We traveled more grueling miles through the dunes until the sun rose high. Gadaan took shelter underneath a large cliff face and waited for the sun to set. He knew we were on a time limit. Our food and water were scarce. There was enough to make it to Hubloc still, but not if we spent another day out here.
Everyone swept the sands for the entrance to the dungeon during the frosty hours of dusk and dawn. We combed a flat field that Gadaan swore was the opening. I knew not what was written on his parchments, but he counted each step he took. The beast held it to the stars above, trying to match the constellations.
“It should be here!” he sneered.
Briar and Selara walked along the dunes with rusty lanterns while the rest of us took a huddled respite around a fire.
“How much do you want to bet that we ain’t finding it?” Ethan said with chattering teeth.
Mist floated from Mell’s yawn, “I’m giving him until sun-up, then we’re leaving.”
Taro nodded silently while I observed the treasure-hunters. Gadaan paced back and forth while Briar would stay near him and listen to the winds. On the other hand, I saw Selara be much more proactive with her time. She climbed the red sandstone cliffs with nimble hands and quick footwork. We tried to climb it before but our orcish grip was unable to secure any handholds without tearing them from the rock.
Selara made it to the top. Her dull blue cloak billowed in the windswept desert as her shining blonde hair danced with the stars. I didn’t know if all elves had better eyesight, but she certainly did.
“I see it!” she exclaimed.
All of us followed where she pointed but saw no grand entrance befitting of a dungeon. Selara exhaled in annoyance and slid down the cliff with grace. She skipped to the north, just a dozen steps past Gadaan, and stood atop the dune she declared was the doorway. But as we stepped closer, the moonlight glistened off the crystal sands that glanced off the curved structure buried in the desert.
We stepped onto the stone next to Selara. What we saw was no sand dune, but a bowl-shaped cavity that sunk into the lands.
“How the hell did we miss this?” I said.
“Nice one, elf-eyes!” Ethan exclaimed. He nudged Selara's shoulder and she took an uncomfortable half-step away from the orc.
I had to stop the rest of the crew before they sprinted down the jagged steps of stone that spiraled around the perimeter. “We should party up before we explore this place.”
“Agreed,” Taro said.
Ethan and Mell groaned but the rest of us opened our [Party Members] menu and added one another. I already had Taro added but I found it amusing that both the siblings had the exact same stats.
Ethan Hilldoc
Health: 30/30
Stamina: 30/30
Mana: 10/10
Monsters Slain: 0
Mell Hilldoc
Health: 30/30
Stamina: 30/30
Mana: 10/10
Monsters Slain: 0
Selara
Health: 20/20
Stamina: 20/20
Mana: 30/30
Monsters Slain: 0
Briar Montrove
Health: 20/20
Stamina: 20/20
Mana: 20/20
Monsters Slain: 0
“There’s six of you but I only have five added, am I missing someone?” I asked.
Briar pulled on my shirt and whispered in my ear while Gadaan stood back with crossed arms and a tapping paw. “We can’t add him. He doesn’t have a [System] like we do.”
“Oh, right. Thanks for letting me know.” I went over to our driver and explained to him how the [System] was attached to us hybrids.
He waved me off, “Do whatever sorcery you wish! It’s not like I have treasure to attend to…” the beast huffed.
While we were adding each other, I saw Selara squint her eyes while she was messing with her menus.
“What’s up?” I asked.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
“It says I reached the ‘Party Maximum.’”
“You have five brothers you’re already partied with, right? I suppose 10 is the limit.”
Selara left with a hum and was the first to walk down the steps.
“Wait, what about weapons?” Mell asked.
“What if there’s a dragon!?” her brother shouted.
Gadaan rolled his eyes and continued down the steps. “I got one on me and I already gave my spare to the pup. The knight has a longsword and the boy has a sickle, what else do we need to cut cobwebs?”
The twins huffed and we all continued down the stairs. I couldn’t see the bottom of the entrance except for the layer of sand that built on the floor over time. The dust-ridden walls were carved from the same red stone as the cliffs nearby. I ran my hand over them and I could feel the intricate curves and swirls etched into them.
Lantern light washed over us as we stood at the bottom of the pit. I looked up and could see the waves of sand fly over us and pour small grains upon us. Selara looked around and found a thin doorway inside. After one step, all of the hybrids could see a [System] message appear in front of her.
[DUNGEON DISCOVERED!]
[Input Location Name]
Ethan loomed over the elf’s shoulder to read the notification, “Oh shit! We’re the first one’s here!”
“Of course we are,” Gadaan said. “This place hasn’t been touched for centuries.”
Selara shoved him off her shoulder and turned away, thinking of a name to give the dungeon.
“Name it something stupid like Selara’s Hole!” Ethan cackled.
Selara scoffed with a disgusted expression while Mell continued to yell at her brother.
