Chapter 68: Sixty Six

Standing at the edge of a pit trap, that was filled with a sticky brown substance, I did my best to conceal my amusement as I stared down at the unhappy Faun and Dwarf who’d found themselves falling into the trap as we raced to escape the flood of water that had ended our previous jaunt into the dungeon. 

We’d come to the dungeon today not with the intention of finding and battling the dungeon's boss, but to look for mana crystals. During our last foray into the dungeon, Victoria’s shields had been swept away, and now needed to be reformed from their token state. Even with our team pooling together all our mana crystals we’d only managed half the mana needed to reform a single shield. 

I’d offered to borrow some mana crystals from my brother, who I knew had a stash of them, but the captain had steadfastly refused. Instead, we’d gone to Corvus to request entry to the dungeon, a request he’d granted after I reminded him my team missed out on a dungeon spot, because of my being incapacitated after building the encampment at his and Darius’s request. Technically, our team was due to enter the dungeon tomorrow, but as expected, Pia was complaining about the lost opportunity. I was annoyed at having to leave my lab without even getting a chance to begin any experiments after unpacking, but I also wanted to find some mana crystals for myself so I could reform Sting and Scorch.

So far, only a small cluster of low grade crystals had been located, and as we delved deeper into the dungeon, I feared we’d never find enough crystals to recover the Kijo’s shields. While it was possible to reform a bound item by using mana directly from a person's core, it was done by sacrificing that portion of their mana. Unlike when using mana to empower a spell or, in the case of non magic users, strengthening their body, mana that was sacrificed would not naturally regenerate. The only way to recover it, was to re-absorb an equal amount of mana from slain foes or overtime from a mana dense location. I liked Victoria, but not to the point I was willing to give up my mana in that way. 

“You okay?” I called out, a wagging tail the only indicator of my delight at the situation the pair found themselves in. 

“No, I’m not okay. It's as nasty and moist as a shart in here.” Pia shouted, as she glared up at where I was crouched near the edge of the pit. 

“Keep your fire away from the pit, Foxy.” Victoria cautioned, and I nodded, redirecting a hovering Pyr to move closer to the roof.

Under Rainy’s control, half a dozen vines slithered across the floor and over the edge of the pit where they curled around Kip’s waist, tugging him up out of the knee deep brown muck that filled the bottom of the trap.

“While you’re down there do you think you can collect some of that goop for me?” I requested, peering down at the Faun who was searching through the brown goop for her spear. 

“You want some goop?” Pia asked, straightening to look up at me with a fist full of the thick brown substance. 

“Yes pleas-, ah.” 

With a wet splat, a well-aimed glob of the brown goop splattered over my face. 

“Well, you did ask for it, Foxy.” Kip chortled as he scrambled over the edge of the pit with the aid of Rainy’s vines. 

Scraping the goop off my face with a gloved hand, I glared down into the pit where a smirking Faun stood, arm cocked back with another fist full of thick brown gunk seeping through her fingers. 

“You know I can incinerate you with a mere thought, right?” I drawled, raising my own hand. 

“You know if you conjure a fireball you’ll burn as well, right?” Pia responded tauntingly, and I smiled at her sweetly in response. 

“Did you forget I’m immune to fire, Bambi?” I mocked, tail swishing in amusement. 

“Did you forget you’re covered in a flammable goop, Foxy? It ain’t the fire that’ll burn you, it’s the goop.” 

“Did you both forget we’re in the middle of a dungeon?” Victoria snapped, and I instinctively dove to the side in order to dodge the hand I knew would be coming for my head. 

Unfortunately, as I was crouched beside the pit trap. This action sent me tumbling over the edge and down into the pit where I landed face first in the thick goop. Laughter filled the air as I struggled to my feet, wiping at my face to clear away the goop from my eyes, nose, and mouth. 

“Looks like you’re in luck Foxy, now you can collect all the goop you want.” Pia chortled as a bundle of vines encircled her body to hoist her up out of the pit. 

She’s got a point. I mused as I pulled out a large clay jar and began scooping up the brown substance. 

It doesn’t feel or smell like sap, which was my first guess. There is an earthy scent, but it’s faint and while it is sticky, I can easily remove it using more of the goop to un-stick it. It reminds me of the slime I made as a kid out of glue. 

