----------------------------------------
The dungeon looked upon the developments within its lower level with excitement. He savored every bit of fear and pain, every morsel of hope and determination. A shadow of feelings for it, but a reminder of what it was to be truly alive.
The remaining heroes were making good progress, but the dungeon held back the full extent of its power. These little things were no real threat. Like a cat, he liked to play with his prey.
He remembered cats. He…had one. A long time ago…when he was a man like those fools seeking his Seed. He had a name…but it was long forgotten as irrelevant. He was all. Everything within his range was his to command or test.
The dungeon pondered his long wait between aspirants to his treasure. He may have been too harsh in the last few cycles of trial-takers. He should have allowed survivors. No survivors meant no tales of treasure. No tales meant no jealousy and greed for his hoard. No greed meant no food.
He was so hungry. The first two adventurers to fall were mere appetizers, only whetting his appetite for more. He watched the progress of the Paladin with interest. The man must have had an epiphany. He was charged with divine energy that he had lacked upon entry.
The duplicitous mage with his clever betrayals and manipulations came close behind. The magic user was discretely triggering traps as the Paladin charged forward. Many traps hit the warrior, as well as the growing legion of the dungeon's fabricated monsters. Delicious deceptions, indeed. The wizard was lacking is formidable power, but he was very clever in its usage.
The dungeon shuddered in expectation. He reached out. The newest additions to his ranks arose on unsteady legs. The dead rogue, bloody with his visible veins turned jet black from the giant scorpion’s corrupting poisons. He staggered down the side passage to take his place for the final confrontation.
The dead ranger maiden sat up. The fungi ran through her body, holding her together even while the necromancy continued to tear her down. She shuddered as the magical fungi shoots dug in, animating her limbs. She screamed.
The dungeon was delighted. Her soul was tenacious indeed. She too shambled forward. The dungeon took his accursed role very seriously. He wanted the final survivor to truly despair when confronted by his fallen companions. He needed to hurry. The last couple were nearing the end of the trap room.
The end game was always his favorite. If more than one survived, they would often fight for the Seed. It rested upon its raised dais in a pool of enchanted water. The Seed was submerged deep in the water. The Aqua Sidhe was a special kind of trap. It radiated no magic at all but would enrage even the wisest and most timid of humans.
The aftermath of the Aqua Sidhe left those who touched it befuddled and extremely suggestible. The Dungeon would own whoever touched the liquid, mind and soul. No one would claim it's Seed.
The stones in the walls creaked as the dungeon gathered itself to witness the final scene.
----------------------------------------
Darius strode forward, powered by his faith and the support of his patron god, Severus. His eyes glowed red with rage. His unstoppable forward progress was a testament to his will as he was blasted again and again. The very air shattered around him.
Bolts flew and were deflected off his plate mail armor. Some few managed to pierce his flesh, but he was beyond caring. One of his hands held his sword, the tip sheared off in his fierce fighting. The other held a tight grip upon the throat of a ghoul, his fingers pierced its flesh and wrapped about its spine. He dragged it forward, a poor replacement for his destroyed shield.
Everdale shifted and shimmered under a cloak of magic close behind him. The mage was careful to avoid his attention. As they approached the end of the room, a stage loomed. He could see the Seed! Everdale had begun triggering traps and deflecting arrows with his telekinesis to try and kill Darius.
Everdale was angry and afraid. He needed to do something, and he was worried. Darius had made peace with his god. The man had just waded through a sea of monsters without slowing down. There could be only one survivor! He was out of time.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
“Darius, my good man. Excellent work! Please take a moment to rest.” Everdale said, trying hard to pretend they were still on good terms. He thought very carefully about his every word. One of Severus’s boons was that his Paladins could detect lies. It wouldn’t do to be caught in a deception.
“What do you care, you liar?! What aren’t you telling me, you bastard?” Darius yelled.
“I apologize, Darius. I am too used to keeping my own council. I have regretted sharing my knowledge in the past and didn’t wish to burden the group. You are tired. Perhaps we can regroup, I believe the last challenge awaits. I want to be very prepared for what comes next. Here! This potion is for you. Kelsana still needs saving, yes?” Everdale held out a flask.
Darius, newly suspicious of the mage, eyed it carefully. It was the same type of flask Everdale always used for his healing potions. He took it with narrowed eyes. He uncorked it and studied Everdale.
Everdale shook his head mournfully. He took the potion and took a sip before handing it back.
