Apparently, clearing the Dungeon of Pale Neck wasn’t just for training Frey and I. Without its boss golem, it also gave Meebur the perfect place to wait for us.
Was he planning to do this trial all along? He can’t have been thinking this far ahead.
Meebur had run from the guild and, according to Gregory, travelled all the way back to the dungeon, climbed up to the top, and entered the now empty boss room. In about a fifth of the time it had taken us to do it. Which was a crazy reminder of how strong he was.
While some of the smaller golems would already be starting to regenerate across the dungeon's floors, the boss golem Frey and I defeated wouldn’t regenerate for at least another week. Our trial was to climb to the top of that dungeon and defeat its new boss: Meebur.
I don’t think I could beat Meebur even without wearing a bulk brace. But with this around my neck, I don’t stand a chance.
The Almanac has been updated with an entry for the phrase “lambs to the slaughter”.
Thank you for that. It’s not like I wasn’t worried enough already. Knowing Meebur is waiting to fight us scares me more than the forest of death ever did.
The seven candidates would be accompanied on the trek to the dungeon by Gregory. That way he could ensure everyone began at the same time, and also didn’t get lost along the way. Afterall, not everyone had just been to this dungeon that very week. Gregory would then remain outside so he could tend to those who were injured after being eliminated from the trial.
He didn't seem thrilled by the task.
“This is an odd time to call for a trial. To have all of the guild’s main members away…it makes me worry. Anything could happen while we’re gone.” Gregory said to Astrid and I near the guild entrance as the other apprentice candidates got ready. I was waiting for Frey, who was in the guild shop stoking up on supplies. Apparently, Nanna had jacked up the prices for her competition. Which felt very on brand for her.
“Don’t worry, if things get out of hand, I’ll end the trial quickly.” Astrid said as she lounged on the soft grass of the guild enclosure. From a distance it looked like she was relaxed and calm, soaking up the afternoon sun. But up close I could see her frustration with Meebur hadn’t dissipated one bit. It was all concentrated in one pulsing vein in her forehead.
“Are you sure you want to risk winning? If you do, you’ll be Meebur’s apprentice, remember?” Gregory said as he examined a map of the road, ensuring the route we took to the dungeon was the most efficient possible.
Would that really be so bad? I thought.
“Yes. It would.” Astrid said after reading my thoughts. “I left this guild for a reason. Which, before you ask, is none of your business. I’ll be damned if Meebur is doing this to try and weasel me back into Artemis.”
If I haven’t said so…thank you for staying away from your guild as long as you have. I don’t know what I would have done without you here to help me.
“You owe me one.” Astrid said with a wink, and I could see some of the anger fade from her face. “Don’t forget that when you become a big strong deity, ok?”
I promise. I’ll never forget.
“Regardless of whether you decide to win or not…” Gregory said, getting us back on topic. “I can’t believe Meebur would call for a trial without consulting me. And to then invite Lock of all people? Who knows where they are! I sent Corinth to deliver their invitation, but for all we know Lock’s on the other side of the country.”
Maybe they’re already at the dungeon.
“Lock? No way they show up. Trust me.” Astrid said, ripping up some grass and tossing it at the air.
“I can no longer sense Corinth, so they aren’t anywhere nearby at least.” Gregory said, closing his eyes and rubbing his mark of the beast. “I’m also starting to think Lock won’t be meeting us at the dungeon. They, like Meebur, can be unpredictable…I hope Corinth is alright.”
Suddenly, I was both worried about Gregory’s bat monster, and also for everyone who was meant to compete against this Lock person.
If they actually show up…
Once all of the candidates had prepared their supplies, everyone met back up near the guild entrance. Nanna handed Gregory a bag, and I immediately recognized it as the one Meebur had used to store the loot we got in the dungeon. The loot that mostly consisted of valuable escape buttons.
Gregory confirmed the contents were all in working order, as escape buttons could be modified to match specific dungeons. That way if you were lucky enough to find a bunch in one dungeon, you could keep them and reuse them elsewhere. According to the Almanac, they could also be modified to automatically activate on certain conditions or change the destination they transported you to once used. However, it took a lot of talent, experience, or a crafting skill to do anything like that.
