Random Portals

Steven woke up to an excessive beating on his door. Before he could even get out of bed, the door swung open.

“Get up. It’s time to go,” Sirus said, before he stepped back out of the hut.

Steven was annoyed; he would have liked to sleep in just a bit! He had stayed up entirely too late, playing with his inventory. But he got ready as quickly as he could. He didn’t want to keep the angry Naga waiting.

Sirus seemed to be in a worse mood than normal. It was most likely because he was meant to take Steven to the dungeon today. Steven couldn’t wait to fight actual monsters, although when he thought of fighting them, he imagined throwing spells, not getting close for melee. Now that he thought about it, he wasn’t looking forward to fighting monsters at all. Although if he gained levels, he could learn magic. He was curious to try out his new ability, even though it was a defensive ability. Or was it a utility ability? Either way, having his own magic was exciting, even though he hadn’t had the chance to use it yet.

Steven only shuddered a bit while following the angry Naga over the vine bridge. Being tossed over the side and then jumping headfirst into your fear repeatedly did wonders for overcoming one’s fear. Though he was afraid Sirus would take back the amulet at any time, he was unsure of how he would react. No, he knew how he would react, and there was no way in hell they were taking that amulet from him if he had to stay up here.

After walking a bit, Steven spoke up. “Are we headed to the dungeon?” He didn’t even have a weapon; maybe a bow with poisoned arrows would be nice until he learned magic.

“We are going to find you a suitable weapon first, then see how you use it. After that, we will be meeting up with the team I assembled. We will not be passing the first floor of the dungeon.” Sirus said, turning to look at Steven with narrowed eyes. “When we are in the dungeon and I tell you something, you do it immediately and without hesitation or question, understand?”

“Yes sir,” Steven said. He was taken aback by how intense Sirus was.

“Good, now let’s go.”

It wasn’t long before they were standing in Goskia’s shop. Steven wanted to ask if Goskia was the go-to Naga for everything, but kept his mouth shut, as Sirus was not in the mood.

“Enchanted poison daggers.” Is all Sirus said. Goskia seemed to understand and went back into the room. Steven winced inwardly. Did it have to be daggers? He didn’t want to get that close!

After a few minutes, Goskia came out of the other room with two black-bladed daggers that had a slight green tint to them. “These are the best I have in stock. I can get the blacksmith to begin working on a custom pair of daggers this evening, if you would like.”

“No. I’m unsure if Steven here can even use these daggers.” Sirus said before he took the daggers and walked out. Steven stood there for a moment, unsure if he was supposed to follow.

“You better get going. Oh! And do come by later. I have another potion for you. I know it’s been a couple of days, but I think this one will spark something.”

Steven inwardly sighed as he took off towards Sirus. “Will do.” Steven said as he left Goskia’s shop. He was tired of having childhood memories. The last memory wasn’t even an old memory, but one from a couple of years ago. One he had been trying to repress. No one wanted to remember their parents bloodied and disfigured from a car accident.

The pair crossed over several vine bridges and went up a couple of different lifts before they reached their destination. On the way, several Naga greeted Sirus while also giving Steven odd looks, but no one dared question Sirus. Apparently, the dower Naga had the respect of the common folk. Steven wasn’t sure how, as all he did was nod at them, not even slowing down his march.

Eventually the pair reached their destination, and Steven stared openmouthed at the scene in front of him.

“This is where we will see how much skill you have retained.”

Steven was too focused on the structure in front of him to pay Sirus much mind at the moment. The top of one of the massive trees looked to be cut off and dug out to make a bowl-like shape. Around the outer part were dozens of Naga sitting on benches that looked to be made from the tree itself. They were cheering for a Naga, who was clearly in the middle of a fight in the center. It reminded Steven of the movies he saw of the Roman Colosseum. Except everything was carved into a still-living tree, or was it grown that way?

“Here!” Sirus shoved the two daggers into Steven’s hands. “You’re up next.”

“W-wait! Hold up, I can’t fight! I don’t know how!”

