OCT Round Example

"It took fifty-seven years to carve this trail into the surface of the rock, with anywhere between two hundred and four hundred fifty men working on it at a time. In the days when the city of Haradam was founded, this was the only work to be had besides agriculture and shopkeeping. It was very hard, very dangerous work. Most of the digging was done with hand tools using the natural contours of the rock, since most heavy machinery was too hazardous to bring down. Even in places where machinery was safe to use, getting it down there could dislodge loose rocks to rain down on workers far below.

"But despite the harsh conditions, the founders of Haradam never lost their spirit. Generations of our early citizens worked tirelessly to make the Mammut caverns accessible to exploration. In the centuries since, we have made great leaps in our exploration efforts. In fact, seven years ago when the ice retreated for the spring, an expedition launched on this very date returned with the first concrete evidence of a forest ecosystem deep within the caverns. Rumors of a vast underground forest had persisted since the initial rush of settlers to this region, but until then no one had returned with proof."

The lead tour guide paused and smiled, gesturing at the seemingly bottomless cataract before them. "Of course, the existence of the Mammut forest lends credence to other rumors that first brought travelers to this land. Over the past seven years, the hunt for the legendary Bloodspring has never been fiercer."

The tour marched along the winding ledge that spiraled down into the earth. Across the enormous chasm, another tour group was examining the various rock strata and discussing the billions of years of geological history that lay open for study. The chasm yawned before them all, a womb of ageless stone and billowing mist, exposing its secrets for all to see while at the same time remaining maddeningly discreet. The grand stratified walls of the outer shaft were merely a tantalizing lure, enticing all who approached to be swallowed into the invisible depths beyond the mist.

A young woman shook her head, and her dark crimson-streaked hair ruffled like a crown of feathers in the wind. It was an odd wind, she noted. She had read that most caves blow a light wind out of their openings due to lower temperature and higher air pressure within. But the wind here was a strong downward draft pulling into the gaping mouth of the earth. As if to suck in and devour any unwary passers by -- a paranoid thought which history did nothing to discredit.

She spoke to her guide, a burly man wearing the animal-skin uniform of the Haradam Shepherds. "All those people working, building this town, coming in from all around this huge world... all because of the Bloodspring? All that effort to chase after a centuries-old folktale. It's inspirational and kind of funny... but also sad, in a way."

The guide hobbled along beside her, leaning slightly on his crooked staff. "They believe in it very strongly. And even if it isn't true, exploring the depths of the largest cave system known to exist is well worth the effort. I have seen many communities built around folktales, and I tell you, they are the strongest of all."

"You're a Shepherd, yet you speak as though you aren't from around here."

The guide took in a long breath and savored the sweet sharpness of the mountain air. After a moment he exhaled, and his breath coated the fur lining his hood in a fine dusting of frost. He smiled, and though the animal-head hood covered his eyes the serenity in them was still somehow apparent. "I'm just here for the season."

They followed the tour for a while longer, mostly in silence. The Shepherds led them across a hundred-foot-long bridge of rope and boards, with the waters of the Wurruk River cascading down beside them. The tour paused here while people took pictures and recordings. One thoughtful-looking woman even sketched the waterfall on a small drawing pad.

After the bridge the slope of the trail steepened, winding downward and ever downward. While some of the tourists seemed grateful for the fact that it was all downhill, others were happy to point out that they would all have to make the climb back up at some point.

The tour descended into the mist. Soon afterward, a Shepherd broke away from the group and led a backpack-toting tourist along a different trail that was cordoned off by a rope. The main trail was winding around to an opening in the rock a few hundred yards ahead, but the side trail turned downward at an even steeper grade and the end of it was lost in the thickening fog.

"There's an opening right over there," the young woman said. "Where are those guys going?"

Her guide watched them go. "The tour is going along the established route. People who want to see more of the caverns go a different way."

"So we're following them?"

"That's the idea."

The Shepherd unhooked the rope and gestured for the woman to pass. They made their way along the new path, passing below the slower-moving tour group and moving deeper into the mist. The trail here more closely resembled stairs than a walkway, and the Shepherd relied more heavily on his staff to negotiate the awkward terrain. Despite his gimp, the woman saw no need to question his ability. He seemed to be quite physically fit and sure-footed, and he had the thick build of a mountain-going man.

