The end of the Shark-Tooth Mercenaries dealt a heavy blow to Domitor's army, causing them to fall back within their own borders. Their attacks on Jhargas and Balmung proved similar failures, which caused Domitor to retreat on all fronts to regroup, which, in turn, also provided their enemies with enough time to plan their counteroffensive.
3 months later, the three armies were now marching towards Domitor to push them further back and free their prisoners of war. It was during this time that Rouclier's 3rd-years were required to either reach the end of one of the 4 registered D-Rank dungeons, or 4 requests of the same difficulty, either of which would serve as their end-term exam.
Dungeon, also known as Abyssal Rift, which was the official name given to them, was the name of seemingly randomly occurring phenomena where a relic known as a Dungeon-Core, would appear in an unassuming place and start to fundamentally change its surroundings, warping space and even time around it to suit whatever trials it has in store for those who want to attempt to clear it. Many things regarding dungeons were still a mystery to the Divine Tribes, such as the true purpose they were made for. However, as ancient texts from the Dark Ages mentioned a correlation with the "Ruler over Magic", the Titan of Magic, Gemini, might have played a pivotal roll in their creation.
In general, dungeons were believed to be a measure put in place to strengthen the Divine Tribes, as rewards for overcoming their hardships included useful items like weapons, armour, tools, and potions as well as intangible rewards, such as a slight increase in one's physical strength for clearing the dungeon, though other things, such as valuables like coins and art as well as things considered to be completely useless, like pebbles and rotten food, could be found within them, which seemed to contradict this hypothesis.
The most important information mortals knew about dungeons, however, was their general structure, as even though dungeons varied in size and appearance, they still followed a certain predictable pattern. Most dungeons could be entered through a cave or door, though there existed documented instances where entrances consisted of spell circles, fake walls, and even cursed items which would teleport those who touched them in an instant.
Dungeons usually remained unchanged and regenerated after some time if parts of it were to be destroyed, making it near impossible to just carve a tunnel through its walls all the way to the end. It would do so until it was cleared, which is done by destroying the core at its centre, something that would reward one with the clear-reward of the dungeon, which was usually unique to the dungeon and could only be attained once. Upon the dungeon core being destroyed and the reward being collected, the dungeon would then disappear and remove every foreign creature and their belongings by transporting them where its entrance used to be.
Despite this, one may choose not to destroy the core after having reached the end of the dungeon, as once it is mapped out, one may find themselves tempted to continuously farm it for materials and valuables. Keeping a dungeon open, however, increases the risk of a so-called dungeon-break, an event where countless monsters suddenly emerge from within the dungeon to wreak havoc on their surroundings. To prevent this from happening, the Merdelum has started to send soldiers into these dungeons and regularly clear them.
The obstacles preventing those who entered the Rift to reach its core always consisted of at least one of the following types:
Labyrinths, structures of many different paths, rooms, and dead ends, sometimes staying the same, sometimes moving, and usually filled with either dangerous traps or bloodthirsty monsters;
Trials, such as a riddle or puzzle needing to be solved before one was allowed to continue forward;
Monster-Nests, rooms filled with specific types of monsters which needed to be cleared of them before the doors to the next room opened;
Guardians, the most powerful monsters found in a dungeon, which usually protected either the entrance to the next floor, which would make them Floor-Guardians, or the entrance to the dungeon-core-room, which made them Bosses.
Team 6 decided to tackle one of these dungeon, as it meant less variables and promised a better reward, a decision which they now relayed to Kassandra Lambert.
“Really? It's definitely gonna be harder than just finishing up 4 quests...Though I guess there are more unknown variables when it comes to quests, so from that perspective, one might think a dungeon-expedition to be the safer choice, seeing as it had already been mapped out, right? However, if it turns out to be a bad match, a dungeon can be far worse than finishing some quests. And that is exactly why I won't give you the details of the dungeon you choose before you have chosen it. So one more time: Are you sure about this?”
Sean looked at the others, who nodded in affirmation.
“We are.”
“Alright, as you know, there are 4 registered dungeons in the Éclat-region:
the Blighted Mines,
the Town of Regret,
the Echoing Depths,
and the Spider Nest.
Which one shall it be?”
“Hm...any preferences?”, Sean asked his teammates.
“Can we please not do the Spider Nest?”, Mira inquired, causing the others to look at her.
“...what? I hate spiders!”
“Well, that's one down. Anything else?”
