There was a wave of cool energy that flowed over me as I stepped through the portal. My sensors tingled—which was an odd feeling—but there were no messages or other warnings presented to me. On the other side, it was as if we had just stepped into the cave. A dark tunnel traveled down out of view, the dim glow of a lantern further in.

“Hold,” Daniel whispered. “There is often a trap here.”

I nodded and held my position as Manny stepped forward and crouched down, moving slowly further into the cave to look for anything untoward. The roof of this tunnel was rather low, and due to the occupants and nature of the construction of such a cavern, I doubted that the headroom would increase sufficiently. In such an enclosed space, my axe could prove unwieldy. Especially if fighting alongside the orc.

Gently, I placed my weapon to stand against the cavern floor. It had performed amiably against the short goblins, and I would allow it some rest. One of the edge had sustained a little damage. Apparently, Father couldn’t pay the cost of a proper armory. No doubt that would fall to whomever I ended up sold to.

Manny held up a hand and then withdrew something from his belt. A small tool that looked suited for snipping. And snip he did. In this low light I did not see what he was gesturing at, but after working the dark metal in his hands he then put it away and stood, with a nod back at us.

Daniel had explained there were three main chambers, sometimes an extra smaller one or two. He even drew me a rough picture, which was inadequate, but I appreciated the effort. After engaging the first chamber in combat, the other two would be alert to our presence. Second chamber would hunker down behind wooden barricades with ranged weaponry. This is where the group had become unstuck previously, and the cause of the wound across Kate’s forehead.

While the orc was proficient in drawing attention to himself, due the number of opponents, there was still a volley that struck the group trying to hide behind him. With their healer injured, they had made the cautious decision to escape with their lives.

It made me wonder what happened to that split in reality. Lore assured me it was nigh improbable to find that same reality, possibly even with a century of trying. So somewhere out there was a bandit group who had taken losses but fended off the assault of the adventurers. Had they grown back to strength now and fortified their base further? Forced into action, were they now a bigger threat in their own world?

Lore was not keen on giving me a concise answer to these questions, or perhaps just unable. When asked if there were other worlds with portals, or other groups of us going through those portals, he had screwed up his face and seemed even less enthused with my line of questioning. The suggestion was to find someone in the know.

But now I was in one of these realities, about to gain souls. For the moment, that’s as far as my understanding needed to stretch. Daniel walked forward, both maces in his hands, as the spell-casters prepared to buff him. I withdrew my sword and checked my forearm. The fire enchantment was ready again, but I would wait until combat had begun, lest I give our position away. Unacceptable to be a liability to my new… friends.

We traveled down into the darkness. Colder here, beneath the earth where the sun could not reach. A lantern just ahead sat on a plain wooden table. Nothing else upon it. Just beyond this small promise of light and safety was a small rock wall that sat just after the cavern opening up. Light illuminated the slightly higher ceiling, and as a group we crouched down to approach the edge of the wall. Up against it, to our left, was a slope that sunk down a handful of feet, gradually, to meet the lower cave floor.

Voices and shuffling could be heard just ahead in this chamber. Multiple, although I couldn’t determine a precise amount. There was apprehension that someone may come up the slope at any moment, so we would need to make our plans. Luckily, the adventurers had come prepared.

Daniel held his palm to us. Hold. Tapped his nose and showed us three fingers. He was going to count down from three and then engage. It went unsaid that enemies lay over the other side of the wall, and it had only been through some spell Lore was maintaining that we had arrived in silence and not alerted whoever lay beyond. As much as I wanted to look and see, I did not want to give the element of surprise. It was an important boon.

The orc once against flashed us the three fingers. Counting had been done. I adjusted my positioning. I was to leap right after him, and the other three would stay up by the cover of the wall.

Heavy boots digging into the floor, Daniel leaped, swinging his legs over the floor as Kate cast a spell on him. I followed suit, my legs pumping hard against the floor to spring over the low wall.

The scene quickly flickered through my ocular senses. An almost circular chamber. Storage containers stacked up on the right next to a smaller exit. To the left, a couple of tables and chairs. Center was mostly clear, save from dirt and debris. Right below where we intended to land were piles of sacks. Grain or produce, perhaps.

More importantly, a dozen humanoids arranged around the area. Their conversations ceasing as their eyes turned to the two of us leaping down from the wall. Two in the section below us. Four by the tables. Three in the center. Four by the storage containers. Identification pinged around but didn’t floor with me with too much information.

[Four Humans (2)]
[Eight Humans (3)]

Lower in power than our group, but there were more of them. I activated <Flame Weapon I> just as I landed, my sword slashing through the unfortunate woman by my landing spot. She clutched at her torn chest; the flames licking at the severed threads of her shirt. Without thinking, I head-butted her, the corner of my weighty head striking her heavily in her agonized face. Broken bones, she dropped to the ground.

