Many days had gone by and none of those days went to waste as Ludo diligently used his bow to take down monsters big and small. By the time the week had past by, he was already at level six in archery and had increased his overall level as well, now set, he returned to Balessia where he waited for Liam to appear at the guild. To his surprise Liam was already there, passed out on the floor, Ludo walked up to him, calling out for him multiple times, Liam didn’t respond. Annoyed, Ludo kicked Liam’s leg twice with less success than before.
“Give it up, he’s drunk!” Claus said all the way from the bar. Ludo groaned, leaving Liam on the floor as he went to speak with Claus, the bartender seemed to be in a better mood than usual, whistling along the troubadour’s tone as he served beers. He welcomed Ludo with a large mug of beer, as Ludo drank, Claus leaned forward.
“I think you’d be interested in hearing this. Apparently some adventurers went to explore the dungeon and found a carrier.” Claus whispered to Ludo
“A what?”
“Its an old myth amongst adventurers” Claus shrugged. “Monsters that carry very valuable items with them, some worth hundreds of gold coins.”
Ludo’s imagined himself a killing a carrier and becoming rich. Engrossed in his own delusions, he didn’t notice someone walking up behind him and placing their hand on his right shoulder. Ludo turned around and saw Liam, who greeted him with a forced smile, paired with his swollen face and puffy eyes, it was truly a sight of horror. Apologizing for being in that sorry state, Liam cleared his throat.
“You’ve reached level five?” Liam asked.
“How did you—“
“There’d be no other reason for you to be here.” Liam said, looking at Claus with suspicious eyes before throwing him a single bronze coin. “Thanks for the heads up on the carrier.”
Ludo’s heart sank as he heard this, now he would have to compete with three other adventurers to get such a rare item and the hard reality that maybe they wouldn’t share the spoils with him. As despair sank in, Liam told Ludo to wait for him there while he went to look for Jana and Bergmann, leaving Ludo alone in the tavern.
“Sorry for that.” Claus said. “I thought that he was still too drunk to comprehend anything.”
Ludo didn’t reply back, now wondering how he could get an advantage on the three other adventurers in the carrier hunt and if he would have to fight them to get even a single coin. As he dwelled on those thoughts, Liam came back with Bergmann and Jana, who seemed rather uninterested to be there with them. Liam brought out the judgment scroll again and opened it in front of Ludo. The scroll glowed and Liam smirked at what Ludo assumed where his stats and showed it to Bergmann who gave him a thumbs up. Jana, tried to read what was in the scroll but Liam closed it midway.
“Looks like you made it kid, hop in.” Liam extended his hand waiting for Ludo to take it. Once Ludo did, something completely new for him popped up at the top left of his view.
YOU HAVE JOINED LIAM’S PARTY
With that out of the way, Liam grabbed Ludo, taking him to the market district. The scene had changed drastically since last time Ludo had been around. New shops, grand and small had sprung up in short order. As Ludo looked around the small stalls were nowhere to be seen anymore, the streets had been cleaned and a large amount of wagons breezed by, carrying ample supplies to the city. The party began going to each store, buying tools, food and extra weapons. Liam bought Ludo a proper bow from a store. Made of finer woods laminated together. Despite its smaller size, Ludo was surprised with how strong it was, shooting arrows at a far longer distance.
“A better bow for a better archer.” Liam quipped as they continued journeying through Balessia’s growing stores. As they made their way inside an armor store, Ludo felt something pulling his arm, he looked back to see Galti staring at him with a face few would consider friendly.
“What are you doing going there!?” Galti roared.
“I was buying—“
“Ye weren’t buying anything, you were getting scammed!” Galti pulled Ludo away from the store and dragged him over to his, dismissing Ludo’s explanations that he was with a party. Once inside, Ludo saw large renovations ongoing within the store, the left wall had been pushed back further and foundations for another room were been built.
“You’re renovating?” Ludo asked.
“Yes.” Galti sighed. “A dungeon appears and then everyone wants to open stores and sell shite wares to people.” Glati mumbled and looked back at Ludo. “And I’m not letting any friend of Emmer buy shite.”
Ludo heard the door to Galti’s shop open and Liam, Jana and Bergmann burst through the entrance, calling for him. Ludo responded back, apologizing for disappearing so suddenly. Their short reunion was interrupted by a grunt from Galti. The dwarf kept staring at Ludo’s newfound party, glaring at Liam specifically.
“Wait, Galti.” Ludo placed himself between Galti and the others. “This is the party I’m going into the dungeon with.”
“That so?” Galti raised his eyebrow, still staring at Liam, Jana and Bergmann. “Very well. A friend of a friend are also welcomed here.” Galti gestured around his store.
The party bought every ware they could afford, ranging from braces, to armor and a new axe for Bergmann. A few minutes later and with their coin bags lighter, they decided that it was now time to go into the dungeon. As they were leaving the store, Galti once again grabbed Ludo, pulling him down to his height.
