These creatures we were riding on were quite the exceptional beast. They were fast, and had lots of endurance. We had been traveling for only about ten minutes when Dhae shot her fist up and we stopped abruptly. I attempted to observe my surroundings to see what the fuss was about, but I couldn't see anything. I did, however, feel whatever it was approaching. Its footsteps alone made the trees around us shake violently. Twenty five feet tall, three heads, and a body like a warhorse built from muscle and ash-black fur. There was a gash across the eyes of one of the heads. Is that a… Cerberus?Did it already get into a fight with something? Dhae then yelled to the group.
"Scatter and regroup! What the fuck is this thing doing here?!" The lizards bolted in four directions at once, claws tearing grooves in the dirt. Dhae went toward the cliffs, Gunri veered across the flats, and Bleit plunged toward a nearby river. Zal'gus kicked our mount hard and dashed toward a field of jagged stone. Behind us I heard a roar and thundering footsteps. Shit, of course it chose us.
The monster lunged forward with immense speed, its three heads barking and snarling in discordant fury. The ground shook as it charged. The giant lizard ran as fast as its legs could carry it, weaving through the rocks. Zal'gus clung tight, urging it onward, but the Cerberus was quick. One massive paw slammed down, barely missing the lizard's tail. A snapping jaw closed inches from my boot.
"C'mon, girl!" Zal'gus shouted, rubbing the lizard's neck. "You can do it!"
We leapt over a ridge of stone, and the ground vanished. The rock shelf collapsed beneath us. With a startled shriek, the giant lizard plunged into darkness, Zal'gus and I being released from the saddle and undergoing freefall. Pebbles and dust rained around us as the light was getting dimmer and dimmer. Our fall was broken by us hitting water, while the lizard was not so lucky. It landed roughly five feet from the water onto the hard cave floor, dying on impact. Zal'gus and I resurfaced and swam to the rocky shore. High above us, a ragged circle of light marked the opening of the pit. A shadow passed over it. Three snarling silhouettes leaned over the edge. The Cerberus' heads sniffed the air, their growls echoing faintly down into the depths of the cave. Realizing it couldn't follow us down, it vanished shortly after. As we sat on the cave floor, all I could think about was how I somehow made it out of that alive.
"Well, this is not how I thought today would go." Zal'gus said, breaking the silence. "By the way, I overheard the leaders speaking earlier, can you really not use any magic?" He asked.
"I haven't exactly tried, to be completely honest." I responded. "Can you keep a secret?" I asked.
"Who exactly would I tell?" He asked, laughing. "I don't even know if we'll make it out of this alive!"
"I guess you're right." I eased up. "I came to this world just yesterday. I didn't even know a place like this existed." I began, "everything I've seen so far is completely different from everything I know. I've barely got the chance to even collect my thoughts until now."
"So you're an Otherworlder? I've heard of them before, but you're the first one I've met." Zal'gus said. "The ones I've heard about are kind of like legends, they're never seen, just spoken about like fairy tales. I wasn't even sure they existed until you told me that."
"You mean to say there's others like myself here? I'd love to meet them. Maybe I'd get a better understanding of my current situation." I said. "Is there a way of determining if I can use magic or not?"
Zal'gus pondered for a moment. "I mean, I only know of the way I was taught, I'm not sure if it'll work for you. I've heard Otherworlders are pretty different fundamentally from natives to this world." He said. "I don't think it would hurt to try though. Could you take a meditative pose, miss?" I sat up and crossed my legs as he asked.
"You can call me Freya, by the way, all this miss talk is weird for me." I said.
"Okay mi- Freya. We on Zuter have what's known as a mana core. It's what we draw mana from to fuel spells and sometimes skills. I would like you to try closing your eyes and concentrate on locating it within your body."
I closed my eyes as instructed and began to concentrate on my body. I recalled that my old body, in the words of Iris, had no talent for the use of mana. So she made me this one instead. I focused until I found something I've never felt before. "I think I found it?" I said to Zal'gus.
"Okay, good. I think I can feel a very faint trace of mana from you. Can I try something, well, a little drastic?" He asked.
"Will it harm me?" I asked.
"Not physically, but I think I know why they didn't sense any mana from you before. It seems like your mana pathways are blocked. This won't allow the mana to flow freely, thus barring you from using it." He said. "I'm going to try to forcefully open them for you. Please brace yourself and maintain this meditative pose."
"Okay," I said, "let her rip, I guess."
Zal'gus scooted behind me and pressed both his palms on my back. "Okay, here we go." He said. I felt a warm feeling start where his palms were, followed by an immense pressure. It felt like I was just hit with the aftermath of an explosion. "Please remain calm! Let my mana run through you!"
