Chapter 144
Floor B1 was a maze of rooms, all empty, and the group passed through them quickly and went down a level to B2. The second basement level was the large room where they had fought the snakelike creature with the hook, line, and candy apple red cutlass – the same mini-boss that M'redith had cut an ear off of by accident. The room seemed somehow smaller without the boss in it.
They moved further down to level B3 which was one big spiral. It was still dimly lit but there wasn't anything really to look at other than further down the hallway. They started on the outside and walked the path until they reached the center. They did not encounter any enemies on the way as there were none left. The absence of spiders made the hallway feel a lot less frightening. The first time through they had to fight their way past, this time, they just walked to the end without pause.
They reached the stairs without incident and descended further to B4 where they had fought the Phasic Arachnid. They walked in to the room that was entirely black, and this time, empty as well.
“Here we are,” M'redith said in an upbeat manner. The uneventful walk downstairs had been almost peaceful and was a nice break from the constant stream of combat they had participated in up until then.
The group followed her over to the trap door, set in to the floor. As everything in the room including the trap door was painted black it would have been easy to miss if they hadn't searched the room for it earlier.
M'redith didn't even have to ask this time, Jay just transitioned straight to searching for any traps on or about the keyhole for the trap door. He could barely see anything as it was but even using just his hands he was unable to find anything out of the ordinary around the keyhole.
“I don't see any triggers. It should be ok.” Jay said as he stepped back with a smile.
He patted various pouches until he found the right one on his vest. He removed the thick brass key from a pouch and pushed it in to the keyhole. It fit perfectly and made a heavy thunk sound when Jay turned the key and the lock disengaged.
Jay turned the key back and removed it. As the key was pulled free the trap door slid open and revealed a staircase leading downwards. Light streamed up from below and it appeared that whatever was down there was better lit than the room they were currently in.
M'redith led the group downstairs and in to what appeared to be a main room with doors spaced evenly apart from each other that lined the walls. The main room they found themselves in was empty. The floors were polished wood and had a warm golden color to them. Orbs spaced evenly along the ceiling provided magical light that covered the space and made the room feel warm and inviting.
“Well, let's start clearing rooms. Unless anyone else has an idea?” M'redith asked hopefully. No one else did. She shrugged and led them to the nearest door. It opened easily and revealed a room stuffed with furniture. The open door lit up the room with plenty of light to see by.
“What are we looking for?” Carly asked before they went any further.
Jay shrugged, “Anything that looks like it could display an armor set? I don't know,” he finished uncertainly.
There was barely room to move there was so much furniture stuffed in to the side room.
“Maybe we don't have to search for it,” M'redith said as she had an idea.
“Why not?” Jay asked curiously as the others listened in to their conversation.
“Well if something is for a quest then it usually glows blue for you, right?” M'redith asked seriously.
Jay nodded, “Most of the time, yes. The armor that we had to collect didn't glow blue though. I don't know if things we are supposed to collect will glow.”
M'redith shrugged with a smile, “Worth a shot, right?”
Jay nodded, “I mean, yes, but how long would it really take us if we went through it manually ourselves?”
M'redith walked over to the next door along the wall. She opened it and revealed another room, just like the last, filled with completely different furniture. No two were alike. Moving back to Jay and then further to the door on his other side she opened that as well.
More furniture.
“Hey Aiden, how many doors you see?” Norri asked with a teasing grin.
Aiden blinked and counted before pausing. “Is this a trick question?” He nervously counted one more time, now unsure of himself. “Twelve? Four on the each of the two side walls and then three at the front and back of the room.”
Norri didn't reply for a moment, “Er... shouldn't that be 14?”
Aiden blushed, “Right. Fourteen, my bad.”
Carly smiled but didn't laugh. Everyone made mistakes.
Jay got Norri's point. Fourteen rooms, each packed full of furniture. There was no way they would be able to go through it all and search every item, there were just too many. They would need days, and more food and water than they had packed.
Jay didn't think that it was meant to take days though. The more he thought about it the more sense M'redith's idea made. Why wouldn't the item glow blue?
“Ok, great idea M'redith. And great point Norri. So how do you want to do this?” Jay finally asked.
Norri leaned to the side to get a better view in to the room. “Well, the rooms aren't internally lit – they're just dark rooms full of furniture.”
Carly nodded. It would be a pain trying to search those dark rooms by torchlight or lamp light.
“I think we should shut Jay inside the rooms in the dark one at a time.” Norri finally said while tapping her lips with one finger. “That way if something glows blue not only will you see it, it'll be the only thing you can see.” Norri finished.
“Not loving the idea of being trapped in pitch black rooms stuffed to the ceilings with furniture,” Jay admitted as M'redith motioned him towards the door. “What if there's a monster in there!” he asked.
