The bard groans as she enters the common room proper, then staggers towards a table that a lute is leaned up against. Picking up the lute and sitting down, she strums the instrument a couple times, before a painfully focused look comes over her face, and a crisp melody emerges from it and her face suddenly relaxes as a soothing glow washes over her and she releases a contented sigh.

Looking around as if only now realizing where she is, she gets up and wanders over towards our table.

“You guys must be the Adventurers that are supposed to babysit us?” she asks, before sitting down on one of the open seats at the table, opposite me.

“That would be us, yes.” I respond. “And I hope you can do that trick again for your colleagues, I am not going into a dungeon with hungover delvers.”

The young woman chuckles and nods.

“Yeah that's probably smart, though I heard this one is very nonlethal. Can’t do our best without a clear head though, I get it. I’m Ellie by the by! Nice to meet ya!”

My party all take turns dutifully introducing themselves, curtly, because we will have to do it again once Ellie's friends deign to grace us with their presence.

While we wait I take a moment to study our new acquaintance. She is human, as far as I can tell, with a head full of curly blond hair, green eyes and freckles on her pale skin. She wears slightly armored robes, similar in design to Kallion’s, but proudly displaying the heraldry of her school on a tabard at the front, a stylized lute in the shape of an eagle, in the blue and golden colors of Areios.

She notices my gaze, and smirks.

“Like what you see?” she taunts, in response to which I snort.

“I’d like the people I'm charged with protecting to be better armored, but I suppose it will do.” I respond while rolling my eyes.

Bards.

Finally, her two companions deign to make their way down the stairs, the two young men leaning onto each other as they take one unsteady step at a time. Ellie quickly turns towards the human and orcish individuals and repeats her earlier trick, both of them sighing and straightening up as they nod at her in thanks.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

After introductions are done, our new acquaintances Harry and Nathan hurry back upstairs to grab their packs, and return carrying a flute and a… paintbrush?

Harry, the human of the pair, a scrawny guy with short dark-brown hair and light-brown eyes, holds his flute like a wizard would a wand. Meanwhile Nathan, the half-orc as he introduces himself, lives up to his heritage’s stereotypes, being tall, albeit still shorter than Astrid, and muscular, with sharp facial features and a pair of tusks protruding from his bottom jaw. His eyes are the same color as Harry’s, and his red hair is worn in a braided mohawk, providing a striking contrast to his light green skin.

He holds his paintbrush close, and when he sees my curious gaze hurries to explain.

“Ah, I'm a Pictomancer. It’s a bardic class that focuses on painting rather than music. But I can do much the same as my colleagues, buffs and supporting magic being the focus.”

“That sounds interesting, I’m curious to see it in action.” I reply with a smile. “Well, if we are all ready, shall we make our way down?”

A bunch of nods and affirmative noises later I lead the way towards the back exit of the fort. The guards ready themselves at our approach, guiding us towards a magic circle drawn on the floor before a heavy iron door.

The lead guard begins a spiel they are quite evidently repeating a lot, as he states with a monotone tone.

“This is a circle of truth telling magic. You will be asked a series of questions. You will be required to answer them all, otherwise you won't be admitted to the dungeon by order of the King of Areios. Is that understood?”

Seeing all of us assent, the guard continues.

“If anyone has any concerns with the questions asked, you may refuse to answer, but your slotted dungeon delve will be forfeit as a result. Any complaints should be directed towards the Adventurer’s Guild at Aresmouth. Now, who will go first?”

Under his disinterested gaze, I step forward and into the circle.

“Good. First question, what is your full name as registered by the System?”

“Simon Aurum-Silver”

“Next, what is your Class?”

“Warrior”

“All right. Do you intend to harm the Dungeon beyond these gates officially known as “The Stage of forgotten fables”?”

“No.”

“Good. Finally, do you have affiliations with any worshippers of devils or demons or are you one yourself?”

“No.”

“Beautiful. Stand over there please while your companions are being processed.”

The rest of our merry little band is being processed as quickly and soon we all stand on the other side of the circle. At a nod of the Guard, the door is being pushed open, revealing a familiar cavern beyond.

“Good luck on your delve. May She watch over your steps.”

The guard nods towards us, and we proceed into the darkness.