We talked about how we would want to attack the boss. Vokin had some knowledge on the matter, but not a lot as he hadn't actually gone to fight the boss. Apparently, all creatures in a dungeon here would respawn eventually just like in the games I played on earth. I was amazed to find this out. I was curious about how it worked, but everyone was wanting to focus on the fight. I would bring it up with Al'Doran later I supposed. I was really starting to get a long list of things to talk with him about.
We really needed to know more about vampires in this world. There are so many different ideas of a vampire from earth I wanted to know more about.
"Brutus?"
"Yes, Callan?"
"You have a fairy as well?! Callan Ryder, you are a man of many surprises," Vokin said.
I smiled over at him devilishly.
"Brutus, we need to know if there is anything you can tell us about vampires and what powers they might have."
"Vampires, let's see, ok they are normally nocturnal, they have superhuman strength, they like to drink the blood of their victims, they can use magic, and they are pretty fast."
"Anything else? Do they have some kind of weakness?"
"Uhhhh...They don't really like sunlight, but it's not exactly a weakness. Fire does the trick pretty well, and holy magic."
"That's it?"
"Well, most vampires used to be of the normal races. It just makes them want to drink blood, have magic, and be stronger and faster than normal. They can be harmed by the same things they were before they were vampires. Buck up and get in there to kill them already."
I hadn't seen Brutus be sassy like this before. I guess I see why though, he's the one with the information, and here I am questioning him.
"You're right, Brutus. Sorry for questioning you. Now that we know that, let's see what we can do to take him down."
We talked about what options we had. I had Fireball, but it had a long cooldown so we needed to get them cornered before we did that. Aeolith and I also had fire breath, and lastly, I had the sword with its black flames. Tristan didn't have any fire attacks. In fact, since all of his attacks were dark and death, there was a possibility the vampire could be immune to them or at least that they would not affect him hardly at all. So Tristan would likely not be very helpful or effective in the fight.
"That might actually make the lad a liability."
"But he does have Drain. That should take away life force no matter what right?"
"True, but if the vampire goes after the lad he won't be able to defend himself."
"He won't be able to go after him if he's too busy dealing with us though. And what if he has minions with him? When they fall, he can bring them back up to fight for us."
"That sounds useful. Maybe we should bring some baddies with us first?"
"Good thought. Tristan, go get some of the batmen and bring them with us to help."
"You got it!"
Tristan walked over to begin raising the dead while we figured out the rest. Vokin didn't have fire attacks either, but he was a fighter, so not much more for him to do than just use skills to wail on the boss. We decided to have Aeolith stay with Tristan for now and let Vokin and I try to keep the vampire busy and see if there were minions we needed to deal with. Tristan and Aeolith should be able to help handle minions, but we would play that part by ear. With these ideas in mind, we decided to head to the boss room to get started.
Vokin lead us through the dungeon taking some shortcuts he had learned from all his time in this dungeon. We walked for about an hour and had to fight a couple of times, but each time Vokin and I were able to dispatch the enemies with just our weapons and physical attacks. Each time we tried to keep the bodies as intact as possible so that Tristan could change out his more beat-up undead minions for better ones.
By the time we stood outside the boss room door, Tristan had all of his minion slots filled with mostly whole dead batmen which should help us with some distractions during the boss fight. I looked at each of the other party members and they all seemed ready to go. We drew our weapons, and I pushed the door open to the boss room.
The room looked like an old cathedral. There were pews that had been overturned and a pulpit at the far end of the room. And behind that was a coffin. It was not the kind of coffins we usually see in America that were super fancy, but rather something straight out of a horror film about vampires with the tapered hexagon shape. The ambiance was completed with vases full of dead plants lining what would have been windows in a cathedral, but since this was a dungeon the walls just had stone carvings of windows. The air even felt heavier in this room.
While we were taking in the room, the coffin lid slid off and the vampire rose from within straight upright with his arms crossed over his chest. Someone clearly watched a lot of old Dracula movies.
"That was super cheesy," I said.
"Are you kidding me? That was terrifying!" Tristan said.
"Are you kidding me? It's just a classic vampire scare tactic. Nothing original. I've seen it a thousand times."