Thwack. 

Letting out a yelp in response to the sudden stinging pain across my rear, I clumsily spun around in the muck to see several vines dangling behind me. 

“I’m not finished yet.” I yelled up at a smirking Rainy, who was standing at the edge of the pit. 

“Out, or be left behind. You’ve already got over a dozen jars filled.” Victoria called, appearing beside the Dryad with her arms crossed over her chest.

Shoulders slumping in disappointment, I allowed the vines to wrap around my chest, arms, and thighs in a makeshift harness. Once I neared the top of the pit, Victoria reached down to haul me the last of the way up, setting me down on my feet several feet away from the edge. Both Pia and Kip stood nearby, using a damp cloth to scrub away the brown gunk. 

“Clean up as best you can, and make sure you keep your flames at a distance.” The captain ordered, and I gazed down at the thick layer of goopy muck covering me in contemplation. 

I’m going to need a bath if I’ve got any hope of getting all this off me. Glancing around the hall, my eyes landed on the pit. I was tempted to use a transmutation circle to fill it with water, but discarded the idea at the sight of all the goop remaining in the pit. 

I wonder if, yes, it might work. 

“Victoria, can you hold this over my head, please?” I asked sweetly, holding out one of the pieces of paper I’d drawn a water circle on. 

“What are you up to now?” the Kijo asked, narrowing her eyes at me as she took the paper. 

“I’m just doing as I was told.” I said defensively, as I dipped my left pointer finger into my water flask.

“Create water.” I invoked, pressing my wet finger to the Transmutation circle. 

Power flowed through the sigil on the palm of my left hand, flowing up through my finger. The circle absorbed the water coating my finger, which acted as the catalyst for the transmutation of air into water. As the circle activated, a flow of water washed over me, and I quickly worked to scrub myself clean before the paper drawn circle degraded. 

I need to imbue a stone with the create water circle, and make the circle larger for a proper shower. I thought as I happily washed the muck from my face and hair. All too quickly the circle degraded, and I was left a soaking wet mess, though a much cleaner one.  

“That settles it,” Kip said determinedly, throwing the rag he’d been using to clean off the brown goop to the ground. 

“Sign me up, Foxy.” The dwarf said, looking at me expectantly. 

“Sign you up for what?” I asked in confusion as I used one of my old tunics as a towel. 

“The transmuting.” 

“Oh, er.” I mumbled, wondering if I needed to do something special for Kip to be counted towards my disciple count or if he’d just be automatically added if he swore himself a disciple. 

‘Trismegistus, 

I pray to thee, 

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oh grand teacher of natural philosophy.’

‘Now it’s just I pray to thee, and you don’t even bother to take a knee? Last time, you were calling yourself lowly disciple, and kneeling in devotion. It seems you’ve decided yourself worthy of a higher standing.’ 

Rolling my eyes at the gods' response, I dropped to my knees, pressing my hands together and put an exaggerated expression of reverence on my face. 

‘Is this better? Oh, glorious one?’ 

‘As amusing as I find these interactions of ours, disciple, I was in the midst of an experiment, so hurry it along.’ 

‘An experiment?’  I asked mentally, ears perking up despite the god's voice sounding only in my mind. 

‘Indeed, I’ve been working on the creation of a new plant, one I’m sure you’ll find most intriguing.’ 

“Oh, what kind of plant is it? What alchemical properties will it have? Can-,” I babbled excitedly, not even noticing I’d begun speaking aloud. 

‘All in good time. Now, was there not something you wish to ask?’ The old god drawled, amusement clear in his tone. 

“Oh, right, how do I initiate disciples? Do I need to do something special for it to count towards the disciples I owe you?” I asked, and hearing a snicker, glanced over to see my teammates staring at me in amusement. 

Cheeks flushing, I lowered my head to hide my embarrassment as I realized I’d been speaking aloud. 

‘Provided it is through your words or deeds that they join the path of natural philosophy, they shall count towards your debt. Those you directly initiate, should only be those whom you intend to guide on the path.’  

‘And how do I do that? Do they need to make an offering to you as Nadir and I did?’ 

