Chapter 8
The Dungeon Dive
The trio stood over the hole in the ground that was the current dungeon entrance. Jorn had tied the roots to the side to keep the entrance open.
“So, what's the plan?” Byron asked.
“Well, the first room likely has goblins in it since they dragged you off after you fell in last time.” Gen peered into the dark hole.
“Well, I noticed they had food roasting over the fire in the second room. Do you think they wait for animals to fall in the pit and drag it back to the second room and eat it?” Jorn asked
“That sort of activity would help the dungeon grow,” Gen answered, And it is a good tactic for a young dungeon that isn't ready for real visitors. That may mean it doesn't have a fully developed layout or monster population. Though she couldn't tell that to Jorn. Having him along was a good idea for the dive but made educating Byron more difficult. She had already reminded Byron to leave any of his keeper questions till later. So for now he was silent.
Jorn continued his thoughts, “So we can drop down and get ambushed by however many goblins are in the first room… or I could drop an animal down there and let the goblins drag it off so we can enter the first room unmolested.”
“Clever.” Gen nodded. “I like it.”
“Then, I'll be back.”
A short time later Gen saw Jorn approaching, carrying a large bird over his shoulder. He walked up to the hole and dropped it in.
“What kind of bird was that?” Byron asked as he looked down the hole.
Jorn smirked “Dire Pheasant, they are common around here. But their size makes them completely flightless, unlike the regular variety. It makes them easier to hunt.” He looked from the hole to Byron. “But don’t get too close, they have very large talons and can sever an arm with a single bite.”
“Do you think it could kill a goblin?” Gen asked
“Oh yes. Probably several, if the goblins don’t use ranged weapons.” As they looked down the hole the large mound at the bottom of the hole began to shift and slide deeper into the darkness. “I say we give it a few minutes and then we can go down.”
While they waited, Byron tied off a rope on a nearby tree and checked over his equipment. 5 daggers were strapped on his banded leather cuirass for ease of access, His longsword sword rested in the sword frog at his hip and a small buckler was strapped to his left arm leaving his off-hand open.
“Are you strong enough to wield that sword?” Jorn asked Byron. “It looks fairly big for a young man.”
Byron looked up at the question “Yes I can. I've trained with it extensively. Even before I was old enough to gain experience and skill levels.” If the question offended him Byron didn't show it.
“I've seen him use it.” Gen smiled at the two of them. “I have no doubts he will perform admirably. I think we can go down now. Gen cast her light spell summoning 3 glowing stones and dropping them down the hole as Jorn took the rope and slid down.
Once they reached the entry room floor they each grabbed one of the stones. Jorn tied his light stone to a leather cord hanging around his neck. This left his hands free as he knocked an arrow to his bow. He nodded when he was fully prepared.
Byron nodded back his sword drawn and his light stone in his off-hand held up to cast light farther. The three began slowly creeping down the tunnel to the second room. Like last time the glow of a fire lit the room and three goblins were sitting around it. But this time the pheasant was being plucked and tied to the spit.
Gen whispered to the group, “Just the 3 of them. We can probably rush them while they are distracted.”
Jorn nodded “I’ll hit the far one. Byron, you want the closest?”
“Sounds like a plan. I’ll run in then you two follow up.” Byron readied his shield in front and counted quietly. “One, two… three.” and with the last word he took off leading with his shield. As he crossed the distance Jorn and Gen Stepped out of the tunnel and took aim.
The goblins looked up at the sound of heavy footfalls quickly approaching. But that wasn’t enough warning to save the nearest goblin from Byron. Bashing his shield into the face of the goblin, Byron bowled the goblin back several steps staggering the creature causing it to trip over the logs used as stools landing on its back.
Byron strikes Goblin 1 for 5 Damage.
Goblin 1 is knocked Prone.
The other two goblins made moves to step around the firepit surrounding the young swordsman. As they approached Jorn and Gen let loose. An arrow sprouted from the leg of the farthest goblin and a kinetic energy orb the size of a fist cracked into the shoulder of the other.
Jorn shoots Goblin 2 for 8 Damage.
