Anti-Hero: Journey Of Fear

The staircase down to the next level went off in either direction. We went left and I was sure to check each step for any sign of trouble as we advanced. There was a giant circular table in the center of the room surrounded by eight chairs. It looked like something had been carved and painted onto the surface but it had charred slightly ruining whatever had been originally there.

The floor had a great mosaic inlaid as well but it was hard to make out with only the flame sword and the amount of dust that covered everything. As we made our way across my tri-pronged foot clinked on the stone. On the far side of the room was another staircase heading down. This time it was straight staircase unlike the last one which followed the towers curve.

The next floor had bookcases filled with hundreds of books. "This sucks." Whispered Tor. I agreed that there was probably an amazing amount of knowledge stored within but we needed supplies not reading materials. Thankfully the staircase down to the next level was off to the side of the staircase we had just come down, similar to a classic sky rise in how the staircases are layered over one another.

At the bottom of the staircase was a door that would swing outwards. I gave it a push and nothing. "Not another stupid door." I whispered. There was something about being underground pressed in by the dark that made it seem natural to whisper in hushed downs.

"Let's burn through, no protections." Tor whispered.

"Since there was nothing in the top room, this is probably the secret exit after defeating the boss or whatever is guarding what is above. No way there are just people guarding all this." I whispered.

"So?" One said. I winced at his loud voice. "Sorry." He whispered.

"Be ready, all this stuff, whatever is through here is going to be on steroids. A lot of steroids. Tor hang back and buff me if I am in trouble. One, keep back and protect her." They both nodded and Tor got to work on the door. Wood burnt away as smoke trailed upwards. Soon we had cleared a one foot by one foot hole and saw the back of what appeared to be another statue.

"Melt it." Tor pushed the blade out and the statue moved out of the way. Glancing through the hole I saw a giant stone man moving off the pedestal and slowly turn to face us. The first thing I noted was that it was fast. The second thing was that I couldn't tell if there were more statues in the room.

"No way are we fighting stone statues. Only the flame blade will hurt them." I whispered.

"So now what?" Tor asked. The statue had stopped moving and was staring intently at us through the hole we had made. I was tempted to use observe but I needed to conserve my MP for when it really mattered.

"The floor over there by the wall, we melt through and then hop down." I said.

"These floors are ten to twelve feet tall, we have no rope, and how are we going to get back up?" Tor asked.

"Melt handholds in the wall. I will jump down first and then catch both of you. Then we melt our escape path back up. By the time we return it should have cooled." I said. She let out a sigh but didn't object. We melted a hole in the floor. I noted that the next level did not have a door blocking off the staircase.

The floors were about twelve feet tall with another half a foot for the floor, which meant a long drop. Once the stone had cooled I began cutting notches into the wall. I was able to get three feet down and did not notice anything except a number of torch holders on the walls and stands on the floor. I went down first and then Nus' Awakening was tossed down to me.

I cut the rest of the notches as quickly as I could. The ones about seven feet to nine feet were a bit tricky since I had to come up from below, but there was soon a makeshift ladder carved into the wall. Tor and One joined me and we went back up the stairs. There was a door and it was closed, but it wasn't locked. We turned back around and began exploring the floor we had cut our way into.

The only thing of interest was a hole in the floor where it had caved down as a slope to the next level. I saw a number of unmoving faces and after a second I realized they were busts. We took the stairs down and the floor was a mess. A number of the busts were turned over giving an eerie feeling to the room.

"Look at the wall." One hissed. I turned and saw that something had punched through the wall of the tower. It wasn't big enough to be a worm but there clearly was a tunnel leading away. The edges were rough but the tunnel was circular. It was as if someone poked a hole in the side and then went away.

"Maybe the dragon's attack hit?" One said.

"No, that tunnel keeps going into the rock. If it was just the dragon then there should be a wall or something." Tor whispered back.

"We keep going down." They looked at me and nodded. Our supply situation was desperate and this was our best chance. We picked our way around the rubble and took the staircase down to the next floor. If the room with the Book was floor ten, this was floor four.

The floor was a hallway and after about ten feet it was blocked off by rubble all the way to the ceiling. There was a single door to our right. We opened it to a small bedroom. There was no one inside. The lack of people was becoming incredibly disturbing. I would have thought there would have been at least a corpse or two.

