The party regrouped in front of Xev, “Took you long enough,” the seven foot tall temptress teased.
“You are right. I shall hone my skills more,” Duk replied with all seriousness.
Jason placed his hand on Duk’s shoulder, “She could have helped if she were so concerned about how long we’re taking.”
The group moved on into the bailey keeping a watchful eye open for any satyr like creatures. Much like the town proper, the inner walls seemed empty, but there was no lack of building that could hold treasure, hidden enemies waiting to ambush them, or terrified civilians that just wanted to live through the terror that was being raided by this strange murderous party composed of several different alien species. They moved from building to building and with each one Jason stored anything that looked interesting or could be used to sell later.
It wasn’t long before they had went through each and every structure, finding nothing much of worth; weapons, armor, food, drink, clothes, wood. There was nothing like the treasures that Apisis had told them of. Perhaps the town held more wealth than it seemed, but if this dungeon town was built like they were in games and history the greatest wealth would be in the deepest recesses of the most secure place within the dungeon. In castle towns, the most secure place was obviously within the inner walls of the castle inside the keep somewhere within its depths where mountains of gold and jewels lay tempting any who entered the royal treasury. That is where they needed to go and that was the final place that they had not searched yet.
They approached the keep cautiously expecting that since it was the last, most secure location for anyone to hide they would be here, but once more they entered and found no entity alive nor dead. The great hall was quiet save for the eachos the steps of each of the members of the party. A cold breeze blew through the halls making banners that would have royal family crests on them in the medieval world from which they were drawn from, but these were blank. Crests had meaning and history built into them, but this town, it had no history and thus could not have a fitting crest. It was all just a shallow replica of a romantic fantasy of a time that never really existed. There was nothing to be found in this massive hall. It was just an empty room with no purpose but for fulfilling the criteria of what were in castle keeps.
On the other end of hall were three thrones, one larger in the center and two on either side of it. Behind them were two passages. One leading up, the other leading downwards into the bowels of the keep. Rina and Jason both knew which way lead to danger and treasure instinctually after having lived in the world where this construct was replicated from and played many a game with such structures being common within them. One of the others, Xev, had been in a structure made of stone anywhere near this size, but had been centuries ago and never had she experienced in any way a building similar to a castle. Duk and Apisis too had their own instinct, but theirs had been honed to look upward for treasure. Without a second thought the three non-humans ascended the stairs. The Humans on the other hand, paused for a moment, but soon followed after. They could clear out whatever was up the stairs before returning and going where they knew danger had to lie.
The upper levels of the castle keep proved to be as empty as all the rest of the town, however, the looting went far better. They found any number of expensive trinkets that experience had taught them that they could turn out to be more than they appeared to be. In the royal bed chambers a secret panel revealed hidden room where several ARMS devices were stored away. Each of the party members declined from taking a share of them. Duk said that he did not deserve such a reward. Lady Apisis declined based on that she was there to help them and had no need of the ARMS. Xev and Rina simply waited for Jason to take them. They were there to get loot that he could sell or that would make him stronger. If there was something that either of them wanted they could just ask for them later and be assured that Jason would likely give them it. So, he grabbed and stored the devices for later examination.
Finally, the upper floor was cleared and there was nowhere else to go but into the depths of the of the castle keep. There was never any doubt that they would head down, but the longer that they had gone not encountering any one the more anxious they all became as they descended into the dark depths of the dungeon within the dungeon. Rina pulled closer to Jason. Xev put some distance between herself and the others. Duk’s ears perked up and his fur bristled as if he was scanning for some sign of life and preparing to react to it at a moment’s notice.
The first floor they came to was empty. The second floor, a rancid smell seemed to penetrate every inch. The third floor, some sort of steam seemed to seep through the cracks of the floor and walls. On the fourth floor steam permeated its entirety and some liquid covered the floor. At first the party thought that it was water, but on closer inspection it was clear that it was anything but. It was viscous and slimy and seemed to carry feted chunks of long dead corpses. It wasn’t thick, but each step the party took was ever more labored, the fluid sucking at their feet, trying to keep them glued to the ground. It took time and energy, but they eventually made it to where they believed the next set of stairs would be. What they found instead of stairs was a large door, barred, with a snake like dragon embossed across it with its head facing forward, jaws opened beckoning adventurers into its maw.