“Watch those two.” Galti whispered, still staring at Liam and Bergmann. “Especially the faun, he’s bad news.” With that Galti let Ludo off and said his goodbyes as loud and jovial as he could, a total contrast to the tone he had just had.
The party departed from Balessia and marched through the empty forest, the other adventurers had done a great job at stripping the forest of the natural population of monsters, leaving behind an ominously peaceful sight for Ludo to witness. As they arrived at the dungeon’s entrance, Ludo saw a much changed sight. The entrance had been completely dug out and cleaned, a basic road now descended into its large doors and the once blackened stone arches had been cleaned and were as radiant as pearls. Besides the entrance there was a group of men holding various lists and a long row of adventurers waiting for their turn to enter. It was in this ever increasing line that Ludo and the rest went to, waiting for what seemed like eternity until it was their turn to speak to the men.
One of the men handed Ludo and the others a set of papers. A contract, just like Auria had told him, Ludo was required by law to give some of his loot as payment once he came back. Once everyone agreed, they were allowed in. Ludo felt the cold breeze once more as they took the first steps inside, a completely different room than the before was there to greet them and the thrill of exploration swelled withing Ludo once more.
“Alright everyone, don’t get separated.” Liam gave Jana and Bergmann a small and green tube like thing, Ludo was given one last. He looked at the thing with great bewilderment, moving it around and trying to understand why Liam had given him such a thing.
“It’s a beacon stick. You break it if you’re lost and you’ll be coated with special magic other party members can use to see your outline through walls and floors.” Liam added as the dungeon growled, as what seemed like an earthquake shook the entire hallway until it suddenly stopped.
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“Yeah, dungeons like to do that.” Liam said.
The party walked down the hallway and were received by a large room, multiple stories high, doors littered ever wall and stair cases sprung up unnaturally, disappearing in the darkness of the upper floors. Jana raised her stick and a small fire sprung at the end of it, lighting the way.
“I forgot to ask, but what is that?” Ludo pointed at Jana’s stick.
“This things are called wands, they help control and harness magic.”
Awed at this revelation, Ludo wanted to ask more questions about magic but he was slapped at the back of his head by Bergmann, laughing uncontrollably alongside Liam. Ludo could feel his own blood boiling inside.
“Magic is something everyone knows a little bit of, how didn’t you know that? Are you a dolt? Did you inherit that from your mother?”
Ludo was infuriated by Liam and Bergmann’s low opinion of him and they had gone an insulted a parent he had no memory of. Even Jana, who had been silent and distant the entire time, humphed in disagreement. Clenching his fists, Ludo took one step forward.
“As much as you want to knock their teeth off, its better if you just bite your tongue now and leave them once you’re back outside.” Ben said in the back of his mind.
Took you long enough to appear!
“Well, I was busy with stuff.”
Where? You’re stuck inside my head!
“…anyways, you’re inside the dungeon again! And with a party of knobs at that.”
The four of them walked through the empty, silent halls as they growled and shook from time to time, changing their path constantly. The party finally found itself at the opposite end of a hallway and waiting for them at the end was a door. Ludo, took a step forward, but Liam grabbed him and shoved him back by his hair.
Rubbing his head, Ludo got back up, throwing off dust from his trousers and demanding to know why Liam had done that. Liam simply smiled and turned to Bergmann, ignoring him.
“Bergmann, if you may.” Liam said, doing his best posh impression and bowing.
Bergmann grinned and raised his axe over his head and threw it at a wall to the right of the door. The axe bounced around the hall, its steel beard reflecting a silver slither of light and spark as the hits echoed through the empty hall. Bergmann raised his arm and the axe stopped midair before going straight back to him, Ludo couldn’t help but led a small wow sound escape his mouth.
The sheer grandeur of the trick was short lived as the empty hallway bustled with noise. Horrible and deafening mechanical screeches made Ludo jump as the walls twisted. Cruel metallic machinations sprung from the ground, roof and floor where Bergmann’s axe had struck. Blood filled razors, dreadful arrows and other works of sadistic engineering revealed themselves.
“Foul inventions…” Ben said.
Ben!
“Sorry!”
The party pushed through, evading the activated traps and entering the room. A large chest was there to welcome them. Resting at the center of the room, beaming brightly for everyone to see. Before they could even move an inch forward, the ground ahead of them grumbled and broke and a legion of skeletons emerged from the cold below. Ludo distinguished the usual skeleton with nothing but a sword and the brutes with their shield and axes but alongside them a third type of skeleton appeared, sporting a quiver full of arrows strapped on their back and a large bow to inflict harm from a distance.
Ludo activated his magical eyes, freezing time momentarily and inspecting the new skeletons that had appeared before him.
SKELETON ARCHER
UNHOLY
LEVEL 6
THREAT: MEDIUM
“JANA!” Liam roared as Ludo deactivated his ability. “The archers! Bergmann with me!”
Three skeleton archers readied their bows but were set ablaze, pulverized in an instant by Jana. The brutes and sword skeletons closed in. Liam, seemingly unworried about the incoming threat looked back at Ludo.