Gen strikes Goblin 3 for 10 Damage.
Ignoring the danger of the goblins on either side of him Byron dropped his light stone and grabbed his sword in two hands and swung it down in a powerful arc burying the blade deep into the chest of the goblin.
Byron Strikes Goblin 1 for 20 Damage.
Goblin 1 is dead.
As Byron attempted to extract his blade, the goblin with the mottled bruise on his arm stepped forward and clawed at him managing to dig its claws through the vambrace on Byron’s forearm. With a grunt of pain Byron let go of his sword and slid two daggers from his chest stepping back from his attacker, the blades held out in a warding gesture.
Goblin 3 Strikes Byron for 5 Damage.
Gen wasn’t idle while Byron fought. She cast twice more once with each hand. Sending the golden yellow spheres of energy hurtling at the goblin that dared harm her apprentice. The first grazed the goblin's thigh but the second lodged itself under the goblin's chin, choking off the snarl directed at the boy.
Gen strikes Goblin 3 for 12 (3+9) Damage.
With eyes bulging from the magical throat punch the goblin backed up a step and Byron threw one of the daggers landing it in the goblin’s eye, Jelly and brain matter sprayed forth from the would and the goblin dropped to the ground.
Byron Strikes Goblin 3 for 10 Damage.
Goblin 3 is dead.
Goblin 2 is dead.
Turning from that foe he looked for the last goblin. It resembled a pincushion, arrows sticking out at many angles. Looking over at Jorn and gesturing to the last goblin, Byron asked the obvious “Was all that necessary?”
Sheepishly Jorn grinned “I… not strictly, no. But he got back up and I wanted to see how fast this new bow would let me fire.” Gen and Byron both stared at him with blank expressions blinking. “Ahem… it was very fast. Now that I’m done, testing is over, I'll just go retrieve my arrows.”
Chuckling Gen moved to the other goblins to retrieve any items dropped by the dungeon. “Drink one of your potions Byron and then we can move to the next room.”
“There is a problem with that,” Byron replied
“What problem? I told you to bring all the potions you were able to make.”
“Not that,” Byron pointed to the end of the cavern as he pulled a flask from his bag. “There are two more tunnels at the end of this room. Which one do we take?”
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“Well I've always heard that ‘good adventurers always go left.’” Gen replied as she took the herbs from the Goblins. “Though I think that is in reference to labyrinth-style dungeons.”
Jorn laughed. “Well, no one ever said we were good adventurers. Let’s go right. We will need to go down all the paths in any case, correct?”
“Yes that's true, might as well go right now, so we won't have to backtrack later… if the saying is true.”
Byron shrugged “Ok. Did any of the goblins have anything good on them?”
“Some healing herbs but we won't get anything really good from this dungeon,” Gen answered.
The group proceeded down the right tunnel and shortly reached the next room. Silently they surveyed the situation.
A small room with a pool of water sat in the corner. A small trickle of water gently flowed from the ceiling down the wall and into the pond. There were no other exits and no goblins or other monsters to be seen.
“Either the room is empty which sometimes happens or something is hidden in here. We can probably skip this room.” Gen muttered to the others.
Back the way they came, Gen led the way through the firepit room and to the entrance of the left tunnel. This tunnel was long and straight disappearing into the darkness “This looks much more promising but a long hall likely means traps.” Gen frowned.
“Then I will lead the way,” Jorn moved to the front of the group. “I have experience with snares and other traps.”
They slowly moved down the tunnel Jorn a few steps in front of the others. About halfway he stopped and crouched. Waving everyone forward he pointed to a spot on the ground. “I’m not sure what this will do, but that it is certainly some sort of trap.” The spot looked similar to the rest of the floor at a glance but now that it was pointed out Gen could see it was slightly higher than the ground around it and took up a two square foot area of the tunnel. Skirting to the side would allow them to avoid the area and continue onward.
Creeping forward it took at least 20 minutes to get down the tunnel. At the end stood a large door made from roots and leaves.
“Well, you don't often see a door in a cave.” Jorn joked.
