After dying so many times, death was no longer something Noah feared. He avoided it with about the same amount of effort used to avoid dying in a video game. He still possessed the survival instinct in some fashion, but he could no longer appropriately appreciate the most significant risk of death in a given situation. He was no more afraid of guns than a coffee table’s sharp corners.
What he felt when he saw the worm was genuine fear, realizing that not only was the worm the most likely cause of his death in that room, it was a death he wanted to avoid more than any other. That feeling of fear, after so long, partially quenched his soul’s thirst.
"Noah?" she asked once more, hearing him chuckle.
He shook himself back from his thoughts. "Sorry, I was just thinking about this place."
"And?"
"A snail."
"What?"
"The book at the baron’s home, it had a picture of a dungeon crab. It might have just been a guess at what it looked like, but it was of a giant hermit crab. However, hermit crabs don’t create their own shells. Snails do. Hermit crabs just take them over. So, either we’re actually inside a snail, or if this really is a hermit crab, then that means it probably got this shell from a snail, and if there are these gargantuan crabs and snails living within the earth, what else is down there?"
"And how does that help us?"
"It’ll take your mind of things. We’ll be fine, we can get through this. Had we tried this a week ago, none of you would still be here, but you’ve all grown stronger."
"So what should we do?" Oath asked.
"Exactly what we’ve been doing. Just watch our step, take it one challenge at a time, and keep our rhythm steady. Besides, I’d say there is plenty of incentive to stick around."
Everyone glanced around the chamber and gasped when they realized the ground was gleaming like a starry sky. It was hard to tell under the glow worms' blue light, but bits of metal and gems were mixed into the dirt.
"Our first score!" Beth exclaimed.
They began collecting the glimmering pieces and cleaning off the unwanted dirt and rock. Most of it was raw and diluted, so excess sediments had to be scraped, hammered, and rubbed off. There was no telling how much gold and silver they had until they smelted it down. Despite the find, Noah couldn’t deny his disappointment. When he had heard about these dungeons and the treasure within them, his inner nerd had imagined something more like an actual treasure chest. That worm back there could be considered a mini-boss, after all.
With their spirits lifted, they left the safety of the chamber to continue their descent.
"Trevor, you take point," said Noah.
"What?"
"I mean you’re in front, in the middle space. Oath will now be opposite from me, where you once were. In these narrow tunnels, we don’t need to worry about an enemy circling around to Beth and Mira, so it would be best to put your long reach directly in the front. If we enter a wide-open space, we might switch back."
Trevor stepped forward and led the group, and not long after they departed, they faced off against a pair of four-legged monsters like the one Mira killed outside. Now in the center, Trevor warded them off with his halberd.
"Oath, with me. Trevor, don’t let them stand over us," said Noah.
He and Oath stepped forward, keeping just out of range of Trevor’s halberd, with Oath delivering a mighty cleave. His sword cracked into the monster’s shell and struck its brain, though the wound was shallower than Oath expected. Nearby, Noah was fending off swings and stabs of the beast’s jagged forelimbs, but when an opening came, he hacked one of them off and thrust his sword into the monster’s face.
"These shells might be worth something."
Knives in hand, they carved the top shells off, each one the size of a tower shield. They were hard enough to stop Oath’s cleave and relatively light, so there was a good chance they’d be worth something to an armor dealer.
They proceeded onwards, fighting through wave after wave of the shell’s inhabitants. They survived each encounter, but not without shedding blood. They kept their eyes peeled, not just for monsters, but for glimmers of treasure. They searched every room, finding gold, silver, and gems of all different colors. They also found signs of human activity, though rarely any bodies, same with the monsters, and the dead ends were a constant annoyance.
"Wait, hold up."
"What is it?" Trevor asked.
"This section of the hallway, we should avoid it. Look at it." The next hundred feet of the tunnel had a different consistency than the rest. It was a fleshy, perforated surface, like a dish sponge. "Something like that is probably some kind of trap. We need to backtrack."
"It looks fine. It probably means we’re getting close to the bottom of the shell."
"It very well could be, but it’s also too suspicious to risk. We’re going back."
