Rune Seeker

Chapter 21: The Best Plan We Have

“Say what?” Seeyela asked.

“The dungeon,” Hiral repeated. “Look, we need to survive the rains long enough for the islands to pass by here again, right? Or, well, technically, I guess we’d need to find a different jump point. Is there another one close?”

“There are a couple,” Seena said. “Back that way, though. Other side of the dungeon.”

“That works even better,” Hiral said. “Seena told me you all believe there’s a second area to the dungeon or something, right? Something beyond the interface we found where the Quillbacks were. When we got the interface working, there was that option of enter dungeon, or something like that. I figure…”

“Wait. You did what?” Seeyela interrupted. “You got the dungeon interface to work? How?”

Hiral looked from Seeyela to Seena, then gestured at her with both hands. “Thinking she won’t believe me, so why don’t you tell her?”

“The interface activated as soon as we had a Grower and an Islander close enough to it. Like it needed one of each of us to turn on,” Seena said. “I don’t even know how that makes sense, but it’s the best we can figure.”

“What did it do? The interface, I mean. What was in the dungeon? What was it like?” Seeyela’s questions came rapid-fire.

“Uh, we were kind of busy looking for your late ass, so we didn’t exactly hang around once we figured out you weren’t there,” Seena said flatly.

“My late ass? Well, excuse me for getting jumped by a group of crazy Islanders,” Seeyela said.

“You know, that brings up a question I had,” Hiral interrupted. “Considering you were late enough it warranted sending down a search party for you, how long did the Shapers have you held captive? I think I heard Caaven say you were a couple passes behind schedule?” He turned to Seena with that last part.

“They didn’t have us for that long, actually,” Seeyela said. “We ran into them, I’d say, twenty or twenty-five hours ago in the dungeon. As soon as we saw them, we bolted. They gave chase. Figured we’d be too easy to spot if we went straight to the jump point. Spent almost the entire time trying to escape them in the forest, but they finally got the drop on us after we thought we’d lost them.

“But back to the important topic, what do you think the dungeon can do for us?” Seeyela asked, a new kind of energy getting her to shift from foot to foot.

Instead of answering, Hiral looked back the way they’d come, specifically at the top of the storm-wall. How close was it to the dungeon? Could they get back first? “Do you know why the rains are so dangerous? Is the water poisonous?” he asked.

“Does he always answer a question with a question?” Seeyela asked Seena.

“Nah, this is new, and kind of annoying, but I think I see where he’s going with it,” Seena said. “You want us to hide in the dungeon until the city comes by again, don’t you?”

Hiral tapped his nose and then pointed at Seena. “That’s exactly what I was thinking.”

“We don’t even know what’s in the dungeon,” Seeyela pointed out. “But,” she continued as Hiral opened his mouth, “if we’re going to die anyway, what’s the harm? Could be fun.”

“Did I hear right?” Nivian asked, coming over with Yanily and Vix to join them. “We’re going back to the dungeon? Toward the rain? For fun?”

“It’s an option. Sis, you want to get your party in on this conversation?” Seena asked.

Seeyela stood and looked over at her party, who’d already started in her direction. “Cal, how’re Picoli and Fitch doing?”

“Picoli’s arm was broken, badly,” the woman, Cal said matter-of-factly. “I used my long cooldown heal on her, so it’s mended. Still, she won’t be at a hundred percent until she gets some legit rest. Assuming we live that long. Fitch is back to normal, thanks to Wule removing his debuffs.”

“Picoli, how’re you feeling?” Seeyela asked the woman with the bound arm.

“If we get into a fight, I’ll carry my weight; you can count on that,” Picoli said.

One of the two men from the party walked up to Picoli and gently elbowed her in the stomach. “You’re carrying a bit extra there already.”

The scowl she gave him could’ve melted iron, but he gave her a wink and walked over to stand beside Cal.

“You did good,” he said to the healer quietly, and she blushed at his words.

“We’re talking about going back to the dungeon and trying to wait out the rains there,” Seeyela said, interrupting the banter. “Seems Seena and the Islander here figured out a way to get the interface working, so we might actually have a way inside. Any objections?”

