As they left the boss room, Lance got a message.
As one, the party glowed and groans of pleasure could be heard all around. As Lance finished his leveling-up process, he was faced with the final skill choice of the starter area.
[1. Climb - Scale walls and cliffs significantly easier.]
[2. Environmental Resistance - You may choose one element and increase your resistance to damage from that element for one minute. The length of time and level of resistance will increase with experience using this skill.]
[3. Martial Dagger - Integrate the ability to use your dagger into your martial arts ability.]
[4. Shadow Step - Move immediately from one shadow to another within 20 feet. The distance will increase with experience using this skill.]
He had been offered two of the choices at Level 5, and neither of them interested him a great deal this time.
"Cletus."
"Yes, boss?"
"Does Environmental Resistance mean if I choose water I will be increasing my resistance to cold? If I choose air, would I be somewhat immune to Sparky's lightning spells?"
"Yup, that is exactly what it means," the raccoon replied. "The resistance is pretty good to start with and gets awesome with use."
"Okay then. Does Shadow Step mean I can teleport between shadows?" Lance asked.
"Correct," Cletus replied.
Lance considered for a moment, but in the end, made the only logical choice.
He stepped over to a shadowed area, an easy thing considering they were underground and activated the skill to teleport him to another corner of the room that was deep in shadow. The process was highly disorienting, but it worked exactly as advertised. Lance glanced at his Stamina bar and noticed this consumed a pretty good chunk, maybe 20% of his total.
After he was finished, Lance looked around. Apparently, everyone was waiting for him. He walked toward them and said, "Hey guys, anyone find it strange that we have completed this dungeon, and there is not even one hint of why this was so important to the wraith and Borgakh?"
"True," Sparky said thoughtfully. "Let's keep our eyes open and shift our extra points to Wisdom."
There was nothing to be found in the disco room. Thankfully, the obstacle course room now had a broad walkway that bypassed each of the obstacles, but a thorough search of that room also revealed nothing.
Returning to the room with the flint goblins, Polly immediately shouted, "There it is, on the back wall."
They had been so focused on moving forward that none of them had turned around to look at the wall that had been behind them while they were fighting.
As they approached, the door became visible to the whole party, an archway drawn in light. By the time they stood before it, they could all see the "magic" words emblazoned on the portal, which Lance translated as, "Key and then pay."
A quick search of the door revealed an irregularly shaped hole. When Lance placed the crystal key he had found in the box into the hole it fit perfectly. As he did six vertical slots appeared, evenly spaced across the door. Each slot had a stylized symbol of a dragon about the size of a coin above it.
"Pay what?" Polly asked.
"I am guessing a platinum for each of us. Even if we had the key, we would have needed to finish the dungeon to have the coin to enter here," Lucinda noted.
Lance summoned the coin he had earned after the boss fight and examined it. The coin had a set of balances, like the scales of justice, on one side and a dragon image on the other side. "Not just any platinum coin," he said. "Look at the coin you earned in the fight."
Sparky looked regretfully at the shiny coin in his hand. "Oh, what fun we would have had together!" He pushed his piece of platinum into the slot and the door brightened.
The other party members also looked at their coins, noting the same things Lance had, and then inserted their coins as well. When all were placed, the door flashed once and disappeared. Laying on the ground where the door had been, were six platinum coins.
"Nice!" Sparky said as he scooped up his treasure again, hugging it to his chest.
Each player picked up their coin. Straightening up, they found a glowing portal before them.
Lance looked around, “Anyone not going in?”
As one they shook their heads. “Okay then here we go.”
As they stepped through, a hallway appeared in front of them, and they could see it ended in a large circular chamber. At the center of that chamber, a large, red-scaled serpent sat atop a pile of treasure, one eye peering down the corridor at the party.
"I am getting a bad feeling, guys," Lance said. And he literally was, his extreme danger warning for high-level creatures was screaming at him.
"I am as well," Lucinda replied. "This is not a fight we can win."
As if in response, the portal closed behind them with an audible whump.
Lance thought for a moment, then took a step forward. "Mr. Dragon?"
The serpent's gaze sharpened, and it replied in ancient Greek. "I am sorry, but we can not communicate."
Lance, amazed, spoke falteringly, not having had a great deal of practice speaking Greek. "I can understand you, but I have a small number of words."
The beast pulled back enough for Lance to see the nameplate over its head.
"You speak in the magical tongue, human? How is this?"
Lance felt the pressure from the creature diminish to a low hum. Emboldened he said, "That is not important. A creature of spirit, a dark creature, was conspiring with some goblins to come to this place. Do you know what it desired?"
