Quest “Where’s My loot?” Complete!

You’ve learned why the dungeons are disappearing! A local mage is ruthlessly murdering innocent dungeon cores with complete disregard for how that will impact the ecosystem – or worse, the economy!

Report your findings to the Demon of Greed to collect your reward.

Go now? YES or NO

Zereh mentally selected YES. Emrys and the hut dissolved into darkness and were quickly superseded by a mountain cave. The quest prompt had dropped her just outside D’ahn Nehete’s cave at the top of Mount Hayes.

That was something to be grateful for. Not every quest included the teleportation feature, and if she had had to climb the mountain again there was a good chance she would never have bothered turning it in. She had only been willing to scale it the first time because, well, any adventurer worth their salt wanted to slay a dragon. Not to mention that it was a major quest offered by the king, with a reward to match.

The dragon, however, hadn’t been at all what she was expecting. Oh, it was a large, scaled beast with wings that slept on a pile of gold, but D’ahn had offered her a Unique quest that promised to pay out even more handsomely than what the king could offer.

A goblin emerged from the cave entrance. It was classically green skinned with red eyes and pointed ears. Each of D’ahn’s minions was set apart by one piece of his horde however, and this one was adorned by one brilliant blue sapphire earring.

Zereh idly wondered if it did any good without its counterpart.

“The master has been waiting for you,” the goblin rasped.

She followed the creature into the cave, nodding cautiously to the monsters they passed. A few of them growled as she walked by and bats would occasionally circle around her head, but aside from that she was left alone. She just focused on maintaining her standoffish expression and walked with the confidence of someone they didn’t want to mess with.

When they finally reached the dragon’s cave, Sapphire Earring stood to the side and waved her through.

“What, you weren’t invited?” she teased.

“We respect the master’s privacy,” he growled in return.

The entrance was narrow with one last sharp turn, so the enormity of the room came as something of a shock. There was a long stretch of bare rock before gold began to litter the dirt gradually leading into a massive pile of gold coins and magic items.

Curled like a sleeping cat at the top was the demon, wearing a dragon’s skin. His scales were blood red and glinted dangerously in the fire light. He grinned at the sight of her, baring the full length of his sharp black teeth.

“You took your time returning,” he purred.

Zereh suppressed a shudder. Few things frightened her in the world of Trillium, but the Demon of Greed was one of them. There was true malice in those eyes, along with the power to back it up.

“Let’s make this quick,” she snapped. “Your dungeons are disappearing because a fire mage in Westover is targeting them. He’s hunting down the dungeon cores and ripping them out by the roots.”

Smoke billowed out from the dragon’s nostrils. “Why?”

The warrior shrugged, doing her best to convey nonchalance. “He thinks they’re a danger. People go in hoping for loot, but they don’t make it out. If he destroys the dungeons, nobody gets hurt. Far as I can tell, he won’t stop until he’s cleared the ravine between Westover and Samwell.”

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D’ahn rose to his feet and snapped his teeth. Gold coins tumbled down the side of the horde.

“That short-sighted fool!” he roared. “I was meticulous with my dungeons. They dish out a reward that’s fair with respect to the level of danger. It’s a fair system. And it isn’t as though people stumble into them blindly.”

Zereh wasn’t interested in listening to another monologue about the dungeons. She’d heard enough about it the first time around. “Speaking of rewards,” she interjected. The sooner she could escape his increasingly furious aura the better.

The dragon growled, but he nodded acknowledgment.

Quest “Where’s My loot?” Complete!

Congratulations! As a reward for completing the quest “Where’s My Loot?” D’ah Nehete is offering Lightning in a Bottle.

Note: to access this reward you must accept the quest Dungeon Avenger.

Dungeon Avenger

Dungeons are in danger! One unhinged mage is threatening the existence of dungeons as we know them! Stop that maniac at all costs!

Zereh hesitated at the description. Emrys was odd for sure, but calling him unhinged maniac was a stretch.

“Why do I have to accept the next quest before I can get the reward?”

The dragon sat back on his haunches. His lips pulled back in a smug grin. “That’s a fun little loophole isn’t it? The bottle of lightning is a powerful, unique artifact. All you have to do is write the name of your adversary on the label of the bottle. Then, when you uncork the bottle it will target them and kill them instantly.”

Zereh’s eyes widened. She’d never heard of a weapon that powerful. There was no restriction on how strong the victim could be and it was an entirely targeted attack.

“You understand.” The dragon’s voice had gone dangerously soft. “I only have one of these, so I can only give it to somebody sworn to see it through. That mage has to die.”

Zereh’s mind was racing. Emrys was pivotal to the necromancer quest she had just started. Not only did she need a party member, but he also had inside information that was already proving useful. If they did end up fighting the necromancer in the process of rescuing his friend, having a magic-wielder in the fight could make all the difference.

That said, the new quest prompt didn’t list a time requirement. She could wait to release the lightning until after they found Sven and brought him back home.

“I accept this quest,” she said.

Both quest prompts disappeared. The dragon lazily gestured a levitation spell. At first, Zereh couldn’t tell that anything was happening. Then she noticed a portion of the horde was shaking. Loose coins tumbled down, along with the occasional goblet or gemstone. From deep within, the bottle emerged. It was about the size of a wine bottle, made of blue glass that she could almost see through. It floated gently into her hands and she focused on the description.

Bottle of Lightning, unique

Centuries ago, the great wizard Tenebris Capillus Magus captured lightning in a bottle. (His best friend Jared dared him to do it.)

The gods themselves were furious, as they knew this weapon had the power to permanently kill even them. Tenebris entrusted the bottle to D’ahn Nehete, the Demon of Greed for safekeeping and was never heard from again.

Use wisely!

Zereh let out a low whistle. “You would grant me the power to kill a god? What’s stopping me from writing your name on this label?”

The dragon roared. He teleported down from the horde so fast she didn’t even see him cast the spell. In an eyeblink his massive teeth were inches from her face. Hot breath washed over her face, and she couldn’t stop herself from flinching back.

“You exist to serve me,” he rumbled. “Do you think I would give you such a weapon without protecting myself? If you turn that weapon on me, you will face a fate worse than death.”

Zereh gulped. “Right. Got it. Do you need anything else, or are we done here?”

D’ahn snarled. “We’re done.” He blew out a stream of fire that swirled around Zereh in a tight spiral.

When it cleared, she was back at the cave entrance. She shivered. Speaking with the dragon made her realize just how arrogant she had been to think she could have slain it in the first place. It was clearly well beyond her level and would likely be one of the last bosses she ever went after. And in the meantime, she was carrying what was probably the most powerful single-use weapon in the game… to kill an NPC at least ten levels below her.

She shook her head. Emrys had made some powerful enemies by hunting dungeons. It was a shame, really. His goal had seemed noble, if shortsighted. Most of the people who went into the dungeons were players like her, and the occasional wipeout was well worth the experience and loot.

Even if sometimes all you got out of it was a stupid dress.