Lair by Carl Stubblefield (recommended reading TXT) 📕

manor. There were probably multiple ways to enter located around the island, but he hadn’t anticipated losing access. You don’t know what you don’t know, until life hits you with some new problem. Gus hadn’t really explored many areas of the manor and the only access to the outside he knew of was from his suite, at the top of the structure. From his hiding spot by the forest edge below, Gus could see the back side of the manor that emerged out of the rock and proceeded upward to the top of the main tower-like structure.

Circling around the field, being careful to stay within the tree line, Gus tried to get a vantage point that would let him plan how he could get up there. He saw that if he could make it to the craggy rock surface above, he could theoretically climb up then across. He would have to circle around since the suite window was on the opposite side of the mountain, facing the ocean. The outer surface of the manor was smooth but if he could use the ledges by the windows as footholds, he hoped he could shimmy around and make it to a balcony and climb up and inside.

Gus hoped he could use Ether Weaving to help anchor himself in place and save him in case of falling. He figured he could use his Basic Flight skill if there were some short hops between the windows or if he had to climb to another level and there were no handholds. It wasn’t a great plan, but it was doable.

However, it seemed like the blob zombies could detect when he activated his skills, and he didn’t want to do anything that would make it any easier for the zombies to notice him. He was unsure of their scanning range, but with how adeptly the Mantids moved through the trees, he had no doubt that they could scale the outside of the manor. He wouldn’t be able to use his skills as a crutch, and needed to do this on his own as much as possible.

“No safety net indeed,” Gus mumbled, remembering Nick’s earlier chastisement.

Gus circled farther to the steep cliff that was under the overlook. To the right of the structure, rough igneous rock bulged up and outward like a mushroom cap. The first challenge would be reaching the rock forty feet high, then securing a grip, and climbing upside down over the lip of the rocky bulge to make it on top. Gus had only been rock climbing once or twice on dates, where everything was secure and safe by wearing a harness and having someone below belaying for you.

To be honest, he was never really good at it. The instructor tried to demonstrate some techniques but putting them into practice was a little less intuitive. His arms got tired too fast and he dropped repeatedly off the walls that were studded with grips of various types and colors. He remembered that he was supposed to keep his body as close to the wall as possible, to use his feet to push upward rather than his arms, and to keep his arms straight as possible. There was more, but those were the few pieces of advice he could remember at the moment.

“Time to make the chimi—” Nick said.

Just as Gus said, “Time to make the donuts!”

“Going old school, eh? I like it!” Nick exulted.

Gus readied himself for the first part of the plan. If he directed his first Dash upward, he found he could run up the rocky cliff wall, but it was hard to go all out with the fear of falling backward if he missed the rocky overhang. Part of his brain rebelled and rejected the idea of running up a wall.

Another problem was that he didn’t want to hit the rocky ledge at full speed and knock himself out. Gus found a section of the sheer rock face that had a slight incline that he could slide down if he was short. Attempting a ten-foot dash, he hovered at the apex of the dash and felt the lurch of gravity reasserting itself and he hugged the wall, sliding down. The friction of sliding down the wall slowed him down enough that he didn’t hit the ground very hard.

Next was a twenty-foot dash. Gus was more prepared for the sensation, but had dashed straight up and was farther away from the wall than he had expected and panicked for a second, pinwheeling his legs like a cartoon character until he came into contact with the wall and sloppily slid down to the ground again, doing a small roll.

Brushing himself clean, Gus looked back at the cliff face. That time he’d definitely hit harder and had to roll away a bit to bleed off some momentum and spare his poor knees. Gus gave himself a moment to shake out the tension and brace himself for another try. For number three he attempted twenty feet again, but tried to better estimate the angle he would need to stay parallel with the rock face.

Since the dash ability was basically an ether pull, he could direct the vector he travelled if he focused on where he wanted to move. This time he had similar success to his first try. Thirty feet gave him more acceleration by the end of his fall than really felt comfortable and Gus had to roll away again, getting covered in dead leaves and detritus, hitting his head on a small rock as he rolled away. Gus scratched at the itchy painful area on the back of his head. After a couple seconds, the Nth kicked in and removed any inflammation and calmed his pain receptors down.

Gus was at last ready to attempt a full dash that would bring him to the bottom of the rocky overhang. Then the real fun would begin. Gus dashed forward and scrambled for purchase but could find no handholds. He began sliding downward, and after ten