Casmur PoV:
I am curious as to what this floor entails. I mean it’s clear that it is a water level, but from what I heard and experienced. Water levels in dungeons usually involve adventurers having to trudge through either underwater, build a raft, or be provided a small boat. None of them ever included a full blown ship!
My attention was suddenly brought over to Amelia who was coughing, uhh rather violently might I add. Everyone, including the crew, was just staring at her.
"Whoa, excuse me, not sure what happened there. Anyway, your job is simple: sink every ship. You're being hunted since, well, you're on a pirate ship. Or you can make it to the end. You can die as many times as you want here; you'll only lose once this ship sinks. Think of this ship as a respawn zone. There is, however, one final way to complete this floor, but I'll let you figure that out." Amelia explained.
If I understand correctly there 3 ways to complete this floor, with the third being some kind of mystery, a puzzle perhaps?
“Um, if I may,” Najira spoke up, “Could you give us a hint as to what the third option is?”
“All I’ll say is that it’s a huge threat to everyone and you’ll see it in 15 hours. Or if it’s been disturbed enough, one of the two” Amelia said, playfully winking at us.
Uhh ok, not weird at all, “That aside. Could you provide a map, if that's no trouble.” I asked.
“Sure.” Was all Amelia said, snapping her fingers and a map appeared above our heads. Fortunately Markus quickly caught the map before it could fall down.
The five of us crowded around Markus as he unfurled the map. It revealed five islands: one large island surrounded by four smaller ones. The north end showed a door labeled "Exit," while the south end marked the entrance, where we were currently located.
“Look, there are several points of interest here. The bottom right island has some kind of outpost, top left has what looks to be an abandoned campsite. And question marks on the two remaining small islands.” Markus said, as he pointed towards the points of interest on the map, then he pointed to a location called “Port Magen” at the western portion of the bigger island.
“We should definitely visit there sometime, and maybe explore the island further.” Markus said, looking up at the 5 of us gathered around him.
I stare to my left and I spot Amelia holding a clipboard and a quill pen. She caught me staring at her, however she said nothing and instead flashed me a smile.
“I say we go to that outpost first.” Najira suggested, before Hazmir shook his head.
“No! I say we go to those ruins first!” Hazmir said, “We might find something useful in whatever remains.”
Najira doubled down on her original proposal “But, this outpost might be even more useful!”
“Might I suggest we search in those islands marked with a question mark?” Greorjy offered. Hazmir almost looked offended.
I turned to Samarra and walked over to him “Samarra, what do you suggest? You’ve not said a word.” I said addressing our mage who’s so far been quiet. Samarra shrugs his shoulders. “Ok, Samarra, just know that you also have a say in what we do in this party.”
He nods his head and says nothing. I look back to the argument and Hazmir was about ready to punch Najira.
By the goddess these two always get like this everytime the party needs to make a choice. “Alright, settle down you two.” I said, getting in between the two arms stretched out. “Why don’t we put this to a vote? Obviously my vote doesn’t count unless there's a tie.”
“So I’ll start with Hazmir, then all in favor for the ruins, raise your hand.” I stated, immediately afterwards, I see two hands raised, Greorjy and Hazmir.
“Those in favor of the outpost raise your hand.” Three hands. Let's see.. Samarra, Najira, and Markus.
“Ok, what about the question mark islands?” No hands raised, “Alright, we're going to the outpost. First, and to the ruins later.”
Everyone nodded before scattering across the deck. I headed up a flight of stairs, eventually reaching the quarterdeck, before he wandered off Markus gave me the dungeon map that he was holding. I rolled it back up and stored it in my satchel.
I spotted a beautiful brunette woman with shoulder-length hair. She wore a jacket with white lapels and cuffs as well as yellow linen noodle like decorations on her shoulders, under which she had on a white shirt and a red waistcoat, unbuttoned at the top to reveal her upper cleavage from her moderately sized breasts. Her outfit was completed by black trousers and knee-length heeled leather boots. A leather belt held some kind of short sword on her left hip and two non-crystal pistols on her right hip. A bandolier crossed from her left shoulder to her belt on her right hip, with two more pistols resting at her chest. Lastly she wore a strange looking triangle hat adorned with a long red feather protruding from the left side. Judging from her looks, she must be the pirate captain.
Judging by her choice of uniform, this woman must be the captain, and If I were to say, she’s dressed similarly to the notorious Pirate Queen Guinevere. Who last I heard was sailing south.
Now that I get a better look, everyone else seems to be wearing a mix of clothing. Some have shirts, some button-up, while others wear leather vests or jackets over their shirts, and quite a few combine all three. For headwear, a majority wore these triangle looking hats, some only wore scarves around their heads, and a few wore both. However, they all have one thing in common: red and black striped trousers.
She turned her attention towards a woman who I presumed is the helmsman, or I should say helmswoman. The helmswoman waved and flashed me a toothy smile.
“So yer the landlubbers that our gracious Lady has us escorting.” That Pirate Captain Lady said approaching us.
Huh!? Did she just call me a landlubber? Ugh, whatever I’m not here to start arguments and fights, especially against dungeon creatures. Besides that one girl from the second floor is the one who I have a real grudge on.
