Jer Patch
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Chapter 28: Lenna’s Panic
🕑 Added 2025-02-14 16:00:05 +0000 UTCEverything inside me froze at Dengu’s whine.
‘Foot hurt’, he said, sending me impressions of the pain walking caused.
Somehow, he’d gotten this far down the path after falling on it, but that might have had something to do with my fear of what was chasing us.
“But, how is he going to walk?” asked Ham.
I flinched and swallowed, trying to force myself to think. The healing crystal was drained, and the goop didn’t work on internal injuries like this. Dengu would heal, he just needed to be off it for a bit.
“I can make him a splint while we rest here a moment,” said Alex. She pulled the spike from Ham’s shoulder out of her inventory, along with some clothes. “Hammy, go on ahead and scout how far we have to go until the next stone.”
Hammy took off down the trail, but glanced over his shoulder twice at me. I couldn’t meet his gaze. If he’d only dodged, we’d have the crystal for Dengu.
‘Food?’ chirped Dengu.
I let out a sigh but patted his neck. “He'll heal, but he needs food. I don't think it's a deep crack, but it'll take a day or so. Splinting it will do him some good.” I turned to find Alex staring at me, holding the spike.
“You can say it.”
Shame filled me to the brim. You didn’t say things like my thoughts. The tribe was too important. Yet, my lips parted at her urging. “I wish I’d saved the crystal.” Immediately, I felt better sharing my shame.
‘Friend hurt. Save friend.’ Dengu nuzzled me. ‘Now friend save me.’
“I get it, but we didn't know this would happen. Don't let it eat you up,” demanded Alex. She knelt, and I helped as we created a splint with the materials. It wasn’t as nice as a healer’s would have been, but it’d keep his foot in place as the crack healed. The sounds of heavy footsteps on the stone had us both glancing up.
Ham appeared around the corner, breathing heavily. “You guys aren't going to believe it. A campsite is just ahead, and the guide is there.”
“What?” I jerked back, shaking my head.
“Do you think he can make it that far?” asked Ham, as he approached Dengu.
Dengu responded by setting his foot down carefully.
While he couldn’t talk with the others, he understood the spoken words. That was the first part of his quest. This second part was harder.
Hammy moved in and tried to help, offering his shoulder, but Dengu just stepped slowly past him
“Not sure a Dino can use that,” muttered Alex.
He blushed at Alex’s comment, but added nothing.
Dengu moved slowly and limped down the trail.
I stuck close, unsure of what to do with my hands. Keeping contact with him helped our bond, but I didn’t want to interrupt his concentration. The path curved quickly and then straightened out.
Time passed by excruciating slowly as I ignored the feeling of sharp pain coming from the bond. I didn’t mention it to Dengu, just gritted my teeth. He bared it without comment; I did as well. I didn’t dare look ahead to see how far we had to go. Ham and Alex kept pace with us without comment. The heavy steps of Ham were the only sound as we moved.
Then my feet hit grass, and I finally glanced up, studying our surroundings.
The exact campsite as had been in the first challenge appeared, along with the grassy area. A log still sat barely off center from where I leaned against it. My father had always said, ‘Dungeons were dangerous places.’ But until being inside one I hadn’t understood.
This type of power to move places and twist time, it worried me. The sooner we finished with this place, the better. The growth both Dengu and I experienced tempered my fear, but it was still unsettling.
The guide stood in the same spot as the last time as we approached.
“Hey, Guide Derrik, how long can we stay at the campsite?” Alex asked.
‘Rest,’ sent Dengu as he flopped down on his side on the soft grass. He eased the splinted foot. It throbbed a few times, but the pain coming down the bond cut off. ‘Sorry.’
I shook my head, but instead of speaking sent reassuring thoughts down the bond. Before I could ask, Alex took out a giant chunk of meat and set it next to Dengu’s head. He purred in pleasure.
‘Alpha friend.’
Dengu’s words stayed in my mind as I studied Alex. He treated her differently than me, or the other members of the tribe. Almost like another Raptor, an Alpha.
“This area is safe for you to rest to prepare for the final challenge of the Path of Spikes and Tails.”
My head snapped up to the guide, pushing thoughts of Alex away. They were part of our team; the rest didn’t matter.
“Why is this one different?” I asked. “Shouldn’t there be a third trial before the challenge?” Too many things were different from what I’d painstakingly researched over the last couple of months about the dungeon. It started with needing at least 3 people, but a bonded beast didn’t count. Yet, Dengu had counted as a full teammate when we’d arrived. Now, the paths weren’t the same.
“Each path is unique, but both this path and the Path of Scales and Hide have only 2 trials,” said the guide.
“What about the Path of Wings?” asked Alex, as Ham stepped out of his armor. That was the path she seemed the most worried about, and I agreed with her. The fliers ruled the skies.
“If you mean the Path of Wings and Feathers, it also has 3 trials before the final challenge.”
Something nagged at the back of my mind. After we’d completed the last path, a raptor had appeared at the top of the statue. “Does doing the paths in different orders change other parts of the dungeon?” It felt like a dumb question, but I needed to ask.
“Of course,” said the Guide. “The first choice is the most important. It dictates the creature of the final challenge. Your team took the harder path, which means greater rewards.”