Every head turned to look at the top of the gray clouds. Lightning flashed within, and the soft thoom of thunder reached their ears.

“Can we get back to the dungeon in time?” the man who’d elbowed Picoli asked.

“Maybe, Lonil. It’ll be up to Picoli, I think,” Seeyela said. “You said you’d carry your weight, but you know we won’t leave you behind. Tell me honestly, can you keep up, or should we find somewhere closer?”

“If they really can get us into the dungeon, and that’s a chance for us to survive, then we have to go for it,” Picoli said. “I’ll keep up. I promise.”

“That settles it, then. We’re running.” Seeyela looked at Hiral. “You better be able to keep up too.”

“Won’t be a problem,” Hiral said, looking from Grower to Grower.

He’d half-thought they would fall into a depression after losing their way back up to the Islands. That, or a murderous rampage blaming him for their situation. Was it their style of training that gave them the mental fortitude to carry on? Their mental stats? For him, it was the slim chance at getting a class. Somehow, that made the whole being trapped down on the surface—and the ninety-nine percent chance of death—seem more bearable.

“We should stop and grab their gear on the way back, if we’re going into the dungeon,” Nivian suggested.

“Good idea,” Seena said. “I think I remember around where it was. Shouldn’t be hard to find.”

“What are we waiting for, then? An invitation?” Seeyela said. She started back the way they’d come, leaving the shattered mountain path behind. Her party was after her barely a second later.

“I really hope you two can get the dungeon interface to work again,” Wule said.

“Even if we can’t, the Quillbacks survived somehow, right?” Hiral said. “If nothing else, we can set up camp in that room.”

“You honestly think none of the other people who’ve been stranded down here before didn’t think of that?” Wule asked.

Hiral opened his mouth to respond, but the man had a point. A good one. So, he just shrugged instead. “We’ll get the interface working again.”

“As of right now, it’s our best chance—come on,” Seena said, and when the rest of her party nodded their agreement, they jogged after Seeyela and the others.

That jog quickly sped up to a full-on run, though not a sprint, as they spotted the other party already quite a distance down the path. Seeyela hadn’t been joking when she asked if Picoli would be able to keep up.

She was setting a hard pace. And they’d need it if they had any hope of getting to the dungeon in time.

“Hey, you never answered my question about the rain,” Hiral said as they settled into a comfortable marathon pace. “Is it poisonous or something?”

“We don’t think so,” Seena said. “We eat food from the surface. Fruits, vegetables, even some animals we hunt. If the rainwater was poisonous, it would make those things poison too, right?”

“Makes sense,” Hiral agreed. “If it’s not poison, though, then what do you think it is? Why do the histories of both our peoples insist the rains are so dangerous? Why does nobody survive getting stranded on the surface? Is it just because we can’t collect solar energy? I don’t think I ever read anything about that being fatal…”

“Our best guess?” Seena said as Hiral trailed off. “Something comes out in the rain. Some kind of alpha predator or something. A… what did they call it, Wule?”

“Nocturnal hunter,” Wule offered. “Something that hunts in the dark. At night.”

Hiral almost missed a step at the mention of the word. Night. In his entire life, he’d never been without the sun. It wasn’t just the rain, or the lack of sunlight to power… well, tattoos he couldn’t use anyway… that’d be problems, but they would also be completely in the dark. How in the Fallen’s names would they even see?

“I think he’s starting to get it,” Yanily said. “Going to be pretty different than having the sun directly above you all the time, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Hiral said. “I… didn’t really consider it. I mean, I did, but not really really. Do you guys know anything about what happens at… night?” Even saying the word felt foreign on his tongue.

Day. Night. Darkness. Concepts he’d read about, but never honestly put much thought into. Why would he? He was never supposed to be on the surface in the first place.

Then again, the things he could learn… if he lived long enough.

Okay, maybe I shouldn’t tell Gauto when I see him that I was excited about this. He’ll really try to make me into an Academic again.

“None of us are really ready for this,” Seena said quietly from beside him, while the others fell into a comfortable rhythm further back. “We’ve been taught a bit about what we can eat, where we can find water, that kind of thing. But, really? The strongest advice has always been to not get stranded down on the surface. Nobody survives.

