Chapter 5
While the big man yelled and stood in front of his group of bandits, Marie and Peter had reached their positions in a tree and opened fire. The bandit chiefs speech was rudely interrupted by one of their arrows. It pierced straight through his throat and the man was almost decapitated by its immense force. Marie and Peter too had been training in the past months. The arrow had been shot by Peter, who preferred a heavy longbow. Meanwhile Marie showered the enemies archers with a rain of arrows. Something Peter couldn't achieve, but Marie's lighter shortbow and unconventional archery style allowed her an amazing cadence, at the cost of accuracy and attack power.
Scared by the covering fire the bandit archers quickly fled and searched for cover. As they hadn't spotted Marie and Peter yet they couldn't return fire. Meanwhile Will and Alec had started a massacre among the bandits. Will led the other fighters and was the spear point of their charge. Alec on the other hand moved by himself. Nobody among his friends was able to keep up with his pace, as such he took the most effective role and created chaos among the enemies ranks.
With a mana enhanced sword he mowed through their front and created a breach for the others to follow up. Then he charged into one of the two groups and began to systematically butcher a few bandits. It was not a real fight as Alec's weapon easily cut through flesh, bone, wood and even metal.
Just as fast as it had begun, it came to an end. The overwhelming momentum they had created completely demoralized the bandits. They turned to flee. Nobody gave chase. There was nothing to be gained in doing so and the risk to one's life was rather high too. Overall twelve bandits had died in these few moments. A death toll Alec was ready to accept. If they hadn't been here with the merchants even more would have died, and most of these victims would have been innocent.
Alec's thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of multiple vomiting people coming from a big group of merchants. For Alec and his friends this wasn't the first time they had seen gore. Dungeon dives were a very bloody business and hunting wasn't much better in this regard, although the prey tended to not be humanoid. “Bloody hell... You guys sure are dangerous. Never have I seen such an unbalanced fight in my live. And I have seen how some poor fellow got trashed by a self-proclaimed sword master.” The caravan leader said while wiping his face with a wet towel. He too had to clear his stomach after what had happened.
“We should get going.” Alec said after he too had used a couple of towels to clean himself. He still smelled heavily of blood, especially his hair was still slightly dyed by it. “You are right. We don't want to be here if they come back with some additional men. Also the stench is upsetting my stomach again.” The man replied.
After ten minutes of walking they left the small forest and the capital finally got into view. Just as they had set foot on the plains, surrounding the city and its walls, they all heard the system's voice. 'You are entering a chaotic region. Inhabitants have rebelled against the established structures. Proceed with caution. The System will be unavailable until the region has been stabilized for two months under a new or old rule.'.
“Did you hear that? It was that damn voice again! I haven't heard it ever since we got transported here!” One of the merchants exclaimed. “The established rule, huh? They sure had it all planned out when they transported everyone here. As far as I experienced they even helped out with the transition and psychology of the people. And now they even give us the choice to deny their setup...” Alec thought aloud. “You are probably right. If they didn't have tweaked our minds we sure as hell wouldn't be here right now. I probably would be too scared to leave my house. I used to fear wide places you know?” The caravan leader said. “And now the fear is gone. That's why I became a travelling merchant. I want to see the whole world, now that I can. And I am not the only one that was changed. I haven't met anyone with any sort of disability since I came here and I have met thousands of people.”
Warily they continued their march. But soon they got a bit more relaxed. There weren't any places for ambushes on this open plane, where the highest plants, except for a few solitary trees, barely reached their knees. As they got closer to the town the meadows changed to fields, which lay fallow. The only green that could be seen were probably the sprouts of some winter grains. They soon would be covered by snow and slumber, only to be awoken when spring arrived.
After another half an hour of walking they had finally reached the town gate. A small queue of people and carts was waiting in front of it. While their group waited they witnessed how the guards worked through the throng of people. They checked the id's and the wares of the entering people and then demanded a toll corresponding to what they had found. “That's the first city with a toll so far. In the other cities the guards are employed by the adventurers guild, which gets money from the dungeon. Mostly through wares it creates for them.” The merchant said. “I guess the guild lost the war then.” Alec mumbled and wondered whether he could still achieve his goal here.
