Mage Tank

Chapter 12: The Wise and Magnanimous Grotto

Now, I may be a pristine example of manly stoicism when it comes to a variety of stressful and life-threatening circumstances, but when a creepy ass voice starts whispering to me out of the darkness in a deadly underground maze of supernatural sewers, I am likely to lose my cool a bit. That is precisely how I realized that something unnatural was happening, when I failed to flinch even a little. I was calm, serene, more at ease than I had been my entire time within the Delve. I stopped without much thought, and looked around curiously for the source of the command.

[Come.] The sinister vibrated within me. I noticed a pair of glinting eyes in an adjoining tunnel to my left.

The owner of the eyes held a softly glowing orb in its hand and I walked towards it. I expected to see another twisted or mutated creature. Maybe a three-meter-tall gentleman in a crisp suit with a blank, white face. Perhaps a fucking werewolf. But, this was just a dude. A half-naked, pale, filthy dude with broken yellow teeth and stringy hair hanging down from a hairline that looked like it had started to give up in middle school. The guy was ripped, though, which was an odd contrast. Who had time to go to the gym, but not to brush their teeth?

I walked closer to the man, who I noticed was about six inches shorter than me, and stopped when I was close enough that he could reach out and touch me. He smiled and looked me up and down, licking his lips. He had a satchel over one shoulder that was darkly stained along the bottom half, but looked empty. The orb he held was metallic, with two lines of luminous symbols ringing its top and bottom. It hovered gently over his palm. In his other hand he gripped a jagged tool. It had a thick grip, at the end of which was a sort of scoop, as large as a mixing bowl. The edge of the scoop was lined with long, serrated points which, when I looked closely, resembled teeth or fangs.

The man peeked at my allies, receding down the hall, then looked back up to me with a grin. He adjusted his grip on the melon-baller from hell, and the runes along the orb lit up. I felt the whisper again, though the man’s lips never moved.

[Lie down.]

I looked at the ground, then back up at the disgusting, pale man with the heroic physique.

I reached out and grabbed him by the neck.

“You know,” I said, “your Planet Fitness membership comes with complimentary access to the tanning booths.”

His eyes went wide and he dropped his scoop, then grabbed at my wrist, but still held onto the orb with his other hand. I squeezed as hard as I could, then cast Oblivion Orb. There was a loud pop!, then blood came spilling out from between my fingers. That got him to drop the orb, which, to my surprise, didn’t fall, but floated gently to the ground. He grabbed my wrist with both hands and twisted his whole body. The bones in my wrist creaked, and I lost my grip on his throat. He made a rasping, croaking sound, shooting blood from between his lips, then stumbled back into the dark. I wiped my hand off on my pants and called out to the others.

“Hey! I got something back here!”

Xim and Varrin shot around, both looking confused that I was so far away, then began running back toward me. I squinted into the dark after the weird pale guy, who I could hear stumbling down the corridor, but I was in no hurry to go after him in the pitch black. I squatted down to observe the orb, then gave it a poke. It didn’t react and I didn’t feel any tingling or pain when I touched it, so I picked it up. When I stood, Xim and Varrin were beside me.

“What happened?” Varrin asked.

“There was this guy,” I said, “he had this orb and he–or the orb, maybe–was whispering shit right into my brain.”

Varrin turned the glowstone lamp down the tunnel and we could make out the shape of the man as he squeezed into a large crack in the wall. As we watched, the crack widened to accommodate him, then shrank back down after he squirmed through it, now too small for a normal person to pass. He’d also left his scoop behind, which I prodded with my boot.

“He had that, too.”

Xim picked it up and examined it.

“What a strange implement,” she said, turning it over. “It looks like it’s designed to replicate teeth or claw marks.”

“What do you mean it whispered into your brain?” asked Varrin.

I relayed the brief encounter, and Varrin’s expression grew dark.

“You think that’s what killed Chilla and Sayil?”

“Maybe,” I said. “He had some sort of mind control thing,” I held up the orb, “and that organ-scooper-mabob.” I pointed at the tool Xim still held.

“How did you resist the mind control?” Varrin asked.

“You see, he had merely adopted the dark. I was born in it; molded by it.”

Varrin scowled and opened his mouth to say something, when the whisper intruded into all of our minds.

[Release…me.]

I held the orb closer to my face and squinted at it.

“Are you talking to me?” I said. The symbols on the orb pulsed.

[Release…me,]it repeated, its mental voice growing beyond a whisper.

I gave the orb a shake.

“I don’t think I will.”

The symbols flickered a few times.

[Please?]

I looked between Varrin and Xim. Varrin shook his head slowly, then turned to cast the light of his lamp around the area, keeping watch for any more surprises. Xim leaned close to the orb.