“Yeah, I ain't no fan o' mines. Too many brethren lost to cave-ins and such.”, Brom added.
“I guess that only leaves the Town of Regret, right?”, Corvo asked, and the others agreed.
Professor Lambert's smile quickly vanished after hearing their choice, though she seemed to quickly realise this and forced herself to smile once more.
“...Alright, let's go with that one. I will arrange for a carriage, let's meet up here again tomorrow so I can tell you about what you are in for, okay?”, Lambert announced, before dismissing them for the day.
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20 days have passed since these damned monsters had appeared before the gates. Despite Aias having been sent out weeks ago to call for aid, not a single one seemed to have answered our call...or maybe, Aias had befallen a fate most grim. It matters little, as all hope has left this forsaken place together with the last morsel of food we had called our own. We managed to stave off hunger for as long as we could by rationing every crumb of bread, but we have reached past our limit. The gates have been opened. By whom, I cannot tell, nor does it matter. I managed to hide my wife and child in the secret wine cellar hidden within the garden's labyrinth as soon as I heard the first screams, though I am afraid, that this will not be enough. I shall draw the attention of those beasts away from the mansion by setting fire to the stables and running towards the gate.
This note is writ in case I see my end before our call for aid has been answered. Please, look for my family and tell them that my thoughts were with them in my final hours.
----------------------------------------
The others now understood why Professor Lambert was not too happy with the decision they made. On their journey to the city of Tose, near which the Abyssal Rift known as the Town of Regret had been discovered, Kassandra Lambert had decided to read them the note which was found on a corpse within the Rift to clue them in on what they were to expect.
Corvo, Sean, Mira, and Eleonora were wearing an enchanted version of the black-combat uniform provided to the 3rd-years of Rouclier. Mira additionally wore a metal-helmet which also covered her face, while the combat uniforms of the others also included a black hooded cape, which had the same enchantments as the rest of their uniform. The enchantments put the defensive capabilities of the uniforms on par with chain-mail armour while providing the same mobility as leather armour with only a fraction of the weight.
Their training-weapons had been exchanged for the standard-issue steel-weapons of Merdelum's army, and each of them had a small backpack, which could be instantly released from their shoulders in an emergency by unclasping it with a single click of a button, filled with rations and some other useful items. In addition to his mage-staff made out of ash-wood, Corvo also carried a short-sword for emergencies, Eleonora carried two sets of throwing daggers, 8 in total, and a small crossbow with 12 bolts in addition to her short-sword, and Mira had forgone a normal backpack, carrying a leather sack with a bundle of 8 javelins instead.
Brom, as a squire of the Ardent Path, was wearing actual chain-mail underneath black gambeson, on which the Cross of Light had been stitched with white thread. His weapons consisted of a dwarven war-hammer and a large steel kite-shield.
“As you just heard, this Abyssal Rift contains the ruins of a small city which had been home to beastkin before being overrun by monsters. The books found in the Manor of the author, who was discovered to have been the city-lord, indicated, that the city might have actually existed some time during the Dark Ages in the northern parts of Tella Mundi, so this could be considered an instance of a time-capsule-type dungeon.
Now, unlike the time when you had to fulfil a request, I am allowed to give you some basic intel about the Abyssal Rift. The reason for this is that scouts for Abyssal Rifts are a highly specialised unit that works together with mercenaries, which is why Rouclier does not offer the training courses needed for this kind of work. However, even if you know roughly what to expect, even Rifts which are believed to have been completely mapped out managed to catch careless explorers by surprise, leading to dire consequences.
First things first: the monsters you are going to encounter are Urcos, which are also known as infernal hunting-dogs, and Zombies, which mainly consist of the former inhabitants of the city and therefore are considered F-Rank threats...as individuals, that is. The monster protecting the core of the Rift is an undead Minotaur, which is also the main reason the overall rank of the Rift has been set to D-Rank. Seeing as your team-composition is well suited for these types of enemies, I don't think you will have too much trouble if you tread carefully. However, the gruesome scenery might not be so easily overcome, so you should probably steel yourself mentally for what you are about to witness. Any questions?”, Professor Lambert asked into the round.
Corvo decided to raise his hand.
“You said that it was a time-capsule-type of dungeon. Will we encounter any beastkin who are still alive?”
“No.”
Professor Lambert's blunt response noticeably brought down the mood, and caused the others to fall silent as well. Moments later, Lambert decided to break the awkward silence.