Finally it was their turn. Alec and his friends parted ways with the merchants since their inspection would take much longer than their own. His group stepped up to one of the guards, who gave them a derogatory glance and said. “Adventurers, aren't you? Let me give your stuff a quick check.” The guard efficiently went through their stuff. “Nothing that need taxation. The entry toll will be the regular one silver per person. Also you should note that your adventurer ranking is meaningless here. We established our own system, that follows our council and not a monstrosity. The guild building is found at the marketplace.” The guard explained. They paid the fee and entered the city.
“We should check out the guild first. If they still retain some of the functions of the original ones they should be able to point out some inn's for us.” Marie suggested. “Sounds good to me!” Will said, “ I never liked to aimlessly wander around in towns.”. Hence they followed the main street and soon enough they arrived at the marketplace. The guild building looked exactly the same as the one in Cerfort.
But its insides were entirely different. The floor was paved with parquet, instead of tiles And the cold grey walls had been covered with beige wallpaper. The once sterile entrance hall had been turned into a pub. “I don't know about you, but I could use a drink.” Will proclaimed, Peter silently followed him to the counter.
The room was stuffed with people and the air was thick. Following a sign on the wall Marie, Sarah and Alec walked out of the pub and towards the offices. Soon after they had found the information broker, who without any problems told them where they could find a good inn.
Using this chance Alec also asked about his parents, but he only got rebutted. “Request beyond basic services are reserved for rank nine members and higher. Since I have never seen you before I highly doubt that you fulfil this requirement.” “So how do I get my rank here then? The guard had informed us that you handle things differently here.” Alec asked. “Well, the dungeon closed itself ever since we got rid of its human minions, so it isn't appropriate to use a ranking based on achievements in it. Thus we created our own ranking system. The ranks reach from one to ten. You can challenge everybody with a higher rank than yours to a duel. Beat them and you gain their rank, while their rank drops by one.” The clerk explained.
“Wait a second! How were the initial rankings decided? And what happens when more and more adventurers enter the system?” Sarah asked. “Well we balance the change in numbers through merit based promotions or demotions. And the initial ranking was created through a tournament.” He answered.
“That makes sense.” She said while deep in thought. “Thank you! I created it, so I am always pleased to hear this.” The clerk boasted. “Could you give me a list of swordsman rank 9 or ten. Or does this not count as basic information?” Alec asked. “Wait just a second. Here you go. Although I must warn you, that it isn't wise to immediately reach for so high.” The clerk said.
Alec didn't respond and just left. The girls followed closely behind him. Together they returned to the pub, where Peter and Will sat at a corner table drinking beer. Another young man sat next to them and seemed to talk unceasingly to them, which the two of them apparently tolerated, albeit they didn't respond.
“Ahh finally you got back!” Will said when he had spotted his friends. Turning to the guy that had pestered him and Peter he said, “Now you see that I am indeed in a party, so could you leave now? Or does our leader Alec have to kick your ass for you to leave?”. “ They don't look that strong, are you sure you don't want to join Julian's party?” At this half the group broke into laughter. “Hey Alec! Wasn't that one of the guys on your list?” Sarah asked.
“Hmm... Nope! There is a Julius, but no Julian. Would have been surprising if it had been that convenient.” Alec said. Then he grabbed the pain in the neck by its collar and lifted him up. With a quick motion he sent him hurling over the ground. After a short slide the man hit the front door of the pub and came to a halt. “You will regret this!” He barked and left.
The rest of the evening went on much more enjoyable than this encounter, but soon the tides began to turn. It started in a rather pleasant manner, a dwarf, or a creature every reader of fantasy would identify as one, came to their table. “So you are the ones that drove this plague-spot away. I have to thank you. That guy has been pestering me ever since I came here.” The dwarf said in a baritone voice.