‘If you’d bothered to read my book, you’d be able to answer that yourself.’  He responded, his tone sharp.

‘What book?’

‘Trismegistus? Hello? Are you there?’  Scowling in annoyance at the sudden lack of response from the god, I stood, rubbing my aching knees as I contemplated what to do. 

What book was he talking about, was it one of the three Darius gave me? I wondered, thinking back to the books I’d been given by the guild leader. 

The manner in which Darius gained the books, and timing of it had led me to believe they’d been sent by the god. Barlows Bestiary, Plants and Fungi of Salvia, and Trismegistus and the Philosophies of Nature were the three books I received, though I’d only read through the first two. The third book, Trismegistus and the Philosophies of Nature, had been discarded after I’d read a few pages and discovered it contained no information relevant to my research at the time. 

“Foxy?” 

A hand on my shoulder pulled me from my thoughts, and I glanced up at Victoria with a questioning gaze.

“This isn’t the place for offering devotion to gods and the like, leave it for later.” The Kijo said, gesturing around at the hallway of the dungeon and my teammates who were still covered in a layer of brown goop.

“Sorry,” I mumbled, shoving the book I’d just pulled out back into my bag. 

“Kadia,” Pia called out, walking towards me, her voice sounding deceptively sweet. “I’m sorry for throwing goop at you.” 

“You’re only saying that because you want me to use another circle so you can get clean.” I accused, as Pia gave me a wide eyed pleading look. 

“I didn’t throw any goop at you,” Kip chimed in looking hopeful, and I rolled my eyes, withdrawing a piece of rolled up paper from my bag. 

“I’ve only got one left, so huddle up. The water will appear from the area within the circle, and this one only has a diameter of six inches.” I informed the pair as I handed the paper to Victoria who took it wordlessly to hold out high in the air. 

With a great deal of jostling, the pair huddled together under the circle. Standing on the tips of my toes, I pressed a finger to the center of the circle to activate the transmutation of air into water. Once Pia and Kip were as clean as they could get, Rainy used her vines to create a bridge over the pit trap to allow our group to safely pass over it. 

“It’s a shit move to put a pit trap right around the corner from the water trap.” Pia grumbled as we waited for Kip to scout the path ahead. 

I nodded in agreement, making a mental note to get revenge on Darius for not warning me about the pit trap. The guild leader had told me that to avoid the water we’d need to get around the corner before the water started flowing. What he didn’t mention was that there was a pit trap around said corner. We’d been so focused on running, and then distracted by a wall slamming down behind us that Pia and Kip ran straight over the thin section of floor concealing the pit. 

“At least the brown goop wasn’t actual shit,” I commented with a light laugh. 

At first sight, I’d genuinely thought they’d fallen into a pit of fecal matter, but the lack of stench and Victoria identifying the pit as a furnace trap corrected my assumption. 

“Shh.” 

Hearing Kip’s voice shushing us from further down the hall where he crouched peering around a corner, I quickly snapped my mouth closed to quiet my soft laughter. Seeing Kip gesturing in a motion for stealth, I ordered Pyr to return to wherever it was he went when I dismissed him. 

The hall fell into darkness, and glancing to where Kip had been, I saw dim light shining from around the corner. Moving so my back was against the nearby wall, I shuffled along it until I reached the Dwarf, with the others doing the same behind me.

 Not long after Kip gave the order for stealth, I heard the sound of footsteps, accompanied by unfamiliar voices as the light that shone from around the corner grew brighter.

“We’ve been this way already Devon.” A feminine voice said angrily, as the footsteps drew nearer. 

“Freya says we haven’t, so we’re going this way.” Another voice, male this time, responded. 

Freya? Devon? Why are those names familiar? 

“Can we kill em?” A quiet voice asked from my left, this one I recognized as Pia. 

“Foxy, give Kip two jars of goop.” Victoria ordered softly.

Silently, I handed the jars to Kip, before retreating down the hall. Working quickly, the Dwarf spread the flammable brown substance over the floor and part of the walls, before coming to join us further down the hall. As the group rounded the corner, I conjured a flame as close to the goop as I could, and set the hallway ablaze.