Tiny Dungeon

POV Mouse Captain

A chittering roar sounded overhead and the Mouse Captain ducked, feeling the whoosh of the large insect’s tarsus passed over his head. He brought his mighty blade to bear and scored another deep gash into the creature’s front section where the torso would be. He dove to the side to avoid its lunching mandibles and redirected another of its leg strikes.

During the fight, it had become quite aware to him that the creature he was fighting, for all of its size and strength, did not possess the power of his own evolution. He was more deeply connected to his Master’s Aether and was therefore more capable. Combined with the might of his Master’s gifts his evolutions made him a truly fearsome combatant. He processed this without pride for he could feel a tension in the air that hadn’t been there when he had started this fight.

Something was happening elsewhere in the Dungeon and there was no longer time to waste. Summoning his connection to his Master’s Authority he set his sword ablaze. The creature hissed in both outrage and fear, backing away. The Mouse Captain would not let it retreat. Motioning to his kin, mice began to pour onto the creature, gripping its legs tightly and holding on with all their might. Before the insect could do something about the new weights upon its legs the mouse guardian lunged forward his fiery blade leading. He slashed deep into the bug’s torso section, causing the ensuing wounds to pop and sizzle as the fire met its ichor.

With a bellow, the creature snapped its mandibles down at him only to have one of them shorn off with a single movement. Without ceasing his motions the mouse plunged his sword deeper into the wounds he had dealt in order to deal one more grievous wound. Then he retreated and watched as the insect hissed and groaned before slumping to the ground defeated and dying. Flicking his blade clean of ichor the large mouse let go of the fire but continued to watch until he was sure the bug was dead.

He shivered as the creature released its Aether. Some flowed to him but most flowed to the many mice that had been fighting before he arrived. Those mice looked at him with something like awe and he shifted uncomfortably. His primary kin gathered with his squire coming and taking his blade out of habit and gleaning it further with some moss. The mouse guardian nodded to the other mouse guards around then groomed his whiskers thoughtfully.

He was interrupted as he heard a voice reverberate through the Dungeon. The voice of his Master. ‘Intruders have come. Defend the Dungeon.’ The mouse guardian stiffened and watched as the rest did as well. He turned to look at where the stairs curved down to where he imagined the Fourth Floor would be and knew it would be right under them. As he continued to think a new thought appeared in his head. A last message from his master who continued to slumber.

He moved quickly to a section of the floor not far away and began to feel around. Finding a groove, he pushed with his paw and watched in wonder as the bottom fell out with a creak. Looking down he saw the dark waters of the Fourth and understood what his Master wanted of him. He turned and motioned to the mice gathered nearby. They looked up at him with grave expressions on their muzzles. They had received the same message as he had. “I teach you.” He spoke softly, his deep voice echoing slightly in the cave-like area. “I teach you, then I go.” He said pointing upwards. The mice understood. The five that had joined him would go with him but the rest would stay here to defend the Dungeon. He would teach them how.

POV Emerald Adder

The Third Floor guardian watched as the group of invaders pillaged the fortress of the mice. His instincts screamed at him to attack but he knew that it would be folly. The little hairy one had split the very rock of the fortress walls asunder with a simple gesture. That was a kind of power that the serpent associated with his Master hence his hesitation in directly attacking.

This did not mean he was idle. Few of the invaders that split off from the main group lasted long inside the serpent’s domain. One by one he lured them in and struck with his new powerful muscles. He had to admit that the invaders were extremely tasty and the Aether they gave off was miles above his normal prey. He had already exceeded days of normal hunting with only a few invader kills. During his hunts he had also shifted some of his Master’s evolving creatures out of harm's way, hiding them in the grass and patrolling regularly.

Luckily, the invaders seemed entirely focused on proceeding deeper into his Master’s dungeon. The serpent hissed in displeasure at his inability to do more. His tongue flicked out bringing scents to his sensory organs. His brain processed the information and combined it with what his eyes could see. He paused in his patrol as a new smell entered his awareness. It came from around the corner of his territory. His eyes did an impression of a squint as he realized the ramifications.

More invaders. He flicked his tongue out again and took in the position of the invaders pillaging the fortress and watched as they continued deeper. He could do no more unless he wished to follow them inside and despite his desire to defend his Master, he knew that once he entered his length, green scales, and powerful muscles would be a detriment once inside the close tunnels. His striking power would be diminished and he would no longer be capable of his new ambush tactics.

He hissed again and turned to follow this new scent. He would deal as much devastation to the enemy as he could before he was no longer able. He would follow deeper later and bide his time, in order to strike when they least expected it.