“Anyway, don't forget that I'll be right behind you if something were to happen in there. Though we want you to experience the real thing first-hand, we can't have anyone be badly hurt during a mere exam now, can we? By the way: I would advice against the destruction of the Rift's centre, as though the status of the Rift has recently been changed to “Decommissioned”, the official date for its destruction has been set for next month, and the right to do so had been auctioned off to some mercenary-group for a hefty sum. Needing to pay back such an amount would be quite annoying.”
With that out of the way, the group soon reached Tose.
Tose was quite a bit smaller than Caelum. So much so that Corvo thought it was closer to the village he had grown up in than the capital of the Ardent Path. Their carriage came to a halt in the middle of the town-square, where they were greeted by a salute from 5 soldiers in the same type of plate-armour the guards of Caelum wore. Professor Lambert and her group reciprocated their salute, before starting the conversation.
“Grandmaster Lambert and 5 cadets of Rouclier, here to take the exam for third-years.”
“Grandmaster Lambert, it's been too long! How was the journey?”, the leader of the team of guards asked as he motioned for the group to follow him, which they did.
“Oh, it was quite alright, though the mood among my students a little tense, as is to be expected.”
“Of course! Quite the choice you have made, no? Don't worry though, with someone like the legendary Blue Ifrit at your side there's nothing to fear, am I right, Grandmaster?”, he said full of reverence for a legend of the battlefield.
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Professor Lambert however seemed caught off-guard and a little embarrassed by someone mentioning her old nickname, causing her to blush and hide her face behind her hat. This did not go unnoticed by one of the guards, who quietly snickered before being shut up with an elbow in his ribs, courtesy of one of his comrades.
A short walk later, they arrived at the gates of a small, abandoned chapel. The reason as to why Corvo assumed it to be abandoned was that all of its windows had been nailed shut with heavy wooden boards, and parts of the roof and walls seemed to have collapsed inwards at some point.
“Here we are! Before we let you go in, please let me remind you of the rules. Not that I don't believe you have been adequately briefed already, it's just a safety measure for first-time-raiders.
Firstly: The enemies that have been found inside of the dungeon are known as the F-Rank monster Urcos and Beastkin-Zombies which are mainly of the Shambler-type, which are considered F-Ranks with rare appearances of Revenants, which are E-Rank monsters. There are no signs of magical, mechanical, or structural traps, and the boss of the dungeon is an undead Minotaur, a E-Rank monster.
Secondly: As the dungeon has been declared decommissioned, all objects of any value found within the dungeon are now considered the property of the one who found them, as per article 77 of Imperial Law regarding ownership of dungeon-loot.
Thirdly: The rights of destroying the dungeon-core have been sold. If the core happens to be damaged or destroyed by anyone other than the buyer, the offending party will be required to provide proper compensation, which includes a 50% penalty added to the original price.
Any questions?”
The 5 shook their heads.
“Then that will be all. The dungeon's entrance are the chapel doors. As soon as you step through and close the door behind you, you will find yourself in the Town of Regret. May the Light of Order guide you on the Ardent Path!”
With another salute, the doors to the chapel were opened, and the group stepped through.
The inside of the chapel looked just as run down as its exterior. Plants were sprouting between the crack of the walls, the wooden benches, on which believers would sit to listen to the sermons of the priest were mouldy and broken, and small, shimmering pieces of golden foil where once there were decorations and paintings.
Before they could get a better look at their surroundings, the doors slammed behind them, and the light coming in from the windows and holes in the ceiling instantly vanished, shrouding them in darkness.
“Hello? Everyone still here?”, Sean called out as he tried to make out their shapes in the dark, and the others affirmed.
“Wait, let me help you out.”, Professor Lambert called out, and, with a snap of her fingers, a blue flame appeared, illuminating their surroundings. The flame quickly split into 6, with each of them flying towards a different direction, where they ignited wall-torches, which made it possible for them to take in their new surroundings.
Instead of the decrepit chapel they had entered earlier, they now found themselves in a rather large and well furnished church, with a beautiful painted ceiling and expensive looking mosaic windows. The altar at the end of the room was covered in an expensive looking tablecloth made of what seemed to be white satin decorated with golden threads. On top of the cloth, a golden cross had been placed, surrounded by 4 white candles. The rows of wooden banks showed neither wear nor tear, and on some of them, black prayerbooks could be found.
