The Brewer's Ascent - Chapter 3

As Cassia nursed his drink he thought of the drow man Gregory. They weren’t friends.

Cassia knew the man from his university years at the Altruef Academy. The primary education center for the drow of Jaskar city. The educational sector was just one aspect of drow society where the other, to some, lesser races were segregated for the elven populace.

At university, Cassia had learned a great many things about the world as well as the foundational knowledge of alchemy that guided him onto the path of the brewer. Gregory had been present in many of his classes. At one time they might even have been considered friends. But, those days were long past.

Caught up in his reminiscing over past events, Cassia didn’t notice the figure that crossed the dining hall.

“Greetings, Cassia.” The stone faced man spoke to the ponderous elf.

The drow man choked on the ale as he was disturbed from his thoughts. Coughing into his mug, Cassia looked up at the man before him.

“Clay... Hello. I didn’t notice you.”

The man looked down at the sputtering elf. “Sorry, didn’t mean to get that reaction from you.” Clay pulled a chair out and took a seat across from the seated drow.

Cassia collected his wits and set the drink down on the table. “Oh, no worries. Just had something on my mind.”

The stony man appraised his partner. “So, have you finished your business?”

A smile tugged at the corner of Cassia’s mouth. “Yes.” The man opened his coat and took out a vial of the layered blue powder. “These should be quite useful against those elementals. Aquastone bombgs.” Cassia said with satisfation.

“Good. When you’re ready, we should head out and begin our hunt.”

Cassia picked up his drink and downed the remainder in one gulp. “Yes, let’s get started.”

Clay stood up, a daunting figure in his chain mail tunic and gauntleted fist. His sword hung at his waist, ready to be drawn at a moments notice.

Cassia looked a slightly less intimidating form than his partner as he stood up. Though he stood as tall as the ashen figure of Clay, he was noticeably thinner in stature than the goliath of a man.

The pair of men made their way through the dining area, headed for the exit. At the receptionist’s desk Mindy looked up to the pair of men.

“Hi, Clay!” She greeted the large man enthusiastically. “Are you going on a hunt?”

“Yes, we’ll be taking on the flame elementals beyond the East gate.” Clay said to the wide eyed young woman.

“That will be a tough mission. But, I’m sure you can handle it.” Mindy seemed to only just recognize the presence of Cassia. “Good luck to the both of you. Be careful.”

“Thanks, we will.”

The pair of men exited the hunter’s guild hall and walked bravely out into the eternal night of Jaskar city.

Cassia’s bravery was a bit on the flighty side as he hurriedly groped for his lightstone wand. Letting out a sigh of relief, the drow man pulled out his wand and illuminated the street for the pair of men.

If Clay was relieved by the added light, he showed no sign of it.

There progress through the streets of Jaskar went unimpeded and before long they passed under the Eastern gate. The drow guards showed no interest in the departing men, more concerned with those seeking entry into the city.

The Orgas plains were desolate and dark. The horizon dotted with fire that bled up from the ground.

Cassia consulted his map as they traveled along the main road. Their destination was off the main road, one of the many small side roads that ran off into the wilds of Orgas.

Clay was alert for threats now that they had departed from the safety of the city, his hand ready to pull his blade free of its scabbard.

Cassia mental checked the placement of his various tinctures, his weapons of choice. He had poisons and bombs to be used on any of the many wild beasts of the plains. But, he hoped their travel would go unmolested until they reached the flame elementals cavern.

Out under the open night, their progress went slower than it had within the protected environment of the city. But, gradually, their travels into the wilderness led them to travel down one of the smaller side roads.

Led by their maps and compasses, Cassia and Clay found their way to their destination.

Clay took the lead as Cassia suppressed the light of his wand.

The drow man rummaged through his clothes until he pulled free one of the aquastone bombs. His weapon drawn, he nodded to his partner.

Led by his sword, Clay began to walk into the depths of the flame elemental cave.

Cassia was sure to let only the minimal amount of light pass in front of them, to allow them to see in the darkness of the tunnels. Clay’s progress into the cave was slow as he was alert for any sign of enemies.

An echo of whispering wind pricked Cassia’s elven ears. He wasn’t sure the sound that found its way to them, but he knew it must be a sign of a nearby enemy.

As they traveled into the depths, a faint light illuminated the corridors from around the corner. The sound that whispered into Cassia’s ears had grown louder, and the elf was sure that Clay must be aware of the sound by now.

Clay was undaunted as he led the pair of men towards the illumination ahead. Before long the entire cave was filled with light.

Cassia hurriedly tucked away his lightstone wand and procured another of his aquastone bombs.

Clay’s progress slowed to a crawl as the pair of men inched around every corner, alert for any sign of the elementals.

In a matter of moments their targets were found. The cave dazzlingly bright as two of the flame elementals moved about before Clay and Cassia. They each stood the height of a man with orange flames licking up from their stone cores.

The pair of men looked to one another before turning back to the threats. Cassia readied his aquabombs while Clay raised his sword in front of himself.

In a moment Clay charged out into the corridor. The elementals turned to the intruder and released a vaporous hiss as their flames turned from orange to red.

