Healing Mishap -9-
By Lanzaq

Cael nodded yes to Kate and downed the potion from Arric. Kate quickly incanted what sounded like a poem in High Church and the tile seemed to melt like hot, gray wax. The six climbed their way down on a wooden ladder that also appeared to be untouched by thousands of years. "Well. We have creepy entrance to a creepy dungeon underneath a church that apparently had metric tons of secrets, an elf that is allergic to the magic they used and we were led here by a note that became illegible halfway down and," Verris said pausing to adjust his robe on his shoulders. "Lets get going shall we? The person that wrote the note sounded like they needed help didn't they?"

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Underneath the church appeared to make the capital's catacomb appear tiny. The black stone looked like it was carved from the shadows that waited the light being cast by Verris' staff. Everyone stood on guard as the roar of some sort of creature could be heard down the hallway.

Each step they took down the hallway echoed in their silence. Reverberating to their soul as if it were telling them to continue or give up hope and turn around right there. It seemed that they were all determined to press onward.

After a while they all came upon a large open atrium. As Ash made her first step into the room a light from above lit up revealing a large cast bronze statue of a woman that bore resemblance to a certain healer. Everyone stared except for Kate at the statue. Suddenly the staff that the statue was holding swept across the floor missing everyone except for Ash who was standing on the trigger switch.

The impact hit hard and drove her into the stone wall with a clank of armour. Kate ran over with a worried look on her face. "Are you okay Ash?"

"The gal just got smashed by a giant metal staff. Would YOU be okay?" Verris asked sarcastically. "check her pulse she might need a resurrection." he fished around in his backpack and pulled out his large leather book.

"I know what I am doing." Kate stated flatly. "besides she isn't dead. Any novice healer could tell that." she said drawing her staff out of her leather hand pouch. With a fancy twirl and a quick incantation Ash was back on her feet.

She let out a quick thank you and picked up her sword off the floor where she dropped it. Everyone continued to look around in silence. Eventually Cael broke it with an observation. "There is a draft from under the statue, I think we might need to move it."

Verris flipped page after page before he retrieved his staff off his back. "Everyone move out of the way. " he paused, and inhaled sharply before letting out a stream of indecipherable words. Eventually the statue slid over slowly. Revealing a ladder just like the one before.

The six again found themselves in a crowded, almost light-less hallway. After awhile they found them selves a fork. One leading forward one lead to the right. "Keep going or turn to the right." Arric said "I have a gut feeling we should go forward."

suddenly a roar echoed around them whatever they were hearing it was getting closer. The all agreed that forward would be the best option. "We will face it head on and save the person that sent the note." Raleigh said pointing a dagger down the hallway. "Lets go."

Again they found themselves walking into a large open room. Ash stepped on the tile that turned on the magic lights to come to life showing the ceiling above them. The ceiling was a mural depicting a 'young' Sodia, placing an infant in an open field, the rest of the mural had crumbled beyond recognition. Raleigh walked forward slowly expecting something, however he walked to the wall on the other side and made a complete circle around the room.

"Nothing, no switch, no draft, and Ash didn't even get nailed by a trap this time." Raleigh said as he poked at the wall expecting a spot to push in revealing a trap door.

"I guess my gut feeling was wrong." Arric said. "We need to head back. Be careful I think if we found what ever has been cooped down here for so long. Three things might be the case. One, it might be hungry. Two, it might be angry. Three, if we are still in one of the hallways there is no way we would be able to fight it correctly. "

"Okay. I understand point one, but why point two and three?" Verris asked pushing his glasses back up his nose.

"Verris, think about this. If YOU were locked in a small cramped space for a hundred years plus, with little to no food and no light what so ever. how would you react when you came across someone? Even if they weren't the ones that locked you away, but you thought that they were involved. how would you react?" Raleigh said. "I am pretty sure you would be a tad angry."

"Another thing. Look at the hallways. If we are lucky we can walk two by two. There are six of us, how could we fight successfully in such a small area?" Arric said.

Verris stopped for a moment before finally letting out a slight "oh."

they all turned down the right corridor, Cael finding the switch this time. Lights lit up all down the hallway also revealing small and almost invisibly thin blades stretched across the hallway. Raleigh tossed one of the loaves of bread against one of the blades. Instantly the blade halves broke away from the wall and wrapped around the bread slicing it clean in half.

"Shit." Verris said sucking in air through his teeth. "how are we going to get through this mess."

"very carefully." Arric said several arrows in hand. With a creak of the bowstring the arrows were sent whizzing down the hall tripping several of the blades. "Now I think I tripped most of them still be on the look out."

