“Huh? This safe zone is exactly like the one on the first floor. Is that normal, Onre?”
“Not that I have a lot of experience, but no. Every time I changed floors before, it felt like we were in a new place.”
I: This is indeed unusual. My information on system dungeons indicates they are designed to offer adventurers different experiences on each floor. It is probably very different outside this cabin.
Ferret must have reverted to his default form before accepting the quest. Kossa had opened the door to take a look outside. “Interface, no. It is the same dry land and scrub we were just on. Are we sure we didn’t go back to the cabin on Floor 1?” She closed the door and turned back to face us.
I: We are perhaps experiencing a statistical anomaly. I suppose if floors are different 99.99% of the time, then at a 0.01% rate you will find yourselves on one which is not. You can check your maps to verify which floor.
We did so. Except for this safe zone cabin, nothing stood out from the fog. The map’s legend did indicate this was Floor 2 of the Hopstorn Dungeon. I said, “Well, I hope the foes are a bit harder and different. Floor 1 was … unimpressive. Let’s see what XP we got from that boss. Interface, query detailed breakdown of xp from our last fight.”
I: 1 level 5 skitterling prime, 1700 xp + 1000 xp floor-boss bonus, split
* Forrest Rhodes: 10%, 270 xp -65.7% shared, 92 xp kept
* Arrjee Silverstone: 20%, 540 xp -30% shared, 378 xp kept
* Ferret Drewson: 20%, 540 xp -30% shared, 378 xp kept
* Onre Litman: 10%, 270 xp + 20% of shared, 370 xp total
* Evening Sun: 20%, 540 xp + 40% of shared, 741 xp total
* Kossa Smithson: 20%, 540 xp + 40% of shared, 741 xp total
I think Ferret must have activated his Clear Mind. “I thank you for sharing that with everyone, Interface. Fascinating. When Arrjee and I level at noon, our braking will end and only Forrest will be sharing his overflow XP.”
Onre added, “With Forrest and I not fighting, only contributing Bless Blood to counter the minor poison, it makes sense that everyone else got a bigger share.”
“Only 92 XP? That sucks, brother.”
“Not at all, Arrjee. I’ve already got enough XP for levels 9 and 10, so anything at all that goes into 11 is like a bonus. Besides, before you-all leveled, how much XP did I used to get that your Level 0 asses couldn't keep? It works out.”
Onre suggested, “Let's take another 10 minutes to meditate.” We did so.
I told them, “The foes here will likely be a little harder, but still only a fairly minor threat. That said, expect the unexpected.” We exited the cabin in the same formation we used before – Onre ready to scout, Ferret as a giant, with the rest of us gathered close to Sun and Ferret. Kossa encouraged us and enhanced our HP, raising all of our healths by about 6%. When Kossa stopped playing, Onre moved ahead.
While the terrain would have been indistinguishable from the previous floor, it felt a little cooler. It was a little darker as well, so Sun, Kossa, and Arrjee all had floating torches cast above them. I wouldn’t call it dark, but more like walking in the evening shadow. I guess late morning shadow in this case; it was just a few minutes past 9. It didn’t occur to me before, but there is no sun; I don’t know why there is any light at all.
I: The ambient light is a factor of the dungeon itself. Some floors could be very bright, others very dark. We might even encounter simulated sunlight or moonlight.
I hadn’t asked the question, but I was glad Interface answered it for everyone.
ES: Interface I thank. || Thank you, Interface.
ES: That I wonder. || I had been wondering about that. curious
Several hundred yards from the cabin, Onre announced,
OL: I hear something approach. Several somethings. Get ready.
The group of us with Sun continued moving slowly forward, but all of us were prepared for battle.
OL: Gremlins and 8-legs. ten or eleven of them total. I see one Level 6 of each, with the rest being 4s and 5s. I think I should fall back.
FR: Do so. Any time you feel it is in your and the group's best interest that we be together, just let us know and do it.
I had a good idea what gremlins were, but 8-legs were new to me.
Spiders of some sort?
No. Imagine large, cute, 8-legged puppies, but very vicious and teeth and claws to match. Their front set of paws can act almost like hands. They often work in tandem with another monster group.
“Great. ‘Forrest the Puppy Killer’.”
