Ruinous Return

Ben suppressed a laugh and put on his stern dad-voice. "Lyndra, give your brother a turn." The girl of seven sighed and rode the steed over. Ben reached over the waist-high fence, helped her off, and then put Eli on the steed. He rode off and let out a whooping call as he rode around the field.

"Not fair!" Lyndra said as she crossed her arms with a pouty face. "I don\'t get to gallop!"

"When you\'re older, sweetie," Ben said as he put her on his broad shoulder. "You have to be bigger, so you don\'t get hurt if she bucks."

"Ben!" He heard the melodic call of his wife. "Would you mind coming over here?"

He set Lyndra down. "I\'ll tell you what. Go find Lawry and bring him to the house…I\'ll get you some iced sweet cream. Just you and Lawry. Okay?"

Lyndra buzzed with delight before nodding her head rapidly, her blonde hair and light-green eyes captivating Ben as always, a spitting image of his wife with his eyes. She dashed off towards their herb garden where his youngest, Lawry, would sit and watch the ladybugs in the mid-morning sunshine.

Ben chuckled as he watched her dash down the small dirt trail. He went up to his gorgeous wife and gave her a kiss as he cupped her belly. "What can I do for you, sweetness?"

Trisha giggled and pointed to the side of the house, "The roof. Something is leaking."

Ben looked up and nodded, "I\'ll take care of it. Do you need anything?"

Trisha shook her head, "Just your loving. Oh, and keeping an eye on the kids. I want to finish that anatomy report." She gave him another kiss before going inside the house. Ben went around the outside of the house and set up a trusty ladder, climbing onto the roof. Damnit, he thought. I patched that last week!

There was a bird that was nesting in their nearby orchard, and it had taken some of the roofing material for its nest. The gap was noticeable, and he sighed as he clambered down the ladder. Who would have ever thought we\'d be living like this?

Ben was the Guardian hero. Trisha, the Healer hero. They had retired from the hero life once the Demonic Dragon was defeated and had three wonderful children with a fourth on the way. Trisha ran a school for teaching healing spells alongside actual medicine, and Ben ran the equivalent of a boxer\'s gym to train warriors from across the land.

In exchange for learning from two of the heroes, those warriors and healers would work the large, country estate in the heartlands of the kingdom of Trisk. It was a good life they had built. They were well-off, both stayed busy, but had plenty of time with each other and their growing family. Soon enough, the children would have tutors brought in to educate them. Not the same level as what Trish and Ben could teach them from their time on Earth, but the basics – since neither of them knew how to teach young children.

I should ask Thomas to come and stay for a while. He remembers everything. Poor bastard. The memories of the past still haunted the both of them from time to time, and Ben vividly recalled several near-death experiences having been on the front lines…but with Trisha\'s help and support, and his for her, they got through it. They had named their kids after some of the fallen heroes in honor of their deeds.

But, every time he saw Lyndra, he remembered the pact the heroes had made ten years ago.

"Strike her from memory," Cecily had insisted. "We need to make sure that no one remembers her. If they find out that we didn\'t kill the Demonic Dragon, and instead she did? We\'re fucked. We\'ll lose our credibility overnight."

Ben and Trisha joined Misty in wanting to exalt Lyn\'s deeds and promote her legend…but Cecily threatened to bring the wrath of a kingdom down upon them. They just wanted to retire and have a family in a time of peace and do what they loved…so they capitulated. Naming their daughter after her was the best they could do without risking the anger of that bitch.

Shaking the memories from his head, Ben walked over to the shed and grabbed a few bundles of hay, hauling them to the ladder and clambering up once more before spreading it out and weighing it down. That\'ll do for now. I really need a tiled roof, he thought. Preferably before Spring ends. I should-

A loud, colossal flapping caught his attention. Immediately, he looked to the skies. Wyvern? His muscles tensed and he began to open his mana channels to let the raw power flow through him to activate the protective spell inscribed into the stone foundation of the house. He saw the large creature in the distance, and a figure atop it. He relaxed at the sight. Only one person had tamed a wyvern that he knew of. Well, speak of the devil. I wonder what he\'s doing visiting this time of year.

