Swordplay (Part 1)

To Idris’s utter shock, Eana didn’t want to hear any of it. When he returned home she was shut away in her room and refused to come out or respond with anything. No matter how he tried to explain his plan he couldn’t get more than than a curt and gradually more irritated, “Go away!”

Eana was such a challenge to be around when she got into one of her moods so Idris figured the right move now was to take care of himself. And what he needed was food, sleep, and to do as little as possible until he met up with the Seekers the following morning.

As a miner he had been pushing his body to its physical limits day in and day out for years, and yet he was still astonished to see that he slept all the way through the day and into the following morning. Golden rays of morning sunlight woke him, and groggily, he made his way to his sister’s door to see if he could get her to heal away his aching and stiff limbs.

“Come on, Yahn!” He moaned, “I’m dying out here! Just a little touch of the good stuff! Please?”

After a few moments of gently banging his head against her door she opened it a crack, slipped her hand through and grabbed his wrist.

Gold light rushed through him, relieving his worst soreness but filling him - he noticed it for sure now - with an alien sense of anger that made him want to jam Eana’s skinny little arm between the doorframe and the door -

He snapped out of it, coughed once and did his best attempt at a relieved, “Thanks, Yahn,” before withdrawing his arm and heading for the door. He looked back one more time but his sister wasn’t watching him go.

He glanced at his quest log. Just under 13 hours remained until the dungeon would open. Had he slept so long? What had happened to making the most of this week?

Nothing he could do about it now. At least he felt refreshed.

If he wasn’t done with training by the time the clock ran down he would make an excuse to get out, and if Eana wasn’t being compliant he would break down her door and drag her along.

He would not miss this opportunity.

Down at the inn he looked around at the morning crowd. To his surprise several adventurers he knew by sight but not name raised cups, fists, or nodded in acknowledgement and respect when he walked in.

He could get used to this.

Over at the Seekers usual table he saw the group of adventurers minus Conrad sitting down together.

Jibs, Ranger, one of the best shots with a short bow of any of the other ranged specialized adventurers in Irondale,

Troy, Swordsman, a damage dealer who could out fence even Conrad in a straight blade for blade matchup.

And Karno, Lancer, a shield and spear specialist who often held the vanguard of The Seeker’s formations in battle.

The three men sat relaxed and enjoying breakfast as Idris approached. He felt awkward knowing he belonged because he was technically a Seeker now too, but also knowing he wouldn’t really be one until this group acknowledged him. Conrad was the only one of the four Seekers he really had a friendly relationship with.

Troy noticed him first and rolled his eyes in an exaggerated way, “And here we all were, enjoying breakfast and looking forward to a week off.”

The others looked up and smiled.

Jibs said, “Oi there, Light Bringer, come to clear away our plates then? Important first duty for a newly minted Seeker.”

Idris laughed with them. Not sure how serious they were, he took a tentative step forward before Troy came to his rescue, “Eyy don’t tease the lad - sit down, Idris, grab a plate if you haven’t had anything yet.”

Relieved, Idris joined them at the table and took a piece of toast. The three eased back into the conversation as if Idris had always been there.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“The next time it levels,” Jibs said, “it’s got to do something about the drones. They’re too suited to early dungeon work.”

“True enough,” Karno rumbled. His deep voice matching his hulking frame perfectly. Idris had never heard how high his strength stat was but expected Karno was even stronger than him.

“Good movers though, they scamper quick enough in the tight spaces - more’n once they skip right past your sword,” Jibs quipped.

Troy chuckled and said, “I hope they don’t quit spawning entirely, good bit of XP for Karno and I. With how often you miss.”

Jibs smiled and raised his cup in acknowledgement of points scored, “So we agree at least that the dungeon will be moving beyond pure work drones and we’ll see some kind of hybrid, a Soldier Drone or some such.”

Karno grunted his agreement. That was about all Idris was used to hearing from the usually stoic man.