“It's fairly common for the boss room to be blocked off,” Byron said. Jorn raised an eyebrow at the comment. “I may be just an apprentice, but I am not completely ignorant. I would hear the adventurers talk at my parent’s dungeon.
Gen nodded confirming Byron was correct. “But for now we need to open this door. Before that, we need to talk strategy. Once the door is opened we will likely lose any form of surprise. Behind the door, the two most likely scenarios are 1 giant monster or a hoard of little ones possibly led by a slightly stronger monster.”
“The adventurers at my parent’s dungeon would talk about big monsters.” Byron supplied. “They would recommend the ranged attackers and spellcasters separate while the melee fighters tried to keep it busy.”
“So when the door opens, if it's 1 big monster I can go left, Gen can go to the right and you charge forward?” Gen thought for a moment. “Yes, but if it's a hoard of monsters we will need to stick together. Byron and I can be a front line and you fire over our heads. If we can keep the door to our backs they won’t be able to surround us and any number advantage the monsters have will be limited.”
“Ok, then I’ll go in first followed by Gen. If I run forward you will know what to do before you even get through the door.” Byron stepped up to the door. Looking at the others they all nodded prepared for the battle ahead. Byron pushed the door open with his shield arm and stepped into the boss room.
The room Byron entered was massive. Without realizing it the halls they moved through must have sloped downward. This allowed the dungeon to carve a tall round cave over 40’ tall and about twice as wide across. In the center of the room were not one but two burly-looking goblin-like creatures. Both had the loincloth and claw-like nails of the other goblins but these had grey and brown mottled skin. They were 7’ tall when slouching, one had its hand around a club the size of a small tree. The other was sitting on a pile of rocks as if it was a throne. Both appeared to have noticed the door open and were glaring at Byron as if they could immolate him with their eyes.
Mountain Goblin Basher Level 3
Mountain Goblin Hurler Level 3
“SHIT!” Byron screamed “There’s TWO!” and he dashed into the room.
Gen and Jorn quickly followed, confused by his statement. Upon assessing the situation Gen shouted out “Mountain goblins!” Dashing to the right she aimed at the one sitting on the rocks. “They are bigger and tougher, the one in the rear will throw those rocks at us. Jorn, take it down first!” and with that, she fired her energy bolt at the stone-throwing goblin. The goblin on its butt made an easy target: the kinetic energy bolt smacked into the goblin's face snapping its neck backward. Unfortunately, this wasn’t as effective as Gen was hoping and the damage only seemed to annoy the creature.
Gen Strikes Mountain Goblin Hurler for 8 Damage.
As the goblin scooped up several rocks in one oversized fist Jorn began peppering it with arrows. The first arrow glanced off its rocky hide but the second stuck fast under the softer area of the underarm and threw off the stone thrower’s aim. The rocks it threw went wide, missing Gen completely and slamming into the wall with a crash, cracking the stones to pieces.
Jorn Shoots Mountain Goblin Hurler for 15 Damage.
Seeing that she was the main target of the stones Gen quickly cast shield of force.
While Gen and Jorn concentrated on the Stone thrower. Byron had his hands full just staying out of the way of the other goblin’s club. When he had charged in he slammed into the leg of the Goblin hoping to trip it up. But being so much larger and apparently made of rocks the goblin wasn't going anywhere it didn't want to go and Byron bounced off the leg. Luckily he caught himself before he fell over and was able to ready himself to dodge the counter swing of the club. Thankfully the rocky armor-like skin that made the goblins impossible to knock over also made them incredibly slow. The goblin practically hand-wrote a letter to Byron letting him know the club would be coming down toward his head, once the creature finished raising it upward. Grabbing the club in two hands the goblin swung the club downward. If Byron was a log and the goblin a lumberjack, Byron would certainly have been split in one blow.
Sidestepping the club, Byron punched out with his shield into the back of the goblin's forearm. It was a glancing blow, but Byron felt every bit of damage was going to matter in this fight till he could get some support from the others.
Byron Strikes Mountain Goblin Basher for 2 Damage.