Or, if you don’t fight back, ‘Forrest the Raw Meat’.
Onre had quickly backed up and joined us. We had stopped moving forward, and Kossa cast a Void Field around us. She casts it at Rank D, so all of the foes near us will be feeling their health slowly drain. It leaves a shimmer, so foes with any intelligence know it is probably something they won’t like. But monsters don’t seem to care.
Indeed, the dungeon monster AI is such that they are driven to defeat you.
“Artificial Intelligence? So they are not actually intelligent or even sentient?”
Think of a system dungeon as a role playing game, except that you can actually get hurt and die.
As our foes got close, all six 8-legs rushed forward, while the five gremlins held back. The 8-legs ranged from 18 to 30 inches in height, and it looked like the gremlins were a foot taller on average. The puppy-things seemed to want to rush Kossa and Ferret, but Sun began to taunt them away, beginning with the Level 6 one. Kossa played Lethargy, which added to her flute’s Somnolence, was fairly effectively slowing down the nearby monsters.
The gremlins held back by about 15 feet and commenced throwing stones. They seemed to be aiming for our resident giant Ferret. He was struck in the head and chest several times before Kossa got up her Void Barrier. He cursed, and I could see blood from his forehead and his left cheek. The barrier formed a quarter-circle arc about 7 feet ahead of us. It was only about 8 feet high, but she positioned it several feet above the ground. Rocks thrown that low wouldn’t reach us anyway. It didn’t entirely block the stones, but absorbed part of their momentum. It also would partially absorb magic, or basically any sort of energy that passed through it.
The 8-legs were gnashing and scratching at us with their fangs and claws, and they would even slug us or grab at us with their front paw-hands. Onre had incorporated Sleight of Hand into his knife attacks, which made it extremely difficult to tell where his attacks were coming from or when or where they would hit. The 8-legs didn’t bleed, not blood anyway. Some sort of thick, brown ooze would seep from their wounds.
The gremlins moved closer forward and spread out so they could get more momentum into their stones or bypass Kossa’s barrier altogether. Some of them started wailing. I knew right away it was a mental attack, feeling a small degree of unwarranted fear and frustration. I knew the mental resistance of my Rank C Meditation was blocking 20% of that. The barrier was also absorbing some of the sound, so that attenuated the effect as well. Kossa played her last bard skill, Sensory Filter. It not only further reduced the wailing effect, but the din of battle as we fought off the 8-legs.
Ferret swore again, and I could see where another stone had struck his forehead. One had struck me in the back of my helmet, but my resistances reduced that physical attack by almost 20%. At about that same time, Onre, Arrjee, and I each defeated one of the 8-legs. The death blow of mine came from a strong Claw Strike via my right leg and foot. I asked, “Ferret, are you okay to keep fighting?”
“Yes. Clear Mind is enabling me to maintain clear thinking, although I might be concussed otherwise. I barely notice the mental attack. My injuries will need to be addressed soon, however.”
Sun was doing well with his two shields in blocking a number of the stones, and I had noticed two veer away, likely due to a Push by Arrjee. Then he and Sun defeated the Level 6 boss of the 8-legs.
I ordered, “Ferret, with just two of the 8-legged bastards left, it is calm enough here to shrink down. I will heal your head injuries. Everyone else, please guard us during his recovery.” They acknowledged, and Ferret returned to his normal form.
He said, “My giant form made me an aggro magnet, not what I should be here at just Level 2. I will choose a more defensive form for the remainder of our dungeon hunt.”
I was able to heal his three head injuries quickly with my Rank C Heal Other. In 15 seconds we were done. He said he was sore in several areas where he had been struck in his chest and shoulders, but they did not need healing at the moment. Although he hadn’t lost that much, I gave him a dose of Bless Blood to restore what did bleed out. Onre handed him a cloth to wipe the blood off his face.
I need to remember to bring some cloth for bandaging if nothing else.
Like you told the class in your first First Aid lesson?
“Yeah, just like that! And yes, I am a dumbass.”
The team had eliminated the final two 8-legs, but the gremlins did not approach. They remained back and continued to throw stones and wail.
Onre said, “It looks like we will need to defeat the gremlins in a sweep operation. I don’t think they will run, but they don’t seem inclined to rush us.”