“Use your staff!” Norri answered while giggling.
“I won't be able to see!” Jay exclaimed.
“Wouldn't the monster have attacked by now? We've had the door open a few minutes and nothing has made a sound in there.” Aiden offered helpfully.
Jay sighed. He was going to have to spend some time alone in the dark, there just wasn't a better alternative at the moment. Jay tried one last time to think of a faster way of finding what they needed but eventually gave up. It was a good idea. There were just a few rough spots to the plan, that was all.
He finally allowed himself to be convinced and walked in to the dark room. There was a narrow path across the floor that was not taken up by hazardously stacked furniture and he used it to walk to the center of the room and then stopped. He didn't have a choice, there was no more clear space to move.
They did check each room before they sent him in, but with each room so stuffed full of furniture there wasn't a lot of searching anyone could reasonably do.
His friends waved to him with smiles as M'redith shut the door behind him. Now in darkness Jay could see nothing except for a narrow line of light that bled in from under the closed door.
“How's it look?” Aiden called to him from the other side of the door.
Jay shrugged in the darkness. The air felt somehow cooler in the storage room. “Dark?” he replied.
He could hear Norri giggling from the other side of the door as he turned in a circle and examined the entire room as he searched for anything glowing blue.
“Nothing in here!” he called out and half a second later M'redith pulled open the door. Jay was momentarily blinded by the bright light and raised a hand to shade his eyes as he left the room.
He turned once he was out of the room and looked in again. He could clearly make out tables and chairs and desks and footstools and furniture of every possible description. All useless to him.
“You know,” he said thoughtfully, “if we had a magical bag that could hold large objects we could furnish an entire house with all the furniture in here.”
M'redith nodded, “And that is just one room out of fourteen!”
Jay felt a little bad about leaving such nice furniture behind but he had no way of taking any of it with him. Nor did he have a home to display any furniture in. Jay filed the thought away for future use, should the need for it ever arise.
“Next!” M'redith said cheerfully as the group moved to the next door. Again Jay was locked inside and again he was alone in the dark with nothing to see around him.
This pattern continued for some time until they had gone through 8 out of the 14 rooms. It was boring but at least not dangerous. All Jay had to do was stand in the dark and look for anything that glowed blue. It was however tiring, spending so much time looking and finding nothing.
“Break time. I need a moment.” Jay said as he pulled a canteen out of his pack and took a drink.
M'redith snaked an arm around him while he did so. “Hey, Jay? You mind doing some aura cleanings? We're all a bit of a mess and it'd be nice to feel clean again.”
Jay slapped his forehead with one hand. “Right! Sorry, I completely forgot. Let's get all that blood off you guys,” he said as he turned on his Tropical Island Aura. The group all took turns standing next to Jay until they had been completely cleaned. Their armor and personal appearances improved dramatically thanks to Jay's aura.
Finally he turned the aura off and smiled. The group was no longer covered in fluids, blood, and grime but instead practically glowed they were so clean. Carly especially looked much better, even though a patch still covered one eye.
“Better everyone?” Jay asked once the aura was turned off.
Everyone was grinning and nodding. Not only had their bodies been cleaned but their clothing, armor, and personal belongings had been as well. They all felt as if they had just stepped out of the bath or shower and had just gotten dressed in the cleanest clothing and armor they'd ever worn.
“Oh thank Goddess that feels so much better,” Norri said with a child like grin.
“Thanks Jay!” M'redith said happily as she gave him a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek. Turning on one heel she led him to the next room. “Ready for more now?” she asked sweetly.
Jay wanted to groan or complain. It was boring work and he just wanted it to be over. Dungeons weren't all fun it turned out. Some of it was actual work. Jay shrugged but entered the darkened room, “Go ahead, close it up.”
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M'redith shut the door and again the room went dark. All Jay could hear was Norri and Aiden arguing about something off in the background. He couldn't make out what they were arguing about. They bickered like siblings sometimes so Jay wasn't too concerned about it.
Jay's eyes took a moment to get used to the change in lighting. They'd learned that it was best to shut Jay in the room and then wait for his eyes to adjust. Only then did he sweep the room for any glowing objects.
Jay felt as if enough time had passed for his eyes to adjust so he began to turn in place. As he did so he could make out the faintest glint of blue.
“I've got something!” Jay yelled and Aiden yanked the door open, blinding Jay.
“What'd you find!” he asked as Jay's eyes squinted shut at the sudden brightness.
“Well, I saw a bright glint of blue but couldn't figure out what it went to before you opened the door.” Jay said kindly.
“Damn. Sorry about that,” Aiden said and then shut the door again without warning.