Fortunately, Meebur had already taken care of the modifications to these buttons, so Gregory simply had to pass them out. Each candidate was given a single escape button. However, they were all wary about having it because once you used a button, for whatever reason, you were disqualified from the trial.
“You’re all lucky Meebur was able to secure a bunch of these at the last minute!” Nanna said, tucking her escape button into an oversized satchel. “My stores were nearly empty. Good thing old Nanna has connections. You usually have to pay extra for that!”
“As I told you before, these are meant to be used for two reasons only: in an emergency, or if you lose an arena battle. A single loss in an arena means automatic disqualification.” Gregory said while many of the candidates examined their escape buttons. “In the case of an arena battle loss, these have been modified to activate instantly. So, it won’t be possible to cheat.” Gregory looked towards one tamer in particular.
“Why are you looking at me?” Hodi said, pouting his lips.
Arena battle? Won’t we be fighting golems in the dungeon? Why would an arena battle take place?
Frey seemed to be confused by that as well, but he didn’t ask any questions. Standing amongst the group of more experienced tamers, he seemed to be doing everything he could to look invisible.
Once everything was clear and the candidates were ready, we started the trek to the dungeon. Violet had filled out all of the paperwork on our behalfs, confirming where we were going and why. Apparently, she had to dig out the apprentice trial versions of the adventuring forms from one of the storerooms. The dust on them proved just how long it had been since Artemis had a trial.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Gregory took the lead, with Astrid pulling up the rear as Violet, Lucus, Hodi, Braum, Nanna, and Frey made their way to the Dungeon of Pale Neck. Despite the bulk brace weighing me down, it didn’t seem to affect Frey while I was atop his shoulder. He carried me as easily as he held his hatchling egg close to his chest. Although Frey had hoped to begin creating a nest for his egg in the guild, deciding on what type of monster he wanted to raise his hatchling into, he couldn’t bear to leave it behind.
“It’s ok buddy…you’ll be ok…” Frey whispered to his hatchling egg, though I could tell he was whispering it to himself as well.
It was a little odd traveling the road to the dungeon again. Meebur, Astrid, Frey, and I had only just returned from our journey along Ratatosk’s Highway.
The more I thought about it, the more this whole trial seemed like exactly the kind of crazy thing Meebur would pull. Like how he had unlocked my memories and Frey’s power using some risky but ultimately really effective methods in the dungeon. So, as worried as I was about him, I just had to trust him.
I’m sure my tamer has his reasons. But still…
After a long day of travel, Gregory allowed only a few hours of sleep before we would continue on towards the dungeon. I chose to stay up all night to help Gregory keep watch. Using
By staying up all night, Gregory was mainly ensuring the safety of the candidates, but I could tell he was also waiting for Corinth. However, his bat monster didn’t return from delivering the invitation to the mysterious Lock.
As worrisome as this was for Gregory, there was one thing about the journey that put me slightly at ease. Which was that I couldn’t sense Shiv at all.
If the guild leader of Zephyr was secretly following us to the dungeon once again, they were doing a much better job of hiding their presence. But my instinct told me that they weren’t here.
Which made it all the more surprising when, after arriving at the dungeon late the next morning, we saw a cloaked figure waiting for us at the entrance.
I was initially worried about whether it was the masked figure I had seen back in the forest of death, or worse, if it was Shiv, but when Gregory waved at them, I knew it couldn’t be either. From Gregory’s smile, it must have been the mysterious tamer named Lock.
“I’m surprised to see you!” Gregory said, adjusting his glasses as he approached Lock. “Corinth hasn’t returned yet, so I didn’t think you got the invitation in time.”
“Hmm…” Was all Lock said.
“Do you know if Corinth is nearby?”
“Hmm…” Lock said again, looking away from Gregory, who furrowed his brow in concern.
“I’ll be outside the dungeon during the trial, so I’ll keep an eye out for him.” Gregory said, turning away from Lock, who barely seemed to register his words. Gregory gestured to the rest of us. “Meet your competition.”
