Earlier that day, Panu lay on the grass outside the dungeon, his head resting on arms crossed behind his head and feet crossed at the ankles. His eyes were closed, and he listened for the sound of approaching footsteps. He wasn’t the type to be bothered when folks were running late and was perfectly happy to enjoy a nap in the shade of a tree; the cool, soft grass on his back was a more than acceptable bed compared to some of the places he had passed out on his home world.
The Fire trainer who had accompanied him to the dungeon was a Kaseta named Kane. Kane was older than most of the other folks Panu had met so far; his light tan skin showed the wrinkles of age setting in, though his purple eyes held sharp wisdom. His purple wings looked more leathery than the younger members of his race, and one had a thin scar leading to a jagged indent in the edge of the wing, a clear remnant of battle.
After introducing Panu to the dungeon and information regarding it, they had waited for the rest of their party to show up. This was a higher level dungeon that was not recommended for individuals and required a larger group. However, when his patience ran thin, Kane headed back towards the temple to figure out what was holding up the rest of their party. But Panu didn’t have to wander back with Kane to know exactly what was holding up the rest of the party - Morigan.
While Kane was frustrated by the less than timely arrival, or lack of arrival at all, of Morigan and her trainer, Panu didn’t much care. He wasn’t uptight like the Princess, and was significantly less dedicated to training than most of the folks at the temple. They’d get to the dungeon when they got to it, and until then, he’d enjoy a nice nap.
Some time later, the sound of rustling grass and clinking armor brought him back into full wakefulness. He opened one eye and saw Kane leading a silent group. Morigan walked haughtily beside another Kaseta that Panu didn’t recognize, this one a young woman with dark skin like midnight, long, silky black hair, and shimmering, iridescent blue wings. Her eyes of light, bright blue drew his attention and raised just the right amount of goosebumps, and her delicate face was attractive even in the stoic mask she wore, likely caused by dealing with Morigan.
Panu was immediately interested in getting to know her. He opened his other eye and quickly stood, much more motivated now to meet the incoming party. There were two other members of the party, both Mizeta. One was a woman dressed in heavy metal armor with a helmet and holding a shield, so Panu couldn’t make out much more than the green skin and eyes and a wisp of purple hair.
The other was a man wearing light weight leather and reinforced cloth armor in shades of green and blue that matched his skin and hair and contrasted with his gold eyes. He wore a crossbow on his back and carried a magical scepter at his belt. His square jaw gave him a rugged look that worked. Panu might have been interested in him had the Kaseta woman not greatly outclassed his looks.
Panu raised an arm to casually wave at the approaching party. “You made it back!”
“Yes,” Kane replied. “We have lost time, and now will not be able to gain as much experience as we had anticipated. We do not like to make the trek without having ample time to spend.”
Morigan glared daggers at the back of Kane’s head, “I am a Princess and I need my beauty sleep! I cannot be expected to be up at the crack of dawn, no attendants to help me dress, no servants to bring me breakfast in bed! And then the armor your ‘weapons-master’ tried to give me was wholly unacceptable!” She stomped a foot to add emphasis to this last point.
Panu glanced at her, quickly taking in her outfit. It didn’t look very protective, but it did look very pretty. He hoped there were some enchantments on it for added armor like Magma, his Volcanic Robe, offered. If not, she may be regretting her choice of looks over survivability. That wasn’t Panu’s problem. Her personality, on the other hand, was his problem, but he decided to play nice. A princess in a bad mood was going to make the afternoon insufferably long.
“Well, you look very nice Princess! Almost as good as me!” He paused. He had almost managed to play nice.
Morigan opened her mouth to respond and Panu pushed forward instead, “Let’s just get to the dungeon then! You can show off the skills of royalty inside!”
Morigan looked for a moment like she was going to refuse, but then stomped forward, “Oh, I will show you common folk exactly what royalty means!”
The Kaseta beside Morigan let out a sigh of relief, frustration at being saddled with the Princess clear on her face. Kane’s face was expressionless. He was either very good at hiding his feelings or this wasn’t the worst thing he had dealt with as a trainer. The pair of Mizeta had the look of folks just along for the ride, an easy camaraderie between them as they followed the group. Panu stepped out in front of the blue-eyed Kaseta as she moved to pass him into the dungeon.
“Hi,” he flashed a charming smile and held out a hand, “I’m Panu. I don’t believe we’ve met!”
The woman paused for a moment before taking his hand, “Yasima.” She spoke in a soft voice that carried a hint of frustration.
