Chapter 4 – A Brooding Arrival
Devon
It had been about two hours since the man had entered the dungeon. Nothing had changed about the entrance but the area around it was unrecognizable. Devon and his team had dug several mounds and earthen walls around the entrance to the dungeon. The entrance to the cul-de-sac had been fortified as well. Devon was currently sitting and watching the dark pit while sipping on a cup of hot cavina. The bitter draught soothed him and his nerves were on edge right now.
He had a sinking feeling in his gut, something was going to happen, something bigger than a lone dungeon on the edge of the world, even if it was a death dungeon.
“A copper for your thoughts?” Liara said as she sat down next to him, holding a cup of water and gnawing on a chicken leg.
“I’d be rich if we stuck to that deal, considering how often you ask me that.”
“Well, stop sulking and brooding as often then.” She smiled at him.
“I like my brooding, makes me seem mysterious and distant. The women love that.” He flinched and spilled his cavina as a gauntleted hand slapped him on the arm.
“Stop that. I know you don’t go hunting like Korgan does every time we get into town. You always stay in the inn and brood on the next mission or quest.”
Devon laughed and looked at his good friend. Her blond hair was pulled back behind her pointed ear, her large slanted eyes were full of warmth as always. She always knew how to cheer him up.
“Tell me, what are you thinking about now? The goddess always listens.” She looked at his earnest face, an olive-skinned youth a fraction of her age, but a good man in both heart and soul. She thanked the goddess almost every day for leading this man on the right path, considering his upbringing he turned out extremely well.
“I saw something when that boy was summoned.” He scoffed at his words.
“A boy I say, he was probably my age. But he was afraid and confused and he was forced into this by that damn Orc. The worst part is that you know as well as I what the Inquisition will do to him when they get here. I also had no other choice but to call on them. This is a cluster fuck of epic proportions.” He ignored the frown on the Elf’s face, she disliked swearing.
“I know how you feel, but even if that boy entered with a pure heart, the dungeon will corrupt him and Death will find an acolyte once more. That is if he doesn’t die in there.” Liara whispered.
“True to the dogma as always Liara. The thing is, what if he does come out and he isn’t corrupted but they execute him anyways? We’d kill an innocent person.” Devon was bordering on heresy but Liara listened without judging. She knew he had a good heart and would never stray from the path of Dawn, goddess of Light and Good.
“The teachings are there for a reason, we are both too young to know what it was like before when the eighth God walked the heavens, the death and destruction he wrought upon the world.” Liara put her lunch down and cupped her hands in silent prayer.
“Seems to me that there is enough death and destruction still.” Devon flinched from a few memories that surfaced.
“Conflict is a part of life, you know that. Death is too, but now at least he can’t reap us whenever he feels like it, now we can live as the Gods intended. Free until it’s our time to join our patrons in heaven.” Liara was speaking with conviction as usual. Devon knew she was devoted but she was no zealot, not like many others in the church.
“I know scripture as well as you. As I said, it’s just a feeling, one I can’t get rid of.” Devon tipped out the last cavina and stood up.
“Let’s get the last defenses in order. Morgana should be back at Linchester soon, her movement skills should have helped her clear the forest already.”
The two got up and started digging again. Time passed and nothing eventful happened. Several hours later when the sun was setting Morgana returned. The others heard her panted efforts before she rounded the bend and saw their work.
Sliding on the gravel and dirt she stopped before the other three members of her team. She was exhausted and panting, gripping her knees trying to get air.
“Dainty humans and their low Constitution.” Korgans deep laugh echoed.
“Shut it stumpy.” Morgana wheezed between breaths. The two hugged then and Korgan clapped the taller human on the back, causing her to stumble.
“What news from Linchester?” Devon stepped up before they started their usual banter again.
“I got in touch with the church and they already knew something was up, they got a message from the capital a few hours earlier, and a company of inquisitors is already on their way, 50 acolytes and one full inquisitor.” Morgana had a scowl as she spoke.
“Someone must have sensed something, a Seer or Visionary probably.” Liara said as she handed her friend a waterskin.