"I really worked hard on that move...you really aren't impressed?" Came a sultry voice from the other side of the room.
I looked over and the vampire was staring at me with a bit of a sad look on his face.
"Sorry man, but I've seen it done so many times. It just didn't have that flair, that pizzazz. It needs something more, something new, something original."
"So what would you do, mister big shot?" The vampire said putting his hands on his hips and tilting his head. What was it with everyone and their sass today?
"How about a set of pyrotechnics on either side of the stage there at the front while you glide down from the ceiling with a cape fluttering behind you? Be sure to have your mouth open to show your fangs as well. Those are what people are most afraid of. Claws and weapons are things people see all the time, but no one wants to get bitten and have a creature drink their blood. Lean into the things that scare people the most. Really make their fears come to life when they see you. It'll put them off balance when it's time to fight."
The vampire stopped and thought for a moment.
"That actually doesn't sound half bad. But where am I gonna find pyrotechnics?"
"Lad, I know you're just tryin' to help, but what in the name of stone beards are ye doin' here?"
"Just follow my lead. You'll see where I'm going."
"I could help with the pyrotechnics. Well, me and my dragon. We could stand on either side and breath fire while you descend."
"You would...help me with my entrance?"
"Sure, it's the first statement. It's really important to make it a big one. Let's try it again and Vokin here will stand in front to tell us how much more terrifying it is."
"Why would you help me? We are to fight each other. I am supposed to try to kill you."
"Because I know that I'm not the last guy you're going to fight here. You need to learn something from me so that when you fight the next guy you'll be super scary and flashy at the same time. It's only going to make me look good if you take my advice and use it later on."
"You are right, let's give it a try."
The vampire went to the back of the room and when his back was turned I motioned to Vokin to stand in front and use his axe as the vampire came through by making a throat-slitting motion after pointing to in front of where Aeolith and I would be. His eyes went wide, and he nodded and winked at me. I also sent a quick mental message to Aeolith and received an affirmation in return.
The Vampire was poised up in the corner where the ceiling met the wall and let us know he was ready. I kneeled down to be at the same level as Aeolith and turned my head so that my flame could be breathed up just like Aeolith. We angled it slightly so that the flames would cross in the air and the vampire could fly down underneath it. When he signaled he was ready he began his descent and Aeolith and I breathed fire at the same time. As I had expected, the same phenomenon happened with the fire breath when we did it at the same time near each other as had happened with the Dragon Slash. The fires were more than twice as intense. As he came closer, we both suddenly turned our heads at the same time and doused him with the flames. He screamed and couldn't stop himself from rushing through the flames due to his momentum forward already. He flailed trying to arrest his flight, but it was no use.
Once he reached the point where Aeolith and I were standing we stopped the flames and he screamed again. There was Vokin standing with his giant two-handed axe in an almost perfect baseball swing stance. With one solid swing, he took off the vampire's head as its flaming body flew past him.
We stood there for a moment. Waiting, watching, hoping. The body just lay still. That couldn't have been it right? Vokin went over and kicked the body with one of his boots.
"Looks dead to me."
In the back of the room, the wall rotated and a treasure chest was sitting there instead of the coffin.
"I guess that means that we finished it?"
The others all shrugged and we walked over to the chest. As we got closer to the chest we noticed there was a note on the top of the chest. I plucked off the note and unfolded the piece of paper.
Dear Cheaters,
Well played, that was not something I had intended to happen when I gave my vampire a personality. He was meant to be able to banter with fighters to increase the entertainment factor during fights. I see now that he was too vain for what I was going for. I will make adjustments and hope you will try the dungeon again someday. For your efforts and for being the quickest party to ever slay my vampire I offer you a slightly better-than-average reward.
Sincerely,
The Batcave
I guess that was all there was to it. We got some pretty decent XP as well for that. Ten thousand XP for the kill plus completing the dungeon. The note left me curious though.
"Brutus? Why did the dungeon leave us a note and not just speak to us?"
Brutus flew out from somewhere he had been hiding and around to hover in front of me.
"Ye've got a fairy as well! Well I'll be a rabid shaved monkey's uncle, ye've sure got a lot of surprises, Callan."
"I sure do...wait a what's uncle?!"
"Never ye mind that."
