Duke sped off towards the horizon at a casual Mach 2. As the ground passed below him, he increased his speed, OVERCHANNELING the Ability and quickly reaching Mach 10. At this speed. He had to rise further and further in the air to be able to make out any features on the ground. Once he got high enough, he increased his speed to a truly phenomenal level. Mountain ranges passed below him, and signs of civilization came and passed as he followed the curvature of the planet. After two hours of the hyper-flight, he slowed down and descended in an entirely new area.
He landed on the edge of a large body of water. He wasn’t sure if it was an inland sea, an ocean, or some large lake. He was sure, however, that the palm trees at the shore put him somewhere tropical. The warm, humid air also helped in that assumption. His first thought was to plant one of the cores right there on the shoreline but his immediate counter-thought consisted of two words: Water Dungeon. Nobody liked them, least of all, him.
He headed inland a bit, getting a lay of the land. He kept his DUNGEON SENSE up and running while he walked to see what he could find. Mostly, it was more trees and underbrush with various creatures scattered all about. There were all sorts of colorful birds that seemed unhappy at his presence but he ignored them. What did get his attention were the monkeys moving through the trees. They glared at him and shouted some rather rude insults that his XENOGLOSSIA was happy to translate for him. He decided to shout back. The translation had to come with some context but his response more literally translated like this:
“Hey, broken tail! Your daddy ate the banana out of your ass!”
This, apparently was a deadly insult and the monkey stopped flinging poo and charged right down towards Duke to tear him apart. As it got closer from its descent from the trees, Duke could see that it was nearly as tall as him, making it far larger than any Earth monkey he had heard of. It charged him with teeth bare and hands clenched into claws.
Duke met its charge with a upwards swing of his fancy new mace. The monkey tried to dodge but Duke’s swing was far too fast, striking the monkey with a tremendous crunch of impact. The monkey flipped head over heels back into the trees before falling to the ground limp.
“Guess I hit it a bit too hard.” Duke confessed, not realizing how much the mace had amplified his strike. “Sorry, chimp. Better luck next time.”
He continued his search inland, the monkeys giving him a wider berth now that they had seen his strength. Before long, he came upon a clearing with a burned-out building on the side of a road. The tropical jungle created a thick canopy that had veiled this road from above, but his DUNGEON SENSE had spotted it fairly easily. He assessed the building as a complete loss but decided to take a trip up the road to see what else was on it.
Maybe there is a good spot on this road for a roadside Inn.
Duke picked up his speed heading down the road. He found that he could comfortably jog down the road at highway speeds from Earth. A smile came to his face as he continued reveling in the sense of speed. It wasn’t nearly as satisfying as flight, but it felt good nonetheless. The road itself was paved with flat stones fitted together nearly flawlessly. Duke assumed some form of magic had been involved and could detect some warding magic radiating from it – to keep the road clear of monsters he assumed.
After another hour, Duke found the road coming to a camp of sorts as the foliage had begun to thin out. He slowed down to a walk as he approached, noticing who was occupying the camp. It was a large group of humanoid creatures that appeared to be a mix of human and canine but didn’t resemble any of the beastkin he had seen in the Wildheart Refuge. He IDENTIFIED one to get some idea of what he was walking into.
*** You have encountered Jarmok, a Gnoll Hunter.
Tier: 1
Level: 47
Health: 12,240
Mana: 1,920
***
The gnoll was wearing crude leather armor and carried a large bow in its hands as it scanned the area around the camp. It was currently facing away from the road and did not notice Duke yet. The four that were looking down the road, however, spotted him easily.
“Human! They found us!” The panic in the gnoll’s voice was evident, so palpable that Duke’s XENOGLOSSIA was unnecessary. The reaction from the other gnolls affirmed the interpretation as they ran to defensive positions, weapons bristling in trembling hands.
Duke slowed his walk a bit as he assessed the situation. Clearly they were afraid of him but he doubted it was anything personal as they were far too far away from his kingdom to have even heard of him. He decided to try out some diplomacy and see where it took him.
“Greetings. You seem somewhat concerned at my presence so I will share this with you. I come from quite a distance away and have no idea nor interest in whatever quarrel you have with other humans. I am an explorer and come to you with open hands and an open mind. Might we have a conversation rather than conflict?”
“You not Barubie?”
“I don’t even know what a Barubie is?”
“Barubie hunt gnoll. You no hunt gnoll?”
A new voice interjected. “Shut up Gramlua. You sound like an ignorant primitive. You can clearly see that he is not a Barubie. What is your name, sir?”
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
Duke continued to walk forward slowly, his hands open. “I am called Duke. What is your name?”
“My name is Twalla.” A female gnoll stepped out of the defensive formation, sheathing her sword as she approached Duke. “You do not wear the colors or livery of Barubie and no one would claim to be a Duke this close to their territory so I am going to assume that you are being honest with me.”
As she came close, Duke could more easily see that she wore no armor, but a simple tunic and leggings made from tanned hide. She wore no shoes but judging from her paw-like feet, she probably did not need to.
“I am being completely honest with you, Twalla. I find deception to be counterproductive in virtually all my dealings.” He reached out a hand for her to shake. She considered it briefly before tentatively reaching hers out in mirror. Duke took her hand in his and shook it. From how quickly she pulled back, he knew that he startled her.
“Forgive me, Twalla. A handshake is a traditional friendly greeting from where I come from. The open hands touching shows that both parties are coming together unarmed and without guile.”
