Obu watched as the mixed group of Talpi and Muskeera were directed by her father to enter her Dungeon. Her Core practically vibrated on his staff and Dug sent her a fond smile as she sent her Awareness out to gaze upon the party as they entered her First Room. They didn’t seem like much but she had to remind herself that they were higher level than her and her creatures and they were stepping stones to her growth. She was surprised out of her thoughts by a System notification.
Analyzing…Challengers Detected…Commencing Dungeon Run
Challengers:
Cheep-Cheep: Rank F(3), Level 14, Hunter Gatherer
Chi-Chala: Rank F(3), Level 12, Hunter Gatherer
Meek-Fee: Rank F(3), Level 12, Hunter Gatherer
Dorn Heavyclaw: Rank F(3), Level 11, Tunnel Dweller
Mita Heavyclaw: Rank F(3), Level 11, Tunnel Dweller
Good Luck, Dungeon Core!
The Core let the notification fade as her gaze was drawn to the creatures staring in awe at the cavern before them. As creatures smaller than goblins, her cavern must look properly big. She let herself preen for a moment before focusing on them once more. They were beginning to move, Cheep-Cheep squeaking softly to get the rest’s attention. She was interested to see how they would deal with her gits. Sure they were higher level but her spawner had kept on pumping out Grungy Gits until there were ten of the diminutive little creatures prowling the cavern.
The first encounter was both humorous and disappointing. The party had just barely begun to move when a Git circled around a stalagmite and came face-to-face with the group. The party froze uncertain until the ugly little thing screeched at them, leaping forward with its “dagger”. It managed a single scratch on Cheep-Cheep before it was skewered by three spears. If Obu could have face-palmed she would have. Apparently, fighting at the peak of F(1) meant throwing oneself at the enemy and hoping for the best.
The only upside was that the Git had alerted the rest of its brethren with its screeching. The gibbering alerted the party who quickly tried to adapt to the circumstances. When the small horde of goblinoids began to pour from the darker corners of the cavern they were as ready as they could be although that just meant they had a more defined formation than before. The two Talpi were in front armed with clubs of dark wood while the Muskeera stood behind them with their hunting spears.
The male Talpi, probably the Dorn Heavyclaw from her System notification, raised a foot and stomped it giving Obu her first glimpse into Aether manipulation from a System standpoint. There was a brief burst of Aether before it rushed into the ground causing it to ripple in an outward arc. It didn’t go far but then it didn’t really have to. The first oncoming Gits hit the ripple and lost their footing, stumbling off balance even as those behind them crashed into them causing them to fall.
The Talpi wasted no time in wading forward with their clubs in a movement that certainly seemed a tried and tested maneuver between the two of them. The Muskeera were a little late in joining, almost as surprised as the Gits by the ripple of stone and earth. It didn’t take them long before they were in the thick of it too, stabbing with their spears. The Gits did recover eventually but they only got a few stabs and slices in before falling.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
All in all, it was a poor performance by the Gits but Obu wasn’t completely put out. For one thing, the fight had given her a rudimentary measuring stick to compare further engagements with and secondly, as soon as the last Git fell she received a System message along with a prompt.
Room 1: 10 F(1) Defenders Vanquished…Generating Rewards…Rewards Generated
A total of 2000 Experience has been generated. The Reward has been divided in the following ways:
400 Experience is awarded to the Dungeon, The Obulwaag, for offering the Challenge.
1600 Experience has been divided among the participating Challengers.
Would you like to distribute the rewards?
Yes/No
Obu didn’t know why she would ever want to withhold rewards but perhaps it had some function in the future. Regardless she accepted and was gratified to see the little creatures’ eyes widen as they received their own messages. They chattered to each other excitedly, the Talpi in their gruff voices and the Muskeera in their higher chittering and chirrups. Then Obu got her own message and excitement flared in her Core.
Congratulations Dungeon Core!
* You have enough Xp to ascend to Level 8!
She quickly pulled up her sheet and found that she hadn’t chosen an attribute for her seventh level leaving her still at Level 6. She shrugged mentally. She must have forgotten in her excitement to see her brother. She put off choosing an attribute to increase for now. She was sure no one would be able to harm her while she Experienced what she needed to, especially since her father carried her Core but she felt it was prudent to let the creatures below finish their Dungeon Run.
The hunting party for their part seemed game to continue despite the various scratches they had accrued. The Experience they had gained seemed to make up for whatever minor hurts they had bean dealt from the brief tussle with her Gits. They did nothing for their wounds other than lick them clean which Obu found strangely fascinating before proceeding toward the back of the cavern.
Everything was smooth sailing until Chi-Chala fell into one of her cavern traps. The pools up until this point had been little more than puddles and she was in the middle of a conversation when she stepped into a pool and was suddenly scrabbling to get out. It didn’t take long for her to get over panic and escape the trap but the rest of the party looked on with intensely varying expressions. Her fellow Muskeera made noises akin to laughter and it was evident they thought it humorous in the extreme.
The Talpi on the other hand looked horrified. They both took a couple of steps away from the pool and looked around worriedly at the other pools nearby. They looked terrified. Obu wondered why that was before puzzling out a possible answer. They were primarily dirt dwellers and rarely went above ground. They probably couldn’t swim and if large quantities of water flooded their tunnels they would probably just drown without being able to escape.
The ensuing conversation seemed to prove her theory with the Talpi trying to explain their reticence to a curious Cheep-Cheep with lots of miming and various motions of their heavy digging claws. Cheep-Cheep nodded but still seemed to find the situation more humorous than not. He motioned for them to keep watch for other pools and such traps before heading off. However, they didn’t get far before stumbling into another of her traps.
This time it was Mila Heavyclaw’s turn to fall victim. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on the perspective, Mila’s gaze was on the pools so she did not react in time when there was a shuddering crack above her. Despite the warning sound she only had the time to look up and brace before the chunk of rock crashed into her. As terrible as it sounded when it struck, after the dust had settled Mila was already heaving the chunk off of her, though she favored her left arm.
Her brother quickly went over and helped remove the offending rock, then her to her feet. After fretting over her for a bit she eventually shooed him away. She held her left arm close but hefted her club onto her shoulder with her right before motioning with her head for them to continue. Obu found herself impressed with this little band as they gamely braved the dangers of her Dungeon. They soon reached the end of the cavern and the doorway there. They had a small conversation before entering the hallway that led between Rooms. The Dungeon Run would continue.