The Dungeon

The next morning, they ate a small breakfast of porridge, before everyone readied themselves. After they finished, they headed back outside towards the gate. They showed their passes to the guards, and walked down the stairs.

At the bottom was a blue barrier, looking to Kris like something he would call a 'force field'. Walking up to it, however, it didn't stop him, and with a tingly sensation he was able to go inside.

To no surprise, he was instantly in a dimly lit hallway, the blue barrier now behind him. Well, it certainly looks like a dungeon. Despite having no torch, the dungeon seemed lit by an ambient light, coming from nowhere but everywhere all at once, just enough so he could see maybe twenty meters down the hall.

The others soon came through, determined expressions on their faces.

After they were all through, Kris looked at them, “Ready?”

The three of them nodded, and they got in formation.

In front, Kris was leading the way. Since he was their best all-around fighter, he would be able to react quickly to anything that came up. And, while he didn't voice this, he had a second reason. It being he didn't want anything to happen to his companions, so he put himself in the most danger.

Second was Mibu, holding her bow, and sniffing for any possible encounters they might run into. This would also allow her to quickly and quietly tell Kris if she smelled anything, as well.

Third was Celica, who was also in charge of checking the map occasionally. She was their lowest health member, and so would be more protected in the middle. She would also be able to quickly cast Shadow on all of them in an emergency.

Lastly was Paddy. She would able to to protect them if something snuck up behind them, and since she was the tallest, she was still able to see what was going on in front at the same time.

Walking carefully down the hall for a while, they...weren't running into anything.

“Mibu...?”

Mibu shook her head. “No. This whole place has a weird smell. Not bad...just weird.”

As they were walking Paddy pulled out a dried fish, and started nibbling on it as they walked.

Celica turned her head around when she heard Paddy eating. “Can I have one?”

Paddy nodded and pulled out another, handing it to Celica.

Mmm, this is pretty good.

After a bit, Kris thought he heard something up the hall. Holding up his arm, they stopped.

“Mibu, do you smell it?”

Mibu sniffed hard a few times, before getting a sour expression on her face. “I think it's-”

She didn't need to finish, as the echoing coming down the hall made it evident what it was. “Yabba, yabba!”

Even in the Dungeon, they still have goblins!? Kris shook his head. Turning to the others, he said, “Alright, Paddy and I will lead. Mibu stay back with your bow, don't use magic unless you need too. Celica, if things go bad cast Shadow on all of us.”

Everyone nodded, and went into action.

Kris and Paddy walked out ahead, and after just a few moments could see goblins in the distance. They seemed to be just walking through the hall. Do they have a camp somewhere? Or do they just get like...'spawned' in to the Dungeon?

Paddy picked up the pace, holding up her shield. She had the confidence to use her ax effectively now, but it was going to be hard to use it in the narrow dungeon hall they were currently in, so smacking them with her shield would work better.

Kris followed behind, stabbing any goblins that seemed alive, or that managed to dodge out of the way of Paddy.

After just a few moments, the encounter was over. The goblins lay dead on the ground, and Mibu and Celicia caught up to them.

“Nice work!” Mibu said, giving a thumps up.

“It's just goblins...” Kris said with a smile.

As he did, the goblins started to fade into the dungeon, as if the stone was absorbing them.

Stunned, the four of them looked at each other, then back to the goblins disappearing below them.

Guess we can't loot them...

After the goblin encounter, they went a bit farther, before hitting a fork in the road. They could no longer go straight, having to turn left or right.

Kris looked at Mibu, who sniffed, and then shrugged.

Celica, however, confidently strode forward.

“Can you tell which way to go?” Kris asked.

Celica nodded. Taking out her wand, she set it on the ground and...spun it.

Kris blinked a few times as he watched the wand spin around, before stopping...towards the right.

“This way,” Celica asserted, picking up her wand.

“Does your wand have some sort of direction magic?” Kris asked.

Celica shook her head, “No, I just thought it was the best way to choose.”

Kris facepalmed, although Mibu and Paddy nodded as if the explanation made perfect sense. “We could have just flipped a coin.”

Celica blushed a bit, “Oh...I guess that would work too...”

