Storm (Part 1)
They trudged through the now much darker corridors, all empty of creatures or threats of any kind. Here and there sparks sprinkled out of small cracks or new cracks formed, but the large part of whatever would happen to the dungeon following the death of its core seemed to have taken place.
Idris’ ball of Radiance and the leftover glow of the tunnels obviated the need for torches, but still Jibs had one going in a passive show of continued mistrust.
As they approached the exit, Idris remembered the notification he had minimized after destroying the dungeon core. He opened it now.
Choice of Fate
You are in the tremendously unlikely position of having both created and destroyed the Shimmering Rocks Dungeon. With the destruction of the dungeon’s core, a tremendous amount of stored energy has been reclaimed by the dungeon and is waiting for one final outlet. You have two choices.
Option One - Manifest the energy in an item of incredible power. This, while powerful, cannot contain all of the stored energy and so the creation of it will release what remains in a burst of chaotic power. Choosing this path may have unexpected consequences for the world, but means certain power for you.
Option Two - The simmering energy of what remains of the destroyed dungeon can be supplemented and the dungeon regrown. This would restart your original dungeon creation quest, giving you the opportunity to change the course of the growth of a new dungeon. This will once again place a bastion of chaos into the world, but this new dungeon will be wary of you especially - giving you unique advantages in its depths. However, destroying the new dungeon will not repeat this event.
If no choice is made within one hour, the energy will begin a slow leak back into the world, resulting in some small unforeseeable changes to the region and its creatures
Apart from being blown away at this unexpected benefit of having closed the dungeon, Idris began thinking over several things at once. He noted the countdown timer had just over forty-five minutes remaining - plenty of time - but still felt an urgency to make a choice. What if the chaotic energy of the dungeon was leaking into the surrounding countryside already? Could that diminish the strength of the item? Or the power of the new dungeon?
As they walked he mulled over his options. The treasure was tantalizing, but it really didn’t give him any certainty about what would happen. Maybe he’d get an amazing new weapon or a set of armor, but then there was that ominous warning about unexpected consequences for the world.
The second option provided the clearest path forward. Sure he couldn’t just repeat what had happened here and try to game his way toward getting the treasure again, but the dungeon would exist and that would mean endless treasure in a place he could use - along with the Seekers - to grow more powerful and to regain their trust.
The third choice, not making a choice at all, seemed foolish. He guessed that the escaping chaotic energy would do something with crystals and monsters and shimmering rocks in the area but, given the weight of the other two choices he wouldn’t even consider that path.
He wanted to make things right with the Seekers but the way they had treated the whole situation nagged at him.
First of all, they hadn’t treated this like a rescue mission at all. They were absolutely there to see and learn about the dungeon - to stake their claim on it - but when it came time to make a tough choice they had actually sided with the dungeon against Eana.
But in addition to all that they had treated the dungeon like it was their property. There was only the barest respect given to Idris’ experience, and as far as they were concerned, the dungeon was for the Seekers to exploit. When Idris closed it, to them he hadn’t closed his dungeon, he had closed their dungeon.
Would things have been different if Conrad was there? He had always been somebody Idris could look up to, and even though he knew how Conrad felt about Eana joining the group that didn’t mean he would treat her the same way as the others - like she was unimportant or even disposable.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
But maybe it did. Conrad was deliberate about every new person he brought into the Seekers. Nothing about what he did was an accident and these men were all of the same mind about what to do back in the boss room.
And what about Eana? If he brought the dungeon back, she would want to run it with him again. He’d be putting her into the exact same danger that she had been in before. There was nothing to guarantee this dungeon wouldn’t be like Shimmer, in fact, it made sense that it would be exactly like that. Eana had some sort of power that the dungeon could sense it could make use of, and as long as she had it, she would be a target.
She could grow stronger though. Learn to use her powers and outwit the dungeon.
He could talk it over with Eana if he had a chance to get her on her own before the timer elapsed. She might want to give it another shot.
Even if she did, though, should he really be giving her the choice or letting her weigh in on it?
Despite everything, she was still a child. And recently much more than before she had become so impulsive and frustrated with everyone. She might want to take on the dungeon again, believing she had a better idea of how to handle it, and then just end up exactly where she had ended up before.
