A procession gathered as the royal guards marched me to the castle. Unlike normal Drunder, the Under Drunder castle was a majestic affair with parapets towering over the other buildings in the city. The gate guards saluted the royal guards as they escorted me in. Drox and Rassala trailed a good distance behind us.
“Welcome,” a massive hellfire dwarf greeted me from the throne when we arrived. An equally large female sat at his side.
Did royalty make dwarves grow? I heard the saying “Heavy is the head that wears the crown,” but I didn’t know the head actually got bigger.
“You wanted to see me?” I asked, feeling a quest was coming.
The king stood. “You are our honored guest as the first adventurer to find your way down here. I wanted to greet you in person.”
“Hi,” I hesitated, wondering if I should bow or kneel or something.
He dismissed the guards with a wave. “Don’t worry. You’re not in trouble or anything. I instructed my people to bring the first adventurer who found their way down here to me directly. Rassala informed me you, ahem, made a hasty getaway on your first arrival.”
“Yeah,” I said, considering my words as I didn’t want to offend anyone. “There was something to take care of. You see, I found your fine city rather…abruptly, and had to regroup with my friends before taking the time to explore this place properly.”
“Ah,” he said, sitting once again on the throne. “That does make sense. Now, as to the reason I summoned you, I need your help. You see, there is a passage that connects this kingdom to the surface. It has come to my attention that something is preventing my citizens from coming and going as they please. I would like to ask you as a hero to do something about it.”
“You mean that thing with the red eyes,” I muttered.
“Red eyes?” the king echoed. “What are you talking about?”
I tried to remember what I saw. “When I fast-tr…err, when I came here, I saw a pair of glowing red eyes during the trip down. I assume that’s the monster you’re talking about.”
“It very well could be,” the king said. “Unfortunately, we have very little information to go on. All of the scouts and merchants we sent into the passage have failed to return.”
“Do you think the monster killed them?” I asked.
The king’s eyes showed concern, but only for a moment. “That’s part of your quest. I would like you to deal with the peril, clear the passage, and rescue my people if at all possible.”
Underking Dreyfus has offered you a quest: Clear The Pass.
Declining the quest was out of the question but I didn’t like the way he assumed I already accepted. “So, say I accept your quest, what’s in it for me? It sounds dangerous.”
“Do you not come back to life when you die?” Dreyfus countered.
“But I lose experience,” I shot back. “Besides, dying isn’t exactly pleasant, even for heroes.”
“I see,” Dreyfus sighed. “Very well. Would one item from the royal treasury suffice? And unlimited access to the kingdom of course.”
I grinned at the thought of a royal relic or artifact. “Can you make it two items? Also, don’t I already have access to the kingdom?”
Dreyfus frowned. “Two items, you say? Let me think about it. As for the access you speak of, there are currently places off-limits to you. With my blessing, and as this kingdom’s hero, no door will be closed to you.”
“That sounds good,” I said, wondering where the restricted areas I could look forward to exploring were. “I’ll eagerly await your approval of that second item so I can get started.”
“My approval?” Dreyfus gaped at me in response to my subtle demand. “I mean, very well. Two items it is. Please begin your quest as soon as possible. I fear for the safety of my people.”
“I’ll get right on it,” I announced, accepting the quest.
----------------------------------------
The royal guard followed me out of the castle along with Rassala and Drox. I tried returning to the market for some last-minute shopping but the shopkeepers ignored me. Some even went so far as to close their doors when I approached.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
“What’s going on?” I asked. “Does everyone know about the quest?”
The guards remained tight-lipped. Rossala edged closer and whispered in my ear. “Don’t you want to save those people?”
“Well, I do…but…” I began.
The guard finally spoke. “Our orders are to escort you to the passage.”
“Do you mind if I do a little shopping first?” I objected.
“To the passage,” the second guard echoed. “You can shop after.”
Each guard took hold of my arm and escorted me toward the city gate. While they were still being gentle, it was quite clear that delaying on my part wouldn’t be tolerated. Rassala and Drox followed close behind but it was impossible to talk to them while I was in the custody of the guards. Townsfolk came out of their homes and formed a procession as we walked to the gate.
Once out of the gates, the crowd dispersed and we walked up the winding path to the catwalks high above that led to the tunnel I originally dropped in from. The guards guided me in the other direction toward a gaping cavern that ascended into darkness. They released me when we got there and turned to retreat, leaving me alone with Rassala and Drox.
“It’s just the three of us now,” I said, wondering if the pair had any weapons.
The dwarves hid behind me and peered into the darkness.
“I’m sorry,” Rassala said in a timid voice. “I’m afraid we’d be a liability if we went with you. There isn’t much a trash collector can do when there are monsters about. I will pray to Luna for your safe return.”