Lyn descended the stairs, holding the sword out in front of her and poking at the floor. She had delved into enough dungeons to know that traps were quite common. And the Demonic Dragon\'s hoard would be no exception. On the third step she encountered the first trap; a section of stone that looked the same as the others, save for the slightly larger groove that ran alongside one edge. "Avoid this spot," she said as she tapped around the stone block.

"What will we find down here?" Gael asked.

"My hoard," Lyn replied. I hope that\'s what\'s down here, she thought. If not, this is going to be hard to explain. The descent was short and after less than twenty feet of depth, the spiraling ceased and a single, metal door stood in front of her. There was a lock in the center, and it was perfectly flush against the stonework surrounding it. The lock was shaped like an extended talon or claw. No opening this without having some shifting spell. She put her palm to edge of the door where it met the granite. If I was a dragon, I would trap the lock. Best to just cut around it. "Aníron cened anor / i bui i rith en-uir / ú-anadar / nin dorn / aphad na amarth / erin idhren."

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A small beam of lava extended from her palm and she used that to cut around the outside edge of the door. It took her a minute, as she had to wait for the molten metal to be ejected from the opposite side, but after a short time she had cut all the way through the door exterior. "Gael, please kick this down."

Gael nodded and switched places with her, putting his booted foot against the door and shoving. The door fell inward and onto the pile of molten metal – allowing for safe access to the tunnel beyond. "Your Ladyship."

Lyn patted him on the shoulder as she squeezed by. She scanned the walls for any tell-tale signs of trap work. As she slowly tapped her blade along the various bits and pieces of stone, she vividly recalled the lessons of Zack, the Rogue hero, as they went into their first dungeon as a group of – at the time – nineteen heroes. "See this? The grooves? That means blades. See this? The holes? Spikes. Look for any inconsistencies. It\'s like playing that game where you have two pictures that are almost the same, but there\'s something off. Instead of two pictures, you have to compare the surroundings with the other surroundings."

She continued prodding, but found no traps. Looking up at the ceiling, she recalled his second lesson. After they had triggered their first trap – which even he didn\'t figure out until after-the-fact. Thankfully, it hadn\'t killed anyone. "Note to self," he said. "Well, and you all. If the whole hallway or room looks too perfect…it\'s a trap."

That\'s what this looks like, Lyn thought. The hallway was too perfect. Too neat. Not a single bit of the stonework was marred, which would be expected of worked stone. Small imperfections. Unless it was made with spells. In which case, it could be perfect…but I can\'t use divination or detection spells. She glanced back to Gael and Vael. "Hand me your spear," she said to the male. He handed it to her, and she launched it like a javelin through the hall. As soon as it had gone ten feet, phantasmal, purple-blue blades sliced it into pieces before vanishing into the walls. "Magical trap it is."

Gael sighed, "That was my favorite spear."

"I\'ll get you a new one," Lyn muttered. "We need to find a way past this."

Vael stepped forward, "May I try something?" Lyn nodded, and Vael threw her spear as well. The blades shot out – but that\'s when Lyn spotted it. "Did you see that, my Lady?" Vael asked.

Lyn nodded and grinned, "They struck the same spot." The magical trap was set to a specific function – much like a program – with a trigger and effect. She knew from her dungeon delves that magical traps that changed their responses to a trigger were extremely rare. And this Demonic Dragon did not seem like he valued smarts. But, I\'m not risking myself. "Gael, how is your pronunciation with Elenthir that is unfamiliar to you?"

"It is decent, my Lady."

"Excellent. Repeat after me…" Lyn spent the next minute drilling a spell into Gael\'s memory. Having him repeat it after her several times until she was sure he had it down. "Okay, now, use that spell, and then run through to the end."

Gael nodded and took a deep breath, "I thalion min enni / athan dautho nin ennas / grotho nin helw / na hathol ú-\'wathol / anui sui ethelas." His skin took on the appearance of steel, becoming extremely hard and durable. He ran forward, through the passageway and to the far side. As he ran, the spectral, magic blades swung down, and he dodged the first ones. However, as he got to the second half of the passage, the magical blades chopped down from unexpected angles, and they impacted him. But he kept pushing ahead as they did no damage to his enhanced physique.