"Callan, if I may?" Brutus piped up.
"Oh yes, sorry Brutus, please."
"Dungeons can't speak to people. They can only speak to other dungeons. It's part of becoming a dungeon, and that isn't important for this moment, but suffice to say, the letter being created in the dungeon was one of the few ways it could communicate with you."
Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
"Well, this world sure has a lot of rules."
"Its all for the balance of the powers in the world. One day if you take the time to learn about dungeons and dungeon cores, I'm sure you'll see why it needs to be this way."
Not seeing anything else to distract me from that sweet loot, I opened the chest and inside were three items. I inspected each of them to see what we had gotten.
Item:
Belt of the Necromancer
Item Type: Armor
Durability: 150/150
Enchantment: This belt gives the wearer the ability to cast the spell Death's Toll without having to learn the spell.
Item Quality: Well-Crafted
Item Rarity: Rare
Item:
Belt of Fighter Agility
Item Type: Armor
Durability: 150/150
Enchantment: This belt gives the wearer the ability to use the skill, uncanny dodge.
Uncanny Dodge: Allows the user to move out of the way of an attack that is within line of sight even if they would normally not be able to dodge it.
Item Quality: Well-Crafted
Item Rarity: Rare
Item:
Belt of the Dragon
Item Type: Armor
Durability: 150/150
Enchantment: This belt gives the wearer the ability to use the skill, dragon armor.
Dragon Armor: When activated, this skill will cover the user's body in hardened dragon scales giving +25 armor for the next five minutes.
Item Quality: Well-Crafted
Item Rarity: Rare
These were fantastic items. There was also a pouch with one hundred fifty gold, eighty-five silver, and fifty copper coins in it. It was obvious who the items were meant for, so I gave Tristan the belt of the necromancer, Vokin the belt of the fighter, and put the belt of the dragon on myself. Aeolith looked up at me wondering where her item was.
"I'm sorry, there were only three items in the chest. Tell you what, I'll buy you a big steak while I'm in town and bring it back to you."
This seemed to pacify her. While we were talking, a door off to the side of the back wall opened up with a staircase leading up. We went to it and followed it up. It spiraled up for quite a ways then came to a doorway. As we got close the doorway opened up and we could see it led right to the first room of the dungeon. As we passed through I could see the closed door still from the main entrance. We walked out of the main entrance and I broke the seal on the scroll Al'Doran had given me. Fortunately, there were no other adventurer's camped out to go into the dungeon as we were leaving so we didn't have to try to sneak away or be worried about others noticing Aeolith.
We walked back to the forest where Al'Doran had landed previously, knowing we would be waiting longer this time because we were much closer. We waited around in the woods until we heard the whooshing of wings beating again and Al'Doran landed in the clearing.
"By the anceint stones of Elduin. I never thought I'd live to see the day," Vokin whispered reverently.
Al'Doran quickly turned and fixed Vokin with a fierce gaze.
"Who is this, Callan? Why do you bring others with you like lost pups? Are we to babysit people as you see fit?"
I was a little taken aback by his anger.
"Al'Doran this is Vokin. He has been a giant help in fighting off the creatures in the dungeon and someone who has been a shield for me in battle."
Al'Doran's gaze softened a bit at this statement.
"What are your intentions, Vokin? Know that I will judge you for myself to deem you worthy of supporting Callan."
"I have only the intention to protect the young rider. My family has told me about the riders since I was a wee one. The tales of their legacy live on in my halls, and I wish nothing more than to see him reach the same level of glory. For we dwarves remember the devastation of the shadow. We are longer lived than most and know of what may still come."
"Al'Doran, didn't the riders of old have retinues of warriors and mages to help them fight? I know they had each other, but I don't have other riders."
Al'Doran paused for a long moment. Then he sighed heavily.
"You have wisdom in this, Callan. You do not have other riders to come to your aid. You need a team of people who will stand with you. Very well. Vokin, I task you with protecting Callan and Aeolith. Do this and you will be called a friend to the Riders."
Vokin bowed deeply.
"I will not betray your trust."
"If this is the route that we are to take, then there are two measures we must put into place. First, we must create an oath that will tie these followers to you, one that will bind them to their word, and put to rest any fears of betrayal. Second, we must make an addition of a healer to the party. While you are in the town to turn in your quest, see if there is any news on a healer of renown that we can find."