Heavy mist enshrouded the pair as they walked on. The path was roughly cut but wide enough for them to walk side by side. The Shepherd took the open side of the trail, peering down through the grayness, apparently deep in thought. Once in a while he would glance over at the woman, perhaps as if to say something, only to turn away again. The woman simply watched the path ahead, searching in vain for the other Shepherd who had led his charge this way.

The Shepherd broke the silence, an intrusion which the woman found both welcome and unwelcome. "So what brings you to Mammut? I mean no offense, but you don't look like the caver type. With all those blades of yours, you look more like you're headed for a samurai showdown."

"Perhaps I am," the woman replied. She shifted her shoulders to adjust the weight of her pack and the five scabbards strapped to her back. Until now she had been unaware of the backache that had set in over the course of the hike. "These weapons are all I know. Don't ask."

The Shepherd chuckled. "Another mystery woman. May I at least have your name, or would you have to garrote me if you told me?"

The woman half turned her head. The Shepherd thought he could see the mist reflected in her eyes, but a closer look revealed that her eyes had a natural cloud-like quality.

"My name is Dairyu."

"A pretty name. Musical, even. So Miss Dairyu, besides a samurai showdown, what did bring you here to these caverns?"

"Curiosity, simple as that. To be honest, I really have nothing better to do. Who knows, maybe your Bloodspring can help me get back -- you know, you really do ask a lot of questions, Mr. Shepherd."

"By my count, it's three to two in your favor. Granted, your first one was probably rhetorical. And I asked the same question twice but only counted it once. Not that I find this conversation to be the least bit memorable or anything."

Dairyu shot a glance -- a smile? -- at the Shepherd, but he was fumbling in his pocket and did not notice. After a moment he drew out a lighter and lit the wick on the lantern hanging from the crook of his staff. Dairyu was a bit confused; visibility was low in the thickening fog, but not nearly so much that a light was necessary.

The Shepherd looked away from the lantern and caught her staring. "My apologies. Do you smoke?" He held the lighter out to her.

"No, I was just wondering why you need the light. Those eyeholes not big enough?"

"Four to three. I don't hear footsteps ahead anymore, so we must be close to the entrance."

"Four to three?"

"Questions. Make that five to three. You know, you really do ask a lot of questions, Miss Dairyu. There's the entrance up ahead."

The trail ended at a wide cleft in the granite wall. The seam ran from ninety feet above their heads, all the way down past the range of visibility. A momentary break in the fog revealed that it went down at least several hundred feet, perhaps as far as a quarter mile. The Shepherd took the lead and they walked single file along a narrow ledge, plunging into the darkness of the crack. The rock face was steep and slick with ice above and below, and a fifteen-foot span separated them from the opposite side. Water trickled from the apex of the crack far above their heads; after a short distance the ledge itself became too icy and they paused to strap cleats to their boots.

They reached the back of the cleft in a few minutes. The ledge tapered away into the wall several yards before the two sides joined. Ten feet below where the ledge ended, a jagged hole led deeper into the earth. It was apparent that workers had broken the ice away from the hole to allow passage into the interior; still, getting down the hole safely was a tricky matter.

The Shepherd cracked a flare and tossed it down the hole. It was twenty feet from where they stood to the bottom, with no trustworthy handholds. Turning to Dairyu, the Shepherd asked, "Did you bring a rope ladder, or shall we use mine?"

Without a word, Dairyu leapt from the ledge. She kicked off from the sides of the hole to slow her descent and landed lithely beside the flare. Picking it up, she looked up at the Shepherd over her shoulder, the ruddy light of the flare filling her cloudy eyes with smoky embers.

"Well, you certainly get right to the point." The Shepherd unhooked the lantern from his staff and blew it out, plunging himself in darkness. His silhouette was barely visible by the muted light that penetrated from outside the crack. Still, Dairyu could trace his movements as he flipped the staff behind his back and plunged head first into the hole. He completed a full flip on his way down, his furs making a low fluttering whoosh in the air. He landed expertly in a crouch, then rose and rehung his lantern.

Dairyu arched her brows. "Not bad, Mr. Shepherd, but I can see how you screwed up your leg. Do you train?"

The Shepherd shrugged as he relit the wick with the flare. "The only alternative was breaking my skull on the rocks. That would be a bad career move, so it seemed I didn't have a choice."

