Jungle Rocks Dungeon, foot of Mount Gursway, 20th day of Sol, 1661
Jessica was nervous. She knew she shouldn’t be, but the coming evaluation by the Surnae Adventurer’s Guild had her feeling like she was sitting some end-of-year exam.
“It is OK. You are well within the published limits for a Dungeon. They cannot do anything but pass you. Honestly, I expect them to give you excellent reviews as well.”
“Thanks, Fancy. But logic has never been stronger than worry for me.”
Fancy giggled. “Good idea on that entrance too.”
When the plans that had been agreed to were explained to Jessica, she’d asked why not just install a teleport gate and keep everything else the way it was. It had made a lot more sense to the young Dungeon to keep herself at the centre of her area, and just provide a teleportation link to near the town.
During the night, she had absorbed a five hundred metre strip of Jungle around the complete edge of her area of influence and created a proper road, from the edge near the proposed town site, right across her area, past her Dungeon and to the outer rim of her influence. The road was double width and consisted of edge and middle done in grey stone sets and the area between done in what looked like brown and red cobbles. It was actually a complete, single piece of Dungeon Stone, but looked exactly like a traditional stone road, but much stronger. Even the ‘dirt’ between each cobble was just coloured and textured dungeon stone.
Starting revegetation in all the stripped areas was just good management. She had followed Fancy’s advice and spawned real plants, not Dungeon ones. This way, all growth and death would drive up mana production in her area of influence, but was much more mana intensive to do. There was no urgency, so she could work as she had spare mana, plus with the judicious use of raw mana, she was able to boost the initial growth. It would, however, be a lot easier once she unlocked life magic.
She put in place triggers, so every time she got close to full mana, some was bled off into doing the preparatory work for the next level. She was about 25% done with creating the layer of Dungeon Rock under the first level, and once that was finished, she’ll start putting in the layer under the second level, then finally carve out the level itself. It was going to be a huge, single cavern, but more than that, she would create the second, third and fourth levels to be a single, integrated, non-linear, instance. The fourth level would also be a single cavern, but the third would be made up of many short runs, linking spots on other levels together.
“People who hate drawing maps in Dungeons are going to hate me.”
Fancy giggled and said, “It’s important to have goals in life.”
Marisol and Bess met for an early morning tea, pastries and planning session.
Marisol pulled out a complete, two seat café set from her storage device, while Bess provided the tea and pastries from hers.
Looking around, Bess said, “Well, Jessica’s been busy,” and started laughing.
Marisol looked around, saw the cleared area and the road and laughed as well. Noting a nearby sentry, Marisol said, “Excuse me, soldier, but when did the work happen?”
Looking very on edge, the soldier said, “We’re not sure, Ma’am. When the sun set yesterday, everything was unchanged, but with first light this morning, all this was done. No-one heard anything.”
Bess said, “It was nice of Jessica to make it easy for us to get to her this morning.”
“So, Ma’am, the rumours that the Crown Prince and Princesses were changed into Dungeons are true?”
Marisol responded, “Yes. Princess Jessica’s Dungeon is in this area in front of us. Princess Saradon is over that way – I’d expect her to do something similar in a few days, and Prince Montague is over that way – and, again, give him a few days to catch up.”
“Thank you, Ma’am.”
Bess commented in a much quieter voice, “You know, I’d always thought that the three of them would shake up the Kingdom when they finally took the throne, but I suspect that now they are going to shake things up are lot sooner, and a lot more violently.”
Marisol smiled, and simply said, “Yes. And not just the Kingdom. They are worthy of having us as their pledge-protectors.”
They clinked teacups and said, “To mayhem!”
The next half hour was discussing their planned meeting with the tribes.
Marisol looked over Bess’s shoulder and said, “Good morning gentlepeople.”
Bess glanced over her shoulder and saw the Evaluation Team approaching. She stood up and pulled a couple of wooden tables and matching benches from her spatial storage and set them up next to where she and Marisol were.
Looking a little hesitant, the group of five approached.
Bess smiled and said, “Please, for the next few days, you’re doing a favour for my pledge-children, so let’s try not to be formal. I’m Bess, this is Marisol, and we’ll be starting today with Jessica’s Dungeon.”