Not a moment too soon, the woman got up close and personal, before eying me down top to bottom.
“This sword’s gotta go, me matey.” The rather rude Woman stated.
“Huh! Oh hell no I ain't getting rid of my longsword!” I defensively said, unsheathing my longsword and hugging it tightly. “Besides, what's wrong with my longsword?”
“Oi Relax yer hiney, Before ye interrupted me, I was about to explain to ya that swords like that aint no good to on a ship. They’ll get caught on the ropes, and are no good below deck” She said, before she unsheathed a short sword. “This here be a cutlass, perfect for ship combat. Here you can have mine.”
I swiftly caught the cutlass, causing me to inadvertently drop my longsword, which I immediately picked up and sheathed it back in place.
I began to inspect this ‘cutlass’ and its hilt is similar to that of a rapier, and the short blade curves near the end.
“Interesting.” I said, “Don’t suppose you got a scabbard for this.”
She proceeded to toss me her scabbard without uttering a single word.
I caught it and proceeded to sheath the cutlass and attach the scabbard next to my longsword
“Now then, forgive me for this late introduction but I am Captain Muriel Godfrey, and this here be my ship.” Muriel said, “Now where would ya and yer crew like ta go missy?”
“We would like to go to the outpost first if you don’t mind.” I replied.
“Aye the outpost, sure thing. Just be warned ta be ready for a fight! Those filthy French and British bilge rats be prowlin the oceans, best be careful.” Muriel cautioned. Well I guess she’s right, WE are on a pirate vessel… a vessel crewed by dungeon creatures being hunted by other vessels also crewed by dun- you know what forget about it, I could feel a migraine begin to form just by thinking about it.
Captain Muriel, returned to stand next to the helmswoman and began barking orders “Anchors Aweigh, full speed ahead, set sail for the outpost!”
To which the crew responded with shouts of ‘aye-aye cap’n’
Then I began to hear singing. I think the lyrics started with ‘Now we are ready to head for the horn’ or something like that…
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CaSmUr Pov:
It took roughly about 35 minutes give or take of sailing before we arrived at this sort of mini docks, if one could call it that…
We had to land using row boats from the ship, but anyways we were greeted by two more women, one has red hair tied into a ponytail, and wore some kind of buttoned shirt with red and white horizontal stripes, a red scarf tied around her neck, she also wore white trousers completed by a tan top hat and black ankle length boots.
The girl next to her has short messy jet black hair, wearing a tan shirt, brown trousers, and a straw hat. Finishing off, she wore black knee-length boots.
Behind the two sat a small wooden house and a watchtower next to the house. Right across from both structures is a small wooden building with a thatch roof. Above the door which showed a sign that had a picture of a crate filled with all sorts of items. Judging from the sign, that building is the warehouse.
“Hello there dear visitors!” The Redhead greeted with a smile, as we stepped off of the boat and moved onto the docks. “What brings you here?”
I looked back to my companions, “So, anything we need specifically?” I asked.
Markus approached the two women, “Aye, we like to see if you’ve got any supplies we may need.”
“Hmm, come with me, I’m the one that handles the supplies.” The Black haired girl said, beckoning Markus to follow her. “Follow me to the warehouse.”
“Aye, I’ll go too, just remembered that the ship ran out of rum.” A Crewmember of the ship said, before promptly following them. All three soon disappeared into the warehouse.
My attention was brought back to the redhead, when she clapped a couple of times. “Mhm, now I'm very sorry for the late introduction. I was too excited to have guests! Now, my name is Rosey and that other girl with black hair is Mariah!” Rosey said, in an overly hyper tone.
“Um, actually what else can we find on the island? Y’know besides this.” Najira asked as she gestured to the buildings, which in turn caused Rosey to immediately deflate like a balloon, dropping onto the floor, and she’s liquifying...
“This Island is too small… I searched everywhere for any secrets… Mother, why is this island small?” Rosey somehow said with a sad and depressed tone, staring directly at someone behind me, as she’s turned into a puddle on the ground.
I turn around behind me, curious as to where or rather who she’s gazing at. Only to find Amelia's cheeks red and attempting to hide her face with her clipboard.
“Hey what’s that on your back? I’m gonna be honest here, I’ve never seen a gun with 7 barrels.” Greorjy said, walking up to Rosey’s liquid form… and pointing to that strange 7 barreled firearm.
Suddenly Rosey solidified, and jumped right back up startling Greorjy causing him to lose his balance, before he fell, he was caught by both Hazmir and Samarra.
“Why I’m glad you asked!” Rosey practically yelled in excitement, as she unslung her strange firearm, and presented it to us. “This here beauty is what we like to call the ‘Nock Volley Gun’ or just Nockgun for short, it’s got seven barrels for seven times the blast potential!”
“Wait, wouldn’t the recoil of that thing break your shoulders?” Hazmir commented.
As for me? Well I’m afraid I wouldn’t have been able to tell, since I’m not knowledgeable when it comes to firearms.