I noticed that Vokin seemed a little uneasy at these requests.
"What is the matter Vokin? Do you not feel we need a healer?"
"No, it's not that lad. It be the oath part. Oaths are almost never given here because of the power they hold over a person. If I swear an oath and even accidentally say something that goes against it to someone, there could be dire reprecussions, not the least of which is a slow and painful death."
"That definitely sounds terrible. Is there no other way Al'Doran?"
"No lad, it is the best way to ensure that you remain safe and that we cannot betray you. I will gladly swear an oath to you. I have seen yer character both in and out of battle, and ye be someone I would be glad to follow."
"Very well. Come here both Vokin and Tristan. You will both be taking the oath, or neither of you will continue on this path with us." Al'Doran said.
Both Vokin and Tristan walked over to Al'Doran and stood before him.
"By the power of the ancients, do you swear to do no harm to Callan Ryder be it physical, emotional, or spiritual, by your hand or by your words and further swear to defend him until your dying breath? And do you swear that upon penalty of pain of the oathbreaker to keep your new lord's confidence, and help guide him down the path that is right in all that you say and do?"
"I swear," Vokin said kneeling before the ancient dragon.
"I swear," Tristan also said, kneeling as well.
A glow extended from Al'Doran to the kneeling comrades and began to get brighter and brighter. Then a beam shot from the pair on the ground and straight into my chest. It felt cold and hot at the same time, and I could feel the weight of their words burning into my soul. A moment later the lights stopped and I was left gasping.
"It is finished. I now can rest easier knowing that you have followers willing to make such an oath to you." Al'Doran said, seeming to relax all at once.
"Thank you my friends," I said to Vokin and Tristan, a tear beginning to come to my eye. "I will strive to live up to the oath that you have given to me and be worthy of your commitment."
"And that there, is why I believe ye already worthy, Callan Ryder." Vokin said, looking back at me with admiration.
"It is time to head back to the town. Climb aboard so that we may make haste back." Al'Doran said.
I nodded and we all climbed on Al'Doran's back and he lifted off again, with Aeolith flying along beside him. Vokin was both ecstatic and reserved. It seemed while he loved the prospect of being with the dragons, he didn't much like flying.
"Dwarves are meant to stay close to the ground. It's why we don't grow very tall."
We flew back to the same spot we had landed to go to the town originally and Al'Doran once again gave me a scroll with the seal on it to call for him. I embraced Aeolith in a big hug, promising I'd be careful and stay with Vokin and Tristan to make sure we were safe. He and Aeolith took off one more time and we headed back to the town.
On the walk back to town Tristan, Vokin, and I talked about the vampire and the batmen and the wonders we had seen so far. We told Vokin a little about the island and what to expect from going there. He was more excited than ever to be through with this new assignment to get back there. As the town came into view the sun was setting. it appeared as though it had really only been about a day since we were gone. We walked through the gates and I saw a familiar face. Gregory. He sauntered over to us and looked us up and down. His cronies were with him as well and they tried to surround us, but with Vokin here this time they weren't able to get completely around us.
"You think you can just get away with embarrassing me like that?"
"Yes, actually I do."
"So you're some kind of tough guy?"
He snapped his fingers and about twenty more people came out from behind empty stalls and out of alleyways.
"You think that having more men will help you? Last time I just used my hands to beat you, with this many, I get to use something more forceful."
I placed my hand on my hilt and Vokin put a hand on his axe which was across his back at the moment. It was right then though that Commander Harlow walked up behind us.
"Is there a problem here?"
Gregory's face went sour.
"There might be. Are you feeling the need to stick your nose in too old man?"
"I am feeling the need for that. We don't need violence in the city."
"What if it's violence we were looking for, eh?"
"Then you've found it."
He unsheathed his sword and then held it down at his side. Waves of unease went through the crowd of people Gregory had assembled. A few knives were drawn by the more eager in the bunch, but most seemed unwilling to challenge the commander. Gregory looked around for a moment first at his men, then at us and the commander.
"Psh...he's not worth our time. Come on guys, let's get outta here and find something fun to do."