Ash took the lead again. Her sword held point down towards the floor. As they all walked forward maybe two feet away from the next turn there was a sproing and thunk. Ash lifted her sword revealing that it had been cut clean through about half way down.

"Well, it looks like Ash needs a new sword." Raleigh said. "anyone got a spare Executioner's Sword?"

"Ha ha, very funny Raleigh. I don't think any of us here have a spare sword." Arric said notching another arrow.

Ash dropped her backpack and opened it pulling out a small rapier. It looked neither that functional or cheap. It looked like something a noble would have given their favorite daughter for her first fencing lessons.

After the turn it revealed another hallway, however instead of trap wires it was spinning blades. "my lord what were these people protecting that required a labyrinth, traps and dangerous monsters?" Raleigh said smacking his hand against his head.

"Normally that hints to something interesting." Arric said. "I mean, would you take the time or effort
to hide something of little importance under levels and levels of security?"

Raleigh thought for a moment. "No actually, you are right." he said drawing his two daggers. "so what is our plan here? We can't rush it. We would end up as ribbons. "

"I can try and melt the blades." Cael said summoning a ball of fire, Kate was saying something but suddenly the ball of fire roared into life and grew larger and larger and eventually launched itself screaming down the hallway just to turn back around as a wall of fire.

"RUN!" Cael screamed. The six turned around and ran down the hallway, Ash snagging the broken half a blade before the fire could get to it. Eventually they got back to the fork and found themselves back in the room with a mural for a ceiling. The fire had hit the T intersection of the hallway and dissipated.

"Okay Cael, please listen to me." Kate said. "We are in the holy sanctuary for Sodia, she is the goddess of magical failures and accidents." she paused for a moment. "And she is my mother."

"Okay. We now officially have the worst possible set up for a dungeon." Arric said. "Kate are you trying to say NO magic will work?"

"No." Kate said. "Non-Sodia worshiping magicians will find their magic next to useless, almost ninety percent of the spells cast will not work as intended. However if you are a disciple of Sodia your magic will work great if not better than before with only the occasional accident just because Mum can and will do what ever she pleases with magic."

"So are you saying if me and Verris were to align ourselves with Sodia we would be able to use our magic here?" Cael asked.

"Yes. But its not that simple." Kate said. "Once you are aligned you can't stop being a disciple if you denounce Mum you will find that every attempt at magic you try backfires."

"We can't have rogue magic going on." Arric paused. "Cael, Verris. Put your staves away. If push comes to shove use close combat magic ONLY. The simpler the better."

The six trudged back down the spinning blades. "Well. Magic doesn't work, we can't try walking."

"Wait." Verris said. "Notice the walls." he said pointing to the partially melted stone around them. "Cael's fire...it melted the stone around us. How could the blades not be even touched?"

"I don't know, magic blades?" Arric said. "Damn it Verris, I am an archer not a magician. Observations are not my specialty."

"Watch this." Verris said fishing an apple out of his backpack. "if the apple ends up like Raleigh's bread then we have to think for a bit, but if my hunch is correct..." he tossed the apple. It phased right through the blade unharmed. Verris walked over to it, the blades passing through him harmlessly. "its fine...well except for a new found bruise, but its still one whole apple and that is what counts."

the remaining five walked down the hallway hesitantly. Eventually they reached the end of the hallways, a large gate with a single eye carved into it. "I can do this part." Kate said walking forward. The eye rolled itself to look down at her.

"Katelyn Vierrin, Lost Child of Sodia, and High Cleric for the Church of Acceptance." she told the eye in High Church. It blinked once and then slid open.

Suddenly the roar of what ever was waiting for them vibrated the floor around them and a clawed beast landed in front of them. Its red eyes glowed out of the shadows it hid in. the click of its claws could be heard on the tiles as it stalked back and forth in the shadows.

The six all stood at the ready as it strode into the light of the room. It was a chimera. "Guys. We have a problem." Arric said notching an arrow.

"Don't. Not yet." Raleigh said. "wait till it moves first."

"Ash. You have any sort of shield?" Arric asked.

Ash shook her head no and drew her rapier. Verris and Cael both reached for their staves but then remembered and left them at their backs. Raleigh sat there spinning his daggers. His face was a 'bring it on' smirk.

The chimera sneaked over slowly its snake headed tail hissing angrily as it weaved back and forth. Raleigh watched its intently. "Cael and Verris stand back and try to only attack if it gets too close. Arric, take the tail. Ash, take you broke sword and try and bludgeon its head. I will go for the heart when you get it unconscious."

The chimera walked forward as the snake tail lashed forward. Arric caught it immediately with a slash cutting the head off which continued to thrash around on the ground attempting to bite any who dare come close.

