Vee was shaken awake early the next morning by a concerned-looking Micah, who’d found the [Dungeon Master] asleep at one of the lobby’s outdoor tables.
“Are you okay?” The [Baker] asked. “The [City Guards] said you didn’t come back through the gate last night. I don’t mean to be rude, but you look terrible, Mister Vales.”
Vee mumbled a string of syllables no human could possibly be expected to understand, but the last bit rhymed with “free”, and Micah was smart enough to figure out what Vee wanted. Unlocking the lobby, Micah helped drag Vee inside and led the [Dungeon Master] to a table.
“Hang out here for a second and I’ll whip something up for you,” Micah said. “My cooking isn’t nearly as good as my baking, but I can at least make a decent scrambled egg.”
Vee swayed at the table, his skin looking even paler than usual under the bright lights of the lobby, but he dug into the plate of food when Micah delivered it and seemed to revive a bit after finishing it.
“Thanks,” Vee said as he pushed the dirty plate away and nodded affirmatively when Micah held up the pot of fresh coffee. He took a big sip and said, “I feel much better now.”
Seeing Micah’s questioning expression, Vee continued, “There’s no need to worry. I spent all day yesterday redesigning the dungeon and then rewriting all the floor orders so that the minions would actually do what I wanted them to . Alforde and Reginald are still hard at work putting the last few touches on a couple rooms, but I’m pretty much tapped out. I’m probably going to nap through all of the day’s runs.”
“That seems like a good idea,” Micah said, filling Vee’s cup back up and returning the pot to where it belonged. “You could probably pass for a ghost inside the dungeon right now.”
Vee flashed an exhausted smile. “You’re probably right about that. Do you have anything super sugary by chance? I think the coffee is going to need all the help it can get.”
Micah nodded. “I’ve got some jam-filled cookies from yesterday. Would you prefer emberberry, peach, or spiced orange?”
“Give me one of each,” Vee said. “All of those sound good.”
Almost an hour later, Vee returned to Crestheart feeling slightly more human. To his surprise, Torres was waiting out front, furiously twirling his mustache and scowling. Vee groaned inwardly. He really didn’t have the energy to deal with the [Stationer] that morning. However, he knew all too well that he had to put on a good face, so he forced himself to smile and said, “Good morning, Torres. How can I help you on this fine day?”
“Originally, my heart’s simple desire was to show you the boxes I made for those dunpla figurines you brought me,” Torres said, somehow managing to make the word sound like a curse, “but alas, I was dismayed to realize that you’ve once again redesigned the dungeon and rendered my guides worthless. As I’ve said in the past, I’d appreciate a heads up about such things before they happen so that I can make the necessary amendments to my offerings.”
“Sorry,” Vee said. “It slipped my mind. Would you like to do a walkthrough to see what’s new? We’ve still got some time before we go ahead and open, and while we do that I can take a look at the boxes you’ve made. How’s that sound?”
Torres sniffed loudly, but didn’t protest, and he followed Vee into the dungeon.
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Even with all the work done by Vee and his friends, the dungeon still wasn’t fully operational. Without the rest of Reginald’s [Core Spirit] levels, several elements were still missing their power, but Vee still managed to take Torres through it without issue.
“So you’re offering two separate options for trinkets ?” the [Stationer] asked, jotting things down on a gaudy notepad.
“We are,” Vee said. “The first is going to be a small, thin statue of ectoplasm that will allow an adventurer to claim double rewards if they manage to defeat Alforde. Since it’s not going to be heavy, most adventurers shouldn’t have any issues carrying it around and maneuvering it as necessary. The second will be much larger, and it’s going to be socketed with a scaling [Sap Energy] trap gem that will almost certainly impede the physical strength of anyone who decides to take it. However, an adventurer who successfully clears the dungeon with it in their possession will receive five times the normal reward.”
“I see,” Torres muttered. “And will this statue be affected by any sort of [Storage] skills or artifacts? I could see a {Bag of Holding} becoming extremely valuable in such a circumstance.”
Vee shook his head. “Nope. Both statues will be socketed with [Status Preservation] gems as well, which will trigger if anyone tries to move them into pocket space and cause the statue to be destroyed.”
“That’s quite an impressive defense mechanism,” Torres said. “Would it be possible to see that in action?”
“I’m afraid not,” Vee said with an apologetic smile. “We don’t have either type of crystal in our possession at this time, but we’ve ordered them from the union and they should be arriving in the coming days.”
