The four approached the gate with increased seriousness and vigilance. They were unsure what lay beyond the gate but were fully convinced that it would be another challenge. The gate itself was made of iron-reinforced wood and was set into the wall of the chamber. Before even attempting to go beyond it, they examined it closely for any sort of traps. The longer they searched and came up with nothing unusual, the more paranoid they became.
“Anything?” Aurelia asked.
“Still nothing.” Emberclaw replied.
“Yep, nothing. Makes me nervous that we’re missing something.” Duke added.
“Do we just try to open it, then?” Snarlheart asked.
“Why don’t we all stand back and I’ll open it.” Duke suggested.
“How do you plan on opening it?” Aurelia asked.
“I’m going to TELEPORT the whole thing over there.” Duke pointed to the side. “That way, we all will be out of range if something triggers. He stepped back with the group and got himself ready. A nod of reassurance to the others later, he executed the plan. The entire gate vanished and appeared several feet to the side. The dead silence in response was anticlimactic but also welcome.
An exchanged glance set the group carefully down the corridor that had been hidden by the gate. They advanced, eyes, ears, and nose questing for any hint of what was to come. The passage curved upward in a spiral that was counter to the one that had brought them down to the kobolds. With continued caution, they followed the gentle spiral upwards.
Several tense minutes passed before they came upon anything different. The change was not subtle and not much of a surprise. The tunnel opened up into another chamber. This one was smaller than the previous ones at around fifty meters across. It had a ceiling at about twenty meters and, in the middle of the chamber sat a lonely throne with a single kobold sitting upon it.
The kobold on the throne was larger than any of the other ones they had seen to this point. Duke estimated that it stood just shy of two meters tall and was built like a powerlifter. The kobold’s snout was more tapered and the bony ridges over its eyes were more pronounced. It stood as they entered the chamber and they could more clearly see that it was not wearing armor as they had expected, but, instead, was draped with dozens of chains. Duke looked closer at the chains and saw that there were barbs and spikes along many of the chains’ lengths.
“Spiked and barbed chains. Expect him to try and tear flesh off you with them. Nasty business.”
“Or, I could grant you passage out of my chamber. Hasn’t there been enough violence?” The kobold spoke with a strong voice that carried well across the chamber.
Emberclaw responded, “Your people have been pretty keen on violence. Why should we expect you to be any different?”
“My people have been dead for centuries. Killed by the lesser beings you have been fighting. My people were a noble race. We built great cities beneath the surface with artwork, music, dancing, and glorious performances. We had a culture thousands of years old. But the lesser races were jealous. They overwhelmed us with numbers, breeding faster and faster, sending waves of untrained but vicious little beings at our walls. We fought them as best we could but even killing a hundred to one of them, our warriors could not weather the tide as tens of thousands came at us again and again. Our cities fell and I am the last, trapped here, chained to this throne. Set me free and I will give you all that remains of our culture. It is a prize that the lesser never found and never will.”
The group had unconsciously moved closer and closer listening to the story. It was a compelling tale and from what they had been dealing with, easy to understand. The sheer volume of kobolds that Duke had fended off spoke truth to the story of fast breeding and swarm tactics. As he moved closer, Duke could see that the chains were attached to the throne and only barely moved with the Kobold as he had stood up.
“And how exactly are we to set you free?” Snarlheart asked, his voice dripping with skepticism.
“Break my chains. Please. It’s been so long.” The kobold replied, the pleading in his voice painful to listen to.
Duke reached forward and was inches away from grabbing one of the chains when his MENTAL FORTITUDE fired off, breaking him free from what he recognized was an insidious trap. The story had been tailored to his mindset but there had been one thing missing that made him question it enough to see through the deception. The kobold had been talking about being freed but there was absolutely no acknowledgement from his PURPOSE and that could only mean that this was a complete lie.
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Not taking any chances that the others would be injured by an up close and personal blast of LIGHTNING, Duke instead poured 500,000 Mana into a TELEPORT and removed the creature’s head. The fountain of blood shocked the other three as they leaped back to get clear.
“What in the Seven!” Aurelia exclaimed.
“Duke, what have you done?” Emberclaw added.
Duke held up a hand to forestall any further comment. “He was lying. That was the dungeon boss and another insidious trap.”
“What do you mean?” Snarlheart asked, but was interrupted by a system announcement.