Dairyu snorted and ducked through the low passage, flashlight in hand. The Shepherd took a moment to stretch his bad leg and followed.

The narrow tunnel quickly widened into a cavernous space filled with gleaming icicle stalagmites and stalactites. The evidence of others' passage through the chamber was clear: cans, bottles, food wrappers, discarded clothing and sundries, campfire remains, and graffiti made the chamber look more like a waste repository than a natural wonder. Both Dairyu and her Shepherd grimaced at the sight.

The sullied atrium funnelled down into another narrow passage, this one nearly vertical. The pair moved down in a controlled slide, bracing their backs, arms and feet against the sides of the icy chute. At the bottom was an accumulated pile of litter, and a wider passage that was open enough for them to walk at a slight stoop.

"I've been wondering about something, Mr. Shepherd," Dairou said as she admired the intricate ice-forms lining the tunnel. "I've seen some of you talking with the tourists, in bars and on the streets and stuff. You all seem pretty eager to get people looking for this Bloodspring. Hell, I was approached twice on the way to the visitor center to get my voucher. What's with that? Isn't the Bloodspring a big enough draw without you guys always reminding us about it and asking if we're going for it?"

"I don't know. Spreading awareness is key in the tourism trade."

"Even though half the people who go after it don't know what the hell they're doing, and a good ninety percent are never seen again with or without skills?"

The Shepherd shook his head. "Cavers come through entirely at their own risk. It's probably safe to assume that they're a lot like you, coming in with no cave experience, ready to face whatever danger in order to reap the reward." He gave a sly smile. "Or like you say, they come in to satisfy their simple curiosity. And when hundreds of people don't come out, more people get curious -- which is even better for tourism."

Dairyu halted and looked the Shepherd in the eye. Her irises sparked in the scattered light reflected from the icicles. "That's a very callous philosophy, Mr. Shepherd."

The Shepherd said nothing. He only looked at her, watching the firelight dance in her eyes and play with shadows across her reddened cheeks.

Dairyu frowned and turned away, following the twists and turns of the cave passage. "Don't look at me like that."

The Shepherd gave a brief, vigorous shake of his head, then hobbled along after her. "I mean no offense, Miss Dairyu. I was merely... admiring your blades."


* * * * *


Ah, dammit, Dolt! Will you stop with the leering already!

Had Ensis been a man, rather than a sword strapped to his wielder's side, he would have smacked his dim-witted companion for his indiscretion. As it was, the best he could do was try to keep the big man's unconscious staring (and worse still, his drooling) under control.

Of course, matters would not have been nearly so complicated if Kurt had not gone on to cause trouble for Ensis days before. After his sound de-pantsing in the tavern in Haradam, Kurt continually harrassed him about having been cheated out of his voucher. Ensis held his ground that there was no such thing as "cheating" in a game of wits. The conflict quickly became physical due to Kurt's volatile temperament, and in due course Ensis had severed the rest of the finger that he had only nicked before.

"You willingly agreed to my challenge, and you lost fair and square," Ensis stated as Kurt fled the scene, bleeding. "Need I remind you that it was you who tried to cheat me out of my prize? And if you continue to try to cheat me, you will continue to lose -- more severely every time. Now take your finger and whatever semblance of honor you have left, and go!"

Predictably, Kurt left him alone after the incident only to turn to the local authorities. Both Ensis and Kurt were ousted from Haradam and barred from entering the city or the caverns until the next Bloodspring season. Ensis was not deterred; he located a Haradam Shepherd of the same body size as his wielder and strapped him to the undercarriage of the next train to Glasdon, then took his place amongst the Shepherds.

It was in this capacity that he was now "leading" his charge through the upper levels of Mammut. Despite having researched the parts of the caverns that had been reliably charted, he was unsurprised to find that actually navigating the cave was far more difficult than one might assume.

He remembered the maps in perfect detail, but it was still unclear which ways were the right ones. Cleat tracks led off in every direction with no easy way to know which ones were fresh, or even which paths were more frequently visited. He stopped at every junction and perked his wielder's ears, listening for the footsteps of the pair that had gone ahead of them. By now he was only following distant echoes and navigating primarily by instinct.