“Yeah, sorry,” Drox muttered.
I watched in silence as the pair followed the guards back to town with their heads lowered.
“So much for help,” I muttered. “They didn’t even let me stock up on supplies or see if I could steal any more skills before giving me the boot. At least I bought what I did before they found me.”
Technically, I didn’t have to start the quest right away. I was still free to fast-travel pretty much anywhere but Under Drunder. However, the urgency was starting to rub off on me. Besides, what was the worst that could happen? With renewed purpose, I ventured into the passage. Darkness had nothing on me. Not with my ability to ignore it. However, there was nothing to see. There was only a well-worn path as far as the eye could see. Beams fortified the walls and ceiling, showing that the cave was dwarf-made and well-cared for. Glowing motes of light highlighted weaknesses I could exploit to demolish the cave. Something told me the denizens of Under Drunder would frown on me if I did that.
The only thing I could do was venture forward, hoping the owner of those red eyes didn’t get the drop on me. Thinking about my skills made me realize I might not be the best person for the job. Almost all of them involved making things explode, and that didn’t bode well for prisoners who needed saving. I needed something but I didn’t know what it was…yet.
With little info to go on, I made my way deeper into the passage. My plan was once I figured out what I was up against, I could regroup and come back with the right skill in place.
It felt like an eternity before I found anything. What I thought was another weak point turned into a blinding golden light.
“Is that the heart of the planet that Grom told me about?” I mused out loud.
“Halp!” a frantic voice shouted from somewhere in the distance.
My eyes focused as I tried to locate the source but I couldn’t take my eyes off the golden light. It was gold and a lot of it. More than I could probably spend in a lifetime. Behind it was a cage stuffed full of dwarves, both hellfire and regular.
“I’m coming,” I called out to them, jogging past the treasure to see if I could help.
“No no no no!” one of them shouted.
But it was too late. My vision went black and a message appeared in the absolute darkness that even my skill couldn’t pierce.
You have been incapacitated.
I went back to semi-immersion mode as the inability to control my body was jarring. A timer appeared in the corner of my vision and counted down from five minutes. I got up to freshen up and grab a snack while I waited. Was the thing going to kill me? Would I respawn, or was it just toying with me? Deciding I needed to be prepared, I went back to full immersion when the timer got down to a minute and waited. I pulled up the map and selected Drunder.
4, 3, 2, 1…
I opened my eyes and tried to fast travel. Nothing happened. I woke to find myself crammed in with the dwarves who didn’t look happy to see me.
“Curse that dragon!” one of them spat. “Will there be no end to this nightmare?”
“Of course, it’s a dragon,” I groaned. “That explains the treasure.”
“Why did you run in like a buffoon?” one of the regular dwarves asked.
I tried to stretch my arms which was difficult with a dwarf wedged on either side like disgruntled book ends. “You called for help so I came.”
“I told you not to yell, Kragan,” the dwarf sighed. “That’s what Ryuugadon wants. We’re the bait.”
“I think I can get us out of here,” I said, noticing shining weak points in the cage we were in.
“We tried,” the dwarf replied. “And don’t think you’re stronger than us, cuz you’re not.”
I pulled out a bottle of blast oil and wedged it in a particularly vulnerable section, applying a minimal amount of mana and setting my favorite keyword; Kablooey. I whispered so the dragon couldn’t hear. “Everyone needs to move to the back of the cage.”
It was comical watching dwarves climb over each other in an attempt to reach the relative safety at the back of the cage. I was unsure what was going to happen with the blast oil since I’d never tested it before, so I stood in front of the dwarf pile. If anyone was going to die, it would be me.
“Kablooey!”
The other end of the cage erupted in a shower of what looked like molten lava and splintered shards of wood.
Veritas
Primary Class: Level 26 Excavator
Secondary Class: Level 5 Demolitionist
HP: 1867/2600
MP: 950/1000
SP: 5200/5200
The damage wasn’t too bad. The dwarves wasted no time filing past me and scurrying through the hole I’d created in the cage. The last one, the talkative dwarf, whispered, “Thanks,” as he passed. They hugged the wall and quickly moved away from the hoard of treasure and back down the passage toward Under Drunder. I thought they were going to make it when a thunderous roar made the mountain quake.
I stepped out of the cage just in time to see a pair of glowing red eyes high above the treasure. A gout of flame erupted in the direction of the dwarves, causing them to stop in their tracks as it cut them off.
“Who dares try to steal my treasure?” the booming voice of what I assumed to be the dragon roared.
I stepped between the dwarves and the glowing red eyes. “I dare! But not to steal your treasure. I’d like to make a deal.”