“Your Highness, it is my joy to let you know that we have accomplished your lineage’s grand undertaking. Under the light of the Dark Moons, the final dungeon has been eradicated from the continent," proclaimed a kneeling young man in adventurer’s garb as he laid a lumpen piece of cloth before him. The midday sun did naught but provide just enough light to accentuate the shadows of the hood he wore over his head, hiding the top half of his face in shadow as he opened the cloth, revealing a large cracked green crystal. “The Grand Dungeon of Tak’ro gave up defending itself after we managed to gain access to its final floor, and we managed to successfully test the artifact provided to us by the Church. There will be no coming back for that dungeon, not even the gods cou-”
“Do not blaspheme these ancient halls,” came the stern voice of an elderly human wearing far too much gold to be anything but an emperor. He relaxed with a happy sigh, sinking further into his throne with a smile, thinking upon his next words carefully. A moment later, he stood up from his throne and took a regal stance.
“Finally! Our Empire’s six centuries of work has paid off, and none too soon. No longer are we beholden to the Gods be-damned dungeons for our destiny! Tonight we start a month-long celebration the likes of which have never been seen before!”
As he righteously exclaimed the last words, he thrust a triumphant fist into the air, a golden light shining from the window behind him. The room reverberated with cheers from the lowliest servant to the highest present noble. Even the guards, ever famed in the empire for their stoicism in their duties, were joining in. With all the cheering going on, nobody noticed as a lone dwarf frowned and quietly yet hastily made his leave, nor did anyone notice as a bright speck of light came into existence in the southern sky.
Hours later as the sun was setting in the east, the entire capital city of Urstem was jubilantly celebrating. Brightly colored streamers, succulent pastries, and candied meats were in abundance while the citizens rejoiced. It was unheard of that their Emperor would order a celebration such as this, so the common folk were doing their best to make sure to enjoy it like it was the last party they would ever partake in.
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Foreign entertainers joyfully performed before audiences who had never once had the time to partake in such frivolity. Children of all ages ran around, laughing and playing with eachother while adults kept a close eye to make sure nobody was hurt.
Miles from the city, the lone dwarf looked back, eyes full of tears. The sigil of a high-ranking member of the International Dungeoneering Guild lay heavy on his chest. With him, a group of thirty adventurers and twenty civilians lay in the grass and against the trees, exhausted from their rapid underground exodus from the capitol. They were the only ones to notice a streak of burning light strike down from the heavens from the southern sky, and hit the Imperial Castle just after a grand display of fireworks had burst in a splendid display of color.
The night sky turned bright as daylight upon impact. Two of the human adventurers went blind on the spot. The massive shockwave from the explosion was diverted around them for the most part by a magic shield from a quick-thinking dragonkin mage, though some of it still managed to get through and knock several of the group to the ground. A giant dirty cloud rose into the sky, appearing like a mushroom, billowing out into the surrounding lands for over two miles. Clumps of rock, debris, and dirt rose up high into the air and fell back to the ground creating a new wasteland where there was once a thriving city and farmland.
“You did all you could, Guildmaster,” a blindfolded elf said, placing his hand on the dwarf’s shoulder after a few tries. “They were too caught up in their crusade to listen to your warnings.”
“Yer right, Lonlin,” replied the dwarf. “Should’a taken yer prophecy more seriously months ago. We’ll make sure the others are alright, camp here for the night, and leave in the morning. In six months, we’ll return to see what may be salvaged, if anything can.”
With that he slumped, defeated, against a tree stump while the others wearily took out camping equipment and began setting up for a long night.