Marathon - Part 3

John had been almost relaxed when they finished up the last dungeon for the first shift, but any feelings of complacency he'd had on the leisurely walk home soon vanished. John's slight time blindness, combined with a promise for a particularly hearty breakfast and needing to feed over a dozen people, resulted in him rapidly slapping down freshly cooked eggs in the final fifteen minutes before he was due at the Brighton Manor.

"Thanks, Papa!"

"Thank you, Papa!"

"Thanks a bunch!"

"Don't eat those, they're pipin- aaand I guess you're already strong enough to handle mundane heat," John said, chastising words fading into a dully impressed monotone as he watched a platter of eggs, many still hot enough to sizzle slightly, disappear into the bellies of six kittens and two cats that were entirely too feisty for how much time they'd spend running dungeons.

"Mmm, nummy eggs, Myaster," Maera mewled happily as she scarfed nearly an entire plate's worth of scrambled eggs by herself.

"Thank you very much, Myaster," Mithra said, her body language a bit more subdued than her sister's but her eyes alight with just as much animalistic satisfaction.

"I genuinely don't know how I'd be able to cook enough to feed any of them without magic..." John would've marveled at the amount of calories disappearing in front of his eyes longer, but he was too busy setting another tray of pancakes and multiple plates of bacon out in front of the carnivores.

"Papa, can we play after breakfast?" Moira asked, her whiskers twitching as she **** herself not to take another bite, fearing a scolding for talking with her mouth full.

"Sorry, sweetie, Papa is going to be busy for a few days. Don't worry, we'll have a couple of days to play before Papa's big road trip," John promised as he skillfully slapped down the last of the food. The kitten gave him a pout that would've resembled her namesake’s, if it was a bit angrier, but didn't object further. John hastily deposited all the dishes not currently being inhaled from into the sink, then weaved his way toward the door and back into the living room.

There, Aclysia waited patiently, seated on the couch and munching on half of a manawyrm heart. John only took a moment to double-check which windows he had open before he started busying himself with sorting through his main inventory screen, a cavalcade of miscellaneous magical items appearing on the table between them.

"Sorry about that. I'm not sure if it's because of the dungeon runs, or if I just kept them from any midnight snacks they're used to, but Maera and Mithra were even hungrier than usual," John babbled out as he finished picking out the least useful ingredients for alchemy and Crafting. "And the kittens always seem to take after their mother…"

"I am in no hurry, Creator John. I will have plenty of time between now and midnight," Aclysia said calmly, picking up a handful of raw mana dust and casually tossing it into her mouth. The crunching sounds that came from half the things she ate sent chills down John's spine, making him feel as if his own teeth were about to shatter, but she never seemed even slightly inconvenienced, even when consuming what was effectively a lightly magical rock.

"I wish I could say the same," John grumbled, glancing at his inventory. It was ten minutes to eight, which by Moira and Kim's standards probably meant he was already late. "I've got to get going pretty much right now, unfortunately. Would you mind trying your hand at cooking some of the food in the Abyssal Chest while I'm gone today? If you toss it back in while it's still hot, it'll be preserved that way. Then I wouldn't have to worry about fitting in family mealtimes in between rotations."

"Of course, Creator John. How much would you like me to prepare?"

"As much as you feel like. Meat isn't really an item category I use in crafting much. Maybe I should try working on that, actually. Could be useful to get some Monster Hunter style cooking buffs…"

"Well, you've already got a few Felynes running around, but they seem more interested in eating than cooking." Aria's voice sang out from behind John. Her ivory-white hands rested gently on his shoulders as she leaned over him, beginning a firm massage.

"I love that someone finally gets those references." John turned and gave Aria a grin, only to find her lips pressed against his. Both of their eyes widened, a faint blush coming to the incubus' cheeks as she pulled away.

"S-sorry! I was going for your cheek, I swear!"

"Well, I'm certainly not complaining. And it doesn't look like you are, either," John pointed out.

"I mean... I already told you that you could have me do whatever you wanted. Or do whatever you wanted to me." Aria's voice didn't wither at the tease, but blossomed instead. The startled embarrassment of the surprise kiss quickly faded as her natural instincts seemed to take over, and she leaned forward a little more, her petite chest pressing against the back of John's neck as she rested her chin on his head. "I don't suppose I could convince you to run just a little late to that meeting of yours...?"