“This is the second death-type dungeon in the world, they should all be shitting in their armor right now.” Devon said distractedly, he was deep in thought again. He missed the frown on Liara and the grins on Korgan and Morgana.
“When do you think they’ll arrive, Morgana?” Devon turned towards the direction of the town.
“They are coming by Mana-ship so they should be in Linchester in a couple of hours and then from there to here should take them about a day, considering they don’t use movement skills in their builds.” Morgana said matter-of-factly.
The others nodded at her estimations and the group turned back to the camp. They had work cut out for them if they were going to prepare for 50 new arrivals soon. The prisoners were secured in the area furthest from the dungeon entrance and the exit from the small cul-de-sac. They were treated well and with respect, and the inquisition could deal with them when they came.
As the sun set a strange calm came over the area. The others had gone to sleep and Devon had the first watch. The stars were bright and out in force this night. It felt like the heavens had all turned their eyes toward this mountain to watch what happened next. Devon knew that was just his imagination but he smiled at the thought.
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The rest of the guard was uneventful and he woke Korgan who grumbled as he took the second watch. Tomorrow would be a lot more stressful.
The next day started with a fright. The mana around the peak swirled and reacted so clearly that even Devon and Korgan reacted. With their poor mana senses and mana-less classes they usually didn’t notice mana changes. But this was massive, something affected the mana of the entire mountain causing a ripple in the ambient mana and several landslides.
The event only lasted for a few minutes but they were all on edge for hours after. The three prisoners all begged to be released and swore and promised to turn themselves in. They were terrified. Devon almost took them up on their offer, but he knew he couldn’t trust them.
“Did you see or sense where the disturbance came from?” Devon asked Liara.
She pointed at the dungeon and answered.
“Where do you think it came from? I think I recognized the phenomenon. Someone just tempered themselves while ascending in the dungeon.” Her face was grim and the normally kindhearted Elf was on edge.
“That’s... insane!” Devon exclaimed.
“He must be mad to do both at the same time, the rewards would be great but the dangers are immense. If he failed, he could become a mana-husk or a mana-beast or some other abomination.”
“I know Devon, but the question isn’t if he failed or how much of a risk it is, the question is, what if he succeeded?” Liara was staring at the entrance to the dungeon as if she wanted it to answer her questions.
She was about to speak again when a sound cut her off. The sounds of marching feet echoed across the mountains. The group turned towards the sound and watched as the inquisition arrived.
50 men and women in chainmail and plated boots with white tabards depicting a rising sun marched in perfect formation. The sight was quite formidable as their helmets covered their faces, making them seem like an unstoppable unknowable force. In the rear, a man wearing plated armor of perfect white sat upon a large white horse. The man carried a golden sword on his side and a large kite shield on his back.
The formation split to form a corridor for the Inquisitor, their halberds lowered in a salute. Devon rolled his eyes at the display and got an elbow in the ribs for his shenanigans.
As the man approached Liara kneeled and the others bowed, Devon barely enough to be proper. He recognized this man. His name was Christian Ventrell and he was a pompous ass most of the time. The man was barely a believer but his family was rich and powerful which lead to a high commission within the Church of Dawn.
“Ahh, Priestess Liara, ever so loyal and beautiful, and cousin Chadwick, stoic and sulky as always!” Ventrells smile was wide and mocking.
“Christian, you haven’t been excommunicated yet for wearing the High Commander's lingerie at night?” Devon answered with a gentle tone and a small smile.
The Inquisitor grabbed his blade in anger and a small murmur could be heard from the soldiers behind him, and a few people snickered. It was a common fact that Christian's dispositions at night weren’t exactly up to scripture, not that anybody cared, but the man had an image to protect.
“Sir, you made great progress in getting here so fast.” Liara smoothly interjected, stopping any further arguments.
“The Royal Seer had a vision a week ago, a vision of doom. She foretold that the end of the world would start here and claimed that the vision was sent by Dawn herself.” He turned the horse and dismounted as he spoke.
“So we made haste and traveled here on the orders of the High Commander herself, your message met us halfway.” Puffing up his chest he removed his helmet. A young handsome face topped with delicate blond curls appeared. The man was good looking no doubt about it, but he was still just a sycophant, Devon thought.
