374 days until the Arkon Shield falls

Shaman Blackspear,

I apologize. The decision to destroy the settlement was taken during my absence by an overzealous captain. Rest assured, he will be reined in. You have my word that no further such lapses will occur.

—Shaman Jhaven.

I watched the two scouts until they vanished from sight before moving to rejoin the others.

“Where are they going?” Jain asked.

“Leaving,” I answered laconically.

He eyed me for a moment but didn’t inquire further.

As I sat down at the campfire, I saw that the party was preparing breakfast, or more correctly, Pierre was. He had hung a pot over the fire, and while I watched in amazement, he threw an assortment of ingredients into it. Whatever he was making, it smelled wonderful. I licked my lips in sudden hunger.

Liyanda laughed at my expression. “He is not just an archer, you know.”

I realized as much now. I glanced at the thin man bent over the fire. “He is a scout, too?”

Jain smiled. “Try ranger. Pierre is the party hunter, archer, and tracker, all rolled up in one.”

“What about the rest of you?” I asked. “Did I get your roles right?”

Jain nodded. “You did.”

“Food’s ready,” Pierre said, and the conversation lapsed as we all set to gulping down the hot meal he’d prepared. It was delicious.

A little later, Jain turned to survey the group. “Everyone ready to set out?”

The others nodded, and I did, too.

Jain rose to his feet and gestured to Cedric. “Go ahead.”

Drawing out one of his scrolls, the death mage strode to the pile of orc corpses. Unrolling the parchment, Cedric’s eyes flitted from line to line. I watched avidly as the runes disappeared off the thin parchment and the mage’s eyes began to glow.

I had pestered Cedric for information about the lore scrolls last night. From what I’d pried out of him, I knew that the magical items weren’t enchanted but inscribed.

Using an arcane script, scribes embedded knowledge into the scrolls in a similar fashion as they did in a lorebook, though in a more condensed manner. Lorebooks taught abilities to players and consequently, they had high skill prerequisites. A scroll’s purpose, on the other hand, was only to activate an ability, and the player performed the casting by rote. Once a player began reading a scroll, he had no choice but to complete its casting or lose the scroll.

As the last line of runes vanished from the scroll, the parchment crumbled in a heap of dust onto the forest floor. With the spellform in his mind, Cedric raised his arm and pointed to the largest of the fallen orcs. In my magesight, I watched tendrils of magic leap from the mage to the orc to give it false life.

The corpse’s eyes flew open, dull and unseeing. The orc was still dead, his body containing no trace of spirit. It was only Cedric’s magic that was animating the remains.

The dead creature clambered to his feet like a puppet whose strings had been yanked on. Reaching down, the reanimated warrior picked up his axe and waited with unnatural stillness for his master’s next command.

“Interesting,” I said to Jain, who had stepped up beside me. “How long will the spell last?”

“Twenty-four hours,” the bald man replied.

“That long?” I asked, brows flicking up in surprise. “Then we will take Cedric’s pet into the dungeon?”

Jain nodded. “That’s the plan.”

“We could take two dead orcs into the dungeon,” I said suggestively.

Jain eyed me before responding to my proposal. “Best if we save the scrolls for now.” He turned back to the party. “Pierre, scout the way ahead. Li, guard our rear.”

The pair bobbed their heads, and without further delay, we set off.

✽✽✽

The next few hours slipped by almost unnoticed as the five of us traveled west through the forest. Wherever we were going, Pierre seemed to know the way despite Jain’s group never having been this way before.

After observing the group, I knew they were competent. If I had to guess, I would say they had been working together since the very beginning of humanity’s entry into the Trials, and I could well believe the party’s assertion that this would not be their first dungeon.

I spent the journey talking to Liyanda at the rear of our formation. The big fighter chatted amiably about herself and Earth, but for all her friendliness, she refused to speak of anything concerning the group’s origins or where they’d gotten their gear. It was frustrating but not surprising. I expected it would take me a while to win over the party’s trust.

