Chương 34: Chapter 33: Rustungeist

We backed out of the dungeon room. This time, the back was in the front, and the front was in the back! That is, Gelidia, Fel and I were behind Roxala as she shut the door-shields on the ghouls, who were entirely cowed by now. They wanted exactly nothing to do with us, now that Gelidia and I had their numbers.

"This is not how dungeon monsters behave!" Fel said, more interested than annoyed "Is it because you have some control over them?" the wizard asked Gelidia, who shrugged.

"Not in a Dungeon sense, but in a... social sense. I am their better. They are my ancestors, and the worst of my family line, at that. By grace they were afforded a place here, interred and given the rest of the dead." she explained.

"... if that is actually the case." she said, and there was a bitter note to her voice.

"Unclear" the Wizard said "We do not fully understand the power of Dungeons. It is entirely possible that the actual Windbinder Keep is wholly intact, and undistorted, and the entrance is simply the way inside the dungeon rather than the way into the actual physical space of your ancestral home. Does that make sense to you?" he said"No." Gelidia said flatly, crossing her arms"No it doesn't." she said.

"Ah... Well, Dungeons are... weird, and don't interact with the world the same way we do. They could fit a castle into a space a foot wide by distorting the dimensions of the space. Whether this is actually another place or something even stranger, it is unclear - but the doorway to a dungeon is a portal to this otherspace. It is entirely likely that if we were to... say, jump the wall, we would find the actual physical space of your ancestral home.

But it is equally likely to simply be another way to enter the dungeon." he said, as we caught up to Torch.

"... Oh my." Fel said.

"Oh." Gelidia said. I turned away from Roxala's back and the Ghouls, and looked at last into the torchlit room the Scout had been investigating. It was definitely not under Windbinder keep, that was certain - the physical dimensions made no sense. The torchlight illuminated a bridge of stone, with more of those birds I'd seen above on the entrance to the main hall. The bridge...

stretched over a chasm, and I could not see the bottom of it as deadmist rolled like a silent rushing river of green light and screaming, boiling faces in the mist. The ceiling... stretched hundreds of feet upward. It wasn't just a fissure - it was a ravine! The bridge stretched across this underworld river was but one of three others we could see at different heights, nearer and further away sideways down the chasm, each stretching from this side... to the next.

And at the end of the bridge opposite us was a huge, imposing knight wearing the hawk crest of the Windbinder family.

"Take a moment here. They will not follow us out of their dungeon chamber." Roxala instructed. I pointed to the Knight, and she shook her head.

"He won't attack until we get close enough." she said. And... she was right. There was no way he could miss our lights - but there he stood, still, at a guard's rest with halberd and tower shield at his side. He was moving, I could see that, but... maybe it was just a trick of the lights? Either way, I obediently unslung my backpack. Felorikaan pulled out his teapot, and I produced the Wayfinder's Runestove as I let my notifications play out. Good Girl! You unsealed Windbinder Keep Dungeon.

Bonus XP is gained for a legendary feat of strength. Due to working as a team, the reward is reduced. That was for breaking the door, I was sure! What else could it have been? Good Girl! You gave Ghoul Level 8 a Ghastly Goodbye! Bonus XP was gained for butchering a monster above your level! Bonus XP was gained for making an example of an enemy and demoralizing his comrades! It really was going to call me a good girl every time, wasn't it? The way the world put it... I'd... made an example of the ghoul. I mean...

that was exactly what we'd done, but... put like that it was a little disturbing! Ding Ding Ding! Your [LIFE] Peasant Core has reached level 6! You have gained 1 Peasant skill point Health +10, Stamina +15 Yes! Ding Ding Ding! Your [MONSTER] Lycanthrope core has reached level 6! You have gained 1 Lycanthrope skill point Health +10, Stamina +10, Mana +5 YES! Two for one?! I supposed I'd done a few things for XP lately, both as a wolf and as a woman, so I guess that made sense!