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
“Good idea. Their boss is second from the left, So let’s start with the leftmost one and take them down one at a time unless they change tactics and attack from melee range.”
We took a couple minutes for Kossa to renew her bard buffs. In the meantime, Arrjee was deflecting many of the stones with Push, and Sun stopped the rest with his two shields. Ferret morphed into a sort of likeness of Odd Earth, our Earth Elemental friend. “Guys, don’ expect me to win any races, but their stones ain’ gonna bother me now.”
I told him, “That is a great idea. Don’t you want to keep Clear Mind up to help protect you from the wailing?”
“Yes; it is already up. I had it down for a few seconds to assess if I suffer from the effects of a concussion. I do not believe it to be so.”
Once the final 8-leg died, Kossa dropped the Void Field from where we were. She recast it centered on the gremlin boss. She was able to dynamically reposition her Void Barrier, attenuating the effectiveness of the stone attacks. “I won’t be able to hold this void stuff up indefinitely. My mana is over half gone. So let’s finish off these ugly little fuckers.”
Onre was correct; they did not run as we approached. The leftmost one pulled out a knife as we neared it, while the others continued to pelt and wail at us. He didn’t last long with six of us up close and personal. The three remaining 4s and 5s rushed us as we approached their Level 6 boss. Sun kept its attention while he and Ferret battered it. Kossa had them responding lethargically, so it was quick work to defeat them all.
Their monster drops were somewhat nicer than Floor 1 produced, which made sense considering these were higher level foes. Onre was pleased with the herbs and alchemical ingredients, and there were a few gems. The gremlin boss had dropped a folded fleece, about four square feet of it.
Carrie probably would like that.
We recommenced our advance along the path after taking a few minutes to recover. We encountered one other group of foes. There were fourteen of them this time, with six gremlins and eight 8-legs, all levels 4 to 6. With the experience gained from our first battle, we took these down more quickly and with no substantive injuries. Ferret as a clear-minded earth elemental wasn’t exactly immune, but even at Level 2 it was sort of the perfect counter to their tactics and capabilities.
Just like on the first floor, the path led to a cave. I speculated, “If the pattern continues, the floor boss is likely to be a Level 7, well, something. It’s close to 10, and Arrjee and Ferret might level in a few minutes, depending on whether it is the noon here or the noon in Cottages that matter.”
I: It will be the midday of where the braked person happens to be.
Arrjee said, “That’s great then. I suggest we wait just inside the cave. The floor boss is likely deep inside like before. And if any foes approach, it will only be from one direction.” We agreed that was a good plan. We went inside to rest, sit, and discuss.
I had my clock up, and I could see immediate smiles coming from Arrjee and Ferret at exactly 10. “I din’ get any new skills at Level 3. But the nice thing about being a Shapeshifter is that every level noticeably improves my Shapeshifting skill. I can hold a form for a half hour longer, and vary my mass by a factor of four rather than three. Since my luck and strength only go up by one each level, I’m adding a free point to each of them. Unless anyone has a better suggestion?” None of us did, and he completed his leveling.
Arrjee informed us, “Well, at 4 I can choose between Hold and Elevate. The first lets me try to stop something from moving, and Elevate lets me change the height of something, either up or down. Both of them can be used on me! Elevate and a future skill will let me actually fly. We’ve seen Asiel do it.”
“I’ve never seen Asiel fly.”
They observe the world seven days out of seven.
I half-heartedly responded, “Well, we can watch Monty Python.”
“I think Hold might be better right now, though. Push let me deflect the stones, but if some big sucker starts rushing us, I might be able to stop it. It is stronger than Push and Pull, at least at equal ranks. And it feels like Push, Pull, and Hold are kind of a set. Does anyone think I should take Elevate instead?”
“Reconnaissance Elevate allow.” || Elevate would allow you to go high and do recon. envision
“Scouter Onre.” || But Onre is already an effective scouter. praise
“Better Hold.” || I think Hold is better for now. up to you.
I again noticed Ferret place a hand on Sun’s foot as he spoke. I can imagine with his Read Mind and Read Emotion skills, he is understanding almost everything Sun says. And Sun smiled at Ferret in apparent understanding and appreciation of what he was doing.
