Random Portals

The pair walked in silence for a bit until Sirus eventually spoke up.

“What are your intentions with Miss Evesakia?” Sirus asked while continuing his march.

Steven was so taken aback by the question that he stopped walking for a second and he had to jog to catch up. “I’m actually unsure; we are just friends, I think.”

“Do you understand Miss Evesakia and Shirem’s relationship?” Sirus asked.

“I suspected they used to be some sort of couple. But she told me they weren’t.” Steven said, feeling a bit odd talking to Sirus about this.

“They were never a couple, although the Elders did try to get them together as their offspring would no doubt bring strong hatchlings. They both have pure blood lines. It was Shirem who refused, saying he had no time for such matters. Miss Evesakia has never gotten over him.”

The pair walked in silence for a long time after that. The scenery didn’t change much as they walked; it looked like something you would see in a horror film. Moss was hanging from massive trees and swamp water so thick Steven doubted anything could live in there, and if something did, he sure as hell didn’t want to come in contact with it.

Steven understood that Eve’s inflation with him had nothing to do with him but with who she thought he was. Which was confusing, as he quite liked her. Sirus spoke up again, taking Steven from his thoughts.

“I ask again, what are your intentions with Miss Evesakia?”

“I’m really not sure; I like her; she is kind and sweet, and I enjoy talking with her a lot. But she, like everyone else, thinks I’m someone I’m not. I tried telling her as much, but she said she didn’t care. Right now, I’m just trying to survive in this new crazy world I’ve been thrown into. I don’t really have any intentions other than being her friend.”

Sirus didn’t respond or even nod; he just continued his ridiculous walking pace. Steven wanted to ask if they were getting close, but didn’t want to bother Sirus. He seemed to be in a better mood after Eve brought them potions, and Steven much preferred the dour Naga in a good mood. Though he didn’t like getting questioned by him, Steven wondered who Sirus was to Eve, but he would just have to wait and ask Eve. He wasn’t about to ask Sirus. After they walked a bit more, Sirus stopped walking and held a hand up before pulling out a katana. Or at least, it looked like a katana to Steven.

Steven also pulled out his daggers, though if Sirus couldn’t handle whatever it was, then there was no way he could help. Without warning, a giant spider fell onto the bridge in front of them, causing it to sink a bit into the water from the sheer weight of the creature. Steven unconsciously took several steps back, eyes wide with fear, not paying any attention to his boots getting swamp water on them.

The giant spider was no normal giant spider; it had a human torso attached where its face should have been. The torso part and up was of a gorgeous female that looked as if she was stuck inside the spider from the waist down. She was also completely nude, if a spider monster could be considered naked. Her long black hair covered most of her front until she pushed her hair back as if it were an annoyance, which left her chest bare. Steven stared much longer than he should have, his mind trying to figure out if he was aroused or scared. The spider lady turned her attention from Sirus to Steven, looking him up and down with a creepy smile on her face before she turned back to Sirus.

“Greetings, Sirus!”

Steven just stood wide-eyed and frozen as the spider talked.

“Might I ask why you are traveling with a human in my mother’s territory?”

Sirus’s face turned to one of confusion. “Did my team not inform you we were heading to the dungeon?”

“They did not. Although we may have missed them, as we have been traveling above catching prey.” As the spider lady spoke, she waved what Steven thought was a wand over Sirus and said something that made no sense.

“Please forgive me. I just needed to make sure you were not under some sort of magic. The Archmage that is set up next to your clan is a strong one. I wanted to make sure your kind had not been infiltrated. I can smell the Archmage all over this human.”

“It is fine. I actually appreciate your concern,” Sirus said. “This is one of ours that got turned into human form by the Archmage. As for what we are doing, we are on our way to the dungeon.”

“Hmm, I see.” The spider lady smiled seductively. “You do know the dungeon is overflowing with the undead; they are pouring out of the entrance at this very moment. Rumor has it that the dwarf dungeon to the north is also overflowing with monsters.”

“I am aware. I am just following orders.” Sirus said.

“It seems we must always obey those who are above us.”

“What about to the east? Have you heard anything?” Sirus asked.

“I am unsure. Though I feel war brewing in the human lands. I believe this is their doing somehow.” The spider lady said this while glancing at Steven as if it were his fault.

“How would the humans affect our dungeon out here?” Sirus asked.

“Humans are always messing with forces they don’t understand. Just look at our races, for example.”

Sirus just nodded in understanding. “Well, we must be going. I’m on orders from the Elders,” Sirus said while nodding to the spider lady. “This is Steven, by the way.”

“Uhh, hi!” Steven said this while waving awkwardly.

The spider lady chuckled slightly. “He is an odd one. I will have one of the drones inform the others that you are on your way and have a human, in case your party has gotten delayed somewhere.” As she spoke, a gray-skinned humanoid fell down next to her. Steven was taken aback by the creature in front of him. It looked like a normal pale-skinned human until he saw its face; it had several eyes across its forehead. After a few clicking noises, the creature shot a web from his hand and went flying back into the trees.

“Have you never seen a drone before?” It took Steven a few moments to realize she was actually speaking to him.