It felt like I was leveling very, very fast though. Was that normal? I could see, in my mind's eye, my wolf running around in circles in my head, afflicted with a terrible case of the ZOOMIES! I excitedly bounced and scooped Gelidia, twirling with her and laughing! Confused, she joined in with me as the others watched the display!

"I leveled! twice! Both classes!" I said, and Gelidia hugged around my neck as she laughed too!

"Good for you! Good girl!" she said to snickers from Roxala and Torch! I wanted to object but she planted her hand on my head and scratched my scalp and behind my ears, all the attention I could want and my eyes actually crossed a little as she did it. I found myself leaning into her touch and grunting softly! She burst into a fit of giggles and relented with a boop to my nose.

"You are adorable, even covered in rotten blood and ghoul meat." she said, and made a show of wiping off her hands on her dress with a soft'oh ew' that had me rolling my eyes a bit as the level-up tingles faded. Your [LIFE] Inspect skill has improved, and is eligible for rank up! Rank C costs 1 Peasant skill point! Finally! My peasant skills seemed to level so slowly - that was my strongest hint that I was leveling up way, way faster than average. Then again, I was getting in fights and... doing STUFF!

I figured that was part of it. I sank the skillpoint without a thought. [LIFE] Inspect, Rank C - 0%: The ability to learn details about a creature, object, or Action. Spend mana to gain additional information. Oh, cool! I was starting to get the same ability that Felorikaan had. His was at rank B, so I figured mine wouldn't be as good. I settled down to resume making us some tea.

The thermos accepted my mana and produced water, and it took a couple fills from it to fill up the kettle, and I used a bit more mana to make water to wash my hands with and rinse out my mouth, which still had a NASTY flavor in it. Then, I scraped some of the tea brick into the kettle, and set it on the rune stove. Everyone else sat at variations on the theme of 'at ease'. Roxala was sitting on one of her slightly curved shields.

Torch leaned against the wall, arms crossed, and Felorikaan was scribbling industriously in a book with a quill pen and a cleverly designed vial of ink that only gave him the exact amount of ink he needed on the pen each time he dipped it, scraping off the excess as he drew it out without a care, preventing blotching. Gelidia was near me, kneeling down regally at my side as she stared at nothing in particular. While the teapot boiled, I thought about my Bestial Might skill.

[MONSTER, COMBAT, SYNERGY] Bestial Might, Rank C: 100% - Your cursed body surges with monstrous strength! You can pour mana into your body and muscles to imbue them with terrible power and speed. Did I really... wanna upgrade that? I mean, I could. But transformation still sucked. Alot. At least it was just being scraped all over by razor blades rather than dipped in fire or acid, but still! What would it become when it reached rank B? What would change?

I'd been spending skill points as soon as I could with Lycanthrope and it had worked out perfectly fine so far, but maybe it was time to be just a little more thoughtful. After all, I couldn't count on leveling as quick as I have been forever, right? One day I'd reach level ten! And that would mean my Threshold! That'd be a whole other can of worms, I had no idea at all what to expect. So, I was resolved. No, I wouldn't spend those points on being extra buff! I'd spend them to get closer to my Wolf!

EAch rank had brought us closer, had made Wolf more talkative, even let us change shape together outside of night time. This was going to be awesome! AGREED she said inside me. I produced mugs, and poured us each out a hot cuppa, using my new-and-improved Inspect upgrade! For a moment, my eyes changed - and yellow light reflected in the mug's contents for a moment as I stared down at them, spending ten mana.

Mug of Black Tea, uncommon, Good Quality, created by Emily Goldtail Improves stamina and mana recovery for 8 hours, Negates Sleep effects and removes Fatigue.

"Was that... you using Inspect, Emily?" Fel said, and I nodded, passing him a mug.

"Oh that smells good!" Torch said, taking his, and Roxala grunted with satisfaction.

