Prototype's Gate

Remembering the short poem he found on a piece of paper, Alex recited the verses:

"The silence stretches on - I'm all alone.

Please, can I hold your hands, for just a while?"

As he finished, Alex and Glut tensed up when the construct. It walked towards Alex. Instead of attacking,it gave Alex an awkward hug, one meant for someone shorter and smaller.

"Remember, you are loved, Lenore. So much. You are doing great. Everyone will be so proud of you, as I already am," the construct whispered in Alex's ear before letting go a few moments later.

Surprisingly, Alex felt a warmth in his chest, something he thought he had lost. He repeated the verse, and it gave him another hug.

"I guess everyone needs a hug from time to time," Alex said as he let go of the construct.

He turned to Glut, who was staring at him.

"What?" Alex asked.

"I'm surprised a creature like you would want to get hugged."

"Yeah, me too," Alex admitted, walking off the platform and looking around. He approached a small desk and started to check the papers on it.

He discovered from some notes that the construct was named Bernard. Looking around further, they found a lever hidden behind a bookshelf. Alex pulled it, but nothing happened. Remembering the secret door in the boiler room, Alex decided to check it out. If it wasn't open, he could ask Omeluum to look for any magic traps.

They teleported all the way down, and as Alex suspected, the wall slid sideways, revealing a set of stairs. The basement was carved into the stone with a wooden platform in the middle. A desk with some papers on it stood there, surrounded by bookshelves and a small chest in a corner. A staff glowing with magic leaned against a wall.

Exploring the place, they found useful items this time. In the chest, they discovered a magic ring and some scrolls.

"I think we are done here," Alex said, walking to Glut, who was waiting for him at the stairs.

They walked back to the colony, and Alex explained everything he had found in the tower to Omeluum.

"Excellent. I feared the tower's state was worse inside than outside, but it seems I was wrong," Omeluum replied.

"About the reward you told me about," Alex pointed out.

"I haven't forgotten about it, but I need time to prepare it," Omeluum assured him.

"I hope it's worth it," Alex said.

"Yes, it's essential for our survival," Omeluum said, showing Alex a vision of the drow Nere. "When they attacked the colony, Blurg and I helped the myconids, but I was forced to retreat after I felt a tadpole inside this drow's brain. That tadpole felt strange, mutated unlike anything I have ever seen before."

"You feared that an elder brain is nearby and its influence could enthrall you," Alex deduced.

From the genomics of tadpoles and mind flayers, he had learned that they evolved to easily come under the control of something. At the moment, he didn't know why, but after absorbing Gerhk's memories, the dots started to connect.

"And I suspect you want to brew a potion that will render you immune to the influence of the elder brain because that tower is full of books about potions and plants," Alex concluded.

Omeluum stared at Alex for a few moments, taken aback by his accurate deduction.

"That's my plan, indeed," Omeluum confirmed.

"Do you have something right now that can boost one's resistance to psychic influence? The duergars have a few mind masters at the ruins," Alex explained his problem.

Omeluum reached into his pocket and brought forth a simple ring.

"This should do. A trinket with an enchantment to strengthen one's mind against psionic influences. Take it."

Alex nodded and slowly put the ring on his finger. He could feel the magic of the ring slowly drifting to his brain, forming like a cocoon.

"Can you go inside the tower alone?" Alex asked.

"Yes, from your explanation, the only place I should avoid is the topmost floor where the construct and magic armors reside."

"I need to do something and will leave this part of the Underdark, but I will be back soon. But first, can you take a look at this?" Alex said as he brought forth a staff exuding a golden light. It had a slender, elegant design with a geometric structure near the top, resembling an angular, open frame surrounding a pointed, spear-like tip.

Omeluum brought forth a magnifying glass and started to inspect the staff. Alex could spot runes on the edge of the glass.

"This staff can cast 'bless' once a day," Omeluum responded.

"Just that?" Alex asked.

Omeluum nodded.

Alex was kind of disappointed but at least he got some scrolls of simple spells that he could try later.

...