He was clad in a heavy looking plate armour, that was covered in runes and had orange hair that covered most of his face. More than his amber eyes, his big bulbous nose and a small part of his mouth couldn't been seen beneath his majestic beard and braided hair. His body was about half the size of a human, but his volume was about the same. He was bulky and had broad shoulders and hips.
“It wasn't any trouble for us.” Alec replied. “I fear that remains to be seen. As you probably know, he doesn't work alone and his employee is a rather arrogant rank seven adventurer. And I fear he won't come alone to 'protect his honour'.” The dwarf explained. “Since you look like you can pull your weight, I decided to join the upcoming bout. To even the odds, if you so will. Maybe after he and his companions are beat up we both can have a bit of peace from this guy.”
And the dwarfs words proved true. Minutes after the dwarf joined their table a group of adventurers barged in the pub. Their entrance rudely disrupted the atmosphere and it turned eerily silent in the once lively room.
Behind the group Alec spotted a familiar face. The man immediately pointed towards their table and whispered “There they are! And the dwarf you sought is there too!” to a tall blonde man. This man looked rather handsome and wore a broad smile, that screamed 'FAKE!', as well as an overly decorated sword. Its heft and scabbard were clad in so many jewels, that Alec doubted its functionality.
Still donning his smiling mask the man strode towards their table. “It's a pleasure to meet you and you too Mr. Boeldar. I am still waiting for your reply concerning the dungeon.” He greeted Alec's group and the dwarf. “But I must ask. Why did you deny my invitation so very rudely?”
“That is easily explained.” Alec responded with a dead pan expression. “First of all, we don't know you. Secondly, you sent a rather despicable henchman, instead of personally meeting and inviting us. And lastly we don't plan to team up with anybody right now.”
The smile crept further over the man's face. “So it's more or less because of personal preferences, right?” He asked his henchmen, who nodded in response. Their faces now too donned a grin. The man turned back and continued. “Then this case is easily solvable. You are new here, right? I take that you probably aren't familiar with the law of forced recruitmen...” “NOW!” The dwarf shouted and hurled himself towards the closest henchmen. The surprisingly agile dwarf appeared almost instantly in front of the poor fellow, who was promptly sent flying by a dwarven uppercut.
Alec and his friends reacted with a slight delay and engaged in combat. His friends attacked the henchmen, while he walked towards their leader. The man instantly pulled out his sword, its blade was covered in runes, which made it look similar to the dwarf's armour.
He promptly attacked with a wide swing, but Alec was already too close to him and easily hindered him by grabbing the hand on the swords hilt. Meanwhile Alec's other hand punched the man in the stomach, who was catapulted backwards. But he remained standing and as soon as he had regained his balance he charged forward, his sword aiming to take Alec's life. Its blade was covered in a blue eerie lustre.
Alec sensed danger radiating in waves from this blade and promptly prepared himself by taking a low stance and strengthening his hands with mana, in the same way as he normally did with his sword. His hands, which now were hard as steel, snapped forward and grabbed the sword in its fuller, he took care to not touch the edge.
With a sharp pull he took the sword away from the man. Gems sprayed everywhere as they broke free from their sockets in the handle. Alec threw the sword to the ground and punched the now unarmed man in the face. The man's facial features shifted through the punches force and he fell to the ground. He laid silent, like the rest of the room.
The silence was broken when the innkeeper came forward with a broom and began to sweep up the gems. “What are ya looking at? Get those losers outta here!” He yelled to his helpers. “And you guys probably should get out of here now, before you get swarmed by this guys friends, who want to take back his ranking. Which by the way you just won. Check your cards.” He said in a silent voice to the dwarf and the group of friends.
A quick check revealed, that they indeed gained new ranks. Now two rankings donned their cards. Like suggested they quickly left and rented a small house in the housing complex, which had been recommended by the guild's information broker. Together they sat in the building's living room.