"Ah, they try again it would seem. Every year or so, one of the Φάντασμα seeks to come here to destroy me. Sometimes, ignorant fools come instead and attack me in greed. I defend myself.” He moved one of his claws over his mound of treasure and gold. “They leave me these."
"How could a Φάντασμα," Lance said, guessing this meant wraith, "destroy one as mighty as you are?"
The dragon’s eyes began to glow as it tensed. "Is this a new ruse?"
The pressure from the creature intensified even as Lance perceived this was going badly, so he threw his hands in the air in the sign of surrender. The other party members followed suit. "Please wait," he said. "We have no intention to bring you any harm. How can we show this to you?"
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The dragon relaxed slightly. "The sword on your belt; remove it and kick it toward me."
Lance complied, the pressure again falling.
"What's he saying, Lance?" Sparky hissed.
Lance waved him back.
The dragon visibly relaxed. "You did not know what you had in your possession? Amazing." The dragon switched to speaking English. "Please take a seat, all of you."
Looking behind them, the party noticed a simple stone bench on the wall behind them where the portal had been. They all took a seat.
The dragon continued, "This world, the one you call Fantasy Mainline, is ancient. Likely you see it as only a few days old, but those of us who live here have thousands of years of memories. We watched as mountain ranges were formed by the waring of the Titans; seas suddenly appeared as immense cave networks collapsed below. There is history here, a history filled with conflict and deceit. The sword laying between us is one of the deepest deceits, truly evil.
"My lady, Draxar the Goddess of Balance, once had a pact with Dajixian the God of Unrestrained Desire. They found each other tolerable and worked together for common ends. But ultimately Dajixian was bound to break their agreement. My lady knew that but did not guess how deep the betrayal would go.
"Fifty years ago, Dajixian asked Draxar for a drop of her blood and told her it would be used in conjunction with a drop of his blood to complete a work they had spent millennia working on. She gave it, not knowing that he would be willing to sacrifice the work of a thousand years to achieve his new goal: the eradication of the great dragons.
"Thus the dragon blades were forged; each with the power to destroy one of the ancient wyrms of the realm. This is the goal of Dajixian and the wraiths. And the weapon you brought into my presence is one of those blades- I assume the one meant for me.
"May I take the blade?" The dragon addressed Lance directly now. "They may only be taken in fair combat, or willingly given, and you would be wise to avoid combat with me."
Lance could think of nothing he desired more than to stay alive, so he offered the sword to the dragon.
The dragon smiled. The blade slid across the floor and into its awaiting claws. It pulled the sword from the scabbard about an inch, hissed violently, and slammed the blade back into its sheath.
"I will return this to my lady, and she will destroy it."
The dragon eyed the party. "You have given up great power by giving me this blade. Even against a normal foe, it is mighty." The beast seemed to consider something for a moment. "My lady demands balance, so I owe you a boon. But instead of giving you another of the great swords, I think it better to arm you all and then ask yet another boon. What is your name, thief?"
Lance fervently hoped that knowing names did not give power over someone, but then considered the nameplate over his head. "My name is Lance, sir."
"Hmm," the dragon rumbled, "respectful too." The dragon closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them.
"First, gear for you and your party. Then a quest."
"For you, Lance." The dragon pulled a short sword out of his immense pile of loot. “A weapon that will give you more of the power you already had.” The sword slid along the corridor, moved by some unseen force, and stopped an inch from Lance's feet.
Lance picked up the blade and found it had an almost ethereal feel. As he drew the blade, he noticed his visage faded. His cloak already made him somewhat invisible, this only increased that effect.
A small coin levitated down the corridor and landed at Lucinda's feet. She picked up the bauble and sighed in satisfaction. "I got a token of weapon specialization. I am going to be able to use that awesome bow I got fighting the Wraith."
A tower shield, large enough for a man to fully hide behind, slid to a stop at Grog's feet.
The dragon looked at him. "Interesting to find an Orc in this party, but we all have our secrets. As for the shield, strap it on and imagine a different kind of shield."
Grog did as instructed, and suddenly there was a small buckler on his arm. Then a round shield with a spike in the center. Then the shield returned to the tower shield shape. Grog's face split into a huge, toothy smile.
The next item was curious, to say the least. It was a mask that covered the eyes, kind of like the one the Lone Ranger wore, but a creme color instead of black. It looked like something a thief would wear, but both of them already had their items. It settled at Polly's feet.
She picked it up and put it on. As she did, it seemed to melt into her face.
Polly looked around and sighed in wonderment.
"You have a difficult task, healer. I believe that a better view of your environment would be useful."
She nodded. "Yes, this will be fine."
A cape wriggled out of the pile behind the dragon, and as it moved down the corridor, it looked as if it were worn by an invisible man. Caisin grabbed it out of the air as it approached. As he put it on, it seemed to still have a life of its own.