They turned around, hearing screams and shouts and terror. Another adventuring party appeared from the way they had just come, a group of several adult men with low-quality leather armor and chainmail. "It’s coming! It’s fast!" one of them screamed.
"Run! You have to get out of here!" another shouted when he spotted Noah and his group.
Mira stepped forward to try and stop them. "Wait, you can’t go this way!"
Too terrified to listen, one man shoved her aside like a charging bull, leaving her bruised and unconscious on the ground.
"Mira!" Beth exclaimed.
She and Oath rushed to her side, while nearby, the screams of fear became screams of pain. The men, having entered the hallway, were assailed from all sides by flying stingers. They shot out of the holes in the walls and ceiling like bullets and embedded themselves in the men. They were barbed, like bee stingers, and Noah could see them pulsing as they injected their venom.
"Both of you, get her on her feet, quick! Something is coming."
Mira was pouring blood from her mouth and seemed delirious. Oath forced her to drink a health potion, but it wouldn’t get her into fighting condition soon enough. The monster the men had feared arrived, some kind of hulking crossbreed between a grizzly bear and a komodo dragon. Thick scales covered its back, and its underside didn’t seem very weak either. It stood on its hind legs, exposing its deadly claws, and released a roar from between two rows of shark-like teeth.
Standing behind Oath and Trevor, Beth shot it in the stomach with an arrow, though the wound was shallow, and it would take time for the poison to kick in. Regardless, it took the message, dropped down onto all fours, and charged.
"Mountain Splitter!" Trevor cast.
He thrust at the oncoming monster, aiming for its head with the blade alighted with mana. The beast managed to avoid a lethal injury, instead taking the blow in the shoulder. Its scales were like thick stones, so while Trevor reached the tissue underneath, most of the energy was deflected. Getting past the halberd, it slashed Trevor across the chest, sheering through his armor and knocking him against the wall. Noah took out a lye bomb and struck the beast in the face, blinding it and making it stagger back.
"Beth, save Trevor. Oath, get over here!"
Noah didn’t give it any chance to recover and lunged for the monster, slashing and stabbing at any spot that looked soft. He focused on the wounded shoulder, but the beast was guarding it well, and despite being blind, it was swinging its claws with deadly accuracy, and even Noah ended up with some deep cuts across his thigh. Oath came out from behind Noah and brought down his sword on the monster’s head, doing some slight concussive damage.
"I’ll distract it." Noah cast his invisibility and charged at the monster while drawing a length of thick chain from within his ring. He wrapped it around the monster’s neck and jumped onto its back. He pulled with his total weight, forcing it to rear back on its hind legs so that Oath could slash it across the stomach and expose its internal organs.
"Earth Surge!" Mira cast as he got out of the way.
Since Oath had created a way in, Mira bombarded the monster with a blast of dirt and rock, aiming for the laceration. It fell on its back, too wounded to continue fighting, and Noah finished it off.
"Good. What is everyone’s condition?"
"Unhurt, but tired," said Oath.
"I’m out of mana and I can barely stand," Mira whined.
"Trevor looks ok, but I think we should stop for the night. I’m starving," Beth said.
"Yeah, it’s probably night by now. We’ll call it a day."
They searched around, finding a room for them to camp out in. They made a door out of monster shells and barricaded it with their bags. There were no glow worms in this room, so Noah lit his torch.
"Let’s eat quick and get some sleep. I’ll take first watch."
After a restless night, they left their enclosure. "There is something I want to check out," Noah said. He led them back to the corridor that had killed the other adventurer group, only to find that the corpses were gone, same with the armored monster that had given them so much trouble. "Interesting."
"What? Something just came along and took the bodies. What’s the big deal?" Trevor asked.
"This hallway probably kills whatever enters it with those spikes. Only something heavily armored like that bear-thing could have gotten to them, but there are no drag marks, no footprints. Maybe one of those giant bugs flew in and pulled them out without being detected, but I’d say it’s more likely that they were eaten by something other than just a parasite."
"You mean the crab?" asked Beth. "How?"
"I’m not sure, but I’d like to figure it when I have the chance. Let’s go."