“Sorry that I tagged along, but I don't deem it save to be alone right now.” The dwarf apologized. “No problem. We have a room free anyway since they only got this house available for a party of our size. Anyway, what did he want from you? He mentioned a dungeon.” Will said.
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“He wants my knowledge concerning dungeons and wants to force his way inside it, with my help.” The dwarf answered, “I explained multiple times that this would be suicide and would bring a disaster upon this city, but he just replied that he would handle it. Your kind is really bad at listening to other races, you know? Even if it concerns matters about our original world.”
“So the dungeons come from your home world?” Sarah asked. “Aye. We live together and in symbiosis with them. They need refined mana and we need it in its raw form.”The dwarf explains, “ They aren't the only ones that convert the refined mana, but they are the most useful and peaceful. They mine ores in the area and even farm plants inside of them. They exchange these good for refined mana, which we breath out in small doses if our reserves are filled and we emit even more of it when we use techniques to fight.”
“So what makes them so dangerous? Aren't they just a system of caves filled with monsters, that can't even leave them?” Will asked. “No they are much more. The caves are just a projection of their might. They assimilate the rocks around their resting place and create the caves you know as dungeons, but their core is vastly different. They are humongous creatures. Let me draw them for you.” The dwarf answered and began to sketch on a piece of paper he had found in a compartment of the table.
The form he drew was one eerily familiar, yet had never existed as a living being in earth's entire history. It looked like a dragon. “Are you saying that a dungeon is a dragon's resting place?” Alec asked. “A dungeon is a dungeon's resting place? I don't understand what you mean.” The dwarf replied, “Like always, when I tried to explain it.”. “Damn those translation problems! You don't have two words for the different states of a dungeon, right?” Sarah asked. “We only have one.” He answered. “There is the problem. You see, we have two different names for these entirely different appearing entities. The caves we call D-U-N-G-E-O-N and the giant flying lizard you drew D-R-A-G-O-N.” She spelled out for him. “In our world both only exist in legends.” Marie added.
“So what would happen if someone forced his way into the dungeon?” Peter asked. “First of all they would have to dig through meters of solid mana-enhanced granite and then they would enter the dungeons core area, where it rests. If they awaken the being it will leave this place, but not without laying waste to the entire region.” Boeldar answered, “Dragons are very grumpy after they have been awoken.” Silence followed that statement.
“Do they have a chance to reach the core?” Alec asked. “No. If someone rivals the dungeon in power one could easily break the walls. But for us weak beings in this city this won't be possible. Another way would be a special tool we dwarf's can create, but we decided to never build another of its kind. One angered dragon almost drove us to extinction. We only survived because it decided to let us live. By the way, the sword of that guy you have beaten up was a dwarven one. The runes on it enhance it. By the way, I am curious how you did strengthen your hands. I can't detect any runes on you, so how did you do it?” The dwarf said.
“This?” Alec asked and enhanced his hands. Playing with the mana he shaped a short blade of it atop the fingertip of his index finger. “Normally I synchronize my mana with the rhythm of my sword and let it flow into it, but it seems I can partly replicate its attributes and form by mimicking it.” Alec explained. “Like I thought. You apparently can hear the metal.” The dwarf said, “That's rare even among dwarves.” “Actually its not only metal I can hear. If I spent enough time on it, I am certain that I can learn the rhythm of anything. But I am probably not the only one that can do that.” Alec said.
“Sarah? Could you help me out a bit? I need something that is infused with earth attribute magic.” Alec said after over thinking what he had learned since he had arrived here. Sarah raised a hand and a small snake made of dirt, from one of the plant pots, crept up on top of the table. Intently Alec listened to its tune of magic. Slowly he managed to copy the magic and a small speck of the dirt went its own way, away from the snake.
“You did it!” Sarah and Beoldar exclaimed almost simultaneously. “Yes, but damn is this hard. Maybe if I spent a year to meditate on this I could gain an affinity as good as Sarah.” Alec said, “Let me check another thing.”. He grabbed a spoon and tried to enhance it, but he failed. Then he explained. “Like I thought. It isn't iron affinity. Its more like a blade affinity. I was lucky that the 'gloves' I created were hard enough to catch the sword. I doubt that they would have survived an actual clash with a weapon.”