"And finally," the dragon said as a wand floated down the corridor toward Sparky, "it is hard to believe that you have not yet found a wand. We will make up for that by giving you a good one."
Sparky reverently held his hands cupped with his palms up, and the wand landed neatly in them. He spoke in reverent tones, "This wand will allow me to store up a bolt. This means that I can charge it using all my mana between battles, and I will have a huge bolt to open the fight. Also, during a battle, if I take more time in casting my bolts, I can get bigger ones. Ooh, I could just hug you, mister dragon."
The huge beast smiled, an expression more of satisfaction than kindness or gentleness.
Lance did not find the smile easy to look at. Even though the dragon claimed to be friendly, Lance couldn't help but feel like prey or a pawn in some larger game.
"Now that this is done," the dragon said, "I will give you a mission, and if you complete it and return, then I will owe you a favor and give you some treasures. It is a good thing to have a dragon in your debt."
Lance nodded, so the dragon continued.
"The portal you have entered through has brought you from the Husar Valley. There is an encampment of goblins a little to the south of the canyon you came in through. Here, let me show you."
Lance's map appeared in his HUD, and an area that he had not yet explored expanded in vivid detail. A dot appeared in one of the many canyons that stretched back into the mountain range surrounding the starter area.
"You will not be able to defeat all of the goblins, but the one that keeps getting involved with the wraiths is their shaman. If you kill that vile being and take his staff, you will be able to gain entrance with it to the home of the wraiths."
"Once you pass the wraiths’ gate, you will be able to enter their home. Once there, you can find their temple."
As the Dragon spoke, Lance's map updated with detailed overhead views of each area. Red dots punctuated each mentioned location.
"The temple will be guarded, but if you can handle this dungeon and have any wisdom, then I assume you can handle that location as well. Inside the temple is a box at the very back of the main hall. I want you to destroy that box and everything inside, save one item you may keep for yourself."
"May I ask what is inside the box?"
"Certainly," the dragon replied. "Inside the box is their book of prophecies. All lies and foolishness, but a reading from one of the passages in that book sends the wraiths my way year by year. Even without this sword, I fear that they will continue to come. I would like a little more rest."
"Give me a moment to speak with my friends."
The dragon nodded.
The party put their heads together, and in the end, they all thought taking the dragon's quest would be interesting and worth their time. But the thought also arose that if the dragon worshiped the goddess of balance, it may be worthwhile letting the wyrm know the state of things in the valley.
Lance turned back to the dragon. "We accept, sir. But we would also like to share some of the things that we have been involved in. You may be interested, given your desire to seek balance."
The dragon considered for a moment and then shrugged his immense wings, indicating Lance could continue.
Lance explained his entry into the world, his fight in the valley, his seeing Borgakh with the wraith outside the valley, and the priestess' plan to ruin the balance in the valley.
As Lance spoke, the dragon seemed to be eyeing him lazily as he snuggled deeper into his treasure pile. However, as Borgakh was introduced into the story, and much more so when her plan to imbalance the world was revealed, the dragon became increasingly attentive. When Lance revealed their plan to kill Borgakh, the dragon fairly jumped off his pile.
As soon as Lance had finished his story, the dragon said, "This is a noble quest you have taken, and a brave one. I don't know if you can accomplish so much at such a low level, but trying is a notable deed. The quest I have given you should bring you to at least level 9 if not 10." The dragon paused, seeming to evaluate the party. "No, you will not be strong enough. You will need help. Remember the boon I promised; my help will make the quest possible, but even then just barely. What you need is the help of my siblings."
The dragon paused for a long moment. "They agree. Black, Green, Blue, White, and Gold. Each of them has responded to me. If you are able to retrieve their swords and bring them to me here, they will each help."
"Where will we find these weapons, sir?" Lance asked meekly. He was still very awed to be in the presence of a dragon.
"If we knew for sure, we would have already pursued their return. Finding one in the possession of the goblins is a surprise. Maybe this is what is intended, and maybe they have more. Also, we have long thought that White's sword may be with the wraiths." The dragon glanced at Sparky before saying, "The elves may hold another, but I doubt they would be willing to give it up so easily. It is a mighty bargaining chip. And the elves are slow to take sides in any battle.
"The dwarves, of course, hold Gold's blade. They assisted in the creation of it, but when they realized what it was, they did not release it. It is held in the deepest recesses of their mines. This one is relatively safe and well beyond your reach."
The dragon winked at the party. "I wish you the best of fortune and give you a final piece of advice. Do not spend those coins. They will save you time and danger when you return to me, and they have other uses as well."
Suddenly, the lights in the corridor went out, and the door opened behind them.