The obvious leader, a female halfling in leather armour, introduced herself. “Hi, I’m Lotus. For my sins I’ve been appointed the leader of this merry band. So, you’re the pledge-protector of the triplets?”
“One of four. There’s myself, Marisol here, and Lord and Lady Bannersol. We’re all old members of the King and Queen’s adventuring team.”
“Wow, anyway, so there’s me, Lotus, then Merry, Jackson, Antonio and Mercury.”
Lotus was an average height halfling, dressed in some kind of leather armour, with embedded metal plates. She looked to be some kind of castor but had a bow as well. Merry looked to be part giantess and was wearing full plate. She had a large shield strapped to her back with a massive sword. Probably a claymore, but it was hard to tell with how it was sheathed.
Jackson was an elven priest, in light plate armour and was wielding a longsword and had a buckler shield strapped to his arm. Antonio was also dressed in light plate and seemed to be a human fighter.
Examining Mercury, Bess smiled. He was trying to hide it, but he was fangirling big time. He was an assassin type and had obviously recognised her. He seemed to be mostly human, but there was certainly something else mixed in there. Orc, maybe?
“It looks like Jessica kept herself busy overnight.”
The blank looks on some of their faces cued Bess in that they weren’t all up to speed.
“Jessica, the Dungeon Core you’re evaluating today. Looks like she’s cleared a perimeter around her claimed lands and laid down a road.”
Lotus said, “Do you know where the entrance to the Dungeon is?”
Pointing, Bess said, “Should be seven kilometres down that road.”
“Good. While I’ve got a Core detection stone, I don’t want to use it near the Core, since they’ve been attacked recently by Dungeon Raiders. Do you have any details on that?”
“A group of three mid-level adventurers were hired to kill the Assistant and capture the core. They were supposed to move on to the other two Dungeons here once they finished with Jessica.”
“So, you managed to stop them?”
“No, Jessica killed all three.”
“Her Dungeon’s that dangerous?”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
“My understanding is that they gave themselves away, and Fancy, her Assistant, helped Jessica to make some of the rooms harder. That, with the traps she had laid before her actual Core Room kept her safe.”
Mercury asked, “What were their levels?”
“Umm, level eight thief, level ten fighter, and a level twelve mage. Did you want to accompany us? We’ll be leaving within the next hour.”
“Sure.”
“Horses or a cart?”
Merry and Jackson both said, “Cart” before anyone else could say anything.
Marisol waved one of the soldiers over and said, “Can you let someone know that we want to leave for the Dungeon’s Entrance within the next hour? We’ll both need horses, plus another…”
Marisol looked at Bess, who said, “Probably need to take a squad of mounted soldiers.”
“Ten mounted soldiers plus an officer. The five representatives from the Surnae Adventurer’s Guild will need a cart and driver.”
“Yes, Ma’am.” She ran off to let someone know.
Marisol asked, “Have you done many evaluations?”
Lotus said, “We’ve done, what, ten evaluations as a team?”
Merry said, “Eleven.”
“And I’ve been involved in another dozen or so before I became team lead. Can you give us a walkthrough of the Dungeon?”
“I’m not going to, mainly because I saw it as a defender, not as a Delver. Also, I saw most of it after the Raiders had already passed through, and what I saw was the modified dungeon to fight the raiders, not what it’s like normally. I’ll actually be doing a solo run, probably tomorrow morning.”
“Oh, let’s make it a dual, and I’ll come with you!”
Bess agreed with Marisol’s suggestion. Seeing the approaching cart and mounted soldiers, Bess said, “We might as well get started.”
She put the furniture away in her spatial device, then they all formed up and rode off, down the road.
Less than an hour later, they crested a small hill and saw the Dungeon entrance. On the downward slope of the hill, there was a rocky outcrop with a rough-looking cave, framed by rough stone pillars and a carved lintel.
There were about a hundred tribespeople fanned out from the entrance, in what looked like a temporary camp.