“This world is really strange.” The dwarf said, “There exist no limits to one's personal powers. And yet the creators of this world took meticulously care to create a balanced world, where everything can start at a common footing. I just hope, that no race willingly ends the coexistence that was given to us.”
“Oh! We all almost forgot! What was this recruitment law that guy spoke about?” Peter asked all of a sudden after he had listened for most of their conversation. “The forced recruitment law. It allows adventurers of at least 5th rank to recruit others of at least two ranks lower, as long as the reasons they had been denied prior recruitment attempts because of menial reasons. The higher ranked has to suppress the lower ranked in order to recruit him. After that the suppressed has to follow orders for about a week, if he rejects that he will be exiled. The orders have to be reasonable thought, they don't become slaves, so they also have to be reasonable compensated. After one week of service they are free to go and the law can only be used once per month per person.” The dwarf explained, “Also if the suppression fails, the loser drops in rank and the winner gains the rank of the offenders.”.
“What a strange law. Although I can see its uses.” Will said, “Anyway, it's late. We should go to bed!”
The next morning their house was surrounded by about 20 people. Alec noticed that when he woke up and like usually wanted to absolve his morning training. Unsure of where he could do that without waking up his friends he had looked through the windows, to find a suitable place. What he had found instead were those aforementioned people. All of them were armed and vigilante observed all the possible escape routes of the house.
Hastily Alec woke up his friends and the dwarf. They gathered in one of the rooms on the second floor. “Why are they just watching?” Peter asked worriedly. “Trespassing is a crime, as well as simply attacking someone. Yesterday with the guy that tried to use the recruitment law we had something like an official challenge, but without something like that it is strictly prohibited to fight in the city.” The dwarf explained.
“So they are probably waiting for us to leave and then challenge us?” Alec asked. “Most probably.” He replied. “Can't we deny the challenge?” Will asked. “I fear that won't work.” Beoldar said, “I recognise some of these guys. They are level 8 adventurers that work for a level 10. So they have quite the influential backer and sadly the authorities here are known to accept half-assed excuses, as long as the right people make them.”.
Alec quickly got the list he had received yesterday and began to compare the images with the faces of the man outside. After a quick search he let out a small whistle. “There are 2 level 9 among them.” He said and pointed them out. “Damn these guys are packed with runes. They even have them on their armour.” The dwarf said.
“No use in waiting in here any longer. Peter and Marie should climb on the roof. Will and Beoldar, you take my flanks and keep Sarah save, who will be in you middle.” Alec ordered, “At my command Sarah will destroy a wall on the ground floor for us to exit. When you two here this leave through the windows in the roof and give us covering fire.”
They quickly checked their equipment and got to their positions. Then it started. The brick wall quickly crumbled under Sarah's magic. And the four of them charged outside. The surprised guards were too far away for a sneak attack, but at least their group could leave in formation and hadn't to bother with the narrow door.
The confusion didn't last long and the guards began to attack. A couple of arrows flitted towards Alec, but he easily slashed them out of the air. His reflexes had always been sharp, but they only had reached this degree through his intense training. He waited for his enemies to reach them, as he didn't want them to encircle his group and in their current position they had the house in their back.
The quickest of his enemies reached him shortly after he had dealt with the arrows. The man was clad in a plate armour, whose parts were covered in runes. He wielded a huge claymore. Which he swung towards Alec's head. Taking one head of his sword Alec punched the broad blade that was coming towards him and simultaneously twisted his body to the side.
The claymore was sent hurling towards the side and away from their group. The man that still clung to it stumbled a step while he tried to bring it back under his control. Before he managed that Alec stabbed him with a single handed thrust with his sword. He hit a small gap in the armour and drew blood. But the wound was far from mortal. The armoured man stumbled backwards and out of Alec's reach.