"First mug at rank C - what's it do?" she asked, and I told her. The group of them sipped appreciatively, and I took a sip of my own. Something about it was different from before, the taste was better, the texture fuller. IT was just... better tea! I thought about the process. I'd instinctively known how to set the temperature, and how long exactly to keep it on the heat.

The tea brick's scrapings had dissolved in the water - I'd used just enough of it to saturate it, but not so much that it would turn to scum or not come apart. My skill was telling me that I wasn't quite doing this right, just... as good as I could with the materials at hand. It wasn't right. Yet. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. HUNGRY Me too! We were hungry, at that. It seemed hours since our last meal.

I began pulling things out, and setting up the skillet. I carefully did not think with my stomach, and let my skill guide my hands as I made a dish of fried rice with wild carrots, fairy potatoes, and dried venison. Soon the horrible smell of the crypt was supplanted by the scent of good cooking, and the atmosphere changed in short order.

For the moment, the world outside our little circle of torchlight changed, became something else as Torch told a story about a creature called a Growler Beetle, something he'd hunted when he had first started!

I tried to follow along, but the creature in the story was clearly the hero of it, not Torch himself as he tried, again and again and again to make a crossbow bolt stick in its chitinous hide, as it juked and zigged and zagged and sent him down a ravine, and led him a merry chase until it left the woods, growling its defiance all the way and he'd had to give up before nightfall. At his expense, but joined by him, the others laughed and I let out a soft giggle of my own, just imagining a younger Torch...

with his head covered in mud like a doused torch, arms just about dragging he was so tired! Torch was a surprisingly good storyteller! I inspected the meal before us, once I'd finished cooking. Venison Fried Rice, Common, Good quality, created by Emily Goldtail Increase maximum stamina and health for 8 hours. I related the effects to the others, and they nodded as if that was pretty standard. Once we'd dug in, I checked my status.

[Health: 220+5/220] [Stamina: 250+5/250] [Mana: 130/130] I'd fully recovered, and then some! The food had given me +5 health and stamina it seemed, and I got the impression that the more I improved my cooking, the better my buffs would become! It was magic that I could cook in a stockpot! The appreciative noises the others made mimicked my own enjoyment as I interspersed bites of the food with crunches of some of the deer bones I'd brought with me, to my Wolf's delight.

I was right there with her, it just brought something... extra, and satisfying to the meal that just meat alone didn't have. It was an outlet for her, for us both, and the taste was still strange to my palete, but not bad at all. Then, someone tugged at the bone! It wasn't a hard tug, but it provoked a surprised little growl from my breast as I looked up to see Roxala gripping the bone and tugging at it!

The others were frozen in the moment, and I pulled back with it, unwilling to relinquish my grip on the tasty treat! I made another growling noise, and the orcmaiden chuckled, tugging my head sideways a bit! Wolf got it, and I felt her tail wagging inside me, let it come to the surface as well. Lupine ears prickled, then perked on my head as my improvised cave-woman dress flapped and twitched as my tail formed. The growl was inhuman in my ears, but not wrong, not angry as I stared at Roxala, and...

played with her a bit! She let go after a minute of this, and tail still wagging, I resumed eating like nothing had happened at all, as smile on my lips and, in my Wolf-Ren sight, on hers as well.

"... Please don't take this the wrong way, but... that was remarkably wolflike." Fel observed, and I blinked my eyes up at him.

"I mean, I don't think this kind of behavior has ever been documented in a-" he paused and caught himself, searched about a bit, but found the words that sounded about right to him I guessed "-An unstable werewolf, I suppose." he said.

"Did you form the ears and tail on purpose?" he asked, and I nodded.

"Kind-of." I admitted "The Wolf inside me, and myself, wanted to." I said.

"Fascinating... is that what happened-" he motioned back towards the Tomb of the Least "-back there?" he asked, and I shook my head.