Rosey’s past excitement died at Hazmir’s question , “Well, uhh, um, yeah… it does break the shoulders of anyone who isn’t a Nockgunner.”
Warehouse door opened, as Markus was the first to exit pushing a cart with three crates, followed by that Crew Woman who was carrying 8 crates.
Wait! She’s carrying 8 crates?!?! How is that even possible, oh wait Dungeon Creature… man you always forget that the sentients one talks to in this dungeon are Dungeon Creatures.
And lastly, Mariah, that black haired girl came out and closed the door behind her as she followed behind Markus and that Crew Woman.
“Aye this should be everything.” That Crew Woman then walked to the dock behind us.
“I think this Island’s all there is to it, come on let’s get back on the ship.” Markus said, following the Crewwoman.
“I guess it’s time for us to go too.” I plainly stated, getting nods of agreement from my party members, we turned and began walking to the dock.
“Wait!” Rosey yelled, and ran up to me “Before you go, I’m gonna give you this just for stopping by to talk.” A small wooden box materialized in her hands and she gave it to me.
Opening the box which revealed 6 tokens which appear to have our faces etched onto them.
“Use those tokens to get free drinks and food at the tavern in Port Magen! And come visit us again” Rosey said, waving at us “Oh and tell my sister, that I said Hi!”
Smiling, I replied, “Thank you, Ms Rosey, and I’ll be sure to come visit whenever I’m on this floor. Not sure about these knuckleheads in my party.” Afterwards, I closed the box and continued walking, eventually meeting the rest back at the rowboat, which was also holding a stack of 9 crates at the back.
“So what did Rosey give you?” Samarra asked.
“Six tokens, custom made for each of us, we can use these to supposedly get free drinks and or food at a tavern in Port Magen.” I replied, opening the box and handing the tokens to my party.
“Alright, scratch that ruin, we're changing our destination to Port Magen!” Markus declared, receiving unanimous agreements from the party, well except for Samarra he said nothing.
I am kinda hungry, I hope this tavern serves food.
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Still cAsMuR POV:
We’ve been sailing on the open ocean for a good 4 hours and 35 minutes and have just now entered open water, as the Manarias Party and I were seated upon a table generously placed on the deck for us. Though truth be told I wanted to lay down on a cot somewhere below deck, but Greorjy insisted saying and I quote “We’ve got to experience authentic pirate life!” Which personally I don’t understand, but he was really excited when he said it.
“SEA DOGS SPOTTED CAP’N! PORTSIDE!” I heard someone yell from the top of the crows nest, which threw the once peaceful deck into a frenzy as crew members began taking positions.
“Um, question, what is a Sea Dog?” Najira asked, tilting her head.
Markus stood up, “I don’t know, but I get the feeling that something’s about to go down!”
The moment Markus finished speaking, the ship rocked as something struck it, followed by the deafening sound of explosions. Cannons quickly fired back at whatever it is that hit us, the blasts echoing across the sea. I still find it odd and amazing that the weapons used by the dungeon creatures here have any magical crystals whatsoever.
Anyway, I sprinted to the bow of the ship and spotted two smaller vessels in the distance. One appeared to be the size of a frigate, while the other was either a schooner or a sloop. Squinting, I noticed small flagpoles at the stern of both ships. The smaller ship flew a red, white, and blue tricolor flag, while the larger ship displayed a red cross intersected by red lines forming an X, with blue triangles between the lines.
“TAKE COVER!” My observation was immediately cut short as another explosion impacted the ship. Which caused me to instinctively dive behind a set of barrels nearby.
I stood up and sprinted towards a 3 woman gun crew to the left side of the ship. “Is there anything I could do?”
The first Crew Woman holding a ramrod gave me said ramrod, “Here hold this, the sponge is still wet, I’ll be back with another bucket of water since it spilled!”
The cannon I was now manning fired, rolling backwards and the gun port was quickly closed.
“First sponge the inside, and quick!” I inserted the sponge, which looked like a blackened cylinder that has been attached to a stick, into the bore, reaching deeper into the barrel, before hitting the end. I was unsure of how many times I should do this, so I repeated this motion about three times.
Then the second Crew Woman came over holding an oval shaped paper wrap, inserting it into the bore. “Do what you just did with the sponge but use the opposite end.” She said, before picking up an iron ball.
I repeated the actions I did with the sponge, this time using the other end which had a conical shape to the end. I had to repeat this two more times for the iron ball and a wad of paper. After all of this was done, we pushed the cannon towards the gun port.
The last Crew Woman, presumably the gun captain, pulled a rope which opened the gun port, then she pulled a lanyard, which was attached to the gun.
BOOM!
It was very fortunate that I installed a soundproofing mechanism to my helmet, otherwise I would’ve definitely gone def. Once the smoke cleared, I could see that small ship sinking, as its mast came tumbling down, and her crew abandoned ship.
By this time the first Crew Woman had returned carrying a bucket. “Thanks for the support! I’ll take over from here why don-” She was cut off when someone yelled.
“AVAST YE LADS, WE BE BOARDING THAT BLOODY FRIGATE!” Soon enough, we were sailing dangerously close to that frigate, all while both ships exchanged fire.
