"The portal should be around here somewhere... Maybe inside a building?" Dominic suggests.

Lance, a man with a strong jaw and a buzz cut, nods at Dominic's words. He drags a rather heavy looking steel pipe along the pavement; The other four in the group cringe at the grating sound it produces.

They spread out to search the nearby buildings, and eventually someone finds the lavender glow of the dungeon portal. Lance calls for everyone to regroup, and they move into the dingy basement. Bloodstains coat the concrete here, and remnants of a battle indicate they aren't the first to find this dungeon.

"The dungeon has been delved before... Hopefully they're long gone." Dominic observes.

"We'll leave someone outside to keep watch. Harriet?" Lance addresses Harriet.

Harriet nods with a slight scoff as she pulls her tactical crossbow off her back. The thing is equipped with a mid range sight and a flashlight, albeit Harriet has the light off to ensure intruders don't notice her immediately.

Lance enters the dungeon portal first, and one by one the others follow after him; Harriet watches them leave with a stoic frown on her narrow face before looking back at the room's only entrance.

~

Katia's gaze flits to her portal as an unfamiliar face steps into her dungeon. The chiseled man looks immensely serious, and his militant attitude toward his party members evokes unease in the dungeon core's mind; These delvers mean business.

Quest Added: Dungeon Hunters

Objective: Kill the dungeon hunters or survive until they leave.

Reward: Dungeon Scrying learned.

The thoughts moving in Katia's head all stop dead as she rereads the quest information; She can hardly believe the gravity of the situation. Katia takes mental deep breaths as she begins formulating a plan to deter the delvers.

"It's time to go all out!"

~

"Tia, you watch the door while Dominic maps out the floor." Lance orders firmly.

The two of them nod while Lance turns his attention to the remaining party member. The tall stocky man has a rather strange looking staff adorned with a monster's skull. His rough features clash with his skillset entirely.

"Boris, I want you to use your skill to check for any hidden monsters." Lance says firmly.

Lance's firm hand claps the shorter man's shoulder as he gives him a steely gaze. Boris nods with a slight anxiousness in his movements. The pulse of magic is felt by the group as Boris expands his senses magically; He finds nothing within his sphere of detection, and decides to walk around the edges of the room slowly.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Impatience threatens to ruin Lance's good mood as he stands in front of the large bronze statue taking up most of the room. Lance frowns at the inscribed bronze statue; He isn't used to seeing monuments like this in dungeons.

~

The four delvers look much scarier than the initial party of three Katia met. One of them seems to be leading the group while the others all fill a designated role of sorts; There's visible tension amongst the group, but the firm grip of the leader keeps them together.

"Holy moly they have some fancy classes!"

Katia's heart leaps into her throat as she feels multiple skills activate in an invasive manner; The Navigator and Warlock just probed into her dungeon. Katia was certain the Navigator was mapping her dungeon out, yet she wasn't sure what the bubble around the Warlock did.

The Pack Rats along with the Dire Rats in the barrel room have finished barricading the door to the barrel room, and Katia decides its the perfect time to test a theory of hers. One Dire Rat approaches the Rat King before weakly cutting its hide with their inferior claws.

Blood drips, and a Dire Rat is born from the Rat King's tiny wound as the original Dire Rat continues to feebly attack its superior variant. This flaw in the Rat King's ability goes unnoticed by a normal dungeon, but to Katia it is an obvious exploit.

"Great! Rat King, send half your spawns to the barrel room, and have the other half gather in here."

The dungeon hunters begin moving down the hall, and Katia orders her Pack Rats and barrel room Dire Rats to retreat quickly while the army of newly spawned Dire Rats pack into the barrel room beneath the floor boards.

~

"I've got the map up. It's a five room dungeon, and it looks like we got to it before it could get anything too lethal." Dominic calls out.

"Perfect! Let's move, people. Tia takes point with me, and I want you right behind us Boris." Lance says firmly.

The group gets into formation and starts marching down the first corridor of the young dungeon. Torches flickering quietly along with the delvers' footfalls break the silence, yet an eerie tension seems to envelop them as they reach the door to the second room.

"I'll break in, you all rush in after me." Lance says quietly.

Lance holds up his hand and signals a countdown before signaling three, two, and one; The quiet gives way to a loud crash as Lance collides with the wooden door. There's an embarrassingly long pause as the proud man looks at the barely open door in confusion.

"Its... barricaded?" Dominic says doubtfully.

Sure enough, there on the other side they can make out various pieces of barrels and wooden scraps all piled against the other side of the wooden door. Its a strange situation, and one the party has never come across.

Lance takes a step back before gesturing flippantly at Boris and then at the door. Boris scowls a bit before raising his magic staff and using a skill he usually saved for boss monsters; Flames burgeoned forth from nothingness into a huge fireball. The thing builds up quickly before flying at the door, and with a deafening boom the door and barricade are destroyed along with a section of the wooden floor.

"Let's move. I don't like this place one bit." Lance mutters.

The group climbs over the rubble and charred wood to find a large empty room. There's no monsters nor traps in the room, and the only other door leads them to the next corridor. Dominic's eyes are on the map as he watches them approach the halfway point of the dungeon, and they feel a faint vibration.

Lance stops to listen to the strange thing, and his eyes widen slightly as he whips around to look back down the corridor they just came through. He can hear it clearer now; Hundreds of tiny feet pitter pattering on wood as a swarm of untold size surges toward them.

"We've got company! Horde splitting formation, group up on me!" Lance shouts.