Through the Darkness
Dragon's Dogma One Shot
Arisen from another world, Barroch
Lulubelle is a notorious scholar from another world. Once she became arisen, she was drawn to Bitterblack Isle to study its secrets. With a useless pawn, she roams the halls attempting to stay alive.
The drips from the cave ceiling echoed through the empty dark hole. The footsteps of small woman splashed across the small pools. She did everything she could to keep her lantern from getting soaked, so as to not be in the dark. Her hand was readied on the hilt of her twin daggers.
There were monsters around; she could sense that at the very least. The place she was wandering was not kind to strangers. It treated those familiar even worse. She knew anything could happen at a moment's notice. A monster appearing from nowhere, drop offs in the area, a cave-in, or worst of all coming face-to-face with Death himself. She'd come face-to-face with the cloaked figure and his purple lantern. His scythe had nearly killed her, but her faithful follower had jumped in the way. Said action left her with only two choices: either to wander these caves, tunnels and halls until she was able to find a riftstone, to revive her comrade or to find a Lift Stone and teleport to the top of the Isle.
She refused to choose the latter option. She'd rather die than be picked on by the man waiting at the isle's entrance. He had been here longer and was a professional at navigating these halls. He wouldn't let her hear the end of it if she ran away with her tail between her legs.
"Pull yourself together, Lulubelle." She said softly to herself and sighed while shutting her single eye. She took a deep breath and opened her eye; having the lantern there, meant she didn't have to wait for her only eye to adjust to the darkness. She'd lost the eye in a fight with chimera. The chimera was slain, but not without a price. She adjusted her braid of silvery blue hair off her shoulder before pressing onward. She started to walk to the small drop off into a sewer system.
"You really are slow, aye?" A deep voice said from behind, causing the woman to stiffen. The man chuckled at her response. "You keep coming here, but you are never truly prepared are you?" He pushed himself away from the cave wall and walked towards her. He adjusted his beastly mantle, the red and black fur around his neck to lie properly over his shoulders.
She turned, her cheeks puffed from anger and her face red. "I'll have you know, I was doing fine!"
"Oh? Where is your pawn?" He looked around. "Has he gone off ahead? Doing all your work again?" He chuckled and then looked at her.
She glared at him, causing him to mockingly back away. "You know Ari. Jumping on cyclopes when I tell him to come..." She rubbed her temples and sighed. "The closest riftstone is near the exit here..."
He nodded in response and rubbed his blond mustache. "Aye, he is rather stupid. Well, as they say, Pawns learn from their Arisens." His comment earned him a punch in the arm. "Hey, now. He obviously didn't learn your violence towards friends though." He earned another punch and started laughing. "You could always teleport to the top of the isle." he suggested.
"And risk you making more fun of me, nay." She turned around and jumped off the ledge into the sewer water. The lantern quickly lost its flame from the water. She cursed and fumbled to turn it back on. The man followed her steps and jumped down. He lit his own lantern with ease. "You needn't come with. Go back to your 'studies', Barroch."
"And miss a chance to see you get yourself killed. Nay, I think I'll stay." A slight smirk appeared under his mustache.
"Have it your way." Lulubelle walked with difficulty through the ankle deep water flowing through the sewer tunnel. "I'll be sure to laugh when you get offed." She stepped up on the walkway and climbed the stairs. Lulubelle followed the darkened walkway. She'd been here before, but it's always different. Different monsters come at different times, she was usually so prepared. But, she lost her pawn, Ari a while back. Now, she had to face the price. At least, Barroch would keep her company. Probably safe as well, but she didn't like the idea of relying on him.
She sighed heavily and complained about the never-ending darkness. Barroch followed silently after her. He fastened his pace so he was in front of her and put his hand up to stop her from walking. "He-" He quickly covered her mouth, and put his finger up to his mouth, telling her to be quiet. She nodded and removed his hand. "Eliminators." He whispered under breath, readying his golden daggers.
Lulubelle reached behind her and grabbed her magick bow. It looked almost like a normal bow, minus the string. The middle of the bow, where the arrow would normally lie, had a shaped hole. She drew back where the string be and the bow lit up with purple light; small electric currents flew from the light. A light magick arrow appeared in the hole of the bow.
Barroch smirked and sighed a bit. "You and your magick."
"You aught to try it." Lulubelle released the electric filled arrow as it bounced off the eliminator's oxen head, stunning him for a moment, only for the arrow to ricochet off the walls back towards him. While the minotaur-like creature was stunned, Lulubelle prepared her next set of electric arrows. After damaging and stunning the creature more she readied more arrows, this time flame. "You've seen Ari work with these, aye? Should be easy for a pro like you." She said as she let go of the flaming arrows. The fire arrows lodged in the stunned eliminator, waiting for when they would explode by a physical blow.
Barroch scoffed, "I think you got this under control." He said and charged towards the eliminator. An explosion lit the whole room up when his daggers touched the arrows. He dodged his way out of the explosion and watched as the eliminator's body quickly disintegrated. He sheathed his daggers and continued onwards to the next area.
Lulubelle took a moment to catch her breath before following after him. "At least the next area has a riftstone. And a rest area as well." She sighed heavily as she walked through the water again. The stairs to the door had to be surrounded by more water.
Once in the next area, Lulubelle walked over to the riftstone. "Maybe I should sleep before summoning Ari. He'll disturb the peace if I do it now." She looked over at Barroch, who started to walk into the secret resting area. She followed him instead of summoning her pawn.
He sat down and propped his feet up on the old table. "Aye, he would disturb the peace. He is a decent pawn when he helps." Barroch chuckled. "I don't understand why you bring him around if all he does is get in the way."
Lulu sat on the table. "He has his uses." She yawned and started to unravel the braid that held her hair together. She undid the eye patch and shoved it in her pack.
"Hmm? Pray tell what uses?"
"Pack mule. He's very good at holding all my curatives when my load gets too heavy. You know me, I'm an archer by heart I need to be quick on my feet. Can't have too much to carry." Lulubelle jumped off the table and walked up the stairs to the makeshift cot.
"Though it's bad when he dies." Barroch talked louder. "He has all your curatives."
Lulubelle walked over to the stairs and then sat down on them. "Not all of them. I keep the important ones. I also have lock and key on the panaceas otherwise, he'd use them every time he was wet..." She leaned against the wall and ran her fingers through her hair. "I keep the high healing potions with me."
"That is true, at least from what others have said." Barroch rubbed his chin. "You're the first to survive this long. Why did you come here? Have you no goal with the dragon?" Barroch looked over at the woman.
"Before I became Arisen, I was a scholar of sorts." She said between yawns. "I would go into ruins and old temples. Worked with schools. I was thought a witch at one point because of my knowledge by the religion of my land." She chuckled. "I guess I am a witch?" She covered her eyepatch with her hand and laughed.
"Nonsense. The worlds never understand this magick and would rather condemn than understand. I was treated similarly in the apothecary field when I started out." Barroch stroked his chin. "Coming to this isle has eased my mind. Instead of going to fight the dragon."
Lulu chuckled, "It seems we're both a bunch of cowards sitting in the dark on Death's Isle."
Barroch blinked and looked over at her. "Aye. It would seem that way."