Path of Dragons

Book 1: Chapter 51: Primordial Jungle

Elijah dove, slicing through the water with ease. Then, when he’d gone a few hundred feet, gravity shifted, and he was suddenly falling in the other direction. Inexplicably panicked, he desperately treaded water as he searched for some landmark in the abyssal darkness. Looking down, he saw nothing but blackness. The same was true when he spun left, then right. But when he tilted his head up, he saw a glimmer of light. So, with no other guide, he swam toward it. Gradually, he drew closer to the surface until, finally, he broke free in the middle of a storm.

That was a far cry from the Sea of Sorrows, which had been a strangely navigable underwater seascape.

Even with only a glance as evidence, Elijah knew that the new environment of the third level was markedly different. For one, it was clear that he would no longer have to live beneath the waves. Above him was a grey sky filled with storm clouds, and in the distance, he saw a strip of dense jungle that stretched from one end of the horizon to the other.

Struggling to stay afloat, Elijah knew the dangers of a storm on the open sea, so he started paddling to shore. It was difficult, and not just because of the violent current tugging against him. In addition to that riptide, he also had to deal with the inevitable effects of spending weeks in what amounted to a low-gravity environment. His muscles hadn’t exactly atrophied, but he’d certainly grown used to using them less. And so, the way ashore was awkward and filled with frustration.

Still, he persisted and, after what felt like hours, he finally dragged himself onto a muddy beach.

Then, he collapsed, taking huge, gulping breaths as he tried to acclimate to what should have been his natural environment. It took some time, but eventually, he forced himself to his hands and knees. Then, a few minutes after that, he pushed himself upright and looked around.

The first thing he noticed was that a small, metallic box had, at some point, appeared before him. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that it was his reward for defeating the Kelledge Tower’s second level. So, he reached out with shaking hands and popped it open. Inside was another ring, which he promptly collected. Even as the box dissolved, Elijah read the notification that had accompanied the acquisition of the ring:

“What the hell does a Ring of Anonymity do?” he asked aloud, slipping the dark green circlet around his pinky finger. It shrank, sizing itself to fit, then disappeared from his sight. He could still feel it, so he knew it remained around his finger, but he couldn’t see it at all. A moment later, he received another notification:

Elijah had no idea what any of that meant. So, he selected False Identity, which prompted yet another notification:

Intuitively, Elijah knew that he could create a pseudonym. But more than that, he could choose a new archetype, which he most certainly did not want to do. He suspected that it was only for display purposes, but he resolved not to use it until he knew for sure. The last thing he wanted was to screw things up. Besides, it wasn’t as if anonymity would do much for him while he was still in the tower.

So, he left the ring Deactivated and moved on to the next two notifications he’d received. Both were expected.

It was almost identical to the notifications he’d gotten upon reaching the previous levels, so he shifted his attention to the next:

Elijah read the message a few times, but it seemed straightforward enough. Before he could embark on that Task, though, he needed to get his feet under him. His time in the Sea of Sorrows had definitely taken its toll, and though he’d managed to recover somewhat, he was still naked, rail thin, and unaccustomed to existing on land.

With that in mind, Elijah slowly acclimated to his new environment. First, he worked up to standing, then walking, and finally, to doing the calisthenics routines he’d created when he’d first been stranded on the island. It took almost two days, during which his ability to go without food was tested, but eventually, he managed to recover some semblance of his former conditioning.

Thankfully, he didn’t have to go without water, though. Not only was the rain constant, but the water in which he’d entered the level was fresh. So, that was one thing he didn’t have to worry about.

His nudity, though, was unavoidable.

Which was how, two days later, he found himself standing on the muddy beach and staring ahead at a dense jungle. Somewhere ahead of him was the entrance to the Primordial Maze, which he would have to traverse before he could conquer the tower and get back to his island.

And given his experiences in the previous levels, he expected that the maze would be huge. Even if it was no larger than the Sea of Sorrows, it would take weeks – or maybe even months – to reach the center, and that was assuming he could find his way at all. More, he felt certain that there would be plenty of monsters within.

But at least he had all his abilities available. In the Sea of Sorrows, he’d learned a lot about using his caster form, but the jungle – and presumably, the maze as well – were tailor-made for his Predator form.

So, without further hesitation, Elijah cast Essence of the Wolf to increase his movement speed, then used Aura of Renewal to help him stave off fatigue, and finally Essence of the Monkey to augment his Dexterity. Only once he finished casting his enhancements did he use Shape of the Predator to transform into a mist panther. The moment the transformation completed, he felt infinitely more comfortable. Some of that was due to his glossy black fur, but there was also some ephemeral quality about the jungle that made him feel more at home.