After following this path for a while, they ran into another group of goblins, this one slightly larger than the last. Kris had Mibu thin them out a bit with arrows before they ran in, to be on the safe side. However, they were easily dispatched again, and they continued on their way.

This process repeated several times. They kept taking the right turn (arbitrarily now, instead of spinning a wand to choose), but each hallway seemed exactly the same.

I have no idea if we're making progress. Stopping them for a moment, he asked “Celica, how's the map look?”

Celica turned it around so he could see. It seemed like they were slowly going inwards, like a maze.

Celica could see the confusion on Kris's face, “Sorry, it's hard to tell...”

Kris shook his head. “It's fine, we just gotta keep going, and we should find the next stairs eventually.”

Celica smiled and nodded.

Paddy was munching on another fish, this time having given one to Mibu.

“Mibu, do you know how long we've been in here?” Kris asked.

Mibu nodded. “I think about three hours. Maybe a little more, it's hard to tell.”

Kris nodded. “I think we should camp once we reach the stairs. We should probably have a watch regardless, but it'll be safest there.”

The other three nodded.

After continuing on a while more, they eventually reached a dead end.

Dammit!

“What should we do? Just go back to the last crossroads?” Mibu asked.

Kris shrugged, “I guess that's our only option.

They continued on like this for a while more, occasionally hitting dead ends, or a few goblins here or there.

Just as Kris was about to suggest camping now, he noticed they were nearing another fork in the road.

Mibu tapped his shoulder, “I smell something different up ahead.”

Kris raised an eyebrow. “Just...different?”

Mibu nodded. “It's different than the normal smell of the dungeon. And it's not goblins.”

As they got nearer, Kris peaked around to the right. Sitting there was, unmistakably, not goblins. It was a wooden chest.

Mibu also poked her head around. “Wuuuuhh, we found one!” she exclaimed, going over to grab it.

Kris held up an arm, stopping her. “Hold on! We gotta be careful.”

“What do you mean?”

“Like, there might traps, or it could be a mimic!” Kris explained.

“Mim-mick?” Mibu asked questioningly.

Maybe those don't exist in this world.

Paddy nodded her head. “Let me open, I can shield myself.”

Kris shook his head. “First, Celica, can you Silence inanimate objects?”

Celica nodded. “Yes...do you think the chest is magical?”

“Maybe a magical trap. Let's do that, and then Paddy can carefully open it.”

They all nodded, and set the plan in motion. As Celica cast Silence...nothing happened.

“I didn't see anything, so there should be no magic, at least,” Celica explained.

Paddy held up her shield, carefully reaching around and grabbing the chest. Pushing open the top, it fell back and...nothing happened.

Phew...

“It's...silver,” Paddy explained succinctly.

The others looked around her, seeing the gleam of several coins.

Kris took them out. “Four silver? Where did this even come from?”

“The Goddess put them here to reward Adventurer's,” Mibu explained, as if it was obvious.

“Um...did you look this way?” Celica pointed out as they were talking around the chest.

Looking the other way from the chest, there was a set of stairs, with another blue barrier at the bottom.

Setting up camp by the stairs, they ate some jerky and fish, along with some bread.

Kris had only gotten one big tent, which barely fit in the hall, and four sleeping bags they placed inside. “I'll take first watch,” Kris said, motioning to the others to sleep.

“I'll take it with you,” Celica said, standing up.

Mibu also stood up, “I can too.”

Paddy had already laid down in the tent.

Kris shook his head and hands. “No, just get some rest.”

Celica and Mibu looked at each other, before nodding and getting into their bags.

Kris closed the tent front and sat down, looking down the hall they had come. Trying to keep himself awake, he nibbled on a piece of jerky. Hopefully the lower levels give more than four silver. I guess if we're going by game logic, they would. Although we'd probably face stuff more dangerous than goblins, too.

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After a few hours of quiet, he heard some rustling behind him. Mibu had crawled out of her sleeping bag, and drawled over to him.

“I can take over,” she said, kissing his cheek and pointing back to the tent.

Kris was fairly tired by this point, and so nodded and crawled in as instructed.