“We don’t know what happens to them. Most of them vanish completely, but we’ve found a few… parts… of people in the past.”

“That’s why you think it’s some kind of predator?” Hiral asked.

“Yeah. When we find somebody in pieces, we rule out natural causes pretty quickly. Everybody is keeping their chins up, but I wanted to make sure you knew how bad the odds are.”

“Worse than me surviving my jump down to the surface?”

“Much worse,” Seena said.

“Well, none of the others before had a way into the dungeon, right? That’s got to give us an advantage.”

“It does, and hope too,” Seena said. Then she looked at him, looked away, looked back, and looked away again.

“Something else on your mind?” he asked.

“Yeah. Thanks for helping save my sister and her party. I don’t think we could’ve done it without your distraction. Fighting against C- and B-Rank, we would’ve been wiped out almost immediately. How did you know that crystal thing would go after them? Or that it was even there?”

“Honestly? I gambled. Spotted a reflection off the crystal in the woods. Hoped they’d attack it if it showed up because they didn’t know what it was.”

“Well, the gamble paid off. We got my sister back. And now I owe you again,” Seena said with a shake of her head. “Did I mention I don’t like owing people?”

Hiral looked around at the trees as they sped down the path. “Somehow, over the coming… what do we even call them now? Pulses, passes, and rotations won’t make sense down here without the city. Well, whatever, I’m sure you’ll have plenty of chances to pay me back between now and when we get back up to the islands.”

“You really think we’re going to make it back? Or are you just trying to be positive?” Seena watched his eyes even as they ran along the uneven path.

Her dexterity must be pretty decent.

“Oh, I’m totally just trying to be positive,” Hiral said with a small laugh. “But,” he went on before she could interrupt, “I do think we have a chance. You said something about the safety of the dungeon, and the fact it had that strange light-guy… There’s more to it than just a place for Quillbacks to build nests.”

“It’s true,” Seena said. “Troblins and other monsters seem like they can’t pass the archways leading into the dungeons. The Quillbacks actually aren’t aggressive—even though you wouldn’t want to try to pet one—so we make camp inside sometimes. No real food there, though, but who knows what we’ll find in the second area?”

“Splitfang Keep didn’t really sound like a garden,” Hiral pointed out.

“No, but it’s something. Anyway, thanks again. I need to catch up to my sister and make sure she knows where her party’s gear is. Knowing her, she has no idea. I’m frankly surprised we’re even going in the right direction.” Seena chuckled. “I’ll talk to you later, after we get their stuff.”

“Sure thing. I’ve got a lot to think about anyway.”

“Sounds good—just don’t get too caught up in your own head. Like you said, those Islanders down here aren’t your fault, even if Seeyela and the others don’t quite get that yet. They’ll come around, though.” She gave him a pat on the shoulder and picked up the pace to catch her sister.

Hiral half-watched her go, but he was already falling into his own thoughts. This was it. They were going to get into the dungeon and get to the interface at the end.

I know I shouldn’t let myself get excited. The interface didn’t say anything about giving me a class, but… I can’t help it. And, if this works, I’ve got the Disc of Passage tattoo. I can get us all back.

Hiral glanced up and over his shoulder as he ran, the tall treetops blocking the sky, but that didn’t stop his imagination from filling in an image of him riding the disc back up to the islands. Back up to proving them all wrong.

His father would finally stop worrying he’d made a mistake with Hiral’s Meridian Lines. Nat could stop feeling sorry she was succeeding while he failed. Gauto… Gauto would still want him to be an Academic, but maybe he could split his time between training and studying. It wasn’t like he had any interest fighting in the Amphitheatre anyway. And besides, it would be a shame to let the base mental stats he’d worked so hard to improve go to waste.

Loan would get the credit he deserved for working with Hiral all those years, and maybe, just maybe, Milly would stop charging into his room without knocking.

Hah. Who am I kidding? That’d be an even bigger miracle than me getting a class.

The smile didn’t leave Hiral’s lips as he ran, and he daydreamed about his return until they found the other party’s equipment several hours later.