Alex walked to the tiller, and slowly the skiff was taken by the currents.

After 23 minutes of sailing, Alex felt a group approaching from the left.. Shortly after, a skiff exactly like theirs sailed right next to them. A duergar jumped onto their skiff, looking around with a mean expression.

"Where's Gerhk? Who are you?" the duergar demanded.

"Glut, they are yours," Alex said calmly.

"That's what I was waiting for. Time to die, duergar rot!" Glut shouted, rushing at the duergar and punching him in the face. The punch was so strong that it sent the duergar flying back to his skiff, where he did not get up.

As Glut leapt onto the other skiff, an arrow whizzed by, barely piercing his chest armor. He shrugged it off, his focus solely on annihilating the duergars. With ferocious determination, he faced off against them, his muscles tense with anticipation.

A duergar charged at him, wielding a hammer, but Glut was quicker, seizing the weapon and delivering a bone-crushing blow that echoed across the water, leaving the duergar sprawled and defeated. Two down, four to go.

Meanwhile, Alex, unfazed by the chaos around him, calmly shifted his arm into a shield, deflecting an incoming projectile with practiced ease. The battle raged on, each clash of steel and bone a testament to their unwavering resolve.

With a primal roar, Glut surged forward, his adrenaline-fueled rage driving him deeper into the heart of the skirmish. He spotted another duergar, its eyes filled with malice, charging towards him with a wicked-looking axe. Anticipating the attack, Glut sidestepped, his movements fluid and precise, and countered with a thunderous punch that sent the duergar sprawling into the water below.

Meanwhile, Alex remained a stalwart defender, his strategic mind always one step ahead. A duergar jumped on his skiff and dashed toward him with a dagger in hand. Alex kicked him back from where he came. Glut saw the flying duergar and, when he landed, raised both fists and brought them down. The impact shook the skiff and killed the duergar.

The battle raged on, a symphony of clashing metal and grunts of exertion echoing across the waves, as Glut unleashed his fury upon the duergars.

Only after all the duergars were dead did Glut seem to calm down, his armor full of cracks from which a green ichor dripped. Tendrils grew all over Glut's body. They slithered around the corpses of the duergars and started to consume them. A few moments later, Glut was done eating and hopped back onto the skiff, all his injuries healed.

"How are you feeling?" Alex asked.

"Better, but it's still not enough," Glut replied.

"You'll get to the forge soon. There will be a lot of duergars there and a lot of dark gnome slaves. Are you sure you can tell the difference?"

Glut scoffed and walked to the front of the skiff.

Alex shrugged, letting his ally have his moment.

...

"Something is following us," Alex murmured. His mind radar was blank, but from time to time, he could spot movement in the water.

Then it happened. Something came from beneath the deep dark water and smashed the skiff from below. Alex and Glut quickly grabbed onto something as the skiff was flung away. Alex looked around. The skiff was still whole, but one more hit like that and it would be destroyed. The waters were silent again.

Alex was at a serious disadvantage as he didn't have any mutation suited for fighting underwater.

"Stay alert," Alex whispered to Glut, his eyes scanning the dark water. "We need to spot it before it hits us again."

As if on cue, a young Aboleth surged out of the water, its slimy, tentacled body gleaming under the dim light. The creature's massive form hovered near the surface for a moment, its three eyes glowing with an eerie light, before it submerged again, circling the skiff like a shark.

"Glut, get ready!" Alex shouted as he felt the vibrations of the Aboleth moving below.

The skiff rocked violently as the Aboleth struck again. This time, Alex was ready. He shifted his arm into a whip with a barbed end and lashed into the water like and harpoon, hoping to make contact with the creature. The blade sliced through the water, but it was too slow; the Aboleth was already moving away.

Glut, gripping the side of the skiff, unleashed a torrent of spores into the water, creating a cloud of tiny, luminescent particles that clung to the Aboleth's skin, making it easier to track. The Aboleth screeched in pain and rage, its thrashing tentacles sending waves crashing over the skiff.

"We need to end this quickly," Alex said through gritted teeth. "Glut, aim for its eyes!"

