They were quickly admitted into the mayor’s office and we warmly greeted, “Welcome King Duke and I don’t believe that I’ve met you before. Mayor Shellenberger, at your service.” He extended a hand towards Ophirian who stared at it in confusion as he flared his nostrils and tasted the air with his forked tongue.
Duke reached forward and took the mayor’s hand in his, shaking it. He looked over to Ophirian and explained, “This is called shaking hands. It is a common form of greeting when you meet someone. Notice how I am gripping his hand firmly, but not with enough force to hurt him. That is important – the not hurting him part. Now it’s your turn, Ophirian.”
Ophirian reached forward and clasped the mayor’s hand with great care, his claws barely touching the mayor’s skin. When the mayor winced, Ophirian let go like the hand had bitten him.
“Quite the grip you have there, Ophirian,” The mayor said while shaking his hand out. “Now, what can I do for you, Your Majesty?”
“The time for my departure is coming. How are your warehouses coming along?”
“We have filled forty-six warehouses with ore and materials. We have eighty-three silos full of grain and other foods. All told, we have about five years’ worth of food and materials stored up already. At this rate, we should hit the ten-year storage mark in another month.”
“Excellent. I should be able to give you that month, but possibly not longer, so prepare yourselves.”
“We are doing everything we can to prepare. At least this time we have advanced warning and are able to prepare.” He smiled warmly, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Instead, Duke thanked him and TELEPORTED himself and Ophirian outside the Adventurer’s Guild. Some would say that that was the other shoe dropping.
Ophirian slowly spun around as he took in the city around him, his eyes full of wonder. He marveled at the buildings and the people moving in unrecognizable patterns as his slitted nostrils flared and his tongue tasted the air as well. He stepped away from the building, moving towards the center of the square. Duke followed him closely, concerned as to how Ophirian might react to the civilian population. Will he seek to learn, or will he seek to hunt?
The man-serpent continued to observe everything around him for a solid five minutes before he said anything. When he spoke, the wonder was evident in his voice, “There are so many people here, and none of them are hunting for prey? How do they survive? I do not understand.”
“Most in this city do not hunt for their food. They do other things like craft armor or weapons or other things people need like furniture or even housing. They sell what they make and buy food with the money. Not everyone is as good of a hunter as you are so they put their energy into things that they are good at that the hunters might not be. It all works together.”
“So, I could buy things that I might need here?”
“You could. Did you save any of the loot you received from your hunting? Coins, gems, or other valuables?”
Ophirian gave Duke a cold, reptilian stare, “You know that I did not. You did not share their value with me. How was I to know such things?”
“Yes, you really don’t know everything, now do you? So maybe, take a step back and realize that you are a powerful hunter, but have no idea how the world really works and tone down the arrogance.”
Ophirian grunted in response which was an odd sound coming from him. Duke suppressed a smile and handed him a small bag. “This contains three minor crystals and a mix of other currency. The crystals are each worth ten thousand gold, so you should have enough money there to buy whatever you need. Go shopping. Sample what food is for sale. Buy some things for yourself. Maybe a weapon you can use in this form. Have fun. Just don’t hurt anybody. If someone wants to fight you, tell them that the king forbade you from fighting.”
“If someone wants to fight, I will end them.”
“No, that is not acceptable here. Do not get into a fight. Am I making myself clear?”
“Yes. No fighting. I hear you.”
“OK, then. Go have fun and learn some things. I’ll find you when I’m done here.”
Ophirian hurried off, apparently following an enticing scent. Duke watched him leave with a small sense of trepidation. He’s going to be all right. He’s smart, if not worldly. He’ll figure things out. He’s an observer. Yeah. It’ll be fine.
Duke quickly headed into the Adventurer’s Guild and up to Chal’barnah’s office. He knocked on the door as no one had stopped him on the way. To his surprise, rather than a welcome to come in, the door opened revealing the Guildmaster fully armed and armored. She pulled up short when she saw Duke.
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“Your Majesty! This is unexpected.” She stepped back into the office to allow him to come in.
“You seem to be in a hurry to get somewhere. Is everything alright?”
“Oh, yes. A new level has been discovered in the dungeon and I was heading out to test it out for myself.”
“I see. Then what I have to tell you might be of interest. There is an entire cavern complex in the mountains that has all sorts of higher-Tier giant monsters in it.”
She stopped completely, sitting down on her desk, “A new dungeon?”
“Exactly. Would you like me to show you to the entrance?”
“Did you really think you had to ask that question, Your Majesty? Of course!”
