Rangers Endgame

After an hour had passed, the group stood up to resume their march down the corridor. Other than finding the occasional gem in the ground, their journey was fairly uneventful. Surprisingly, they hadn't come across any vamp-crawlers along the way, leaving many to speculate if they'd wiped them all out back towards the entrance.

This put most of them on edge as they were left wondering why all the monsters would congregate towards the entrance to begin with. On the other hand, if this were true, they wouldn't have to worry about any more skirmishes.

Yakeru wasn't sure if he was imagining it but he thought he could feel the temperature rising ever so slightly. He thought back to the fearful vamp-crawler, too afraid to move deeper into the dungeon to reach him. Yet, thus far, he hadn't discovered the reason as to why. For some strange reason, this only filled him with dread, his anxiety pleading with him to turn back.

As they crept further into the unknown with a heightened sense of vigilance, sweat began beading down their faces. Yakeru looked up to see heat waves spewing out from cracks in the ceiling refracting the light, confirming his suspicions.

The group frequently drank what little water they had left as their clothes began sticking to them. Some went as far as licking every drop from their bottles while others opted to splash the cool, refreshing water on their reddened faces. Vlad and his men suffered more since their armor acted as a furnace, some even tempted to ditch their equipment entirely.

"Hopefully it's not much further..." a guard prayed under his breath.

They hadn't found many gems the further they explored and the heat had become unbearable. They weren't sure if it was the refracting light but the cavern began to contort and warp around them, their bodies slowly succumbing to the heat.

Vlad was moments away from calling off the search when they came across a set of large double doors with a heap of shattered, corroding chains resting in front of them.

Vlad cleared his irritated throat.

"What's this?"

"Dungeons usually have what's called boss monsters," Yakeru replied, taking a closer look. "This is probably its lair."

Vlad knelt to inspect the chains. Ancient runes were etched into them but the rust made them illegible. Although, it wasn't like he'd be able to read them if the chains were pristine.

They were obviously once acted as a seal to either forbid entry or keep something contained. But an unfathomable amount of time had reduced them to a mere relic of the past.

Whatever the reason, he had a sinking feeling that something ominous awaited them on the other side. But if there was a chance to improve Hanataru's situation, he couldn't pass it by. He turned toward everyone.

"The only reason we're going in is to find more radiant gems." he glanced at Yakeru and Fuyumi. "Will you two be okay with holding off the boss long enough for us the gather the gems?"

"Sure thing," Yakeru replied confidently while Fuyumi simply nodded.

Kenji wore a look of confusion, wondering why he wasn't included but he soon got his answer as Vlad mentioned the conjurer.

"Kenji, we'll need you to help gather the gems, if there are any."

The kid deflated before reluctantly agreeing.

"Right..."

Vlad turned back to the doors, the weight of the unknown bearing down on him. Beyond the doors, he imagined a domain consumed by darkness with the rare flickering of light coming a gem here and there. He could already hear skittering from all directions accompanied by the occasional hiss.

Vlad placed his shaky hands on both doors as his mind ran wild on what they'd encounter on the other side. After taking a deep breath, he pushed, a loud creaking greeting him in response. As the doors slowly opened, everyone shielded their eyes as an almost blinding light poured through the opening and a brisk breeze swept out of the room invitingly.

After their eyes had adjusted, they were able to get a good look and what they saw made their jaws go slack.

"No way...!" one exclaimed in awe.

Beyond the doors were hundreds of crystals of various shapes and sizes sparkling with amber hues, bathing the vast chamber in a brilliant light.

Strolling farther inside, they almost didn't spot the figure sprawled out on the ground as they were so fixated on the crystals. As they slowed their pace out of caution, Yakeru turned his attention to another corner of the room to see another motionless figure in an alleyway of crystals. In fact, the further they went, the more they realized the chamber was littered with these humanoid figures. After staring at them for a moment, Vlad froze, triggering a chain reaction throughout the group as they identified them as corpses.