Jay sighed. It was dark again. He could hear Norri giggling and M'redith saying something to Aiden in a strict sounding tone. Jay tuned it all out and focused on what he could see.
There wasn't much. Just the barest sliver of blue light through the maze of stacked furniture. He walked as close to it as he could before the snarl of objects stopped him.
“Ok, you can open it up. You might as well come in too – we've got some furniture to move.” Jay said as Aiden whipped open the door once again with a grin.
M'redith was standing next to the open doorway and was shaking her head with a disappointed look aimed at Aiden.
Aiden didn't seem to care and grinned at Jay who led everyone to the spot he had determined was closest to the glow.
“Ok – the light is coming from behind this stack of stuff. Let's move it out of the room so I can get closer to whatever is glowing.” Jay suggested reasonably.
M'redith and Aiden both grabbed chairs and walked them in to the main room. Norri wasn't strong enough to lift the thick heavy wooden chairs and instead dragged one out of the room, the chair's legs scraping and making a horrible sound as they went.
Jay, being the tallest, stayed in the room and pulled down items from the top of the stacks before he moved through the pile one item at a time and slid each item towards the door where the others had gathered to help.
It took forever.
“I think I'd rather be fighting,” Carly admitted.
Aiden laughed, “I'll remind you of that next time we're fighting.”
Carly chuckled. He was right. Fights were fun when they were memories. During fights all Carly wanted was to make it through alive.
Jay could see the glowing object now. It was faint but now he knew what he was looking for. They moved a table and a rocking chair out to the main room and finally they could make out what they had worked so hard for.
It was a tall glass case. There was a thin front glass door in a wooden frame that closed over a soft velvet like material. It stood upright and would display whatever armor one placed on the velvet. The glass front would close, keeping the armor in place. At the base of the tall rectangular unit was a socket, currently empty.
When Jay placed a hand on it to move it he was greeted with a notification.
Congratulations! You have completed a Mechanics quest, Armor Sets! Find a way to properly display an armor set: 1/1
In days long past low level adventurers would flock to this dungeon as it was once considered essential for beginning dungeon runners. You have found your second clue as to why. The groups that came here searched just as you have for the hidden case that you have found.
The first test was always to collect the full dungeon armor set. The second test was to find the hidden display case. The third test is now upon you.
You have found a complete set of armor and a case to display it in. Find a way to power the case and discover its true purpose.
Find a way to power the display case: 0/1
Everyone else was given the same notification and the group went quiet as everyone thought about what to do.
Jay tried to move the case but it wouldn't budge. M'redith came over and helped him but neither of them could get it to move even the tiniest bit.
Jay reached in to his pack and took out his three pieces of dungeon armor. He opened the glass door to the display case and carefully arranged them on the velvet backing. They stuck to the backing the same way the dungeon completion patches stuck to clothing.
Jay closed the lid and took a step back. There were the pants, shirt, and hat displayed nicely now, showing a nice contrast with the velvet background.
Norri and Carly had been inspecting the base of the unit and Carly looked up with a curious look on her face.
“It looks like we're supposed to put a gem in the socket. Guess what gems we have that might fit?” she asked Jay. It took a moment before he rummaged around in his pack and took out his Upgrade Stone. They had each received one in the last treasure chest but he had planned on using it to increase one of his attributes. He had to hit 50 somehow.
Norri looked back and forth between the gem and the socket trying to determine if it would fit.
“It looks like it needs an upgrade stone. Add that to the list of things you can use an upgrade stone for.” Carly said with a shrug.
Jay felt like normal upgrade stones were pretty easy to find for him. Any time he beat a dungeon it dropped a few of them. Would it be so bad to let go of one just to complete his quest?
“Fine,” he said with a frown and squatted down. He pushed the Upgrade Stone in to the slot and it fit with a click before he was presented with a notification.
Assemble Landlocked Lighthouse Display Case? Y/N
WARNING: If you select YES then your Upgrade Stone will be consumed. This action can not be undone.
Jay was too tired to hesitate. He just wanted the quest done with and he was holding out some hope that there would be a decent reward for everything they had done that day. He mentally selected YES before returning his gaze to the standing display case.
The case lit brightly in a burning blue and the cloth armor set in the case glowed incandescent. The slotted upgrade stone made a shattering noise and then disappeared in a blaze of light. When the light had died down the stone, along with the armor, had disappeared.
Jay was mid frown when he received a new notification.
Congratulations! You have completed a Mechanics quest, Power Up! Find a way to power the display case: 1/1
In days long past low level adventurers would flock to this dungeon as it was once considered essential for beginning dungeon runners. You have found your third clue as to why. The groups that came here spent an upgrade stone each in order to unlock a new source of power: Armor Sets
The first test was always to collect the full dungeon armor set. The second test was to find the hidden display case. The third test was to willingly part with an upgrade stone in hope of receiving something greater.
