Congratulations! You have encountered a Survival Event! Old Mining Camp Level 2! You have one week to complete the dungeon level. Failure will lock out further attempts for one month and result in destruction of all personal equipment.

The notification appeared before the four of us as we entered the second level of the dungeon. Followed quickly by another one.

You have entered the dungeon as a party! Party interface will be available while in the dungeon. Time penalties for failure increased to four months!

There was a small portrait of each of the party members and corresponding health bars in the right corner of my vision. Marci, Van, Arthur, Rocks and Camile were apparently all included in my party. Pulling up the guide, I checked for references to the party interface.

Party Interface - While exploring a dungeon with a group or the use of certain skills, a party may be formed. Information regarding the current health levels will be displayed as well as each party member marked on the map.

I checked my map and there were five new indicators representing my friends nearby. It was pitch black in the dungeon so I grabbed out the hallowed light lantern stashed in my pack and lit it. We were standing in a long stone hallway that ended in darkness outside of the lanterns reach. Van was standing before me protectively and Marci was riding on my shoulder in her normal spot.

“Is this what happened last time, Syl?” Arthur asked.

“Sort of. The notification is similar but the penalties are much harsher. Level one had the same layout that it does now and the ramp was a safe zone. The ghouls didn’t try to walk up the ramp and I couldn’t fire down into them from it.”

“Rocks, you have the lead with Van followed by Camile and Sylar, I’ll follow as the rearguard. Syl, can you give the lantern to Rocks so he can see the way? Arthur said, taking charge of the moment.

For a moment I felt a strange sense of resentment for the older man taking charge. I was the only one who had been down in a dungeon before and had completed the first level by myself. Why should he be making all the decisions? Did he want me to look bad in front of Camile? Marci gave me a peck to the side of the head and it snapped me out of it, realizing how ridiculous that sounded. Camile was only fifteen years old and Arthur had been nothing but good to me.

Handing the lantern to Rocks and forming up as Arthur suggested, we began to make our way down the hallway. Rocks had his smaller sword drawn and a shield I hadn’t noticed earlier. Camile had her bow ready and carried most of the potions and supplies. I had my bow drawn and ready, spear resting in its holster on my back, dagger at my side. Arthur clanked in his plate armor and would be hard pressed to use his hammer effectively in such a small space.

After fifty feet the tunnel opened out to a large room that the lantern couldn’t fully illuminate. It smelled of dust and decay, this area had been long abandoned. If this dungeon level was accurate to the mine this would likely be the first level to see actual mining. We expected it to be much rougher and less developed as we ventured down.

“You weren’t lying about it being dark down here. Wouldn’t mind having a few more of those lanterns. That needs to be another priority for the crafting hall when we start making upgrades. Let’s follow this wall to the right and try to find the other side of the room.” Arthur was the first to speak. His grating voice echoed off the walls even as he tried to be quiet.

We followed the wall for a dozen or so feet before hearing a clunking sound coming from in front of us just out of reach of the light. Marci was the first to react with her better eyesight and projected danger. She let out a shriek and flared her wings, her usual sign of defiance in the face of trouble. Van grunted and stood beside Rocks, I was glad he didn’t do the normal pounding of the chest and roaring, it would be deafening in this small space.

“Wait for it to show. It has the element of surprise, we stay in the light and stay together.” Arthur said softly from my side while gripping his hammer. He was standing to my left, creating a shield of sorts composed of Van, Rocks and Arthur around Camile and myself. Those feelings of resentment bubbled up again, this time I squashed them and focused on the area directly before us.

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When it finally entered the light it paused at the edge. It was a partially decomposed miner just like the level before. It’s skin missing in patches, muscle and bone showing through. The smell hit a second later and it made my stomach want to revolt. I triggered Identify.

Ghoul - Beast - Common Miner - Level 12 - Health 110/110 - Armor 20 - Old Miner repurposed by the framework. Slow and steady but tough as stone. Warning! Critical wounds will not stop a ghoul unless it physically cannot move!

“Ghoul, just like the first level, this one is level 12. It has 90 health and the description came with a warning saying that critical wounds will not stop it unless it physically can’t attack. We have to kill it or completely dismember it to be safe.” I shared the results of Identify with the party.

There was more scraping and clunking noise coming from behind the ghoul. Noise was starting to come from every direction, this room was filling with the ghouls. We backed up to the wall to protect our backs and got ready to engage. I fired a test arrow at the first ghoul and it took its health down by one fourth, after confirming with Identify. It began to amble forwards as soon as the arrow hit it.

“Arrows work, it will take four or five shots to take this one down.” I relayed.

“How many arrows do we have between you two?” Arthur asked.

“I have 40 between my quiver and carrying case.” I answered, eyes never leaving the ghoul, who now had an arrow sticking out of his stomach.

“40.” Camile answered.

“Not an effective use of resources then. We may need those arrows later, save them for now. We will engage in melee range, we need to prevent them from swarming us. This one is moving slowly but that may not always be the case.” Arthur stated as he strode forward to the ghoul. He hefted his hammer high and slammed it down on the ghouls chest and it took out half its health. He finished it with another hit just as three more stepped in the light.

The next 10 minutes felt like an hour as the ghouls continued to stream in and Arthur, Van, Rocks and I beat them back. My spear did about a third of their health with a good clean hit. It kept getting stuck in the former miners' clothes, bones and guts. Rocks overstepped and tripped, taking several hits before getting back to our line. He had to use one of his health potions early and was waiting for his health to regenerate.

Van was treating it like a game. He alternated beating on his chest and roaring as he devastated the ghouls with his powerful fists. A few times he nearly left the light behind to pursue more ghouls in the darkness. Marci darted in and out striking the ghouls in the eyes. She was frustrated that the ghouls didn’t seem to care about missing eyes.

Camile was using her class to our advantage by giving us encouraging miniature speeches in between bouts of combat. She had gained a new skill after the battle with the first army that was called Inspire. It allowed her to boost our primary stats by 10% for a short period of time. It was hard to notice the difference in real time but it was appreciated.

“I leveled!” Camile whispered out with excitement after we dispatched the most recent ghoul.

“Same! Level 14!” Rocks shared in her excitement.

I was sure that Arthur would have also leveled. He had a serious look on his face as he stared out to the darkness. “Let’s keep moving, that seems to be all of them for now.” He finally said after a minute of silence around us.

Rocks was back in the lead with the lantern as we tried to cross the massive room. We stuck to the same wall we were originally following until we came across the far wall. Taking that to the left revealed a doorway to the next area. It was an uneasy feeling not knowing if there was anything left behind us as we advanced. Marci searched out the darkness with her eyes, she projected safety.

As we crossed the threshold to the next room Camile let out a gasp as the floor before us fell away to reveal the mine in all its glory. A dozen feet before us began a circular stairway that ran around the outside of an absolutely massive hole. The hole was rimmed with lit lanterns, lanterns also dotted the walls above the hole.

The next thing I noticed was a man that dwarfed even Arthur dressed like one of the miners charging at us with a pickaxe. He stopped a few feet away and sized us up for a few moments. I looked around to see there were dozens of miners approaching us, these were not ghouls but living humans, at least it looked like it. They all stopped and half surrounded us in a semicircle.

“The doorway! It’s gone! We’re trapped!” Camile said, the fear obvious in her voice.

I looked behind us to confirm that the doorway was no longer there. There was a solid wall of rock that extended to the ceiling as if it had always been there. I was about to give voice to my panic when the man with the pickaxe spoke.

“Who are you? What are you doing here?”