“Before you ask, there is no need to worry. Me turning on the lights will not count as having helped you, and therefore will not be included in my evaluation. It just makes the next part easier for me to oversee.”
As soon as she had finished her sentence, a loud banging noise could be heard from the door behind them, which caused all but Lambert to jump forward in surprise. The sound was followed by another, then another. The timing between the bangs got shorter and shorter as the noise of something hard hitting the door became louder and louder. As soon as the group realised what had to be the origin of the noise, a hole was punched through the wood, and a bloody claw tried to reach whatever it could find behind it. Through the hole, Corvo and his friends could here noises which sounded like the wails of someone in unimaginable pain, hissing, growling, and gnawing, mixed with the sound of multiple fists banging on the wooden doors of the church.
As Corvo and the others fixated on the claw, Sean managed to compose himself and sprang into action.
“GUYS, SNAP OUT OF IT! We need to act fast before they overrun us!”
His words managed to pull the attention of his friends away from the hand and caused them to draw their weapons. However, Corvo motioned them to stop.
“Wait, we don't know how many there are! If we try to fight them head-on, we might get exhausted before we even manage to get out of this church!”
The others nodded in agreement, but as two more holes were punched through the door and the wood started to visibly bulge inwards, they started to become nervous.
“How about we barricade the doors with the benches and stab them through the holes!”, Mira asked.
“That should work! Fast now, before they break through!”
Soon after, the 5 split into 2 groups, with each one pulling one of the heavy wooden benches towards the door. Their plan seemed to work, as though two more holes were punched into the wood, the rest of the door seemed to hold together.
As they propped themselves up against the benches to provide additional support to their barricade, Mira handed out javelins to the others.
“I knew these would come in handy. Let's do this!”, Mira yelled out, as she drove her spear into one of the holes, which audibly pierced through flesh.
The action was followed by a loud wail, and the banging on the door became more frantic, as her friends followed suit, creating a sickening symphony of carnage.
Minutes later, the sounds had stopped, as the last of the undead had fallen to their attacks. During the one-sided slaughter, the wooden doors had been broken down enough for them to become able to have a good look outside.
The sight they gazed upon was truly horrifying, as if they were looking at a rather realistic painting of hell itself. Several buildings were lit on fire, their windows shattered or hastily barricaded with wooden boards, with their doors either having been removed or barely hanging on their hinges. The streets were littered in gore and guts, and the gutters drowning in the blood of those who used to walk them, as the people of the city had been replaced with walking, rotting corpses, who were shambling through the alleys looking for fresh meat to prolong their cursed existence.
It was at this moment when the adrenaline, which had pumping through the veins of Corvo and his friends, had left them, and the stench of death and decay, which their brains had managed to blur out throughout their first encounter with the enemy, truly hit them. Corvo was the first to run behind one of the benches they did not use as barricades, and loudly emptied his stomach.
The sound of Corvo losing his breakfast triggered the same reaction in Sean and Mira, with Eleonora barely managing to keep herself from doing the same. Brom, however, seemed perfectly fine, and approached his friends to see if they were alright.
“Yes, I kno it all too well. Reminds me of ta first time I had to face off against a corpse. That stench's gonna take a while ta get used to.”
After having managed to recover, Sean proposed that they tried to exit the church and find the manor their teacher had mentioned to have been described in the note. However, Brom wanted to take the cross from the altar before they did so.
“The gods have left this place ages ago, so there be no reason ta leave their items behind, no?”
With that out of the way, they carefully moved the barricades away and opened the broken door. About 8 beastkin corpses covered in holes and other wounds greeted them on the floor in front of them, and the group took care walking around them, with Brom making sure to cast quick prayer their way to send them off, before making their way deeper inside the city.
The reason as to why it had suddenly become dark as they appeared within the church instantly became evident, as wherever it was they had been transported to, it was currently in the middle of the night. However, instead of the usual twin moons in the sky, they could only make out a single, white moon, which seemed to be larger than the twin moons together. Before any of them could dwell on this information, however, Sean decided to not waste any time and give the next order.
“Nora, can you scout out the area? Make sure not to get caught, and see if you can find were we need to go.”, Sean ordered.
“Be right back.”, Eleonora said, and vanished from sight, as Corvo and the others took in the gruesome sights surrounding them. The houses reminded Corvo of the Temple of Light in Caelum: sharp edges, pointy roofs, and large windows. He also noticed small groups of starved-looking, black-furred dogs with 4 red eyes and burning chains around their necks, which feasted on the scraps of meat on the floor or lapped up the blood from the floor.