They snaked their way through a cramped but particularly stunning hollow that looked like a colossal forest made of ice. Huge frozen pillars filled the space, forming where stalactites and stalagmites came together. A broad canopy of icicles spanned over their heads, and the flickering orange lantern light gave them the illusion of autumn leaves quaking in the wind.

Wandering amongst the ice-trees, the pair found themselves captivated by the splendor of it. They trekked in contemplative silence, drifting apart and back together, stealing occasional glances at each other to determine their positions as they marveled at the scenery.

They stopped to rest at an ice-tree that was twice as wide as an armspan. Over the ages, water had trickled down its surface in a spiral around its girth, leaving a raised trail of dark gray ice that climbed the tree like a creeper vine.

The pair lunched on dried meat and nuts. Ensis took care to seat his wielder in such a way that he wasn't facing Dairyu. Still, during the occasional lapses in Ensis's attention, his companion would be found craning his neck to watch her. The first few times that Ensis caught him, he yanked him back around and compelled him to slap himself on the nose. But this did nothing to restrain his heartstruck companion. In any case, the big oaf was too shy to say or do anything stupider. So long as Dairyu continued to face away, he allowed the big man to stare as he pleased.

When the two got to moving again, Ensis found himself watching her as well. If not for his developers being very careful not to allow lust to compromise his strategies in combat, he guessed that he, too, could have fallen in love. The grace of her movements, the athletic trim of her body, her flamboyant sense of fashion and hairstyle, her independent and sarcastic demeanor, her dutifully polished blades.... Ensis admired her, and he felt disappointed that his wielder could only see her for the skin that she was somehow comfortable with baring in the frigid caverns.

How was she staying warm, anyway? Her clothing was all straps and colorful, billowing ribbons, completely unsuitable for the cold.

Out of damnable curiosity, Ensis brought his wielder's hand close to her bare shoulder. He stopped just short of touching, and he could feel it: a warm tingle as if a sultry breeze were blowing across her skin.

Dairyu suddenly stopped and the big man's hand clapped on her shoulder. So as not to give her the wrong impression, he pushed her forward a couple of steps as if he had needed to use her to stop himself. A thrill ran through the big man's nerves in response to the contact; Ensis moved quickly to suppress this involuntary rush before it led to more awkwardness.

Without looking back at him, Dairyu asked, "Tell me, Mr. Shepherd. Do you really know where you're going?"

Ensis was momentarily stricken, and during this lull his wielder had begun to massage Dairyu's shoulder. The perturbed expression on her face brought Ensis's attention to this, and he quickly stopped rubbing to give her a friendly, reassuring pat. "I've pretty much got the map printed on the back of my head, Miss Dairyu."

"You've been following echoes."

"I assure you, we are coming closer to the Bloodspring with every step. The area beyond the next tunnel is uncharted but has never been marked as a dead end. Uncharted means that no one's been through and back, and so we'll likely find something that no one else has found. Or that many people have found but didn't want to leave."

"Uncharted means you really don't know the way."

"Not yet. Are you coming?"

The next passage was almost completely clogged with a thick plaque of ice. Ensis and Dairyu needed to worm through on their stomachs in some spots, with the big man nearly getting stuck twice. Ensis could hear clattering noises up ahead and so he continued to follow. However, there was no evidence that the others had passed through here. He realized that he probably had led them the wrong way, but it was possible that the disparate paths converged at some point ahead.

When they reached the end of the tunnel, the sight before them explained why the area had not been properly mapped. Being in the lead, Ensis was the first to discover the sheer drop where the tunnel opened up into a huge vertical well. Without the lantern, the change in the cavern's resonance was the only clue that alerted him in time to avoid falling into it in the darkness.

The two stood at the edge of an empty abyss. The well was so wide and deep that neither the lantern nor Dairyu's flashlight could reveal the other side. The clattering sounds were revealed to be caused by chunks of ice that occasionally broke off from the invisible ceiling far above.

"So now what, Mr. I-Know-Where-I'm-Going? I bet you don't even remember the way back."

Ensis pondered for a moment. In any other circumstance, this would have seemed a minor setback. It was a simple enough matter to turn around and seek another route. But with Dairyu here judging him, mocking him -- though he could not feel attracted to her in the same way that his wielder could, his pride still felt the burning sting of having failed in the presence of someone he admired. Irrational as it was, Ensis felt compelled to prove his competence to her and see this through.