"What the..." Vlad muttered under his breath.

After realizing the bodies weren't responding to their presence, he approached the nearest one cautiously, investigating it while maintaining a safe distance. It was a vamp-crawler but they appeared mutated.

Boils cluttered its body and its blackened flesh was torn at the shoulders and elbows to compensate for its elongated arms. Its forearms decayed almost completely, exposing the bones that sharpened into makeshift spears. A large gash between its neck and shoulder split the poor creature diagonally across its chest. Lining the gash were rows of fractured ribs that looked to be forcefully rearranged and filed down, resembling dagger-like teeth. Dark veins bulged and eventually migrated to a single point on its back, to the largest boil.

The ruthless combination of the gruesome sight and putrid stench made the guards swell with nausea.

Pinching her nose, Fuyumi courageously, yet cautiously, approached and nudged the corpse but, again, it didn't respond.

"W-What happened to them?" a guard muttered to no one in particular.

"I think we should just leave..."

"But what about these crystals? We'll never get a chance like this again."

"And what if these things wake up?! I'm not about to die a meaningless death."

"Meaningless? Don't tell me you forgot why we're here."

The guards erupted into a verbal battle, torn between continuing the raid and withdrawing all the while Vlad quietly studied the corpses.

"Enough!" Vlad snapped, his men quieting down as he turned to Yakeru. "I thought you said there'd be a boss in here?"

They scanned their surroundings again, scratching their heads. Yakeru was certain there'd be a boss but all they saw were crystals amidst countless disfigured vamp-crawler corpses. He ran through his mental records, questioning if he'd missed something from his sister's stories.

Perhaps bosses weren't as common in some dungeons as he was led to believe? No, he clearly remembered her mentioning bosses at the end of dungeons. It was possible the boss could've fallen like its brethren but that only raised more questions.

Needless to say, the place reeked of an ominous hostility.

"There was supposed to..." Yakeru said, unsettled.

"This is good then." a guard exclaimed. "If everything's already dead, we can mine as many gems as we want!"

Vlad's demeanor became more serious. He figured rangers would know more about dungeons than him so for them to be clueless on what they were in for made him more uneasy.

"One hour," Vlad said tersely. "These things haven't moved since we came in here, even after arguing. They're definitely dead and have been for a while now. Gather what you can within one hour. After that, we're leaving. Mine in groups and do not, under any circumstances, stray too far from the exit."

His guards reluctantly nodded in agreement before dispersing with their respective mining equipment, even if they knew they wouldn't be able to work efficiently in such a sketchy environment.

Out of fear that the dead might spring to life, they strategically mined in areas in the room where there were little to no corpses. If there were, they gave themselves enough room to bolt should that ever be necessary.

Thirty minutes passed as a couple of guards hacked away with their pickaxes before stashing more gems into their bags, chatting.

"Easy money." one exclaimed to his partner.

"You said it. But I'd feel more comfortable if I didn't have to worry about..." his partner trailed off, gulping down saliva while staring at a mutated vamp-crawler that was positioned in such a way that it seemed to be watching him. "...those things..."

"We'll be fine. They're dead remember? By the way, you got some water?" he wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Nah, we ran out before we found those doors."

He sighed in exhaustion before whining about his dry throat. As they mined, a small gem was dislodged, sending it rolling around a corner as one of the guards followed it. Before he went to pick it up, he froze in place and listened. He narrowed his eyes as if that would improve his ability to hear. A low hum accompanied by a subtle sploshing sound peeked his curiosity. He couldn't explain it, but he felt a strange urge to investigate, as if the humming flipped a switch in his mind. Retrieving the gem, he cautiously rounded a corner where he believed the humming was originating from.

Turning the corner his eyes went wide and almost stumbled back as he uttered "What the!".