Once both ships were practically side by side, many of the Queen Anne’s Crew jumped on board the frigate, I could hear the clashing of steel.
I unsheathed my cutlass and made my way to the railing, leaning over to watch. Below, women dressed in red coats, white trousers, gray knee-length boots, and black top hats with yellow trims moved about. Each hat bore a black circular insignia on the right side, with a red and white plume protruding just behind it. Fighting alongside them are women who wore white and light blue striped button up shirts and khaki trousers. Some of them were also wearing scarves on their heads.
Cutlass in hand, I vaulted over the ledge and quickly landed on the deck. I had forgotten I was wearing full plate armor, so jumping down from the much larger ship, combined with the weight of my armor, meant I was bound to crash onto someone or something with full force.
The moment I landed, or rather slammed onto the deck, I heard a pretty audible crack even amidst the clashing, and the wood under me snapped in half causing me to fall and crash face first on top of a barrel below deck destroying it entirely.
Ouch, good thing my armor has cushioning inside, otherwise I’d have been knocked out. Unfortunately my armor has been dented in some areas.
“Oi, those bloody pirates have made it below!” I look up to find an enemy sailor about to strike me with a cutlass.
I don’t think I’ll be able to dodge this strike. I am currently on the floor and my armor is weighing me down. The best I can do is attempt to parry with my cutlass which was somehow still in my hands.
She swung, but I raised my cutlass just in time to block her sword swing, however this was short lived as I could sense the barrel of a firearm pointed at my head.
I closed my eyes, waiting for my end and respawn back on Queen Anne’s Revenge. I heard a bang… well two bangs actually.
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I open my eyes and I find two bodies at my feet and Muriel standing in front of me, dual wielding pistols in her hands with smoke coming out.
“Get up, lassie, ship’s almost ours, the captain is at the front bow with her last remaining crew.” She said, as she holstered her pistols and reached out her hand.
I took her hand, getting back up. “Quite the fall eh.” Muriel commented, I could feel a smirk behind that comment.
“Let’s just go.” I deadpanned, and Muriel let out a hearty chuckle.
Muriel and I returned to the top deck, and had to push through a crowd of crew women and bodies. Once we were at the bow of the ship. I spotted a woman who I assume is the captain, as she’s wearing a hat similar to what Markus is currently wearing, except she’s wearing it front to back, a bluecoat with gold buttons and white trousers.
She’s hiding behind 6 of those red coated, top hat wearing women. Just in front of that group is the rest of the party.
I turned to Muriel next to me, “Muriel, Let's finish this shall we?”
Unsheathing her cutlass Muriel laughed, “Aye, took the words out of me mouth!”
As we approached the party, Greorjy was the first to notice both Muriel and I approach. “Hah so Casmur lives!”
“Oh? I thought the fall would’ve done her in!” Markus piped up.
I let out a long sigh, “I’m not escaping from this am I?”
“Hahah, nope.” Hazmir said, giving me a hard pat on my armored back.
“Oi! Don’t bloody ignore us! We’re still here ye mangy scoundrels!” Oh… I think we actually forgot about those seven for a moment… Awkward.
“Charge! For Britain, For Amelia! Britannia Rules the Waves!” The seven rushed at us, to which my party plus Muriel countercharged. We each split off, choosing our targets individually. I happen to face off with the one on the left.
She thrusts with her bayonet, which did nothing but scrape my armor. However I can’t be too careless, as she could penetrate my armor if she aimed for the dents.
She thrusts again, but I parried it with my cutlass. This is not good, I only have a short sword and she has the reach advantage, especially in an area with limited space to maneuver around.
For the third time she thrusts, but this time I grab hold of her firearm, and yanked it towards me.
This action had taken her by surprise and as a result she fell down. Of course I took advantage, and stabbed her in the back, killing her instantly.
“Gug, Help!” I heard a frantic cry to my right. Swerving my head I saw Najira struggling as she’s entangled in a chokehold by a Red Coat.
I sprung into action, throwing my cutlass towards Najira. In hindsight this probably wasn’t the best move, but nonetheless Najira caught the cutlass, and stabbed that Red Coat in her left leg, causing her to release Najira as she clutched her leg in a vain attempt to stop the bleeding. Najira finished her off by stabbing her in the head.
“Casmur thanks for the help.” Najira said, relief evident in her voice. “Oh by the way, here's your cutlass back.”
“Thanks, and yeah, no problem.” I said, “Looks like Muriel has dealt with the captain.”
Soon enough Muriel approached Najira and I, as she held said captain over her left shoulder tied up like a sack. She was soon joined by Greorjy, And Markus.
“Wait, where's Hazmir and Samarra?” I asked. “They were just here with us?”
“Weeeeell, they both bit the bullet.” Markus responded, “ And if what Amelia’s saying is true then they should be waiting for us at Queen Anne’s Revenge.”
“Ah I se-” I was interrupted, from that captain’s incessant whining.
Muriel became irritated, “Oi shut yer mouth, or it’s off to Davy Jones’s Locker!”
“You think that’ll- AHHHHHHHHHHHH”
Splash!
