Chapter 5 : Fogbound Escape

The image of her horrible aunt came to mind, her rat-like face all smiles hearing the news of Oz's death. All her belongings tossed to the trash and her home ruined in the name of greed.

An odd surge of determination ran through her veins as she pushed through the fog. Something deep within the apathic state of her heart gave way, like a tiny seed finally strong enough to burst out of a long dried out shell.

Her fingers bled as she followed the rough walls back to the flickering light of the exit.

"EVERYBODY! THE DUNGEON IS UNSTABLE! EVERYBODY OUT! THE FOG IS ROLLING IN!!" Roared one of the leads through the tunnels, the entire dungeon shifted under her feet. An earthquake ran through the dungeon.

The watch on her wrist beeped loud enough she slapped a hand over it to muffle the sound. A guild requirement, marking location and fog density levels. The grinding of the sword the distance stopped, a beeping behind her also going off.

Damnit! Peering through the darkness she saw the purple fog starting to grow in the tunnel. She was immune to the mental effects of the fog but it didn't mean it wouldn't hurt. She had been in here for over seven hours now, she was tapped. The fog wouldn't break her mind, but it still was toxic on the chemical level. Leaving burns wherever it touched. She was trapped between a madman and the thick fog that even made her lungs ache.

"Get back here pig."

She looked over her shoulder and stared in horror, the purple fog seemed to be coming from the tunnel behind her. His eyes were glowing with a reddish madness, his skin blistering under the effects of the dungeon fog. He laughed as he scratched at his face, the armored claws of his gauntlets cut through his skin like butter.

Chad was a Rank C+ hunter, the strongest here. If he was succumbing to the effects she didn't want to think what would happen to her.

The after quakes of the dungeon rippled under their feet, there was no time to get out!

[DOOR to _____] She heard a soft elegant voice rippling through her mind. She stared at the door with a terrifying aura.

It was a chance. There were rumors of double dungeons, or secret exits that could take a person right out of a dungeon. Rare but...she was out of chances.

"Damnit, the lock!" Her hands fumbled with the lock on the door. Tears ran down her eyes as she panicked. She refused to die by the blade of some bastard fogged out of his nepo-baby mind.

She didn't have time to pick it.

Another skill she learned over the years. Being nice had its perks, the old veteran taught her how to pick in exchange for making him lunch for a month. A skill she kept well secret. He taught her how to pick, open and break into most places with an unnatural ease. He also taught her one special trick: When and where to use brute force.

Picking up a nearby stone, her muscles strained and protested from exhaustion and the bitter cold. In the hallway she saw puffs of her own breath blend with the deepening fog.

She brought the stone down atop the lock, hitting the latch again and again. Her shoulders screamed as she brought all her strength down. Finally, the frozen metal latch shattered after the third try. The door strained against the sudden release of pressure, it cracked open.

With it the tunnel filled with a frozen chill, and the stink of centuries old stale air. She tasted something foul hidden within as the floor rippled. Another aftershock sent rocks down from above. She had to slam herself against the wall to dodge the crumbling ceiling. A horrible feeling burned in her lungs. Through the crack she saw the flash of light, the sparkle and shimmer through the icy veil. An exit!

She had no time to think as the madman ran at her. His sword was high and ready to run her through. A frothy foam in his mouth, the fog was sizzling through his flesh down to his membranes. Anyone not out of the dungeon depths was bound to become a lost zombie, a soul trapped wandering no better than any monster.

She tried to push through the crack in the door, barely squeezing through. She sucked in as much as she could to push through, tossing the heavy bag in front of her.

"Come on, come on!" She breathed out every last drop of air in her lungs, pushing the heavy door micro inches at a time to give her the precious needed space. She wasn't going to make it, she wasn't!

Chad screamed in a mad rage as he ran close, the edge of his sword caught the side of her face. A blinding pain came over her, white hot and sharp as the world went dark. Her blood hit the door in a spray of red.

[Accept the Pilgrimage of Sainthood?]

The odd voice went off again in her head, Oz could only watch in terror as Chad got closer to her.

"Yes! Yes!" She cried out when Chad grabbed and ripped her from the door. HIs breath stank of death as she kicked and screamed. Slamming the bracers on her arms against his face did nothing. His skin rotted away from her frantic attacking, using her weight to knock him away.

"I accept!" She screamed at the voice in her head. "If it means I survive, I accept, damnit!"

[Quest Accepted.]

There was a glowing blue light then out of nowhere, she tumbled backwards through the door. Slipping through it as if it wasn't there at all and landed on the frozen ground with a soft PLOMP sound.

"HA!" She laughed, she survived! Her hand flew to her bloodied eye, hissing from the pain.

But she was alive! All her joy of surviving was soon gone. Oz looked up, through the crack in the door Chad's voice became monstrous and raw, losing any sense of intelligence. His hand tried to reach for her, fingers curled into bone like claws. Her fumbling grip on the door slammed it shut, sealing off the influx of deep Dungeon fog. Another monstrous roar as the heavy door sheared his fingers right off.

Oz gasped and leaned back, breathing a small sigh of relief. Alive...somehow she was alive. It took a moment for her to realize nothing was supporting her arm.

Without warning she went tumbling straight down a frozen maw into the dark pits of hell...