We all agreed with Arrjee’s and Sun’s evaluation, and he chose Hold. He also needed to add one of his free points to wisdom, which he plans to do every time. Leveling itself only gains him 1 wisdom. He put his other free point in perception, following my lead of trying to keep his attributes basically even, but letting luck slip.
----------------------------------------
We decided to take a half hour to meditate and recover our stats. Plus Arrjee’s and Ferret’s stats could go higher now, but they needed time to build up toward their new maxes. As we came out of meditation, Kossa asked, “Do you hear that? From outside the cave?”
I hadn’t heard anything. But Onre said, “Yes, it's kind of a quiet whoosh, like a breeze rustling the leaves of a tree.” I listened, and soon I heard the rustling as well. We all did.
Onre asked, “Should we ignore it or should I go scout?”
I told him, “I think you should scout. We don’t want an enemy following behind us and attacking just as we start our battle with the floor boss.” He turned on his Stealth, stood, and slowly headed to the cave’s entrance.
What he saw obviously surprised him. “Minor gods! It is a child Air Elemental, labeled as an ‘orphan’. It is Level 2.”
I got up and looked outside the cave. I saw it too. It was a translucent, somewhat bulbous ball of air about two feet in diameter. As it was fairly far away, I could only analyze at Rank D,
Ahhshaww – Air Elemental, child, sexless
Level 2 orphan
“Interface, it’s sapient, right? Should there be sapient beings here besides us?”
I: Yes, it is sapient – it has an interface, and an ordinary monster would not be an orphan. And no, in an instanced system dungeon, you should be the only sapients here.
Kossa had gotten up to see as well. “Well, let’s stop calling Ahhshaww ‘it’, okay? She might be in some sort of trouble.” The elemental backed away, probably frightened at seeing both Kossa and myself.
I had an idea. “Kossa and Onre, back up into the cave. Arrjee come forward to the cave entrance, and we’ll sit here, displaying your river stone ring and my armband.” I sat down. “And Ferret, can you morph into a very young Earth Elemental? I don’t know how old Ahhshaww is, but as a child she might be less frightened by a child Earth Elemental. Or can you be an Air Elemental?”
“No, I have yet to learn an Air Elemental’s form. I shall endeavor to transform into what I imagine Odd would have looked like as a child.”
Arrjee and I sat non-threateningly where the cave opened to the ambient light outside. A three and a half foot tall pseudo-Odd sat next to us. Arrjee and I pointed to our river stones while Ferret said, “Hello, Ahhshaww. Can you understand me? We don’t want to hurt you. Do you need help?”
It responded with some sounds of its own. I think it was speech, but certainly not Covargh speech.
FR: Interface, do you understand her?
I: No. I have not learned any of the dungeon languages which Skawa told us existed. Server does not know them either.
Crap. This might as well be Earth.
Ferret kept speaking to her gently. From behind, I heard Kossa begin to play a soft yet happy melody on her flute. After a few seconds, Onre joined her with the lyrics. The music attracted Ahhshaww’s attention, and it approached to within 8 feet of those of us seated at the cave entrance.
“Idea I have.” || I have an idea. hopeful
“Melody you slow.” || Please slow your melody.
“Odd’s forms I dance.” || I will try to mimic Odd’s forms to the music. hope she recognizes them
Soon I heard Sun slowly shuffle behind me.
AS: This could work! I’ll join you, Sun.
Arrrjee kept his ring forward as he stood, and backed up behind Ferret and me. Soon I heard two people sort of moving and shuffling to the melody. Ahhshaww tried saying something else, which might have been a question. Ferret responded softly, apologizing that we could not understand her.
I suspect the combination of sensations got through to her. Two of us had river stones, perhaps indicating we could be trusted. Add a young Earth Elemental, peaceful music and song, and two beings performing what I think of as Elemental Qigong. She approached Ferret, who was still saying calm, friendly things to her. I kept silent, not wanting to detract from our non-magical magic welcome. He held out his hand, and she formed an appendage to meet it. They touched. After just a moment,
FD: She is very scared and lonesome. I believe she has been here for some time, but she is not quantifying how long. Minor gods, I wish I had Share Thoughts right now. I know her surface thoughts and emotions but am unable to share mine. She tentatively has a degree of trust toward us.