“I guess those are Urcos? We probably should make sure to stay away from them, seeing as they would alert the surrounding zombies.”
Moments later, Eleonora reappeared before them and told them that the main street would lead them directly to their target, but that it was swarmed with undead, which would force them to use the back-alleys, which despite seeming safer, would be the perfect place to be ambushed and surrounded in an instant.
“Well, what do you think, Sean? Being the leader and all, it's your call.”, she concluded her briefing of the situation.
As it was not an easy decision to make, Sean had to take a moment to weigh the pros and cons of each decision, before telling the rest of his team the plan.
“If we try to face what appears to be the known threat, we might risk getting overrun by other enemies who are alerted to the fighting. Let's try to go around them as quietly as possible. There is no real time-limit set for us, so that shouldn't be a problem. Nora, can you take the lead and scout a bit ahead? Stay within earshot though, in case of an emergency, the rest get in formation, and try not to bump into anything on the way.”
The others nodded and did as told. Eleonora sprinted towards the alley she had scouted out earlier, and motioned them to follow her. Mira acted as the vanguard and went ahead, followed by Sean and Corvo, with Brom in the back.
The walk towards the mansion was rather uneventful, thanks to Eleonora detecting threats before they accidentally stumbled over them. A few close calls were swiftly dealt with by either Eleonora herself or Mira, would silently took out the occasional zombie hiding in a window or lying on the floor, waiting for unsuspecting passer-bys.
As they arrived in front of the manor, they were met with a large metal-fence, which had been embedded into stone columns at the corners and where the gate was supposed to be. Behind the fence was a 3-stories-high, ornate building made out of large bricks, which in its prime surely must have rivaled a small palace. However, in its current state, it was hard to see it as anything other than a large abandoned ruin. The walls on it's right side had been severely damaged and collapsed as if something large and heavy had collided with it at high speeds. The walls which still stood either had large holes in them, as if having been shot at by cannonballs, or were covered in several large splatters of blood, with piles of armour beneath them.
“BY THE LIGHT! What kind a monster... oh yeah, the minotaur, disregard my comment.”, Brom yelled out in shock, before quickly growing silent in embarrassment of his outburst.
In any other situation, the rest of the group would have at least quietly chuckled about what he just did, though as they realised what this sight meant for them, the tenseness of the situation caused them to stay silent.
“...Let's not think about it before we get there. Keep your eyes and ears open, the minotaur could be hiding inside.”, Sean said, and moved towards the manor, followed by the rest of their group.
As they reached the door, which despite being covered claw-marks and blood, was not damaged in any other way, they could hear muffled noises from the other side, the sound of movement and of something eating.
“Alright, Mira, Brom, see if you can quietly open the doors. If they make too much noise and we can hear whatever is inside approaching, rip them open as fast as you can. Corvo, and me are going to keep them at bay so you can get your weapons out if that were to happen, and Nora is going to keep an eye on our surroundings, so we don't get ambushed while focusing on the doors. Understood?”
The others nodded.
“Okay, hold on for a second, I'll give you buffs. [Mira, be swift as an arrow.]. [Brom, become sturdy like iron!]”
Sean touched the two on their shoulders, causing them to glow in a faint white light for a moment, giving Mira [Haste] and Brom the [Protection] buff, which would slow down physical objects trying to attack him, therefore lessening their impact.
The reason why Sean had waited until now before making use of his Bard-Skills was, that during training, he became aware that using 6 Skills was his limit before having to rest for at least 3 hours to be able to reuse them, as their use mentally drained him. Any more than this would incapacitate him for at least half a day. Similarly, Brom would only be able to use 4 miracles before having to prey to the gods for at least an entire hour per used miracle, and Corvo was only able to use a limited amount of spells in one battle without repercussions. Mira would only be able to use her aura for one minute, and Eleonora had a limited amount of ammunition for her ranged attacks. Managing their limited resources may have been the responsibility of each of them themselves, though it was Sean's role to keep track of everything and make sure they were only used then needed.
As soon as Sean had finished his skills, they got into position, with Mira and Brom each moving towards one of the doors, while the others aimed at the small gap between them and Eleonora kept her back towards the manor to take in the surroundings. Sean gave the signal for them to start after he had drawn his sword, and the doors began to slowly move outward as they were pulled by Mira and Brom.