The six of us became instantly silent as we witnessed Muriel chuck that captain overboard.
Note to self, DO NOT PISS OFF Muriel.
———————————————————————————————————————————————
Casmur PoV:
We continued sailing on open water after taking 2 hours of looting that frigate and performing ad hoc repairs on the Queen Anne’s Revenge. Though I don’t know why we didn’t scuttle that ship.
By now the sun had just begun to set. Wait, how is it possible for this dungeon to have day night cycles? Ahhhhhhh! Stop questioning this dungeon Casmur! You’ll only hurt yourself this way!
I removed my helmet, and proceeded to slap myself, afterwards I re-equip my helmet.
“Whoa, you good there Casmur?” Greorjy asked, with a worried look on his face.
I shrugged, “Oh nothing, it's to stop myself from asking more questions about this dungeon.”
“O-kay then,” Greorjy said, “Oh look what I found!” He reached into his left pocket and pulled out a deck of cards.
“Huh, that's pretty neat.” I said, “Speaking of finding things, I found this top hat, the same ones that those RedCoats were wearing. I'm planning on giving it to my father as a gift. He’d unironically wear it.”
“LAND HO!” Almost by instinct, Greorjy and I stood up and rushed over to the railings. There in the distance, we spotted wooden walls and a great big sign that read ‘Welcome to Port Magen’
It didn’t take long for us to dock at the harbor. We then hear Muriel’s booming voice, “Well enjoy yer shore leave me mateys! I be speakin to the harbormaster about repairs.”
A ramp was lowered leading towards the docks.
“Well shall we?” Greorjy said, I shrugged my shoulders. We walked down, only to be met by a blonde-haired woman in a dark bluecoat and trousers, as well as those hats that the captain and Markus wore. She's also wearing some kind of dark sunglasses and is smoking a pipe. Judging by her attire she must be an officer, or a leader of some sort.
Behind her she is accompanied by 4 more blonde-haired women, but their head wear is this tall circular visored hat with a red plume at the top and a gold plate with the letters AY and… Amelia? Nope, not gonna think about it.
She took off her pipe, “Pirates… Well just be aware that Port Magen is under the protection of the United States so I don’t wanna hear any complaints from the Spaniards and the Russians.”
“Uhh we won’t cause any trouble.” Hazmir said, walking behind Greorjy and I “Though not sure about our pirate compatriots.”
Muriel appeared and leaned on the ship’s railings, “Relax there missy, my crew won’t cause trouble on the ONLY port here right?” She said, in a thinly veiled threat towards her crew.
The response was immediate as a chorus of NO ‘MA’AM’S’ sprung from all over the ship.
“Well then, welcome to Port Magen.” That Blonde-haired Officer said, “Any questions?”
By now the rest of my party had joined Greorjy and I at the docks.
Greorjy raised his hand “Uh yes, I have one. Where did you get those glasses?”
“Oh this? Well I found it.” The Blonde Haired Officer said.
“Hang on! You did not find that.” It was now that Amelia had finally spoken after being silent for a long time. Ok I’m gonna admit, I completely forgot that Amelia was accompanying us and was writing things down on her clipboard.
“You practically begged me to give you aviators, even though those shades don’t even fit the time period!” Amelia continued as she pouted.
That woman coughed, covering her mouth in a vain attempt to hide her glowing red cheeks. “Well If you need anything I’ll be here keeping watch on that pirate vessel. Believe me, we’ve got cannons loaded and pointed at that vessel.”
“Well if there’s nothing else then I guess we can just keep going.” I said, walking further to the town, with the rest of my party trailing behind.
We walked for about 10 minutes, and by now my party has split off, or rather I split off from the party as they immediately went to the tavern, which is located just one block to the left after exiting the docks.
As for me? Well, I uh, somehow found my way to a farm just outside the town’s palisade, and have somehow gotten roped into helping harvest potatoes by a woman with black hair, wearing a dark green frock coat and pants named Kalagina Inessa Savelievna, very long name, so I’ve just been calling her Kalagina. For the past hour, I have done nothing but harvest potatoes. At least I get to keep them so that's a nice plus. We ended up harvesting about one thousand potatoes, and about two hundred of those were picked by me.
“Da, this good potato,” Kalagina said with a very heavy accent of some kind, if I were to guess it’d be a Nomnian accent.
“Are you sure full armor is wise?” She said, “After all we’re in field, da.”
“Eh, I’m sure it’ll be fine, sun’s setting anyways.” I replied, as I am harvesting potatoes and depositing them in a crate. “By the way, where will these potatoes be going?”
“Ahh, they going to tavern, though for you? Get to keep potatoes you pick. Is only fair for making you work” Kalagina answered, stopping as she harvested the last potato, in this very big field. “Ohoho, this a lot potatoes we pick for today, come on we go and deliver to tavern now yes.”
