Oz stood and took another look at the beautiful rainbow dungeon floor. He took a deep breath and stepped through the exit. Tarka stood bent over with his hands on his knees, breathing heavily. Oz slapped the man on the back. “Burn my bones, that was dangerous. Scales and teeth, let’s not go back there.” Oz felt a bit unsteady but walked back to the others and explained what happened. They were surprised by the report since it had only been a minute or so since Tarka and Oz had left them. Sif and Sig walked to the back of the main worldlet to check on Tarka. Oz faintly heard Tarka angrily saying he was fine.
When he regained his composure, Tarka stomped up to the exit. Almost growling, he said, “There’s one more floor.” He paused, swallowed, then said more calmly. “Does anyone feel like taking a look? Volunteer only.” The man still breathed a bit more quickly than normal and his face was flushed.
The other delvers looked at each other for a moment. Oz shook his head, refusing to go through the last portal. Kian shrugged and spoke up. “I’ll go. Just in and out, really quick.” Tarka nodded to him and accompanied him over to the right-side portal. Oz put his gear back on and pulled the spear from the ground. He looked up right as Kian fell back through the portal. The small archer vomited onto the ground and struggled to remove his cloak. Oz jogged over in alarm, but Tarka helped Kian to remove his cloak and get to his feet. Kian was soaked and sweat covered his face. Kian vomited again and undid his clothing to expose his chest, which was also coated in sweat. Oz handed the archer a flask of water.
“What happened?” Tarka said.
“Burning hot.” Kian panted as he spoke. “I was boiling alive.” The archer drank some of the water and poured the rest over his head. Oz search around on the ground and soon returned with a few of the ice orbs from the fallen dungeon fruit. Kian gratefully rubbed the ice across his chest and neck. His breathing evened out, though he looked exhausted.
“Thanks for looking.” Tarka said. “Sorry it wasn’t nice. Gods, this dungeon…” He trailed off, shaking his head. He snorted. “The treasure is probably back there somewhere, right where we can’t get it. I don’t know anything that would let someone survive boiling alive for long.”
Oz remained in the dungeon after the other delvers left. He searched around for the flint and stone orbs until he had two bags full of sling ammunition. He spent a long time sitting on the pebbles and gazing at the rainbows in the dark worldlet. He took note of the creatures present and what he could see of the vine as it stretched upward. He thought he saw some eyes peeking around the patches of pebbles, but he couldn’t tell what creature they might belong to. When he stood to leave, he noticed a damp patch on his hip. Searching the ground, he found a pebble that stayed slightly wet and slowly dripped water. He left the pebble tucked into the vine roots and walked home.
----------------------------------------
A few days later, Oz was kneeling in an unknown dungeon and wondering which of his decisions had led him to that moment. The old man who had bought the spear stood in front of him. Oz still didn’t know his name, but the old man had scornfully explained that he was the wizard who worked with Hill Lord Andebert. Oz had never seen the wizard, having not spent much time in the actual hill fort. Behind the wizard, a circle of glowing red glyphs surrounded an oddly reflective white orb sitting on a stone plinth—the wizard and the delvers had referred to the orb as ‘the dungeon’ so Oz guessed that the orb was the ‘dungeon core’ that each dungeon was supposed to have. The core was mostly smooth, but it had a few black blemishes growing up from where it touched the plinth. The light from the core flickered unsteadily, which made it hard for Oz to tell if anything was moving in the shadows.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
The primary source of shadows was a dozen dark stone cages that grew out of the walls of the dungeon. The cages were full of giant spiders. Between each flicker of the light, oz was sure the terrifying creatures shifted their positions. Taken as a whole, the dungeon was not a place Oz wanted to return to.
The wizard held Oz’s spear in one hand. With his other hand, he traced a complicated pattern next to the spear head. Whatever magic was happening to the spear, it was taking a while. The delvers stood in a loose group behind Oz, and he could hear them shifting their feet. Sif yawned. The delvers had led Oz into the back of a cave full of large jars and other common storage items. In the back of the cave, Tarka had waved a hand to reveal a hidden doorway into darkness. Oz had not wanted to enter the doorway, but the delvers had insisted, practically shoving him inside. The doorway had led to this dungeon where the wizard was waiting.
The wizard finally finished the magic and held Oz’s spear high. The spear head glowed brightly and might have given off a soft hum. The old wizard spoke in his sing-song voice. “As patron of this group of dungeon delvers, I command you to swear to protect the delvers from their enemies.” The wizard slowly lowered the head to point at Oz’s chest. “Swear or die.” A System message appeared in Oz’s mind.
_ Warning: Violation of the Proposed Cursed Oath will Result In Death _
_ Warning: Violation of the Proposed Cursed Oath will Result In Multiple Unknown Consequences _
Oz felt himself begin to sweat as questions raced through his mind. Why was the oath cursed? How could there be more consequences beyond death? Would the wizard really kill him if he refused to swear? Who are the enemies of the delvers? Would swearing this oath violate his oath to Andebert? Oz could barely hear his own thoughts over the sound of his panicked heartbeat, but he managed to voice a very practical question. “For how long?”
The wizard smirked arrogantly. “Until I release you.”
Oz frantically tried to think through his options. If he refused to swear, he would die. If he swore but broke his oath, he would die. If he swore and was forced to break his oath to Andebert, he would be nearly powerless. Swearing was the only option that left Oz the chance of survival. Maybe swearing wouldn’t be so bad, the wizard wasn’t telling him to obey commands, after all. Perhaps he could influence the delvers to go somewhere far away from the hill fort so Andebert wouldn’t ever find them. Oz took a deep breath and spoke. “I swear.” He immediately felt something wrap around his heart and squeeze uncomfortably. He let out a small gasp and grabbed his chest.
The wizard’s smirk widened into a vicious grin. He reversed the spear and offered it to Oz. “Soon, but perhaps already, the Hill Lord will receive a message from me which will inform him of the existence of a dungeon cult at this location.” A few of the delvers made dismayed sounds, but Tarka ordered them to silence. The wizard continued. “The message explains that I am at the location and I am fighting for my life and to prevent the release of a foul dungeon monster that would attack the hill fort, killing hundreds. The hill lord’s duty requires him to respond to my message immediately. He will come here and kill or imprison everyone he finds. The delvers cannot run far enough to escape him.” The wizard paused for a moment, then continued. “This makes him an enemy of the delvers.”
The pressure on Oz’s heart spiked as the wizard spoke those words, and he found himself staggering to his feet. He snatched his spear from the wizard and turned toward the dungeon entrance. Several of the delvers’ faces showed surprise and fear. Oz moved to exit the dungeon. The pressure on his heart seemed to pull at him, threatening to rip his heart out if he didn’t move fast enough. By the time he passed through the exit, he was running as fast as he had ever run in his life. Outside the cave, he turned and ran towards the hill fort, towards Hill Lord Andebert, enemy of the delvers.