The man's companions now finally caught up and they engaged in a melee. They were more adapted to fencing and weren't reliant on a single charge. There weapons were sleek blades and they also used shields. At first they were locked in a stalemate, but then Sarah acted and destroyed the enemies footing. Will immediately used this chance and lunged out and stabbed one of them. Meanwhile Alec's adversary had already lost his sword to his superior swordplay and slowly backed away while hiding behind his shield. But he wasn't able to leave unscathed, as Alec found and used a gap and wounded his leg.
The archers that initially shot at Alec were already pinned to the wall of the building across the road. They were still alive, but they won't fight anytime soon. “The others are coming! We delayed and thinned them out as best as we could.” Marie shouted from atop the roof. “Let them come.” Alec replied.
The enemies rounded the corners of the house and immediately began to attack them. “Sarah? Now would be a good time.” Alec said calmly. She acted when the guards were ten feet away from them and created two 3 metre high walls. Alec, Will and Beoldar now stood side by side in the corridor and Sarah stood behind them. The fourteen man rushed towards them and would have overrun them, if it weren't for Sarah who created tripping hazards in quick succession.
The mob slowed down and was pelted with arrows. Those that actually reached their line of defence were quickly overwhelmed by Alec, who now used his mana enhanced sword to cut through their weapons and armour. He took meticulously care to not wound his enemies mortally, as this could be held against them and would provide their enemies with a new plot.
In no time at all only four enemies weren't laying on the ground, moaning in pain. They were slowly backing away. “If I were you, I wouldn't do that. The archers on the roof are rather skilled if you haven't noticed. And their arrows travel far and faster than you can run.” Alec said, “Instead you could answer a couple of questions and leave unharmed.”
“We won't betray our leader.” One of them shouted brusquely and found himself with a new feathered accessory in his arm. “We already know who you are working for. Your group is a bit too famous to work covert.” The dwarf said. “What we want to know is your reason. Is it because of this arrogant fellow we took care of?” Alec asked.
“No. He isn't important. His mission was thought. We need the dwarf's knowledge.” A female guard said. “To get rid of the dungeon?” Will asked. “To control it. We need its resources to build the human empire.” She responded. “A human empire? If you wanted to appeal to our nationalistic tendencies with that quote, I fear your words have fallen on deaf ears.” Alec replied, “And you truly should try to first understand what you want to control. A dungeon is way more dangerous than you think, they can end entire races if they choose so.”
Alec gave Marie and Peter a sign and they jumped down onto the earthen walls Sarah had created. “Let my words be your warning. We will leave now.” Alec said and together the friends walked away. They made a quick detour to the rental agency and gave them a compensation and then they walked towards the guild building. They didn't tardy in the pub and went straight to the information broker, where they were greeted by the same fellow that sat in the office the last time.
“Do you ever not work?” Alec asked jokingly. “Actually no. Or rather some excited birds woke me up early in the morning and informed me about your little sparring match.” He answered. “Impressive.” Alec answered. “So I guess you can help me out now?” Alec asked. “Certainly. What information do you seek?” The man answered. “Where are Mark and Lucy Mercer?” Alec asked and his friends also asked about their parents and family.
“I fear I can't give you the best answers about that. Ever since the dungeon closed itself we have lost connection to the other guilds, but I can check the archive to find them.” The man said and left the room through a door in the back of the room.
Half an hour later he returned. “It wasn't easy to find it, as they didn't got much attention, but Mark registered as an adventurer in the border settlement of Porin. His wife was also mentioned in his entry report, but apparently she is rather sickly. The others aren't registered, but some are mentioned as promising craftsmen. Here is a list of their locations.” The man summarised. “Do you have a map we could buy?” Alec asked and promptly received the items he asked for.
Together they left the guild building and planned their future route. Their way was far and led past the dwarven burrow, which Beoldar noted after taking a glance at their destinations. “You could get more accurate information there, so how about accompanying me home?” He suggested. “Sure, why not?” Alec answered. They used the rest of the day to prepare for their journey and met up again at the main gate.