"No, I panicked. I lost it. My wolf-self, she stepped in and saved me." I explained, and I felt the others look at each other - everyone but Gelidia, who simply smiled across the bridge at the Knight, facing the darkness while we enjoyed our lunch.

"So are you separate, or are you the same?" Roxala asked"I don't get it."

"I think the answer... is yes." I explained, and she snorted at that.

"We are one person but..." I wrestled with the snakes of self-expression, and finished "... we're also sorta separate, unless it's night time. We're a team, my Wolf and I." I said, as my tail went 'thumpa thumpa thumpa' behind me.

"Simply incredible. Even stabilized, the wolf remains distinct. Is it like that for you, Lady Windbinder?" Fel asked, and Gelidia shook her head without turning to look at him.

"No." she said.

"My Shade core doesn't speak to me like that. It's actually quieter than my Sage core - it offers me little insight into how to actually use my spectral abilities, and the skill descriptions are all fairly opaque." she explained.

"I have been experimenting, but the class offers the strongest leverage on Mana - three, and then Health - two."

"I see... And you, miss Goldtail?" Fel asked, and I blinked at him as I relinquished the flow of stamina, letting ears and tail vanish again into my body with a faint ache on ears and backside.

"Leverage?" I asked, and Fel bobbed his head!

"I keep forgetting that you're a Riftwalker, apologies. Leverage is the growth rate of your three stats. Classes operate on a scale of five. Each point of leverage offers five additional points to the stat in question - health, stamina, and mana." he explained.

"Come to that... I don't even know what Peasant's leverage is!"

"Well... Peasant gives me ten health and fifteen stamina, so... two on health and three on stamina?" I said, and Roxala chuckled!

"That's the opposite of what Armiger gives me - Three health and Two stamina!" she rumbled"Lycanthrope though, that one gives me two health, two stamina, and one mana." I said. Fel didn't seem to expect that!

"Transformation takes a lot of stamina and mana - it was fifty when I started, but getting to rank C in my transformation dropped it to 35." I explained.

"Peculiar to think of Lycanthrope as a magical class, but... you are a shapechanger. I suppose, Really, that's a pretty solid spread. the Sage class grants three leverage on mana, and one each on health and stamina. Scribe does the same, actually." which meant that his mana was through the roof! It also meant Gelidia, in all likelihood, would wind up being tougher than Fel was!

"Leatherworker gives me the same as Peasant, but Scout gives me 3 stamina, then one and one in the other two." Torch said.

"This is neat! Do all classes work like that? Leverage of five total?" I asked, and Fel shook his head.

"Not all. Sometimes, after Ascension, the spread changes around a bit, even grows by one, depending on the Ascension." the Wizard explained.

"That's so cool! What does Peasant ascend into?" I asked.

"It varies alot. Peasant is one of those basic classes - it can grow into a lot of different things - like mother, watchman, midwife, even some magic paths like Healer. I think there's a Shepherd? It all sort of depends on the person involved." Torch explained, scraping up the last of his rice.

"What I wanna know is what Lycanthrope turns into!"

"I've never heard of someone getting it that high." Roxala growled"Most people die or get cured long before then." she said.

"These are uncharted waters." Fel agreed "There are stories of werewolf lords, and rampaging Berserkers killing everything for miles around their territory." Fel said.

"But very little in the way of facts about it all - you're the first Lycanthrope I've ever heard of that had control over her Lycanthrope core." he said.

"Bloody unique." Roxala growled and sipped her tea. We finished our meal, and put things away again. Rising to our feet, we looked the same direction that Gelidia was staring - across the bridge at the imposing figure of the knight. His armor was ornate, with a birdlike design to the helmet and what looked like talons on the gauntlets, extending from the back of his wrist on the bracers.

His green tabard had the hawk crest heraldry of the Windbinders (I guessed, I was hardly an expert), and he was just about the coolest looking knight I'd ever seen. He was also... clearly dead, and just as obviously not letting that stop him. Roxala started to take point, but Gelidia put a hand on her shoulder.