They walked into a small, hexagonal room, and Vee pointed to three of the walls, which were a slightly lighter color than the rest. “This is going to be a gauntlet room, where our skeleton knights, archers, and mages are going to attack in waves from these walls here. By default, there will be four waves of monsters, but depending on where an adventurer walks there may be more.”
“Can you elaborate a bit further on that?” Torres asked, his pen scratching away.
“Sure. Do you see those darker blue bricks on the floor?”
He pointed down at the ground, where there were occasional quartets of navy-colored bricks arranged in simple circles. “All four of those are pressure sensitive, and putting any substantial weight down on them will trigger additional enemy attacks. We’ll be experimenting with a few different varieties in the days to come, but will eventually have a fixed arrangement. Beyond that, there's another surprise in this room, but we're still negotiating out a few details with the relevant party, so please forgive me for not showing it to you now.”
A few rooms later, Vee stopped at the entrance to a narrow hallway and held up his right hand. Torres slowed to a halt a few steps after him, and Vee demonstrated the sequence of chain-mounted ectoplasmic spheres that swung violently back and forth.
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“We call these the wrecking balls, “ the [Dungeon Master] said, “and adventurers will need to be quick and decisive to get through safely. They might not be as heavy as they look, but I can assure you that you wouldn’t enjoy letting one hit you.”
“Is their pattern consistent?”
“Yes and no,” Vee answered. “There are seven possible timing patterns, but the one used in any given run will be randomly determined at the start.”
“Would it be possible for me to see the timings so that I can include them in my guide?”
“Of course,” Vee said with a smile. “Remind me when we finish up and I’ll be happy to give you a copy of our list.”
The [Stationer] nodded and followed the [Dungeon Master] deeper into Crestheart.
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“I don’t think that hazard is fair,” Torres grumbled, standing up with a wince as he looked back at the archway made out of ghost arms that had thrown him around for nearly thirty seconds straight.
“This is an optional area,” Vee said, pointing to the series of honeycomb-shaped chambers that were all going to eventually be filled with tier three and four minions.
“There’s going to be a poetic warning at the door leading to the arch that will inform challengers to fear the creeping hands of forgotten servants.”
“My point remains,” Torres said, dusting himself off. “Being forewarned doesn’t excuse absurd spikes in difficulty.”
Vee grinned. “I believe we differ on that point, sir.”
[Charisma +1]
He pointed to the center of the room, where one of the mannequin merchants sat on a rug covered in various goods. Next to its legs was a crudely painted sign – little more than a cracked piece of wood, truth be told – that said Buy or Else.
“This will be the cheapest merchant in the dungeon, offering wares for half the price of the other two. However, if an adventurer looks at the goods but decides not to buy anything, a trapdoor will send them into a hidden room where they’ll have to fight some new ghosts.”
“Without going down to the next floor? How does that work?”
“Let me show you. Take a few steps over to your left, please. Thank you, that’s perfect.”
Kneeling down to the side of the shopkeeper, Vee lifted up a brick and pressed a button concealed within the floor. A panel right in front of the shopkeeper – where Torres had been standing – slid open, and the glowing blue light of a teleporter filled the room with an eerie hue.
Vee grinned as he pressed the button again and the floor returned to normal. “We actually have another couple sets of teleporters ordered,” he said. “There’s another couple places in the dungeon where they’d come in handy, but those aren’t quite ready yet. Let’s carry on, shall we?”
From there, Vee escorted Torres through the rest of the second floor, pointing out trap activation points, timed doors connected to pressure plates that required adventurers to move pieces of rooms to keep them in position, larger-than-normal torches that served as switches for otherwise locked doors or revealed hidden walls, and various other dungeon elements that were new to Crestheart. He also detailed Nock’s duties, since the weaponsoul had yet to be given the freedom to run around the dungeon like he was supposed to.
However, when they reached the wide, slope-filled room where Vee said adventurers would face off against Mister Chills, the [Dungeon Master]’s expression grew solemn.
“Would it be possible for you to refrain from including the specifics of the mini boss battle?” Vee asked. “It’s something I’m really proud of, but I don’t want people to walk in with a perfect idea of what to expect. You can tell them about all the things that used to happen in the fights since that’s all been kept, but there are some new attacks and patterns that I think will catch some of our adventurers by surprise.”