"My guess is that the wall curves around the outside and each room is like a slice of the pie. If the stairs stay the same we can cut into the next room and get to the next flight of stairs." I said. I got to work cutting a hole through the far wall while Tor and One searched the room for anything. I finished cutting a fairly large hole and they had managed to dig up a number of spare clothes. They were soft yellows and white robes.

We changed and continued on into the next room. My guess was correct. We searched four more rooms including the one I had cut into and there was nothing. No books or personal effects. Just clothes and some plain furniture that looked fairly ancient. We found a number of satchels and we each took two after dumping out the spare clothes.

Taking the stairs to the next level we received a shock. A worm had cut right through the entire floor destroying everything. We cleared the rubble and made our way into the large circular tunnel. It was clear that the stone and dirt had been pushed forward and caused the floor to collapse and then covered it over. The tunnel was completely dark in either direction and it made me feel nervous to be so exposed.

We cut back through the rubble to the next staircase down and continued our journey. This floor was also a total loss. The ceiling had collapsed and we had to crawl through the small gab between the stair case wall and the collapsed ceiling to reach the next staircase down.

The next floor was different. While large piles of rubble lay scattered about there was a statue of a man and a pool surrounding him in the center of the room. He wore a flowing robe similar to what we had on now but had a large bow and arrow nocked. He appeared poised to shoot a large set of doors that were on the far side of the floor.

One approached the pool about to drink some water. "Don't. Who knows what properties it has? It could be a death pool. If we don't mind anything then you can try it." He gave me a nod and we went to the large doors but they wouldn't budge. I melted a hole but it was clear there was rubble on the other side.

The next level had a number of large crates stacked in neat rows. We cut them open and there was food. At least I thought it was. "Any idea?" I asked. In the crates were a number of small hard green things. I didn't know if they were a fruit, vegetable, or hibernating animal. They were completely spherical with smaller bumps and no obvious place where a stem would have been.

"Cut it open." One said. I brought the flame sword near and soon fluid bubbled up out of one. It had a earthy smell. I touched a finger into the farm fluid and tasted it. "Sweet but not too sweet. I am going to go with fruit." I picked one up and took a slow bite. The outer skin was incredibly durable but once there was a hole the fluids easily ran out. I cut one open and tried the solid bits inside. A bit too sweet.

"Try some, like hard water balloons. Tastes like diluted coke." We got to work drinking our fill and casting them aside while filling up our satchels.

"Thank god, I don't know what we would have done if there was nothing." One said.

"Why would they line the crates up like this? In a grid of four by four? Also notice how the crates are bigger than the stair case? How did they get them in here?" Tor said. We stared but neither of us could answer the questions.

"Also for fruits these don't have any seeds. They also aren't in the desert book we got."

"Maybe the whole thing is one big seed or the crates auto fill." I suggested.

"Maybe…." She trailed off, not saying anything more.

"Let's keep going, if there is anything more let's grab it." I said. After filling up our satchels we went down to the next level. It was clear it was a dining hall of some sort. There were three large tables surrounding a counter top with a massive oven or chimney in the center. Where did the smoke go? All these torch holders and no torches, also no vents to let the smoke out. This place was really beginning to freak me out.

I head a squishing noise. One looked at me and started shaking his head. Tor just gave me a look which I had no idea what she was trying to tell me. As the holder of the flame sword and our lifeline down here the decision was in my hands. I advanced around the room making sure our backs were to the wall.

The door to the oven soon became visible and there was something making noises inside. "So help me, do not open the door." One whispered.

"If that is a person we might get some answers." I replied.

"People don't go squish, squish." Tor replied. We all looked back at the oven door.

"Well it can't be that bad-"

"Don't say that Kenji, you are going to curse us. This whole place is creeping me out." Tor hissed back. She was right, this entire place was weird. We had food slash water and desert clothes, but nothing else.

"Alright let's head back." I said. We began making our way back to the stair case when we all saw something move in front of us. A small girl came running over. Her hair was a silvery white and her face had tear lines. She ran over to us.

"What happened young one?" I asked.

"They….all…died!" She started crying on the last bit. Tor gave her a strong hit to the back of the head knocking her out. The squishing had stopped. We all turned towards the back of the oven as we heard the metal door opening.

A black tendril reached around the edge. "Observe."