Lock nodded their hooded head towards the rest of us, but said nothing. Even looking up at them from the ground where I now slithered beside Frey, I couldn’t quite make out what their face looked like. They were tall and lithe, with most of their skin covered in bandages. Their cloak was the largest of all the cloaks I had seen. And I’d seen quite a few since being reborn in this world. It was off-white and I felt like once we looked inside the dungeon, the walls within would match the color exactly.
Perfect camouflage.
Astrid was the only one of the candidates to approach Lock, and she actually seemed quite happy to see them. However, as Astrid approached them, Lock turned their back to her. I could see Astrid ask questions and try to connect, but Lock refused to meet her gaze and simply walked away. As they did so, I felt an immediate twinge behind my eye. Something I couldn’t place. As though there was an aura about Lock that reminded me of something I had sensed before. Something that made me wary.
“That was odd, even for Lock.” Astrid said, walking back over to Frey and I.
“An old friend?” Frey asked as he looked over at Lock.
“I thought they were.” Astrid folded her arms and stared up at the dungeon. “But an apprentice trial can bring out the worst in people. And to be honest, Lock has a lot of worst to bring out.”
“Wait, have you done one of these before-” Frey tried to ask, but everyone’s eyes snapped towards the dungeon’s door. Gregory pushed them open with a single hand and they slammed back with a loud crash.
“I hope you’re prepared.” He said, and a part of me wondered if he was also talking to himself. Though Gregory always had an air of confidence and ease about him, even he seemed uncertain about the trial.
What are you thinking, Meebur?
There wasn’t much time to consider my tamer’s motivation, this Lock person, or even about the trial in general. Once the doors were open, Gregory raised his arm and flung it down with such speed that I wondered if anyone missed it. However, the apprentice candidates burst forward and ran into the dungeon with an urgency that I hadn’t seen since Frey was running for his life from adorable rabbits.
And funnily enough, he was the only tamer still standing outside the dungeon door.
“W-we’re starting already?” He said, looking over at Gregory who turned his head and crossed his arms. His silence told Frey one thing: no more questions allowed.
“Oh man oh man oh man!” Frey said and ran into the dungeon, the other candidates already out of sight.
The trial just started, but Frey and I were already in last place.
* * * *
If the first floor of the dungeon had once again become full of golems, they must have all been wiped out by the other tamers, as Frey and I didn’t see any. Just empty hallways with footprints of several tamers all running in different directions. Frey’s eyes, unlike mine, couldn’t see most of the prints, so he didn’t know we were following the path of two other candidates.
Eventually we’re going to meet up with some of our competition. Sooner than Frey expects.
My
He’d probably freak out and think I was choking him…
It was weird to be back in the dungeon so soon after completing it. Everything was the same as when we left it, with the notable exception waiting for us on the top floor. The boss was the only golem that wouldn’t have regenerated by now.
Instead, we have an even scarier opponent in the boss room.
And this dungeon felt much more intimidating now that I had to wear the bulk brace. My stats were lowered, my speed was hampered, and I felt like certain skills would be much more difficult to use. Meebur clearly didn’t want Frey to have too much of an advantage, and he was likely training me as well.
How will I perform when I don’t have all of my arsenal at my disposal? I thought, and looked over at Frey. And how will I get through this without Astrid to translate for me?
Frey turned his head towards me. “Everything ok? If you’re nervous, don’t worry. I am too!” He said and laughed.
His nerves only doubled when we finally came across our first golem. One that had recently been defeated. Well, “defeated” wasn’t the proper word.
It had been ripped into a million pieces.
“This…this is no joke.” Frey said, realizing for the first time how seriously the other candidates were taking the trial. This trek in the dungeon wasn’t a training romp with the guild leader. It was meant for experienced tamers to prove who was the best of the best.
Frey clutched his hatchling egg in its sling across his chest. He had barely put it down since receiving it when we were here the other day. He was shivering.
I took the chance and squeezed his shoulders where I was sitting. He didn’t jump or worry that I was about to strangle him. Instead, he put a hand against my scales and rubbed them gently as he smiled at me.
“Thanks, buddy.” He said and looked forward. “We’re good. I’m good. We’re meant to be here.”
We walked over the fading remains of the golem, and took our first true steps into the depths of the apprentice trial.
And little did we know…someone else was taking those same steps not far behind us.
PATREON