Mibu sat down, pulling out a book as she took over watch. Her nose would alert her to enemies before her eyes did, so she could safely read at the same time.

However, she was unable to focus on her book, as her thoughts were distracted. Looking over at the others, she couldn't help but smile. This is so amazing! We have a pack of four now, and we're adventuring in a Dungeon!

Mibu blushed a bit, thinking of her and Kris. She longed for his touch, although she suppressed herself for now as she glanced over at the tent. Shaking her head, she went back to reading her book.

After a few uneventful hours, Mibu heard some rustling behind her. After a few moments, Celica opened the flap and came out.

Pulling her hood up, she blushed a bit, “I can take a turn, too.”

Mibu smiled, giving her a hug, and sliding into the tent.

Celica cast Shadow on herself and stood next to the tent, peering down the hall. As with the others, her thoughts were of her companions. Well, mainly one companion.

She blushed a bit as she thought of the night she had spent with Kris. That was...so amazing. Mother and Father might be upset if they find out, but...

Generally when it came to relationships, cyclops were celibate until they married. They were also monogamous. Celica had already broken both tenets.

It's fine, he already agreed to marry, so it's basically the same thing...right? I couldn't let myself fall behind the others, either...

She hadn't been thrilled, at first, about having to share Kris. However, Mibu and Paddy both seemed nice. And with how dreamy Kris was, she was willing to accept it.

She blushed again while thinking of Kris. I'm going to ambush him as soon as we leave the Dungeon...

Celica's watch passed quietly as well. Eventually, Mibu woke up, and started waking up the other two as well.

“What's wrong Mibu?” Kris asked, wiping his eyes.

“Nothing, it's just morning. I think,” she explained.

Kris nodded, and started helping tear down the tent once everyone was clear. While he was tearing it down, Celica whispered something to Mibu, who in turn whispered something back to Celica. Whatever it was, Celica blushed a bit, but nodded in response.

Paddy picked up the big bag once everything was stuffed in it. After everyone grabbed their own bags, they headed down the stairs, towards the barrier.

Kris took a deep breath, then walked through. The other side looked...mostly the same, but a tad darker. The ambient light was still there, but it seemed slightly dimmer than the previous one.

The other three followed behind him, looking around the same as him.

Mibu immediately grabbed his shoulder. “Kris, there's more goblins,” she pointed.

Goblins again!? “Okay, let's get into formation again.”

Walking down the path, he heard the yabbering of goblins echoing in the halls. He motioned to Paddy, who nodded and came up next to him.

As soon as she did, three goblins ran towards them out of the darkness. One ate an arrow to the neck, while Paddy smashed one on the wall, and Kris stabbed the last one through the chest.

“Good work,” Kris said.

Mibu shook her head. “There's more that way. Maybe a lot more, the smell is...intense.”

Kris thought for a moment. “Celica, can you Shadow me? I'll scout ahead a bit.”

Mibu was about to object, but Kris held up his hand. “I'm not going to get into a fight I can't handle, I just wanna know what we're dealing with.”

She nodded, and Celica took our her wand, and Kris faded into the shadows.

Wow, it's hard to even see myself. He started to sneak down the hall, the yabbering becoming louder and louder. There was one goblin ahead, which he silently slit the throat of, and continued on.

After a couple minutes, he noticed a bright light from the end of the hall way he was in. As he got closer, he noticed two more guards standing at what seemed to be an opening.

Kris got a bit closer, and as his eyes adjusted, he could see through the opening an encampment of goblins. A roaring fire, the source of the light, was in the middle, while at least a few dozen goblins were doing various tasks.

What is this!? On the first level, there was just a random few, and now here is a whole camp of them!? He shook his head, No, it doesn't matter, we need to get through them regardless.

He spent another minute looking around. I don't see any hobs, but I don't like the look of that one. He squinted to peer over the fire, as there seemed to be an important goblin there. It was still green (and not orange like the hobgoblins) but it was sitting on a throne, with a large sceptre across it's legs. Is that a King? It doesn't have a crown, but...

He noticed the goblin guards were sniffing, so he quickly retreated back to the others. Getting close, he asked, “Celica, can you deactivate it?”

