FINDERS KEEPERS
Part 10
Once I followed the demon into the cabin (and placed my corpse inside the cellar), a new prompt appeared from my periphery.
[Congratulations! You reaped a lifetime total of 16 essences.]
[You have gained a Special Action: Glean.]
Huh. What's that about? Curious, I opened up the prompt to see what it was, and it expanded to the center of my vision.
Glean
Sense the surface thoughts of your delvers, which will glow with a purple aura. Limited to only one target at a time, you cannot read the thoughts of your monsters or those who are unconscious. You can jump to other (individual) thoughts until the spell ends.
(Costs 2 Power) Duration: 1 minute.
"Like mind reading?" I said out loud. The demon looked at me curiously. "Uh, nothing. Continue what you are doing."
"Alright. Almost done," said the demon. She positioned my body in the new room as big as a broom closet, propped at the south wall and hidden by a bookcase. It'll take a perceptive delver to find it. And, of course, the bookcase was trapped.
"Are all of these demonic things really necessary?" I pointed at the symbols the demon drew around the chamber, recreated the sigils during my ritual, and placed my corpse in the middle of the infernal circle.
I purchased two dozen candles that never melt to illuminate the space. I also bought a [Death Touch] spell to prevent my body from rotting for the next thirty days. I already looked like hell, but fortunately, it was the middle of Autumn, and the weather was cold. I still looked fresh-ish. I knew it was a waste of crystals to buy the spell, but I wouldn't say I liked seeing my body rot away like that. Call me sentimental, but I wanted to preserve my old form like a fun (and macabre) accessory.
"One thing I learned from watching humans for hundreds of years is you are obsessed with the idea of Hell, much more that you include it through your religious iconography and texts. Fear that has been ingrained in your society for thousands of years. This will greatly exploit that subconscious fear and weaken their Resolve."
"Seems like you've thought this through."
"I'm a demon, lord dungeon. We spent our entire lifetime thinking. After all, we must be cunning to survive the other Greater Demons." The demon stepped out of the room and pushed the bookcase closed. "All done. What of our lone delver?"
I closed my many-eyes in the cellar and quickly teleported to one perched on a tall tree. I saw a form running from the distance. The fog was gone (I couldn't summon it for another hour), and Leo looked like he recognized where he was going now. He hadn't stopped running for twenty minutes since the fog dissipated—the stamina in that guy. I couldn't help but be impressed.
I got back to the cellar. "Still running. The Goliath and Old Growth are not far behind. You think you can catch up?"
Demon Maxine smiled. "Oh, please. I have the incorporeal trait. I can sense the next living creature, and I have my ways of catching up."
"Two monsters against one seems like an overkill, don't you think?" Especially when it's the Goliath and Old Growth.
"Oh no, definitely not. This is your first delver who has lasted in your dungeon for almost three hours, and not once has his Resolve dropped crimson. That's something to celebrate! Goliath, Oldie, and I agree that this is the type of work we crave." The demon suddenly wiped something under her eyes. I didn't know if she was pretending like she was tearing up or if it was real. "Brings tears to my eyes."
"Really?"
The demon dropped her hand, grinned, and gave me a lazy shrug. "I don't know. I can't help but root for him to survive this night. He's already closing in on two hours of the chase, and he's not stopping. I can't help but feel proud of what we've done for him. He must be so scared out of his mind. Ah! Such a glorious night!"
I frowned. "Well, I'll check up on Goliath and Old Growth. He's nearing the border, and then I can no longer affect him."
"So, you think he'll escape?"
I paused. "If he does, I fear what he will do next. Too bad I can't predict the future."
"You can still send Oldie and the Goliath after him." Then, the demon shifted uncomfortably.
"What? You know something I don't?"
"Well…If Goliath and Oldie die outside your borders…then that's it. They die. Gone. No cooldown. Can't be revived."
"But I can build them up again, no?"
"Yes. But it won't be the Goliath anymore."
"You mean…you guys have souls?"
"Everyone has souls, master. Even demons. Even abominations. Corrupted, sure, but souls nonetheless. And yes, if we die outside the dungeon's borders, we die for real."
"Uh, you seem so calm about that."
"The mortal realm is just one of many, lord dungeon. Death is not the end. Sometimes, it's the beginning of most." Demon Maxine climbed out of the cellar and out of the front door. "I won't keep you waiting out here, master. I'll get this troublesome delver back into your arms. Who knows? I might be able to switch that pesky Resolve of his to something more…delicious. I reckon five essences? Maybe six? Want to bet?"
I shook my head. "Go ahead, demon. Do what you will, but I don't want to get in the habit of betting on people's lives." Not unless they deserved it. "Bad enough that I'm basically torturing them."
