Velua wondered what kind of game the gods were playing with her. The swamp was cut and dry an evil place where bad things happened. The peninsula as a whole was a deeply unpleasant place in general. That all made sense to her, at least in the context to why everything was absolute horror since she got into this part of the continent, but dungeons were supposed to make sense too. She had essentially lived within Whispering Stone for years, and when she wasn’t delving, then it was time for her to study about other dungeons.
The fact that there was a statue of some little girl wasn’t that strange, or that plants were all in such beautiful arrangements. The strangest thing about the start of this dungeon was that something as valuable as Hero’s Might was just sitting in the center without so much as a goblin or monster to defend it. “So, ya got the whole plant there, Molin?” She asked, watching the bard’s back to make sure that nothing suddenly surprised them. The brothers were doing much of the same by circling around the round flower bed. A fully grown Hero’s Might was worth a king’s ransom if it could be fully extracted.
“Aye, I got the whole thing! Och, this is so lucky. Just holdin’ this flower is making me old bones feel young again.” The elder said cheerfully as he brought the plant over, holding it by the stalk since the flower itself was built like a blade. He gently placed the flower into Velua’s bottomless item bag, knowing it would be safe and undisturbed in an item slot.
A popup appeared for Molin, the old man reading it over before waving his hand through it with a shake of the head. “Too old ta be changin’ classes.” He muttered as the two of them stepped out of the tilled soil. Velua was actually rather surprised, while she got pop-ups all the time, there was the thought that Molin was too old for it to still work. Then again, that sounded like someone too young to know all the things in the world making assumptions. He was just as much an adventurer as herself, and that meant he was still growing in knowledge as well as power.
“Ya lot done? Pickin’ posies like a couple’a elves. We’re lookin’ for da pride of da dwarves ‘ere. How abouts we act like it?” Twe chided the two as his brothers convened back together so the group could be more closely knit together. It was easier for a trap to take them, but it was harder for a monster to get the upper hand.
“How about ya lot take the wool out yer undies. Actin’ like an arse just because yer knickers don’t feel right.” Velua commented back, getting a bit of a laugh from the two remaining brothers before a glare shut them up once again. She pushed past them, heading deeper into the dungeon and away from those boorish boys. She walked forward until she found that she was at the edge of the river that divided the garden in two. There was a sign waiting for her, one far more chilling than she would have expected from the rest of this place. Everything seemed so gentle and odd, but the sign felt like she had somehow been thrown in to the middle of a dangerous hellscape once again.
”Warning: The shack beyond this river is off limits. Any attempts to access it will result in immediate death. This is not bait. You will be mobbed by every creature the dungeon can throw at you until there is no such thing as ‘you’ left.”
It was very cut and dry, with none of the whimsy the previous sign had been. Whatever was on the other side of this river was so precious to the dungeon that it would break etiquette just to make sure that it was safe. “You lot, make sure not to cross the river. Ain’t worth testin’ tha’ sign.” She said firmly as she turned away and began to follow the river instead of crossing it, finding that the entire river was made from a waterfall coming out of the tree. It was quite a beautiful sight, but she still couldn't exactly place what the tree actually was.
The entire garden seemed so peaceful, the beauty taking Velua away from her worries as she thought about what it would be like to live in a place like this. She knew that proper folk didn't live in dungeons, but at the same time the dungeons had always felt more like home than anywhere else. The magic in the air, the strange creatures that lived in unique existences never seen before, even the random danger was exciting.
As if on cue, the moment that thought crossed her mind a flash of gold passed by her. Her reddish-orange hair was blown back as something shot through the air directly at Twe, which was quickly followed by a scream of pain. She turned around to see a solid gold lobster with a claw imbedded in Twe’s stomach, the glittering creature hanging there before it brought up its other claw for another attack. Dum raised up his hammer and smashed his brother in the stomach to try and kill the creature before it could do any more damage to him. The resulting crack of ribs told Velua all she needed to know about the success of the attack.
“Fucking idiot! Pull it off me!” Shouted Twe as he gripped his chest, feeling the loose ribs and pain deep alongside the wound in his gut. Dum and Tle grabbed onto the lobster and pulled with all of their might, yanking the crustacean from their brother and tossing it to the ground.
“I’ve got it!” Velua shouted as she drew her sword and brought it down upon the lobster, the creature catching it in one claw as she hoped that Molin could do something about the wound. Already the older dwarf had him on the ground and was dressing the wound, singing a song to try and bring healing magic to repair his bones and stop the pain. The wound would take time to heal, but with Molin’s quick work no doubt saved Twe’s life.