The big man lifted his staff high and gripped the strange ornament that adorned the bottom of it. He pulled it free, revealing the full length of the Ensis-III. The blade glinted in the light and made a musical whistle as he casually twirled it in the air. Once he was certain that he had captured Dairyu's attention, he placed the tip of the sword on the ice-coated wall. The ice rang like a chime at the touch.

He dragged the blade slowly along the surface. The blade seemed to sink into the ice, leaving a trail of liquid water in its wake. After a couple of feet he reversed his stroke, moving the blade back through the groove he had just carved. The blade began to sing a low, thrumming note as it slid through the wet groove. Dairyu felt the sound in her bones, and the entire cavern rang like a tuning fork. A small cascade of ice chunks rained down from above.

"What the hell --"

"Shh!" Ensis stood still for a moment, concentrating. The sword's perception of the world was largely limited by his wielder's senses, but nothing restricted him from expanding upon them. The echoes coming at him from the surrounding walls could be interpreted by his psyware; in effect, echolocation. By listening closely, he could create a mental image of the cave's layout.

"Why are you dancing around like that?"

"What? Oh." For shit's sake, Dolt, I go and do something else for six and a half fucking seconds and you're swaying around like a drunken imbecile! "Sorry, I need to stretch my leg once in a while. It's been giving me a hard time since the accident I had a few days ago."

"I don't care about that. I just want to know what all that was about, with the sword."

"I was getting some perspective was all. And I have some good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?"

"As if it matters. Get to the point."

"Well, there is another tunnel ahead that leads deeper into the caverns. Unfortunately, it's halfway around the side of this shaft. There's a way around that we can climb, but there's little margin for error. Make no mistake, this really is a bleedin' death shaft."

"You've gotta be kidding me! Why can't we just go back and find some other way?"

"Hey, no one promised this was going to be easy. If anyone could just roll out of bed, throw on their fuzzy slippers and walk down to the Bloodspring then it would have been found by now, don't you think?"

"Screw this!" Dairyu said, ducking down to re-enter the narrow tunnel. "I'll find my own way. I'm relieving you of your duties."

"I am perfectly capable of relieving myself, thank you. In any case, I'm moving forward. You already paid me to guide you through as far as I can, so it's your money to waste if you want to give up and go home before we've even started."

Dairyu backed out of the tunnel and glared indignantly at the big man. "I am not giving -- ugh! Fine! But you're leading the way, and if you get your ass killed then I'm turning around and you can keep the money."

Ensis lamented his decision with every passing second. It was easy to find secure hand- and footholds along the route he had planned, but the big man's weight and girth were a great hindrance. Having the staff and lantern strapped to his back was another threat to his equilibrium, as well as a constant source of worry that the sword might slip from its static bond and be forever lost in the pit.

Also, it was difficult for him to keep his wielder's nervousness in check while they dangled over empty space. The steady flow of adrenaline was beneficial to the purpose, but shaky hands and quivering legs were not. Ensis attempted to sooth him with telepathic words of encouragement, but the break in the sword's concentration was not worth the meager effect his words produced.

The two managed to climb most of the way around the face of the shaft without incident. Several yards from their destination, however, a seven-foot-long icicle dislodged from the ceiling directly above them. It rolled, tumbled, and skidded down the side of the shaft, breaking off small pieces of itself on the way. Ensis and Dairyu both shouted, "Move!" at the same time and swung out of the way, dodging in opposite directions as the deadly spear hurtled by between them.

Ensis steadied himself quickly and forced the big man to control his breathing. But Dairyu did not recover so easily. She fumbled and her foot slipped from its precarious hold. She cursed as she held on to the wall by one hand -- one hand that clung to nothing but slippery ice.

Ensis wasted no time; he threw himself sideways and, after a long moment of zero contact with the wall, grasped on to the most convenient notches and threw his arm around Dairyu's waist. The lantern wavered during the sudden motions and threatened to leave them in the dark. Dairyu reflexively struggled against Ensis and lost her grip, but he hefted her small frame easily in his muscular arm.

"Grab on dammit I can't bloody do this all day!"