"Okay. Oldie already told me Leo would drop four essences, but I bet for ten! Aim for the outlier! He's already proven to be so crafty. If I win, I get Oldie's den in the woods for a week!"
"Well, good luck with that."
The demon flinched. "Bah, I don't need luck. I have skills."
I left the cabin and flew toward the northern borders of my dungeon.
Once I got back to Leo, I tried to distract him by activating [Strange Noises], but that only spurred him to go faster. I noticed he always takes two-minute breaks, hiding behind a tree or in a ditch, trying to catch his breath before he sprints off again. I even tried the [Luring Trance] and maybe got him back in the direction of the cabin, but even though I've met the Dread requirements, Leo's Resolve was too high.
He was in his element.
I didn't know what kind of training Leo got during his time in the military, but I am getting the picture. He wasn't panicking or scrambling to get away from the Goliath. He would often pause to listen and observe his surroundings for a few seconds, crouched behind the bush or hidden behind a tree, and when he detected something he didn't like, he'd go the other way.
The Goliath kept a close tail, waiting for Leo's Resolve to go down so that he could bring the killing blow.
But that moment never came.
The Goliath tried to cut off his path by throwing the axe over his head, but Leo quickly ducked and ran in the opposite direction. The Goliath even hid behind a tree, waiting for him to pass before he lunged at him, but Leo quickly wrestled his way out of the Goliath's grip and darted away. Not once did he scream or sob. He controlled his breathing, forcing more air into his lungs, and kept a steady pace.
This was the first time I saw Goliath run out of breath and look thrilled. I realized he looked forward to reaping Leo's essence. Since the delver lasted this long, it must be high. The Goliath kept toying with Leo for my benefit, wanting to feed me the best essence since I turned into a stone.
He was getting closer and closer to the border.
[Unnerving Fog is now ready to activate.]
Once the prompt showed up, I immediately triggered the environmental effect. Thick mist seeped out of the earth and expanded all across North Cedar Lake. Leo immediately noticed it when it formed around his ankles, halting him in his tracks.
The aura around his head snapped purple.
Pulling up [Glean], I went inside Leo's head.
[Power: 6/10]
No, not again, he thought. Not again!
He ran faster, like his life was on the line.
I reckoned he already considered that there must be something supernatural going on around the lake. He shot the Goliath more than a dozen times and watched him bleed to death, and yet he still got up, shrugging those bullets, and managed to kill two of his friends in the process. Then, the disorienting fog got him lost in the woods, a place he knew with the back of his hand.
But once it was gone, he found himself back on track again, recognized the various landmarks, the odd trees, the creek, and the trail, which all pointed him toward the ranger station. I already threw weird voices at him, adding to his suspicions.
What brought it home was that the cabin (and the road leading toward it) had never existed the day before. He knew this area better than anyone.
The fog chased after him, creeping closer and closer. Yet Leo managed to get one step ahead, the mist grazing his heels.
Shit. He's almost at the border.
I triggered [Telekinesis] and swiped at his ankles.
[Power: 5/10]
Leo yelped and fell over face-first on the dirt. He almost hit his head on the rock but brought his arms under his body and rolled over. Leo looked around, trying to find whatever force seized him, but no one was there. Scrambling back to his feet, he continued down the path again.
I grabbed his right ankle and dragged him deeper into the woods before he could get back up. Leo screamed as the fog swallowed him. He managed to grab hold of an exposed moss-covered tree root, but Leo couldn't get any traction on its surface and slipped. I could only drag him for fifteen feet, stopping for a second, and grabbed his ankle again for another fifteen feet until the timer ran out.
Leo crawled away from me, heart pounding against his ribcage.
What the fuck was that? He thought.
Old Growth hopped over one tree to the next, perched on top of the branch mere thirty feet above Leo. He must have heard the branches creak under the monster's weight because he quickly looked up and squinted through the darkness.
Nope.
Leo wasted no time finding out what was waiting up there because he darted back to where he came, determined to get out of there. Old Growth jumped from one tree to the next; each creak was like a jolt to Leo's senses.
Faster! Faster! Leo exclaimed. It's behind you!
Old Growth hopped onto the ground and dashed after him. Each thud of his limbs like hammers against the dirt, getting closer and closer, and closer…
Old Growth reached out, inches away from grasping Leo's shirt.
Come on! Leo roared.
Leo burst through the fog, and my connection to his mind snapped shut, sending a visceral shockwave like crawling ants around my brain, biting through bone and matter.
"Crap!" I cringed, trying to shake off the awkward feeling all over my form.
Old Growth quickly reeled its arms away and disappeared into the fog. Leo continued running across the clearing when he suddenly realized the mist no longer surrounded him and stopped in his tracks.
Leo looked back to the strange towering wall of mist sixty feet high, which stopped dead on its tracks at the dungeon's border. His mouth hung open for a brief moment. He pivoted his heels, ran into the woods, and out of my influence.
