Chapter 19: A Mission from a Dragon
Kat’s party retraced their steps from the last time they had visited the Upper Gordu Dungeon. They made short work of any wayward monsters they encountered and didn’t see any other people until they got to the dungeon entrance. A party of adventurers stood outside.
“Are you from the Twin Cities Guild?” the healer at the front of the group asked Kat’s party.
“Yes. I’m Katherine. We’re here to meet with a dragon.”
“Grace. You can go inside. The path to Grummanonth the Moonwalker should be clear.”
Vulp joined the conversation. “Why are you speaking on behalf of the dragon?”
“Oh. I’m his liaison. I think the Lower Gordu Dungeon has a similar arrangement?”
“She means Olivia!” said Lupy.
Kat nodded to Grace and led the group to the dungeon entrance.
Bandit stopped as the other four girls entered the threshold. “Why do you have a jackalope on your head?”
“Because it’s cute!” Grace answered eagerly. “When I’m not busy, I play with it and study every part of its cute little body.”
Bandit couldn’t exactly say anything considering some of her teammates could summon either a cat, dog, or fox-type monster. Her succubus and Lupy’s minotaur on the other hand didn’t exactly qualify as cute little animals. Giving up, she nodded and trotted after the rest of her party.
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Vulp led the way once they entered the dungeon. As Grace promised, the route was clear of any opposition. The girls noticed a few changes to the dungeon layout, but it was mostly familiar to them. As they walked, Bandit struck up a conversation.
“If she can’t already, won’t that Grace lady be able to summon a jackalope soon?”
“Probably,” said Kat. “I don’t think it’s our problem to worry about.”
“We should tell DM whenever we see him,” Shiba suggested, receiving unanimous agreement.
When they were nearing the final stairway, they noticed monsters standing to either side of the entrance, like guards. As the girls approached, the monsters moved off to the side, making way. They descended the stairs and peeked into the boss chamber.
As expected, the dark dragon took up much of the room. Of course, he wasn’t surprised to see the girls approach.
“You may enter.”
They accepted his offer and each stepped into the room, with Kat standing at the head. “We’re here from the Guild.”
“I know. You all were watching my engagement with the Guild Master and Dracokonovich the Incinerator, were you not?”
“Y–Yes…” The fact that the dragon had even noticed them surprised her.
“DM has not had much opportunity to tell you about me, Grummanonth the Moonwalker, right?”
“Yes!”
“In contrast, he’s told me quite a bit about each of you.”
“He has?” That came as a surprise to Kat.
“Indeed. How you each encountered him, what your current relationship to him is like, what your roles in the Twin Cities are… He told me all.”
Four of the girls took a nervous step back. Was this Grummanonth their ally, or was he perhaps tricking or testing them? One girl was less concerned.
“Oh, good, so we don’t have to pretend.” It was Lupy, the girl most likely to struggle to keep information a secret.
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The other four glared at her, worried that Lupy might be betraying DM, but it didn’t end up mattering.
“I was created by DM once he gained the ability to spawn one dragon using the Lower Gordu Dungeon. He assigned me as the dungeon master of the Upper Gordu Dungeon. Although he and I are feigning a distant and adversarial relationship, we are working together closely.”
“But you can talk?” Shiba’s question seemed dumb on its face, but Grummanonth really was the first dungeon monster DM had spawned that could talk on its own.
“Yes, as can all dragons. DM won’t be able to spawn any more dragons unless he gets lucky while leveling up his other dungeons. And that brings me to why I called you all here.”
The girls audibly gulped.
“DM is in trouble. I don’t know the full extent, but at a minimum he is not communicating. I need you all to travel east to the Empire and investigate… carefully.”
“What happened?” Kat needed more information before her party was ready to embark on this quest.
Grummanonth explained everything that had happened recently from his own perspective in detail.
The girls were to investigate what happened to the monsters deployed from the Lower Gordu Dungeon, find DM, determine whether or not he needed rescue, and rescue him if warranted. Meanwhile, Grummanonth would defend both dungeons in the Gordu Forest.