He took a deep breath – oh, he’d certainly missed that when he was underwater – then activated Guise of the Unseen before setting off into the jungle. If he’d been in human form, he might’ve found the dense foliage difficult to traverse. Certainly, with the impenetrable canopy above him, Elijah would’ve felt at least a little claustrophobic. But as a panther? It wasn’t even a factor.

He went a little more than a quarter of a mile before he smelled another animal. It was musty and unfamiliar, which triggered Elijah’s curiosity. So, he stalked toward it, keeping low as he passed broken branches and fallen trees. Along the way, the smell grew stronger until, finally, he reached a massive pile of dung.

That certainly didn’t bode well, but after giving it a quick sniff, he determined that he’d been tracking a carnivore. A few hundred yards later, he stumbled upon a giant track. It was at least four feet across, with three distinct claws that marked it as either a giant reptile or some sort of bird. In fact, to Elijah, it reminded him of a turkey’s tracks, only hundreds of times larger.

Cautiously, he continued to follow the trail until he heard something crashing through the jungle ahead of him. Elijah didn’t let himself react. Instead, he simply continued to follow until, at last, he saw his quarry.

And it was terrifying.

With its huge jaws, pebbled skin, powerful hind legs, and comparatively small forelegs, the massive reptile could only be described as a tyrannosaurus rex. And it was happily feeding on some smaller, unidentifiable reptile.

Clearly, the “primordial” label extended to the jungle surrounding the maze.

Elijah shivered, then backed away. He had killed creatures just as large as the dinosaur – the killer whale had been much bigger, and even the giant isopod had rivaled the tyrannosaurus in size. But there was just something about seeing the terrifying subject of countless movies and books that sent a jolt of fear up his spine.

He backed away, careful not to make a sound that might interfere with Guise of the Unseen. Then, once he’d made it a few dozen yards away, he turned and sped across the jungle. His haste was probably why, five minutes later, he fell afoul of a different sort of threat.

The sound of cracking bone echoed across the jungle as something reached up and grabbed him around the foot. Elijah let out a scream as he instinctively tried to tug his limb free, but all he did was make it worse. Something thudded into his side, piercing his hide, and he looked down to see that the thing that had clamped around his foot was what looked like a crude bear trap made of bone.

Something else hit him, this time in the shoulder, eliciting another cry of pain as it dug deep into the muscle. If Elijah hadn’t had the benefit – if it could be called that – of spending days being steadily digested within the orca’s stomach, the pain might’ve kept him from thinking straight.

It still hurt, but the agony didn’t send him careening down the path of panic.

So, even as another something hit him in the back leg, he shifted form and cast Touch of Nature. He followed it up with Healing Rain before reaching down and prying his foot loose. He cast Touch of Nature again, mending the fractured bone enough that he could put weight on it. In the meantime, he heard something shout as another projectile went wide.

It was only then that he recognized that someone was shooting arrows at him.

He shouted, “I come in peace!”

He only got a roar in response as something that looked like a mix of ape and sasquatch crashed through the forest, making a beeline toward him. Elijah didn’t need more than a glance to confirm that he had no chance in a physical confrontation. The thing was at least eight feet tall, and beneath its shaggy red fur, it was thick with muscle. More, it was armed with a giant, flint-headed spear.

So, Elijah took aim with his staff and cast Snaring Roots, which he’d largely ignored during his time in the Sea of Sorrows. Vines, thick and thorny, erupted from the ground and snaked around the creature’s legs. It tripped, tumbling face-first into the ground, where even more vines enveloped it.

Elijah didn’t dare stick around for a fight. He’d already used a lot of Ethera, and judging by the sasquatch-ape’s size, it would take more than a few casts of Storm’s Fury to take it out. However, he wasn’t going to let it off completely unharmed. So, he hobbled forward, reared back with his staff, and, after activating Venom Strike, smacked it across the back of the head. The already-prone monster was driven down by the force of the blow.

But Elijah knew he hadn’t done any real damage. Not yet. Eventually, Venom Strike would take effect, but, because he’d activated it in his human form as opposed to as a mist panther, it wouldn’t be nearly as dramatic as when he’d used it against the killer whale. So, after taking his swing, Elijah took off through the forest, bounding over the fallen trees and jumping across various depressions.

In a way, he felt like he was back on his island.

But clearly, the level of danger in the Primordial Maze was at least as high as it had been in the Sea of Sorrows he’d left behind. Monsters were one thing, but what really frightened him was a creature who could use tools like traps and the arrows still sticking out of him.

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