Only this time the Seekers wouldn’t let Idris anywhere near the core, and he might never have the chance to get her out of there.
He sighed. Despite the first option having the most unclear outcome, it was the only choice that made the path clear for him. And despite the second option seeming to offer a better vision of what the future looked like, he wasn’t sure it was the future he and his sister could live with.
He selected the option to take the powerful item.
Item Received
The reward for dungeon closure has been deposited in your inventory.
He realized that if he hadn’t been kicked from the party, he would be obligated by the rules to share this treasure - it would likely have just appeared in one of the other party leaders’ inventories.
It was a small silver lining to the whole situation but he’d take it.
Idris was about to open his inventory and examine his new prize when the floor broke apart. Everywhere where the purple glow of what had been the Shimmering Rocks was still visible suddenly cracked open and the energy burst outward in a flurry of light and sparks. Everybody instinctively dropped and covered themselves, but in a moment it was over, leaving the obviously uninjured group lit only in the light of Radiance and torches.
“What on the…” Jibs said, making eye contact with his companions.
“Outside, now!” Troy ordered.
They all picked up the pace and made it outside to what should have been late afternoon. But what greeted them was not even sunlight. Colors, like light through a prism, created a patchwork of spotlit rainbows juxtaposed with utter darkness. The whole scene was periodically lit by flashes of lightning, and the rumble of thunder and static permeated the rustle of swaying trees in the heavy winds.
The rocks behind them into which the dungeon delved seemed to be sending a veritable river of purplish energy, part light and part mist, straight upward into a swirling mass the likes of which Idris had never seen.
“Chaos storm!” Troy shouted, but it seemed more for himself than any of his bandmates. All three of the Seekers took off at a dead run in the direction of Irondale, forgoing the roundabout path they had taken to get here completely.
“Chaos Storm? They’re real?” Eana asked, pitching her voice above the sound of the wind, trees and thunder.
“Looks like! Let’s not get caught in it!” Idris said. He motioned her to follow and they both took off running after the adventurers but the three men, well practiced and with stats better suited to sprinting, had already left them behind.
“It’s pretty!” Eana shouted between breaths.
“Feels weird!” Idris yelled back, “Like I’m excited and scared and angry and -” He broke off and let out a whoop, “I don’t even know! It’s confusing!”
“I’m… Okay!” Eana said back.
Idris couldn’t even think straight. Something in the air. It felt stifling and freeing by turns. His mind was foggy but then would chase a particular thought down to the tiniest detail. Several times he focused so intensely that he forgot to run entirely.
Each time Eana nudged him back to the present, asking if he was tired, if he needed to rest.
But Idris just didn’t know.
Around them the storm continued to rage, prismatic light flashing over the foliage, radiating out from directions and sources that didn’t even seem to exist. He thought he caught a glimpse of a wolf, but made of trees and rocks and roots like worms squirming all over it as it shook itself free from the ground, tendrils of roots running from its eyes and mouth and ears tethering it to the ground and plants all around it.
He was momentarily glad he didn’t get pulled into thinking too deeply about that thing. But then it was gone and he was angry he didn’t have time to go and kill it.
And then it began to ebb. Just a little at first, Idris could run longer without losing focus on getting back to Irondale, but as they got closer and the sound of the thunder grew slightly more distant behind them Idris began to feel himself again.
A little winded, but overall, good. After another couple of minutes they crossed into the node surrounding Irondale and, feeling now that the world had returned to something resembling sense, Idris turned to see the thing they had been fleeing.
The storm still raged, like some sort of mixture between the green flashing lights that sometimes appeared in the sky and a lightning storm, but it appeared to be moving away from the mountains where it had originated in the mountains above the Shimmering Rocks.
Eana came trotting up next to him, hair a mess of tangles and sweat.
“Hungry,” she said, simply.
Before them the village of Irondale was alive with activity. Everybody seemed to be outside staring up at the storm. Even at this distance the sound of speculative chatter carried on the wind as townspeople and adventurers alike crowded the streets and windows staring at the storm.
Idris abandoned his contemplation of the Chaos storm and the people staring at it and nodded his agreement. The storm was moving away from town and they had gotten out. Eana was safe, and he had an item to examine.