The Goliath stepped up behind me and made way for the border.
"Stop," I said. "I know what happens if you go out there. The demon told me."
The Goliath tilted his head as if saying, "So?"
"Well, now that I know what happens, it's too dangerous. Plus, I can only be an observer out there. I can't help you with my telekinesis or any of my special actions."
The Goliath raised his axe while Old Growth crept up and sat beside him. He looked at the plant creature, gave it a nod, and stepped out of the border.
"Goliath?" I called out. The Goliath stopped and turned around. "Drag him back here. His essence would be a waste out there," I decided.
The Goliath nodded and took after Leo's trail. Old Growth wasn't far behind.
Leo reached the fire watch station, a seventy-foot-high tower standing near a twenty-foot-deep gulch. Given a faint light source from the top (from an oil lamp), Leo grinned, took the ladder's first rung, and started climbing.
I could no longer tell if Leo's Resolve was still high or if it went back to green now that help was so close to his reach. For the first time, I felt like I was not in control of the situation. Another mile or so, I would have lost sight of Leo altogether with my many-eyes.
I flew to the top and saw the fire watcher was already buried under his sleeping bag on top of a rickety cot, stripped down to his wifebeater shirt and boxers. His forest green uniform hung on the locker, the name tag dangling from the front pocket read: BRIAN.
Brian looked like he was in his late forties. On the hangar, I noticed two pictures: one was him kneeling over a buck while a much older gentleman (who looked like his father) crouched beside him. In the back of the photo read: DAD AND ME. MOUNT RAINIER, 2018.
The other photo was of a much younger Brian in his early thirties, arms wrapped around a beautiful woman his age with red hair and with two younger red-haired girls who looked like his daughters. At the back of the photo, read FAMILY TRIP, 2009. I immediately recognized the background as part of Universal Studios from California in their backlot. They looked so happy, but I noticed the same self-help book I saw earlier about dating in your forties and fifties sitting on the table next to a bulky ham radio. I didn't even see a wedding ring on his finger.
Leo reached the top of the ladder to a landing platform underneath the observation deck. He quickly took the shorter ladder to get to the locked hatch above, put as much weight into his fist, and banged the door. "Open up! Open up!"
Brian awoke with a start, scrambling out of his sleeping bag, and grabbed his glasses on the nightstand, confused about what's made the ruckus this late at night. He glanced over the clock: 4:13 AM.
"Open the fucking door!" Leo begged.
Old Growth latched onto the tower's support pillars and slowly climbed up. Leo failed to notice it.
Brian put on his pants and slowly moved toward the hatch. He grabbed his heavy metal thermos bottle from the table, planning on chucking the thing if the person yelling behind the door was a threat.
"Who the fuck are you?" Brian shouted back.
Leo paused. "Brian? Is that you?"
Brian paused but still held the thermos bottle over his head. "Uh…Leo?"
"Yeah! It's me! Open up!"
"As in the Leo Grady?"
"It's me, alright? Now, open the fucking door!"
"Okay, okay!" Brian put down the bottle and turned on the lights. He then walked over to the door. "I'm coming! Give me a sec."
Still, Leo continued pounding his fist on the door, stopping only when he heard the latch opening and Brian lifted the hatch. Leo scurried inside the cabin.
"Close it. Close it!"
"What?" Brian hurriedly closed the hatch and locked it. "What's wrong, man? Is…is that blood? Are you hurt?"
Leo tried to catch his breath. Brian crouched down and reached for his shoulder, but Leo flinched and crawled away from his touch. "N—no. Not mine."
Brian went rigid. "Then who is it then? Is it Danny's? Is he hurt out there?"
"Danny's not with me." He looked up at Brian's face. "The radio. You still got the radio?"
"Uh, yeah. Of course, I got—"
"—Call for help," Leo interjected." Get the sheriff out here, man. The state police, the fucking national guard. Everyone! There's something in the woods! I don't know what the fuck they are, but one is not human, man! It's been chasing me all through the night!"
"Okay, calm down, Leo. You're not making any sense."
Leo grabbed Brian's arm and drew him closer, his face inches away from his own. "There's something out there that's fucking trying to kill me, man! It killed my friends!"
"Okay, okay. Sit tight. I'll call HQ. They can call the cops from there." Brian sauntered over to the table where the ham radio sat. "Where'd you say your friends were?"
"Cedar Lake. Near the summer camp."
Brian nodded and switched the device on. The radio crackled to life.
"But not in the camp, but somewhere north of the lake. We found this cabin…"
"A cabin?"
"Yeah. Pretty weird. I've never seen it before. Have you?"
Brian furrowed his brows. "There's no cabin around there. At least none that I've heard of."