As the Aboleth came in for another attack, Alex and Glut coordinated their strikes. Alex focused on distracting the creature with his whip, slashing and stabbing at its body, while Glut prepared to unleash another spore attack.

The Aboleth lunged at the skiff, its maw wide open. Alex swung his whip with all his might, managing to land a deep cut across one of the Aboleth's eyes. The creature let out a deafening roar, its body convulsing in agony. Glut took advantage of the distraction, launching a concentrated blast of spores directly into the Aboleth's remaining eyes.

Blinded and disoriented, the Aboleth thrashed wildly, its movements growing more erratic. Alex seized the opportunity to strike again. His whip sinking deep in to the soft tissue , the Aboleth's movements began to slow. The poison taking effect

With one final, desperate surge, the Aboleth tried to flee, diving deep into the water. Alex and Glut watched as the luminescent spores faded into the depths, the water growing calm once more.

"Is it gone?" Glut asked, panting heavily.

"For now," Alex replied, equally exhausted. "But we need to move quickly. This skiff won't survive another attack."

The two of them hurriedly made repairs to the skiff, patching up the damage as best they could. With the immediate threat of the Aboleth gone, they continued their journey, both wary and watchful of any further dangers lurking in the dark waters below.

....

A few minutes later, Alex and Glut spotted something that marked the entrance to the forge. Two massive statues of armored warriors were sculpted into the wall on the left side, towering a few dozen meters tall. Lava flowed slowly from the ceiling of the cave between the statues. But even these were dwarfed by the next set of statues.

On the left and right, statues of a woman holding a pair of pitch-black swords loomed. The statues were built from black stone and stood at least 100 meters tall, each identical to the other. Ahead, a massive gate awaited. As Alex and Glut approached, gears on either side of the gate began to rotate, lifting the grated barrier. Alex's body shifted, taking on the appearance of Gerhk. The skiff slowly drifted ahead, revealing a dock flanked by towers tens of meters tall, connected by a high bridge. Alex spotted a pair of duergars to his right, watching them intently.

"Just follow my lead, and don't attack until I say so," Alex whispered telepathically to Glut.

Glut grunted, followed by a nod.

Guiding the skiff, Alex stopped where the duergars were waiting.

"Time to show up, you shithead. We've got troubles," a female bald duergar named Morghal shouted at him.

"Spit it out. Did Sergeant finally choke on True Soul Nere's prick?" Alex asked with a sneer.

"Drugh, no. The twat soul caused a rockfall. Trapped tighter than a ring on a fat finger," Morghal responded.

"You're shitting me. He paid up?"

"That's the trouble. He's got the gold on him. Sergeant's arm is falling off with all the gnomes she's been beating," Morghal said, turning to Glut, who stood next to Alex.

"Who's the hoon, Gerhk? Another slave for the dig?"

"Let me speak," Glut interjected telepathically.

"I came from the surface, sent by one of the leaders of the Absolute army with a message for True Soul Nere."

"That's so? Then you need to pay up—let's say 100 gold," Morghal said with a smug smile.

"Tell them this," Glut said telepathically. "Let's see what True Soul Nere has to say when he hears that the messenger, who has a very important message, was stopped by you."

Alex released a wave of psionic power, which washed over Morghal.

"Agh!" She screamed, falling to her knees. A male duergar tensed up, along with Alex, who was putting on a show.

"Let him go. He is a true soul," she grunted, struggling to stand. "But I'm warning you—that twat soul isn't going to settle down soon. There will be hell to pay for the lot of you cult-buggers."

Morghal and her companion turned and left. Alex told them that the messenger paid him extra to be his guard and guide. The duergars didn't bat an eye and left.

"I can't wait to crush them," Glut commented as they walked away.

They walked to the front, where dead drow, with wounds all over their bodies, lay in cages for everyone to see as a message. A duergar named Murmath, with an eye covered by a piece of cloth, was walking around with a smile on his face. Murmath had tracked all those dead drow using his spider. Despite his happy appearance, he was one of the most ruthless duergars there.

