AnnouBook 3 has been released on Amazon. o purchase as I will eventually post all chapters here. This book ends at chapter 181, so 20 chapters left. Once all of book 3 is posted here, it will be stubbed after a week or so. Just a warning.

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  Chapter 161: Gnolling the Elf

  We walked about fifty feet into the corridor in sileo explore the room. Raelia walked in front of me and broke the silence. “ I have my ring back?”

  I hesitated before asking, “What does it do?”

  The elf aused before replying, “It is a ring of suste allows the wearer to require less food and less sleep.”

  Maveith ey thoughts. “That would have been useful to have when we were in the library, Eryk.”

  “How much less food and sleep?” I asked, pulling the ring into my hand. The silver ring didn’t look too special; it was just a thick silver band.

  “When I was wearing it, I could get a full night’s rest in about two hours. I still o drink normally, but I only needed one small meal daily to feel full.” She souruthful, but I could never be certain.

  “Why would I return it to you if it is so useful?” I asked doubtfully, turning it over in my hand.

  “How about I trade you the ring for the ranger’s cloak?” she suggested cautiously.

  I sidered the offer; teically, both artifacts were mine. Being ical, I thought maybe she wahe cloak to help her escape. Maveith added to the versation, “I made Eryk a beautiful cloak from a bull manticore’s leather wing.” I took the hint from the goliath. He wanted me to make the exge to build trust—and to affirm that I would treasure his cloak.

  “How does the ring work?” I asked, intrigued.

  Raelia turned her head. Seeing I was holding the ring, she said, “You put it on and el aether into it. It takes about a week to attuo a new wearer. Over the week, you will need less and less sleep ahe o eat less.”

  The ring would only fit on my pinky finger. As I was about to put it on, she ughed. “Never worn a dunge before?” I did not appreciate the mirth ione or how she looked down on my ignorance.

  I trolled a scathi and asked calmly, “No, how do you wear a ring?”

  The griffin rider stopped ughing. “Just slide it on the finger you want, trickle aether into it. It may take a while to reform, but it will. Only dungeoed rings will resize.”

  She was right; the ring slid slowly onto my ring finger. I just hoped this ring was not cursed, but I was less worried since I had Maveith take it from her while it was still in her hand. “Do you know how to figure out what a ring do?”

  Maveith, on a quest to wirust, informed her, “We found a ring in a dungeo.” I was not upset with him pandering to the elf or revealing what we found. I was having some trouble believing she was sincere and not just ag while waiting for an opportunity.

  Raelia sidered the question before speaking. “There are three ways that I know. One is a revetion scroll. Adventurer’s Guild Halls have them. The other is finding a mage who cast a divination spell. The st is by heating it up and using a magnifying gss to study the intricate runes on the ring that reveal themselves in the heat of a fire. But you need someone skilled in reading the runic markings of dungeons.” I nodded, remembering that Castile had said something simir, and I thought I had a way to cheat.

  roached the end of the hallway, and Raelia was walkio Maveith. They stopped at the entrance, and I halted behind them. “Not a safe room,” I said, disappointed as I took in the room.

  It was ane chamber. Boulders and small trees dotted the expansive space. A small body of water cut through the room like a wide stream, flowing slowly, as indicated by the visible ripples. “Okay, dungeon expert. What are we fag?” I asked Raelia.

  Raelia leaned forward to take in the room. “This is a rge room. Bigger than anything I have ever seen in a dungeon.” She tinued, a little more uainty in her voice, “Usually, you know what to expe a room based on others who came before you.”

  I asked another question. “What about the room reset times?”

  “Always a day based on the sun. Sometimes longer if the dungeon is low oher from the ley lines feeding it. Usually, a member of the dueam carries an hss,” she said, looking back at me dubiously. “You ot repeatedly delve into a dungeon, or you will exhaust it,” she replied. I thought she was leaning too far in, so I grabbed her shoulder to stop her and pull her back.

  She tensed and spun quickly to face me; her rge blue-green eyes fierce. I was ready with an air shield, but she did not attack. I expined, “I thought you were getting too close to the entrance of the room. I did not want you trapped inside.”

  She huffed and exhaled as she rexed. “Only the final room or st room on a floor will do that,” she said, rubbing her shoulder. I had uionally grabbed the shoulder Maveith had bandaged.

  I debated whether to apologize or not. “I fot your shoulder was injured, or I wouldn’t have grabbed it so hard,” I said with as much siy as I could muster.

  My eyes were locked on hers as she determined whether I was being genuine. Maveith drew our attention to the room. “I see some movement. I think it is a gnoll.”

  We both focused on the far side of the room, and Raelia firmed, “It is a gnoll. I see three, but there are probably more.” The bipedal hyes were supposedly fast and a huge nuisao the Empire.

  I recalled something. “Don’t elves and gnolls have ay? Are we going to o restrain you from rushing in?”

  Raelia tersely noted, “I have no love fnolls, but wood elves attaolls on sight. I am a high elf.” She fiersely as if that expined everything.

  “High elf indeed. You see yourself as above all others, then?” I retorted sharply in a poor attempt to tease the elf.

  “That is not…” She started to reply tersely but ged her mind, seeing I was goading her. “Just above some.” Her eyes narrowed on me.

  One of the gnolls finally spotted us and ran at us on all fours before standing before the passage. It was nude and definitely a male as it she air. It then cackled loudly, drawing the attention of the others. A hive of activity ensued, and seven nolls raced across the cavern, all naked and all males. They soon cackled as a group, which was abrasive to my ears, especially with their proximity.

  We backed away from the entrao escape the hideous cacophony they made. The griffin rider spoke first. “They are feral gnolls. I did not see any armor or ons. They will attack with cws and bites.”

