The Shimmering Rocks
Idris was exhausted. He could admit it now that he was alone. But at the same time he had never felt like there was more he had to do.
A week. A whole week where he could act as and be an adventurer without worrying about his father. Tiredness was just something he was going to have to deal with because he intended to use every moment he had to prepare for what would come next.
He headed off in the direction of his first errand, intent on making progress on his Shimmering Rocks questline.
The offering point for the Shimmering Rocks was a short distance off the beaten path from the main entrance to the “depleted” mine he and his father worked at day in and day out. Made of smooth, shimmering, almost faceted-looking rocky material, the offering point was completely out of place against the pitted gray of the mountain rock it had formed in. Idris had stumbled across it one day in a place he had passed through many times, making him certain it hadn’t always been there.
Peering into it Idris couldn’t see the back, if it even had a back, and so he had tossed a pebble in. He was greeted immediately by a quest prompt and a notification letting him know his offering of common stone had been accepted.
Since then it had been a work of continuous, small efforts, but there wasn’t a lot he could haul out to the offering point prior to getting his inventory skill. Without tipping his father off, at least.
He had started by tossing in whatever he found in the immediate area. Tree branches, rocks, leaves, basically whatever organic refuse he could find and the offering point gobbled it all up greedily. It didn’t take long for it to stop giving out XP though, and soon enough whatever generic forest debris he tossed in just bounced back.
He smuggled out iron ore, pretty but useless crystal shards, even some silver and a few shavings of gold he had found in the mine. In his greed for a few extra points of XP Idris had scrounged through whatever refuse the local smith threw out, even taking the broken equipment tossed out as trash by adventurers. He had found a semi serviceable shield, low grade steel ingots, metal slag, some daggers, kitchen utensils - all of it he had tossed into the eager Shimmering Rocks.
Over time he had begun to see new patches of the same type of rock appearing in and around the mine. Thinking perhaps that it was a new potential source of mineral wealth, both he and his father - who had also run across new deposits of the rock in the mines - had tried breaking some of it off. Neither of them could even chip the stuff.
And yet, it became increasingly common to find in and about the mine as Idris kept on with what he couldn’t help but think of as feeding. All the new outcroppings of the shimmery material felt, as weird as it was to say, like whatever it was had been growing.
Idris got the idea to toss in more… organic things when he saw a squirrel mistakenly walk into the offering point. It vanished in exactly the same way as the rest of the items Idris had fed in, so he did the gross thing and brought a whole new category of things from leftover food and drinks to ripped water bladders and even the corpses of a few forest creatures.
He hadn’t been able to bring anything much bigger though. Not until now.
Moving as quickly as he could it still took him close to an hour before he managed to reach the offering point. He checked his pockets and found some copper coins leftover from breakfast with Eana and decided now was not the time to be hesitant. He tossed them in.
Offering Accepted
Copper Coins x 3
Reward: 6XP
He dismissed the prompt. He hadn’t expected much and didn’t know what it meant to feed in these materials, but now it was time for something serious. He glanced at his inventory space and selected a large chunk of ironwood. It swapped places with his hammer and appeared in his hands.
Hefting the thick section of ironwood trunk into the hole he swore he felt it get pulled out of his hands and into the offering point.
“Easy buddy,” Idris said, “There’s more where that came from if you want it so bad.”
Offering Accepted
Ironwood
Reward: 25XP
“Not bad!” Idris exclaimed and immediately pulled out some more ironwood debris. Branches, leaves, twigs and broken remnants of the guardian all vanished into the maw of the offering point.
Offering Accepted
Ironwood
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Reward: 5XP
Well that was disappointing. Idris knew how this was about to turn out. He tossed a leaf at the opening just to be certain and, sure enough, it bounced back and fluttered to the ground.
“OK then,” he said to the hole, “Time for the main course.”
Idris mentally pulled the corpse of the forest imp out of his inventory. He did his best to get a grip on the limp body and started hefting it toward the hole in the rocks.