Celica and Paddy jumped a bit. After regaining her senses, she said “Sure, it goes away after about ten minutes anyway.”

Kris explained what he saw.

“You think it's a King?” Mibu asked.

“Maybe, but I'm not sure. We'll need to be careful of it, though.”

Celica asked, “So, what are we planning on doing? Just running in? Or do you want to use Shadow to sneak in?”

Kris smiled, “Somewhere in the middle, actually...”

The four of them headed up, with Kris and Paddy in the front, while Celica was behind them, and Mibu brought up the rear, bow at the ready.

As they got near, the Celica cast Shadow on Mibu, who snuck up and quickly put an arrow in the neck of the two goblin guards.

As expected, a few goblins nearby noticed, so Kris and Paddy walked up close to the entrance. Several goblins ran into the hall, only to eat a sword thrust or arrow.

After a few moments, the whole camp was in an uproar, and the goblins were all trying to squeeze into the hallway.

Kris grinned. Just as planned. He cast Scorch several times, taking out several goblins with each cast.

After several fell down with holes seared in them, the goblins started running the other way.

Kris saw the goblin with the sceptre, shouting behind the goblins. Then, several arrows landed around them, luckily either hitting Paddy's shield or falling short. A couple even fell in goblins on the ground.

“Paddy!” Kris shouted.

Paddy nodded.

They then went to the next stage of their plan. Paddy put her shield on her back and grabbed her ax instead. The large area where the camp was afforded her the room to swing her ax freely. She rushed in started cleaving through the goblin archers, who broke in a panic.

Kris was following up behind, making sure the goblins on the ground were dead, and making his way around towards the sceptre-wielding goblin.

As they got about halfway towards him, he suddenly raised his sceptre. Kris felt a rush of air, then a violent blast hit him in the chest, causing him to fly back.

“Kris!” Mibu yelled, running over to him.

Ugh, this again... he though, getting a sense of deja vu. Shaking his head, he stood up before Mibu could get to him. “I'm fine, watch out, he has magic,” he yelled.

Celica raised her wand, pointing it at the sceptre-wielding goblin. The goblin raised it's sceptre again, but this time nothing happened.

Nice job, Celica! Kris rushed the goblin, sword drawn, but the goblin blocked with it's sceptre, yelling at him so intensely it was drooling, spittle flying everywhere. As the goblin pushed him back, an arrow bloomed in it's chest.

Kris followed up as it was momentarily stunned, casting Scorch at it's face. The goblin got it's arms up to block, but they were still thoroughly burned.

Mibu suddenly appeared behind the goblin, slashing it's back.

As it started to turn, Kris took his sword, slashing at it's neck. With one smooth motion, he cleaved it clean off.

Mibu smiled at him.

Kris smiled back. “We make a good tag-team...”

Meanwhile, Paddy was finishing off the last moving goblin, sinking her ax into its back.

The four of them convened near the goblin's throne, the fire still roaring near them.

Mibu healed Kris while he talked.

“Well, good job everyone. I'm glad the plan worked out so well.”

“You're a genius! It worked out almost exactly like you said it would!” Celica said, getting hearts in here eyes.

Mibu smiled and nodded in agreement.

“Well, we have a lot of experience fighting goblins...” Kris said, forcing a smile and scratching his head.

Paddy, who had been cleaning off her ax, pointed. “Ummm...”

The others looked around, and could see that, while the goblins had all faded into the dungeon as the previous ones had, one item remained.

The sceptre.

Kris went and picked it up. Is this a reward? It's probably worth a lot!

Mibu walked over, “Is that an offering?”

“An offering?”

Mibu nodded. “I heard Misty mention it once. Sometimes you have to offer the Goddess something to get your reward. I'm wondering if this is what she meant.”

Kris nodded back. “I guess we'll hang onto it then.”

After taking a breather (and a snack break) they went through the opening opposite the one they entered.

I wonder if we'll have more of those, Kris thought. We can handle it, but doing a lot of those would be a bit...taxing.

They continued on for over an hour, but ran into nothing. No goblins, no turns, just a straight pathway.