With her being close, I could perform a Rank C analyze.
Ahhshaww – Air Elemental, child, sexless, 1 stone
Level 2 orphan, 1153 xp worth
[Learned Skills], 1 defeated
I opened up [Learned Skills]. She had four.
FR: She has learned the Fly, Analyze, Torch, and Dark Sight skills. I know Rina could use the party interface at age 6. Should we invite her?
No one had an objection, and Sun, Arrjee, and Ferret all thought we should.
I: Alright, I will invite her. Unfortunately, the party interface will not translate, but it should indicate to her that we welcome her presence.
A: Silkwan alsef rrost?
FD: I am sorry. We do not read your language.
A: Ssrahr! Olrhess mmmu, ahthhh.
I spoke aloud, “That looks a lot like, ‘Shit! Thank you, though.’”
A gentle but godly female voice spoke from outside the cave. “Indeed, child. That is what my young child Ahhshaww just thought.” A form coalesced outside the cave. It had a much more substantial form than the child elemental, but they seemed to be of the same species.
Ellehalon – god
[Learned Skills]
I opened her skill list and a large number of skill names scrolled by. At the end I noticed all of the common magic and ki skills I knew, and maybe three I did not. “We welcome you, Ellehalon. Would you please inform our new friend that we mean her no harm and that we will be happy to help her in any way we can?”
“That obligation would be more than you know, young Forrest Rhodes. Do all members of your party agree?”
I was proud to see that every one of us assented with no hesitation. “Thus it will be. Forrest Rhodes, Onre Litman, Evening Sun, Kossa Smithson, Arrjee Silverstone, and Ferret Drewson, meet your foster daughter, Ahhshaww.” She then spoke in the other language, what I do not know, but I heard all our names again. Thinking about it, she probably formally introduced us as her foster parents.
“In return for accepting this obligation, I will boon you each with one attribute point of your choice. Ferret, instead of an attribute point, I boon you immediately with the skill Share Thoughts at Rank E. Your daughter needs to know what you want to say now, not wait until you reach Level 5 in two weeks.”
I could see an immediate smile form on his face. “Thank you, goddess.” He and Ahhshaww then appeared to talk to each other, and she glowed with excitement.
Forrest, what attribute would you like to improve?”
“Since I cannot train vitality, please add one to it.”
Vitality: 34
HP: 529/540
She continued to ask each of us except Ferret what attribute they would like raised. Onre felt he was already past his vitality threshold but his strength was lagging, so he chose that. Sun and Kossa chose vitality, but Arrjee chose agility to better support his swordsmanship. Everyone thanked the goddess.
“Ellehalon,” I said, “as one of Ahhshaww’s foster parents, I have a request. We are friends with an Earth Elemental, but our knowledge of Air Elementals is limited. Would it be possible to send someone older of her species to the village of Cottages, Fifth Duchy? She should have guidance in the ways of her people. It need not be a permanent commitment, but I am sure she could benefit by at least periodic contact over the next few years.”
“A wise request indeed, father. I will ensure she has contact with her species, and I may already know of an appropriate candidate.”
Kossa wondered, “Goddess, we will need to defeat the floor boss to reach the next floor and gain the capability to exit back to Einvigi’s academy in the Fifth Duchy. But I am sure we would have continued through at least the third floor and maybe the fourth. Now I am unsure of the degree of risk to which we should expose Ahhshaww. Do you have a recommendation?”
“Now a wise question, mother. You have accepted responsibility for your daughter, and the decision belongs to all of you, including her. Ferret can now tell her of the risk and rewards. I am sure you will choose wisely.”
“One more question, if I may, my lady. Do you know how Ahhshaww got stuck here? We were of the understanding that our party would be the only sapient beings in this instanced dungeon.”
“Father Onre, you corrected that problem when she accepted the invitation to your party. You will need to ask her yourselves as to how she came to be here.”
At that, she disappeared. I had no idea if she was gone gone or still observing, but I suspected the latter. “Ferret, let her know we need to defeat a Level 7 floor boss. Kossa, when we get ready to fight, please remain in the rear with her. Ferret, you also in case we need to communicate. Once we reach Floor 3 we can discuss whether to continue or head home. For now, we should all be considering the issue.”