The pressure was no joke, and I was struggling to keep my composure. It was like something was trying to snuff me out. After a short while of enduring, I finally felt a pressure being lifted from the area where I found the mana core. A wave of relief washed over me as Zal'gus let off on the gas and my body began to return to feeling pretty normal. There was a new feeling coursing through my veins though, as the mana pathways within me were opened up as they should have been this whole time. Thanks, Iris. I thought sarcastically. I looked around the cave and it felt like I was looking with a new set of eyes. The crystals that lined the walls of the cave were glowing, I could sense creatures around us, and when I looked at Zal'gus, even he seemed different. "So this is what it feels like to sense mana, huh?" I asked him.
"Haha, yeah. It might take some getting used to, but this is why they thought you were a dud before. Skilled magic users can even determine magic activation, even up to a point of knowing the attribute of the spell you're casting ahead of time as well." He said.
"That's basically cheating. I hope we don't run into anything like that soon…" I said.
"Well, I guess we should try to find out where exactly we are now that this was taken care of. Although, I kind of already have an idea." Zal'gus said. "I can teach you some everyday spells I know in the meantime, so let's get packed up."
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I took an inventory of what supplies we had on us before we left the lake. As it was just supposed to be a short expedition, we didn't have much. In a pack strapped to the lizard, we had a few extra daggers, some rope, and an extra sack to carry items. Zal'gus elected to carve the lizard up so we could have food for the journey ahead, so we took what we could carry from it as well. Zal'gus taught me a few everyday magic spells, such as one to search the nearby area and one to produce a small amount of light. Neither of which were hard to learn. The only thing he couldn't determine was what types of elemental magic I might be able to use. Zal'gus himself couldn't use any elemental magic, instead he used healing magic, which one was born with, and physical enhancement magic. I went to hand Zal'gus one of the daggers, but he refused.
"Oh, don't worry about me. You can use both of them." He said, holding up his fists. "I got these"
"You fight unarmed? Don't you specialize in healing?" I questioned. I knew he couldn't use any elemental magic to fight, but would a healer really be okay fighting close quarters?
"No really, I'll be fine." He said, "let's go."
I attempted to take a lay of the land with search magic. Around us I could sense four pathways leaving the small lake we managed to land in. Further in I could sense the presence of living beings, but I can't yet determine what exactly they are. Even so, I couldn't imagine whatever is living in a dark place like this is anything friendly, especially from what I've seen of this world so far. The only thing that was upsetting me was the fact that I couldn't determine if any of these pathways led back to the surface. I guess we'd just have to start exploring.
Zal'gus conjured a small light with mana and we headed out. The air was cool and damp, carrying the mineral scent of wet rock and something older, something earthy and forgotten. Our footsteps echoed softly as we trekked down one of the passages. The ground sloped downward, uneven beneath our boots. Smooth stone alternated with loose gravel that slid and displaced with each step. Sometimes the ceiling dipped so low we had to duck beneath hanging stalactites, their tips shining with droplets that fell in slow, steady plinks.
Faint glimmers began to appear on the walls. Crystals grew from the rock in pale blue, violet, and milky white. They caught what little light we carried and scattered it into soft reflections that shimmered across the cavern like distant stars.
"I wish we had extraction equipment, these crystals would fetch a good price." Zal'gus mentioned. "In fact, I believe they're crystalline! They carry mana and can be forged into fantastic weapons!"
"Is that so?" I asked, "maybe we can retrace our steps once we find our way back to the surface." I began to sense five creatures approaching us. "Look alive, we've got company." We began to see the silhouettes of five hulking creatures. Hyena-like heads swung back and forth as they laughed in sharp, barking bursts. Rusted blades and crude axes glinted in their clawed hands. Zal'gus snarled.
"Gnolls. Careful Freya, these things are vicious!" He said, getting ready to fight. I'd like to see what I'm capable of with magic, if only I had enough time to find out what I can do. The gnolls rushed us all at once. The first leapt forward with a jagged knife. Zal'gus stepped into the attack instead of away from it, catching the gnoll's wrist and twisting hard. The bone cracked. The blade dropped, and a driving elbow sent the creature sprawling into the dirt.
A second gnoll went to swing an axe, to which I responded. I rushed it with my daggers, using my smaller frame to my advantage as I darted around it with swift, unwavering strikes. Before it could recover, Zal'gus closed the distance and struck two sharp blows, ribs then jaw, dropping the creature in a cloud of dust. The remaining three gnolls circled, snarling, almost as if trying to plan their next move.
