Chapter 13: A Chat in the Dungeon
“Let’s go.” Sasha didn’t sound as chipper, but she insisted on pressing further into the dungeon. Nobody else elected to exit the dungeon while they had the chance, either. Proceeding through the left door and the second door beyond it, they discovered a similar sequence of partial walls which required navigating corner after corner.
The burglar placed a hand on Sasha’s shoulder and gestured with his other hand for the two behind him to stop. As their motion ceased, the other three could hear the approach of rapid footsteps from ahead. They braced for combat.
“A goblin!” Sasha readied her sword for a swing, waiting for the goblin to take just a couple more steps towards her. The goblin unexpectedly stopped, then threw something at her.
She didn’t have time to react, and dodging would be unwise anyway with allies behind her. The object struck her square in the shoulder. While she was trying to assess the damage to her body, the goblin turned on its heel and ran back in the direction it came from.
“Sasha! Are you okay?” the archer called out.
“Y-Yes…” It only took a moment for her to realize her shoulder wasn’t injured. She glanced down at the floor while trying to keep an eye on the hallway in front of her. “This is…”
“I’ll cover you.”
Sasha bent down and picked up the item. “It’s a monster core.”
“What!?”
“Let me see it,” requested Ardreth. He used sensing magic on it. “It’s just a goblin core.”
“Ardreth, why would a goblin throw a goblin core at us?” Sasha hoped he had at least some idea.
“I have no idea.”
“Damn it.” After taking a few more moments to think about it, she handed the goblin core off for storage and then resumed the exploration. “It’s a shame we won’t be able to talk about all these strange things back at the Guild.”
“I thought your story was that we just weren’t aware of the prohibition on adventuring here,” the archer reminded her. “Can’t we share our findings then?”
“…Only if they’re really exciting.”
“Okay Sasha.”
The group turned more corners, trying to find the stairs down to the second floor. Just when they felt they were as deep into this hallway as they had been in the first hallway with the slumbering chickbears, they encountered a door and a dead end.
After inspecting the dead end really carefully for any monsters or other strange happenings, they passed through the door.
“There’s nothing here.”
“Look at the far corner,” the burglar instructed.
“Ah.”
Around to the left, they found the stairs and proceeded down.
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As DM split his attention between the party exploring his dungeon and the five beast girls, he noticed that the girls were becoming more proficient in battle. They were working together effectively, using their skills and weapons like true adventurers, and accomplishing their tasks at a brisk pace. He didn’t feel the need to constantly monitor them anymore.
“So they’re all the same level as me now, huh? I also see Bandit is becoming proficient in the skills the Guild Master told her to work on.”
Specifically, Bandit had abandoned the standard bow in favor of daggers, crossbows, and poison, all of which she was well-suited for. She would attack enemies with poisoned blades and bolts, then receive instruction in the evening on how to synthesize poison. Most likely, additional specialized lessons would come later.
DM wasn’t totally sure what motivated the Guild Master to start training a new assassin. He had heard the man mumble something about the Lord under his breath while dismissing Bandit the other day, so perhaps he and the Lord were at odds and this was an act of belligerence or independence. Most likely, DM’s dungeon was one of the main causes.
It seemed like the girls were running out of reasons to continue their daily efforts in the plains south and east of the Twin Cities. He expected they’d request to voyage southwest next, as the Guild clerk had previously offered. Most likely, they would swing by the dungeon either on the way towards their destination or the way back. He’d wait and see.
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The four adventurers proceeded through floors two and three without encountering any other weirdness. After descending the stairs, they entered the boss chamber.
Glancing around from the threshold, they noticed a throne centered on the back wall, and a slime sat on it. Several treasure chests lined each wall. Most strangely, an elf stood next to the throne. It looked exactly like Ardreth.
“The Dungeon Master is a slime!?”
“Are we really going to ignore the fact that someone who looks just like me is standing next to a throne in a dungeon?”
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“That too!” Sasha admitted. She called out to the elf standing adjacent to the throne. “Who are you?”
“…I’m Ardreth. That one standing next to you is an imposter.”
“What!?” Ardreth’s three companions all turned to look at him, unsure if they should raise their guard or not.
Ardreth sighed. “You three need to relax. I don’t know what trickery he is using, but I am and have always been Ardreth.”
“P-Prove it then!” Sasha commanded.
“How exactly should I do that? He looks exactly like me down to the individual pieces of gear. I suppose you can ask me a question only I should know the answer to, but it won’t help if that clone over there received a copy of my knowledge as well.”
“Fine, let’s try it anyway. Where did we form our party?”
“In Ereacht, capital of this nation, the Holy State of Whites, well west of here.”
“Fine.” Sasha turned to the elf standing near the throne. “Your turn. Who was the last member to join our party?”
The elf turned to look at the slime by his side, then turned back to the adventurers. “…The Dungeon Master is sufficiently entertained. We can move on to the next phase.”
“Next phase?”
“…As you figured out, I am not really your companion. I’m a morphling who takes the form of others.”
“Ah, that makes sense,” Ardreth acknowledged. “How are you intelligent enough to actually speak, though?”
“…I command the morphling telepathically to speak on my behalf. Unlike the morphling, I am intelligent. …Well, relatively so.”
Ardreth was the only one who was calm. The other three were all on the verge of panic at the idea that they were conversing with a mere slime. “May I ask how a slime became more intelligent than typical slimes?” said Ardreth.