With that, the group dispersed and melted back into the alleys.
"Sorry about that trouble. I couldn't keep him in jail forever, no matter how much I want to."
"It's OK Commander, but it looks like you are about to have a bigger problem on your hands than just someone harassing me."
"Unfortunately, I think you are right. Gregory has been getting more and more of those thugs to join his team and they are likely to cause some kind of rebellion eventually. But that is a problem for later. For now, can I escort you somewhere?"
"We were headed to the adventurer's guild. But we should be alright on our way there."
"Well, I was headed to the Dragon's Nest anyways, so I'll walk with you that far."
Commander Harlow joined us on that part of our trip and we walked up to the market district which was closed for the day and felt a lot more empty than normal. Once we got to the Dragon's Nest he bid us farewell and went inside. We walked further up the road to the guild and went inside. Amy was still sitting behind the desk.
"Well, hi guys! I didn't expect to see you back so soon. And Vokin is that you?!"
She said this last bit with some shock in her voice.
"Aye lass, it's me. These lads found me in the dungeon and convinced me to come back."
"Well, well, well. Vokin Ironspine. I thought you'd skipped town. You got my money?" said a deep burly voice from the room to the right.
A man the size of a professional football lineman walked over to us and looked at us. He smelled a little funky and was missing a few teeth.
"Oh, it's you Azle. I see you're still alive, unfortunately."
"I couldn't go off and die while I was missin' part of my money. So do you have it or not?"
"How much does he owe?" I said stepping in.
"And who the hell do you think you are?"
"I'm the guy who might be able to actually get you your money. Which I hope you'd use on a shower and a finding a good dentist."
"What's a dentist?"
"Ugh... never mind, just the shower and a toothbrush then."
"You saying something about my hygiene?"
"Sir, your hygiene can literally speak for itself, I heard it before I heard you walking over here. It likely can hit harder than you can at this point as well. I'm commenting on the lack of attention you give it. But more importantly, how much does he owe?"
"With interest? Three hundred and fifty gold."
"Three hundred and fifty?! I only borrowed one hundred gold in the beginning?!"
"Interest rates these days are through the roof," Azle said, grinning through what remained of his teeth.
I put a hand out in front of Vokin to stop him from saying or doing anything further. I then reached into my bag of holding and pulled out a bag, then I put gold into it.
"Here. Three hundred and fifty-five gold. That way you can afford to bathe more often too. Now get lost, before I decide that unlike your interest rates, my patience runs low."
The man scowled at me for a moment, then looked at the bag of money and decided he had what he wanted. and walked back to the room to the right.
"You didn't have to do that Callan, I have some money I could have thrown together."
"I want you free and clear. We can't have you tied down anymore."
He looked at me and then nodded once firmly.
"I won't forget this."
"I know you won't," I said putting one hand on his shoulder. "Because I won't let you. You think gold just sprouts up from the ground?"
We both had a laugh at that. Then I turned to the counter and put the paper down for the quest.
"As you can see, we have fulfilled the quest."
"The receptionist just stood there for a moment, seemingly in awe of us.
"Um...Ma'am?" I said trying to get her attention.
"Oh, yes, sorry about that. You did an amazing job! We all expected you to be coming back either empty-handed or with nothing to show for it. And that was if you came back at all! Truth be told when just two of you left to go to the dungeon, we were really leaning toward the last possibility. But I, for one, and very glad that you didn't die. And you cleared the whole dungeon is just one day?! That is a feat not many can claim."
I stared at her a bit confused.
"Why would we not come back?"
"Well, it was a dungeon after all, and there were only two of you. Most people who go out there with that few people don't come back. Its not an easy task, taking on a whole dungeon, with a full party, much less just the two of you."
"Oh, well as you can see we did, so let's complete that quest."
"Sure thing!"
Amy reached under the desk, pulled out the original quest paper, took my copy, put them together, and brought out a big stamp which she pushed into some kind of ink sponge and then stamped the papers. Once both papers were stamped we received a prompt.
Quest Complete!
You have successfully fulfilled all the requirements of the quest. Bonus complete! You have gone above the call and completed the quest with greater detail than was required for a reward. All Quest rewards doubled.
Rewards: 40 gold, 5,000 XP