"Did you know the Fire Wyrm before the cataclysm? What about Raif?" I asked. Richard was in a giving mood, and I was going to take advantage of it. I glanced uneasily at Leo. We might be headed out as soon as they unlocked the doors, but Leo could use all the knowledge he could get from the slug.

  Fittingly, he was a sort of a paladin at the time. A worshiper of the dragon god of the sun.

  "There's a Dragon God of the Sun?" Ash interjected.

  Richard rolled his eyes.

  Apparently not, as the sun god did nothing to save his flock as [Corruption] descended on the world.

  I knew some Westerners worshiped alternative gods. That the Everbear was not the only constellation in the sky. I just hadn't met anyone, hadn't had that conversation.

  "So he worshiped a dragon and then became one?" Meredeath pushed Richard. I fingered the yellow hem of my fresh shirt, thinking about the origin story of the Everbear. Was our guardian just a remnant of the last age? Just one lucky enough to be [Immortalized] as a god?

  Effectively, yes. That's the trick with [Corruption] it promises something you desire, maybe not outright. I'm not sure he actually wanted to be a dragon in real life. But the personification of his god? Absolutely.

  "And this personification of a sun god has been trapped in the mountain for five, six hundred years with a mind-altering Rock Slug as its only companion?" Meredeath continued her line of questioning.

  Yes.

  A rumble shook the walls of our house. It wasn't as harsh as it was on the lowest floor of the city, a mild tremor compared to what we'd already faced. A distant part of my mind wondered if the city's elite used the weakness of the upper city rumbles to ignore the problem.

  "What do you think this Fire Wyrm is capable of?" I put words to the sinking feeling at the center of my chest.

  Nothing less than the end of the world. Richard looked at me, and I knew in that instant that we couldn't run either.

  Tandy rejoined us, clean. She skillfully cleaned her old clothes and wore her trusty Woodsten wool.

  I stood. The end of the world was something I didn't have the brainpower to contemplate.

  "My turn," I announced, grabbing my singed pack and heading into the moist warmth of the bathroom. The room was larger than most bathrooms, with a stone toilet and tub. Above the tub hung a large copper water tank with piping connecting it to a rooftop cistern. Several heat stones glowed with magic. I was going to get a real warm bath. No wonder Tandy and Meredeath had lingered. Tandy had left some soap out, it was scented with a hint of hibiscus and honeysuckle. The floor had white travertine tiles, everything about the place screamed wealth, and I almost felt bad letting my dirty pack touch the floor.

  "Cole, throw your clothes out here and I'll clean them," Tandy called from the other room.

  I rooted through my pack, pulling out the two pairs of pants I had left, my drawers, and the remnants of several shirts. I wasn’t sure they were salvageable, but if anyone could save them, it was Tandy. Shucking off the rest of my clothes, I slid them all out of the door in a heap.

  I fiddled with the drain, closing it and pulled the chain to fill the tub. Hot water slid against the claw-foot tub effortlessly. Digging through my bag, I got the harsh, gritty soap that Ash and I shared. It did a good job of scraping off the most offensive grime. I got to work.

  Several layers of skin later, and I knew because my health had dipped and regenerated a few times, I was cleaner than I'd been in a month. I stood as the water drained and caught myself in the body mirror tucked behind the door. I’ve got a few scars on my body, the most prominent was the shiny skin where Tandy's magic had replaced my lung. Many other hits that had killed me had left faint scars that faded with each [Cheat Death]. Scar tissue created a pale patchwork on my chest. I had been impaled so many times that rips and tears overlapped.

  I flexed, my abs showing faintly as my paunch evaporated. It was ironic that I'd probably qualify for "Team Abs" these days. All of us would have.

  The drain gurgled, breaking my self-examination. I watched the last of the water drain and then pulled it tight again, pulling the chain to refill the bath. Now it was time to soak. I dropped Tandy's scented soap into the tub.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  One last look in the mirror. Was my face different? I hadn't shaved in a couple of days, and a rough stubble peppered my cheeks. I pulled at a long hair that had grown on my lower neck. Since when did I grow hair there? Plucking it with a wince, I tried imagining what I'd looked like two, three months ago. The bath in my boarding house didn't have full-sized mirrors clad in silver enamel, but I'd seen myself in the cloudy, chipped mirror occasionally. Did I look different? I couldn't tell.

  After breaking the staring contest with myself, I eased down into the bath. I felt different. A little less of a loser. A little less lost. I had a hint of abs, and some gnarly scars.

  Slumping down as the water inched up my chest, I tried to relax. To let the questions and the future go. What was coming would be here soon, whether I thought about it or not.

  The biggest evidence I had of the changes in me was that for once my brain listened.

  [Skill Acquired: You have gained a new [Adventurer] skill, [Peace Before the Storm]. You can manually activate this skill to calm your mind during a period in which you are at rest. This skill grants temporary mental and physical healing bonuses and will bolster your [Mental Fortitude] for the next [2] hours.]