“How did you get lucky enough to be Morigan’s trainer?” Panu’s tone made it clear that he did not consider it luck.
“Nilendi is my mother,” she said, somewhat mournfully as she looked at the ground.
“Oh, now that does explain a lot,” Panu drew her hand to his mouth for a chivalrous kiss on the back of her hand before continuing, “Well at least now that I’m here with you, today will be a little better for both of us,” he said with a charismatic smile.
—--
Panu rubbed his forehead and eyes. He generally considered himself a laid back, go-with-the-flow kind of guy. However, Morigan’s temperament had not improved since entering the dungeon.
As it turned out, the “carefully cultivated” experience as heir to the throne included more arranging for multiple parties to parade monsters back to her to finish off with Air magic than actual dangerous or skilled applications of her power. Her spells were incredibly powerful, but she used her magic like a blunt object and was absolutely incapable of working with a team, buffeting everyone with the effects of her powerful wind.
Panu didn’t spend a lot of time in large teams himself, but even he had enough control of his magic to prevent his fire from burning what he didn’t want to burn. Fine magic control was very important when showing off to gain certain types of attention from those around him. He rarely met a man or woman he couldn’t impress with his magical control and it had led to some very enjoyable evenings. Fiery passion enhanced by his warm, delicate flames. Manipulating time to extend a moment of exquisite joy… Panu allowed himself a smile in his moment of reminiscence for his homeworld.
Morigan, however, was resistant to any of his charms and, it seemed, deathly allergic to instruction or constructive criticism. Yasima was practically in tears at her inability to get through to Morigan. And Panu just couldn’t have a pretty girl crying over a haughty Princess with no manners. He needed to do something to make Yasima laugh… and to bring Morigan down a peg. But what?
“The boss is up ahead”, Kane called. As the party leader, he was standing near the front, right behind Zali, the heavy armor wearing Mizeta with, it turned out, Earth magic. Kane’s supple light armor and long rapier made sense now, whereas Panu had been confused when first meeting him. Most people with Fire magic didn’t put much effort into weapons, as fire was fast to conclude fights, but Kane was a brilliant swordsman. Panu only knew the basics of the sword because dueling had become popular on his planet in recent years, and he liked to stay on trend.
The dungeon had mostly featured regular animals with elemental powers, as opposed to more mythic and creative monsters. It meant that, for the most part, they were easy to keep corralled by the melee fighters while the rest of the group, the two air mages, Panu, and the other Mizeta, a water mage named Malik, hung in the back to cast spells. Panu didn’t expect the boss to be much different but he was still wary. He knew better than to let his guard down.
As they rounded a thicket of dense trees, Panu saw the boss up ahead. It was an absolutely gigantic snake, around 40 feet long and six feet in diameter. Its very shiny and very pointy fangs were 4 feet long in its oversized triangular head. A yellow and blue diamond pattern covered the scales from its head to the tip of its tail. With some relief, Panu saw that it had a Blue aura, indicating it was several levels lower than he was.
A scream rang out near him and Panu turned to see Morigan staring in open-mouthed fear as the volume and pitch of her scream tried to pierce Panu’s eardrums. This, of course, drew the attention of the very large snake, which immediately spun around itself rising into a defensive posture, its body an accordion of compressed muscle. It only took a second for the serpent to spy what had wandered into its clearing, and it lunged forward towards them, initiating the battle.
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As the snake lunged, a thick layer of clay burst into the air to cover the head and top half of the snake as Zali cast a spell. The head of the snake jerked to a stop, while the momentum of the back half kept moving to crumple in on the rest of its body. Panu knew that Encase in Clay would hold the snake for a short time, and did not need to be told to unload on the boss while he was stationary.
“Focus your spells on the body just behind the clay” Kane called the order as he began to channel Fire magic into his swords, leaping towards the thrashing tail.
Panu truly believed, at this point, that Kane had a death wish, but right now, his job was to blow up the snake. He quickly buffed himself with several spells. First, Heat, which increased his fire damage, area, and range. He followed that with Fired Up, which boosted fire spells and tripled the effectiveness of Heat. He finished off with Blazing Speed, his Fire and Time spell that made just about everything he did faster, including his reflexes. He did not want to get hit by that snake.
As he finished buffing, he watched as Yasima cast air magic that Panu couldn’t quite identify in the rush of battle. She somehow managed to attack the boss while also tugging on Morigan’s arm, telling her to stop screaming and attack the snake. Panu was impressed by her ability to multitask.
