiotic py to taunt her, especially when she overreacted, and anger fred in her eyes.

  Maveith tried to calm the situation. “Eryk is a good person. He has saved me multiple times. He will not hurt you either.” I was smart enough not to debate the point and sheathed the dagger. If necessary, I would end her.

  “He is a legionnaire, goliath. Do the world a favor and end him before he kills you,” she spat a bloody glob on the floor at my feet.

  “I do not think this is going to work out, Maveith. I will just put her back for now,” I said, thinking the threat would give us some leverage.

  The elf realized what that meant, rolled to her feet in a fsh, and darted into the phase spider forest room. “Well, we tried,” I said, but Maveith was already rushing after her.

  “Raelia! Stop! We are in a dungeon!” Maveith yelled, but the elf girl did not stop.

  “Fuck,” I swore, drawing the bck bde and moving to protect Maveith.

  The elf reached the ter of the room, and two phase spiders unched from the trees. She mao roll forward and avoid both. She rinting toward a we had not been able to see. Two more of the phase spiders zipped through the air behind her back. She could not see them but dodged anyway. Then Mama Spider fshed to the ground, blog her access to the corridor exit.

  Maveith had crushed the first two spiders that had attacked the elf. I caught movement and sshed the air, biseg my own spider. I could not foaveith or the elf girl. The spider’s bodies were the size of cats, but their legs made them seem much rger. I was actually surprised at how easily my bck bde cut through them. They were probably just as surprised, as they were a blur and thought themselves immuo my attack.

  I killed a sed, then a third, and then snuck a g Maveith. He was covered in spider goo. The elf was dodging the horse-sized spider, trying to sneak past it. I got my fourth spider, and Maveith yelled, “We have to help her. She does not have a on.”

  I was free of spiders and rushed forward as Maveith crushed another spider with the hammer, spttering spider goo on me as I passed. The elf girl was trying to tear the spider from her back, and the rge spider closed in on her. I removed the head of the rge spider, feeling modest resistao my effort, but I was successful. I hacked one of the small spiders on the ground, leaving just the one on her back.

  Maveith joined me, grabbed the spider’s legs on her, and started tearing them off with his bare hands. The elf was wobbling on her feet as the venom took effect. I spun, looking for threats, but just smiled when I noticed the stone chest in the ter of the trees. The elf colpsed to the ground, paralyzed.

  Maveith ko che her. Relieved, he said, “She is alive. Just puncture wounds in the shoulder. Are you sure the venom is just a paralytic?”

  I walked over and stood over both of them. “Maveith, I do not think this is going to work out. She is not going to help us.” The elf’s eyes started darting from me to Maveith and back again. She tried to speak, but it came out garbled. I noted, “Huh, looks like the paralysis doesn’t affect her hearing ht.”

  ? Chted 2024 by AlwaysRollsAOne

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