"Let me try something." she said, and the shieldmaiden nodded, shifting so she could let Gelidia cross the bridge first.

"I am your Lady Gelidia Windbinder, and these are companions of the house of Windbinder. Stand aside." she called to the Knight, and he shifted to look at her. Scooping up his shield, then his halberd in one hand with an ease that said he was used to using the two-handed polearm like that, he lifted his visor. Spectral flesh was revealed, showing a beautiful man's visage. He had well-chiseled features and long hair that spilled out of his visor where he'd opened it.

Or, it could have been mist - deadmist flowed from joints in his armor, and green light flooded him from within, making him look like a very handsome nightlight.

"NAY, MY LADY, BY ORDER OF YOUR LORD FATHER, I WILL NOT STAND ASIDE." he said, and his voice seemed to reverberate around the chasm in a booming, sepulchral voice that sent chills down my spine. From his armor, I realized! How was it doing that? I inspected him! For that extra bit of information, I spent a bit of mana. Sir Gotthardt Gotthardtson, Rustungeist Armiger level 8, calm, resolute. 💀 [Health: 380/380] [Stamina: 300/300] [Mana: 220/220]"A Rustungeist. What's that?"

I asked, staring at his status bars almost incredulously"Armor ghost. They're related to Poltergeists - they have telekinesis over themselves and their armor rather than the world around them." Fel said "And a boss monster one besides - first one like that I've seen." Fel explained"This guy's the floor boss." Roxala said, pulling Gelidia back. For her part, the wind sage went along with things. The Knight didn't seem keen on approaching or starting things off - his job was clearly to guard the door.

"Boss Monsters are bad news - worse than the level implies, and this one's named."

"I think I remember him..." Gelidia said"he was a hero when I was little, killed a Peryton that used to hunt in our woods, but died in the act. He was interred as a hero." she said, and looked to him again. There was a kind of sad pride in her face.

"The stories of him... do not do him justice."

"Swoon later - we need to fight this guy. Any idea what he's capable of?" Roxala growled, and Gelidia nodded.

"He's got the family's Wind magic, I know that for a fact. He'll have the Stormshield and Gust Dance skills, and probably the Windcutter skill." she said.

"Stormshield lets him use wind magic to extend his shield. Gust Dance lets him push his body around with wind magic, and if he has it, Windcutter lets him extend his halberd's cutting edge." she explained.

"World alive... and Rustungeists are tough. I wonder what his other core is? He's unstable, surely." Roxala said, with something approaching awe.

"Oh. Farmer. Like his dad - his name is a description." Gelidia said.

"... he's a goat herder?" Fel said with some incredulous derision"Yes. According to the stories, that's why he beat the Peryton - he grabbed it by the horns and broke its neck." Gelidia said. Fel BLINKED at that, clearly taken aback by that.

"Right. If we're done with the history lesson, let's kick this off." Roxala said. She stepped up and across the bridge, her twin door shields and savage armor of bone plates and fur looking somewhat shabby compared to the fully armored knight.

"I am Roxala Burnbright of the Wayfinder's guild, daughter of Korgan Burnbright, Armiger of the traditions of Stormwrack and knight of the Republic of Deplia, as my father before me." she called to the armor ghost across the bridge, and he actually sketched a short bow to her.

"WELL MET." Gotthardt boomed, his voice echoing through his armor and around the room in waves.

"WHAT IS YOUR INTENTION?" he asked.

"My companions and I, we will pass the door you guard. Through you if we must" she growled. Oh he did not like that. He flipped down his visor, and the smoky wisps of his hair vanished from outside as green light flooded the eyes of his hawk helmet.

"FEEL FREE TO TEST THAT ASSUMPTION AT YOUR LEISURE." Gotthardt said, and then the time for talk was over.