The road passed within five hundred metres of the entrance, and there was a crossroads at the closest point. One branch led to the Dungeon entrance, with the people gathered there, while the other crossroad branch led to what appeared to be a camping or market area. This area was cobbled and was an ellipse, with a minor axis of about two hundred metres and a major axis of about five hundred metres. Assorted ground cover plants were just starting to peak through across the whole area, with stands of trees about a metre high scattered across the slope.
Bess called a halt and got down off her horse, examining the plants.
“Natural, not Dungeon plants, but some mana’s been used to accelerate growth.”
Bess patted the ground and continued, “Well done Jessica.”
Mounting her horse again, the group followed the road and turned off to the market area.
Marisol gave the soldiers orders to stay there and stay out of trouble. The Dungeon Evaluation Team started to walk over to the Dungeon entrance, while Bess and Marisol made a slight detour to pass a group of older tribespeople, camped off to the side.
Marisol shouted, “Hey, Simon, you old reprobate, they finally let you out of jail?”
The person Marisol was looking at, a middle-aged tribesperson with greying hair, replied, “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. Fortunately, I was able to prove that I hadn’t been the one that broke into the Sultan’s treasure vault.”
Bess said, “I wonder why they thought that it had been you?”
“Yeah, I wonder. Shalby, Marta, let me introduce you to two thoroughly despicable ex-adventurers, who are now thoroughly reprehensible agents of the Kingdom of Surnae. We have Elizabeth Fortique, the Shadow of Death, who now plays at being the Kingdom’s prime assassin, and Marisol Drepport, the Sun Maiden, who plays at being one of the Kingdom’s prime Ambassadors.”
Marisol bowed to the one on the right, a middle-aged woman wearing a doe-skin dress, saying, “Shalby Forrestwalker. Word of your wisdom and knowledge precedes you. I am honoured to meet you.” Turning to the woman on the other side of Simon, she continued, “Marta Foe-reaver, your legendry prowess with the club is only surpassed by your ability to bring peace to the table, usually after knocking the feuding leadership unconscious.”
Turning to Simon, Marta said, “I think I like her.”
Simon responded, “Like a cold or constipation, drink a lot of water and give it a couple of days and those feelings should pass by themselves.”
Snorting, Marta said, “Have you done a run through of the new Dungeon yet?”
“No, we were planning on doing one tomorrow morning.”
“Want to do one with me, now?”
Marisol and Bess looked at each other. Bess shrugged her shoulders and Marisol said, “Why not?”
Bess said, “We’ll need to get over there then, so we can push in. You two right to go? Got everything?”
They both agreed. Bess put a hand on each of their shoulders and the three of them appeared in front of the Dungeon Entrance with a ‘pop’.
Marta looked around, and seeing the Overseer, she said, “We’ll be doing the first run this morning, Overseer.”
Bess said, “There is an official Dungeon Evaluation Team from one of the Adventurers Guilds that will need to go second.” She pointed to the team that was just reaching the entrance. “Lotus, give us a moment to change, we’ll be doing a run before you. We’ll see you in the Dungeon Core room. Ladies, shall we?”
The three of them advanced to the entrance and the massive gates swung open, admitting them.
The Evaluation Team moved in front of the Overseer and Jackson said, “Overseer. You are organising your people’s runs today?”
With a smile on his face, he replied, “I think ‘organise’ is a bit strong of a word for what I’ll be doing. When do you think the next teams will be able to enter?”
Lotus said, “Our understanding is that the Dungeon still only has a single level but does have three instances. May I ask who the tribesperson with Sun Maiden and Shadow of Death was?”
The overseer’s eyes widened a little at the names. “Well, that explains things. That was She Who Crushes Bones, Marta Foe-reaver.”
The Overseer and Lotus locked eyes and both start laughing.
“Give them a couple of hours. We expect to be done within four hours. As we’ll all be talking to the Core, the instances will free up before we exit.”
“Thankyou.”
The Overseer looked out over the teams assembled before the Dungeon.
“We now know that this Dungeon has a single level and three instances. The Monsters are supposed to be from level one to level three. The official Evaluation Team are just now entering the Dungeon, so we do not have an official rating for this Dungeon yet, so be careful. Also, be respectful to the Dungeon. The first team can go now, the next team should get themselves ready.