Cassia held back from Clay as the man rushed forward. Waiting for his moment to strike.

Charging the nearest of the two elementals, Clay thrust his sword forward. Driving his blade deep into the stony core of the elemental, Clay pierced the creature.

Recognizing his chance, Cassia raised his arm and hurled one of his bombs at the pierced elementals partner. The vial filled with powdered aquastone vaulted through the air.

The targeted elemental was caught unaware of the incoming attack, preoccupied with the first intruder.

As the glass container shattered against the elementals stony carapace an explosive wave of water rushed forth from its confines. Cassia watched as the watery mass engulfed the flaming creature.

A hiss of steaming water boiled up from the flailing elemental. A loud scream echoed through the cave as the elemental changed from a brilliant red to a more muddy yellow.

At the screaming elementals side, Clay freed his sword from his own elemental and raised it to defend from a frantic blow the creature threw against him.

Backing away from the beast, Clay brought his blade high and drove it down viciously. His sword cut a diagonal path through the elemental, bisecting the flaming creature.

Clay’s elemental fell to the ground in a mass of smoldering stone. Its flames dimmed and dwindling.

The stone faced man turned to the flailing elemental that had been engulfed by one of Cassia’s aquastone bombs. The creature struck out at the man with a yellowed mass of flames catching Clay across his chain mailed chest.

Cassia threw his second aquastone bomb at the creature and watched as it careened through the air. In a moment the elemental was writhing uncontrollably as the water bomb shattered against its side. The elemental moaned woefully as its core tumbled to the ground. Its flames dimmed and died out as the water puddled throughout its simmering form.

The two threats taken care of, Cassia let out a sigh of relief. He looked to his partner and saw Clay’s blackened hand. He must have suffered a grievous burn in his confrontation with the elementals.

Rushing to his partner’s side, Cassia desperately searched through his clothes until he found the tincture of ointment he’d brought in case of burns.

“Clay! Your hand!” Cassia reached out for the hand that still held firmly the sword that had downed one of the elementals. “Let me see it.”

Clay shifted as Cassia reached out to take his hand. Reaching over, Clay took the blade in his gauntleted fist and allowed his partner to take his hand.

Cassia was startled by the charring of Clay’s hand. Using the ointment he rubbed it into the wound, being sure to completely cover the blackened skin.

Something was wrong.

“Clay, your skin...” The drow man was at a loss for words.

The stone faced man seemed unconcerned by the damage he had sustained in his fight with the flame elemental.

Taking his hand back from the elf, Clay said. “You don’t have to be so concerned, I’m not hurt.”

Cassia was baffled. “How can you not be hurt? Your hand is atrophied.”

“No it isn’t.” Clay flexed his hand before Cassia’s eyes. If the movement caused pain for his partner, Cassia couldn’t see it.

“How...”

Clay looked into Cassia’s eyes appraisingly.

“I’m not human, Cassia.” The man said to the surprised elf. “I’m a golem.”

The drow man was surprised by Clay’s denial of humanity, but his brain couldn’t process the part about him being a golem.

“A golem?” Cassia echoed.

“Yes.” Clay said. “My skin is hardened clay.”

“Clay...” Cassia echoed.

He’d heard of golems before, stone constructs that harbored the souls of the dead. Rephaim. But, for him to actually know one caught the man off guard.

“Okay.” Cassia gathered his thoughts. It didn’t change anything.

“Okay.” Cassia repeated. “You’re still my partner, Clay. And, we still have a mission to do.”

Clay smiled. “Yes.”

The golem swapped the sword once more to his main hand and turned to travel deeper into the cave.

“Wait a moment, Clay.” Cassia dug through the folds of his clothing until he found an empty pouch.

Crouching before the ashen forms of the dead flame elementals, Cassia scooped up some of the elemental ash into the pouch, while Clay collected their stony cores in a burlap sack.

Satisfied, the drow man tucked away the pouch and pulled out two more of his aquastone bombs.

“Okay. I’m ready.”

The pair of men began their progress deeper into the cavern. Along their path elementals illuminated the dark corridors giving the men advance warning of when they would encounter a fight.

Cassia’s aquastone bombs served to weaken the elementals and provide Clay the opportunity to devastate the flaming beings stone cores with physical damage.

Before long they had filled their quota of elementals.

For a B ranked mission Cassia thought the elementals proved less of a threat than he had expected. But, he knew that without Clay and his stone skin, which proved impervious to fire, Cassia would have been unable to fulfill the mission.

“That’s fifty.” Cassia said. “Let’s head back.”

Clay nodded as he hefted the heavy sack of flame elemental cores over his shoulder.

Their progress back out of the cave was significantly faster than their journey into its depths.

Cassia’s purple lightstone wand provided illumination for their travel and soon they found themselves under the pitch night sky of the Orgas plains.

Their travel through the open fields of Orgas went unimpeded as they soon saw the illuminating lights of Jaskar city. Before long the pair of men was back in the safety of of the city and Cassia was able to release the baited breath he had held since the men had first left the Jaskar to hunt the elementals.