Alex sat down at the campfire with a smile. “You made a good choice, Hammy.”
Ham said nothing as he headed to the fountain.
I joined Alex on the log I’d used last time. “At least we didn’t start with the winged path.”
Alex chuckled at that and flashed me a smile as she pulled out all the cooking supplies. “That is the truth.”
If I had chosen the first path, it’d have been the Path of Scales and Hide. You always start basic and move on to harder challenges. That was the way of things. The humans thought differently. Both of them wanted to get the harder challenge done first. Now Dengu‘s foot hurt and Ham still hadn’t healed. He rubbed his shoulder when no one was looking.
At least we had an easier path after this one. We’d get this dungeon done, and finish with the winged path.
Pleasure rippled through the bond as Dengu bit off pieces of the meat.
Ham sat down next to Alex, smelling better than before. His hair was wet from cleaning up.
He spoke up, “What if I stay at the fountain for the next two paths? Will I complete the dungeon?”
I jerked at the question, but kept my mouth shut.
“To complete the dungeon, you must be part of a team that finishes all four paths, along with the final challenge. By skipping paths, you forgo any experience or knowledge you might have learned. At the end, your rewards will be affected.”
Ham seemed thoughtful as he stared into the fire.
The guide vanished after no one asked anything for a few minutes. Alex stood and headed to the water fountain.
I understood my father now, and why he’d wanted me to wait a year while my cousins completed the required quests and levels. Even though we’d met the requirements for the dungeon, it felt like we weren't prepared. Part of that was Ham. Alex made up for him, but it was still difficult.
My father was right; Ham was harmless. He didn't understand how the jungle worked, and acted like this all didn't matter. This dungeon mattered.
“I wish I had a portable workshop,” he said, interrupting my thoughts. “It’d be easier for me to adapt.”
I wasn’t sure I agreed with him.
He let out a deep sigh and turned to look at me. “I’m sorry you needed to heal me.”
His words felt like a sharp knife to my side. “We are all learning,” I said. “At some point, we all will get hurt in this place. That’s one of the ways you grow.”
“You haven’t been hurt… Even Alex has taken some hits, but you’ve made it fine.”
“Just because I haven’t gotten hurt yet doesn’t mean I won’t by the time we’re done.”
“Are you teasing Lenna?” asked Alex, joining us back at the fire. “She’s the smart one out of all of us. Sticking to the back, and using a ranged weapon.”
That’s because that’s the weapon I learned how to use from my father. My mother wouldn’t teach me the staff.
She snorted. “The rest of us dive right in all up close and personal.”
“A ranged weapon would be nice,” said Ham. He smiled. “I wish our guns worked. I’m actually a decent shot.”
“Guns?” I didn’t know this word.
“A weapon that fires a bullet,” said Ham. “It’s like a bow, but different.” Then he just kept talking about the weapon, going into details and using words I didn’t understand. These guns sounded like magical weapons that one of my people used. Kind of like a blow gun, but with crystals powering it instead, somehow.
***
I tuned Hammy out as he tried to explain how guns worked to poor Lenna. It was clear that she didn’t know all the words he was using. Dengu kept his focus on the meat I’d given him, and I hoped it helped.
The raptor on top of the fountain made sense now, and I’d keep an eye out to see what changed after this fight. Because this definitely would be a fight, with some sort of spiked creature with a tail if I had learned anything about this place.
If we were fighting something with spikes, that could shoot them like the stegosaurus had, then Hammy made a prominent target. Last time, he’d taken a branch from the trees surrounding the grassy area, but it hadn’t held up to the creature in the final fight.
This time, I pulled out the turtle shell I cut off. The long side was about three feet long, while the short side was only two. I knocked my knuckle on it, then tried to bend it in half. No one had been able to pierce it, and it’d taken my crystal burning a line through it to get inside. It would make a great shield.
With a grin, I started pulling other things out of my inventory. Anything I thought we could use.
Hammy paused mid-sentence in his ramblings to Lenna and he shood before moving closer to me. “What are you doing?”
“Trying to prepare for this fight. You need a shield.”
“That’s a great idea, but I don’t want to take all your loot.” His head tilted to one side before he scratched the back of his head.
“You’re only borrowing it,” I said, pulling the ring of crystal off my belt. While Hammy had skill with metal, I didn’t have any we could use. We’d need to cannibalize his armor for that, which wasn’t a good choice. But I had the crystal.
Taking a deep breath, I focused on it, twisting and pulling it apart as I hummed to myself. Over time, it became a thinner loop. I pulled the giant piece of shell closer and molded the crystal-like clay. It latched onto either edge forming a handle on the inside. If I had more, I could have it crisscross the outside, providing a burning sensation to anything hitting it, but this would have to do for now.
I held it out, trying to see if there was anything to improve with the materials I had.
[You leveled your profession, Crystal Singing.]
“Can I see?” asked Hammy.
I passed it over to him, and he quickly latched it onto his suit. He bent down, using the shield to cover his head, shoulders, and upper body. It would definitely help.
An idea came to me, and my head snapped to Dengu. First, he needed to heal up. Then we’d get even more creative.