“An intriguing tradition, I must say.” Duke could see the apprehension melting from her face as they continued their conversation. “Please come into the camp and join us for a meal. It is exceedingly rare that we encounter someone coming from that direction. Do you have a ship that put in to shore there?”
“No, I travel by much different means but that’s not really important. What is important is that I see that I am here and you all are here. And perhaps when we part ways, we will all be better for it.”
“You sound like a merchant.” Another gnoll spoke up. This one was larger than most of the others, standing half a head taller than Duke himself. He had light and dark red accents throughout his fur which made Duke think of a Viking. The fact that he had a large axe head sticking out over his shoulder just completed the picture for Duke.
Duke laughed. “I’m no merchant. That is for sure. If anything, I am an adventurer and explorer. I like to make friends and my friends always benefit from the relationship.”
The large gnoll spoke up again. “You still sound like a merchant, but if Twalla accepts you at your word, then I will as well for she is the wisest of us and can see into the heart like none other in the tribe. I am Mahlnok. I lead the warriors of the tribe.” He pulled his axe around to show Duke. “That is why I wield the axe of our ancestors.”
Duke could see that the axe had seen better days. There were deep nicks in the bladed edge and the counterbalance spike was worn dull. This was a weapon that had seen countless years of use. As he looked around, he saw that most of the equipment that the gnolls carried was on its last legs.
“Since you have welcomed me into your camp, may I offer the tribe a gift?” Duke asked Twalla, a serious look on his face.
She considered for a few moments before responding. “In many cultures, gifts can come with obligations. We can ill afford any additional obligations.”
“I sear to you that this gift is given freely, without reservation, and obligation.”
She brightened up as he spoke and then her eyes bulged as the notification of a Royal Oath being sworn appeared in her vision. Her eyes snapped to Duke and he smiled back. Hesitantly, she nodded.
“Excellent.” Duke activated a RESTORE to cover the entire camp and all the gnolls within. The response didn’t disappoint as weapons repaired themselves, armor reformed, clothing grew to cover more comfortably than ever as nothing they used now had been new to them. Even the tents showed off their new colors as the original dyes and paints were refreshed.
Mahlnok stared at the axe in his hands and Duke could feel something he hadn’t noticed ever before after a RESTORE. The axe now radiated magic strongly. So strongly, that it began to glow with a soft red light. Duke realized that there had once been runes carved into the handle and axe head that had faded or had been broken over time. Now that they were renewed, the true power of the axe had returned.
“You have restored the Axe of the Ancients to its full glory! What manner of man are you to have done so? Surely, you must be a god hidden among us!”
Despite similar declarations and exclamations of wonder and delight throughout the camp, Duke kept his calm demeanor. “Like I said before. I always leave my friends better off than I found them.”
“This is a gift beyond measure. You do not know what you have done for us.” Twalla declared, tears running down her cheeks. “We were once a proud tribe, more than a thousand strong. But we have been hunted by the Barubie so long that all you see here is all we have left of the tribe. Our supplies are nearly gone and even our cookpots leak.”
“Well, they don’t leak anymore. Tell me, why do the Barubie hunt you?”
“Because we are different from them. They are humans that look mostly like you save your pale skin. They drove everyone out of their empire that did not have their blue skin, killing so many in the process. Most of our great warriors died while stalling the Barubie armies. Now, two generations later, we hide here, far from their sight. We do not have the means to support ourselves most of the time, so we are doomed to die off without even a single Barubie attack.”
“That does not sound very hopeful. It pains me to see a proud and, from what I can see, peacefully-inclined people suffer like this at the hands of an oppressor.”
“We thank you for your kind words. But you have given us hope. We now can hunt for food again and possibly defend ourselves from a Barubie hunting party.”
Duke nodded, weighing things before he did what he knew he was going to do when he heard of their plight. “I can perhaps offer another path for your people.”
“Another path? What do you mean?”
“I see three paths from here. One, you stay here as you are now and hope to build up enough to survive which seems a strong possibility. Two, you all come to my Kingdom and can live in peace far from the depredations of the Barubie. Three, I plant a dungeon seed here that will offer your people the opportunity to grow quickly albeit with significant danger.”
Mahlnok interrupted again. “What is a dungeon seed and how can it help us grow quickly?
“If I plant a seed here, a dungeon will grow out of it in a day or two. You will be able to enter the dungeon and face its challenges. Most will be physical and combat-oriented so your tribe’s fighting skills will increase with the practice. By facing and passing the dungeon’s challenges, you will receive rewards from the dungeon. The rewards vary from dungeon to dungeon and likely will vary some for each group that passes the dungeon’s challenges. They can be riches, weapons, food, magic, virtually anything.”
“That sounds like something that anyone would covet having.” Mahlnok remarked.
“If well-managed, it can be an asset like none other, but if left unchallenged long enough, the monsters that inhabit a dungeon can spill out into the surrounding area and cause all manner of chaos. It is a responsibility to keep the dungeon safe from others as much as it is a resource for your people.”
Twalla nodded. “I must speak with my people on this. Will you please excuse us?”
“Of course. I’ll go rest over there by those trees.” Duke walked out of the gnoll camp and settled down to wait. As he waited, he practiced making Portals, keeping them small so that he could keep them hidden from sight. Mostly, he created Portals to the Inn’s kitchen, stealing snacks and meals to fill his INVENTORY with as many goodies as he could manage.