The Captain could feel the tense air of the group as they entered the grove that held the towering, stone castle of the Dungeon's entrance. And, that was without his perks or abilities giving off their own signs of danger from within its walls. Here and there one could see the glowing eyes of the ants that called it home, and the stories that had been told so far weren't pleasant to recall. Though he felt like they wouldn't be as dangerous, he wouldn't drop his guard either. Generally, dungeons were easier on the higher floors than they were on the deeper ones. That was just basic dungeon logic that all adventurers knew, so if this place was as dangerous as the stories. Then they would likely have to bait monsters out to kill them, and avoid going in until they had a group of level 50's. Only a couple dungeons around the Realm had such high level requirements, but the experience from farming them was well worth it. Except in the case of the Gates of Madness, that dungeon was something else entirely.
"Well, Capt, I don't know about you, but I am getting a bad vibe from that place." Duran said with a flippant tone that the Captain had grown used to in the last couple days. He knew that the man was too nosey about his position and past. On top of all that, Duran had decided to call him by a shortened title, which angered the Captain. Though he had to take a deep breath and just deal with it, ranged magical offense would be important here.
CAUTION!! CAUTION!! You have entered an area of de-stabilized magic. Anomalies might be present.
The sudden sound and message from the System surprised them all. Then, they all looked up into the sky, and then back at the castle.
"Okay, I am just going to say that sounds ominous, and confirms that this place is the source of the tear in the sky." Duran continued, his voice now shaking. Few had heard so much from the System in all their years, and often such times would be stories to tell to their descendants.
"I..I have heard that warning before." One of the guardsmen said, and everyone turned to look at Eric. He seemed to flush for a moment before gathering his will.
"As a soldier I spent some time in Far Reach." He said, and then looked at everyone. The Captain and Duran nodded, understanding coming across their faces while the rest of them looked confused.
"Far Reach is one of the most distant Holdings of Masire, and sits at a place called the End of the World." The Captain explained, "The Realm seems to ripple into something else there, and mages have been working on understanding it for years. I heard there are some weird things that happen there." Every word was truth, and even Duran nodded at his explanation.
"I have been told that it isn't a unique place either, and there is something similar in the Lalogas Kingdom as well." Duran said after him, "Though no one talks about the specifics unless you have worked there before. Even then its usually not a great idea to talk about it to outsiders." His look towards Eric a complex mix of interest and worry. Eric just nodded and gestured with his hands towards the sky and in front of them.
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"The spell they placed on me prevented me from talking unless I was 'in a similar situation and at risk of death', so this counts or I wouldn't have been able to talk." Eric replied to the question in Duran's expression, and the man relaxed.
"Alright, enough with the talking, it's clear that this is more dangerous than we initially believed." The Captain said, and Duran rolled his eyes, "But it is our responsibility to actually survey this place for the kingdom. Even if it is only the first floor, so lets get moving." Taking out his sword and approaching the castle walls. After a moment, he turned his head to see the soldiers following him, but the other three looking surprised.
"Um, Captain, you DO realize that such places usually require a large number of soldiers or at least a well stocked party over 50?" Duran said, his eyes narrow, "That is the official stance on it by the Kingdom Alliance." The Captain shook his head.
"This is not the same situation that is laid out in the Kingdom Alliance Charters, and Dungeons generally make areas far more reliable and stable with their presence. So, we will explore the first floor, and then retreat back to the Holding after finding the way to the second." The Captain was getting annoyed enough to just knock the mage out, tie him to a horse, and send him back that way. At least the other two seemed to have a bright look in their eyes about all this.
"Fine, but I will insist on being in the middle of the group." Duran said, his voice turning steely, "I don't trust a place like this at all, and I will state for the record that I was against this." His words causing the symbol around his neck to glow slightly. The Adventurer's guild medallion would mark those words if something went wrong now. The Captain could do nothing but sigh, and wave his hands.
"Let's get into formation then; Eric, Dan, you will be right behind me. Duran you will be next in line followed by both Marcos and Ragast. Franz you take up the back, and watch out for any unwanted visitors." The party all formed up and nodded their acknowledgement. From there they walked through the solid, brown-red walls of the castle and into the gatehouse. There was no real gate or porticulis here, but they kept glancing up since ants were well known to drop from above. As well as walking light to not fall into a simple borrow or pitfall. Yet, all they got were glimpses of glowing green eyes and strange green swirls on chitinous shells. The ants weren't stealthy but were staying away from them, and that caused them all to glance at the Captain. Monsters could feel the levels of things and if the Captain was really strong they wouldn't attack. It was an unspoken rule of adventuring that you didn't bring high leveled people to a Dungeon because they would scare away the monsters. Duran, at least, had seen this kind of monster reaction before, but he was highly suspicious of it as well. He had seen wild, monstrous ants act clever if they had some kind of command variant or queen nearby.
As they left the gatehouse and entered into the inner ward of the castle they stopped for a moment to get a good look around. Although all made from a single piece of formed stone it looked just like the castles in story books, or the rich nobles in larger cities though this one was larger. Even had a practice range for archery all made from rock, it was a bit eerie to all of them. Then, there was a sound like cracking rock and the slamming of a door. They turned around to find the gatehouse sealed like there was never a tunnel there in the first place. The seamless stone making all of them tense, as glowing, green eyes came out of every door, window, and tunnel in the castle to look upon them. Then, a wall melted away to show into the court or audience chamber where a much larger form rested.
"Welcome...guests." A screeching voice echoed around the stone.
"Well, shit." Duran said, raising his hands to form a spell.