"Tempting, but it'll have to wait a little longer." John found himself actually disappointed at that this time, clenching his jaw a little as Aria's tail snaked its way over the back of the couch, dancing along his collarbone and teasing at the sensitive skin there.

"I mean, if you're into edging, I can work with that." Aria giggled a little, but the sultry and playful tone couldn't fully bury her dissatisfaction. She still let him stand without too much fuss, the tip of her spaded tail clinging to him just long enough to let him know how badly she wanted it.

"Don't worry, Aria," John said with a regretful smirk, "I spent too many years as a nerd to resist giving a beautiful woman exactly what she wants. Just be a little bit more patient and I'm all yours!"

And with that, John was gone, his World Shift carrying him away even as his words still hung in the air.

John barely had time to open the door to the little shed covering his arrival area before he found himself accosted, literally being pulled by the collar of his shirt along the lawn of the Brighton Manor.

"Ow! I'm here, I don't need you to-"

"We have two minutes until it is time to begin our training regimen. I cleared my schedule for this, as did the Warden. The least you can do is ensure we get full value out of it," Kim chided, more stern than properly angry as she hauled John onto the main walkway and up the stairs.

"I was busy making breakfast for everyone, I-"

"Well, I'm glad to know that Moira's concerns of you training night and day were misplaced. I hope you enjoyed your eggs and bacon while we awaited your arrival."

"Kim?"

"What?"

"I missed you too."

Kim's steps didn't falter, but she did turn over her shoulder to give him an incredulous, slightly exasperated look. She held it for a moment for emphasis, only to allow the barest of smiles as she rolled her eyes. Then she was back at nearly full pace, only slowing enough to let John be more responsible for his own steps than she was.

The smug smile on Moira's face as John was hauled into the large ballroom that Moira'd had cleared for them only grew wider as John was unceremoniously released in front of her. Etriyya managed to look a little bit more surprised, though she also didn't bother to disguise her amusement as anything more than it was, openly guffawing the whole time that Kim was manhandling John.

"I take it you knew she was waiting for me?" John asked dryly, already knowing the answer.

"Of course. We were waiting for you together, until Kim grew... impatient."

"I 'grew' determined," Kim corrected, lifting her chin up defiantly. "Determined to get John Newman here on time so that we can 'grow' in the only way that matters now – stronger."

"Hear, hear," Etriyya called out, tapping her shield against her chestplate. "What lies before us is a long road with no turning. Best thing to do is get started on it early, so let's not waste any time."

"Alright, alright. Not as if I expected any different from you lot," John mused, opening up his menus. Despite the jovial words, there was a tension in the air, an anticipatory stress for their first rotation together. "When do the healers you mentioned arrive?"

"I told them that I had enough faith in our skills that they could arrive as much as an hour late. I pray that neither your brashness' nor the Slayer's proves that an unwise decision," Moira said, lifting a brow and giving both of them a hard glare.

"You are offered a chance most would kill for, a chance to lead your people to greatness, and yet all you can do is gripe and groan like an old soldier at the rear of the march," Kim remarked, holding her head high. "Even Etriyya appreciates what John is offering us. You should be more thankful."

"I'll settle for 'polite', I don't need 'thankful'," John said, not sure if anyone was even listening to him. "Moira, is this it? You didn't want to invite another knight along to get stronger?"

"No. Our numbers are stretched thin enough; this one practically broke my chamber door down, or I'd have at least second-guessed allowing her along as well," Moira said, giving Etriyya a quick glare over her shoulder. By the glint in her eyes, Etriyya had something to say back to that, but her jaw tightened instead. "What of you? No others wanting to tag along?"

"Plenty who would, but I'm thin on numbers as it is," John admitted. "Even the ones who hardly need sleep deserve some time off."

"Sense for others. Just not yourself, I see. Remember what we discussed," Moira cautioned. "Start us slow. Etriyya knows what monsters a mage can conjure inside of a Barrier, but she's never faced them like this. Besides, it's no use to block off this much time if we lose half of it to injuries and rest."

"Do you think me naught but a babe, Warden?" Etriyya said, voice half-teasing even as it retained a deferential note that he heard from the knight so rarely. "I was the lass that taught this one how to properly hold a blade without running himself through."