“Uh, no, ma’am.” Steven said, while hoping she didn’t notice him staring at her chest.

The spider lady chuckled. “Well, you will see several during your stay in our lands. Good luck in the dungeon,” the spider lady said before turning to Sirus. “We best be going. I’m actually on my way to speak with Elder Vasuki about the dungeon.”

Sirus eyes widened a bit. “What about the dungeon?”

“Mother has been talking of collapsing the dungeon entrance to keep the undead from running rampant in our territory. The goblin threat has been increasing of late, and my mother has sent me to ask for scouts.”

“I thought there were only a few goblins.” Sirus asked.

“That was a scouting party; there are always more goblins. From what we can gather, the humans are pushing the goblins into the edge of the swamp.”

“Damned humans! Can’t they just leave well alone?” Sirus snapped before taking a deep breath. “Please excuse my outburst, it’s just that those arrogant fools think of no one but themselves! They need no more land!”

“It is fine. I am of the same opinion as you about the humans,” the spider lady said. “It was good speaking with you, Sirus. I would like to speak with you again soon, as for now I must be on my way.”

The next moment, a web shot from the giant spider lady, and she was gone, presumably back in the trees. Steven stared in the trees and remembered what that flying cat had told him when he first arrived here.

“Let’s go. I want to get you to level ten as quickly as possible.” Sirus said as he picked up the pace.

About thirty minutes later, Steven saw his first undead. It was a lone zombie, just wandering around on a small patch of dry land. Steven was confused about how it got there, as it was surrounded by swamp water.

“It’s worse than I feared. The undead shouldn’t be this far out.”

Steven assumed Sirus was talking to himself more than him, so he just kept quiet and followed along.

He really wished he could stop for a smoke break. However, he didn’t think Sirus would allow that. So he just followed in silence as his mind wondered about the odd encounters he had with strange beings in this land. A flying cat that could talk, these half Naga, the strange naked spider lady, that Steven was attracted to and scared of at the same time. But the oddest of them all was the Angel of Chaos. He was still confused as to what that was all about and why he gave him an inventory ability. Steven still hadn’t tested out its limits yet, but he got the sense it was unlimited. His mind raced with possibilities on how to exploit it if he could fit a boulder in there.

The sound of fighting ahead brought Steven out of his thoughts. He noticed the largest section of dry land he had seen since coming to this world. On that dry land, there were dozens of undead fighting against three Naga.

Sirus turned to Steven. “Stay here!” Sirus then darted towards the fight.

“Zombies! It just had to be zombies,” Steven mumbled. “What am I supposed to do against zombies with poisoned daggers?”

Maybe poison would kill zombies. It’s not like he knew anything about real zombies, although he doubted poison would do anything.

It didn’t take Sirus long to reach the others. Steven watched as Sirus conjured white spikes that he assumed were bones. The spikes began to circle around him like a bone tornado, impaling every zombie that was within range. That was just the beginning of Sirus’s impact on the undead. As the spikes flew around him, he was darting in between the zombies, cutting them to pieces with his katana. He was moving so quickly that Steven could barely make out what was happening.

The other Naga were using daggers, which he assumed were poisoned like his own. Steven was confused why they didn’t use their shard abilities, or maybe they did and they were waiting for their mana to recover. After all, he couldn’t use his but once before he had to wait for his mana to refill.

Bone walls began to appear from thin air, directing the undead into a straight line as Sirus seemingly blinked between zombies cutting them down. Sirus then turned and raised his hand as a massive bone spike the size of Steven formed and blasted through all the zombies in between the walls.

Steven was in awe of Sirus; the sheer destruction the Naga could bring was mind-boggling. Though Steven was a bit confused about why he didn’t just go for their heads, maybe it didn’t work that way here. He would still give it a shot when he had to face them. Though the way Sirus just sliced them to shreds while a tornado of bone spun around him was quite effective, it didn’t really matter if he went for the brain or not. It wasn’t long before there was nothing but a pile of bloody corpses and scattered parts. Sirus walked back over while the other Naga finished off the stragglers. Steven had expected him to be covered in blood and guts, but he was spotless, unlike the other Nagas.

“You are a total badass!” Steven said as Sirus approached, “Just wow! That bone tornado was the coolest thing I had ever seen in my life! And you definitely need to teach me how to use the katana like that.” Sirus just narrowed his eyes at Steven’s excitement.

“We were lucky to make it in time to help the younglings; they had been at it for a while from the looks of it. As for my blade, we shall see. The Elders want you to use daggers in the traditional manner.”

“Younglings?” Steven couldn’t help but ask.

“Yes, I thought it best to let some of the younger generation have the chance of gaining essence. I did not expect their teacher to up and leave them near the dungeon entrance.”

Steven could tell Sirus was irritated. The dour Naga never explained anything to him.

“Now come, I wish to find out where their instructor has gone to.”

Steven followed Sirus to the place where he had just casually massacred dozens of zombies. As they approached, the three Naga fell to one knee immediately.

“Captian Sirus, Sir. I want to apologize for you having to step in and...,” one of the Naga started.

“Silence,” Sirus said. “Tell me, where is Goshkin?” Sirus asked.