Malik launched arrows of ice that hit the target in the back, followed by a spray of water in quick succession. Arrows of rock from Zali joined the arrows of ice to pound into the snake’s back, followed by Dirt Discs which combined with the water into a muddy mess not far from where Kane attacked in melee.
Panu’s own Fire Lances, overcharged from his buffs and glowing the white-blue of super hot fire, hit shortly after the arrows of ice and rock. He followed up immediately with Immolate, inflicting a slow burn that would fester on the snake. Kane’s Fire Lances hit the boss right after Panu’s, and Kane followed up with a slash of his fire-infused sword. Panu was definitely going to have to learn that technique. He had never seen anyone infuse elemental magic into their weapons before and it would be a great party trick.
Panu decided to show off a little, and followed up with an attack he particularly liked. He loved experimenting with Create Fire and Manipulate Fire to ensure he never had to wait for a spell cooldown. He concentrated on a spot above the snake and a razor-thin flaming heart burst into existence, glowing blue-orange and growing larger. When it was about the same diameter as the snake’s body, Panu slammed the fiery heart into it, focusing on keeping the entire shape of the heart burning to slice into its body rather than losing shape as it hit the snake. A searing line of flame began to cook and slide into the flesh of the snake.
Morigan had finally snapped out of it, and, seeing that it was held in place by Zali’s clay, managed to cast her Whirlwind spell on the back half of the snake, though her aim was not great and the attack spewed loose dirt and droplets of water harmlessly onto the rest of the party. She followed up with a Gust, which was slightly better aimed and managed to hit just behind where everyone else’s spells were hitting.
The clay around the snake's head was starting to crack. It was about to break. Anticipating this, a rock shield from Zali began to form on the left side of the snake, curving towards its head and face. At the same time, an ice shield from Malik formed on the other side of the snake, mirroring the size and positioning. As an experienced team, this was clearly a spell maneuver Malik and Zali had used many times to trap a monster and keep it contained. Panu considered throwing his Fire Shield on top in case the snake tried to get over it, but he decided he would stay focused on slicing his burning heart through the snake’s body. His mentality towards any fight was to just end it as quickly as possible, and the best way to do that was damage.
As the clay shattered, Panu, Yasima, Morigan, and Kane continued to pound the snake with spells and sword. Zali and Malik managed to hold their shields by reinforcing them with additional layers of rock and water, demonstrating their skill as Earth and Water mages. Panu’s heart had seared through over two feet of flesh, and he could see that Kane’s sword had a similar effect on the opposite side of the snake’s body. Its tail thrashed, but Kane, it turned out, also had a Time affinity, as he moved and reacted to the snake’s movements faster than a normal fighter would, indicating he, too, had cast Blazing Speed on himself.
The overwhelming level advantage the party had, with Panu being the lowest at 19, made quick work of the giant snake. It shuddered for a brief moment and died as Panu and Kane collectively seared it in half. Panu looked over the party that surrounded him, noting that no one had taken any major damage in the encounter as Malik and Zali had managed to subdue the head for the entire fight using their Water and Earth magic. He had never worked closely with Earth or Water mages, but he could definitely see the benefit to having them around. He was used to getting a little beat up in a fight, but coming out unscathed felt much nicer.
“Princess, you need to learn to keep calm in battle and school your reactions. If Zali had not been so quick to entrap the snake, it would have attacked you in seconds after drawing its attention as you did.” Yasima scolded Morigan, a mask of calm barely hiding the anger Panu knew was under those words. Rule number one of combat was to always initiate an encounter on your own terms. Alerting a monster to your presence by screaming could have gotten the whole group killed.
Morigan, of course, did not show remorse. “How do you expect me to react when you lead me to a giant snake?! I didn’t want to come in the first place and you threaten my life with monsters who can eat me in one bite!” The pitch of her voice increased as she reached the end of her statement and her face twisted in a mix of fear and rage.
Kane approached Morigan, the hardened expression in his eyes the only sign of his reaction to Morigan’s outburst. “Each one of us exceeds the level of this dungeon. Malik, Zali and I regularly adventure here together, and have killed this snake boss with just the three of us. We have not yet put you in danger in this dungeon, merely given you a chance to learn about our world and to grow your experience in the closest approximation to a safe environment that we can offer. Your reaction is unnecessary at best, and at worst shows a severe lack of decorum, discipline, and ability for a Princess of your, or any, world. If you want us to believe that you are, indeed, a Princess as you say, then show us how a royal defends their people with talent, strength, and courage.”
Kane turned and immediately began to head back the way they came, “Our time is over. We will be leaving now.”