Drop of Black Slime

LvL: 1

Strongest Stat: Fate

HP: 1

MP: 1

SP: 1

I blinked. This was either really good or really bad. I was going to go with really bad. I had killed green slimes back in the Gloommore Forest near Breckley, but they had all been helpless blobs. The way this thing was reaching around was clearly not good. Also it was a level one in what was probably an end game dungeon of some sort.

It then hit me. This thing was composed of millions of drops, each level one. It was like having each cell of my body act as an independent being and level up on its own. This creature was an amalgamation of slimes with an effective level in the thousands.

I passed the sword off to Tor and picked up the girl. I was tempted to leave her but the information and survival skills she had were too useful. We began backing up towards the stairs when the core of the creature came into view. It was the Book of Fate, it was nestled inside the core of the slime. It was hard to make out through the black tinted gel but it was definitely there.

"Fear aura one minute." The black slime wavered for a second and then a small piece of it disappeared in a puff of black smoke and advanced towards us. The temptation to throw something at it or fight it was overwhelming but common sense prevailed. We raced back up the stairs. I heard a squishing sound trailing after us. Our only chance was to make it outside and hope that the hot sun and dry desert air would keep it at bay.

We reached the floor where we had to crawl. Tor took the lead and I went in backwards dragging the girl behind me while One took the rear. That gave me the perfect opportunity to see what happened next. He let out a scream and collapsed on the ground. I saw black tentacles wrap over him. I kept going not daring to stop and stare. The last sight I saw was the slime pulling itself over One and begin entering his body at every orifice. His screams were terrifying in their intensity.

I cleared the tunnel and hefted the girl back onto my shoulder and rushed off after Tor. We reached the next level and Tor had come to a stop. This was the level where a worm and drilled through. Moving through the tunnel was a number of baby worms. They were each about three feet long and half a foot thick.

I picked up a rock and threw it down the tunnel. The baby worms took off and we rushed to the next staircase just as I heard squishing behind us. We passed through the rooms we had cut our way through and I was sure to close the doors in the hopes it would delay the black slimes.

We came to the bust room and began making our way through the eerie faces. The next floor was the empty floor and had our stone ladder cut into the wall. I went up first and tossed both my satchels onto the next floor. Tor passed me hers and I tossed those up as well. I climbed back down and Tor went up. I then put the girl over my shoulder and began to climb.

I heard squishing coming from behind and didn't dare look back. I focused on keeping my grip and moving steadily up the wall. "You got this." Tor said. I cleared the last couple of feet and Tor grabbed the girl off my shoulder. I heaved myself up and looked down. The black slime began to ooze its way up the wall. We passed the library and I cursed at not being able to look through the books.

We cleared the conference room and then made it back up to the main statue room. Racing for the exit I still heard the sound of squishing behind us. We made it to the ladder and climbed out into the burning sun. We moved away from the sunken tower. My SP was getting dangerously low after that mad climb. We reached a boulder but the black slime didn't emerge.

Walking a little bit more we found a secluded place and settled in. I wrapped a piece of torn up robe around my head to stop my scalp from burning off. "One?" Tor asked.

"That thing was made of millions of level one slimes. They entered him and then consumed him from inside out."

"Oh, that sucks. Even with the scream, I had hoped..."

"Yeah." We sat there in silence drinking the fruit we had found. The girl began to stir.

"Stay calm, we are out of there." I said. She looked at us.

"I want my mommy!" She began to build up for a cry. Right then my d.e.s.i.r.e for information was barely hanging on as a reason not to stab her.

I placed my hand over her mouth and the other one at the back of her head. "Shut up and listen. You do not shout, if you want to cry, cry quietly." I had no idea how this little girl was still living. Probably around eight or so if I had to guess. "Now I am going to take off my hand."

She let out a few small sobs but calmed down when Tor handed her a green fruit. She looked at us. I took the fruit from her and made a small incision and handed it back. She drank it greedily. "Thanks." She whispered when she was done.

I gave her a nod. "Now tell me what happened. We just arrived here."

"Um, well. The Dur said there was a disturbance in the protections around the tower. My mom took me to the lower levels while my dad went off with the others. There was a lot of shaking and then it went dark." I handed her another cut open fruit which she greedily drank.

"That was when everything got really bad. Mommy….mommy…."

"Hush, tell me what happened so we can find your mommy. You are a brave girl."