One of the gnolls lunged low, claws raking across Zal'gus' side. Blood darkened his cloak. Before I could be stunned about it he clutched his injury, and his hand began to glow. I watched as he closed his own wound, ready to continue the fight. He has those indeed. I readied my blades for the next attack. The other two gnolls charged together, attempting to use their numbers to overwhelm me. I got pushed into a corner and braced for impact, my hands touching the wall behind me. Shit, I've got no room! The earth behind me answered with a deep crack. A spike of stone erupted between my attackers, splitting their charge. One was thrown backward by the sudden obstacle, tumbling across the cave floor. The other one, however, made it through. It roared and swung wildly, but Zal'gus stepped inside the arc of its weapon. A quick strike to the throat stunned it. A second blow to the temple dropped it heavily into the gravel. So earth it is..?
Behind us, the gnoll thrown by the earth wall struggled to stand. I raised both hands. I can do this. I thought about the imagery of what I wanted to happen. The ground clenched, responding to my call. Thick vines pierced the earth and rose from the dirt like tightening roots, wrapping around the creature's legs and dragging it down. Gus ran over and finished the job by breaking its skull. Silence finally returned to the passageway. Dust drifted through the air, and five beasts lay scattered across the broken ground.
"I don't remember teaching you that!" Zal'gus exclaimed. "Well done! You didn't even use an incantation!"
"Not that I'd even know any…" I said. "I still don't really know what I'm doing."
"Well, I don't know what exactly you are, but usually mages use incantations to cast. I guess it's something to do with you being an Otherworlder?" Zal'gus questioned. "Well, whatever. We're still alive, and that's what counts."
"I've never seen you use an incantation either. I figured you didn't need one." I replied. "Also, that casting was done in the moment. I didn't really think about what I was doing. Just what I wanted to happen."
"Well, having good imagery is very important for spell casting, so I'm not surprised it helped." Zal'gus said, "I'm just surprised you picked up on it so quickly. Also I'd hoped it wasn't true, but the gnolls basically confirm it. We're inside the Namos Labyrinth"
I don't know much about labyrinths, but they tend to be known for mazes and puzzles, right? "I'm not that great at puzzles, I'm more of a shoot first ask questions later kind of gal." I told Zal'gus.
"Well, it's more like a dungeon. The further down you go, the stronger beasts we'll see." Zal'gus began, "the problem with that is that we have no way of telling what floor we're on right now. I don't know how far we fell from the surface. I didn't even know you could enter the labyrinth without going in the main entrance."
Not knowing how deep we are now could pose multiple issues, the first being our food. We had some lizard meat, but there's no telling how long we'll be down here. We won't be able to keep a large amount fresh nor carry a lot with us. I didn't know what kind of beasts were down here, so there's no telling what our future options for food would be. There's also the issue of water, which while we could boil, wasn't abundant down here.
"Theres always the chance that we find a teleportation sigil, but they're ancient and uncommon. We'd have a better time fighting our way up or down." Zal'gus added.
"Let's continue on for now, and try to rack our brains on what to do in the meantime. Maybe we'll see something on the way that will give us a sign of how deep we are." I said.
"I guess you're right. Let's go." Zal'gus responded.
We continued on for what felt like half an hour down different corridors and caves. We had a few more encounters along the way, each ending swifter than the last as our teamwork got better. Then the view began to change. The natural rock gave way to something shaped. The floor became smoother, worn flat by centuries of passage. Rough stalagmites have been broken or carved away, leaving a corridor that feels almost deliberate. Old iron brackets cling to the walls, some holding torches long since burned out, others still cradling faintly glowing embers that cast dull red light across the stone.
We continued down the hallway and it eventually opened into a vast chamber. The ceiling arches high above, lost in shadow. Pale crystals jut from the walls, catching the dim light and scattering it into cold reflections. Water drips somewhere far away, each drop echoing like a ticking clock. This is no longer a natural cavern, but something made with purpose. Ancient stone pillars stand in uneven rows, carved from the surrounding rock itself. Their surfaces are etched with faded symbols and illegible markings that spiral downward toward the floor. Between them lie remnants of life: cracked goblets, rusted blades, scraps of dark cloth, and bones bleached pale by time. At the end of it all in the back of the room lies a platform, with a beautiful sigil carved neatly into the stone.
"Holy shit, this is a teleportation sigil!" Zal'gus exclaimed. "We might just be able to get out of here!"
Huh. I honestly wanted to keep going so I could test magic a bit more, but I guess getting out of here isn't terrible. We walked onto the sigil and it began to glow. After a second I felt us getting whisked away.