Dungeon Runner

Stepping Up, Chapter 35

The colored hexagonal floor tiles were mostly hidden by ordinary rats and bunnies waiting for them to step into the room, among the also numerous Ratlings and Bunnylings. Behind them, between the two far pillars, stood Bigger Brute, flanked by a Big Brute on each side.

"The rats and bunnies are new here," Mez said, looking at Carina.

"I gave up on the stuff that's written down," she replied. "They mentioned the increase in Ratlings and Bunnylings, but nothing about the rest."

"We need to clear them," Jackal said, tone grave.

"Just kick them out of your way," Mez said. "They can't do anything to you when you're stone."

Tibs looked at the fighter. "Are you okay?" For all his bravado, Jackal had nearly died here.

The smile his friend gave him looked forced. "I'm fine." He looked at Mez. "And I want them dead so they can't heal that big brute. That's too unfair."

"Bigger Brute," Tibs corrected reflexively and Jackal rolled his eyes.

Carina chuckled. "Because Jackal is all about fighting fair."

"Having the odds in my favor is what a fair fight looks like." Jackal's grin faded as he looked the room over.

"We don't have to fight them," Tibs said and squeezed Jackal's arm.

His friend squared his shoulders. "There is loot to get."

"Tibs," Carina said, getting his attention before he could object. Air essence took shape over her hand. "This is what the essence for the whirlwind looks like."

He gave Jackal a concerned look before focusing on the essence. "We need to watch him," he said, watching it move, "or he's going to do something stupid."

"That is the best description for our team leader," she replied with a smile. "Don't worry, we won't let him die. Now, pay attention."

The essence moved and interlocked in ways that, while unfamiliar, didn't look difficult to recreate. He tried but ended up with something not quite like hers. He had the motion and the interlocking. The problem was with the form of the essence itself. His was fuzzy around the edges again. While hers was sharp, much like how she wrote her letters, all clear lines and each one always the same, while Tibs's letters were a mess and he couldn't always tell if two of them were the same. She said he'd get it with time and practice, but Tibs wasn't sure. Letters were just so... not his thing.

He looked at his essence again. Was the fuzziness because he wasn't getting it, or.... Was etching like writing letters? Each person wrote them in different ways. Was that part of what Alistair meant when he said how they thought about essence affected how they used it? Did his teacher even know what that meant, or was he simply repeating something he'd been taught?

Could Tibs not recreate the whirlwind because his etching wasn't as precise?

"Sorcerers call this kind of etching 'spells'," she said.

"Can all etching move like that? My teacher only showed me two I have to do with a knife."

"It depends on—"

"Hate to break up the lesson," Jackal said, "but we have a room to clear."

"I'll practice it later." Tibs wasn't sure he'd be able to do it now. Not with the little he knew about it. He joined Jackal at the threshold, taking both air knives in hand.

"We clear as many of the rats and bunnies as we can before going after the 'lings," Jackal said. "Then it's the 'lings who die, and after that, the smaller golems. The big brute gets to be last if at all possible."