"Well, it was fucking there, and we went in, and then…and then they came." Leo went quiet, shivering.
Brian studied him for a moment. He didn't know whether to believe Leo's story, but given his shirt was covered in blood and that he didn't find any severe injuries told him he'd instead take his word for it. He still had to report any suspicious activity around the area, just as he was trained to do.
I watched from the window when Old Growth grasped the bottom rung of the deck's rails, peeking out from underneath to see Brian turned around to face the radio.
"I read you, tower ten. What is it, Greeley? Did you spot anything? Over," a woman's garbled voice filled the deck.
The voice spurred Leo up to his feet. "Tell her. Tell her about the thing in the woods!"
"Leo, give me a moment to answer, okay? Why don't you sit back on the bed, and I'll talk to Susan."
Leo hesitated, but he dared not make a move.
Old Growth had already climbed up on the deck when it spotted the ham radio's cord running through a small hole in the wall and into the electrical panel outside the observation cabin.
Brian grabbed the microphone. "Morning, Susan. Um, I've got a slight emergency—"
Old Growth struck the panel. Sparks flew, and all the lights inside the observation deck went out, including the ham radio.
Brian recoiled back. "Uh, Susan? Susan, can you hear me? Hello?" He tapped on the radio, but it wouldn't turn back on. "Ah, shit. Hold on a minute. I gotta switch to the backup batteries," he said over his shoulder, trying to reassure Leo.
"No, no. It's here. It's here."
Brian whirled around. "What's here—"
Brian gasped, catching sight of Old Growth standing outside the window and right behind Leo with all four limbs about to burst through the glass. Brian dashed over and pushed him out of the way. Leo fell over the bed as the window shattered behind him.
FINDERS KEEPERS
Part 11
When Leo whirled around, Brian froze before the broken window, straining to speak. No word came out of his lips.
Sticking out through his back was Old Growth's javelin-like appendage, drenched with the fire watcher's blood. Struggling to breathe, Brian looked Old Growth straight into its mouthless face with terror before his eyes glazed over, his mouth hanging loose. Old Growth yanked Brian's body out of the cabin and threw him into the abyss. Three seconds later, a wet, muffled thud echoed behind the creature climbing through the cabin.
[Error. You cannot collect 1 essence of Brian Greeley. Location: 1.8 miles outside of the dungeon border. Delver out of bounds.]
[You cannot collect an essence outside the dungeon's perimeter. If you cannot determine your dungeon's borders, please look at your Dread effect, which is a standard 2-mile radius from your core. The greater the distance, the less your Dread effect can influence a given area and collect any delver's essence. This also determines your base border. Note that your border can expand over time as your core ages and grows in power.]
I expected I wouldn't receive any essence if a delver died outside the dungeon. Fortunately, the monsters' traits remained active outside the dungeon, but I didn't expect Leo to get this far and reach the ranger station.
And kill another bystander in the process.
"Careful, Growth!" I exclaimed. "The ranger was not a delver!"
Old Growth recoiled back a little and looked remorseful.
I glanced down at Brian's splattered body at the bottom of the tower and remembered the demon's words about other realms.
"I'm so sorry. Hopefully, we won't run into each other in the next life," I said, remembering what the demon remarked about the other realms.
As Old Growth clamored through the broken window, Leo got a good view of the monster and screamed, scrambling back to his feet. He tried to look for a weapon but couldn't find anything to hit the creature with. Instead, he grabbed the oil lamp from the nightstand (the only light source in the cabin) and threw it at Old Growth's feet.
For the first time, I heard Old Growth shriek (even when he did not have a mouth) and scurried away as the flames exploded beneath it and caught its legs. The fire quickly spread over a quarter of its body. Old Growth jumped out of the window onto the tallest branch it could reach. It repeatedly slammed its legs against the trunk and rubbed its body against the bark and leaves, trying to snuff the flames out.
[Discovery: Old Growth is vulnerable to fire! Most Plant archetypes share this vulnerability. Please refrain from putting your monsters in a flammable environment in the future. You cannot resurrect them if they perish outside your domain.]
Even the system gave me shade for risking my monsters' lives outside the boundary. I quickly hovered over to where Old Growth patted what little embers still clung to its body with its many limbs.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" I asked worriedly.
Old Growth snuffed out the flames, but some of its bark looked scorched and peeling. The monster pointed to the direction of the dungeon and then gently caressed the scorched marks on its flesh as if adding a salve to it.
"Um, healing?"
Old Growth nodded.
"So, if you cross the border, you can heal?"
Old Growth nodded again.
Shit. I looked back inside the observation cabin, where the fire spread rapidly.
"Fuck!" Leo's shouts were muffled from where I was hovering.
"Alright. You go back. It's not worth it if you get hurt."