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The party took stock of each other with looks of concern in their eyes. They all knew that ever since Humans had been brought to Debris the dungeons were more dangerous and the creatures they spawned seemed to not play by the rules that had been in placed since time immemorial to the other inhabitants of the world. Duk’s ears pressed against his head and began produce a low growl sensing something beyond the door that was too dangerous for him to keep a brave face.
Jason stepped forward, pushing by Duk, “This has to be what we’re here for.” He attempted to lift the bar, but found he could not lift it high enough to remove it from the door. Rina and Apisis joined in, but they still were not enough. Duk saw his companions struggling and overcame his instincts long enough to aid them. It took a few tries but eventually they managed to lift it from its resting place, dropping it when they got it away from the door, causing horrendous sound to echo through the corridors of this fourth floor and splashed the liquid high into the air, covering them in the muck. They gagged from the stench and the feel of this putrid fluid entering their mouths and noses.
Rina and Jason threw up, their bodies trying to eject the disgusting alien materials from their bodies. The other simply did not have that ability or, Duk, who had been a steadfast warrior for much of his life and pulled himself together. It took several minutes for each of the party members to fully recover, but eventually they steeled themselves and made ready to continue. The treasures that surely lay behind this door were no longer the driving force to push forward quicker, but rather the desire to leave this place as quick as they could. Jason was the first to push forward, shoving open the door, using all of his body weight to make it move.
The door swung open, scraping the ground briefly clearing of the merky gelatin briefly from its path. The fluid started to refill from where it was removed from but it was slow and would take hours if not day before the floor would once again be covered. The door opened onto an impossible dark space. Jason took a step into it, unable to see anything. It was like the room that he had found himself months ago when he was brought to this world of Debris, but darker and more spacious. And as awful as the scent of thousands of unwashed Humans crammed into a single space sweating, defecating, puking, and urinating out of fear for how long he did not know, the odor that he stepped into was worst by a magnitude. His eyes began to tear and vision blur. Thoughts of whether proceeding was worth it or not cross his mind, but he attempted to compose himself against the overwhelming desire to flee.
A faint green aura moved in bleak blackness slowly growing stronger as it seemed to come closer. The ooze beneath their feet flowed towards the dim glow. The light grew in brightness and size, partially due to the muk seemed to be gathering all in one place, partially due to whatever was forming had taken note of Jason and was rushing, for ooze, toward him. It was hard to judge the distance or exactly what it was that was forming the darkness, but Jason strained his eyes to make something out. “Anyone got a light?” he queried the others, but none had anything. Before the words had left his lips, the slime had climbed up his feet to his ankles.
“Jason, your feet!” Rina exclaimed.
He looked down and saw what was happening. He attempted to turn but, as earlier, it was a struggle make even the tiniest amount of headways. As he tried he caught sight of the slime ascending up the legs of the rest of the party members. It had made less progress than with him. “It’s trying to incapacitate us! Get back to the stairs!” he shouted to them, hoping that they could get away. It was likely to late for him. He turns his eyes back to the light and it was almost upon him. Duk pulled Rina from slime and tossed her to Xev. Apisis was safe floating above the ground. She followed after Rina and Xev had no trouble escaping, having stayed a ways back and having much more strength than the others. They followed Jason’s orders quickly returning to the stairs, but it was too late for Duk. He was as stuck as Jason and once again this duo found themselves at death’s door together.
Jason opened his inventory and poured over everything that was in his inventory. Every moment the light in the dark came closer. If they didn’t figure out a solution there was no telling what would happen, but they suspected nothing good. Duk summoned his barrier, placing it between Jason and the light.
“Do you have a plan?” Duk asked.
“I’m looking!” Jason replied.
There was plenty of wood in his inventory and he was sure that if he could light it on fire it would solve the problem, if not free him, but there was nothing that he could use to create a fire. Scouring his inventory, he became depressed as he found nothing he could think to use that might be able to get him out of his present predicament. That’s when a thought crossed his mind. He scrolled back through his inventory to find a bag of salt. Within moments the bag was in his hand and he was pouring it over the slime on his legs which had nearly reached his legs. Suddenly, the ooze turned to dust and a piercing screech resounded through the keep.