“We will have a Cryer in the entry room who will announce when the waiting team enters the Dungeon.”
Collecting two of his assistants, The Overseer went through the gates of the Dungeon, followed by the first two Delving Teams.
He entered the preparation room to one of the strangest sights he’d ever seen. There stood three middle-aged warriors chatting to a Dungeon Fairy. The five-member evaluation team stood nearby.
From his spatial storage, he pulled out chairs and a low table for his staff, then wandered over to the group.
Marta saw him and waved him over. “Fancy is the Dungeon Assistant for this Dungeon. The Dungeon Core’s name is Jessica. Fancy, this is Johnathon Moon-claw, the appointed Overseer of the tribespeople for this week’s festivities.”
“It is an honour to meet you, Fancy. Are we allowed to know anything about the Core?”
Fancy looked at Bess and Bess shrugged. “The basic information is pretty well known by now, or at least will be within the next couple of weeks.”
Fancy looked at The Overseer and said, “About a week ago, the eldest three children of the King and Queen of Surnae were kidnapped and changed into Dungeon Cores a few days before their thirteenth birthdays. All three Cores have established their Dungeons about fifteen kilometres from each other, with the other two northeast and northwest from here. This Dungeon is Jessica Fortier. We have already defeated a Dungeon Raider group.” Fancy pointed over to one of the walls.
Carved into the top of the wall was the message ‘People seeking to harm the Dungeon will be dealt with without mercy.’
In the first column under the sign were three panels. The first panel depicted a male figure impaled on what looked like a stalactite. The second, a male figure floating lifeless. The last panel showed a half-eaten skull, with a medium sized centipede crawling out of its eye socket.
“So, I can confirm, only one level of Dungeon, monsters are all between level one and three?”
“Today, yes, that’s true. I think Jessica is planning to start on her second level tomorrow, but with everything else happening, it will probably be weeks before that’s ready. Wait, no, the monsters are from level 1 to level 3.”
“What did I say?”
“Between level one and three, which would mean that they are all level 2 only.”
The Overseer was going to complain about the pedanticism, but then realised that there can’t be misunderstandings in these situations.
Bess said, “Right, Ladies, let’s go! Remember, every use of active magic is a penalty, and every penalty is a gift owed to the Dungeon!”
The three of them hooted and hollered and ran into the portal and the gem for Level 1, Instance 1, went red.
Fancy said, “Ablution Block through that door, there will be another couple installed outside tonight. Maybe even some food stalls.”
The Overseer said, “Could we get something to monitor the teams?”
Fancy looked at the teams waiting to run the Dungeon and said, “No. It would give the following teams too much of an advantage.”
“What about after today, and if we promise it will just be used by the monitors?”
“Hmm. I will ask the Dungeon, it will be her call.”
She disappeared with a ‘pop’.
The Evaluation Team stepped up next. After a final check of their gear, they carefully moved through the portal and the gem for Level 1, Instance 2 went red.
The first of the tribespeople teams stepped up, again, checked their gear, then went through the portal and the light for Level 1, Instance 3 went red.
“Right, let’s go!” said the obvious leader of the next team.
“Sire, it’s no use. We will not be allowed into the Dungeon until one of those three other teams have exited.”
“What, I have to wait on those three teams of losers? Stupid Dungeon, not realising who I am.”
The Overseer raised an eyebrow to one of the members of that team. This obviously soldier type, shook his head. Not worth the argument.
The Overseer recognised the lad, the oldest son of an influential clan leader. He’d been mollycoddled and spoilt his whole life. This maybe the first time that the lad is in a situation where it can’t be rigged or bought. Even with everyone else in his team at least two levels higher than him, there would be a good chance that he won’t survive.
Fancy went over to the food carts that Jessica had installed in the Core Room as a test. She gave the goblin a silver piece and received a huge mug full of popped corn kernels, flavoured with butter and salt. Another silver piece got her a mug of brewed lemonade from one of the other stands. She levitated them back to her table, as both were bigger than she was.
Settling in, she said, “Oh, this is going to be fun.