"Be that as it may, Knight Etriyya," Moira spoke, her commanding tone washing away all notes of amusement, "we will be doing this for many days to come. It is better to begin with caution and allow ourselves to learn our strengths through our own efforts... rather than be **** to learn our weaknesses at the hand of another."

"Of course, Lady Warden," Etriyya said, voice firm even as it dropped to a submissive half-whisper.

"Hold your shields with pride and purpose, and we won't have to worry about such matters," Kim said, confident to the point of being dismissive. "Keep us protected and we will cut down any enemy that crosses our path."

"I see you're taking safety as seriously as ever," Moira groaned.

"I have learned a thing or two of caution," Kim mused, giving John a pointed look before her eyes darted back to the irritated Moira, "but I will not allow every little concern to hold me back, when I could already be growing stronger! John, create one of your dungeons for us."

"A 'please' would go a really long way," John grumbled, though he was already finalizing his choices and sending out the party invites to the others. "If I hadn't seen you two at each other's throats a thousand times before, though, I'd be really rethinking my choices in shift compositions right now."

"I am a Slayer, John Newman. If I were at her throat, she'd already be dead."

Whatever irate reply Moira made was a little too quiet for John to hear, some of the sound lost as they transitioned into a space not quite of their own world. The manor faded away completely, replaced by a vast canyon, which they seemed to be toward the very bottom of.

The largely smooth stone walls reached far above their heads, to the point that they must have risen well above whatever the normal ground height was; multiple rivers were pouring into the expansive canyon, some with enough **** to roar and rush their way nearly to the middle of the canyon as they fell. But all of them, large or small, weak or strong, eventually met up in the middle, forming a river that looked to reach the better part of two miles wide. Only a few thin tracts of land between the converging flows remained dry, and most of them were still soaked from the wild sprays of the waterfalls above.

"Well, at least it's pretty," Etriyya remarked, stepping forward. "Can't say as much for the inhabitants, though."

They were stationed near the edge of a small, rocky shelf that stood perhaps two hundred feet above the majority of the valley, with a steep slope leading down into the valley proper. There, at the edges of the river, a handful of creatures the dungeon creator had labeled as "Undead-Elemental amalgamations", though to John's eyes "mud elemental" would've been a far simpler descriptor... or "rot elemental", judging by the scents powerful enough to reach them even over the streams of clear water.

"Moira said we should stick to the undead, get ourselves prepared for what's ahead. Blame her for the stench," John said as he walked by, casually strolling past Etriyya, ignoring the path and taking his first step off the ledge.

The sound of the gales passing by him rapidly blustered away any other sounds, but John could've sworn he heard a startled shout for an instant before his plunge began in earnest. The drop was short, and perhaps because of John's prior experience back at the cliffs of Paix, his adrenaline didn't surge nearly enough to slow it down. He landed on the ground below in what seemed like a single flash of movement, his knees barely bending on impact, the rocks below shifting and cracking slightly under his weight.

The others joined him a moment after. Moira clattered down in a similar fashion, her armor clanking every bit as loudly as John's did. Kim somehow seemed to slide down the face of the cliff's edge, despite it being almost completely sheer, clinging to the rock and gracefully striding over to join them when she finally reached the bottom. Etriyya followed behind the Warden, her landing aided by a glistening blue rune that appeared on the ground to arrest her descent at the last moment.

"I've seen you fly before, yet you still insist on doing things in the way most likely to give me a heart attack," Moira growled, giving John's shoulder a light punch. "Thought you'd misjudged the edge, for a moment."

"Sweet of you to care. But if you knew you'd be fine to jump, why did you think I'd be any different?"

"I didn't. I just worried you might have finally lost the last few brain cells you were still using," Moira hissed, clanking slightly as she adjusted her shield. "Come. All this noise has attracted their attention."

"I'd say she won't stop worrying like this until the war's over, but I doubt she can ever turn it off." Kim gave a roll of her eyes when Moira wasn't looking, flourishing her blade as she marched behind the Warden. "Come, John. If we're starting with low level creatures, we can clear this herd out in no time."

"I can help with that," Etriyya called, falling in beside them. "Let me lead the strike."