Malik and Zali turned and followed Kane, not sparing a look at the Princess. Panu cast a sympathetic gaze at Yasima, and jerked his thumb in the direction of the exit, indicating she should follow, hoping she would just forget about Morigan. Trying to calm her would be a waste of energy, and she would be forced to follow them, as Panu knew she would not want to be left alone to defend herself.
Morigan raged as Panu and Yasima both followed the group out, but, as Panu suspected, she would rather stay with the group than be alone with monsters. He managed to tune out her ranting, and the rest of the group was also choosing the option to ignore her, walking in silence. Halfway to the entrance, Morigan finally fell into silence, sulking behind the party and looking more like a petulant child, than a dignified noble.
As they approached the entrance, Kane veered off to a small, fenced in area. As Panu got close enough to see, he saw the Scouring Slimes Kane had told him about when he first entered. Kane tossed his sword into the pen and reached down to grab a slime, using it like a washcloth over spots of dirt, grime, and gore on his armor. As Panu watched, the slime cleaned his armor without doing any harm to Kane. Panu grinned, a thought coming to him as he watched Morigan sulk behind them. He grabbed up one of the smallest slimes, and, holding it behind his back, walked over to Morigan.
“Hey Morigan, I noticed your outfit has a little dirt on it.”
Morigan glared at him, but didn’t answer.
“I think I can help with that,” and Panu swiftly took the slime and placed it on her shoulder, where it immediately began to slide down the back of her shirt, devouring the sweat that coated her body.
Morigan immediately shrieked and began flailing her arms around “Get it off, get it off, get it off!” She cried, as if it were a spider trying to bite her rather than a harmless level 1 Scouring Slime safely cleaning her. Panu stepped back and laughed as it oozed its way around to her other shoulder, starting to move towards her neck and the scooping neckline of her robe. Morigan ineffectually swatted at it for a few more seconds, until Yasima grabbed it easily and dropped it to the ground.
Morigan looked at Panu and began tossing a string of insults at him.
“Look Princess, I was just helping you get clean after the hard dungeon. And I think it missed a spot…” Panu used his Alter Time ability to reverse the movement of the ooze so it, effectively, teleported back in time several seconds to when it started moving towards Morigan’s swooping neckline. Morigan shrieked and immediately began her flailing antics again, clearly having no idea how the slimy creature had reappeared on her. The slime was not fazed, however, and proceeded to continue doing what its instincts told it to do - devour any mess. It slid down the front of Morigan’s robe before she managed to gather enough wits about her to fling the slime away with her left hand.
Pani could have stopped, but he saw the hint of a smile on Yasima’s lips. She was clearly taking some amusement from Morigan freaking out over a harmless, and even helpful, monster. This prompted him to once again manipulate time to deposit the Slime right back onto her chest. This time, the slime immediately started sinking down her body, oozing behind the robe against her skin.
Morigan, who had barely stopped shrieking, let out an outraged howl this time, but despite her flailing she couldn’t get the slime out of her robe. Her face twisted in fury and misery as the cool slime cleaned its way down her body. Panu grinned in amusement, grabbing up another slime, this time to let it clean him. No need to be dirty and sweaty with such a useful critter.
Yasima finally took pity on Morigan and used her air magic to dislodge and push the slime quickly down through the rest of the robe and onto the ground. Morigan bolted away from the spot where the little slime sat, still brushing frantically at her body as if to wipe away the memory of the critter. Panu had his fill of entertainment. All good jokes came in three’s, so he let her be, waiting for the slime to work its way over his body so they could head back to the temple.
—-
Lily laughed in an adorable combination of snorts and warbles, her lips curled back showing her large front buck teeth chittering as she guffawed. Anika held back a smile, as inwardly, she was quite pleased to hear that Morigan was a useless mage and afraid of even the tiny Scouring Slimes, but she didn’t necessarily want to encourage someone being made fun of. As a socially awkward, geeky girl, she’d had her share of pointed fingers and teasing as a kid.
“That wasn’t very nice… though I can’t say she wasn’t asking for it.” Anika said, trying to keep a neutral tone. “I don’t really like Morigan, but she isn’t going to get any better if we harass her.”
“True,” Panu agreed. “But it got me a kiss on the cheek from Yasima.” He grinned broadly and Anika just sighed.
——
In their Pantheon, Air looked at Water, “I hate to admit that I owe you an apology… but I am starting to suspect your strategy in choosing a champion was better than mine.”
Water grinned smugly “I know.”