“See, there. Do I look poisoned to you? Darius, I thought you knew me better.” Everdale said. Inside, he was already celebrating. He had anticipated this. The antidote to the Hellfire potion was already between his teeth, a sprig of Minton’s Nettle. He made sure to swallow it with his small drink from the vial. He smiled past the burning sensation and gave the flask back with a raised eyebrow.
Darius looked about the room. He was tired. He could see the Seed beneath the waters in the raised pool. This dungeon was a cheat. Of course, there would be a final trap or challenge. He would need to be careful.
He downed the potion and Everdale smiled. No less than five daggers hovered low to the ground behind Darius; suspended in the air by the mage’s telekinetic magic.
Darius gasped and collapsed to his knees as internal fire raged in his stomach. Even as he shot a look at Everdale, the smiling Mage blurred, and Darius shook as blades slashed past and around him, stabbing, and slashing into the gaps of his armor, drawing blood.
“Everdale! You, Severus damned betrayer!” Darius roared. The Paladin through sheer willpower, bolstered by Severus’ divine boon of unstoppable resolve, regained his feet and stood tall again. He threw the ghoul's corpse at the blurred form as daggers continued to plunge into his back and sides.
Everdale was quick and nimble, his magics fast and skilled. As the corpse flew, he yelled.
“Geister-flinken!” With the spell activation, he blinked away to safety…and was shocked as two feet of cold steel pierced his chest. He looked into Darius’s pitiless eyes. The paladin had pivoted and stabbed him through!
“Very dumb for such a clever mage! You ALWAYS blink behind and to the left. Predictable bastard!” Darius spat. He yanked the blade out of the shocked and gasping Everdale and pulled it back for an executioner’s swing to take the traitor’s head in Severus’ name.
Everdale coughed blood, clutching his chest as blood poured out. His eyes were drawn to the Seed even as his death loomed before him. Even a fatal wound could be cure, with powerful enough magic.
He was unable to voice a spell, so he triggered his only non-verbal ability, his telekinesis. Darius’s blade swung as the mage pulled with his mind…and the Seed flew out of the water to his outstretched hand.
The walls SHOOK and the dungeon ROARED. The dungeon’s last trap had been circumvented! Its new revenants and monsters charged from hidden nooks in the walls. But it was too late! The Seed was caught.
Battered, poisoned, and weak, the paladin’s determination was strong. Darius’s reflexes were also enhanced by divine decree. His hand shot out and grasped the large glowing treasure from the air before Everdale could claim it.
The mage fell to the ground, bleeding from the fatal wound. His eyes dimmed as dungeon’s power funneled into Darius. The Dungeon of Ao-Dranoth screamed and raged as it felt all of its accumulated power draining and flowing to the upstart adventurer. The dungeon shook, rubble falling about the stage. As the dungeon’s mind faded and grew weak, it began to laugh…and Darius heard him.
Enjoy your victory today, Fool. You have an infinity of them to fill now. Immortal you will be! If you can keep it. But there comes a price. You must claim souls to keep your own.
Darius gasped as the power flooded into him. The dungeon's powers, its perceptions, and its memories. All of it. He saw his team. All their actions, their hidden thoughts, and desires. He wept in pain at the truth, more so than any of his wounds. His body dissolved and he found himself bound to the Seed and the very walls of the dungeon.
Take heart, warrior! You won’t be alone. Behold! Your companions will keep you company. Forever…
The dungeon faded, laughing. Darius finally saw the twisted forms of Garett and Kelsana. Even Everdale’s body was beginning to twitch in the large puddle of its blood. Glimmers of intelligence still lurked behind all of their deadened and pain-filled eyes.
Darius screamed…and the dungeon began to twist and change. Darius's imposed new additions and changes to the dungeon, so its theme would fit his style and that of his patron deity. He would have a twisted trial of justice. Stone, steel, and fire would facilitate his trap for the faithless, the deceivers, and the betrayers. Darius would live on…and his so called friends would join him.
The previous dungeon had been miserly with its power. Darius would not! He would grow and pull forth everyone with greed and lies in their souls towards his dungeon. A compulsion rang out across the land; a siren song to entice the world with promises of immortality, treasure, and more.
Soon, they would come. They would ALL come. Darius would be waiting...and justice would be done!
----------------------------------------
A new immortal dungeon was born, and its story would be even bloodier than the last. The mythical quest for immortality was true, but far from a glorious victory for the unfortunate souls who would dare to try for it.