Kim gave an evaluating glance, but said nothing. Instead, she turned her gaze to John, awaiting his response instead. The Gamer blinked twice at the look, not sure quite why he was the one making the decision. He hadn't fought beside Etriyya since the battle against the Cabal... and even then, only sparingly. All he could really remember was her being a spellsword of some sort, not much different from the other Order knights, albeit more powerful.

"Alright, but Kim doesn't know how to slow down," John warned. "You'll have to push if you want to keep up."

"I don't need to keep up," Etriyya said, sounding almost triumphant. A glistening golden light appeared in her hand, tinged with interwoven sparks of red, crackling and sparking as it formed. "I just needed permission. Warden, clear?"

"Clear!" Came the reply from ahead, where Moira was nearly upon the first of the creatures. Its oozing black mass slicked its way across the rocks, slopping and sloshing toward her. The Warden stopped in her tracks the moment Etriyya's arm drew back, shield raised, bracing herself.

Etriyya gave a grunt of effort as she heaved the energy forward, physically hurling it ahead. The energy continued to coalesce and form until the very moment it left her hand, becoming a mostly-solidified bolt with only a few loose strands that quickly dissipated as it traveled. The spear-like ray of magic soared just over the Warden's right shoulder, easily within arm's reach, and collided with the approaching rot beast. The unnatural elemental let out a roar, but it only lasted a single note—then the creature violently burst open, its body spraying across the ground in a flash of light.

Party Member: 492 DMG! [Critical Weakness]

John wasn't all that impressed at first, given the level gap. But then he noticed the flash wasn't just the explosion—it was the bolt, diminished only slightly as it burst through the creature and emerged out the other side, already traveling toward its next target. Twenty feet away, another of the stinking masses was also approaching their group. It fared no better against the attack than the other rank creature had; a slightly dimmed flash, a burst of black and brown sludge over the ground, and then the bolt was moving again.

Party Member: 437 DMG! [Critical Weakness]
Party Member: 456 DMG! [Critical Weakness]
Party Member: 411 DMG! [Critical Weakness]

It slew two more of the creatures before its form became so diminished that it was hard to make out. Even then, just when John thought it would be the end of it, Etriyya herself began to glow. The bolt fizzled and sparked in mid-flight, just feet away from another of the beasts, only for Etriyya to appear in its place. The knight of the Golden Order already had her blade raised when she swapped to the spell's location, the edge of the sword barely glistening with the same color of mana as the bolt had consisted of. With a series of squelches and shouts, Etriyya hacked away at the beast until it was no more, blocking the revolting abomination's feeble attempts without visible effort on her own part.

"Impressive," John called out when the deed was done. There were more of the creatures on their way, but Etriyya had cleared out the immediate vicinity in rapid fashion.

"Hardly. Still getting the hang of weaving all that together," Etriyya grunted, loudly enough for them to hear. She wore a soured look on her face as she swung her blade to fling away the muck clinging to it. "That bolt should've held together far longer than it did, if I'd half the brains to manage it."

"You've done well enough. But don't burn yourself out too early, Knight Etriyya," Moira cautioned. "We have a long road ahead of us."

"Aye, Warden," Etriyya said, voice firm despite the lingering disappointment. "I merely thought it best to make myself useful while I can. I fear the gap between us means I'll be getting pulled by the a- by the ear through whatever John has in store for us after we've warmed up."

"Your enthusiasm is noted, and not unappreciated. But keep yourself ready. A blade that breaks itself on the second shield it strikes will never see the glory of a finished campaign."

"Aye, Warden."

Etriyya and Moira fell into lockstep, shields raised as they continued down the bank of the river, making their way toward the next cluster of rapidly-approaching undead-elemental hybrids. John and Kim followed behind, blades at the ready. But it was Kim's expression rather than the landscape ahead that drew his attention; the Slayer's eyes were narrowed, and her focus seemed to swivel endlessly between the two women ahead of them and the decomposing blobs working their way upriver toward them.

"Something wrong, Kim?"

Kim didn't avert her eyes, speaking to John without meeting his gaze.

"No, nothing wrong. Just a strange feeling, I think. Déjà vu, of sorts."

"About...?" John prompted, but Kim shook her head before the question had time to hang.

"Nothing of import. Impossibilities and paranoia, that's all."