The five delvers made their way to the dungeon entrance. The entrance itself looked like ancient ruins complete with marble columns and archways holding up the entrance to what was a large cave network. Just outside of the entrance was a large stone wall that had been built around the dungeon entrance with only one way in and out of the entrance area it created. It was very clear the wall was made after the dungeon had appeared as the stone was not marble and clearly of a different make and age.
At the gate through the wall a few soldiers relaxed at a checkpoint. Signs hung around the entrance in a few languages all pretty much reading the same things: “Danger ahead! The local government is not responsible for any injury or death that occurs. Bodies will only be retrieved by other delver groups if you have a standing deal with them or during a mass corpse clean. Enter at your own risk!” Another sign read: “Difficulty level: Basic. Enemy type: Goblinoid.” And the ones right by the checkpoint desk read something even simpler: “Entry fee: two silver per person. One silver for summon or pet.”
A small line of delvers was waiting at the entrance. Every group was entirely different from the last and it was clear almost every one was full of beginners. If the group had armor on most of the time it was only a few choice pieces with most of it clearly secondhand. Old swords with battered sheaths, marred shields, and rusty metal was far more common than a brand new or well maintained blade. Almost every person in line was also young with the average age seemingly 20. It was admittedly hard to tell since there were no humans amongst them so the wide range of different races made the judgement fairly hard.
One by one the groups went in front of a small desk at the gate, paid their fees, had their information recorded, was given a small talk, then sent to wait for their turn to enter the dungeon. One by one the groups went through the process until the group of five stepped in front of the desk.
“Five delvers at two silver each means your dungeon fee is one gold. This covers your group for the year.” The heavily armored soldier droned out having clearly said it far too many times that day. After Jack clicked the gold coin onto the desk and it was put away in a large metal safe the guard turned back to them.
“Alright. Info.” He sighed out and quickly recorded the information of all five into a massive tome. It was clear the poor guy was both used to oddities and numb to the world as he did not even flinch at the fact a famous kobold and two humans were entering the dungeon together.
“Good. Now this is the talk we give everyone. We are not singling you out due to age, gender, or species for this talk as it is given to everyone entering this dungeon for the first time.” His monotone voice explained in a slow, steady pace with clear determination to take it as steady as possible to reduce the chance of questions or need to repeat himself.
“While all risks are on your group and the local government bears no responsibility towards your group for injuries from minor to fatal the law still applies within the dungeon. Any crimes from theft to murder will be prosecuted upon you leaving the dungeon and if you attempt to use the dungeon as a base of operations for illegal activities either the local guard-“ He looked right at Tezira “-or those affiliated with them, will drive you out and prosecute you.” He then started to look around the group.
“This is a lower level dungeon with goblinoid enemies. They mostly are goblins, but do not let your guard down. Goblins still wield weapons and can use tricks and traps that can injure and/or kill. Stay on your guard regardless of your gear and/or experience.” With that the guard took a breath “Anyquestionsno?” He asked as fast as he could, waited only a moment, then continued on. “Good. So you are group six. Please wait in the clearing for your number to be called out. This is to prevent delvers from accidentally injuring each other and to give space between groups for the dungeon to regenerate monsters and loot.” With that the guard motioned them towards the clearing where the other groups were waiting.
As the five settled in they could feel the other adventuring groups eyeing them up. The humans had put on their medium assault armor so their green steel was easy to spot. On top of that the new leather armor and the massive chainsword being lovingly held by the gnoll got more than one envious stare from the others. Everyone was so busy checking out the gear that they didn’t even notice the famous kobold at all. Not that most would even believe that a dragonslayer would be bothering with an entry level dungeon anyway.
One by one the groups were called in. Nobody bothered to mess with the group of five or ask them any questions with a few groups already having someone in clearly nicer gear than the rest giving instructions. It was not uncommon for a more experienced delver to make some quick cash and improve their reputation by guiding some newer delvers down for their first few times.
At long last it was their turn. Six was called out and the five wordlessly made their way through the giant arches down into the dungeon. They paused for a moment as a group raced by with a badly beat up and bleeding teammate towards the surface, trying to get their friend out and to any healer they could before the injuries got any worse.
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As the group started to go deeper and deeper they slipped into their pre-planned roles. Zilta stood in the front of the main group with the huge sword at the ready in front of her. Ready to block or butcher anything that stood in her way. Tezira slipped around silently both scouting ahead for enemies and traps while also checking the walls for any secret doors or spots.