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The lobster turned its eyestalks towards Velua, the awareness there that only a dungeon monster could support. She grit her teeth and yanked the blade from the creature's claw, it snipping the air at her in some manner of challenge. She growled at it as the others dealt with Twe, making sure that they would not lose another man on this journey. Her sword rose high above her head before she slashed down at the lobster, knowing that the monster had plenty of strength in its heavy shell. The primary weakness of crustaceans was ironically directly tied to their armored hides.
“Opening Slash!” She shouted as she released one of her skills upon the monster, her blade magically adjusting in the air to find the opening in the lobster’s shell. The blade caught at the joint where claw met the forearm and cut deep into meat. A gush of blue blood covered her sword as the crustacean writhed in pain from the sudden amputation. It only lasted a second before it tried to wildly slash at her with its only remaining claw.
The clank of metal on metal came as Velua caught each strike without fear, the lobster pushing her back with the sheer might of its power. She had to assume that this was a named creature, as no ordinary metallic lobster would be able to do this well against her. There was something off about its strikes, seeming to be pulling back whenever it truly tested her mettle. She would not be looked down upon by a crab’s shiny uncle, and with a defiant roar she battered the claw away before raising her blade and slamming it between the lobster’s eyestalks.
It jerked and squirmed for a few moments before going slack, what small glimmer of life it had within those glassy black beads faded. She pulled her blade from its brain and cleaned the blue blood off of it. She tossed the body into her bag along with the claw that was disconnected before going and checking on her inferior. She was relieved to find him standing, albeit with his hammer being used as a crutch. They would need to take time to rest, and wounds like those needed more than a bit of triage to heal.
“Molin… got anything to patch ‘im up better?” She asked as she looked at the older dwarf, hoping that he would have something that could at least unbreak his ribs.
“Aye, I have some magic salves that would mend the bones and clot the wound. Gotta get him… somewhere… dry.” He muttered as he looked towards the river as the water began to be disturbed. Velua was about to ask why he had trailed off before she saw what had stopped him. A crawfish pulled itself out of the water, clicking its claws in the air. Then more, some with gems on their backs, others with slime oozing out the cracks of their armor. The numbers kept climbing as they mobbed out of the water with more lobsters on the edges of the fray.
“Carry yer brother! We gotta run!” She shouted as she drew and swiped her sword against the oncoming tide, half a dozen crawfish being sliced in half with a single swing. The brothers gathered their sibling, one on each side before they lifted him off of the ground. They began running towards the tree, Molin following close behind as he watched Velua, making sure that she was not going to get overwhelmed by the oncoming crustacean tide.
The moment that she knew her allies were safe, she began to run away from the swarm. She had seen swarm tactics when it came to the dungeon back home, and it was never a good idea to try without allies. They had boosted abilities, enhanced movement, and even more things that she couldn't even predict based on the strange creatures that were there. She sheathed her blade and ran as fast as she could, not giving a moment’s thought of where she was going or what could be waiting for her away from the river.
She frowned as she saw at the end of the path of gardens and river the men were just standing, looking at something instead of running further from the danger that could encompass them. “What are you lot doin’!? We still need to move!” She shouted before she paused, standing there agape with the others. She had seen many things that had happened in dungeons, from forming mountains to crumbling ruins. She had seen dungeon creatures devour one another to gain strength, and grown dwarves weep at the beauty that surrounded them. Never before had she ever seen what seemed to be a wedding party happening on the floor of a dungeon.
There was a massive courtyard in front of the tree, with outdoor chairs and tables all across it. No parasols to hide from the sun, but with the leaves of the tree above they weren’t needed. There were dozens of the smaller fairies at each table, having little bowls and dishes around them as they gestured around at one another without speaking. Their little lights did flicker some when it came to the conversation, but there was the sound of actual chatter around the festivities.
There were two individuals in dark robes covered in black feathers that were standing near what seemed to be a feasting table. About a dozen men in fine tuxedos were wandering around the party drinking or acting like security. It seemed that the ones with blue bowties were serious, and the red bowties were having fun. There was also the bride and groom at the head of the party, a pair of elves that had bright green hair and very jovial personalities. They seemed rather happy, and even waved pleasantly at the dwarves while holding glasses of some kind of wine or ale. Before the dwarves were able to say anything, another figure appeared, a sweeping cape behind her and glittering blue stars on her military fatigues.
“You all are late! You just had to dilly dally in the gardens for so long didn’t you? Well come on then! We need to have the ceremony before you head deeper!” The somewhat elven looking woman urged as she tried to get them to hurry along into the party.