Leo covered his mouth and nose with Brian's ranger jacket and hastily opened the hatch. He was about to climb back down when he glimpsed the Goliath halfway up the ladder.
"Fuck!" Leo shouted again. He quickly closed the hatch. "What the fuck is going on! What the flying fuck is happening?!"
The flames caught the curtains and licked their way up the ceiling. The tower was made mostly of metal, but the observation deck was the only one of ninety percent wood. Smoke filled the room, forcing Leo onto the exterior deck.
"Come on; you can do this!" Leo muttered. He raised his knees and brought his foot down against the railing, kicking it loose as the flames spread behind him.
Once the railing came loose from the screws and swung open, Leo pivoted around and walked back to the other end of the exterior deck, taking shallow breaths. "You can do this! You can do this!"
With a sudden burst of speed, Leo ran across the deck and jumped over the edge, screaming as he reached out for the branch of the nearest tree. He slightly miscalculated his jump, missing the branch by several inches, and plummeted toward the one twenty feet below it. Leo managed to grab the thin branch for a few seconds, but it buckled under his heavy weight and broke. Leo hit the next one below and spun him around like a cartwheel until he latched onto a thicker branch. He stopped his fall briefly until his body rotated around the slippery, moss-covered branch and ended up dangling from the ground.
Leo only lasted another second before he lost his strength to hold on, falling from a height of thirty feet with nothing to catch him. He hit the ground with his back, knocking the air out of his lungs.
The Goliath stopped climbing and glared at me.
"What? Uh, he's down there now," I pointed out the obvious.
The Goliath's grip tightened around the rung, heaved a sigh, and climbed down.
Leo lay on the ground for a few seconds, groaning. "I'm not going to die. Not today. Not today," he muttered. Reaching out for the exposed root of a tree, he hauled himself back to his feet.
"What the hell?" I exclaimed in disbelief. "You fell eighty feet, dude! How the fuck are you still walking?"
Leo tried to straighten his back but couldn't extend his spine all that much, muscles cramping against the strain. Hunched over, He grasped the side of his torso. I reckoned he must have broken a rib. Maybe more. Still, not as bad as I had hoped. I thought the fall would incapacitate him, but now he's running away from the burning fire watch tower with one of my monsters hurt.
"Could this night be any more difficult?" I muttered.
I chased after him.
My many-eyes were spotty around these parts as I moved farther away from my dungeon. I couldn't sense every nook and cranny of McLaren Forest. Inside my borders, I could observe my surroundings passively and "teleport" to one of my eyes if I needed to focus on something (or someone). But out here, I had to search for Leo actively. If one of my many-eyes caught a glimpse of him, I had to scour the general area to know his exact location.
I didn't like this one bit.
I realized he was heading for the road.
"Found him?" I asked the Goliath. At least it's easier to find my monsters outside the border. The dungeon core's system always kept a hovering eye above their heads, where I could teleport if I got lost and disoriented from searching.
The Goliath shook his head.
"I think he's getting away."
The Goliath gave me a sparkling glance and patted his shoulder. He held up three of his fingers, forming the letter W.
"Worthy?"
The Goliath proudly nodded.
"I planned for the cultists to come here tomorrow night." I looked up at the sky, which was already turning a hazy blue on the horizon. Dawn was coming soon. Sunrise would arrive in fifteen minutes. "Correction: I planned to bring them here later tonight. I don't want the authorities near the area because Leo called them."
The Goliath sighed, disappointed.
"I know, I know. You wanted to find someone worthy of my dungeon."
The Goliath nodded and brought his hands together to form a heart.
"Love?"
The Goliath raised his heart-shaped hands toward me.
"Oh. You mean having worthy delvers is love? Or special?"
He gave me thumbs-up.
"Fine. I guess having worthy delvers gives you guys some satisfaction. I bet it improves your mental health or morale. Do monsters suffer from that? Low morale?"
The Goliath shrugged and kept flipping his hand. So-so.
"Anyway, once the cultists are dealt with, maybe Leo will survive another night?"
The Goliath gave me another slight shrug and then a thumbs up. He seemed to like the idea.
"Well, you have to catch him first, but we're fucking lost—"
I sensed movement five hundred feet ahead of the Goliath. "Wait. I see something."
I quickly flew to that eye and scoured around until I spotted Leo's form running down the hill.
Ha! Found you.
I went back to the Goliath.
"Spotted him five hundred feet ahead. He's nearing Route 26."
It was one of the major two-lane highways to Portland (and also connected NF-43, the road leading back to Cedar Lake). I surmised it was not busy right now, but once the sun was up, many travelers would be on that road to Portland, Salem, Vancouver, or one of the major cities across the valley. I flew above the canopy but couldn't tell how many cars were on the road. If only one car happened to drive by…
Crap. This was spiraling out so fast.