Murmath walked up to Alex with a smug expression.

"What happened, Gerhk? Are you back already? Have you got the missing slaves back?"

"Clean that smug smile off your face before I punch your remaining eye out," Alex responded, looking as angry as possible. Gerhk and Murmath hated each other's guts.

Murmath's smug smile turned into a wide grin. He whistled, and four big spiders came running to him, each as big as a dog.

"Try me," he taunted.

"I paid you more than enough to be my guide around, so I expect you to do so," Glut said, displeased.

Gerhk turned around with a grunt and walked to Glut. Murmath, pleased with his win, left them alone.

On the right, up a small set of stairs, two duergars were guarding a small grated gate. They were making fun of a dark gnome wearing rags, his body covered with bruises and cuts.

"Hey, Stickshit," one of the duergars said.

"It's Skickpit, you piss pot," the dark gnome lashed out.

"That's what I said, 'Stickshit,'" the same duergar replied.

"My mug's gone dry, Stickshit," a female duergar said, raising her mug.

"You heard her, Stickshit. Fill 'er up. Now go, or it's up the lift and straight to the shadows," he warned the gnome.

The gnome grumbled, picked up the mug, and walked downstairs. Just as he turned around, Alex grabbed him by the shirt and covered his mouth.

Skickpit struggled, but it felt like a statue was holding him.

"We are here to save you, so be silent," Alex told him telepathically, letting go of him.

"What do you want from me?" Skickpit asked.

"To save you," Alex responded.

"Save me? You, a duergar? Go fuck yourself, piss pot."

"This is a disguise. Thulla sent me to save you."

"Thulla?!" Skickpit shouted but then put his hand over his mouth. "She is still alive?" he asked, whispering.

Alex nodded and offered him two mugs of ale.

"Give them this. It will destroy their brains, but they will look like they blacked out from too much drinking. After that, go and hide somewhere," Alex warned him.

Skickpit's eyes opened wide, and he carefully picked up the mugs. He walked up the stairs and gave the mugs to the duergars.

"Took you long enough," the male duergar grumbled, and just as the disguised stranger said, after a few sips, the duergars dropped to the ground, looking like they were sleeping.

Skickpit walked away to find somewhere to hide.

Alex and Glut took the left path and arrived at the opposite side of the deck from where they had arrived. Up ahead, Alex could smell a lot of blood. A pair of duergars, named Brathwen and Viss, were throwing gnome corpses into the water. Eleven bodies still lay around, blood pooling beneath them.

"Ain't been the same," Viss murmured.

"I say you're scamming both of us," Brathwen responded.

Brathwen turned to them as they walked closer.

"Unless you're here to kick some stiff-like side, I suggest you bugger off," Brathwen warned.

Viss spat to the side after his friend finished his words.

Alex showed them a smug smile before hitting them with a psionic wave, stunning both of them.

His hands shifted, becoming claws. First, he cut Brathwen's neck, not too deep but enough to sever his vocal cords. Then he impaled Viss through his chest. Tendrils of flesh crawled around them, consuming them.

"You should have left me one," Glut complained.

Alex placed his hand on the floor. Tendrils of flesh slithered from his arm, devouring all the bodies. The bodies were fresh, so he could still absorb their memories. A torrent of emotions washed over him—grief, anger, sadness, hope, and many more. He could feel their pain, being beaten, whipped, and worked to the bone until they collapsed and were killed, treated as less than living beings. Tools easily disposed of, asking themselves, "Why me? What have I done wrong?" or feeling sad that they would never see their loved ones, friends, and children again. Alex grabbed a ring from the ground and looked at it. The smooth, six-pointed star on the ring was beset with small Underdark gemstones. A gift from a father to his son, now both dead. He put the ring on his finger as he slowly stood to his feet, his fist clenched.

"Let's go. We have more of these motherfuckers to kill." Alex said trying to calm himself.

They wouldn't have long until it was realized that two duergars were nowhere to be seen. They needed to act fast. They couldn't go ballistic yet, as that would most likely lead to collateral damage.