Pieces of Sonder

“Watermelon bombs!”

Freya saw pink spray out of the corner of her eye. 

This third room had more orcs than the last, but they were not prepared for a fight.

Strawberry Knight held five of the warrior type orcs in a taunt, but three of them were several meters from him. Heilong already had an arrow in the lone bowman.

Focusing on one of the orcs further away from Strawberry Knight, Freya charged in. With it still taunted, she got in some easy punches and kicks. 

[Lesser Orc Warrior]

[Lvl 8] [30/200]

She felt its aggro shift to her, but she was ready to test out her new Hit Redirect skill.

Redirecting a sword swing was a bit different than redirecting a bouncing mushroom, but it worked. Her mind automatically calculated the right moment to swipe the sword laterally away from her and avoid the damage.

Using her innate Light Jab Heavy Cross skill, the orc poofed out of existence.

Ding!

[Level Up!]

[Lvl 14 →  Lvl 15]

Moving straight to the next orc, Freya immediately noticed the difference. Her punch landed heavier without any extra effort, and a new burst of energy hummed through her muscles.

Feeling lighter and more nimble on her feet, she continued to pummel the orc. Its health bar dropped rapidly. Grinning, she tried her Sweeping Kick skill. The orc toppled to the ground.

Stepping back, she let Strawberry Knight get the last stab in.

Quiet settled over the room.

“Nice,” Infamous Biscuit said, nodding to them.

Freya couldn’t help but think of the last tank they worked with. Things were never this harmonious. Strawberry Knight was able to control the fight, but at the same time, he wasn’t too controlling. She couldn’t quite explain what he was doing differently, but she approved of the outcome. The timing of his taunts and his positioning in the room seemed to help. 

“I like your watermelon bombs,” Strawberry Knight said, surveying the pink mush.

“They do quite a bit of damage,” Infamous Biscuit agreed.

“I think he just likes the color,” Heilong said dryly. 

Strawberry Knight held up his hands, “Hey, they do a lot of damage and look cool; it’s the best of both worlds.”

Heilong rolled her eyes. 

Freya inspected their loot. So far, the most interesting thing was a sword one of the warriors dropped, but Strawberry Knight said it he wasn’t interested in it.

The door out of the room led into a long hallway. Just wide enough for two people to walk side by side.

“Whose perception is highest?” Strawberry Knight asked. “This seems like the kind of place a trap would be. Mine’s pretty low; it’s four.”

“Same four,” Infamous Biscuit said.

“Six,” said Heilong.

“Twelve.”

Strawberry Knight and Heilong turned to look at Freya.

“Why’d you put all your points in perception?” Strawberry Knight asked.

“What? It’s always been that way.”

Heilong spoke up, “Remember, she was a shaman.”

“Damn,” Strawberry Knight said. “Does that mean you can see like, spirits and shit?”

“Um, yeah. Does that mean you guys can’t see the octopus around Bis’s neck?”

They looked at Infamous Biscuit.

“No, I don’t see anything,” Heilong said, squinting her eyes.

“Oh, I thought maybe players could naturally see spirits. I guess that’s why you never asked about it. I thought you guys were just used to seeing strange things.”

Infamous Biscuit laughed.

“Anyway,” Freya said. “What am I looking for?”

“Just look for anything that looks unnatural,” Strawberry Knight answered.

“Orcs like to have pit traps and snares,” Heilong added.

Freya concentrated on the ground in front of them. Nothing looked off. Walking in front of the group, she scanned the hallway. The dungeon’s dirt floor seemed unnaturally well-maintained to Freya, but so far, she hadn’t spotted anything significantly different. Eventually, the hallway began to turn, and slope downwards ever so slightly. 

Then Freya spotted something.

“Wait, the floor here is odd.”

She crouched down and examined the floor’s texture. It seemed too smooth and even. 

Infamous Biscuit poked his staff at the section of floor.

The ground fell in.

Freya’s stomach dropped along with the flimsy covering. The fake ground hit the bottom of the deep trench with a thunk. At least five meters deep, the fall wouldn’t have killed her, but it would not be pleasant either. 

“Glad we didn’t fall into that,” Strawberry Knight said.

“Eh, at least it doesn’t have spikes,” Heilong said, looking down at the bottom.

Skirting around the pit, Freya continued to examine the floor in front of them carefully. She stepped a little more lightly than before and considered every crack and pebble ahead of them.

“Even without spikes, how would you even get out of that?” Strawberry Knight asked.

“I’m sure we could climb out eventually,” Heilong said, crossing her arms.

“Assuming the orcs don’t come back to check their trap.”

“Biscuit could make some vines for us to climb out fast.”

“Don’t call me Biscuit.”

Suddenly Freya was yanked back.

A spear landed in front of her.

Strawberry Knight had pulled her back at the last second. She was so busy looking down at the ground she hadn’t noticed the orc up ahead.

The orc sounded a bugle. Then it opened a hidden door in the wall and disappeared.

Strawberry Knight rushed forward to the spot the orc vanished. Examining the site, none of them could even find the seam of the door. 

“Must be sealed off now,” Infamous Biscuit said. “I think we should keep going forward until we reach a bigger space. It’s too cramped to fight here anyway.”

“I agree, let’s keep going,” Strawberry Knight said.

Continuing down the never-ending tunnel, Freya began to wonder if they were somehow going in a circle.

Nothing looked different as they kept walking down the endless hallway. Enchanted light after enchanted light kept repeating. The ground looked the same. If they weren’t going in a circle, why did the orcs have such a long hallway?

Then finally she saw the end.

A stone arch marked the entrance into what looked like a bigger space beyond. 

Strawberry Knight entered first. When nothing attacked him, the others came in.

The space was full of large stone blocks, some in neat stacks while others balanced haphazardly on top of each other. The room itself appeared bigger than Safka’s town square, and the ceiling rose up enough to fit a tall tree. 

Clang!

Freya jumped and turned around.

A dust wave washed over them. The stone archway had collapsed. Their way out was blocked.

“Is this the boss room?” Heilong asked skeptically.

“It’s too early,” Infamous Biscuit said.

Roar!

A stack of stone blocks crashed towards them. None of the blocks reached them, but the ground shook from the impact.

Something enormous emerged from the dust. Above the rising figure, a text box appeared:

[Orc Lord]

[Lvl 18] [1,000/1,000]

Infamous Biscuit laughed, “I guess it’s not too early.”