As the club bounced off the floor Byron stabbed forward with his sword at the softer skin near the groin. Softer was a relative term and the blade only sunk in enough to draw blood before stopping. Even though the cut was shallow the hulking thing screamed with pain and rage. Proving without a doubt the area was as sensitive to the Goblin as it was to all creatures.
Byron Strikes Mountain Goblin for 8 Damage.
Without a backswing, the Goblin drove the club sideways at Byron slamming into him and sending him sprawling. Without time or space to pick up momentum, the blow had a fraction of the power it could have. That and his armor are what kept Byron from being much more than bruised.
Mountain Goblin strikes Byron for 8 Damage.
Gen watched as Byron rolled across the ground. Smartly he kept rolling to give himself distance from the club-wielding devastation machine. Redoubling her efforts to take down the Goblin Hurler, she fired off one more energy bolt from each hand. Her strikes both landed on the goblin’s chest cracking the hard skin. Grunting with pain the goblin reached for more stones. The motion flaked off chunks of the tough skin exposing patches of soft grey flesh.
Gen Strikes Mountain Goblin Hurler for 17 (8+9) Damage.
Even with the cracked skin, the hurler was able to let fly the stones he had readied. The scattered stones landed and bounced across the ground slamming into Gen’s left side. Even with her magic shield, Gen was sent sprawling on the ground luckily the other stones bounced across where she had been standing.
Mountain Goblin Hurler strikes Gen for 12 Damage.
Gen is Knocked Prone.
With sharp eyes Jorn quickly took advantage, aiming for the weakened area. Drawing a breath and releasing the arrow as he exhaled, Jorn activated a special bow technique: Precise shot. Allowing him to slow his rate of fire for increased accuracy Jorn planted the arrow exactly where he needed it. Buried deep in the chest of the goblin puncturing the heart the beast dropped the stones he was lifting and fell joining its ammunition on the floor.
Jorn Shoots Mountain Goblin Hurler for 35 Damage.
Mountain Goblin Hurler is Dead.
With the Hurler down, Gen rolled to her feet and turned to the Goblin Basher and readied another spell. Seeing Byron had gotten to his feet and was charging back at the monster, she held off, waiting to see where her line of fire would be once the two joined in battle again.
Byron ran at the goblin blade held in both hands trailing behind him he prepared to dodge again. The goblin was winding up his club to meet the boy with a fully powered sideways swing. As the club came at him, Byron jumped clearing the club by inches, he swung his sword forward in an arc towards the goblin’s neck. But his aim was off. The blade sunk into the hard skin on the goblin’s forehead, leaving a gash across the face but not penetrating to the skull beneath. Grey-green blood ran down the goblin’s face as it screamed in pain.
Byron strikes Mountain Goblin Basher for 10 Damage.
As Byron landed he was crouched low, both Jorn and Gen fired into the creature. Gen’s spell cracked into the goblin’s leg, twisting its knee at an awkward angle. Jorn threaded an arrow through one of the monster’s eyes.
Jorn Shoots Mountain Goblin Basher for 30 Damage.
Gen Strikes Mountain Goblin Basher for 12 Damage.
Mountain Goblin Basher is Lamed. -25% Movement speed.
But even half-blinded, covered in blood, and limping the creature wasn't quite out of the fight. He took his club and threw it sideways across the room at Jorn. It spun through the air and struck the hunter at an awkward angle throwing him sideways to the ground. Jorn lay limp and didn’t move.
Mountain Goblin Basher strikes Jorn for 33 Damage.
Jorn is Incapacitated.
“Bastard!” Screamed Byron as he thrust his sword up with two hands at the creature. The tip bit into the softer skin under the goblins chin. Putting all his strength into the blow, the blade slid deep into the head. As the sword stopped moving the goblin began to twitch and then stilled.
Mountain Goblin Basher is Dead.
Looking over to Jorn, Byron saw Gen feeding him a potion. Glad the archer wasn't dead Byron shuffled wearily over to them. He too took a healing potion, then laid down on the ground next to Jorn allowing the slow healing to mend his bruised and battered body. He softly whimpered when a finger bone he hadn’t known was broken shifted back into place.