The entire dungeon shook
violently as Bungo made his escape. Together with Shallica he had managed to
put some distance between himself and the overloading doomsday machine, but he
was still being pursued by the rapidly expanding energy bubble. He occasionally
dared to glance back into the blinding florescence of the cataclysm, but there
wasn’t much to see; the bubble was disintegrating everything in its path.
As they rounded another
twisting corner, the corridor seemed to convulse for a moment as reality began
to crumble; Bungo’s top heavy heroic form wasn’t well suited to balance and he
staggered into a straining dungeon wall. The wall collapsed in a dusty
explosion and Bungo fell through the breach; landing in a panting heap on the
mossy floor.
“Moss?” queried the
barbarian, addressing nobody in particular. It was at that moment that a heroic
epiphany came upon him.
“This way” he hollered
boomingly; his mighty voice was partially drowned out by the rumbling of the cataclysm.
Shallica appeared in the air above him moments later as he barrelled headlong down
the dank passageway.
“Moss means water!” he
yelled above the crumbling cacophony as his feet beat a rampant tattoo on the
overgrown stonework beneath him. Taking a running jump, Bungo’s mighty form
shaped a human cannon-ball as he burst through the next wall; plunging straight
into a previously undiscovered underground river.
“By Donglore!” gargled
Bungo; spitting out a large quantity of rancid water. In truth it wasn’t so
much an underground river that he had dived into, but more a purpose built
Derpo sewage aqueduct. The incorrigible barbarian fought to keep his head above
the foamy waters and away from the sea of raw faeces that were floating by, but
simultaneously holding his breath and his nose was draining his strength as
much as navigating the tumultuous rapids.
A great splash momentarily
distracted the hero as Shallica’s unconscious form dropped into the aqueduct’s
murky waters. Unknown to the barbarian, her flight had been arrested when she
was overcome with the heady fumes; the reeking miasma had proved too much for
her delicate demonic sensitivities and her well-formed body was now rolling
adrift amongst the waves.
Bungo’s muscular arms
scythed through a particularly gigantic floater as he tore through the water
towards her. He managed to retrieve her unconscious form just in time to see a
light at the end of the cavern ahead of them, growing closer by the second.
“Excelsior!” the cry of
victory was cut short as Bungo once again regretted opening his mouth; having
taken on another gulp of filthy water punctuated by what appeared to be a
half-digested corn cobb.
Spluttering uncontrollably;
the filthy pair emerged from the mountain’s underbelly with only moments to
spare. There was a loud rumbling sound from deep inside the temple; punctuated
by a blinding flash of light as the edifice collapsed in on itself. The once
proud entranceway was the last thing to disappear into the dusty ground;
leaving no sign that the dungeon had ever existed.
Bungo hauled himself from
the river bank with a grunt of exertion; placing Shallica’s comparatively
diminutive form on the dewy ground. She was breathing steadily, but showed no
signs of regaining consciousness any time soon.
“They will never know of my
heroic struggles, but I require no thanks from the realms of men.”
Bungo had turned into the
slowly rising sun and was busy forming a grimly heroic silhouette in the foggy
morning air. His hair billowed fiercely in the westerly wind that blew across
the vale and his face was stern; steely in contemplation. The image would’ve
been somewhat more evocative if it weren’t for the generous lashings of raw
sewage that were running down his chin and splattering messily against the
ground at his feet.
With no audience to appreciate
his dramatically herculean musings, Bungo began the long walk back to town in
silence with Shallica firmly wedged under one bulging arm.
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