Dungeon Runner (Book 1 and 2)

Stepping Up, Chapter 72

Tibs rushed the guards, pulling out his short sword. He slashed, but they stepped away, leaving an opening to the crystal block. Tibs slammed the end of the pommel down as hard as he could, to no visible effect. Don had been right. Crystal didn't have to be fragile.

He dodged a sword, and it hit the crystal, chipping some of it. Was it because this thug was stronger than Tibs, or the edge of the sword? Could crystal be cut?

"Careful!" someone yelled. "The boss' going to snap your neck if you break it."

He missed his parrying, and the cut burned his arm until he had it wrapped in his essence. Their attacks were coordinated now that the surprise had worn off, and only the large crystal block kept them from surrounding him. He dodged and was momentarily out of strike range from any of them.

This was a horrible situation. What he needed was strength and the only element that gave him that was Earth. It also made him tougher, but he had no idea how to get himself to take the kind of damage Jackal could. And while it gave him that, it would make him slow to react.

Standing still here meant his death.

He crouched under a swing and scored a cut deep enough to draw blood through the leather armor. Tibs threw himself to the side as he noticed someone behind him, and found himself pressed against the packed dirt wall, with four of the thugs between him and the block, and all of them between him and the only way out.

"Looks like our little intruder's taken on more than he can handle," the person who'd called the earlier warning said. The men before him parted to reveal a man much like the others. Nasty looking, wearing good leathers with black and green on them. "You think the boss' going to care if we hand him a corpse, instead of someone to question?"

Tibs stepped forward for an attack, and quicker than he understood, his sword was flying out of his hand, the man lowering his back to his side. Tibs pressed the attack, ducking around the man, and nearly ran into a sword's point. He stopped in time, but then flew back against the wall as someone pulled him by the collar. Before he reacted to that, a hand was around his neck.

The man leaned in with a vicious smile. "They've gotten desperate if they're sending kids now."

Tibs reached for a knife, but the man caught his wrist with his other hand.

"There's no need for that," the man said, as if he was conceding a point. "It'll just prolong this. Someone skewer him."

Tibs had his free hand on the man's face. "Fuck that." He pulled the essence into him.

The man staggered back in shock, but he was already pale from the little Tibs had drawn away, and he looked gaunt.

"What did you do?" the man asked, his voice raspy.

Barely anything, Tibs thought as he grinned menacingly at them. Pulling on the man's essence had been as hard as it had been doing the same to Bardic. And as soon as he'd lost physical contact, he couldn't pull at it anymore with the crystal affecting him.

"They can't use magic," one of them said as they all took a step back.

"Who told you that?" Tibs asked. Not taking his eyes off them, he picked up his sword and sheathed it. "You think something like that's going to stop us? We're Runners. We go up against the dungeon, and you have nothing on him." He tried to make himself taller, and to his surprise, they took another step back.

"He's lying," another said. "If they could use magic, they'd have destroyed this place already." He stepped forward, raising his sword.

Tibs ran at him, taking a cut on his shoulder at the mistimed dodge, but not slowing. He jumped on the man as he wound back for another attack and took hold of his face. Pulling the essence in. It resisted, but he was stronger. The man dropped his sword and tried to dislodge Tibs, but the push was weak and getting weaker. When he fell back, and the last of his essence was ripped away from Tibs's control, he was an unmoving, gaunt version of who he had been.