“Mibu, how long-”

“About three and a half hours since we went through the barrier,” she responded before he could finish.

Kris nodded. “Alright, let's stop and eat a bit.”

Downing some water, he sat down and started chomping on some bread. Paddy also offered him a fish, which he gladly accepted.

Celica had grabbed the sceptre from the bag and was examining it.

“What's wrong?” Kris asked.

Celica shook her head. “I don't know, it's just...it feels like this doesn't really exist.”

Kris's eyes went wide. “What do you mean!? You're holding it, right?”

Celica nodded, “Yes, but...it's like, it's made of magic, not actual gold.”

Paddy, who was munching on a fish, asked, “Can you Silence it?”

Celica nodded, “I could...but I'm worried it would just be destroyed.”

Kris got a bit scared, “Yeah...if it's supposed to be an offering to the Goddess, we should probably be careful with it.” The last thing I want to do is piss her off.

After finishing eating, they continued on for a while, still in a straight line. We get a bonafide maze, and now just a straight tunnel. It's like the Goddess got bored after the first level.

Mibu grabbed Kris's shoulder. “Hobgoblin up ahead.”

Kris nodded, knowing Mibu wouldn't mistake the smell of one of those.

He and Paddy walked up ahead. After a moment, a hobgoblin appeared in front of them. Paddy tried to smash it with her shield, while Kris darted around her, getting a stab in where he could, as the hobgoblin backpedaled.

This is slow going, but if we keep it up, we should be-

His thoughts were cut off as he heard a scream behind him.

Mibu was on the ground, Celica in her arms, as a second hobgoblin was behind them, a club smashed into the ground next to them.

Dammit. “Paddy, take care of this one!”

Not waiting for her to respond, Kris turned around and rushed the second hobgoblin, slicing at it's arm as it raised its club.

His sword hit the hobgoblin, who roared in pain as blood started gushing from its arm. Not waiting for it recover, Kris started using Scorch at it's face, while Mibu was hitting it with a couple of Ice Spike's.

Kris quickly ran out of mana, but the hobgoblin was still standing. After a moment to catch his breath, he stabbed it through the heart.

This time, the hobgoblin stopped moving, falling over towards Kris. He pulled his sword and kicked the hobgoblin, causing it to fall backwards instead.

Turning around, he saw Paddy stabbing the other hobgoblin with the point of her ax, instead of trying to swing it. It had dozens of holes punched in the front. After several more stabs, her ax got lodged, so she punched the hobgoblin hard in the face with her gauntleted hand, and the hobgoblin fell back, unmoving.

He then rushed over to Celica, who was still in the ground, shaking. He wrapped an arm around her, and she buried her face in his chest, crying.

After a couple minutes, Celica seemed to calm down. “So-sorry, I was just...so scared...”

“It's okay,” Kris reassured her, helping her stand up.

Celica then grabbed Mibu, hugging her. “Thanks so much, you saved me.”

Mibu blushed a bit, hugging her back. “I'm...sorry, I didn't smell him until he was already...”

Kris shook his head. “How could you have? We walked a straight line here, there was no branches it could have come from. We should have run into it before...”

Mibu nodded. “Where could it have come from then?”

Neither of them had a response.

Then, Paddy broke the silence. “Um...could the Dungeon have just...created it? Like it sucks the dead enemies in, maybe it can also send enemies out?”

Kris grabbed his temples. That's possible, but very scary. “We'll have to assume that's a possibility from now on, then.”

The other three nodded in agreement.

After everyone was ready, they continued on their way.

The floor was still a straight shot, until after another couple hours, they finally saw a crossroad ahead.

As they reached it, it looked the same as the previous floor's exit, with the stairs going down on the left, and a treasure chest on the right. Except, there was one difference, that being the treasure chest was already open, and empty.

“What!?” Kris said, shocked. “Did someone beat us here?”

Mibu shook her head. “Remember? Each party is in a separate Dungeon.”

“But, what's this then?” Kris said, sitting down and hanging his head in disappointment.

Celica immediately opened his pack, grabbing the sceptre.

Kris instantly realized her intention. “You think we're supposed to put it in?”