“Cover us kid.” He said. “If they hit us, we’ll hit you back once we’re done.”
Without saying another word, Liam and Bergmann leaped into the thickest line, the brutes and sword skeletons tried their best to close in, but were hacked away by axe and sword. Any skeleton unlucky enough to survive the onslaught met their end by Ludo’s arrows. It didn’t take long before the room had been all but emptied of the fallen, which found their rest a second time.
The chest still beamed like a bright star in a sea of darkness. Liam helped himself to it, busting it open and cackling as he grabbed a fistful of silver coins. Pushing them into his coin bag. Bergmann joined him in his frenzied looting. Ludo wanted to join them but Jana stopped him before he could take a step forward. She gestured to be quiet with one hand and pointed at Liam and Bergmann with the other before making a fist with it.
Quickly understanding what Jana was telling him, Ludo simmered down at the corner of the room alongside Jana as both watched Liam and Bergmann reap the spoils for minutes untilt heir lust for coin was satiated. Liam called upon Ludo and Jana, handing three silver coins to each of them.
“Don’t worry you two. You’ll earn more if you do your job.” Liam smiled and Ludo couldn’t keep his eyes from Liam’s waist, were his money bags was about to burst at the seams.
Once outside the room, they encountered more sets of hallway. An ever-evolving set of dark and cold mazes stretching for eternity. The party was unfazed by such an ominous journey ahead of them, traveling through the trap infested hallways and defeating armies monsters in each of the rooms they encountered. They progressed with ease through the much of the first floor.
“As the fiends fall, their deaths are denied. For Now... ” Ben said, putting up a fake deep voice as Ludo vanquished a skeleton brute with an arrow to its forehead.
What are you saying?
“Trying to get you in the mood.”
What is that supposed to mean? And why are you not concerned about Liam stealing most of the coins!?
“Because.” In the distance, Bergmann destroyed a large obstacle blocking their way with a single strike with his axe. “It was obvious he’s a scoundrel, an a notorious one at that.”
Groaning at Ben’s lackluster response, Ludo followed the rest of the party through the dungeon. Clearing yet another room with a chest from the demonic skeletons while meeting fellow adventurer parties along the way. Eventually they reached a wide area that wasn’t quite a hallway nor room, at that point they had been walking for at least half of the day and were sweating bullets.
“Ludo, Jana, prepare the camps, we’ll rest here.” Liam ordered.
Ludo set up the tents while Jana started a fire. Ludo noticed how lavish the room was decorated, large tapestries and paintings dotted the walls, rich carpets lit up the dull stone floor and detailed statues proudly stood at each side of the room, carefully watching over the party. This was a room even the most wealthy of kings would covet. As Ludo sat down to eat his dinner or lunch he noticed in between the cackling of either Liam or Bergmann how Jana had been quietly staring at then as they all ate hurdled together…
“… rats in a maze” Ben said inside Ludo’s mind.
Ludo went inside his tent once he had finished and tried to get some rest. Unfortunately for him, the voice inside his head had a lot to say about the events that had transpired.
“You seem to have joined a party of very dysfunctional individuals.” Ben said.
“You think!? I shouldn’t have never agreed to join him.” Ludo said as he stared at the tent’s roof.
“Hey, at least you can leave them now.”
“No, I’ll stay until we defeat the boss, after that I’ll tell them off and leave.” Ludo replied.
“I don’t think—“
“It’s my life and I’ll live it however I want!”
“Good for you, but such recklessness is only going to bring you pain, boy!” Ben said.
Ludo tossed around in his sleeping bag, trying his best to ignore Ben’s warning until the doubt had become too much for him. He stood upright and resumed the conversation.
“So you’re saying that I should leave?”
“Yes. Now to be exact. Those three are a saps and the only thing you will be earning from them is a double-cross.”
“I don’t think—“ Ludo heard his tent door open, he sprang up to his feet and grabbed whatever he could use as a weapon.
The room was quickly lit by a small fire strong enough to see the face of the person that had entered his tent, it was Jana. She was observing him with dead set eyes as she circled around him aimlessly as all he could do was stare in bewilderment at her sudden visit, then she stopped, looking away.
“Where you talking to someone?” Jana asked. Ludo shook his head aggressively. “Very well, I’ll give you the next few hours to leave.” She add.
“What?” Ludo said.
“See what—“
Shut up, Ben!
“You heard me, you aren’t involved in any of this. Leave.” Jana said.
“What about those two?” Ludo asked, referring to Liam and Bergmann.
“I’ll steal their loot, leave them to fend for themselves and leave this horrible place.” She said coldly.
Before Ludo could say anything else, Jana left his tent. Any bit of sleep had been snuffed out from him, his mind racing back and forth uncontrollably. Ludo sat back on the sleeping bag, unsure of what to do now.
“I told you already.” Ben said. “Leave before you end up caught in whatever their feud is!”
“I’ll defeat the boss and leave!” Ludo stated. “You won’t have to worry about anything!”
“Let’s hope you’re correct, Ludo.” Ben said with a sting of disappointment.