She gulped and continued. "Well that was when everyone began screaming and running around. I was near the stairs when the floor disappeared. I waited and waited but mommy never came back. I then heard voices and saw a light and found you."

So this little girl was all that was left. "What's your name?" I asked.

"Dula." She whispered.

"Well Dula, I am Kenji and this is Tor. Why don't you rest for now?" She nodded and lay down on the rocks with her head up against a fruit filled satchel. I had enough MP, but was it worth it. Something wasn't right with her story. I readied my blade and said, "Observe."

Dula Roe

LvL: 2

Strongest Stat: Endurance

HP: 231

MP: 67

SP: 56

I guess I was wrong. It bothered me how she was the only one to survive. Her loud crying would make me believe that she would have been found and killed by something. There was also no point in bringing her along. We had limited supplies and she was not a combatant in any way. The only possible use would be as bait or to trade with desert nomads. Her breathing had settled out and I figured she was asleep.

"Tor, what do you think?" I asked.

"Tough choice. Kill her or take her. If we leave her things are only going to go badly for her."

"It is bothering you also, isn't it? How she was the only one to survive."

"Yeah, a bit. But look at her hands. They are clean and her dress. The front is fairly clean. We did drag her on her back a bit, but why is the front clean? If a worm passed nearby it should have sent up clouds of dust." When Tor said that I didn't hesitate. I drove my blade into the girl's head.

"Flame on." There was the smell of sizzling flesh. Then the girl faded away. "Holy shit. Flame off." There was nothing there. Even the smell of burned flesh had disappeared.

"Well that went from a one to a billion on the creepy scale." Tor said.

"Holy shit." I said again. I thought it was possible, I knew not to count anything out but this. "She got past my observe skill as well. Would have figured there would have been question marks."

"What if she was a ghost?" Tor asked.

"Maybe, but remember that the people are real. We followed them to the tower and saw them fight the worm."

"But didn't you notice how there were no corpses or anything inside?" Tor asked.

"Probably retreated to the lower levels or consumed by the slime."

"So what now?"

"It is about two hundred and twenty miles to the mountains in the south. I figure we travel at night. You did grab a bedsheet to cover us during the day, right?"

"One had them." There was silence at that.

"Go back…" I trailed off. "Still we travel at night. I figure ten days to make it. We have about five hundred of these fruits left, so that means twenty five a day for each of us for ten days. Say twenty a day so that gives us five more days at half rations."

"This is going to suck." Tor muttered.

"Yeah, I hate sand. It gets everywhere." We rested that afternoon and set off as it was getting dark. We kept the sun to our right and set off. Once it disappeared we used the looming corpse of the mountain as our guide and took note of the stars. It got cold very quickly and we didn't dare use the flame sword.

It would ruin our night vision and be visible for miles around. "You know, learning some astronomy of this world would have come in handy. That was my easy quest."

"Wonder if that is some ladies idea of a joke." Tor replied.

"Who knows." We walked in silence.

"Think anything is out here?" Tor asked after a bit.

"Worms and other things. That desert book the Mystery Man gave us talked about worms a lot."

"I really hate worms."

"Me too." We continued on in silence.

"So you think those three have rezed?" Tor asked.

"I didn't get any messages in my atrium. So if they did return, I don't think we are at the top of their friends list."

"Well you did push Two off Blimpy."

"I did pick you over him."

"True, back to just us again."

"Gods, what are we going to do now."

"Hah, win of course." I smiled at that. I looked up to the vast heavens and wondered how far things went. If someone built a space ship could they fly to other planets? I knew there was a moon, but not much else about the solar system. I wondered if the gods were really aliens that just liked to have fun with us puny mortals down here. Now that would be a twist.

***

"So you wish to trade the contents of a book you read, which you then lost, but is highly valuable."

"Yes. Let me just pull up a sample." There was a moment of silence. "Asshole, f.u.c.ker! He put up privacy blockers to block out recording the decoded text."

"Ah, well then our offer will reflect to match this change in information."

"But…but it was about the origin of the world and key-"

"I am sorry, but do you know how many people we get with made up information? Quite a few. While we will be willing to listen, we will not be paying you anything. Perhaps we could put in a confirmation clause to our deal so if the information is confirmed you would receive a small payout."

"That is bull shit!"

"Unfortunately that is the best we can do."

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH! Curse your Rain of Blood!"