“…The slime isn’t actually the Dungeon Master. I just put it on the throne because it’s funny.”
“I… see…”
“Ardreth! Don’t trust it! It IS a monster!” Sasha shouted.
“Relax, Sasha. I still sense no malice here. I don’t think we’re in danger.”
“…You should listen to Ardreth.” The morphling turned its face back towards the elf. “Are your senses so keen because you’re an elf? …How does that work?”
“We communicate with the spirits, although not in words, per se. They are everywhere, and they can sense even what hides in the heart. Of course, they only share their surface observations with young elves like myself.”
“…Fascinating…”
“Ardreth, even if we’re not in danger, should we really share information with the Dungeon Master and answer so many questions?”
While Ardreth processed the question from Sasha, he noticed a shift in the atmosphere. He couldn’t tell exactly what had changed, but the spirits were suddenly much more restless. They issued him a stern warning. He swallowed.
“Sasha.”
“What?”
“We should cooperate.”
“But why?”
“It was just a glimpse, but I learned of what type of environment we are currently in.”
“What do you mean?”
“The spirits tell me that we are either friend or foe of this dungeon. Those deemed foes are dealt with.”
“Ardreth, isn’t that every dungeon? Aren’t we supposed to be foes here?”
“Sasha! Do you not see the difference? The Dungeon Master is having a conversation with us. How dangerous do you think a dungeon is when administered by someone intelligent?”
“Meaning? Didn’t your spirits tell you we were perfectly safe before?”
“No, it doesn’t work that way. The spirits cannot account for our future actions. If we displease this Dungeon Master, we will face a fate worse than death.”
Sasha’s eyes widened but she didn’t respond.
“…You’re wrong,” the morphling said, rejoining the conversation.
“I-I beg your pardon, but how am I wrong?” For the first time Ardreth was showing signs of nervousness too.
“…I won’t seriously harm you simply for displeasing me. I’ve only killed evil people so far and only to protect the innocent.”
“Madness…” the archer muttered, as Ardreth turned and gestured with a finger over his mouth to keep quiet. Ardreth’s uncharacteristic assertiveness showed just how seriously he was taking this situation.
“…If you insist on trying to slay me, rest assured, I will resist.”
“We won’t! We won’t do anything to harm you!” Ardreth promised.
“…Good. All I want to do is chat and then send you safely on your way.”
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DM asked them some questions about their backgrounds. The humans all grew up in Ereacht, the capital city on the western coast of the country. Ardreth wandered from his elvish homeland out of boredom and eventually joined up with the other three, working their way up the ranks as adventurers.
The four accepted a quest to guard a merchant caravan traveling east, stopping in the Twin Cities before proceeding into the Zarakhelese Empire further east. They were granted free time to quest or relax while the merchants exchange wares and prepare for the next leg of the journey.
From Ardreth, DM learned that the Twin Cities are located in the northeast corner of the Holy State of Whites, with Zarak to the east and the Nar Union to the north. The local area is mostly a merchant hub and is considered by the rest of the nation as a backwater region. Still, the Twin Cities are essentially the seat of power for the large eastern portion of the Holy State.
None of the four adventurers knew why the Lower Gordu Forest was currently off limits, so they had nothing new to share with DM. Of course, they could guess, based on their current circumstances. They asked DM for his background, but he mostly kept quiet about it. He did reveal that he was currently disguised as a treasure chest somewhere in the room.
“Ardreth, ask him what we should do after we leave the dungeon.”
The morphling turned towards Sasha. “…There is no need for you to speak through Ardreth. I can answer your question.”
“Okay…”
“…You are under no obligation to do anything once you leave the dungeon. Thank you for answering my questions.”
“Is that so?” Sasha found it hard to believe, but Ardreth wasn’t satisfied and spoke next.
“Is there anything we can do to be of assistance to you after our departure?”
“…Can you tell that Guild Master I want to talk? Tell him I want to avoid miscalculations which could result in his adventurers getting injured.”
“We will deliver the message,” Ardreth promised. “I do not know what the Guild will do. I believe the prohibition on venturing into the Lower Gordu Forest applies to the entire Guild and everyone else.”
“…Very well. Good luck with your journey to the east. …Feel free to stop by in the future if it is safe to do so.”
“Sasha, let’s go.”
“Shouldn’t we grab some treasure first?”
“Sasha!”
“…Sasha.”
“Y-Yes?”
“…Most intruders in my dungeon, if they survive, have all their gear stripped from them. It is tasty.”
“F-Forget I said anything! We’ll leave right away!”
“…Hm, I could grant you a reward for answering my questions. Besides your lives, of course.”
“A reward?”
“…Step forward, swordswoman Sasha.”
She reluctantly took a few steps forward.
“…One more step.”
As soon as she placed down her foot, a tentacle rose up from an opening in the floor and wrapped around her ankle. She panicked, and tried to lift her foot, but it wouldn’t budge. After just a couple of seconds, the tentacle disappeared.
“…You four, keep this a secret. I granted her sense T1 and regeneration T1.”
“By the spirits,” Ardreth uttered under his breath, seemingly being the first to understand the implications of DM’s statement.
“…Also, Ardreth.”
“Yes?”
“…See to it that the infect ability does not get removed for a while.”
“Infect? Hm.” Ardreth searched his memory for a while. “All right. I’ll make sure of it.”
“…Thank you for visiting. Have a pleasant day.”
This was one dungeon dive the four would never forget.