Listening in, not just as an observer but as one of the team Idris felt a new kind of excitement.

This was the kind of conversation he couldn’t wait to be a part of. He soaked it in, learning everything he could.

Dungeons leveled in much the same way adventurers did. They earned XP and, eventually, were able to invest in their own growth and change. New creatures, more dangerous creatures, more rooms, better loot, greater sprawl, more floors, greater area of control, all of the changes and possibilities made for a vibrant betting market among the adventurers

It was strange to think about, but the more Idris listened the more he got the idea that adventurers, contrary to popular perception of being Order’s champions always pushing back the tides of Chaos, were more like farmers. They carefully cultivated the dungeon, bringing it new challenges, challengers, and carefully monitoring its level up process to make sure they could extract the most value possible from it.

Maybe his idea of feeding the Shimmering Rocks wasn’t too far off the mark.

At a long enough lull, when each of the three Seekers had their mouths full of food, Idris took a chance at joining the conversation, “I’ve never understood how you know. When it’s going to level up, I mean.”

Troy took a sip of tea before answering, “There’s a hundred different small signs, but the most reliable is we look to people with the skills to monitor it. Conrad actually spec’ed partially into a Dungeoneering class when we first came out here so he could check in with the dungeon and check its stats - sort of how Assess works on people.”

Seeing the other two men content to let him explain, Troy continued, “Not only that, but you see a lot more creatures and a lot less treasure when it’s near to leveling. Something about needing to reclaim resources and spawning space at its current level to make room for the new beasties. And if we don’t keep the numbers down in anticipation of the leveling event we can end up with an expulsion of creatures into the surrounding country.”

“Have you ever seen that happen?” Idris asked.

Karno and Troy shook their heads but Jibs nodded, “Once when I was still green. It was an undead dungeon. High level. Nasty business. We were clearing the countryside for weeks after that. Folks holed up in their nodes too afraid to go out. No new quests, or jobs, trade ground to a halt,” he said, then added, “Ran out of ale in the first week.”

Troy feigned a shudder. Karno grunted.

“But how do you keep it from doing it when you’re not ready?” Idris asked, “I thought dungeons grew naturally. Sort of like people, we just grow and age with time.”

“That’s partially true,” Troy said, “And we take that into account. But also like us, every battle we have in the dungeon, or rather in its influence - which I suppose is sort of like its own dungeon node that extends out from the core - contributes to its growth. But there’s also things we drop, creatures lured in from the countryside, people killed. All of it moves the dungeon’s progress forward and when it’s close enough we slow everything down so it just gently nudges over the line instead of shooting past.”

Jibs butted in, “We try to keep the people killed part of it as low as possible. Adventuring is dangerous but you don’t see us marching townsfolk into the Hive. The saying is that everything is good for a dungeon, but we’re all of us still people making a living. And nobody likes seeing their coworkers get killed.”

“Safer than fighting in the Chaos Lands,” Karno said.

“Yep,” Jibs said, “You get used to what the dungeon can throw at you, you anticipate its traps and pitfalls. Especially in a band like ours.”

He clapped Idris on the shoulder reassuringly, “You’re in good hands, Light Bringer.”

“You mean I’m coming in with you today?” Idris said, nervous and excited all at once.

The three seasoned adventurers laughed good naturedly.

“Not a chance,” Jibs said, “We’re taking the week off like we said, but Conrad wants you trained so we’ll take it in turns to put you through the basics. Troy’s up first this morning.”

“Right,” Troy said, standing, “Might as well get to it, since we’re talking about it.”

He took a final swig of tea and moved toward the door. The other men waved goodbye and Idris followed Troy out of the Inn.

What would come next, Idris hoped, would be the final push to ridding him of his former life. He had a week - one Order blessed week - to ingratiate himself so deep with the Seekers that his father would have no choice but to drop his old dreams for Idris entirely.

It was finally time to become a Warrior not just in name, but in skill.