31
The Conquered Dungeon
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A deep breath took in the morning air. Dewdrops with the slightest tint of red were dripping down the leaves as the sunlight melted the hint of frost in the forest.
“The air smells different doesn’t it?” Alduin asked Edward.
“Does it?” Edward asked back as his right hand picked up an axe from the ground. “We’re almost there, so pay attention, we can’t be careful enough.”
“Right,” Alduin replied. “Bob, keep steering the cart, I can’t see where I’m going.”
Several people had gathered, but there weren't many men left that could help so they had to take a risk by bringing others along. And one of them, who walked a short distance behind Alduin, was a humming young girl with blond hair.
“Do you need help?” She asked Alduin with a smile. She had been happy from the moment Alduin woke up.
“I’m fine…” Alduin looked back with a thoughtful expression. “Are you sure you didn’t find one of those stones?” He had already asked this question several times.
“I told you already didn’t I?” Veleda said.
'I understand she would be happy about her awakening but still. She's much more excited than I was after first experiencing that sensation.' Alduin looked at her and sighed as he didn't seem to understand what happened. 'Did something happen after I fell asleep?'
But before he could ask his question Edward had already interrupted them as he notified the group, "We’re here.”
“You can still go back now,” Alduin whispered, but seeing her glaring expression he already gave up. He didn’t want her coming along in the first place but there was no helping it given the current situation. “Stay behind me at all times.”
A blooming smile replied, “Right!”
“I’m serious. If you don’t then this will be the last time,” Alduin looked her in the eyes but she couldn’t cloud her happiness.
“Alduin.” Having just finished their preparations, Edward asked, “Are you ready?”
At the end of the winding road now stood a large wooden cart, one that was pushed up by Alduin and Bob. As Alduin picked a long object from the cart he answered, “I am, let’s go inside.”
In front of them stood a hill that had grown in size. Thick brown roots leading nowhere completely dominated the surface from all sides. They had already checked the first time they scouted here, but the sole entrance that could be found was in the place where a red swirling gate used to exist. However, now only an empty cave entrance waited in front of them.
“I’m ready as well.” Bob the shield-bearer walked in front with the last thick wooden shield. One of the three people that came out unscathed now led the way as their vanguard.
“I’ll follow closely.” Alduin walked behind him with a long wooden spear, his metal one had broken.
Alduin was followed by his father who slowly entered while holding the rifle at the ready. And lastly, following Lucas, Edward took the rearguard position while carrying an axe and protecting Veleda and several others. They had already scouted the surroundings and didn’t find anything new, but still, they were as cautious as they could be.
“Wait,” Alduin suddenly said, “Be quiet for a second.” At the end of a short passage, the first cave lay in front of them. Silence descended as they tried to figure out if something was wrong. This would be their second time entering this cave.
Hearing nothing, Alduin nodded at Edward who slightly relaxed. "It's safe, we didn't miss anything last time."
Only a night had passed after they returned from the dungeon. But even after making sure that not a single one of those monsters was left alive, not a single person dared make an assumption, not with all the changes that happened in the world.
“Did you find something?” Edward asked his son-in-law who walked behind him.
“No.” Werner, who had joined them, looked around the entrance of the cave. “There is not a single trace of the shrine remaining. This place…” Werner didn’t understand it. He had spent the majority of his archaeologist career here but nothing resembled what he knew.
“This place is not of this world,” Alduin responded, “Those creatures are not of this world either, it’s time for us to put those thoughts to the side.” He looked back with serene eyes. Unlike the people who joined them just now, Alduin had already accepted his new reality.
“Right.” Edward nodded and said, “Time to get started. Bob, Alduin, Lucas, and I shall continue forward. We’ll be right back.” Edward started assigning roles. There was a lot to do in this place. Goblin corpses lay strewn across the ground, but more importantly, friends and family lay here as well.
Like this, the four men walked forward, through the cave they had already checked extensively while passing friends that remained behind. And Alduin stared at such a man. A man to whom he owed his life, and also a man he respected. A white blanket was pulled over his body as he would finally be brought home. ‘Rest well, Theo.'
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
However, Alduin couldn't stay as he followed Bob further into the cave. The four men felt their tension rise as they arrived at the entrance of the second passage, their steps slowed down as they remembered what happened to them last time.
But no matter how cautious they were, nothing happened. And like this, the four men arrived near the only luminescent roots remaining in this cave. These intertwined roots, that formed the gate to the second cave, seemed to shine with the fading embers of life.
“Is that it?” Bob was the first to speak.
Four men with helmets and flashlights arrived at the dead silent cave, but besides the blood on the ground and the bodies of goblins, wolves, and men filling the cave, they saw nothing.
“It seems that way,” Lucas answered. “Check every single corpse.” His cautious nature made them pierce every dead goblin they found in their neck. But there weren’t many goblins here, only around ten could be counted, and most had been split into two pieces. Something they had seen with their own eyes.
And while Bob and Lucas finished up what they were doing, Alduin walked over to Edward who stood in silence. Alduin spoke softy, "Gramps."
Yet no words followed as the silence continued slightly longer.
“He was a good man,” Edward said, “He was older than your grandfather and me, but he had always been a good man.” Edward pulled a white sheet from his backpack and covered the man with a quivering voice.