Before him was a sphere, no larger than a human, hovering above shallow pit. Whereas the crystals had a more brilliant amber coloration to them, the sphere was a gloomy red, crimson glow pulsating through its twisted structure.

For a brief moment, a fear bubbled within the guard but upon laying eyes on the foreign object, his body relaxed. His pupils dilated almost to the point where his eyes were completely black. A sense of peace washed over him as drew closer to the floating structure.

Looking down, he could see a small pond of what looked to be fresh water. The clear water sparkled as the light from the crystals struck its surface. His face brightened instantly.

"Woah...looks like this dungeon is giving me a lucky break!"

His partner overheard him talking to himself and peeked around the corner.

"What are you goin' on abo-?" he paused, catching a glimpse of the red sphere before he too became compelled to walk closer, his eyes now dilated. "Woah."

He and his partner made their approach, sinking their cupped hands into the cool water before drinking. For some strange reason, the water felt heavier than expected. Nonetheless, they continued to quench their thirst but no matter how much they drank, they weren't satisfied. Soon they broke out into gurgled coughs and toppled over, their bodies violently convulsing.

The red sphere's glow had diminished and the humming ceased as if satisfied with the results, removing the facade of a once beautiful clear pond of water and morphing it into a pit of black sludge.

At the exit, the rangers continued to stand guard, looking out for anything suspicious. Despite the cool air, sweat dotted Vlad's face. The fact that they were mutilated corpses with no clear cause concerned him.

"We're heading out now." Vlad said.

"Honestly, that's probably a good idea." Yakeru concurred.

Vlad formed a cone with his hands and shouted,

"Alright, We're leaving! Everyone meet back at the-!"

He hunched over and coughed excessively leaving Yakeru worried.

"Hey, don't strain yourself!"

"I appreciate your concern...but I'll be okay."

Fortunately, he didn't have to strain his throat any more than he had to as his men began gathering around the two large doors. Vlad's finger bounced from one man to the next as he did a head count.

'Wait...'

He recounted but just like the first time he came up short.

"We're missing two."

Everyone glanced around and counted but still came up short. He glanced over to two of his remaining men and gave them a nod, signaling them to search together. They waited anxiously as they disappeared around a corner. Vlad and Fuyumi seemed the only ones holding it together pretty well. They were all still trying to make sense of the situation.

It was obvious the vamp-crawler Yakeru encountered earlier was afraid of turning into one of these malformed monsters. But he couldn't wrap his head around how this happened in the first place.

'Is there something infectious in here or something?' he observed everyone from where he stood yet, though they were in that room for about an hour, no one showed signs of transforming into something nightmarish. 'If it is an infection, does it only affect vamp-crawlers for some reason?'

Suddenly, a bloodcurdling scream echoed throughout the room as everyone whipped their heads in its direction.

"Porters, stay at the entrance! Everyone else, with me!" Vlad bolted in the direction where they believed the scream came from while the others tailed him.

After rounding a few crystalized corners they came to a screeching halt. A horrific sight stood before them, turning their faces pale as a ghost.

Standing there were two figures that sent chills down their spines. Loose flesh dangled from their decaying bodies and a mixture of blood and pus poured burst from their boils. An orange glow pulsated through their blackened veins. Their limbs were elongated and contorted unnaturally and their forearms had sharpened into javelins made of bone.

Skewered from their spear-like appendages were the two men Vlad had sent earlier. The creatures' vacant gaze locked onto the others, their eyes devoid of any humanity as they jerked their arms, flinging the two men away.

Everyone stumbled backwards, eyes widened and minds racing. They didn't notice the black tar-like substance near the creatures or even the red, misshapen sphere as the nightmarish sight before them claimed their attention.

What frightened Vlad the most was not the grotesque creatures themselves, but the armor. The once-fitted wooden armor was now splintered and shattered to compensate for the wearers' size increase. The armor that served as protection, a last line of defense for the wearer was now a remnant of who they once were.