“Why is the beastkin showing up such a big deal?” Ivy’s query pulled Evelyn’s focus from the recuperating group in front of her.
“I would presume that Timberhollow has been slow to disseminate the knowledge of their new dungeon, the beastkin will force their hand with that.” Glancing at Ivy’s furrowed brow she elaborated, “Remember dungeons were used as a source of resources though the Great Breaks overshadow that for most people. Many will be jealous Timberhollow has this new resource to mine, others will want to destroy it because of the danger of a break, or because they feel it will somehow avenge those who were lost.”
“So basically, people will be scared and angry and we will be a convenient scapegoat.”
“Succinctly put.”
“Well, that sucks. I guess we’d better be prepared for more delvers.”
“Speaking of,” Evelyn gestured at the group who were now examining the daggers, arrows and most shockingly, cloth gambeson from within the rewards chest. “It would seem this group is hoping to press further and given the entrance to the third floor is at the beginning of the safe room…”
“We can’t make any further changes to the 3rd floor while they rest.”
“Exactly. How are our defences looking?” Evelyn struggled to keep the concern from her voice, Ivy had been working hard but she had big ideas and it would do them little good to have mechanisms only close to finished. “I finished carving the trinkets for the dark room, but I didn’t get a good look at the others.”
“Wow, they are really freaking out over having so much cloth in a single garment.” Ivy said distracted by exclamations about wastefulness and the garment being worth a fortune. “Sorry. Dark is done then.” Ivy began counting off on her fingers, “Fire, air and earth are also essentially done but untested, it might actually be helpful if they run one or two of them so we can calibrate the difficulty. Given your input, air shouldn’t be trivial like the monkey bars used to be. Water has its main challenge but is very much unfinished and I pulled together the basics for light when I felt Twrch fighting but it’s essentially a children’s puzzle at the moment.” The short woman’s frustration at being unable to work on the projects she considered unfinished bled through in her tone.
“That’s… extremely impressive.” Evelyn responded; her fear washed away in a tide of incredulity. Glancing back to the rest of the room she felt a wave of empathy for the men and women shocked by the presence of a garment destined for destruction by its very purpose, that was made of a material so expensive not just because of the need to transport it to TImberhollow but because of the farmland needed to produce the crop it came from. Precious farmland that would have to be warded by elves but not used for food. Learning necromancy, becoming a dungeon, meeting Ivy, her life was so different from the people she grew up with, it was nice to see she wasn’t the only one who felt out of her depth at times. Noticing Trafin comparing a dagger to an identical one he’d been carrying with a scowl, she smiled. It was well worth nudging the results of the chest.
“Looks like the water mage is stirring, might not be too much longer before they set off.” Ivy’s observation pulled Evelyn from her introspection, “I bet we’re going to get a ton of mana from this run once they finally leave, might hit the cap actually.”
Seeing the downturn in Ivy’s expression Evelyn asked, “Surely hitting maximum mana would be a good thing?”
“Yes… yeah it is. I know.” Ivy paced, “It’s just frustrating to think of wasting mana for going over the cap but even if we got it now, it’s not like we could spend it.”
“Actually, I might have an idea for that.” The sight of Ivy’s head jerking up brought a smile to Evelyn’s face, “We can still spend the mana we have on random templates. I know you’re fond of the materials…”
“That’s brilliant! Great idea Evelyn! And yeah, creatures should definitely be the priority. Particularly now we know we can upgrade them by levelling. I was worried what would happen if we got a bunch of random animals before but now I know if we get a cow we might be able to upgrade it to minotaur or something, that really changes things.”
“It would be good to get some more types of undead as well if possible, our undeath affinity should help with that somewhat if I recall. Skeletons and zombies have their uses but something like shades would increase our options.”
“Incorporeal undead would be sweet, we’ve also got a slightly improved chance of getting something with the fire, life or sonic affinities we’ve picked up but not to the same extent as undeath. I’d say let’s do it! How many rolls can we get?”
“Enough for three.”
Ivy huddled close beside her and Evelyn focused her mana with a burst of intent.
Ibex template unlocked
[Sure-footed] skill unlocked
Ibex skeleton template unlocked
“They’re like goats right? Kinda small though, but the skill seems good.”
Zombie arctic wolf template unlocked
[Bite] skill unlocked
Arctic wolf skeleton template unlocked
“Ooh, there’s the undeath affinity kicking in! I don’t know if ice effects were a big concern for us, but these are probably resistant, and they’re pretty big!”
“A good addition, while Timberhollow has plenty of wolves nearby this is a totally different variety which should encourage the development of broader skills. If the pelts of the zombies aren’t too far gone, they may also be quite valuable.”
Floppy-eared pounder template unlocked
[Greater tremor-sense](sonic) skill unlocked
[Resounding Thump](sonic) skill unlocked
Floppy-eared pounder skeleton template unlocked
“Are those… rabbits?”