Torres tugged his mustache, deep in thought. Finally, he huffed out, “I suppose I can deign to describe it in generalized terms since you’ve asked so politely.”
“Much appreciated,” Vee said. “Come on, I’ll show you the third floor.”
Due to the dense nature of the third floor, it took Vee nearly as long to show it to Torres as the other two floors had together. While he couldn’t demonstrate the various physical tasks that would be expected of adventurers himself – they would have been beyond him even if he hadn’t been bone-achingly tired – he pointed them all out.
He also drew attention to the large, simply decorated treasure chests that adorned the third floor’s rooms and hallways. “Those are going to be more ornate in a few more days,” he said. “And one of them is going to be a special mimic ghost that will attack when it’s opened up. Depending on how well it does, we might incorporate more mimics into the dungeon as well in the future.”
“A question, Mister Vales. Pray tell, what incentive is there for adventurers to open the treasure chests in the first place?”
“We’re still figuring that out,” Vee said. “But the plan is some combination of faceted crystals, simple pieces of jewelry, and coupons to other businesses within Oar’s Crest.”
“Such as?”
“Sorry, I’m afraid that’s also still undecided,” Vee said. “Though I’m hopeful we can at least come to an arrangement with the [Armor Smiths] who designed Alforde’s current armor and weapon. I’m sure there will be others as well.”
Finally, they came to Alforde’s arena, and Torres whistled at the sight of the new decorations that adorned the room. He looked up and saw Shadowforde’s mirror hanging above the stage.
“I don’t suppose you’re going to give me details about that either,” the [Stationer] said grumpily.
Vee clapped him on the back.
“I’m afraid not. But still, this is pretty impressive, huh?”
Torres bowed his head. “Indeed, Mister Vales. I think this finally looks like a proper dungeon.”
“I agree,” said Vee. “But only time will tell if that’s the case or not. Here, this way. The exit is just up some stairs hidden behind that curtain. It’s nearly time for the day’s runs to begin. Now let’s go ahead and take a proper look at these boxes you’ve rigged up, eh? I must say, at first glance they look rather lovely.”
Main Character Sheets:
Main Character Sheets
Vee Vales
Primary Class: Ghost Maestro (Locksmagister University), Level 32
Secondary Class: Dungeon Master (Oar’s Crest), Level 23
Tertiary Class: Guy-Who-Takes-Things-WAY-Too-Far (Self), Level 6
Might: 15
Wit: 38
Faith: 26
Adventurousness: 7
Ambition: 15
Plotting: 19
Charisma: 16 (+1)
Devious Mind: 27 (+1) (Occurred between previous chapter and this one)
Leadership: 22
Guts: 14
Intimidating Presence: 10
Citizenship: 23
Public Relations: 8
Determination: 4
Persuasiveness: 5
Bargaining: 3
Patience: 2
Competitive Spirit: 1
Pragmatism: 1
<3<3 Infatuation <3<3
Alforde Armorsoul:
Primary Class: Hammer Specialist (Self), Level 5
Secondary Class: Right-hand man (Vee Vales), Level 18
Tertiary Class: Dungeon Champion (Oar’s Crest), Level 18
Additional Class: Glaciernaut (Sacha Silverblade), Level 10
Might: 58 (+2)
Wit: 15
Faith: 29
Adventurousness (Bound – Vee Vales): 9
Endurance: 30 (+1)
Intimidating Presence: 14
Heart of a Champion: 14
Citizenship (Bound – Vee Vales): 9
Vigilance: 10
Vanity: 2
Reginald:
Primary Class: Core Spirit (Unknown), Level ?? (+2)
#$&Q#$)(@#$#@#$%!@#$##%#%()@#$**@@##
Secondary Class: Loudmouth (Self), Level 41
Tertiary Class: Majordomo (Vee Vales), Level 19
Additional Class: Announcer (Vee Vales), Level 11
Additional Class: Hyperthymesiac (Self), Level 5
Might: 1
Wit: 37
Faith: 17
Ambition: 28
Greed: 24
Deceptiveness: 27
Manipulativeness: 42
$#&*!@!!: !!!
Loyalty: 46
Patience: 11
Irritability: 24 (+1)
Remorsefulness: 17
Expository Prowess: 23
#%$Pragmatism*#$: @#61$5
Hop@#!! @#$@!@#
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#4^5#*&_!+++#(@$#
Citizenship (Bound – Vee Vales): 9