Frantic, Dairyu clung to the wall in an even worse position than before. Ensis lifted her up a few inches higher and pressed her closer to the wall until she found a better grip. He kept his arm around her until her trembling subsided, then let her go.

Immediately she lashed out and socked the big man in the arm. Even through the thick skins he was wearing, the hit was stunningly strong and the arm went temporarily numb. Ensis was impressed. "I wouldn't turn back now," he said evenly. "The other passage is less than twenty feet away."

"Screw you!"

Ensis continued on. He made sure that he was out of her attack range when he retorted, "It would be my pleasure."

Once they were safely on the other side they sat in silence for a while to settle their nerves. Ensis sat on the edge and dipped his feet in the pool of total blackness beyond the lantern light. Dairyu rested in a kneeling position for a while, and then began to pace around the lip of the passage.

The clicking of Dairyu's cleats scraped to a halt. "Look at that! It's beautiful...."

The big man turned his head. Dairyu was inspecting the intricate patterns of ice on the stone wall.

Dairyu moved to another section of wall and gestured to him. "Here, bring me your light."

Ensis stood and tipped his staff toward the wall where she was looking. Dissatisfied, she grabbed the staff and pulled it toward her. "No, I mean over -- here!"

With that, Dairyu performed a quick leg takedown on the big man's bad leg. Using the staff to gain leverage, she flipped him over her shoulder and sent him over the edge. She did not let go of the staff as he went over. Instead she held fast and dug her cleats into the ice, anchoring them both in place. The lip jutted out from the wall and left Ensis with nothing to grasp; their mutual hold on the staff was the only thing protecting him from a seemingly endless fall.

"If you're going to be so rough with your escort," Ensis said, "I'm afraid I'm going to have to charge extra."

"Shut up!" Dairyu snapped back. "I know you're lying about being a Shepherd. A Shepherd would have no business carrying such a strange sword, and wouldn't have willingly put both of us at so much risk just to go deeper into the cave. Now tell me who you really are!"

"That's a pretty crappy pickup line."

Dairyu scowled. The staff slipped a little as she freed one hand to draw a tantō from behind her back. "You know what, your little comments are really starting to piss me off. But not quite as much as the way you're always staring at me. Creepy fat stinking slob. At first I was going to just let go and watch you fall, but now I think I'm going to carve your beady little eyes out until you decide to let go yourself."

"Oh come on! Don't blame me for Dolt's one-track mind. And what's with the 'creepy fat stinking slob' remark? I mean, he is all of those things, but only I get to say it to his face."

Dairyu moved in with her knife. "Too bad I don't even want to care about whatever you just said."

"Hey wait! Before you kill me, there's just one last thing I want to say!"

Dairyu paused for the briefest of moments. Ensis could tell that she would refuse his request and simply cut out his eyes, but he was not waiting for a response. The moment's hesitation was enough time for him to brace his feet against the lip, grab Dairyu's wrist, and kick off -- sending them both hurtling through the abyss.

"Second floor, Ladies' Lingerie!" Ensis called out over Dairyu's screams and the rushing wind.

Ensis quickly removed the cleats from his boots and lashed them to the backs of his wrists. He slipped the sword out of the staff and jettisoned the stick. The sword glowed a bright metallic white, and the brilliant light washed away the heavy darkness.

Hopefully this doesn't take too long. This'll burn out all my reserve power in no time....

The sword released a small burst of energy that pushed him back against the wall. He now slid down a near-vertical slope that was gradually tapering outward. The vertical shaft soon became a forty-degree diagonal. Ensis slid on his back, using the cleats on his wrists to help brake and steer around the nasty bumps and depressions in the ice.

Through the cacophony of wind and grinding ice, Ensis picked up the sound of flapping silk.

Dairyu....

Ensis veered sideways just as a pair of cleated boots smashed into the ice where he had been. The cleats shattered from the impact and a dozen metal spikes pursued him down the slope.

He heard Dairyu tumbling behind him. Then there were six running steps, followed by the steady scream of wood sliding on ice. Dairyu whooshed past him off to his right. She was skating on the wooden bases of her cleats, moving in a graceful arc to cut off his path of descent. When she was a good distance ahead of him, she drew two katanas then spun around to face him. Swords at the ready, she rushed up the slope to meet him.