“What are you?” she asked.

There was no response, so I gave the orb another shake.

“Answer the lady, please,” I said.

[I am the mind and the will. I am the beating heart of hearts.] The sinister mental voice began to crescendo[I am the arbiter of what shall be and what shall not! I am-]

“The duck that flaps in the night?” I said.

[I am not this thing… a duck.]

“What is a duck?” asked Xim.

“It’s, uh, nevermind. Listen, try to be a little less grandiose and a bit more specific.”

[To be specific would be an endeavor your feeble minds would not comprehend. My nature is beyond your capacity to realize. I transcend that which you can grasp and the nuance of my being cannot be contained within the linguistic confines of your-]

“Ok, how about this. In five words or less, what are you?”

The runes twinkled.

[I am the core.]

“The core of what?”

[This place. This facility. This Delve.]

Xim recoiled, and I raised an eyebrow at her.

“You’re saying you’re the master of this place?” she said.

[I am not so full of hubris that I would claim a title more befit to the Old Ones. I am the executive overmind, the governor of creation within these walls, entrusted as overseer to the execution of the Great Will.]

“The manager,” I said.

[A facile and overly simple characterization of my functions, but it is not incorrect.]

“So what are you doing skulking around with yolked Gollum?”

I felt an unpleasant sensation pass through my head, like a subtle vibration that was half-imagined.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

[Your use of unfamiliar cultural references is vain and short-sighted, as you speak only for your own amusement. Those around you will quickly tire of it.]

“Sure, let me rephrase. Why were you hamming about with Crypt Keeper von Steroids?”

Another tingle in my head.

[That reference is so obscure that even others of your own kind would find it difficult to comprehend.]

“Are you- Are you reading my mind right now?”

[Yes.]

“Oh,” I said, scratching my jaw.

[You see? That is a forthright response wherein the manner of communication is simple and effective. Abandon your foolish pursuit of self-sabotaging wit and adopt a more immediate mode of speech.]

“The loquacious, mind-invading Delve spirit is critiquing how I talk,” I said, more to parse the information myself than anything.

[I am not a spirit.]

“Right, you’re this location’s supervisor. I’d actually like to file a complaint.”

[I am not a supervisor! And you have no authority to register your petty bleating.]

Xim clapped her hands together loudly between us.

“Let’s take this conversation back to somewhere more constructive,” she said. Then, to the core, “Why were you with the villain who has been hunting us?”

[That fiend’s name is Hognay. He has coerced me into his service.]

“How would he coerce one such as you?” asked Xim.

[He threatens the very existence of the Delve. It is my duty to prioritize the continued function of this facility above all else.]

“Is he the reason the mana accumulation has stopped?”

[Indeed. I do not know how he was able to infiltrate this place, as he did not enter through the normal portals, such as you did. Once inside, he summoned a lesser C’thonic being which consumes the gathering power of the Delve. He has already caused extensive damage to the obelisk in order to remove my physical shell and cut off my access to the other systems. I will shred his muscle and tendon and extract his central nervous system. I will suspend it in a preservation chamber and torment him with salt and acid for all eternity!]

“Jesus,” I said. “You can do that?”

The runes on its body pulsed.

[I would need to make modifications to the Delve. I am certain that I can acquire authorization from the System. I will fertilize soil with his ground bones and grow Piertan plants that will provide the corrosive matter for his own torment.]

“You go ahead and do that,” I said. “If this guy is the reason the Delve is stalled out or whatever, then we just need to take care of him to finish the Delve, right?” I looked at Xim for confirmation. She looked thoughtful.

“Maybe,” she said. “What should we call you?”

[My designation is core one-one-five-six.]

“But ‘Core’ isn’t your name, right?” I said. “It describes what you are, not who you are.”

[This is true, in essence. I am a core.]

“So calling you core one-one-five-six would be like calling me ‘human five billion twenty four million one hundred thousand and sixty three.’”

“It’s also too long,” Xim added.

[It is only too long due to your unwieldy use of vocalized language.]

“This place is called ‘The Toxic Grotto’, right?” I said. “You’re the core of ‘The Toxic Grotto’, so maybe we can just call you Grotto?”

[That is fine if it will settle the matter. I have little interest in what you call me.]

“Alright Grotto,” said Xim. “My name is Xim and this is Arlo. The big guy over there patrolling is Varrin.” She held her chin in her hand. “Are you a boy core, or a girl core?”

Runes glittered.

[The closest analog in your limited parlance is male.]

“Ok Grotto, nice to meet you! What do we need to do to fix the Delve?”

