The wind buffeted us viciously, forcing me to hunker down against its pull. The plateau we had arrived on was roughly 10 meters across in all directions, and wasn’t overly large considering the size of our group. The edges were far too close for comfort, and I had to turn away after sneaking a glance at the ground hundreds of meters below.
“I’d rather not linger here,” I said with a forced smile.
Mech nodded, indicating a rickety bridge leading to another plateau.
“Dungeon entrance is across that bridge.” He stepped onto the swaying planks without a care, his weight causing the bridge to twist wildly.
Second thoughts pushed their way to the surface, and I noticed the Angels didn’t look too comfortable with the bridge either - whether out of fear for my safety, or their own fear of heights.
Bart came over to me, his expression anxious. “Are you really sure about this?” he asked quietly. “I didn’t realize it was such a death trap…”
Biting my lip, I nodded. “I hadn’t either.” I called to Mech who was already a third of the way across the bridge. “Hey, Mech!” The wind seemed to steal my words, so I typed him a message.
RayGun47: Yo, Mech. This dungeon seems unusually dangerous. I’m not really sure about this…
He kept walking, as his reply streamed in.
MechLord11: The Raid will be even worse. If you’re not up for this, I would suggest we call the whole thing off. I’ll tackle this Dungeon with my Officers since we are already here.
I sighed, the pressure of the decision weighing on me. Backing down now would kill the whole Raid, wasting my time, the Angels’ time, and setting us back to square one. Still, if this was just a taster of what the Raid would be like, did I even want to go through with it?
There was nothing for it - I’d either have to do this now or later. And I didn’t think I would be much better prepared in two weeks, or even two months, for this kind of death-defying experience. I had made a decision all those weeks ago, I was going to make my mark on this game. How could I do that if I couldn’t even start a level 4 Dungeon?
RayGun47: Okay, I’ll do it.
Mech didn’t reply or even look back. He just kept pushing across the shaky bridge as Tank stabilized it on this end as best he could.
Leaning over to whisper to Bart, I said, “I’m gonna go through with it-” He went to interrupt me, but I forestalled him with an upraised hand. “-Got to, Bart. I’m done playing it safe. But that doesn’t mean we need to be stupid. Three of the Angels will head across first to secure the far side. Three more will stay on this side to make sure no one gets any ideas…” I left the implication hanging, his eyes growing wide.
“If you think they could do something shady like that, why even go?” he asked.
“It’s not that I’m worried about them as a whole. But if one of them decided to throw a fireball or something as I was crossing, things would get dicey.” I surreptitiously examined Mech’s Officers as they sent Pole across. “Just being prudent.”
He pursed his lips and nodded. “Okay. Let’s leave Yuri, Lox, and myself on this side. Keep the composition balanced. Tear, Bell, and Laurel will cross first. They can stall or disable anyone that gets any ideas on the far side.”
I nodded. “Sounds good.” Bart sent a group message to all the Angels and myself, laying out the plan. I watched with trepidation as the winds rocked the bridge from side-to-side, the pattern erratic. Mech and Pole held the bridge steady as DeNiro, the Demonologist crossed next. Then Tear. And so on.
Most of the group was across when Felicity, the Green Thumb, let out a cry of alarm.
“Cocks coming up the path,” she shouted. We all started, running to get a better view of the group of players trudging up the switchback path that led to the top of the bluffs. I hadn’t been in many altercations with the players from the third faction of S&S. They were considered the weakest faction, and had a player base somewhere in the 10% range of S&S. The developers had never made any effort to balance out the faction populations, so those players that chose the Coalition for the Conservation of Kamden - the Cocks - did so despite being at a vast numerical disadvantage.
Even though the third faction had never made any coordinated attempts towards me, that didn’t mean we wanted to get into a firefight on the top of a narrow plateau hundreds of meters in the air. I sent a group message to Mech and the Angels letting them know we would have company in a few minutes.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
MechLord11: Come across two at a time then.
Of course he would suggest that - there were no real repercussions if someone was forced off the bridge to their death. They’d run back to their corpse and be in for one hell of a climb back up. But other than that, the group would secure whatever gold they dropped, and it would just be a time sink.
For me, it was certain death. My fall damage limit was somewhere in the 50-to-75-meter range, and that was not a limit I wanted to explore on accident.
Still, the idea of being sandwiched between the death-defying bridge, and a group of possibly hostile players wasn’t very appealing. Sure, we would almost certainly win the fight due to my presence and the numerical superiority of having a dozen players here. But I didn’t feel like risking a fall off the bluffs from an errant blow. An ability like Bart’s [Repel] would see me taking a ride that I didn’t want to experience. Not to mention the fact that I didn’t want to advertise my location outside of a safer area like Bastion. There would be Necks camping outside the Dungeon within the hour.