A few hours before noon, we entered a deep gorge and found the ranger waiting for us. “We’re here,” he said.

I glanced about, searching for a dungeon obelisk, but saw none.

Seeing my confusion, Pierre grinned. “It’s hidden. As in, you know, concealed. The dungeon is somewhere in the gorge. We just have to find the entrance.”

“Are you sure?” Jain asked.

Pierre nodded. He tapped his head. “The beacon led me straight here,” he added meaningfully.

Beacon? I wondered, but I didn’t inquire what he meant. I doubted any of the group would have cared to explain.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Jain turned to address the rest of us. “All right, spread out and search the area. The entrance can be anything, but the Trials will let you know if you stumble across it.”

My brows drew down in consternation, but I said nothing. As the rest of the party spread out, I surveyed the area. The gorge ran east to west for fifty yards. It was narrow though, less than ten yards across at its widest. I smiled to myself. If the hidden dungeon was here, I wouldn’t have to search too hard.

Ambling through the gorge, I kept my senses extended. Halfway down, a Trials alert pinged in my mind.

Seekers sense triggered. A dungeon has been detected within six yards of you.

At the edge of my vision, inside a cranny formed by a small pile of boulders, I spied a door-shaped opening outlined in red. I grinned in quiet pleasure. The explorer Feat had finally come in handy, and equally important, I had confirmation that Jain and his people were right. There really was a dungeon here.

“Over here!” I yelled.

The others, busy poking through the rocks and dry underbrush, looked up to see me standing nonchalantly in the center of the gorge.

“What is it?” Cedric asked testily.

“I’ve found it,” I replied.

Pierre rolled his eyes and went back to searching. Cedric scowled at me. “You couldn’t have found it. If it was that easy—”

I raised my arm to point to my left. “It’s there.”

The death mage glared at me. “Get back to work, you idiot!”

Jain, meanwhile, had been scrutinizing me carefully. He jerked his head at the nearby Liyanda. “Go check it out.”

Cedric spun his way. “You can’t possibly believe—”

The party’s leader raised his hand in a plea for patience. “It will take only a moment to verify. If Jamie’s found the entrance, it will save us hours of searching.” He shrugged. “If not, we keep looking.”

Liyanda strode up to me. “Where?” she asked simply.

“This way,” I said, leading her to the cranny.

The fighter looked from me to the small dark hole, about half her size. “You’re sure?”

I nodded.

Sighing, Liyanda dropped to all fours and wriggled through the opening. Despite his stated disbelief, Cedric joined Jain and Pierre as they came up to my side. Inch by inch, Liyanda’s large frame disappeared through the hole.

“She better not get stuck in there,” Cedric muttered.

Pierre chortled. “Pulling her out won’t be—”

With startling suddenness, Liyanda’s legs disappeared from sight. “Oof!” I heard the fighter exclaim.

She’s fallen, I thought.

Before anyone could get worried though, Liyanda called out. “Found it!”

Cedric’s eyes grew round while Jain studied me again. “You’re sure, Li?” Pierre asked, kneeling down to peer into the opening himself.

“Of course, I’m bloody sure,” Liyanda growled, her voice echoing through the rock. “The Trials sent me an alert. Come on in. The cranny opens up into a small cave, but be careful, there is a bit of a drop.”

Pierre glanced up at Jain, and the rogue waved him forward. The ranger slipped through. “I’m in,” he yelled back a moment later.

Jain turned to the death mage, who was still shooting me puzzled glances. “You next, Cedric.”

The albino caster ignored the party leader. “How did you do that?” he asked with a frown.

“Magic?” I replied with a lopsided grin.

The mage’s eyes narrowed, but before he could question me further, Jain spoke again. “Move, Cedric,” he ordered.

The overweight mage muttered something under his breath but didn’t protest as he bent down and scurried through the cranny. It was a much tighter fit. I didn’t laugh, though. I suspected I wouldn’t have an easy time of it either.

Jain eyed me after the mage left. “How did you do that?”

“A Feat,” I admitted.