Sirus turned to glare at Steven. “I agree, but the Elders have ordered it; now come on.” Sirus said as he started heading towards the benches. Steven first assumed they were going to sit and watch this fight, but to his horror, they headed down some stairs that led under the actual arena. There were several Naga on this level, although they looked to be fighters gearing up for the next round. Steven saw some large wooden doors that he assumed led into the actual arena itself. Sirus walked up to an older Naga with a huge scar going across his face that was sitting behind an old desk.

“Aye, Sirus, it’s been a while. Have you come to make a bet on the fights today? Ishkar is going to be in the arena later tonight; he is still undefeated. Well, until Shirem gets back from his mission, that is.” The older Naga said.

“I’m on official business.” As Sirus said this, the old Naga straightened.

“Yes, sir, how may we be of use to the Elders?”

“I need you to throw him in the arena.” Sirus said.

“Yes, sir, not a problem,” the older Naga said before turning to Steven. “Kilips the name. I’m the arena master around here. It’s not often that we see humans around these parts. Well, if I’m being honest, we never see your kind. I’ll just need you to fill this out for me.” Kilips handed Steven a plank of wood that Sirus took from him before he even had a chance to look at it.

“I’ll deal with this and any questions you may have.” Sirus said.

“Yes sir. If anyone has questions, I will send them directly to you.” Kilips said with a knowing smile, “What level bracket do you want him in?”

“One through twenty single shards.” Sirus said.

Kilips took another look at Steven. “Oh, a Shard barrier, I see. It should be a good fight if you brought him here yourself.”

“I’m just following orders; I wouldn’t get your hopes up.”

“Understood. One vs. one, teams, or battle royal?” Kilips asked.

“Whatever you have going on next, I’m just meant to gauge him before we set out.”

“Alright then. Let’s see here, next is,” Kilips said as he flicked through some wooden planks, “it is one vs. one. however, his opponent has two shards although only one is combat related.”

“Who is it?” Sirus asked.

“Kishrot.”

“Kishrot?” Sirus asked in confusion. “What is he doing in the arena?”

“Not exactly sure, but rumor has it he lost a bet; this is his fifth fight this week.” Kilips said.

“How is he doing?” Sirus asked.

A slight chuckle came from the arena master. “Well, about what you would expect from the merchant’s son. He does, however, have quite a unique Shard ability. Taking out most of his opponents with a single attack.”

“Well, this should be a good fight then.” With that, Sirus handed Kilips the wooden plank back and left. Steven assumed Sirus left to watch from the benches.

Steven was left just standing there awkwardly with the old, scarred Naga.

“It won’t be long now. They are just finishing up,” Kilips said. “By the way, what do I call you? Sirus seemed to forget to put that down.”

Steven was unsure how to answer that; apparently, only a select few were told he was Shirem. Steven didn’t understand the politics behind that. But he really didn’t care at the moment; he didn’t want to fight in an arena; he didn’t even know how to fight! What if he accidentally killed someone with the poison daggers or killed himself?

“Lad?” Kilips asked.

“Uh… Oh, sorry, I’m just kind of nervous. You can call me Steven.”

Kilips stared at Steven with a raised eyebrow for a moment. “Steven,” Killips said as if tasting the word, “I’ve never heard of a name like that before. Anyway, don’t worry, you will do great.” The arena master said with an obvious fake smile. Steven got the sense that he told everyone the same thing.

The doors opened, and several Naga came in from the arena. Steven looked over all the fighters, and they didn’t look hurt in the slightest. Though, for all he knew, this was the winning team, and the others were being tossed into the swamp or something. He did his best to calm down; Surely Sirus wouldn’t let him get killed. The Elders thought he was Shirem after all.

“It looks like you’re up, kid,” Kilips said, interrupting Steven’s thoughts.

“Do I just go out there, or how does this work?” Steven asked.

Kilips just blinked at Steven a few times before answering. “Yes, just go out there, and Kishrot will meet you there.”

Steven turned to leave while wishing he didn’t have to do this. He then stopped, realizing he had no idea how it even worked. “One more question. How is the winner determined?”

Kilips face twisted into a maze of confusion before he spoke. “Well, until one of you can no longer fight, or is disarmed, of course. It’s basic arena rules.”

Steven walked through the large wooden doors holding a dagger in each of his hands and a dower expression on his face. “Damnit,” he mumbled. He didn’t want to fight. This is not how it’s supposed to go down. He was supposed to be trained by a master until he was ready. Then go fight and show off his hard-earned skills. Not thrown into a fight before he trained. He was going to make an utter fool of himself.