“Then meet me in front of the Guildhall in fifteen minutes. Gather whatever team you think you’ll need. Remember that you will be dealing with giants and gigantic creatures so be prepared.”
She nodded and Duke TELEPORTED back to the cavern system. Now, to make an entrance. Probably should have done this before we left but oh well. No time like the present. Duke focused his DUNGEON MANIPULATION and started making tunnel back to the surface. He made it long and gently sloping but kept it on the narrower side so that none of the giant creatures would be able to use it, at least not easily. The tunnel formed quickly as he focused on his Ability, much quicker than he had expected. I know that I ignored countless notifications of Ability increases while I was concentrating. Could this Ability have ranked up? He took a look at his Abilities and noticed some welcome changes.
His DUNGEON MANIPULATION had increased to Adept 7 while his DUNGEON CORE CREATION had increased to Adept 92. His RUNESCRIPTING had Pushed all the way up to Practiced 77. He was disappointed to see that his Runescript Knowledge had only ticked up to Initiate 18 which he figured was due to him only working on a singe set of runescript for so long. Still, it was tremendous progress and increased his confidence in his Contest strategy. Having his DUNGEON MANIPULATION at Master would have been the best for his strategy but that was a long way off.
The tunnel finally connected with the surface and Duke created an ornate entrance area complete with a grand arch and a set of thick wooden doors banded with titanium. He placed a trio of heavy bars across the door. Nobody is getting in there without some effort. If you can’t remove the bars and open the doors that lean into the entrance, then you have no business going into this dungeon. He tested the weight of everything and found it to be easy for him to move but he realized that was a poor gauge. Guess I’ll just have them test it and see.
Duke arrived in front of the Adventurer’s Guild to find a party of ten individuals waiting for him, led, of course, by Chal'barnah. She offered him a warm smile and the rest offered him bows. They were as mismatched a group as you could find which struck Duke as the perfect adventuring party. There were five beastkin of varying types, two humans, and a pair of elves. Chal’barnah introduced them all to Duke and he learned that they were the highest-leveled of all the Adventurer’s Guild. They were all under Tier Five, but Chal’barnah was close to breaking through.
“Are you all ready for this? Exploring a new dungeon complex that operates under its own rules and may be different from anything you have experienced before?”
The eager grins told Duke that the group was as ready as they thought they could be. He met the eyes of each of them before deciding that they seemed ready. He gathered them all around him and TELEPORTED the entire group outside the entrance to the new dungeon complex.
After the commotion of them recovering from the effects of instantaneous transportation Duke pointed out the path back to the city. It was ill-defined and likely treacherous but the group seemed unphased.
“Well, ladies and gentlemen, this is the entrance to the new dungeon. I will tell you that it is filled with giants and giant monsters of countless varieties. The door is barred to keep them from escaping into the wilderness. Please ensure you close it up when you leave.”
The largest of the beastkin, a bearkin, stomped up to the door and went to lift the first bar off it. He strained, his muscles bulging with the effort, but he could only barely budge it. He growled and redoubled his efforts to no further effect. After a full minute of straining his impressive bulk against the bar, he stepped back, “The bar will not move. Is there magic holding it in place?”
The much smaller weaselkin zipped up on top of the bar and ran back and forth before hopping down next to the bearkin. She dropped the four heavy locking pins that were holding the bar in place and smiled, “I win this one Grizz.” Chuckles spread through the group.
Grizz offered up a half-hearted growl before he returned to lift the bar off and place it to the side. He looked pointed at the weaselkin, “Laureth, would you kindly check the other bars for locking mechanisms?”
“Why, I would be glad to.” She set to work as they watched, easily unlocking each of the remaining two bars. She, once again, hopped down and placed the locking pins at Grizz’s feet, “If you would be so kind as to remove these bars, we can get started.”
Grizz stepped up and lifted each of the remaining bars with a small effort. He showed no outward signs of effort, making it look like he was picking up toys, but Duke’s XENOGLOSSIA picked up on the subtle signs of strain that crossed his features. Still, he was satisfied that this group had want it would take to challenge this dungeon.
“Before you go in, know this: This dungeon complex is untamed and uncurated. There are no safety nets. You could very well die in here so, if things seem beyond your abilities, leave. Don’t press beyond your limits. At least not until you are familiar with the place. Expect ambushes, traps, and powerful creatures. That said, I wish you the best of luck. May your adventures be profitable!”
They cheered briefly, gave Duke a bow, and sobered up. Once they all had run through a final check of each other’s gear, they passed through the door and into the dungeon. Duke offered then silent encouragement and, after waiting for a few minutes, headed back to the city. He had a companion to collect.