The two humans walked side by side with Jack and John both carrying assault rifles, pistols, and small chainswords. They left the shotguns back at the ship this time to reduce the risk of the chance of friendly fire since they would have two of their teammates up close and personal with potential targets. Between them was a very nervous Nelva who clearly was trying to walk closer to Jack than John. While she had delved before the last delve left her more than a little worried. Add on the fact that it was her first time with this whole group led her to be a bit more on edge even though she knew with all the weapons on hand anything that should be in the dungeon would be almost harmless.
It didn’t take long before three goblins jumped out from around a corner. Two had swords while the one in the middle had a long, crude spear. The one with the spear lifted their weapon high into the air and got ready to let out a loud battle cry. A battle cry that was silenced by four loud bangs from the two humans. They worked fast with both John and Jack quickly blasting a hole in the chests of the two sword goblins with each taking on their own goblin. Before the gore of the guards finished splattering across the ground the second two rounds slammed into the spear gobbo. Jack’s round slamming through the small monster’s skull while John’s ripped through its small green chest. The screech it was about to let out reduced to a small wet gurgle before it collapsed onto the ground dead.
Tezira let out a long whistle as she slinked up to the dead bodies to examine the damage more closely. “Fuck, would hate to be in their… uh… shoes?” She glanced down at the gobbos bare feet and shuddered. “Glad you guys are on our side.”
They then started to head further down the tunnels. There had been two more goblins waiting for them around the corner but after seeing their “welcome committee” be wiped out they decided they should join up with the main force further down the tunnels.
“Huh, smarter than I thought they would be.” Nelva chirped out as she took some notes in her journal.
“Wouldn’t really use that as a show of smarts. Four booms and their friends blew up. Just about anything could tell that whatever happened was bad.” Zilta pointed out with a sigh.
They continued on a bit further before Tezira held up a claw. “Five ahead… Let me try something.” She then slipped into the shadows and vanished from view. A few moments later the ringing of metal hitting stone sounded out down the tunnel mixed with the ear grating noises of confused goblins. A couple of seconds later the tunnel shook with the thud of an explosive going off. The faint noise of dripping echoed down the now silent hall as Tezira popped back out of the shadows with a wide, wild smile on her face. Her fangs glowing faintly in the dim light of the tunnels.
“Those grenades work WONDERS!” She squeaked out as she held up the handle and the pin. “I simply caught the metal bit so it wouldn’t ring out against the stone and rolled the grenade into the middle of the group. While they bent over it since they had no idea what the fuck it was it went off!” She squeaked excitedly. “It made a really big fuckin’ mess, but those goblins are not a problem anymore!” She paused a bit and tapped her chin. “Okay, maybe a slipping hazard, but not a stabbing hazard.” She added with a rather concerning chuckle.
Sure enough they found where the goblins had been hiding behind a fallen column. What was left was a messy pile of pulps and a green spray outward. None of them dared to look up not wanting to see if the gore had reached the roof.
“This isn’t fair. I get to borrow this awesome new sword and so far I haven’t gotten to get even close to something to test it out!” Zilta barked out in frustration. “I mean, I COULD HAVE tested it on a tree, but what is the point of that! Not satisfying at all.” She continued to growl. “That’s it, next thing that-“
Her words were cut off as a large orc thudded around the corner. “I kill barking bitch!” It roared out as it started to charge at Zilta.
The other four in the group looked at each other, nodded, and Tezira scurried to stand next to the other three. All three wanted to give the big gnoll woman plenty of room to test out her new sword safely. That, and avoid the splash zone.
The tunnel roared from the echo of the massive chain sword rumbling to life. The loud noise combined with a hellish smile on the gnoll’s face caused even the orc to freeze and look at her in pure fear as he realized that he had probably just made a very big mistake. The orc let out a roar of his own as he raised his battered longsword in a desperate attempt to block the oncoming blade, only to watch the gnoll’s weapon slide right through it with a shower of sparks.
The gnoll let the weight of her weapon do most of the work as the blade ripped into the orc’s shoulder and sunk straight through the thick torso of the orc. Spraying the ground with orcy bits as it went from shoulder to side cutting the orc in half. Before the upper part hit the ground Zilta gave the long sword a flourish and caught the orc’s neck on the blade, decapitating it. Why? She wanted to make sure it was dead, she was mad at being called a bitch, and even she had to admit the whole action was deeply satisfying to a concerning level.
The five looked at the very dead orc, looked over at the splatter on ZIlta, then promptly continued their journey deeper into the dungeon. Nobody wanting to ask any uncomfortable questions about the overkill they just watched and the other four now even more happy that the gnoll was on their side.
That, and everyone silently agreeing to never say the “B” word around Zilta.