  “What is the differeween feral and regur gnolls?” I asked, thinking they were like feral dogs pared to domesticated ones.

  Raelia eyed me. “Gnolls are intelligent and form small nomadic tribes in the forests. They have a society, in a manner of speaking. Those,” she pointed back at the room, “are just beasts. I do not think they will be coordinated when they fight.”

  I looked at Maveith. Numbers were the worst thing for us to enter, as I could only kill one of the creatures instantly. This e had recruited the elf woman. Maveith thought for a moment. “I take three, I think.”

  “I could take two if I had my ons,” Raelia offered.

  I ignored her for a moment to thi oppos were a lot, and they were all man-sized and fast. The terrain was not favorable either, allowing them to surround us. I turo Raelia. “What about your fireball? Do you have any other spells?”

  Raelia’s face twisted slightly as she probably remembered I had used her own fireball against her at the aqueduct. “You ot charge a spell outside of a dungeon room. The aether in the spell form will break apart as you pass the entrance. I cast a det fireball if given time after entering the room.”

  “What about your other spells?” I pressed. She was being cagey and did not answer. I pulled out the assessment table. “Use it,” I anded. She had defian her eyes but moved to the tablet reader and pced her small hands on it.

  I sed her attributes quickly but was more focused on her magical affinities.

  Physical

  Mental

  Magical

  Strength

  19/38

  Intellect

  31/40

  Aether Pool

  27/35

  Power

  22/44

  Reasoning

  23/35

  eling

  31/33

  Quiess

  50/76

  Perception

  41/65

  Aether Shaping

  48/52

  Dexterity

  49/95

  Insight

  19/43

  Aether Tolerance

  28/37

  Endurance

  28/42

  Resilience

  28/58

  Aether Resistance

  29/40

  stitution

  18/29

  Empathy

  52/64

  Prime Affinity

  Fire

  Coordination

  48/69

  Fortitude

  24/36

  I felt slightly jealous of her aether shaping aerity, which gave her the ability to cast actual spells. I sed over to her affinities. Nothing impressive.

  Elemental Magics (on):Fire: 39Air: 27 Water: 5Earth: 4Lightning (Energy): 0Spirit (Healing): 0Nature (Pnt): 0

  Unaffiliated Magics (Unon):Charm (Mind): 0Illusion: 0Cirvoyance: 0Prote (Guardian): 0Neancy: 0Celestial: 0Abyssal: 0

  Rare Magics:Spae: 0Dispt: 0Materialism: 0Worlds: 0Void: 0vergence: 0

  “What are your spell forms for fire and air? And do you have any other spells?” I asked again.

  Raelia relutly spoke. “For fire, I have thermostasis. It is cold in the skies and keeps the air around my body fortable. My air spell form eliminates wind shear when I am riding.” She stopped talking, and I remembered we had killed her griffin.

  “And spells?” I asked for a third time.

  The elf woman finally ceded to tell me. “Fireball, gust of wind, trol fme.”

  “What does trol fme do?” I questioned her.

  With some pride, she said, “I influence magical and non-magical fire. It is not immensely powerful, but it helps me enhand direct my fireball.”

  I put the tablet reader away as Maveith was trying to decipher the elf’s numbers. We did not have time for this right now. “Okay, this is the pn. We will wait until the gnolls return to the room’s other side. Maveith and Raelia will enter first. Raelia will fireball the tightest group she get, and then we will ehe leftovers.”

  “I need a on,” Raelia reminded me brusquely. Maveith arched an eyebrow at me. I think he was being amused by our iions. He was also curious about what I was going to do.

  I produced the long dagger that beloo her—her non-magical bde. I ha to her, and I think she realized she was not getting her runic legacy on back. “Stay out of the fighting after the fireball. Maveith and I will them up.” She sheathed the bde on her belt, still possessing the scabbard.

  It took the gnolls almost an hour before they wandered from the entrance. We moved into the room together, and Raelia created her fireball. The tight ball emitted a heat I could feel even standing behind her as she added increasingly more aether to grow its power.

  Only three savage gnolls charged us in a lead group, and Raelia released her searing ball at them. It exploded in a fsh among the three gnolls. A dry wave of heat reached us from forty feet away, and the three clustered gnolls were blown away like rag dolls. Maveith thundered forward, and the other five gnolls only paused for breath as the heat wave hit them.

  I sprinted ahead with Maveith, a little relut to have the elf at my back. “Take the one on the far right, Maveith!” I yelled. I did not waher of us to get fnked, so I targeted the one farthest to the left.

  My bck bde fshed out, removing the paw of my target, and as it went into shock, I rotated and pivoted into an arg swing to take the stunned gnoll in the back. My bde bit deep, severing the spine above the hips. I extracted my bde as the gnoll colpsed and faced the one, blog a cw attack with my battered shield.

  Using my superior reach, I stabbed the unprotected chest of the gnoll, pierg its heart as its jaws tried to snap over my shield, a spray of saliva hitting my exposed face. I twisted the bde, destroying its heart, theracted it and turo take in the se.

  Maveith had both his gnolls handled, oh a crushed skull and the other with a crushed chest. The eighth gnoll rinting at Raelia, who had a defeance, ready to receive the charge. It was just within range of my dimensional space. I removed its head, and it colpsed in front of the stunned elf, its heart pumping spurts of blood at her from the stump. I appreciated seeiunned look as her eyes went from the headless gnoll to me and baumerous times.

  I moved to end the paralyzed and burned gnolls, which sounded like wounded dogs, and Maveith joined me. Soon, all eight gnolls were dead, and the reward chest appeared by the stream. I ed my bde on some leaves as Raelia was still staring at the headless gnoll in front of her. I think she ieg together that I could have killed her just as easily the first time we met—or the sed time.

  ? Chted 2024 by AlwaysRollsAOne

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