Now that Steven was in the arena, it looked much larger than it did from above. The wooden walls surrounding him were at least thirty feet tall, and the arena floor itself was made of dirt. Steven wondered how long it would have taken them to haul all the dirt up here when he remembered that magical storage spaces were a thing.

“Well, you’re the last person I expected to face.”

Steven looked up to see a red-skinned Naga standing in front of him, holding a wicked long sword. How had he not seen him approach? Steven was just fixing to ask the Naga if he knew him when a loud bell chimed out. The half Naga immediately darted towards him, sword poised for an overhead attack. Steven, on the other hand, just froze as his mind began racing. This was his actual first fight of his life, and they were using actual weapons. How was this even fair? He only had daggers.

The sword was coming down at him before he even knew what was happening. Steven didn’t have time to do anything other than widen his eyes in surprise as the blade inched closer. Suddenly, it was as if time slowed right before impact.

A sharp pain overtook Steven’s mind, and he nearly collapsed. Right before the sword impacted Steven, it vanished, only to reappear on the ground exactly ten feet away. The Naga lost his balance and stumbled to the ground next to Steven. Kishrot stood up, looking around in wide-eyed confusion. Suddenly, the crowd went wild, shouting and cheering.

Sirus sat in the stands, watching the human. He was more and more sure this person was not one of them, much less Shirem, but the Elders wouldn’t listen to him.

He watched Kishrot, who was not even a true warrior, charge at Steven with shard enhanced movement. The human just stood frozen in fear. He had expected this very thing. The mother tree would heal anyone instantly, so he didn’t need to worry. Still, bringing Steven here was just dumb; not only was it going to make him look bad, but he would have to explain to the Elders that their beloved Shirem did indeed lose all his skill with a blade.

To Sirus’s surprise, Kishrot’s sword vanished just before impact and reappeared behind the Naga, causing Steven to win the match. The crowd went berserk at the unusual victory. To everyone else, it must have looked as though Steven didn’t see his opponent as a threat at all and somehow just disarmed his opponent without even moving a muscle. Sirus knew it was the shard ability, and he could tell that Steven was just about to collapse from mana fatigue. So he quickly appeared next to Steven and left with him before he was bombarded with questions about why there was a human in the arena.

Sirus was impressed that Steven was able to activate the ability in such a quick manner, but he also left himself open for attack by draining all his mana. He had much to teach this human.

Steven could barely stand; he didn’t even know where he was or what was even happening. His head felt like it was about to burst open. Suddenly, a blue-looking potion bottle was shoved in his face, and Sirus told him to drink. As he did, the pain lessened immediately, and his thoughts were starting to become clear.

“What happened?” Steven asked, trying to remember the fight.

“Well, you won your match, but you drained yourself completely of mana. You should have used your daggers and only used your shard as a last resort.” Sirus said. Although Steven could tell he wasn’t entirely upset with the end result.

“Well, as I have no idea how to use daggers, it was my last resort!” Steven said, not mentioning he had forgotten he even had a shard ability, much less thought about using it.

“That shard ability of yours could be quite good if it didn’t drain all your mana. I still need to gauge your ability with the daggers.”

“Well, I have absolutely no skill with the dagger; I would much rather have a spear or a bow.”

Sirus looked at Steven with disgust. “Those are both cowardly weapons!”

Steven went to speak up, but Sirus just spoke over him. “Alright, let’s get going. We are going to the dungeon, and we will see how you fare in there. Now keep up.” Sirus took off in a march.

They eventually made it to the ground via a couple of lifts. Once on the ground, Steven took in the scene before him. It was just swampy, disgusting, soupy swamp water every which way he looked. A few spots of dry land peeked through the water, but they were few and far between. The massive trees helped break up the swamp and even gave it an enchanted feeling. But what caught Steven’s attention were the floating bridges made from logs tied together. They ran in every direction, leading to varying types of buildings that were built onto the bridges. The bridge they were currently walking towards ran in a straight line as far as he could see. At least he had a nice platform to walk on, and the bridges seemed sturdy.