I followed The Goliath as he ran through the woods, trying to shorten the distance between him and his prey. Twigs and deciduous leaves crunched under his wake, his heavy footsteps thundering into the rising dawn. Light began to creep over the mountain.
I could see the highway now, which currently sat empty. Leo's form bound through the thicket, desperately trying to reach it.
Suddenly, beams from a car approached from the south.
"Shit! A car's coming!" I screamed at the Goliath.
The Goliath pushed his legs further down the hill. He was about a hundred feet behind Leo.
Almost there.
Almost there.
Almost there—!
My heart went up my throat as an immovable force yanked me back to the core tree. My head spun momentarily, wondering where I was until I realized I was back near the cabin.
Back home.
"Shit!" I shouted. "Fucking teleportations. Why do I have to get back here? Can't I stop dead in my tracks? That's a lot simpler. Fucking core and its stupid rules!"
I hit the wall, the limit of my perimeter. I forgot it teleported me back to my gem every time I crossed it.
I flew into the sky and quickly moved northward, trying to remember what section of the road I had last left. It took me a couple of minutes of scouring until I sensed the many-eyes centered above Goliath's head, hiding behind the tree as he watched Leo flag down the car in the middle of the road. He couldn't risk coming out now, or else the car could drive away (leaving Leo, lucky for me), but they might call for help. The Goliath was no match against a speeding car.
I was careful not to cross the hidden barrier again, or else I'll get teleported back to my gem.
"Stop! Stop!" Leo flailed his arms.
The car slammed its brakes and skidded to a stop, inches from hitting Leo.
Leo slammed his palm on the hood. "Help! I need help!" He moved toward the driver's side door and knocked on the window with bloody handprints smeared on the glass.
Shit. I couldn't see him from where Goliath and I were standing, but it looked like the driver waved him to the opposite side and unlocked the passenger side door.
"Thank you!" Leo exclaimed and ran over to the other side. He quickly opened the door and climbed inside.
The car turned back around where it came, heading to Point Hope.
The Goliath turned to me and calmly shrugged. He put up three of his fingers again to form a W.
I gritted my teeth. "Yeah. Worthy."
The Goliath mimed opening something with his hands.
"You want me to be an open book?"
The Goliath shook his head and made the gesture again but much slower.
"Oh. A chest? Opening a treasure chest? Like a reward?"
The Goliath excitedly threw two thumbs up. I could feel him smiling under the fox mask.
"Well, Leo Grady is already heading back to town. I might not be able to give him anything now. And he'll alert the authorities, which will be swarming McLaren Forest and all over the cabin and fuck up our plans—"
I paused, sensing one of my many-eyes screaming at me to look through it.
I regarded the Goliath once again. "Dude, I'll be right back. Can you, um, find your way to the cabin?"
The Goliath waved me off. He'll be fine.
I left the Goliath with a confused look and flew toward the eye, floating fifteen feet above the narrow South Cedar Road. Just two hundred feet ahead was the intersection of Route 26 and NF-43.
A car stopped at the intersection and turned into South Cedar Road, heading straight for me. I recognized Leo in the passenger seat, leaning his head against the window while he watched the trees pass by outside.
Wait. Why is the car coming this way?
The car crossed the border, and I immediately moved inside the cabin.
Demon Maxine pretended not to notice my presence. She had cleaned up quite a bit since I last saw her. Gone were the injuries on her face, including her bright golden demonic eyes, which returned to their natural brown color. She must have used demonic magic to hide her wounds because Leo didn't even notice it.
Suddenly, Leo sat up, recognizing the road they were on.
"What are you doing?" Leo asked, panic rising in his voice.
"Doing what? We're heading back to town like you want," Maxine said calmly, stifling a giggle.
Leo studied her face. "No. This ain't the road. This is the wrong road, lady! You're going the wrong way!"
"Look, you need to calm down—"
"No! You're going the wrong way!"
Leo reached for the wheel.
Maxine flattened her palm and struck Leo right under the chin, hitting his Adam's apple. Leo reeled back, clutching his throat and violently coughing his lungs out. While the poor guy was momentarily stunned, Maxine grabbed the back of Leo's head, seized a fistful of his hair, and slammed his face against the dashboard. Blood poured out of his nose.
"Wha—! Stop—!"
Maxine slammed his head again, and Leo went out cold like a light.
The demon stopped the red Ford Explorer on the side of the road and turned to me. "I told you I'll get him for you."
"You know this car is in every wanted poster in the tri-county area, right?"
She checked Leo's pulse—still alive. "This buffoon almost made it out, so I had to improvise. Voila! I live to serve you, lord dungeon. Crisis averted. And besides, there are no spies around these parts of the wood."
"Spies?"
"Cameras, larks, wild shapes, true sight, divination magic, or what-have-you. No one saw me."