Steven thought he was a bit too rough; they looked to be in their teens. But this was the man who tossed him over the side of the bridge dozens of times, so this could be considered mild.

“Sir, the spiders came and told him they had urgent business and that he needed to go with them immediately. When he left, there weren’t any signs of the undead.”

As the teen Naga spoke, Steven watched in confusion as the undead started to melt into the ground. He wanted to ask if that was normal, but didn’t want to interrupt.

“The undead slowly started to come out,” the teen continued. “It was only one or two at first, and then before we knew what happened, we were overwhelmed, and that’s when you arrived, sir.”

“How long has Goshkin been gone? Did the Spider-kin say what they needed him for?”

“Two hours and thirty-seven minutes, sir. And no, they didn’t say. But they looked quite worked up over something. It was all of the drone variants, if that is relevant.”

“Uh, Sirus.” Steven said, this to the wide-eyed confusion of the teen Naga.

“Yes, Steven?” Sirus asked.

“Well, the undead parts are dissolving or doing something. I just wanted to make sure that was normal.”

“Good observation. It is normal; there is no need to worry. I do expect you to keep a keen eye during the dungeon run in the morning as well.”

Steven was a bit taken aback by the sudden change in Sirus’s attitude, but he wasn’t about to complain.

“Let’s move to the inn. It is not far.” Sirus said before he took off back towards the bridge.

No one spoke as they jogged, and the teen Naga pretended to not look his way. Steven noticed them look away any time he looked in their direction. It was a bit awkward, but it wasn’t long before they were approaching what Steven assumed was the inn. There were two male Spider-kin with spears standing on each side of a door set into a tree. The bridge continued on, and Steven thought he saw more doors in the trees further down the bridge. Sirus walked right in the door, and the two guards didn’t so much as flinch as the group went by.

The inside looked similar to Steven’s tree house. He had spent more time in the hut than he had in the tree house, but now that he was in another tree house, he had an odd feeling of longing. The thought of missing out on the Wizard’s library was a bit depressing. Too bad he couldn’t just move it here. No sooner than he thought that, he received a prompt.

Would you like to move the domain to your current location Yes/No?

Steven stared at the prompt in utter confusion. How could he move a massive tree? Wait, it said domain; did that mean everything in the barrier? Or did it just refer to the barrier? That was more likely than the entire tree. Steven mentally clicked no. He would definitely have to test this later. Magic was weird.

“Steven! Did you not hear me?” Sirus asked.

“Huh?” Steven then realized he was just standing in front of the doorway, staring off into space.

“Let’s go,” Sirus said as he headed up the stairs. Steven noticed a male Spider-kin behind the counter, staring at him with curiosity.

“Wait. Did he just get us a room?” Steven asked.

“Yes, sir, he got three rooms to be exact,” the Spider-kin said. His voice reminded Steven of a butler.

“Thanks. Well, I best get going.” Steven said as he headed up the stairs. It seems the strange Spider-kin did more than make clicking sounds.

Reaching the next floor, he realized it was almost an identical match to his tree house, which confused him. The only thing he could think of was that the old wizard took it from the Spider-Kin, but how could you take a massive tree?

“What took you so long?” Sirus asked.

“I was just talking with the innkeeper.” Steven said.

Sirus looked at him curiously, but didn’t say anything else about the matter.

“That is your room,” Sirus pointed to the door across from him, “be downstairs in two hours. I will be going over the plans for the dungeon in the morning.”

“Okay, then, that sounds good.” Steven barely got the words out before Sirus was in his room with the door shut.

Steven just rolled his eyes at getting the door shut in his face and went into his room. To his surprise, he got a room to himself. He was afraid he was going to have to share a room with some of the teen Naga. He was grateful, as he didn’t want them to just stare at him like he was some sort of oddity the entire time. Though, to them, he supposed he was an oddity.

The first thing Steven did when he got in his room was slide the wooden lock closed and pull out his water pipe from storage. It had been quite a stressful day, and it was going to be nice to just finally relax. After a few hits and a plate of fish, with what he hoped was seaweed that Eve had sent with him. He laid down on the bed, wondering if he should leave and go back to the tree house after this dungeon run.

He was afraid that Sirus would just come get him. Steven didn’t think that the barrier would stop that guy. He was also extremely curious about what it meant to move his domain; he got a strong sense that it would just be a barrier. Meaning the library and everything else would just be left right where they were. He needed more knowledge about domains; maybe he would ask Sirus about it tomorrow. Though he could find out about it in the wizards library.

Steven was starting to wonder if this entire world was just mostly filled with monsters. At least they were mostly human, aside from that spider lady, though her top half was definitely human. The spider lady’s human half was ridiculously attractive. It was the kind of beauty that had the perfect amount of innocence and made you believe everything she said. Only to find out she was sleeping with four of your friends while swindling money from your life savings.

Steven shook his head. He didn’t know why the spider lady reminded him of his ex or why that memory had surfaced. It was probably because of Goskia’s potions. All in all, Steven liked Goskia; he was like an old, kindly grandfather. He would like him more if he would stop giving him potions that made him remember things he’d rather not think about.