It\'s not as good as Ben\'s signature Guardian spell, Lyn thought, recalling the near-impenetrable, long-duration internal spell that he alone was capable of using that made him almost unkillable. And it\'s going to drain his mana rapidly. When Gael had arrived at the far side of the passage, at another metal door, his body shook and he leaned against the wall as his skin returned to its pale white color.

Internal spells often took a toll on the body after they expired – hence, using new, unfamiliar, and unpracticed ones in combat was dangerous. The effects of the memorized, standard internal spells were well-known, so warriors could plan their movements and actions around the aftereffect. And some barely changed the body, like the simple muscle-enhancing internal spell she used when testing her core. But this? A brand-new spell? It\'s risky, but there\'s no real threat down here unless we trigger it. Internal spells used a lot more mana the more they changed the body, so the strongest internal spell effects were locked behind a lack of mana for most people. Looks like most Duskari have a very large reserve of mana compared to other races.

"Are you okay?!" Vael shouted.

Gael laughed weakly, "Yes! I am unharmed! Such a powerful, internal spell-"

"Look for a switch, handle, or something like that," Lyn shouted over him.

Gael stood slowly using the wall as a support. He looked at the door, and then to the walls around him, "Ah! Found something. It looks like a lever. Should I pull it?"

"Yes," Lyn replied as she impatiently tapped her foot. Gael threw the switch, and there was a purple thrum that surrounded the hallway before fading. Lyn threw her short sword down the hallway, and to her satisfaction, there was no scything, magical blade. "Vael, you in front of me, just in case."

Vael nodded and Lyn could see the fear on her face, but there was a resolve there as well. She took a few cautious steps forward before she quickened her step. Lyn followed a few steps behind, recovering her sword, and they were safely past the trap and on the other side of the magical hallway. Lyn glanced at the lever Gael had pulled. It was a simple iron rod that was inserted into a socket on the wall. I wonder what powers it? She thought about investigating further, but Vael opening the next door caught her attention, and Lyn reached over and grabbed the woman\'s hand. "Don\'t open doors without checking them for traps."

Vael\'s eyes went wide as she looked down at her palm. "Oh…" there was a tiny, teeny amount of blood. "I…don\'t feel…so good…" Vael collapsed into Lyn\'s arms, and she set her down gently.

"Vael! What happened to her?!" Gael asked as he knelt to hold his sister.

Lyn looked at the door and peered closely at the handle. Damn, that is one fine needle. She didn\'t even feel it break the skin. "Poison," she muttered as she looked back to see Vael beginning to seize on the ground, and Gael panicking. "You can manipulate water. Follow my words exactly." Gael gulped and nodded rapidly, holding a shaking hand over his sister. "No! Over her palm," Lyn ordered as she grabbed his hand and put it over her palm where the wound was. She looked up at Gael, "Look at me."

His red eyes met hers and she focused intently on him. "Repeat. I agar min I rhaw."

He nodded and repeated the phrase. "I agar min I rhaw."

"Edi eriol am I gwanath." Again, he repeated. "A gothron hain ned / na I rhach nin helw."

"-Na I rhach nin helw," he finished. Water pooled in his palm and surged into Vael\'s wound. Her arm distorted and amidst her spasms her face screwed up in a tight grimace. Moments later, the water surged out of the needle-hole to float above Gael\'s hand – and contained within the sphere of water was a brackish, green fluid. He laughed out of relief, "I did it!"

Lyn nodded, "Yes, you did." They don\'t know that blood is mostly water, or that it\'s a sub-type under water elementalism. There is so much basic shit I have to teach them. She patted Vael on the face, "Come on, wake up."

Vael took several deep, heavy breaths before opening her eyes as her body relaxed. "Thank you…my Lady."

"Don\'t thank me, your brother saved you."

Gael leaned down and hugged his sister, "I thought you were done for," he whispered just loud enough for Lyn to hear.

She had to turn away. The memories threatened to return and breach the barricade of here-and-now she had worked to erect. Just keep going. She used her short sword to push the door open. Huh. Interesting.