Ash quickly beat the Chimera over the head with the flat of her broken sword. It fell to the floor its breathing slow and uneven. Ash turned her back to the Chimera and walked over to Raleigh patting him on the shoulder suddenly the chimera leeped over Ash, Arric and Raleigh, and made a B line for Cael. Its lion mouth open wide.

Cael out of defense raised his hands and cast a defensive light-flash. Temporarily blinding the Chimera and himself. The Chimera in a blind fit smashed Cael in the shoulder tearing his robe and shoulder underneath to shreds it also managed to get Verris across the face leaving three diagonal bleeding gashes and basically pulverizing his glasses. Cael screamed out in pain and summoned fireball which nailed the Chimera dead on in the chest and went straight through it with a sizzle and drained him of enough energy to make him collapse

Kate suddenly leeped into action as the Chimera fell. She recited a prayer and there was a flash of emerald light and the chimera was gone and she turned to Cael, one incantation later and Cael was laying unconscious, but healed. Arric noticed immediately that Sodia was present at this time because she did cast the spell right but the effects weren't quite completely noticeable the way Cael was laying down.

Kate turned to Verris and gave another quick incantation. He found himself healed but Kate began to apologize. "Sorry Verris, I tried as much as I could but the magic of the Chimera means that the scars of its claw mark will stay there forever."

"anyone have something I can look at my face with?" Verris asked.

Ash handed him a poorly reassembled silver mirror. Verris paled making the red scars even more apparent. "Well, it will make an interesting story to tell."

A cough was heard as a man strode into view. "t-thank you." was all he said before collapsing. He wore what appeared to be common clothes, badly torn common clothes. He looked like the Chimera had been playing with him like a kitten does with its first mouse. Wounds were all over his body ranging from touching bone to barely scratched areas.

"Well. This was interesting." Arric said. "We explored a forgotten religious labyrinth, learned our cleric is a demigoddess, saved a man, and fought a chimera with relatively - " he looked over at Cael " Small losses."

---

Cael blinked slowly. "She is awake!" Alyssa screamed running to the door. Suddenly Arric strode in with a sheepish look on his face. "hey Cael, how are you feeling."

Cael coughed for a little while before talking. "like something the cat dragged in." he said before he stopped and coughed again. "let me guess. The plan didn't go as planned and Kate was forced to heal me under Sodia's influence?"

"Nailed it." Arric said. "Yeah...you robe didn't fit so well any more so we checked to see if Alyssa had anything that fit you a bit better."

At this Cael just laughed. "seriously." he said as he stood up on wobbly legs and noticed the knee length brown dress. "great." he said as his knees gave out both from shock and fatigue.

"Cael be careful you have been unconscious for the last two days." Arric said lifting him up off the floor. Cael grasped him at the shoulders and tears fell down his face. "I don't think you understand. This isn't something I wanted or asked for. This isn't fair."

"Whats not fair?" Verris said walking in with his broken glasses mended shoddily with a cracked lens and a nose bridge with wood that didn't match the rest of the frame. All together the broken glasses did little to hide his new scars.

"Verris...Y-your face." was all Cael said pointing.

"I could lie and say that I got this protecting you. But I was just unlucky enough to be close enough to the things other side that it got me in the face while you blasted it through the heart with hyper-concentrated fire. " Verris said. "they look nice don't they."

"If by nice you mean 'makes you look like scary thug' then yes. They look nice." Cael responded with a quick giggle before he realized just what he had done. "Get Kate in here I need to talk with her. Please." he said turning serious.

Kate popped in with a smile on her face. "helloooo and good morning!"

"Kate, cut it out. I want answers now." Cael said. "Why your magic does what it does, why Lanzer is after the eight High-Church artifacts, and just how exactly Sodia brought you to this earth." Cael said rubbing the fabric of the dress.

Kate continued to smile. "Mum wants my magic to work like that. Lanzer is after the Eight High-Church artifacts because he is after superficial power, and Sodia lost me."

"Lost you?" Cael asked sitting down on the side of the bed.

"You see, my father was a half-elf. My mother was visiting earth to start her church, when she saw him it was love at first sight. After she gave birth to me I was abducted and 'lost'. I was never lost Mum knew where I was the entire time but it made the congregation stronger if they thought that there was a hope that they could find a demigoddess out there, however they didn't know that their minister was actually the one person they were looking for." Kate said smiling

"Okay, now one last question. What exactly are the Eight High-Church artifacts?"

"I will have to save that one for later. Raleigh, and Ash are waiting to see you down stairs." Kate replied walking out of the room gesturing for Cael to follow.

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Thanks for reading, Leave a comment, I love to read them. Constructive Criticism is welcomed and appreciated.