Alduin had witnessed the grotesque scene play out in front of him. And Alphon’s lifeless eyes still lingered in his mind. But the final memory of this man was one of courage, it didn’t matter what his purpose was in doing what he did, what mattered was that Alphons had saved their lives at the cost of his.
“His wife had left this world early,” Edward said, “From then on he had always doted on his son. It’s just…” Edward stood up after respectfully recovering his friend’s body. “He had forgotten how to live for himself a long time ago.” Edward didn’t know what to say, his last close friend had passed away alongside his son. Both men, whom Edward treated like his family, had left this world.
“Don’t die, kid,” Edward turned and spoke to Alduin. The complexity in his eyes had left a crack in his shielded personality.
“I won’t.” Alduin had never seen this side of him before. But he could see Edward's struggle in trying to hold back his emotions. And knowing the old man, he probably didn’t know how to move forward, so Alduin said with a smile trying to cheer him up. “I’ll make sure you’ll see my kids as well.”
“What?” Edward’s eyes opened in shock as a frown immediately replaced it.
“Oh, what kids are you talking about?” A young voice was suddenly heard from the passage as she asked with joy.
Both men turned in surprise, the darkness didn’t allow them to see her approach but now two flashlights shone on her.
“Veleda,” Edward asked in a panic, “Don’t tell me?”
“What?” Veleda stared back in surprise. But as she slowly realized what her grandfather meant, a blushing expression erupted alongside a flustered voice, “Alduin!”
But the moment Veleda arrived he didn’t know what to say anymore. Alduin’s mind had completely frozen, his trying to cheer up Edward had completely backfired.
“BRAT!” Edward knocked Alduin on his head. “You made my granddaughter pregnant?!” His voice was heard throughout the cave. “You’re not even married yet!”
“A- GRAMPS-“ Alduin bent forward in pain.
“Alduin,” another voice suddenly asked in surprise, “Are you- Am I- No wait, two grandchildren?” Lucas interrupted their conversation as well.
“NO!” the young girl shouted as she ran forward with embarrassment. “I’M NOT!” A kick was shot toward Alduin’s shin, two instant assaults. “Explain it Alduin!” Her flustered expression forced Alduin to say something.
“We- I-“ Alduin was once again on the losing end. “Nothing happened yet!” His mind couldn’t process what was happening, he just meant to cheer Edward up.
“Oh… Yet…” The flustered girl stood still and then started blushing coyly.
“YOU FIEND!” Edward exploded in rage. Lucas and Bob in turn didn’t understand what was going on.
Terror had now disappeared as life returned to this place. But for Alduin this place still felt like a battlefield.
And like this, Half a day was spent on their recovery efforts. The time they spent took longer than expected as the luminescent roots had completely faded and oxygen was no longer being replenished. Now, the stench had become heavier than they could bear.
And in the early afternoon, all bodies of the deceased had been transported to the village. Now, their second expedition would get started. If bringing back their loved ones was their main goal, finding out any item that could help them with survival was their next one.
And like this, the goblins that had perished were all cut open as these were the only ones left that hadn’t been devoured. Yet their yield was abysmal, these black gemstones didn’t react the same way as the sky-blue ones did. Alduin felt it instinctively, and now that Veleda had awakened, she came to the same conclusion.
“So, we have about 150 black cores if we count the ones we recovered back home?” Werner, Veleda’s father, spoke, he had been most eager to explore this cave out of all of them. “What about further inside?”
“There are none left, not even those giant wolves had one in their body,” Edward replied.
A small group was now going to research the last cave. Besides all the weapons and cores they had gathered in the first cave, the second cave only had the recovery efforts carried out in them.
“They devoured each other,” Alduin spoke up, “It’s why I’m certain the answer lays with these gems.” Alduin probably knew most of the people gathered here.
“Right,” Werner said, “If the effect is as you’ve described, then I understand why.” Their voices rang out as they entered the last cave.
But this time they stood still. Not a single person moved.
“What’s that?!”
“Quiet!” Alduin was the first to move, only to be followed by a sturdy figure as Bob, the Shield Bearer, filled the vanguard position.
Another slight whimper was heard through the cave.
“There’s something here,” Edward whispered, “Don’t fire until you have a clear sight,” Edward instructed Lucas. His hand was completely bandaged after losing his fingers, right now he wouldn’t be able to handle the recoil of a single shot.
Several people stared into the darkness, flashlights coursed through the caves searching every nook and cranny. But they found nothing, only bones, and dead creatures.
‘Wait,’ Alduin signaled everyone to remain quiet. His grip tightened on his spear as he unconsciously positioned himself in front of Veleda.
Another whimper was heard, but this one was lower than the one before.
“THERE!” Alduin was the first to find its location.
His feet moved swiftly, strength roused through his body as he felt his heart beating faster.
A large skeleton of a wolf lay behind the throne, stuck inside a crevice. White fur, one that resembled the Goblin Ruler, draped over it as a hide that was being tanned.
And finally, as Alduin removed the cloth and was about to pierce forward a voice rang out.
“WAIT!” Veleda who instantly ran after Alduin pulled him back by the shoulder. “DON’T!”
Two eyes stared back from the ribcage of this skeleton.