A Soldier's Life

Chapter 161: Gnolling the Elf

We walked about fifty feet into the corridor in silence to explore the next room. Raelia walked in front of me and broke the silence. “Can I have my ring back?”

I hesitated before asking, “What does it do?”

The elf woman paused before replying, “It is a ring of sustenance. It allows the wearer to require less food and less sleep.”

Maveith echoed my thoughts. “That would have been useful to have when we were in the library, Eryk.”

“How much less food and sleep?” I asked, pulling the ring into my hand. The silver ring didn’t look too special; it was just a thick silver band.

“When I was wearing it, I could get a full night’s rest in about two hours. I still needed to drink normally, but I only needed one small meal daily to feel full.” She sounded truthful, but I could never be certain.

“Why would I return it to you if it is so useful?” I asked doubtfully, turning it over in my hand.

“How about I trade you the ring for the ranger’s cloak?” she suggested cautiously.

I considered the offer; technically, both artifacts were mine. Being cynical, I thought maybe she wanted the cloak to help her escape. Maveith added to the conversation, “I made Eryk a beautiful cloak from a bull manticore’s leather wing.” I took the hint from the goliath. He wanted me to make the exchange to build trust—and to affirm that I would treasure his cloak.

“How does the ring work?” I asked, intrigued.

Raelia turned her head. Seeing I was holding the ring, she said, “You put it on and channel aether into it. It takes about a week to attune to a new wearer. Over the week, you will need less and less sleep and feel the need to eat less.”

The ring would only fit on my pinky finger. As I was about to put it on, she laughed. “Never worn a dungeon ring before?” I did not appreciate the mirth in her tone or how she looked down on my ignorance.

I controlled a scathing retort and asked calmly, “No, how do you wear a ring?”

The griffin rider stopped laughing. “Just slide it on the finger you want, trickle aether into it. It may take a while to reform, but it will. Only dungeon-created rings will resize.”

She was right; the ring slid slowly onto my ring finger. I just hoped this ring was not cursed, but I was less worried since I had Maveith take it from her while it was still in her hand. “Do you know how to figure out what a ring can do?”

Maveith, on a quest to win her trust, informed her, “We found a ring in a dungeon chest.” I was not upset with him pandering to the elf or revealing what we found. I was having some trouble believing she was sincere and not just acting while waiting for an opportunity.

Raelia considered the question before speaking. “There are three ways that I know. One is a revelation scroll. Adventurer’s Guild Halls have them. The other is finding a mage who can cast a divination spell. The last is by heating it up and using a magnifying glass to study the intricate runes on the ring that reveal themselves in the heat of a fire. But you need someone skilled in reading the runic markings of dungeons.” I nodded, remembering that Castile had said something similar, and I thought I had a way to cheat.

We approached the end of the hallway, and Raelia was walking next to Maveith. They stopped at the entrance, and I halted behind them. “Not a safe room,” I said, disappointed as I took in the next room.

It was another large chamber. Boulders and small trees dotted the expansive space. A small body of water cut through the room like a wide stream, flowing slowly, as indicated by the visible ripples. “Okay, dungeon expert. What are we facing?” I asked Raelia.

Raelia leaned forward to take in the room. “This is a large room. Bigger than anything I have ever seen in a dungeon.” She continued, a little more uncertainty in her voice, “Usually, you know what to expect in a room based on others who came before you.”

I asked another question. “What about the room reset times?”

“Always a day based on the sun. Sometimes longer if the dungeon is low on aether from the ley lines feeding it. Usually, a member of the dungeon team carries an hourglass,” she said, looking back at me dubiously. “You cannot repeatedly delve into a dungeon, or you will exhaust it,” she replied. I thought she was leaning too far in, so I grabbed her shoulder to stop her and pull her back.

She tensed and spun quickly to face me; her large blue-green eyes fierce. I was ready with an air shield, but she did not attack. I explained, “I thought you were getting too close to the entrance of the room. I did not want you trapped inside.”

She huffed and exhaled as she relaxed. “Only the final room or last room on a floor will do that,” she said, rubbing her shoulder. I had unintentionally grabbed the shoulder Maveith had bandaged.

I debated whether to apologize or not. “I forgot your shoulder was injured, or I wouldn’t have grabbed it so hard,” I said with as much sincerity as I could muster.

My eyes were locked on hers as she determined whether I was being genuine. Maveith drew our attention to the room. “I see some movement. I think it is a gnoll.”

We both focused on the far side of the room, and Raelia confirmed, “It is a gnoll. I can see three, but there are probably more.” The bipedal hyena-beasts were supposedly fast and a huge nuisance to the Empire.

I recalled something. “Don’t elves and gnolls have an enmity? Are we going to need to restrain you from rushing in?”

Raelia tersely noted, “I have no love for gnolls, but wood elves attack gnolls on sight. I am a high elf.” She finished tersely as if that explained everything.

“High elf indeed. You see yourself as above all others, then?” I retorted sharply in a poor attempt to tease the elf.

“That is not…” She started to reply tersely but changed her mind, seeing I was goading her. “Just above some.” Her eyes narrowed on me.

Stolen novel; please report.

One of the gnolls finally spotted us and ran at us on all fours before standing before the passage. It was nude and definitely a male as it sniffed the air. It then cackled loudly, drawing the attention of the others. A hive of activity ensued, and seven other gnolls raced across the cavern, all naked and all males. They soon cackled as a group, which was abrasive to my ears, especially with their proximity.

We backed away from the entrance to escape the hideous cacophony they made. The griffin rider spoke first. “They are feral gnolls. I did not see any armor or weapons. They will attack with claws and bites.”

“What is the difference between feral and regular gnolls?” I asked, thinking they were like feral dogs compared to domesticated ones.