“Dungeon hunter?” he guessed.

“Close. It’s called Explorer.”

Jain grunted. “Sounds useful.” He waved me forward. “Go on. You’re next.”

I dropped to all fours, readying myself. Before I could venture within, Jain spoke again. “Oh, one more thing.”

I glanced up at the bald man.

“Don’t tell Cedric.” He smiled. “Not knowing will drive him crazy.”

I grinned and ducked into the cranny.

✽✽✽

The cave was small, wet and moldy, and made for a tight squeeze with all five of us inside. But with my attention fixed on the small obelisk in its center, I paid little heed to the surroundings.

The structure in question was barely taller than me and was covered in silver sigils that pulsed bright enough to light the entire enclosed space.

“Well, well,” Cedric murmured. He was circling the obelisk, his irritation with me already forgotten. “I’ve not heard of a dungeon this color before.”

I hadn’t either. Equally fascinated, I studied the glowing sigils. Dungeons came in five different varieties and were either green, blue, red, bronze, or gold according to their rank. Silver was not a designated rank.

The others moved forward to lay hands on the obelisk, and I did the same. The moment my fingertips met the cold, hard surface of the rock, a Trials message opened up in my mind.

Congratulations, Jamie Sinclair, you’ve discovered the hidden dungeon, the Champions’ Arena. This dungeon is a unique, unranked instance that can only be attempted once. Pass or fail, the dungeon will be destroyed after the completion of the first dungeon run.

Last cleared: never. Status: awaiting party. Availability: unoccupied. Maximum party size: 6 players of any rank. Time limit: 1 day. Other restrictions: human entrants only. Unique properties: dungeon difficulty adapts to party level and size.

This dungeon may be exited at any time. Do you wish to enter the dungeon?

“Unranked!” I gasped. From around me, I heard similar exclamations of disbelief from the others.

“So Wysterl was correct,” Liyanda remarked, giddy with delight. “The dungeon is not too difficult for us!”

I glanced at her sideways. “Who is Wysterl?” I asked casually.

The others glared at the fighter, and her face fell. “Sorry,” she muttered. My question, of course, went unanswered.

Jain turned to address his group, studiously ignoring me. I readied myself. If the rogue was going to betray me, now would be the time.

“This is it, people,” Jain declared, unaware of my sudden tension. “A unique dungeon.” His eyes swept the group, holding the gaze of Liyanda, Pierre, and Cedric in turn. “You all know what that means. A guaranteed unique Trait, and if we do our job well, a good one at that. It’s the chance we’ve all been waiting for.”

My eyes widened. I found it less interesting that the dungeon’s reward would be a unique Trait than that Jain knew it would be so already.

“Let’s not mess this up,” the group’s leader continued. “Once we enter, there will be no turning back. We finish the dungeon, or we die trying. Are you ready?”

The others nodded, and Jain finally turned to me. “I’m trusting you not to fail in there,” he said quietly. “Can you do this?”

“I can,” I replied, the tension in me easing as I realized the rogue was going to keep his word.

“Good. Then let’s enter.” Without further ado, Jain laid his hand on the obelisk again. One by one, the others’ gazes unfocused as the Trials spoke to them. Then it was my turn.

Jain wishes to add you to a dungeon party. Do you agree?

I replied in the affirmative, and more text scrolled through my vision.

You have been added to a dungeon party. Request for entry into the Champions’ Arena acknowledged. Evaluating party members…

Entrant species: Human. Acceptable.

Party size: 5 Trainees. Acceptable.

Access granted.

Analyzing party… done.

Reconfiguring layout dungeon… done.

Seeding dungeon… done.

Rift opened.

Luminous silver spread outwards from the base of the obelisk to form a pool at Jain’s feet. The dungeon’s portal. Wordlessly, the rogue stepped onto it and disappeared. The rest of the group trailed in his wake. I took a few moments to settle my nerves.

Then, I followed after.

You have entered a dungeon rift. Beginning transfer to the Champions’ Arena. Transfer will be completed in 5 seconds.

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