"Let's keep it that way." I gestured for her to keep moving.
Maxine returned the automatic stick to drive and continued driving down the road. "What shall we do with him?"
"Well, you hit him pretty hard. He might be out of it for a few hours. We can stick him in the cabin for now. I can build another room to, um, detain him while Coach Hodge and the others arrive tonight."
"And then what?"
"Reap his essence, I guess? Did you notice it ever go down?"
"If I did, he'd be dead, lord dungeon."
Damn. "He's resilient. I'll give him that. But I'll think about the other thing."
"What thing?"
"Letting him live. The Goliath thinks I should let him go."
Maxine studied Leo's face. "I agree. He's handsome. He can be your first hero. Oh, how exciting for you!" She started clapping.
"Hands, not the wheel!"
"My apologies. Congratulations, for the dungeon, on your first worthy delver."
"Eh, maybe. But for now, just don't let the cultists see him?"
"You can give him a reward?"
"You're not the first one who said that to me tonight, but I don't know what to give him."
"Anything you can spare. I don't know how you extract such treasures, but it is a wonder to see when it happens. My advice: don't give him something universally breaking."
I raised my eyebrow. "Oh? Like?"
"Like give him the ability to fly or make him invisible? Or a magical sword that can cut through any metal and stone, even a planet? Or split an atom inside a Wendy's?"
"How'd you know about Wendy's?"
"This body craves it after every hot yoga session, but a demon—not me—tempts her to eat a pretzel bacon pub and consider it a cheat day…twice a week." Demon Maxine giggled. "But she just gained it all back and more! She pukes it out anyway. That's why her body's too frail for a possession."
"Okay. So, no to giving Leo the ability to split an atom."
"Bear in mind that this universe is bound by physics, lord dungeon. Let's keep it that way."
"Um, hello? I became a gem, I can summon a fog, and I can levitate things with my mind, among many other things."
"Yes. But most humans have never seen a person lift a mountain in millennia. What's the word again? Ah! Yes. Remain incognito."
"Are other dungeons in other worlds that secretive? Do they also have to hide from their world?"
The demon pursed her lips. "Not necessarily…"
"You know, demon, I feel like you're keeping things from me sometimes."
"It's because I am not a hundred percent sure about my answer. Lord dungeon, you deserve the most confident and correct answers to all your inquiries."
"And are you confident about your knowledge of other dungeons?"
"Most of the time."
"Then why do you want me to hide? Besides the danger of hunters of my gem, of course. I kinda figured adventurers in other worlds delve dungeons to get it."
"Have you ever thought that maybe Oldie, Goliath, Siren, and I want to keep you to ourselves? Hm?"
"Another lie. I doubt it's for selfish reasons. Tell me the truth."
The demon laughed. "Let me ask you this, what's the color of your gem, master?"
"Um, mostly a bit of everything. Sometimes it turns into an emerald. Sometimes it's translucent. Others, red and blue simultaneously, or all the colors. Best I could describe it is a kaleidoscope of colors."
"Well, not all gems are that way, you see."
I paused to think for a second. "And do you know why?"
Maxine shook her head and smiled. "No, I do not, I'm afraid. But it is a curious thought, isn't it?"
The demon still kept things from me, but I was exhausted from exerting my power to ask more questions, and flying around the dungeon made me a little dizzy. I sat back in the car and let Maxine drive me back to the cabin.
As the sun broke through the mountains, another prompt greeted me.
NORTH CEDAR LAKE
Kills
5 (+900 crystals); (+6 essences; -1 uncollected)
Survivor
Undetermined
Dread Level
5/10 (+500 crystals)
Crystals (current)
2,155
Since Leo technically didn't escape the dungeon, the system still considered him a trapped delver. Hopefully, the demon would keep him out of the way while I focused on the cultists—one less thing to worry about tonight. Still, I loved having more crystals. It meant I had the cash to spare to repair the damages Leo and his group incurred around the cabin.
I still found it funny that I had to basically pay a "cleaning & repair fee" every time a delver came into my borders and had the audacity to bleed on my waxed floor and break some china. Sometimes, the system kept reminding me I was in a fucked up simulation and that I was the eternal landlord. I sighed and looked outside the car's window, watching the lake just as the morning sun hit its placid surface.
At least the view was nice.
CASE FILE A1
(UPDATE) MISSING: FIRE WATCHER BRIAN GREELEY, 47, DISAPPEARS IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT. LOOKOUT BURNED.
by Katie Reeves, KGWA Staff
Mon, September 25th, 2023, 3:45 PM
Point Hope, Oregon (KGWA): Point Hope Police Department is seeking the public's help to find a missing fire watcher, Brian Greeley, 47, who was last seen more than two weeks ago on Monday, September 4th, on the Frog Creek lookout at McLaren National State Forest. His last contact with the Forestry Department Head was in the early hours of Saturday, September 23rd, when he reported an emergency broadcast on the radio before communications were inexplicably cut off.