Well, I guess I'm heading to the tavern either way. We walked for another ten minutes as Kalagina led me to the back door of the tavern. She opened it and beckoned me inside, where we stepped into a spacious kitchen. To the left were four cooktop stoves with an oven below, flanked by two sinks. On the right stood four fridges for storing fruits and vegetables, with a door labeled 'Meat Locker' beside them. In the middle of the room were flat counters, presumably for storing extra ingredients and for cutting. Across from us, a door led into the main area of the tavern. We spotted a woman with shoulder-length brown hair tied into a ponytail, wearing a dark green dress with a black corset, a red ribbon around her waist, black knee-length boots, and thigh-high stockings. Over her dress and corset, she wore a white apron and was currently busy cooking something.
“Privet Jackie! I come with potatoes you requested.” Kalagina announced.
“That’s great! Set them by the other produce to the left of where I am.” Jackie answered while still focusing on her dish. “I will end up using them anyway.”
“Looks like you need some help.” I said, setting the crate I was holding, after I had pocketed 10 potatoes and stored them in my bag of holding.
“Oh that would be great, next time I’ll ask mom to give a few helpers.” Jackie said as she let out an exasperated sigh. Then she looked away from her dish and glanced at me, “Though you better wash your gauntlets.”
“I think I’ll just take off my armor.” I replied, as I snapped my fingers and my armor vanished. Fortunately my mother is an enchanter and enchanted my armor for free, otherwise this type of enchantment would’ve cost me an arm and a leg literally. “Anyway you don’t mind me being here?”
“Nope not all,” Jackie casually replied, “Especially since you came in with one of the Dungeon Creatures, like myself that inhabit this floor.”
“Da, I help too! Make Russian food!” Kalagina declared, raising a wooden spoon, being completely oblivious to our conversation.
“Where’s the menu?” I asked, “If we’re gonna cook food for customers, then there's got to be a menu.”
Jackie looked embarrassed, “Uhh about that, I may not have one for meals.” Jackie replied with a strained smile, “Look I wasn’t prepared nor did I expect people to order food! So I had to quickly improvise a food menu, not finished.” She handed both Kalagina and I this unfinished menu, and yep it’s exactly as I expected, completely bare bones.
“So does this mean we can add anything?” I asked. I’m not going to lie, I’m taking this opportunity to add in some traditional Moon Elf cuisine onto this menu.
Jackie finished the dish she was cooking and set it on a plate nearby, the dish is the steak with salad. “Uh, yes if we can procure it locally.”
“Alright, time to get to work.” I start by grabbing some tomatoes and a spare cutting board before heading directly to the flat countertops in the middle, as for what I’m making? They’re both Moon Elven dishes that when translated in human tongue is called Lunar Garden Salad, requires special ingredients only found in the north of the Maryura Continent, so I shall be using substitutes which are lettuce, tomatoes, radishes, vinaigrette, and crumbled cheese. The taste should be relatively the same. The next dish I plan on whipping up and adding on the menu is called Starfire Stew, again the closet ingredients would be venison or any kind of red meat I prefer venison, carrots, sweet or regular potatoes, onions, garlic, any kinds of herbs I prefer rosemary, and lastly barley and bone broth.
[Intense Cooking Commences]
“Hey, we’re out of lettuce!” I said.
Jackie held two plates, and was about to open the door. “That’s fine, I’m about to close up for the night. In the meantime I’ll go serve these two plates to Samarra and Hazmir”
“Alright.” I said, as I finished cooking the last piece of venison and transferring it onto a bowl, the Starfire Stew was finished and ready to serve for the last customers, which according to Jackie was the rest of the Manarias Party sitting at one of the corner tables. Oh they’ll definitely get a kick out of this, which fortunately they all said and quote “Surprise us.”
“You got the orders?” I ask, holding a wooden tray containing a plate of Lunar Garden Salad for Najira, and the Starfire Stew for Greorjy. The man loves stews.
“Da, got Borscht for Markus!” Kalagina said, with pride I can tell she worked extremely hard on this ‘Borscht’ next time I stop by.
Kalagina and I walked towards the door carrying our dishes, and stepped into the tavern proper. Now, if I am being honest, this tavern has nothing remarkable, save for it being in a dungeon, as I’ve seen this layout numerous times, though this does have a nice warm cozy charm, I’ll give it that.
It didn’t take long for my party to notice me. “Whoa, Casmur not in her armor? This sure is surprising.” Greorjy exclaimed, feigning a shocked look.
“Har har, you know I can just retract your meal. And eat it.” I sort of snapped at Greorjy, which caused him to shut up immediately, then I set the plate of Lunar Garden Salad in front of Najira, and the bowl of Starfire Stew to Greorjy “Anyways, this is for you Greorjy, and this one’s for you Najira. Both are dishes from my homeland.”
Both Greorjy and Najira begin to dig in, smiling after each bite. I was glad they liked the Moon Elven cuisine I cooked.
“Uhh what is this red syrupy thing on my bowl?” Markus poked at some beetroot chunks with a fork.
Kalagina stared at him expectantly. “Come on, try, is good, promise!”
Markus stabbed at a chunk of beetroot, and hesitatingly, with shaking hands, raised the fork near his mouth, and took a bite, chewing slowly, then almost immediately he went starry eyed. One can even see actual stars in his eyes, and before long he grabbed the bowl and gulped it down in one sitting.
