The Merulian Empire, an archipelago nation of two large islands and a half dozen smaller ones. This Empire sits within the Verqulian Sea, which is the largest sea in the continent of Borasam. Borasam itself is the largest continent on Ytregasa.
The empire boasts a fairly powerful navy, and is a center of trade for the two other nations that border the Verqulian Sea. Tucked away in the highlands of the island of Pallasta, the second largest island of the empire, is the city of Acantid.
As a city, Acantid is about average for one built inland of an island. The city is home to nearly fifty thousand, with the transient population ebbing and flowing almost ten thousand yearly. Landlocked, the city wouldn’t have grown beyond the simple farming town it had once been, had it not been for the discovery of a dungeon less than a day’s travel from its walls.
An outpost had been built, close to the dungeon. It had grown to house the empire’s adventurer’s guild and a small population who tended to the day to day of the adventurers who came to brave the dungeon. Trade between the adventurer town Lorthalt and Acantid provided each with the necessary materials to prosper.
Inside the Guild Hall of Lorthalt, two women sat at a table in the back of the common room. Liscern Pinniard, Guildmaster, Duelist and semi-retired adventurer was having a working lunch with her assistant, Lorekeeper Ophelia Memori. The two had finished eating, and were ruminating on the more lighthearted aspects of their jobs that needed tending.
Their laughter was cut short as a man burst through the door of the Hall shouting. “Guild Master! Guild Master! The dungeon!”
That caught Liscern’s ear faster than almost anything else the man could have said. It had been decades since she had heard of one happening, but if the dungeon were experiencing a break… “Well, out with it man,” she said, rising and walking around the table to him.
Out of breath, the man gulped air and said haltingly, “It just kicked everyone out of the dungeon!”
“The dungeon did what?” Ophelia said, rising herself and stalking the man. “Be very clear, what happened after?”
He shrugged, shaking his head as if still trying to understand himself what had happened. “It created a full gate, like one you’d see for a temple or castle, and shut the door.”
Both women were brought up short at that. Blinking at each other for a moment, the Lorekeeper spoke first. “That’s a new one to me, Lizzie.”
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Sighing, Liscern shook her head as she walked out the door. “I think I read something in the guild histories, but it wasn’t what I was looking for so didn’t go too much into it.”
The three exited the Hall and started towards the dungeons entrance. “What else happened before this event? After it? Did the dungeon give any indication that something was going on?”
The hapless adventurer was still trying to catch his breath as he rushed to keep up with the two. “Nothing. A few groups had already gone in, a couple others were doing last minute checks and preps. There was a roar and then everyone that had gone inside came running out. They were screaming about some new monster that was just… Giving a shoo gesture at everyone, and saying ‘Get out’. Then, the entrance changed.”
Liscern gave Ophelia a questioning look. “New monster? Some of those groups shouldn’t have had any problems with something on their floors…”
The other woman shook her head, still unsure herself. “If it came from a deeper floor, no one had ventured to? Or returned from?”
“No, we haven’t lost a full group in almost two years,” Liscern shook her head, thinking. “The dungeon hasn’t shown any signs of growth since we took over, and that was almost a decade ago. So, no new floor, unless they can hide that now.”
They’d passed the buildings and shops that had grown up around the hall, many there just for the possible trade that always came from items brought out of dungeons. Usually, the streets would have a light crowd of adventurers looking for the last item they needed, or looking to sell something they’d found. Now, many of the shops had closed down, doors shut and windows shuttered. The non-combatant populace bracing for the worst.
Cresting the hill, the entrance of the dungeon started to come into view. Originally, it had been a simple cave-like entrance that went deep into a mound of dirt. Now, true to the words of the messenger, it looked like the entrance to many of the more grander temples around the world. The doors slowly opened as the Guild Master and Lorekeeper got closer.
Every adventurer in the area tensed, drawing weapons or getting ready spells. Liscern stopped just as the doors finished opening. From the unnatural darkness, a face and then body of a giant gorilla appeared. “Guild Master. Lorekeeper,” it said.
Liscern blinked as Ophelia stepped up beside her. “I’m the Guild Master Liscern Pinniard, this is Lorekeeper Ophelia Memori,” she said, introducing her companion. “Are you going to explain what’s happening? Are we going to have a break?”
The creature's head shook slowly, its hands resting on the doors. “No break. Boon given. Dungeon change. One sun, one moon. Ready then.”
Apparently finished with what it had been sent to say, the giant gorilla shut the doors, just as slowly as it had opened them. They closed with a boom, little clouds of dirt away from the entrance. Each adventurer turned to look at the pair, still ready in case the creature had not spoken true.
“Well,” Lorekeeper Ophelia started. “I think we can check off that dungeons are sentient. If anyone still has any questions about it. That was a Core Guardian."