You have unlocked the ability to assemble Armor Sets. Some dungeons contain a themed armor set unique to that dungeon. Collect the whole set along with an upgrade stone and you can now create a new source of power for yourself.
You have been rewarded with a unique item!
Landlocked Lighthouse Armor Case added to your inventory!
No one else received the notification and Jay wasn't sure what he had just been given as an award. He didn't have enough room in his inventory for a full sized display case so what had he received?
He pulled it out of his pack and balanced it upright on his palm. It was six inches tall. He inspected it as the others gathered closer to see what he held.
Landlocked Lighthouse Armor Case – unique - The user may at any time select between two sizes for this case: Display & Travel. The case is currently set to Travel size. This case contains a full set of the Landlocked Lighthouse armor set and provides the following permanent bonuses: +1 STR, +1 DEX, +1 INT, +1 WIS, +1 CHR. Your personal statistics have been updated.
The armor may no longer be removed from the case nor may the case be opened in any manner. The case is bound to Jay and may not be taken from him or from his residence.
Jay made an appreciative sound as he explained everything to the others.
“So instead of wearing the armor for their stats you put them in a case and you get the stats permanently?” Carly asked, a little shocked.
Jay shrugged, “Maybe? I'm not sure how the permanent bonus is calculated. Is it a one for one stat boost based on the original stats? Or is it always +1 to all stats for every set? Or maybe something else I haven't even thought of.”
Norri nodded but then quickly took her set of Landlocked Lighthouse armor out of her pack and set it inside the display case before anyone could say anything. She quickly inserted her only upgrade stone in to the case and her vision unfocused for a moment as she answered the notification prompt that popped up for her.
Assemble Landlocked Lighthouse Display Case? Y/N
WARNING: If you select YES then your Upgrade Stone will be consumed. This action can not be undone.
She chose yes and clapped when she received her quest completion and reward. She pulled out an exact copy of the case Jay still held out in his hand.
“It works!” she yelled before realizing that she was shouting. “It works!” she exclaimed again at a more reasonable volume.
The others jostled for their turn and it was M'redith who was next. Then Aiden. Then Carly. Finally everyone had finished.
They were all one upgrade stone lighter, but a whole FIVE stat points higher than they had been. Usually using an upgrade stone would let you increase a stat by one point. They had just found a way to turn a single upgrade stones in to FIVE permanent points.
Sure, they had to collect a full armor set and then find a hidden display case and even then still have to power it up with an upgrade stone but it worked. It was a new source of power that would make it just that much easier to reach their target of 50 total stat points.
Jay brought up his status display and went quiet as he did some easy math.
Name: Jay
Titles: Prophet of Gaia, Exterminator (+1 Str), The Masked One (+1 Dex), Pan-dimensional Librarian (+1 Int)
Armor Sets: Landlocked Lighthouse <+1 All>
Classes: Adventurer (4)
Health: 140
Mana: 140
STR: 2 (+1) <+1>
DEX: 2 (+1) <+1>
INT: 3 (+1) <+1>
WIS: 3 <+1>
CHR: 3 <+1>
Boons:
Core Abilities: Traveler's User Interface, Quest Journal, Identify / Inventory
Skills: Leather Armor Use
His highest stat was now Intelligence with a whopping 5 – half way to his target goal of 10. He was up to a total of 21 stat points. Out of 50. It was still going to be tough to hit 50 unless they really focused on dungeon running and not much else.
Not that there was any reason to rush. As long as he didn't level up past level 9 before he hit 50 total stat points then he should be safe. Hitting that magic number meant being able to learn more powerful class abilities in the future. It was well worth putting in the effort for that.
Everyone was thrilled with their new stat points and tiny display case. Especially since they felt like they understood what those points were for and now had a reason to collect them.
“I'm going to put mine on my dresser. I'll keep it in tiny mode.” Norri said cheerfully as she waved her display case at Aiden.
Aiden wasn't paying attention to her though, he was too wrapped up in reading the notifications from the quest. As Norri had already gone through all of that she had finished already and was a bit bored.
Eventually everyone else caught up to Norri and it was time to pick their next activity.
Jay activated his Treasure Sense and walked around the main room as well as each of the side rooms. He found nothing, just as he had expected to. The real treasure in the dungeon had been their quest and its reward.
Returning to the group he shook his head at M'redith but she didn't seem too bothered at the lack of treasure.
“Ok everyone. Unless one of you is planning on carrying any of this back with you I think we're done with this floor.” M'redith said with a grin.
No one had any way of bringing furniture back with them so the group left the floor the way they had come in and slowly walked out of the basement and back up to the cooking station on floor 1, or F1 as Aiden insisted on calling it.