“Haha, see I told you is good!” Kalagina declared with pride.
“Alright I think we’ve dallied for too long, let's get back on the ship.” I said, getting unanimous nods of agreement from among my party members.
I gave a short bow to Kalagina, who waved in response, as my party members left the tavern one by one, until it was just me left.
As I was about to exit Jackie ran over holding a bowl wrapped in cloth. “Here take this, it's on the house for helping!” She said, handing the bowl to me, “I tried my hand at making Starfire Stew after watching you make one, so I hoped I did okay.”
I nodded, as the bowl disappeared in my bag of holding “Why thank you Jackie, and I’ll be sure to let you know what I think of it.”
“Bye! And please come again!” Jackie said, as I exited out to my waiting party members.
“So did any of you use those tokens?” I ask, snapping my fingers as my armor reappeared.
Markus shrugged, “Well we used it to get free drinks, and the rest of us thought about getting free food, but then Samarra spoke and convinced us to pay for the food.”
“Oh wow, I would’ve done the complete opposite, get free food and pay for the drinks.” I state, earning chuckles from my comrades.
And we walked in silence towards the dockyards. Which took us about 3 hours, because Greorjy had to ask every passerby who had guns questions, and even went on a shooting competition! Which were based on who could shoot the most bottles in 10 minutes, and ok I admit the shooting competition was entertaining.
Greorjy lost, though he’d never admit that.
Moving on, as soon as we arrived at the docks, it's now sundown. “You think Muriel will let us sleep on the ship?” Hazmir asked.
“Why of course you can! Ye can even sleep in me cabin if ye want!” Muriel said, appearing out of nowhere and startling all of us.
“Well that’s great!” Najira said, yawning, “Well let's-” She was interrupted when an explosion was heard nearby.
“Blast, ALL HANDS ON DECK!” Muriel screamed as she ran over to the ramp and disappeared into the Queen Anne’s Revenge.
We heard footsteps to the right of us, as that Blonde Officer from before came running accompanied by 8 other soldiers.
“Man the shore batteries! Get into positions!” The Officer commanded, as all 8 split off in different directions as more explosions continued to occur over the town.
Her attention was then directed to us, “You six, follow me! We’re under attack and surprisingly not from the pirates!”
She ran and we followed, “Where are we going?”
“To the armory, it’s got more shore batteries that’ll easily be able to overlook the town and the surrounding waters. Plus we can arm all five of you with muskets.” She explained, while running at full speed.
It didn’t take us long to reach a stone square building, with stone brick walls surrounding the base, with a gate entrance on the far-left. I could spot 4 cannons, two at the base, and 2 inside gun casemates on the stone fort, and at the top is an even bigger cannon. All in all, a pretty decent fortress for a small town.
“Inside!,” She led us through the gate, as a cannon from inside the casemate fired, and also on the base.
“Grr, I was just about to go to bed!” She said, “through those doors is the armory, stock up on guns! You’ll need it.”
“Wait, but I don’t know how to use them.” Najira protested, raising her bow as if to make her point.
“Well you better learn quick then.” Was all she said, before running out of the fort.
Another explosion rang out, causing a section of the stone brick wall to collapse. Through the remains, six figures emerged, all dressed in slightly dark-bluecoats and trousers. They wore black top hats adorned with a gold plate depicting an eagle, topped by a red, white, and blue circle, and a large blue pom-pom above it.
Najira gave them an awkward smile and waved. “Uhh hello.”
They all pointed their guns at us, “EVERYONE TAKE COVER!!!” I yelled, which spurned everyone to move as a crackle of six shots simultaneously firing was heard.
All the while another explosion rang out this time hitting the stone tower, as a cannon from inside returned fire. “Guys, I think I’ve been hit.” Najira said, causing me to run up to her.
“THEY’RE COMING!” Greorjy yelled, as he fired his gun at the smoke cloud, watching as a figure fell.
I soon reach Najira as she’s on the ground bleeding.
“HAZMIR GET OVER HERE!” I yelled, trying to get his attention, “Najira, look at me, where did you get hit?”
“I-I-I-I don’t know, I think my left leg.” She responded, before coughing.
I scanned around her left leg, and sure enough I spotted two holes, one on her thigh, and another on her ankle. It was at this moment that Hazmir arrived.
“Let's get her inside the building where it’s safer.” He said, finding myself nodding in agreement.
“Ok Najira, we’re gonna try to bring you inside, just hold on.” I said, “Alright Hazmir grab her bow, I think some of her arrows fell, I’m gonna drag her inside.”
“Aye, will do.” He said.
———————————————————————————————————————————————
Casmur POV
I had successfully dragged Najira inside the building, where we were greeted by two of those ‘United States Marines’ who went out to confront those invaders. As for right now, Hazmir is tending to her wounds. Of course we can just respawn on the ship, but once we either fail or succeed in the dungeon, we will feel every accumulated wound as phantom pain.
It’s just better overall if there’s less. In the background more explosions occurred and the building would occasionally shake, and the cannons inside would return fire in a rhythmic dance.
“How's she?” I asked, as Hazmir came over, “She’ll live, but it was pretty hard at trying to remove those bullets, let’s say.”