Celica nodded. “I think so. I'm not sure if it would even survived being taken through the barrier.”

Celica went to place the sceptre inside the chest. Paddy walked up next to her, giving a smile, and raising her shield. Celica then closed the lid, and a green glow emitted from the chest, then disappeared.

Well, something happened...

Celica opened the chest, and pulled out...a book. Kris and Mibu instantly recognized it.

“A Goddess Tome!” Mibu said, excited.

Celica opened up the cover. “It says 'Air Slash'. I've never seen one before, is this really a Tome?”

Kris nodded, “Yes, this is the third one I've seen. Wait...'Air Slash'? Is that the spell that goblin holding the sceptre was using?”

“Probably,” Mibu said with a shrug. “Air Slash is a mid-tier Wind magic spell.”

“Hmm...let's set up camp, then talk about it...”

After setting up their tent, they all huddled together outside of it, eating dinner.

Kris had set up a small fire, and Mibu was stirring some basic stew with the few vegetables they had brought. She also dropped a few pieces of jerky in, softening them up in the stew.

Kris held the book. “Okay, what is everyone's opinion on what we should do with this?”

Celica seemed confused. “Can't we learn a spell with it? What else would we do?”

Kris responded. “We could sell it.”

Mibu nodded. “We could probably get a few gold for it. Probably at least enough to pay off the rest of the loan if we're lucky.”

Celica seemed like she was about to say something, but then bit her lip.

“That sounds enticing, but I'm thinking we should learn it. We don't have a ton of magic in our arsenal yet, and I think this could come in handy.”

The others all nodded.

“If we are all in agreement on using it, then I think we should give this to Paddy, since she doesn't know any magic yet.”

“Wha-what!?” Paddy said, surprised.

Kris smiled, “You're doing great, but I think giving you an extra option to hit something at range would be beneficial.”

Mibu nodded in agreement, but Celica bit her lip, looking down.

“What's wrong?” Kris asked.

Celica blushed a bit. “Could...could I have it, please? I don't...I'm not saying you're wrong, but...”

Mibu grabbed her shoulder. “It's okay, we're not going to get mad.”

Kris nodded.

“I don't want to get caught off guard like that again. I want something to defend myself with. But, I'm not strong enough to use weapons...”

Of course, now I feel dumb...

“...And no one in the cyclops village knew offensive magic, so I never got a chance to learn any.”

Paddy walked over and hugged Celica, picking her up off the ground in the process.

Kris smirked. “I think we're all in agreement to give it to Celica then?”

The others nodded, and he handed her the book. She pulled up her status screen, sliding the book in.

Smiling, she stood up, facing down the hall they had come from. Lifting her wand, she pointed, and they felt a rush of air as it warped in front of her, slicing down the hall, even leaving a small scratch in the side of the dungeon.

“Oooohhh,” Mibu said, as she and Paddy clapped.

Kris nodded, looking at her status screen. That's good, although it uses a lot of her mana...

Tonight (or at least what they thought should be the night), Paddy said she was going to take the first watch. Actually, the whole watch.

“Are you sure? You're not tired after that fighting,” Kris asked. Mibu and Celica were already in the tent.

Paddy nodded. “I'll be fine. Just...” she walked over, giving him a quick kiss. “There, I'll be good for the night.”

Kris chuckled and gave her another kiss, before climbing into the tent.

Inside, Mibu and Celica were holding each other's hands, laid out over their bags. They seemed to be asleep.

Kris was a bit confused, but since they seemed to be getting along he didn't worry about it, and just got into his own bag, falling quickly asleep.

Paddy sat outside the tent, nibbling on a fish as she stared down the hall. She, too, was thinking of Kris.

I love it when he wraps his arms around me, she thought, blushing at the image in her head. It's so...comforting.

Paddy had felt relieved when she realized Kris and Mibu weren't going to return her. But lately, she had been coming around to wanting to stick with them permanently. Mibu seemed to want her too, and Kris obviously liked having her around, saying as much every time she had voiced doubts about it.

She blushed again thinking of Kris. 'I'm never letting you go', he said that, right?

Grabbing another fish, she nibbled away at it, all the while dreaming of her and Kris together in the future.