“If you can, find out what happened to the dungeon DM was visiting over the border in the Empire. There’s a high likelihood he seized the dungeon, but my console won’t reveal that information to me without DM’s permission.”
The girls accepted Grummanonth’s quest, wanting to help DM as soon as possible. As they turned to exit the chamber, Grummanonth called out to them.
“Before you go, there’s something I’d like you to try.”
“What is it?” Kat once again spoke for the group.
“There’s a dance DM once explained to me known as the Moonwalk. I’d appreciate it if one or more of you could attempt to demonstrate it.”
“Moonwalk?”
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Karen’s party arrived at their destination. This dungeon was even more heavily guarded than the previous one. She and Jonathan exited their carriage and walked over to DM while the force guarding the dungeon freaked out at the arrival of a small army of kobolds.
“We’ll camp out here for now,” Karen explained. “Once your armies arrive, we’ll seize the dungeon.”
“Why wait, Sister?”
“Jonathan, do you really want an army of monsters arriving while we’re busy in the depths of a dungeon?”
He didn’t have anything to say in response.
DM wondered where his mixed army from the Lower Gordu Dungeon was. He’d ordered them to march east to get them into the Empire, but hadn’t given them any more specific instructions. Karen clearly didn’t understand yet that DM would need to infect one of the monsters in order to actually guide them. Just knowing the route wasn’t enough.
They settled in for a wait that would be longer than Karen likely expected.
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Several farmers were picking up gear after a full day’s work. They diligently kept an eye on the horizon, watching for any monsters. What emerged from the forest was a party of five girls—obviously adventurers. One of the farmers walked over to meet them as they approached.
“Passing through?”
The cat-eared girl responded. “Yeah, but it’s getting late. Can we stay here?”
“Sure, we could put you up. We don’t have any other guests right now. What brings you to our village?”
“Did you see any monsters going east recently?”
“Y–Yes… It was terrifying.”
“Where did they go!?” Kat asked excitedly.
“I’ll show you.”
“You’ll show us?”
The farmer led Kat’s party into the village. “They came from that direction, walked right through here, and then continued in that direction.” The farmer pointed with his arm. “You can still see some of the footprints.”
“Did you report this to the Guild?” asked Vulp.
“Yes, we sent someone earlier to report it to the nearest branch… Aren’t you here in response to that?”
“No,” answered Kat. “We heard it marched east out of the Upper Gordu Dungeon, so we’re, uh, retracing their footsteps?” She looked down at the literal monster footsteps while she said it, suddenly unsure if it was an awkward thing to say or not.
“In that case, maybe the Guild will send other people as well? Regardless, please feel free to stay in our village. If the monsters return, or any more show up, please help us defend the village.”
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Kat’s party was escorted to the largest room in the village that could accommodate guests, upstairs in one of the houses. Once they were sure they were alone, they started discussing their situation.
“The way the monsters just walked right through the village without hurting anyone or breaking anything sounds like DM was behind it.” Kat was certainly understating the likelihood.
“It’s obviously the army from the Lower Gordu Forest,” Shiba objected.
“We shouldn’t assume!” Kat retorted. “But yea, probably. What’s in the direction the monsters were walking?”
Bandit unrolled a map and placed it on the small table between the girls. “We’re here. If they continued east, they probably passed between Kharb and Gumunbund.”
The girls all huddled close to see where Bandit pointed as she continued explaining.
“If they continue to walk in a straight line, they’ll probably reach the water just south of Adzah?”
“Can they really walk in such a straight line?” asked Kat.
“They’re DM’s monsters,” said Lupy. “Of course they can.”
“Don’t assume!” said Kat. “There’s something weird about the route they’re taking. Maybe DM isn’t guiding them.”
“Why wouldn’t he be guiding them?” Lupy’s question was reasonable.
“You heard what Grummanonth said, right? He said DM is acting strangely. That’s what we’re here to find out.”
The girls all nodded, agreeing on their objectives while Kat continued.
“For now, I think we just follow those monsters. They may eventually lead us to DM.”