Raelia eyed me. “Gnolls are intelligent and form small nomadic tribes in the forests. They have a society, in a manner of speaking. Those,” she pointed back at the room, “are just beasts. I do not think they will be coordinated when they fight.”

I looked at Maveith. Numbers were the worst thing for us to encounter, as I could only kill one of the creatures instantly. This was why we had recruited the elf woman. Maveith thought for a moment. “I can take three, I think.”

“I could take two if I had my weapons,” Raelia offered.

I ignored her for a moment to think. Eight opponents were a lot, and they were all man-sized and fast. The terrain was not favorable either, allowing them to surround us. I turned to Raelia. “What about your fireball? Do you have any other spells?”

Raelia’s face twisted slightly as she probably remembered I had used her own fireball against her at the aqueduct. “You cannot charge a spell outside of a dungeon room. The aether in the spell form will break apart as you pass the entrance. I can cast a decent fireball if given time after entering the room.”

“What about your other spells?” I pressed. She was being cagey and did not answer. I pulled out the assessment table. “Use it,” I commanded. She had defiance in her eyes but moved to the tablet reader and placed her small hands on it.

I scanned her attributes quickly but was more focused on her magical affinities.

Physical		Mental		Magical
Strength	19/38	Intellect	31/40	Aether Pool	27/35
Power	22/44n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om	Reasoning	23/35	Channeling	31/33
Quickness	50/76	Perception	41/65	Aether Shaping	48/52
Dexterity	49/95	Insight	19/43	Aether Tolerance	28/37
Endurance	28/42	Resilience	28/58	Aether Resistance	29/40
Constitution	18/29	Empathy	52/64	Prime Affinity	Fire
Coordination	48/69	Fortitude	24/36

I felt slightly jealous of her aether shaping and dexterity, which gave her the ability to cast actual spells. I scanned over to her affinities. Nothing impressive.

Elemental Magics (Common):

Fire: 39

Air: 27

Water: 5

Earth: 4

Lightning (Energy): 0

Spirit (Healing): 0

Nature (Plant): 0

Unaffiliated Magics (Uncommon):

Charm (Mind): 0

Illusion: 0

Clairvoyance: 0

Protection (Guardian): 0

Necromancy: 0

Celestial: 0

Abyssal: 0

Rare Magics:

Space: 0

Time: 0

Displacement: 0

Materialism: 0

Worlds: 0

Void: 0

Convergence: 0

“What are your spell forms for fire and air? And do you have any other spells?” I asked again.

Raelia reluctantly spoke. “For fire, I have thermostasis. It is cold in the skies and keeps the air around my body comfortable. My air spell form eliminates wind shear when I am riding.” She stopped talking, and I remembered we had killed her griffin.

“And spells?” I asked for a third time.

The elf woman finally conceded to tell me. “Fireball, gust of wind, control flame.”

“What does control flame do?” I questioned her.

With some pride, she said, “I can influence magical and non-magical fire. It is not immensely powerful, but it helps me enhance and direct my fireball.”

I put the tablet reader away as Maveith was trying to decipher the elf’s numbers. We did not have time for this right now. “Okay, this is the plan. We will wait until the gnolls return to the room’s other side. Maveith and Raelia will enter first. Raelia will fireball the tightest group she can get, and then we will engage the leftovers.”

“I need a weapon,” Raelia reminded me brusquely. Maveith arched an eyebrow at me. I think he was becoming amused by our interactions. He was also curious about what I was going to do.

I produced the long dagger that belonged to her—her non-magical blade. I handed it to her, and I think she realized she was not getting her runic legacy weapon back. “Stay out of the fighting after the fireball. Maveith and I will clean them up.” She sheathed the blade on her belt, still possessing the scabbard.

It took the gnolls almost an hour before they wandered from the entrance. We moved into the room together, and Raelia created her fireball. The tight ball emitted a heat I could feel even standing behind her as she added increasingly more aether to grow its power.

Only three savage gnolls charged us in a lead group, and Raelia released her searing ball at them. It exploded in a flash among the three gnolls. A dry wave of heat reached us from forty feet away, and the three clustered gnolls were blown away like rag dolls. Maveith thundered forward, and the other five gnolls only paused for breath as the heat wave hit them.

I sprinted ahead with Maveith, a little reluctant to have the elf at my back. “Take the one on the far right, Maveith!” I yelled. I did not want either of us to get flanked, so I targeted the one farthest to the left.

My black blade flashed out, removing the paw of my target, and as it went into shock, I rotated and pivoted into an arcing swing to take the stunned gnoll in the back. My blade bit deep, severing the spine above the hips. I extracted my blade as the gnoll collapsed and faced the next one, blocking a claw attack with my battered shield.

Using my superior reach, I stabbed the unprotected chest of the gnoll, piercing its heart as its jaws tried to snap over my shield, a spray of saliva hitting my exposed face. I twisted the blade, destroying its heart, then extracted it and turned to take in the scene.

Maveith had both his gnolls handled, one with a crushed skull and the other with a crushed chest. The eighth gnoll was sprinting at Raelia, who had a defensive stance, ready to receive the charge. It was just within range of my dimensional space. I removed its head, and it collapsed in front of the stunned elf, its heart pumping spurts of blood at her from the stump. I appreciated seeing her stunned look as her eyes went from the headless gnoll to me and back numerous times.

I moved to end the paralyzed and burned gnolls, which sounded like wounded dogs, and Maveith joined me. Soon, all eight gnolls were dead, and the reward chest appeared by the stream. I cleaned my blade on some leaves as Raelia was still staring at the headless gnoll in front of her. I think she was piecing together that I could have killed her just as easily the first time we met—or the second time.