*** Congratulations! You have completed the Echoing Caverns of the Forgotten dungeon. Now that the dungeon is complete, its true nature can be revealed. This is a type of dungeon that is unique on the world of Teldin. It is a Scaling dungeon which means the threat and challenge level will rise or fall to match the delvers in each instance.
For being the first to complete this dungeon, you each receive:
50,000 experience
5,000 gold
+10 to any Skill Level of your choice
+10 to any Ability Level of your choice
The choice of an Ability from this list: SHAPESHIFTING, EXPERIENTIAL ACCELERATION, SKILL FOCUS, WEAPON SPECIALIZATION.
The loot gained from this dungeon run will be enhanced.
***
Duke looked at the others and could see their excitement. He began to speak when he was interrupted by another message.
***
You have done well, Duke. Know that I will be breaking you free of the entities’ grasp within a week. There will be consequences and you may lose some gifts that they provided you with. I will compensate you for any losses. Continue to plant and grow my dungeons and your power will rise. I enhanced the rewards for this dungeon and will continue to do so for any dungeon you complete. Use this to grow your people as they will face challenges better at your side than standing behind you.
You killed a lot of kobolds of varying levels in this dungeon as well as the boss. Your total experience gain for this dungeon is 154,475. This will bring you up to level 69 and provide you with 45 Characteristic points to spend. Spend them before you leave the dungeon. You will understand why later.
***
“Are you OK, Duke?” Aurelia asked.
“Just reading notifications. Did you all receive your rewards from the dungeon?”
“I did.” Emberclaw remarked in wonder. “I have never received gains like this in such a short time. This is marvelous beyond measure. Can you imagine our people gaining benefits like this every few days, Snarlheart? What that would do for us…”
“It would allow us to outgrow our enemies and finally live in peace. This gift you have brought us, Duke is amazing beyond measure. How can we repay you for this?”
“Keeping the dungeon safe is all I ask. And do remember that this is a scaling dungeon so the rewards should scale with the difficulty. Making sure your people survive should be your first priority when you send them in. I know this dungeon scaled up to its limit to try and challenge me, so it won’t be this difficult for a more reasonable group to tackle. But remember that this is not a benign thing. The dungeon lives off the energy of those inside it and it gains tremendously should anyone die in here so it is in the dungeon’s own interest to kill as many as it can and it will try to do just that.”
“We will keep that in mind.” Emberclaw responded.
Duke took a few moments to allocate his Characteristic points before the moved on to the reward chest that had appeared beyond the throne. He added all 45 points to his Psyche, figuring he would need it in the future. He was still unsure of what Ability he was going to add to his repertoire, but he could see the others also spending time in their interfaces and figured he had some time to allocate a bit more.
He allocated 10 Skill levels to Diplomacy. He initially wanted to add it to something more combat-focused but realized that many of his future battles would be kingdom-based and needed the boost. The 10 Ability levels went to TELEPORTATION, immediately pushing it to Master Rank. He considered adding his Ability evolution to it on the spot but decided he wanted to be back at the Inn to do that, again hoping that there was no time limit on using it.
They approached the chest, and all indicated that Duke should open it with nods and gestures. Without hesitation, he opened it, revealing the contents to everyone.
***
You have found Chains of the Liar. These enchanted spiked chains have a permanent illusion embedded in them making them appear slightly off from where they really are. This makes them a deadly weapon of deception.
You have found 7 potions of healing.
You have found 12 enchanted arrows. These arrows are capable of hitting a target behind cover and around corners by bending their flight path up to 180 degrees in total.
You have found the Mask of Friendship. This enchanted feathered mask will increase the success of all friendly diplomatic actions by 20% when worn. If used for unfriendly or deceptive actions, the mask will destroy itself, harming the person wearing it.
You have found 4 Large Crystals, 7 Medium Crystals, 18 Minor Crystals, 416 gold coins, 267 silver coins, and 183 copper coins.
***
Duke did not find the loot to be spectacularly special but was sure it was good for this rank of dungeon. He stepped back from the chest and started walking towards the exit portal.
“Aren’t you forgetting the loot, Duke?” Snarlheart asked.
“The loot is not for me. This dungeon belongs to your people, as does the loot it produces.” With that, he stepped through the portal.
Moments later, the rest of the group joined him outside. Aurelia had an odd expression that Duke forcibly pushed against his XENOGLOSSIA to leave alone. Emberclaw and Snarlheart were both beaming and thanked Duke once again for his amazing gifts. He smiled and told them they were welcome before he and Aurelia left for the capitol.