They set out, continuing their exploration. The monster onslaught was relentless, a wave emerging every couple of minutes, each pushing the adventurers beyond their limits, both from the numbers and the strength they carried. Everyone received injuries, even Noah. While his invisibility granted him a margin of damage compared to the others, stealth did little against such vast forces. There was simply not enough room to dodge or retreat. They were running through their reserves of potions faster than Noah had anticipated, but not beyond his planning, and he still had enough to finish the trip.
He assumed they had reached the creature's body or were no longer in the unoccupied portion. More fleshy corridors appeared, containing biological traps like the spikes from before. Wherever this deepest portion of the shell was, it had to be close by. Besides, there was also plenty of incentive to take the risk. When not traveling, they spent their time gathering treasure. Their packs and pockets were getting heavy with precious gems and ores, and even Noah was dumping stuff out of his ring to make room.
That weight was a hindrance, though, as they found themselves running from another wave of centipedes. They were passing through a chain of 30x30ft rooms, each one with a deep bowl-like floor.
"Whoa! Stop!" Noah shouted.
Everyone halted at the entrance to the next room, blocked behind his arms. The chamber floor was waist-deep with dark water, or at least, they hoped it was water. By now, they had all become paranoid toward the monsters and picked up some of their tricks. There could be untold beasts lurking in that water, ready to grab and drag them under, perhaps injecting them with poison with needle teeth or barbed stingers. But the centipedes were closing in fast, and there wasn’t enough time to backtrack to a branch passage.
Noah summoned some food from his ring and sprinkled it across the surface of the water, and the next few moments passed with agonizing anticipation. Nothing came up to feed, which was good enough for them. Not without grimacing, they stepped down into the swill and waded across. Each room had a pool of water like the first, and they were taking their toll. Despite all their running, there was only so much that stamina could do in this kind of workout. However, as he moved through the fifth, Noah noticed something.
It was a layer of crude oil floating on the water’s surface. Noah looked back, seeing the centipedes pursuing them, even swimming like rats. Noah and the others got out, but he turned around with a flint and knife. He wanted to avoid doing this in this oxygen-low environment, especially while soaked in oil, but he struck the flint against his knife and spent off a spray of sparks that set the pool ablaze, filling the chamber with a wall of fire.
He rejoined the others, passing through several more rooms and taking multiple turns, but they finally had to quit and catch their breath and gasped in relief that they were no longer being pursued. Even Noah needed rest, so no one said anything, and they all just leaned against their knees, sucking in air with their faces over the surface of the water.
Noah stood up straight, and as he breathed in, the ground disappeared from under everyone’s feet. An organic trap door had opened beneath them, and the dark pond became a roaring whirlpool. Standing in the center of the room, Noah and Beth dropped helplessly, disappearing down a vast throat. Trevor, Oath, and Mira were saved by the skin of their teeth. Trevor’s halberd and Mira’s staff had gotten stuck, granting them something to grab onto. They were hanging over the entrance to the throat like a bottomless well of living, quivering stone.
Sensing the obstruction, the walls began to close in to try and dislodge them. The three youths couldn’t help but shout in terror as they struggled to climb out of the throat. They were drenched in filth, struggling to hold onto their weapons and get any kind of purchase. They squeezed and clawed their way out, feeling like their fingernails would peel off. Their faces were pressed to the sloped floor, forced to breathe in and taste the swill. They reached the next room, but despite their exhaustion, they couldn’t rest yet. They could hear the approaching centipedes, having gotten past the fire Noah had started.
They forced themselves onto their feet, barely able to stand, but once more had to run. They were in a dire situation, but Noah and Beth were even worse off. They were forced down a pit of flesh, gasping for air and feeling around for anything they could grab onto to stop themselves. To Noah, it ranked as one of the weirdest moments in his entire multi-life history.
They soon fell out, dropping through open air before making a hard landing on what felt like a pile of firewood. It was pitch black, and the moment Beth tried to breathe in, her burning lungs cried out in new anguish. She could taste the toxicity in the air. She coughed and wheezed, her face turning purple. Then, an arm wrapped around her from behind and slammed something over her face. Instinct made her throw her elbow back in self-defense, but it failed to land a hit.
"It’s me! Just breathe!" Noah shouted.