What? Up?! How in the --

Ensis steered toward a bump in the ice and braced himself. The bump launched him into the air. He landed squarely on his feet, wobbling for a moment on his bad leg, and slid down to her with his shining sword poised.

The closer he got to Dairyu, the stronger the wind felt in his face. Soon it was powerful enough to slow him down. It was then that Ensis fully comprehended what was so strange about all of this: not only was Dairyu skating up against the tug of gravity, but the loose bits of her clothing were trailing in front of her instead of behind. She was sailing, not skating, forced up the slope by the force of a mighty wind.

That strange breeze that was warming her skin -- she is a wind Elementalist! How very exciting!

The wind nearly brought the big man to a standstill before it suddenly stopped and Dairyu hurtled toward him. They collided in a blinding flash of sparks and shining metal. Dairyu was exceptionally quick with her two blades, which made it all the more difficult for Ensis to defend against them. Also, they had begun sliding down again and were rapidly picking up speed.

They whizzed down the slope, swiping and thrusting and parrying. Every so often they would break apart to avoid an obstacle, only to come back together with blades sizzling with renewed fury.

Ensis took a quick glance down the slope. Oh shit. The shaft is getting narrow....

The shaft funneled down to a tube roughly twenty feet in diameter. The change did little to affect their swordplay, but Ensis was thinking more about their surroundings than Dairyu appeared to be. He found an opportune moment in the positioning of her blades and knocked them both back. Dairyu's defense was fully open for a moment while her swords vibrated madly in her hands; Ensis took this opportunity to launch a side kick at her chest. He was hoping to kick her into the wall, but she was whisked backward by a powerful suction wind before his foot connected. She skated around the tube's circumference, arcing gracefully over his head and coming back at him from the other side.

Ensis spun and deflected Dairyu's furious blades. "Look but don't touch!" she taunted as she neatly breezed out of the way of his spinning backslash.

They both broke from the fight to avoid the increasing number of stalagmites and stalactites that lined the tube. The obstacles rushed at them like jagged frozen daggers, forcing them to jump and duck and run along the sides to dodge them. The stalagmites growing from the lower side were particularly dangerous; since the tube was at a steep incline, the vertical spikes were angled toward them as they approached.

While Ensis used energy bursts to slow his slide and make the toothy labyrinth easier to negotiate, Dairyu seemed to be moving faster. She flipped and weaved and slipped past the cave's hungry teeth, plunging deeper into its throat, almost out of range of Ensis's light.

At the edge of visibility, a thick pillar of ice came into view. It stood squarely in the middle of the tube and filled over half of its width. Dozens of lesser obstacles blocked their way around it on either side.

Dairyu reached the pillar first. Seconds before impact, she jumped and twirled in the air with one blade outstretched. A faint ripple of energy flew from her blade and smashed into the pillar, blowing out a section just wide enough for her to dive through to the other side. The narrow, jagged hole would certainly rip the big man to shreds if he attempted to follow her.

Ensis dimmed his light and began to make his blade sing. When the blade vibrated at the right frequency, he jumped at the upper half of the pillar and struck it with the sword. The sword did not cut through the ice, but the tone it imparted weakened its crystalline structure so that the big man easily and almost painlessly crashed through it.

Ensis shouldered through the top half of the pillar, only to catch Dairyu's foot in his face as he burst through the other side. She had been hanging from the ceiling, waiting for him to emerge.

The big man tumbled down the slope amidst a torrent of ice fragments. The tube was wider and steeper here, and there were no more obstacles; at this angle water ran down the sides of the tube instead of dripping, and so icicles did not form. Unable to stand on the sheer slope, Ensis kept one hand braced against the ice while his sword arm was ready to fend off Dairyu's attack.

Dairyu stayed ahead of him, skating down the smooth ice in a low crouch. She flicked her hands at Ensis, releasing small ripples of energy that came at him like throwing knives. And indeed they were; the little pockets of pressurized air thwicked into the ice around him leaving perfect blade-shaped notches, and one grazed his arm and left a clean tear in his Shepherd uniform.

The tube abruptly leveled and the thick coating of ice began to taper away. Ensis slid on his feet now and deflected Dairyu's wind-knives as they came, using small bursts of energy to disrupt their structure. They popped like fireworks as he cut through them, and a trail of whirling puffs of mist were left in his wake.