  Nice. I've been looking for that skill for most of my life. I leaned my head back and enjoyed the scented water.

  Eventually, they summoned us. Not that morning, like we'd been originally promised, but late in the day, as the sun was setting. I'd had enough time to finish my bath. And thankfully, Tandy had salvaged a shirt for me, so I didn’t have to look like a foppish yellow Richard look-alike.

  The team was somber when I exited the bathroom. While I'd gathered some peace, they'd contemplated the reality of facing one of the primal evils from the last age and a [Corrupt Guardian].

  With authority, the attendant said, “You are summoned,” and glanced at Leo as if to include him in the summons.

  We quickly gathered our things. My dusty pack falling on my slightly floral-scented shoulders. I picked up Richard, noting he still felt drier than normal as he took his customary perch. Tandy was straight-faced, composed. Her hair had returned to its braided norm, and there was no sight of her sequined outfit. Meredeath was back in leather and lace, her teal locks bright as ever. She gave me a devilish smile, as if we were going to the club instead of a war council. Briyain was on her hip. Ash looked tired and was damp from his own bath.

  I offer Leo a hand up. I felt a pang of guilt over his missing breastplate. He looked incomplete, almost naked without the silver coating, and I wondered if he'd be offered a replacement.

  The official was someone we hadn't seen before. He looked foppish with bangs curled up over a tight cap, and puffy white silken sleeves. The poofiness of his shirt was contrasted by sapphire pants that clung tightly to his hips.

  "How far is the war council?" I asked, his slippered feet swished along yet another opulent hallway covered in paintings of long dead richly appointed white people.

  "War council?" the man asked. "I am taking you to the antechambers of the [Archmage]."

  Tandy glanced at Leo and me, but we were all as baffled as she was.

  "We were told we were getting summoned to a war council." Tandy didn't mince words, going straight for the truth.

  The foppish man had a narrow face that made his smile look altogether too large.

  "You [Adventurers] were not needed at the council meeting. Be glad the [Archmage] has granted you some of his own time." The man quickened his pace, as though daring us to ask another question.

  Eventually, we were taken through a courtyard with a fountain lit by glow moss. It depicted a smaller, older version of the city of Cersapil, and instead of streets there ran rivers of water burbling between the buildings. The snow-covered peaks dribbled water, and it fell into a pool at the base of the city to be pumped up anew.

  "You can leave, Fernad." Pop spoke over the burble of the fountain, his voice that of an aristocrat, high and commanding. Our snooty escort bowed his head and left quickly. Pop stepped down out of his house, down a wide marble stoop to the same level as us and the fountain.

  "What do you think of the fountain?" he asked, waving at the creation. “It’s something isn't it?”

  “You want us to look at a fountain?” Meredeath voiced my exasperation. Tandy looked like she was ready to rip the man’s tongue out.

  He frowned, as though Meredeath had interrupted class by speaking out of turn.

  I studied the man's face. He was cleaner, as we all were. He wore robes befitting an [Archmage] white with runes embodied on his sleeves. It was as if the magical symbols granted additional arcane knowledge to the old man. His wrinkles looked deeper now that they weren’t caked in sand and grit, and his hair was the snowy white of a grandfather. His feet were in socks, even slippered. He pulled his robes close as he neared us, as though guarding against a chill.

  "It's cool, how do you pump the water to the top of the mountains?" Ash had gotten close to the fountain, almost climbing in to examine the mechanical workings of it. This earned Ash a benevolent smile.

  "Magic, my dear boy, as in most things in Cersapil," Pops said with a sigh. "First, I want to apologize to all of you. I should not have left you in that dungeon, although I will say it is truly remarkable that any of you survived. And Cole," his gray eyes pierced through me. "Cole, you gave me my granddaughter back, even if it was only for a moment. I owe you a favor in that act, as promised."

  I put my anger at the man on a shelf, bobbing my head to acknowledge his debt.

  "What is the city going to do about the rock slug eating at its foundation and the [Corrupt] Fire Wyrm?" Tandy demanded, not willing to forestall the information she wanted a moment longer.

  "Always to the point," Pops sat on the edge of the fountain, dipping a hand into the water. "I imagine they are going to do what they have been doing for years."

  The tips of his fingers glowed as they touched the water. They bled a crimson dye into the water. As the light hit the minaturized city highlighting the dye, it looked like lava flowed down from mountain peaks. The city was stained in fire and blood.

  "They're going to ignore it until it's too late."

  Stumbling Up will be stubbing book 1 the week of March 1st (Chapter 1-71)

  For the latest slug-related updates - follow me on:

  Facebook -

  Instagram -

  Patreon - - free tiers grant access to the discord

  Beyond Quests with Reck (A Litrpg Podcast) -

  Podcast where a boomer and a millennial heckle each other about books (Every other Tuesday) -

  Thanks for reading!