He knew he had a barrier ring, but still, the thought of getting that disgusting water on him made a shiver run down his spine. He had been afraid they would be traveling in the swamp water.

“It will take a good portion of the day to reach the destination. I have a team scouting the way forward.”

“Are we staying overnight out here?”

“Yes.” was the only response Steven got.

“Does this bridge go the whole way?”

Sirus stopped walking and turned. “Yes.” He then turned and began his rigorous walking pace.

Steven took that as a sign to keep his mouth shut, and he did just that as they walked. They didn’t get much further before Steven heard a familiar voice call out.

“Captain Sirus! Captain Sirus! Hold up.”

When Steven saw Eve, a smile crept on his face, and he hoped she was coming with them. But the annoyed look on Sirus’s face told a different story.

“What is it, Evesakia?” Sirus asked.

“Sorry, sir, I heard you were going to the dungeon today, so I stayed up working on potions for you and your team. I’m sorry I’m running late. I just finished up the batch I was working on.” Eve said, handing Sirus potions one after another from a large square bag.

Sirus’s dour mood shifted to one of joy. Eve then started naming off the different types of potions she had made while Sirus’s smile grew wider. It seemed potions were the dour Nagas weakness.

“There are enough healing potions for the team and several stamina potions as well. I also made some utility potions I would like to give to Steven with your permission, sir.”

“What kind of utility potions?” Sirus asked.

“Dark vision and root snare.” Eve said, smiling at Steven.

“Yes, those will be wonderful additions for any new dungeon delver,” Sirus said, before turning to Steven. “Do you need me to carry them for you?” Sirus asked.

Steven was confused as to why Sirus was being so nice all of a sudden; did he just want the potions?

“Thank you, but that’s fine. I have storage space.”

“Oh, I nearly forgot. This is a new throwable version I’ve been working on.” Eve said as she handed Sirus a potion with gold liquid and purple flakes of something floating inside it. Sirus was completely taken by the potion, holding it up to the few rays of sunlight that peeked through the canopy while staring at it intensely.

Eve then made her way to Steven, giving him a quick hug and telling him to be careful before she started handing him potions. There had to be a dozen potions, and Steven added them all to his storage space. He did add a couple to his pocket storage in his jacket to not raise any questions. He didn’t want anyone to know about his inventory yet. She also handed him a small backpack of food.

“I thought you may get hungry.” Eve said, giving Steven a large smile.

“Miss Evesakia,” Sirus said, still completely taken by the potion, “what is this?”

“Well, sir, I don’t really have a name for it yet; I’ve just been kind of calling it ghost fire in my head. I wanted your feedback on it; the fire spreads quickly and is nearly impossible to put out. Well, that is what I’m going for, anyway; it is still in the trial stage.”

“Is that why you gave me flame-resistant potions?” Sirus asked with a slight chuckle.

“No, sir; I just thought those could be helpful. The ghost fire should only spread among the undead. Although I’m still trying to tweak it out, I can’t seem to get the fire root moss to take with the Hydra Glen sack without the addition of swamp clover. I’m sure you understand how difficult swamp clover is to neutralize once it gets started.”

Steven was completely lost. It was as if they were speaking another language.

Sirus seemed to be excited about the potions, which was odd for the stoic Naga, and Eve was definitely passionate about alchemy. Steven just stood there smiling while looking at Eve talk. He saw her glance his way a few times while explaining something to Sirus.

Steven had to remind himself that Eve thought he was someone else, and all those cute glances she kept giving him were meant for another. She didn’t actually care for him, but for someone else entirely. That someone else was most likely in his world or somewhere else completely. Part of him wanted Eve to be happy and thought about eventually going to find this Shirem for her. Another part of him just wanted to go along with it and claim her affection for himself. He had tried to tell her he wasn’t Shirem after all.

Eventually, Sirus told Eve they had to get going but that he would have some ingredients brought to her for her trouble. She tried to refuse, but that was just something you couldn’t do with Sirus. He also told her that she should go talk to Goskia about the ghost fire. But Eve refused, saying he was too busy for her and she didn’t want to bother him. That lasted right up until Sirus told her it was an order and she was to go there immediately and talk with him about it.

After a few quick goodbyes, Eve left back towards the village.