“I believe they are a particularly difficult variety to hunt, not dangerous but unusually skittish.” Evelyn responded, thinking back to the stories her mother told of the impractical food nobles served in an effort to inflate their status.
Ivy squinted “Looks like they have a sonic affinity. I think rabbits pound the ground to warn each other of predators, these probably take that to the extreme given the skill.”
“Their skill appears potent however I’d ideally want a more intelligent creature to utilise the information it provides. Unfortunately, the creatures which can learn that skill are likely limited given its sonic affinity…”
Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.
“[Leadership] was better than I thought,” Ivy sighed.
“That might have been a solution,” Evelyn agreed. “However, on the topic of using multiple affinities, I knew Magus Jacintha started as a fire mage then gained a lightning class but it seems she had an ace up her sleeve.”
Peering at the venerated magus trying to mask her discomfort at the hard stone benches, Evelyn satisfied her curiosity:
[Flame Mage](Fire){10},[Lightning Wizard](Lightning){20},[Suppression Wizard](Quench){2}
----------------------------------------
The group had rested longer than Evelyn had expected but as they made their way cautiously down the stairs, she considered that she may be losing her perspective on the effects of physical exhaustion. It was gratifying to hear their surprise at the walls being stylised like the interior of some grand castle with a suitably wide staircase even as the two rangers cautiously slinked a few meters ahead, wary of some sort of trap. As they finally decided it was safe to proceed Evelyn held her breath.
Trafin opened the door a crack and peered through only to immediately jump back as stomping echoed up the staircase.
“Three above! Big biped skeleton.”
The door slammed closed a moment later with a bang loud enough to be felt as well as heard.
“Medium sized room, circular, lots of doors and carvings.”
Sarge strode forwards snapping out orders, “Balrem, Farad you’re with me. Jenny, cover the backline. Jeremy, [power shot] the joints.”
Everyone moved smoothly to their places and Evelyn and Ivy shared a smile as the three soldiers shoved the doors open wide to reveal the ogre skeleton that had returned to the middle of the room beyond. With a warcry Sarge charged forwards as the other two spread on his flanks. The ogre’s jaw opened, letting out its own silent warcry in turn as it charged forwards, head of its person sized club scraping across the roof. A sharp crack rang out as a thin flash of lightning slammed into its shoulder charring the bone and staggering the creature but seemingly doing little lasting damage. The twang of an arrow followed chipping the upper humerus.
The club still went down in a large sweeping strike but Balrem and Sarge managed to block it together. Farad showed his quality diving in and out on the other side not letting the other hand grasp him or his spear as he tried to chip away at the creature. The motes of light filling the room and occasional thrown knife were contributed by the rangers though they mostly focused on keeping an eye out for other surprises. Evelyn knew this room didn’t have any but it was a good habit she was pleased to see.
After a little back and forth where the creature lost a few fingers but achieved little more than knocking Balrem off his feet briefly, the decisive blow came from a javelin of water impacting the injured shoulder and sending both arm and club careening into a wall mid swing. A few minutes later and the capable squad had successfully dismembered the creature and claimed its sizable mana stone.
Seeing Ivy’s pout Evelyn commented, “Remember a level 3 ogre was never meant to be a challenge to a full group that defeated Twrch, this was a fight about resource management and to, as I believe you phrased it, put them on a clock.”
“Yeah, you’re right just sucks to see such a cool creature taken down so easily, particularly by a group that’s already so beat up, but yeah it’s more about punishing them for taking too long completing the challenges.” A feral grin split her face as Jacintha correctly Identified that six of the doors had symbols representing the primary elements above them while the one opposite where they came in had 6 circular slots but no obvious handle. “I wonder which they will try, I hope they don’t do water because of the water mage, it’s really not ready yet, but fire could be fun.”
A minute or two later the group decided to investigate the air trial first to Ivy’s obvious pleasure, following the logic that Trafin would be scouting the room and had an air affinity; though Evelyn thought it likely that not wanting to overly tax the recently rescued Lydia played into that decision. As Trafin opened the door to a steep drop, the floor many meters below and a series of thin walls and small platforms arranged seemingly haphazardly through the room, the scowl on his face deepened. The odd arrangement lacked a clear path however, visible in the back corner was a platform holding the carved stone disk with the air symbol she’d made which operated as one of the keys to get past this floor. The walls and platforms were pockmarked with small cracks and niches that could be used as handholds, though privately Evelyn would never have trusted herself to such a thing. Ivy had called it a ‘parkour’ room and it seemed it was somewhat popular in her realm though she had conceded that this was much more dangerous than would normally be considered acceptable but dungeons were supposed to carry risk.
With a firming of the set of his shoulders and a warning to his companions to remain outside it seemed the ranger had chosen his route. A quick run up and some deft movements later and he was steadily making his way through the room. He paused occasionally to test grips and briefly to investigate the serrated wire Ivy had placed to limit movement, based on the drops of blood from his tentative investigation it would seem calling it razor wire was quite apt.