Taro, Gadaan, and I waited patiently as Briar went up to our explorer and sheepishly suggested naming it something pretty like Rose Stone Sanctuary but Selara shook her head and the young half-beast solemnly put their head down with a quiet “Oh…”
Selara looked at me for a suggestion and I shrugged. As much as I was a poet at heart, I had too little to go on to permanently name this dungeon. She clicked her tongue and spoke the name we all waited to hear, “Gadaan’s Grotto.” It was finalized on the [Map] and the name appeared on our screens as we entered the doorway.
Ethan booed while the rest of us shrugged and carried on down the dark hall. While we stepped ahead, I could hear our driver and the elf talk behind us.
“Although I can’t see what you’re all seeing, I appreciate it, missy.”
“It should be named after the one searching for it after all.”
Through the first carved hall, we finally found an empty room void of sand. I shook the red dust from my pelt like a year-old rug while the others dumped the crystallized grains of time from their boots. Taro lifted his visor and an entire dune poured from underneath.
“That’s enough sand to build a castle for such an esteemed knight such as yourself,” I jested. Taro left me with only a scoff. Still a win in my book. I found this once-Japanese man more peculiar as we traveled together. He was more aggressive than I initially thought he was but I suppose if I was in the middle of fornicating with my boss and was thrusted into this world then I’d be pissed too.
Although we were excited to explore the dungeon, we were sun-beaten and bruised from the gales blown from distant dunes. The cold touch of the stone and chilly breeze in the air zapped the rest of our energy. I made a small flame on the floor out of Gadaan’s fire starter and the last of the wooden debris we had on the wagon. Surprisingly, I was met with a [System] notification.
Skill Level-Up!
[Firemaking] — LVL 2 -> LVL 3
“Ah nice. You guys see that?”
“See what?” Selara asked.
Guess that answers my question. “I just leveled up my [Firemaking] to level three. I guess I did it enough times.”
Briar was the only one to feint any interest but they seemed to genuinely care. “You barely used any kindling, how’d you know it’d light?” they asked.
“Something just clicked in my head that I didn’t need it. I hollowed a bit out of the wood earlier and just flew the spark inside the log and… y’know.” There was no proper way to explain how I knew or what my technique was, it was like my hands acquired muscle memory in such a short amount of time.
Briar tilted their head but I could tell they somewhat knew what I meant. The rest of the party surrounded the fire and sat against the stone walls. I could see each of their [Stamina] bars steadily start to rise.
“How long are we resting? An hour?” Selara asked, digging through her rucksack.
Gadaan sneered through fanged-teeth, “I know you have the itch to explore more but we must take our time. It’s not going anywhere.”
Selara slid her back to the stone floor with a pout.
“Before we do anything,” said Ethan, “I have some questions.”
“Proceed,” Gadaan groaned with his hat lowered over his eyes.
“One, do we know for certain there aren't any monsters here? And two, if there are monsters, do any of us have skills to fight them!?”
Mell slapped his arm, “Don’t be dumb! There’s seven of us! Taro killed an actual person and Karnyn’s stats say that he killed a monster before.”
Gadaan lifted his hat with a claw to look at the sickle on my hip, “How’d you manage that?”
“And why is your [Mana] at zero?” Selara uttered.
Jeez, am I going to have to explain myself to every person I come across? I told the party what I told the orcs at the inn back in Kamahlor. “Taro did most of the work before he… died. I just managed to get the last couple strikes in before it was able to get me too. That’s how I got this pelt.”
“But what happened to your [Mana]?” Briar’s tone was kind, but it felt like it was the type of voice someone would give to a loved one inflicted with some fatal disease.
Either the fire got hotter or the sun rose early and scorched the sands above. I was sweating from my back and my brow. The direwolf pelt suffocated my flesh, I had to take it off. “I- I don’t know. Maybe I was just born cursed. I put the points into the rest of my attributes like you all did.”
Ethan and Mell gave me a stern inquisitive look. “If that’s the case, why isn’t your [HP] or [SP] higher?”
Shit they’re still so low it looks like I just spawned. “Oh, I just put all my points into [Crafting],” I said with a wry laugh. Fortunately, they couldn’t view my attribute levels and my [Firemaking] skill was more than enough to prove to them that I was weak by choice and it wasn’t some curse that the Creator decided to bestow upon me. Definitely.
With the party satisfied with my story, we all slept on the hard stone ground. My pelt as my blanket, my arms as my pillow, I fell to slumber that ended quicker than I anticipated.
My fire still smoldered and I could see the blue twilight of dawn from the previous hallway. Five curled up shadows surrounded me but before I could process that Selara was the one missing, I heard the creaking of wood, the clinking of metal, and the crushing of bone. I rushed down the dark winding hall with an ember-lit torch. As my footsteps echoed down the passage, the noises stopped. Through the doorway, a red crimson liquid washed over my boot as I saw five treasure chests in a circle. They surrounded a blonde-haired elf. With two halves of her body now torn at the waist.