“That is grim news, Sir. There has been a development here.” Liara then summarized everything that had happened in the last few days. When she got to the prisoners and Dan’Lug the man sneered and spat.
“John, take First Squad and bring the prisoners back to town, have the magistrate sentence them immediately.” A group of acolytes gathered up the three prisoners, not so gently, and escorted them back to Linchester.
Liara then continued her explanation and when she got to the end a deep silence lay over the area. A few of the acolytes gulped and looked at each other in fear. Their bearing was not so proud anymore.
“An ascension and tempering? Are you sure?”
“I can’t be a hundred percent but I feel that is probably the most logical explanation.”
“Fine, we’ll assume you are correct. He must have been inside for quite some time then, what is the time difference between us and the dungeon?”
“We don’t know Sir. We do not have a Dioscope with us.”
“Fine. Readers, get me a Reading on this dungeon.” Two people separated from the group of acolytes. A man and a woman both clad in chainmail and some plate on their hands and feet. They moved forward carefully. They didn’t carry halberds but held swords and a dagger sat on their other hip. In their off-hand, they held a device similar to a gyroscope that was currently spinning and turning with great speed.
The young woman turned from the dungeon entrance with fear written on her face.
“Sir! The dungeon.” She paused as if she didn’t know what to say.
“Spit it out, acolyte!” The inquisitor yelled in his angry commanding voice.
“Sorry, Sir! The dungeon, it's on a 1 by 100-dimensional shift.” There were several gasps at that comment but the Inquisitor didn’t know the implications which were evident on his furrowed brow.
“It means, sir. That for every day here a hundred days pass in the dungeon.” The woman continued.
Devon was shocked at the shift, the biggest shift ever recorded before was 1 by 3. That dungeon ended up being farmed by the army of the Ebon Halls which lead to their ascent into a full kingdom. The shift didn’t age a person more than true space did when they were in the dungeon, which meant that for every hundred days in this dungeon, a person would only age one day physically. The possibilities for advancement were immense. There was no chance they would kill this dungeon now; this could bring a tin rank to bronze in just a few days. Faster if they were a prodigy.
The thought was mindboggling, and Devon couldn’t forget that feeling he had since they came here.
“By the Goddess... Set up a perimeter now, we should be...” He started to scream when the sound of a bell chimed across the mountain and they all got a notification.
The Dungeon of the Lone Peak has been defeated and its core destroyed.
A wind picked up then, coming down the mountain and circling them. Whipping up dust and gravel dropping visibility to only the area within the cul-de-sac, like the eye of a storm.
Sounds diminished and people were gripping their weapons in fear. Devon had drawn his sword and stood back-to-back with his group. He cast a glance at the entrance the dark mist had disappeared and the hole was filled up. He couldn’t help himself, fear started to beat in his chest. There was a sense of death on the wind, a scent of carrion and blood. A promise of violence.
A swirling pool of dark mana started to form above where the entrance used to be. The two acolytes closest to the portal froze in fear as the portal widened. Something was moving inside the darkness, visible like a dot getting bigger and bigger until a row of walking shapes could be seen.
The troops here were all veterans, all Tink Ranks with years of experience with a few recruits sprinkled in. But no one reacted, they all just stared in disbelief and fear. This was what they had been training for, preparing for, been taught to fear since they were children and now, they knew they weren't ready.
The portal suddenly undulated at the edges as the first humanoid stepped through. A man wearing dark plate armor a spear in his hands and a sword and shield on his back. On his hip, a wicked-looking horned helmet hung so his face was bare. Devon recognized him.
Behind the man came a small troop of horrific beings of armored and armed skeletons, werewolves, zombies, wraiths, and what seemed to be a large draugr. Most noticeable was a floating skull surrounded by green flames circling the man's head.
The man didn’t seem to have noticed them yet as he raised his head towards the sunlight hitting his face and he smiled at the sensation. The skull spoke into the silence of their arrival.
“Ehm Master, open your eyes please.” The man opened an eye and noticed the trembling acolytes before him. His face fell and he looked unsure.
“Oh, Hi?”
Then all hell broke loose.