PHPD and the National Park Services (NPS) have scoured through the Frog Creek Lookout to find the tower collapsed due to an unknown fire. Fortunately, the fire had not spread to the surrounding forest due to damp weather conditions. Blood belonging to Brian Greeley has been confirmed, and the local police and NPS has designated the area as an active crime scene. They consider Brian Greeley is still alive but potentially injured.
At this time, there is no other information available, but the police said they would post an update once more information becomes available.
Update (09/30/2023): Five days after being reported missing, Brian Greeley's body has been found eleven miles north of the Frog Creek Lookout by four TikTok and Twitch steamers, including popular YouTuber and vlogger, Dylan Griffin, 21, visiting the local area. Chilling photos of Greeley's remains emerged online, posted by Griffin and co., which had accrued over three million views since it was posted yesterday and received backlash online.
"Local police authorities are investigating. This is heartbreaking news, and all forestry officials have reached out to his ex-wife, his children, and his extended family to offer support and assistance," Susan Machins, a fellow colleague of Greeley's, said in an official statement from the forestry department.
PHPD spokesperson, Fernand Blompkin, said in a press conference this morning that they were "analyzing evidence to establish the facts, conditions, and causes of death," which they described as either a possible homicide or an animal attack.
The Greeley family had requested the video be taken down. The hikers are cooperating fully on the investigation with the NPS and PHPD. Blompkin has urged local residents and tourists to be cautious and keep a lookout when venturing into McLaren Forest when rumors begin to spread online of an endangered wild predator stalking the area.
This is an active investigation.
CASE FILE A2
*Text excerpt between Dylan Griffin (YouTube Channel: Dylan Does Stuff) and Twitch Streamer, Retto Kearns (Iron_grimms).
Dylan: My freaking team won't let me post a freaking video for the next two weeks.
Retto: lol. Got your apology video down yet?
Dylan: I'm doing it tomorrow. Hoping it dies down soon.
Retto: You don't want to let that simmer on too long, dude.
Dylan: I know. I have to practice pretending to cry on camera. We found a dead body. Big deal.
Retto: Shouldn't have live-streamed —crying face emoji—
Dylan: We all were.
Retto: Need help?
Dylan: I'm good. I'll be in West Hollywood with friends. Hoping to forget about this.
*no messages for the next three hours
Retto: Saw someone throw a slushy on you. It's all over TikTok.
Dylan: Just a bunch of assholes.
Retto: Did you go to The Den with Heidi?
Dylan: yeah?
Retto: Dude, her boyfriend's gonna fuck you up!
Dylan: He's not gonna know.
Retto: She showed up on that slushy vid. I recognized her voice.
Dylan: Shit. I'll smooth things out. It's not like we're alone.
Retto: You better.
Retto: Wanna hear something?
Dylan: yeah?
Retto: I looked up the Greeley guy.
Dylan: Jesus H. Let's forget about that.
Retto: No, no, hear me out. There's a bunch of people gone missing around the area in the last two weeks.
Dylan: For real?
Retto: Heard about the Green Hill massacre?
Dylan: The stabbing thing Cole was going on about?
Retto: Yeah. Same town. It wasn't reported a lot nationwide because there was two mass shootings at the same time in Ohio and Florida. 8 Dead, all stabbed to death. And get where they found the killer's car? McLaren Forest.
Dylan: You're kidding.
Retto: Nope. And get this: Various residents from town went missing as well. Prominent ones.
Dylan: holy shit. You just gave me a freaking idea.
Retto: What?
Dylan: I can make a video about this.
Retto: Are you sure?
Dylan: Why not? Looks like the police ain't doing a damn thing. Everyone loves a horror documentary, no?
Retto: I guess. But aren't you in trouble already? You're canceled.
Dylan: Not when I claim it's my journalistic duties.
Retto: You're not a journalist.
Dylan: I have a degree in journalism and I'm a commentary YouTuber. I talk about whatever the freak I want.
Retto: You're gonna dig yourself a new hole.
*the next morning.
Dylan: Wanna help me or what?
Retto: Are you serious about it? There's no going back if you do it.
Dylan: Very.
Retto: Fine. I'll help.
Dylan: Let's start with the ones who went missing. We can talk about them. Let's say we're shedding light on these missing people as well. Not only Greeley.
Retto: You sound like you want to find another dead body.
Dylan: That's better. More evidence. More story.
Dylan: Who's one of the missing?
Retto: *links a newspaper clipping* This guy.
Dylan: He's a high school coach? Damn.
Retto: And there's more. I kind of went down a rabbit hole. I'll send you everything I know.
Dylan: Thanks, man. I owe you one.