So I did the prudent thing - I quick-stepped my ass across the bridge, Bart right behind me. The idea of trying to time a [Bounding Leap] across to the next plateau distantly crossed my mind, and then immediately fucked right off.
Hell no!
We made it across the bridge without incident and I watched as the rest of the group went two at a time. By the time the last group was across, the Cocks were coming into sight. From this distance, my nameplate wouldn’t be visible, but I still didn’t want to linger. As for the players on the far side, when they spotted us, they stopped in place, obviously worried to cross the bridge while a much larger group waited on the other side.
Mech ignored them, sending me a party invite, along with Tank, Felicity, and Pole. Felicity was our healer, Tank was…well, the tank, and Pole, Mech, and myself were the damage dealers.
Behind us, the plateau we were standing on had an opening burrowed into the dirt. I walked over and looked in, noticing steps dug into the earth, traveling down into the center of the plateau, like it was a hollow tube. Mech went down first, signaling for us to follow. His team followed him down into the darkness, while the Angels flanked me, three in front, three behind.
As I stepped on the first step, a notification appeared in my vision.
Entering Dandorum Bluffs Dungeon Entrance - Level 4
I took the steps gingerly at first, the transition from the brightly lit exterior into the dark stairway making it difficult to see the stairs initially. But as my vision acclimated, I gasped in shock.
The plateau had only been about 10 to 15 meters across at the pinnacle. But the base apparently widened, as the hollow interior spread out below us in what could be described as a vast cavern. The stairs circled around a central pillar, a stone railing etched out of the pillar, while the other side of the stairs were open to the air. I clutched to the railing, inching away from the edge as we traveled down. Hundreds of meters below, a vast stone city splayed out - the Dungeon proper, I guessed. Crisscrossing across the open space were dozens of stone bridges seemingly carved out of the rock. They attached to the far walls of the hollow plateau, where more stone homes and buildings were built into the stone wall. I really hoped those were there for ambiance, and that we didn’t have to cross over them to clear the Dungeon.
Unfortunately, my hopes were dashed as we reached the end of the central staircase - hundreds of meters still to go until the bottom. It looked like we would have to fight our way down, crossing the stone bridges back and forth in a interweaving pattern that slowly led us below. Second thoughts became third thoughts became holy fuck what the hell was I doing thoughts.
Mech, oblivious to my rapidly rising anxiety and the concerned looks shooting between the Angels, crossed the only stone bridge that was accessible from the dead-end staircase. Across the bridge, a familiar blue portal stood tall - presumably the transition into the actual Dungeon instance.
The Angels gathered around me on the landing preceding the stone bridge into the Dungeon.
“This is seeming like a not so good idea,” Lox said with a snort.
“I’d never done this Dungeon,” Bart added. “I had no idea it was this freaking crazy…”
“Oh, good, so they’re not all like this?” I asked, shaking my head in disbelief.
“Some of the Raids are a bit wild, but this is one of the worst dungeons I’ve seen for sheer phobia factor,” Bart said.
There were grumbles of agreement and appeals to call the whole thing off from the other Angels, but I bit my lip and shook my head.
“I’m committed now, guys,” I said. “If I don’t do this, the Raid is off-”
“Fuck the Raid,” Tear said, her eyes wide. “Look at this death trap!”
Cautiously, I leaned over the edge, staring down into certain death if I were to fall. Forcing in a deep breath, I shook my head once more. “I’m doing it,” I said with finality. “Just keep an eye on the entrance, will you?” I asked them. “Don’t pick a fight with the other factions if they come down,” I added.
The Angels all shared concerned looks, but eventually relented.
“Watch your ass,” Bell said.
Bart clapped my shoulder. “I second that. Don’t be a hero, okay? If thing’s look sketch, just head back up and we’ll get you outta here.”
I nodded, exchanging shakes and hugs with the six Angels.
Turning to Mech, I asked, “Ready?”
“Waiting on you,” he replied.
“Then let’s do this!” I said, trying to force cheer into my voice that I didn’t feel.
Without further preamble, Mech was through the Dungeon portal and out of sight. The rest of the party followed as I cast one more look back at the Angels and DeNiro who was the sole member of Mech’s team that had to sit out.
“Wish me luck!” I called, jumping through before anyone could respond.
The icy portal sensation enveloped my body, and within moments, I was on the other side.