“Sure hope nobody sees me doing this,” he said quietly to himself, “That would be a serious ‘it’s not what it looks like!’ kind of moment.”
With a little jostling of the limp limbs, he got the imp into position and just like with the ironwood, the rocks seemed to suck the corpse in.
Offering Accepted
Forest Imp, Level 4
Reward: 40XP
Idris whistled when he saw the reward. 76 total XP for coming up here and dumping some stuff into the offering point? Not bad at all. He only wished he had another corpse to dump in -
The shimmering hole in the rock pulsed with light. It expanded outward and began to flatten and shift in color. Idris backed away, and as he watched the transformation a new prompt appeared:
Questline
The Shimmering Rocks I - Complete
Bonus Reward Available:
Shimmering Rocks II - The Shimmering Rocks Dungeon
Explore the Shimmering Rocks Dungeon
Accept Quest? Yes / No
Idris didn’t need to think twice about what to do next. He selected yes and immediately received a new prompt.
Questline
The Shimmering Rocks II - The Shimmering Rocks Dungeon
The dungeon will open soon. Be among the first to explore its depths and discover what paths to mystery, to treasure, to glory - or to death - await!
Time until opening: 35 hours, 59 minutes, 46 seconds
Achievement Unlocked
As the only living, sentient contributor to the growth and opening of the Shimmering Rocks Dungeon, you have received a unique magical artifact that will aid you in your exploration.
A crystalline object appeared in front of Idris. It glowed in a way that was somewhat reminiscent of the Upgrade Orb he and Eana had found in the Ironwood Grove. He cast Identify:
Treasure Crystal
Rarity: Artifact
Description: Unknown
“Whoa! What even is an Artifact grade item!?,” Idris said, excitedly.
He reached out and took the crystal. At just his touch it cracked and broke apart into a thousand glowing sparks, but the sensation of them cascading over his face and body was pleasant rather than alarming.
And in place of the hard object was a curled up parchment.
Idris took the parchment and unrolled it. Diagrams, words, shapes and colors spread out animatedly, like it was being drawn at an incredible speed as he watched. But before he could take in what any of it might mean it vanished into energy which rushed into him.
A prompt appeared:
Dungeon Artifact Obtained - Dungeon Map
A new tab is now available to you when exploring dungeons The dungeon map. The map will show general locations and key points of interest in the dungeon, as well as fill itself in with detailed information for navigating the dungeon. The more you explore, the more will be filled in. This object is unique to you and cannot be given away.
“This is incredible!” Idris yelled, barely able to contain his excitement. But it would be almost 36 hours before he could explore! He had to tell Conrad!
He paused a moment. He really needed to slow down and think this through.
Conrad had always been wary of bringing him into the Hive Dungeon before he was ready. And nobody else knew about the Shimmering Rocks, not as a dungeon at least.
The other adventurers had all had the chance to level up and grow with the dungeon. They learned as it did, and when they were new they had teammates to take them through and help keep them safe. Starting fresh with a dungeon was experience that Idris could use to actually become worthy of joining the Seekers.
Conrad saw potential in him, but Idris had to make it his own personal mission to bring that potential out. Not just wait for Conrad to do everything.
If he told the Seekers he’d likely just end up forbidden, once again, by somebody who thought they knew better than he did how to run his own life. Not to mention the rest of the adventurers would find out soon enough and any chance at exploring the dungeon on his own would be lost to him forever.
How often could this kind of thing happen anyway? When did anybody else contribute completely to the opening of a new dungeon?
No, Idris wouldn’t be telling the Seekers. Not yet at least. He had a week before his father and Conrad would return from Confluence so that seemed like enough time to satisfy his curiosity.
He would still report for training, still do whatever they asked of him. But when he was done? He knew how he would be spending his time.
But it was dangerous to go alone.
And there was only one other person he wanted to share this achievement with.
Idris pointed at the still closed but shimmering portal into the newly birthed dungeon and said, “I’ll be seeing you in 36 hours.”
He headed home. Time for some much needed rest and to tell his Healer about their next quest.