I nodded, “I see well in that c-”
The door burst open, admitting Greorjy, Markus, Samarra, and a US Marine in. As Markus and that US Marine worked to block the door using whatever they could find. So far they’ve only managed to find boxes, chairs, and barrels.
“Gah, there’s too many, the courtyard has been overrun as those blue soldiers have been joined with soldiers wearing blue and white trousers with more of those circular caps that's got an anchor at the front and a red plume at the top, alongside those redcoats from earlier!” Greorjy exclaimed.
“Get that wounded up to the second floor pronto!” The US Marine ordered, as she overturned a table, and relocated it to face the door.
“I’ll do it,” Markus said, lifting the unconscious Najira, and going up a flight of stairs.
“Get ready!” Greorjy said, ducking behind the table, alongside the US Marine, while Hazmir positioned himself to the left of the door. I unsheathed my longsword, though I don’t bother with equipping my shield.
They’re attempting to bash the door open, but the impromptu barricades are still holding strong. Until they stopped, and there was only silence. A very deafening silence.
The door was blown open sending debris scattering everywhere, causing everyone to take immediate cover, Hazmir wasn’t lucky being so close to the door a great many debris have hit him and he’s lying on the floor very much dead with his body being littered with splinters of all shapes and sizes.
Oh me? Yeah I was completely unharmed since plate armor fully protected me, yes even the dented parts. Almost immediately a mass of red and bluecoats came charging in.
Both Markus and That US Marine came out and both fired at once, killing two as they dropped to the ground, and quickly ducking behind their table.
I lifted my longsword and with a great swing, I sliced through a redcoat killing her instantly, and I bash another to my left, disorienting her, before knocking her unconscious.
Another came at me from the front. She was electrocuted by Samarra. I could hear footsteps from upstairs, as Markus came running down, wielding a sword and shield. Another explosion occurred outside as a portion of the walls collapsed, adding yet another point of entry for the invaders.
“Retreat upstairs, come on I’ll cover you!” I ordered, gripping my longsword even tighter.
The US Marine was the first up the stairs, as she fired off a shot.
“Casmur I’m with you!” Markus said, moving next to me. “There’s too many, you think we’ll make it out?”
“I hope so! The Dungeon avatar is essentially giving us a free pass by placing us on the last floor.” I said, and at the mention of her, Amelia popped her head out from behind some boxes and waved at me, before disappearing behind them.
Greorjy stepped up onto the stairs, “We’ll cover you from the stairs goodluck!”
I gripped my longsword tighter as I counted at most 20 red and bluecoats, 10 inside the building and the other 10 outside. We may not come out alive, err let me rephrase. We won’t come back for a week.
“Let’s go down with a bang shall we.” Markus said, flashing me a smirk.
We charged going in different directions, I swung my longsword at a bluecoat slicing her firearm in half as she had raised it in a feeble attempt to block my swing. In the end I tore through her chest, and delivered my final blow when kicked her now lifeless body.
I swerved to my left, just in time to dodge an incoming thrust, turning around. I came face to face with a redcoat and a bluecoat with white trousers.
The redcoat raised her firearm, and fired causing me to duck down as I heard a body drop to the ground.
However, me being crouched was taken advantage of, as I was pushed to the ground with the redcoat girl standing over me with a smug expression.
She took my helmet and tossed it behind her as she raised her firearm in preparation to thrust it, only for a saber to pierce through her chest, and she was knocked to the side, upon seeing this, the bluecoat with white trousers fled the building. Revealing that Blonde Officer from earlier.
“Damn, I was gone for ten minutes and I returned to this place being blown like hell.” She said, still smoking that pipe. “I returned after I had organized an ad-hoc militia, so get up soldier, we got a town to defend.”
She helped me get back up on my feet. “Thanks, though I just realized, but I know this isn’t the right time to ask, but I never got your name, mine is Casmur.”
The Blonde Officer smirked, “Hell of way for introductions, but my name is Macy, pleasure fighting with you Casmur.”
“Likewise.” I said, “So what’s the situation?”
“Well good news we sunk a frigate, severely damaged the second one, bad news a Ship-of-the-line appeared and is currently engaged with the pirate vessel.” Macy said, as she and I ran outside to the courtyard finding a chaotic melee occurring as civilians clashed with the soldiers we were just fighting.
A cannon fired from inside the building causing cheers to erupt from the inside, Macy took out a spyglass and began looking through it.
“Haha yes, both frigates down!” Macy cheered, even doing a little dance. This of course was short lived as the ground began to shake violently, causing everyone to stop fighting and be confused.
A set of 6 huge tentacles rose up from beneath the ocean and they began circling around both of the big ships who were previously engaged in combat not but a moment ago, another set of 4 came barreling towards us at the fortress.
“Well shit… we’re gonna need a bigger cannon.” Macy states, lowering her glasses down to the base of her nose.
As she said that I got a system notification.
Mini Boss Fight - The Kraken
Soon enough at the very top of my vision a red health bar appeared with the name of the boss on top of said health bar.
Well, first boss fight inside of this peculiar dungeon…