Daniel showed just the same amount of proficiency in his landing. One mace numbing an arm intending to draw a weapon as the second cracked open their skull. An arrow zipped overhead, striking a bandit through their leather breastplate before bursting open, a pool of green liquid splashing around those nearby. From the smell, I assumed some manner of caustic acid.

I readied myself as the three in the center had brought out their weapons and started toward us.

A man with curly hair and few teeth was closest, ready to bring a hand-axe down at me. With a jolt, he stopped dead in his tracks, confused and flatfooted. With a flourish of my blade, I then jabbed it forward, catching him straight through the throat as he was momentarily distracted. The work of Lore, I was certain.

Daniel barreled into another, knocking them down to slide across the ground toward me, so that he could engage the third. In reflex, my foot swung out and caught them in the side of the head. They tried to stand, but were dazed - a thick gash bleeding through their greasy hair.

“Go warn Trev,” one near the back shouted. A pair of bandits by the storage went to run toward the exit. Into my hand, one of my daggers. I threw it just as Manny slew one with an arrow to the back of their neck. My dagger fell sooner than I had expected and did nothing but a grazing wound to the back of the second target’s leg. 

No time to be morose. I kneeled down on the dazed man as I drew the second dagger and slashed it through his throat. Two more bandits were upon me already, one with a sword, the second with some manner of crude club. The barbarism was almost unpalatable.

I parried their first strike as I rose, their attacks reasonably quick but too highly telegraphed. Almost like a rotation, they employed the same types of swings one after another, hoping to wear me down or get lucky. Unfortunately luck was not part of this equation. Father trained me for countless hours in this manner, to ensure I did not get tardy or slack with my defenses. The second man paused as he was rooted to the ground by the Arcanist.

The bandit was sweating and desperate. I stepped into his next jab, allowing it to pass along the side of my torso, before pinning the weapon to me with my arm.

“Let go of me you… you fuck!” Confusion in his eyes about what I truly was.

“No,” I replied. “It is you who are the fuck.” Left hand holding the dagger went up into his gut, between the gaps in his leather armor. He dropped the sword and staggered back, clutching at it. Another arrow overhead. Crunching noises as the orc broke bones and pulped muscle. He was a dervish with those weapons, some manner of ferocity driving him that almost made me want to wait and observe.

But these souls were waiting for me.

I spun and slashed the flaming sword in an arc, cutting the wounded bandit across raised arms. Stepped forward and kicked him to the floor as I turned my attention to the one with the club.

“No, let Port get him,” the voice of Lore care from up at the ledge.

The bandit looked panicked now, out of his element by far. I wondered briefly what manner of crimes he had committed to deserve our punishment? Was he a better person in another reality? A worse one? He blocked my sword strike, a chip given to his wooden weapon that smoldered and singed from impact. Second one also blocked, but his grip was weakening.

Flesh and muscle were weak in comparison. I realized now what advantages I had. I dropped my guard completely, and he lashed out in rage, hitting my torso. It had no effect. At this moment, his spirit was broken, and he knew that he had lost. Dagger went up to the underside of his jaw and I carved through his neck. The light left his eyes as he staggered and tripped backward. I turned and finished off the gut-wound bandit, my flaming sword burning through his leathers and into his heart.

I flicked the blood from my blade, and the fire petered out. All good things came to an end. At first, I tilted my head toward the orc. His expression was not easily read through his full helmet, but he was breathing heavily. He gave me a nod and sighed, returning to look at the carnage.

The other three came down the ramp and started to loot through the bodies for anything useful. It seemed vulturous on one hand, but it was pure pragmatism. To kill evil we needed to be prepared and equipped, and the dead had no care for what they left behind.

“Impressive as always,” Lore began as he stepped over to me. “It’s like you were purpose-built for this.”

I nodded. While I couldn’t confirm his suspicions verbally, he had earned enough of my respect not to lie so brazenly to his face as to shake my head.

“One got away,” Manny sighed, as he looked over the tables. “Last time it was just one runner. Guess we were unlucky.”

“Over here, Port.” Daniel had put his two maces down by the storage boxes and had started to dig through them. 

I followed over, counting the bodies. Four each for myself and Daniel. Manny had three and one escaped. Enough souls for another skill, but I was hesitant to purchase something immediately. I pressed the star button just for comfort.

[Current Souls: 5]
[Lifetime Souls: 15]

Ten more for a Class Upgrade, and I hoped that it wasn’t an improvement to my nasal sensors.

“This might help you out, especially in the next chamber.” Daniel gestured toward the insides of the dark wooden crate.

Leaning over, I peered inside. Slats of a light wood, lacquered, and furnished with a rim of a dark silver.

I lifted out the large shield into my left hand, holding the weight easily.

My eyes turned into upward-bulging semi-circles. “Thank you, Daniel. This brings me joy.”