“With a gauntlet or thick enough leather this could be moved, though I wouldn’t much like to try and make the earlier jumps with either. Might be an option for someone with higher resilience than agility, I doubt this stuff would hurt you too much Sarge.”
“I’ll leave anything that involves jumping to grasp a tiny hold, directly behind me to you if it’s all the same Trafin.”
“Bah, making me do all the work sounds about right,” Trafin’s jovial tone standing in sharp contrast to the seeming precariousness of his position made Evelyn realise despite the danger and his general surliness the man was enjoying the challenge.
Things turned a bit more serious as he passed the halfway point, many of the moves he made requiring him to keep his momentum to jump, swing or tumble to the point beyond. Vidan offered both illumination and suggestions at various points while the others remained silent, wary of distracting him at a key moment.
Running along the top of a thin wall and leaping in a motion that used his whole body there was an audible gasp as his hand slammed into the final platform and managed to find a grip. Pulling himself up and taking a look at the podium and circular key upon it he shook his arms, the only sign of the fatigue he’d felt from the journey.
“Looks like it fits in that door without a handle and has the symbol from above the doorway on it. Doesn’t appear to be trapped.”
“There’s probably one per room, make yer way on back wi’ it when yer ready lad.”
“At least it should be more downhill on the way back so should be easier…” Farad’s optimistic tone faded as Balrem and Vidan turned to glare at him.
“Now ye’ve gone and jinxed it ye idiot!” Balrem reprimanded with a gentle smack to the back of the head.
With a sigh barely audible from the doorway Trafin responded, “Well, let’s see what happens then. Stay clear.”
Evelyn could feel Ivy vibrating with tension beside her. They didn’t know just what havoc was about to be unleashed. Three! Even Evelyn barely had any idea what Ivy had planned. Trafin took a deep breath, and everything exploded into motion.
The key was yanked into a pouch as clattering and smashing began to sound around the room. Trafin was already in motion, moving with an alacrity and decisiveness so the metal pellets that sprayed from a previously concealed spring cannon in the walls met only air. It wasn’t the only cannon however as stone tiles continued to drop revealing more of Ivy’s surprises. A deft slash of his dagger deflected a coil of razorwire that had failed to properly unfurl after being fired even as Trafin’s other hand grasped a lintel and swung him to the next platform only to see a spray of caltrops clatter across it. Frantically looking for other options Trafin bounded off the side of the platform and swung round the pillar supporting another before continuing onward.
Evelyn heard a commotion by the doorway but couldn’t take her eyes off the ranger. He took a glancing blow from a wooden ball flying through the room but continued on as if he didn’t notice. Gasps sounded as his hand slipped from a hold after a rough landing but he quickly pushed off the wall, curling into a ball as he passed through a hail of flechettes. Bloody gashes were left through his leather armour as he fell towards the floor, all the more tragic for how close to the exit he’d come. Suddenly he bounded upward and dove through the doorway.
As Evelyn stared baffled, Ivy exclaimed, “Nice one! Some sort of double jump or air step skill! Can’t wait to get our hands on that.”
From the midst of the concerned mass of people through the doorway Trafin let out a resigned groan as he pulled a bone splinter from beneath his armour, “I hate this dungeon.”
----------------------------------------
“…We checked the entrances to the other elements before retreating. Fire was a stone spiral staircase, Dark was filled with smoke and there was a loud… Clanking sound,” Sarge glanced at Trafin who shrugged. “It was metallic, with a steady rhythm but we couldn’t see the source. Water had a well, earth had a tunnel which quickly branched, and light appeared to be a surprisingly rudimentary mirror puzzle, taking a beam of light from one side of the room to a hole in the other.”
“Thank you gentlemen. Based on your experiences do you believe it’s feasible to reach the bottom of the dungeon?” The Lord asked expectantly.
“We’d need a few days to recover…” Trafin started uncertainly
“No.” Sarge interjected firmly as Trafin looked at his friend, it was unusual for him to turn down a challenge. “By the time our group recovers properly if the dungeon keeps growing as it has been it will have started on yet another floor. Trafin was well suited to deal with that room and he still overstrained his mana and nearly suffered debilitating injury. Even if we reached the third floor without exhausting anyone if every room is as dangerous as that one…”
“…You’d effectively lose 6 members of a 10 man team on the floor,” Lord Krieger said with a grimace.
“Exactly. And if the fourth floor continues the increase in difficulty, that’s just not feasible for us. I’m sorry Milord.”
“No need to apologise, I appreciate your honest counsel and you’ve had an exhausting day. I suppose we shall see how capable the beastkin are then, I expect they’ll be queuing up to delve tomorrow morning and travellers will no doubt follow. We may be unwilling to risk the personnel necessary to plumb its depths, but the world is filled with talented individuals.” Lord Krieger paused just as he was about to dismiss the tired men before him as a thought crossed his mind. “I’m afraid I have one last job for you this evening gentlemen, speak to Father Kieran. Your promising young guard was offered a class change in an unprecedented fashion, let us see if you are offered anything interesting in a more traditional fashion.”