Dungeon Runner

Bottom Rung, Chapter 05

A short tunnel led to another room, and all Tibs saw from the entrance were boulders with narrow paths between them. The smallest boulder Tibs saw went up to his chest, most were taller than he was, and in the center of the room, a stone column reached the ceiling.

"Do you think there are traps?" the fighter asked as she peered over the taller boulder.

"There's barely any floor to see," Tibs replied, crouching and studying the scratched patch of floor he could see between the boulders at the room's entrance. There was enough room to squeeze by each boulder, but it would be tight for their fighter, and Tibs wasn't sure their other fighter would have fit between them if he hadn't gotten himself killed.

"I hear movement," the archer whispered.

Tibs listened, and in the silence of the others holding their breaths, he made out a scratching, but couldn't tell where in the room it came from. The sound seemed to bounce off the boulders.

"Do you know what they are?" he asked in a low voice.

"Do I look like I've hunted cave creatures before?" she replied, her voice dropping as she realized she'd raised it.

"You said you hunted on the king's land," the fighter said before Tibs could apologize. "The king has mountains, so Tibs's question makes sense."

Tibs didn't point out he didn't know the king had mountains, or even lands. Although it made sense. He'd just ever thought about it before. Royalty was too far beyond him to ever think about.

"What king do you have that has mountains?" the archer whispered harshly. "The kingdom's all forest."

"Clearly we don't come from the same kingdom," the sorceress said before the fighter replied, "And whatever those are, they might not be any animals we've ever seen. Dungeons can make monsters."

The fighter stared at her. "You have got to be fu—" she closed her mouth and eyed Tibs as she took a breath. Had she avoided swearing because of him? "I know you're not a fighter, Tibs, but you and me are the only ones who can do close combat." She indicated his knife before looking at the other two. "We're going to need you to give us some cover as we move."

"I don't know if I'll be able to," the archer said, looking into the room. "All those boulders break any line of sight as soon as you're a few of them deep. To shoot anything I'll have to step into the room, and that puts me at risk. Both of us, unless you think you can do your magic around them."

The sorceress shook her head.

"We need to get through," the fighter said, then considered something. "Unless we want to turn around now."

"And leave without having anything to show for it?" the sorceress asked. "Are they going to even let us leave without some proof we tried?"

"We already lost a fighter," Tibs said. The other team had returned members short and injured. Maybe they needed injuries for it to count? Tibs suspected this was where they'd gotten that.

"Then we need to try to cross the room," the fighter said. "Tibs, stay by me." She stepped in, squeezing between the boulders, and skittering sounded through the room.

The sound was more the scratching of stone on stone than anything resembling small claws on stone. Tibs gripped the knife in his hand and looked at the floor for any sign of what it was that was moving around them.

The fighter stopped, and Tibs looked up to see the column and something small jump at him. With a scream, Tibs dropped to his knees, hands over his head. The fighter yelled, then something fell next to Tibs. He opened his eyes and looked as a stone rat cut into two pieces dissolved into the floor, leaving behind a copper piece.