[I cannot be certain, since I am no longer in communication with the Delve’s operations. Eliminating the C’thon that drains the mana will be the first step. If there has been no further damage, then that will be sufficient.]

“And that probably involves getting rid of Hulky Hognay,” I said.

[True. I find it doubtful that he would abandon this Delve of his own volition. You would need to persuade him to leave. Preferably through a liberal application of violence. However…]

Grotto popped up out of my hand and hovered into the air, then took a lap around the pair of us. It went over to Varrin and did the same, until he waved it away like a fly. Grotto returned and its runes blinked.

[You are all too weak. Even if your other two companions had not perished, the battle would be all but hopeless.]

“Aren’t these Delves adjusted to player level?” I asked.

[A crude description, but close enough to the truth. If this Delve were functioning normally, it would be a deadly challenge for a group of five newborns like you, but far from impossible. Hognay and his beast are not from the Delve, however. They have trespassed from outside and Hognay possesses power beyond what this Delve can produce at its current accumulation level. If that were not so, I would have crushed him myself and consumed his life essence to power even greater lethal countermeasures.]

“Then the Delve is a deathtrap to lure in Delvers and consume their souls,” I said, looking to Xim. “I guess the followers of whoever-you-said were right.”

“The supplicants of Astrania.”

[No. Your vulgar assertion is not the purpose of the Delves.]

“Then what is?” I asked.

[You are unworthy of that knowledge. Know that you serve a vital purpose, and be satisfied.]

“So, you don’t know?”

[Of course I know, I am the core.]

“Then what is it?”

[Why do you believe that absurd tactic will elicit more information from me? I am not a child and will not be goaded into revealing that which is hidden for a reason.]

I frowned and looked at Xim, jerking my thumb at Grotto.

“He doesn’t know.”

“A tragedy, for sure,” said Xim. “To endure in a task without knowing the reason why, it must be very difficult.”

[You are not as insidious as you believe with your clumsy antagonism. Continue to waste time here and the fate that befalls you will be well-earned.]

I shrugged.

“We’ll try to let you know when we figure it out. I hate the thought of you struggling down here without a clear purpose.”

[Silence! We must find a way to restore the mana accumulation and this prattle is destructive to our cause.]

“Fine,” I said, “but if a fight with Hognay and his… C’thon is unwinnable, then what can we do?”

“Could you help us?” Xim said to Grotto.

[Again, I am not integrated with the Delve… I would be capable of lending aid, were I placed back within the obelisk.]

“And what is the obelisk?” I asked.

[It is the obelisk of this Delve.]

“Ok, but what does it do?”

[That is also not for you to know.]

“There are theories,” said Xim, “that it is the central structure which gathers mana from the surrounding areas. That’s typically where you find the Delve’s strongest monsters and the main goal for most Delves is just to reach it.”

“Sound right, Grotto?”

[I can neither confirm nor deny your rudimentary theories and suppositions.]

“So it’s true,” Xim said, looking excited. “There’s so much more I want to know! Why are there monsters in the Delves? Are they intentional, or a side effect of accumulating mana? I always thought they were a mix of both, since you earn chips when you slay monsters, and chips are a form of condensed mana. The monsters must spawn or grow from the mana-rich environment.”

[I have not said any of that is true! Your presumptions are foolish.]

“Yeah,” I said. “I wouldn’t put too much faith in the words of a malevolent mind-controlling murder-sphere.”

[I am not malevolent. My existence serves a greater good.]

“You helped swole Napoleon murder two of our party members.”

[I was under duress, and the lives of Delvers who enter the Delves are forfeit until they prove their worth. My actions were only an extension of their trials.]

“But not Hognay,” I said. “You said he’s far stronger than what should have been here. Mind controlling our allies into his clutches is a clear violation of whatever trial you’re talking about.”

[If you believe that my interests lie in providing a fair and balanced experience for Delvers who seek out my rewards, then you are misguided and naive.]

“What rewards are we even talking about?!” I said, getting a little heated.

“Chips and stats,” said Xim, frowning. “I know you were less informed than you should have been coming in here, but you don’t even know that much?”

“Yes,” I said, feeling my reasoning for keeping my origins a secret growing weaker by the second. I didn’t know these people and I didn’t know what they would do with the information that I came from another world or whatever had happened to me, but at this point the risk of death at the hands of Hognay, his monster, this orb, or our time running out loomed larger and larger in my mind. I was also beginning to question whether my honesty could have gone towards preserving Chilla and Sayil’s lives, but I didn’t see how it would have made much of a difference. Maybe it would have helped our strategy, or maybe it would have created even more conflict in the group. I brushed away the sproutling of guilt and took a deep breath.

“I don’t know anything.”