Dairyu saw that the knives were useless and drew the largest of her swords. She brandished it in two hands, performing a quick elaborate kata. "Come on, big boy," she taunted. "Quit being so limp and useless with your sword and come and get me."

Ensis lowered his stance and rocketed ahead on a burst of energy. Dairyu ran up at him, stepping on ripples of pressurized air to gain traction up the slope. The two met again, this time with more thoughtful and less frenzied swordplay. All parties were exhausted from the past few minutes' exertion (including the Ensis sword, whose energy reserves were running low), and so neither of the combatants made any unnecessary moves.

She's quicker than you, Dolt! I'd have an easier time fighting her with a fucking sock puppet!

The big man wheezed, "Sorry buddy! I'ma try 'n lose weight I promise!"

Dairyu swooped in with a lunging attack. "'Sorry buddy?' What the hell are you talking about? We are not buddies!"

The big man crossed his wrists and caught Dairyu's blade between the cleats he had strapped on. He then jerked his hands apart to flick the sword away. Dairyu reflexively reached to retrieve her weapon. In this moment of distraction, Ensis did a pirouette on the ice and backhanded her in the cheek. Dairyu flew away from him, unconscious, and blood poured from her face where the cleats ripped into her skin.

Ensis swooped down to Dairyu's limp body and caught her as she slid. He settled her on his shoulder to protect her while he whisked down the remaining length of the tube.

"Sorry, buddy."


* * * * *


A graveyard lay at the bottom of the shaft.

An astonishing number of species were represented here, collected over the course of centuries -- possibly millenia -- as unknowing explorers and Shepherds fell into the shaft and met grizzly deaths on the way down. The bodies were frozen, broken and horribly discolored but not decomposed. A number of them were encased in the shallow ice that coated the floor, which suggested that seasonal thawing might melt the ice in the shaft and wash down the bodies that ended up stuck midway down.

Hundreds of victims, most of which lay in a single heap, a testament to the power that the ancient legend held over mortal beings.

Ensis had rummaged through the corpses' ragged packs and collected whatever food was still edible, as well as flashlights and other useful items. It appeared that no one else had done this, which seemed to indicate that he and Dairyu were the only ones to have arrived here while still alive.

He had also stripped some of the corpses of their clothing and built a fire to keep Dairyu warm, for she had no warm, mystical wind surrounding her while she was unconscious. She lay by the fire, cocooned in toasty blankets, and she twitched almost imperceptibly while Ensis bandaged her head.

The big man was at the edge of tears. "Is she 'onna be okay, buddy?"

She'll be fine. See, that little stream runs through here. That means that there's a way down for us, and maybe a way back up for her when she wakes up. There's fresh water, and plenty of meat lying around if she's desperate.

"You mean we gonna leave her?"

Yes, Dolt. I suppose you could say we're giving her the shaft. Heh.... Sorry, Dolt.

The big man watched Dairyu as she writhed and fidgeted in her covers. Her face, oiled from the exertion, glistened in the firelight. He tentatively touched her cheek with his finger, dabbing away a little trickle of blood.

Ensis detected a change in the big man's endocrine activity. Disgusted, he pulled him roughly away from her and proceeded to walk him downstream. Don't even think about it, Dolt. Honor first and foremost, remember?

After several hundred yards the ice ended. The cave seemed to grow warmer with every step. Tributaries joined up with the little stream, which grew into a small river that coursed through an enormous hollow whose ceiling their light could not reach. The duo walked on for an hour or so before stopping to rest and eat from their loot.

Their meal passed on in silence. The big man ate from a five-year-old can of beef stew, and Ensis drank in the heat and light from the fire to replenish his reserves. Ensis suggested that Dolt should snooze for a while before moving on, but the big man was unable to sleep. They continued onward.

There's something on your mind, Dolt, and that is such a miraculous occurrence that it would be an awful tragedy if you didn't tell me what it was.

The big man remained silent for a while. At length he asked, "Why you have to go 'n tear up her face like that? She not gonna be pretty anymore, is she? She gonna have big ugly scars, all over here on her face, huh?"

Ensis gave a telepathic sigh. Yeah, she'll have some scars alright, but that's the least of her troubles now. She needs to find a way back to the surface and get some proper medical attention.

But hey, don't worry about it, big guy. Think of it this way: She'll have something to remember us by.