It took effort, but she drew a deep breath, and it was clear at last. She drank the filtered air greedily while the thing over her mouth was tied around her head. It felt like leather, and it smelled like charcoal. It made her want to sneeze, but even the itchiest breath was worth it.
"Noah?"
"I’m here, hold on."
There was a spark in the darkness, and a torch was lit. Now in the light, Beth saw the same device attached to Noah’s face.
"What is this?" she asked.
"A gas mask, something I whipped up. I was worried about the air quality in the dungeon, though I’m not sure how much faith should be put in them. We need to get out of here, quick."
Beth looked down and shrieked. The rough surface they had fallen on was an island of bones, and just twenty feet away, the shore of a moat of stomach acid. They were standing on the dissolving remains of those who had fallen for the same trap.
"Oh God, this isn’t happening! This isn’t happening!" Beth cried as she crumbled.
Noah would have chastised her for losing her nerve, but he was starting to shake, considering the situation. "We’re not dead yet. Here, hold this." He handed her the torch and looked around. A section of the island was touching the wall, so the acid was frothing just under his feet.
He leaned over towards the wall and slashed at it with all of his strength, but the sword simply slid off, throwing him off his balance and nearly sending him tumbling. He reformed his footing, this time attempting a stab. Once again, despite striking the flesh head-on, his sword simply bounced to the side, and he fumbled. He tried again and again, but its resilience was beyond his level of strength. However, he wasn’t out of ideas yet.
He returned to the middle of the island and began scooping up armloads of rot-slickened bones. He piled them against the wall, then removed a tightly-bound canvas package from his ring.
"What is that?" Beth asked.
"Give me the torch." She handed it to him, and he touched a connected black string to the flames. It came alight, and he forced the package against the wall, pressed with his shield, and backed by the pile of bones. "Ok, back! Back! Back!" He coaxed her as far back as he could within the stomach, then conjured up the monster shells they had collected earlier. "Duck down behind this and try to cover your ears!"
They got behind the shield-like carapaces, and then an explosion blasted off on the other side of the room. Smoke filled the air, and lethal shrapnel sprayed their defenses. Beth released a scream from the massive shock, but Noah held her still. A hole was blown in the side of the stomach, from which light poured in and stomach acid poured out. They did their best to avoid getting splashed with acid and climbed into a new chamber.
"That explosion will have drawn monsters. We have to go."
"What about the others?"
"They’re heading for the same place we are. We’ll meet them there eventually. Come on."
She followed him through the labyrinth, managing to avoid combat and find a room where they could rest. The air was stale and disgusting in these tunnels, but compared to the fumes of that stomach, Noah and Beth removed their masks and felt nothing but gratitude and relief with each breath.
"I… need to rest…" said Beth.
"Agreed, but I think it would be best if we cleaned off first."
Beth pointed her finger at him. "Make Water."
Water began pouring from her fingertip with the volume and intensity of a garden hose. Noah leaned into the spray, scrubbing off the filth and trying to get everything clean. Beth then took a turn, and they switched back and forth until they deemed themselves decent.
"I thought you could only use magic to make yourself invisible. What was that back there?" Beth asked as they both stripped off their soaking clothes.
Noah, standing with his back to her, wrung out his shirt. "That was a bomb, made of something called black powder."
Beth peeled over her trousers and the rough, unflattering fabric that passed for undergarments in this era. "So it was alchemy?"
"Sort of, there wasn’t any magic involved. It’s just a powder that reacts violently to fire." Noah shed his pants, still slippery with oil.
"So, that thing you made… Was that something else you just whipped up like those gas masks?"
"Yeah. It’s been a while since I made one, plus I couldn’t really experiment to make sure I got it right without drawing suspicions."
Beth ignored the shirt she was trying to dry out and turned to Noah. "Just where on Earth do you go to learn how to make stuff like that? You said you couldn’t find information on the dungeon crab, but you knew to make these gas masks."
"It was a job I took before I came to Clive. I spent a few days working in a mine. Down there, they were using black powder to blast apart rock and they had to use these masks in case they hit a gas pocket." The answer seemed to placate her, and he bowed down. "Can you spray my head again?"
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