I avoided letting out a sigh of relief as we began preparing to delve into the dungeon. I had been lying through my teeth and heavily relying on my negotiation skill to convince the party to go into the dungeon.
As scary as it was, there was a reason I picked this particular dungeon to try and “break in” the party. It was only a rank C dungeon, and would be a relatively easy sweep for this group.
Descending into the dark tunnel, I watched as the various people in my party all went through the same discoveries I had in my first dungeon. Estorra was shocked that the walls could not be manipulated with stone magic, even though I had warned her. Sidel was worried about the strange behavior of the beasts within. Markas commented on the peculiar warmth of the dungeon’s interior, and how uncomfortable it made him. Rashir was frustrated that the dungeon ate the dead, leaving behind nothing of value.
I led the group, as I had a light enchantment and held a big shield. When we discovered a beast, I kited it back, protecting the group with my shield as Markas stepped forward to slice with his sword, or Rashir shot an arrow from his bow, or Estorra drilled it with the water in her waterskin. Sidel had Piko in her arms, with Tug unhooked from the sled and following behind, in case we needed her to charge in and handle something. She left the bushcallers on the surface, commanding them to wait nearby and be safe until she returned.
Soon, we started encountering the stronger beasts that had been drawn further in. We fought a pair of huminectes, which were a kind of large snake beast, then a shagloth.
After that, the corrupted beasts began appearing. The corrupted huminectes were much larger and scarier, but still fairly straightforward to handle. Deeper still, we encountered an octophant, much to everyone’s displeasure given that we could not tame this one and the dungeon would eat it, but thankfully this dungeon was too weak to corrupt an octophant.
“This isn’t too bad,” Rashir murmured after a long day of delving into the dungeon. “But I’m not sure I see the point.”
“How is everyone feeling?” Markas asked the party.
“I have lost some of my water, but I still have plenty of magic,” Estorra said, checking her meter.
“My beasts are spooked, but we’re fine,” Sidel added.
I nodded to Markas. “I’m good to keep going. We should try to find the core.”
He sighed. “We’ve come this far. Might as well see if there’s any truth to what the priest told you.”
The rest of the dungeon was not much more difficult, and soon, the party was looking into the boss chamber.
“A corrupted shagloth,” I murmured, looking at the larger, angrier, and much sharper version of the beast that I had fought all those years ago.
Shagloths already had a dark coat and quite an impressive set of claws, but this corrupted version was that on steroids. Long metallic claws and sharp fangs threatened to tear us to shreds, and the dark coat was sleek, revealing a well-muscled creature that would happily rip us to pieces.
“What rank is a shagloth, Sidel?” I asked the tamer, knowing full well the answer.
“Copper,” she answered, frowning.
“And the corruption seems to, at most, elevate them one rank. So it’s just a Silver rank beast.”
“Maybe so,” Markas said. “But we don’t know what other tricks it might have.”
“Transformed beasts have been known to have magic,” Sidel said with a nod. “And those claws look almost like metal. It was the same for the huminectes’ fangs.”
“We managed against that. I can handle this beast’s attacks with my shield. You just have to hit it hard and take it out.”
After deciding on the plan, we all nodded, and stepped forward.
Immediately, the shagloth’s head whipped up to us, and it bellowed, a cursed sound that made Estorra gasp. I rushed ahead, and at full force, bashed the beast with my shield, then planted myself in place as the beast began swiping at me. Rashir moved to the side with Estorra, and began shooting arrows at the beast’s tough hide, while Estorra shot the rest of her water at its eyes, mouth, and nose.
Tug was already galloping around the outside of the cavern, and hammered into the corrupted shagloth’s side while it was distracted by the water. As soon as it was down, Markas was on it, slashing and chopping, and while he had it distracted, I pulled my own sword off my back. Momentarily abandoning my defensive posture, I swung down hard on the corrupted Shagloth’s back. With my enormous strength, the force of the swing shattered the beast’s spine.
Moments later, it was over.
“Easy,” I said with a grin, but my party members still looked wary. I glanced around the dungeon, and found our prize. “There. That must be the core.”
Rashir was the first one there, examining the red crystal.
“It doesn’t appear that valuable, as far as gemstones go. The Church would not be using it for jewelry, though… hmm…”
The man reached out and grabbed it, and as with every dungeon, the oppressive weight of the dungeon’s magic left us. I heard Estorra make a small sound of surprise, and looked at Markas.
“We should get out. Who knows what will happen to the dungeon without the core.”
Everyone nodded, and we swiftly departed from the cavern and tunnels, reemerging above ground. The party turned back and collectively studied the dungeon’s entrance.
“It looks like the entrance is closing up,” Markas said, staring at the cave.
“Not quite. The whole outcropping is sinking into the ground,” Estorra said, pointing. “See? It’s descending.”
With the dungeon slowly disappearing into the ground, and the long day spent clearing the dungeon itself, our party decided to make camp and ensure that this was dealt with before heading back to Haklan and informing the Guild.
“I didn’t get my octophant,” Sidel grumbled, and I suppressed a chuckle.
Once everyone was settled down for the night, I pulled out my communication device and called Seranedra for our nightly chat.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
I smiled.
There was a pause, presumably Sera writing that down.
I chatted with Sera about chickens and eggs for a little while longer, then she told me what the kids were up to that day. I was enjoying the idle chit-chat over the “phone” with my wife, but it was growing late.
she said.
We said our goodbyes, and I put my communication artifact away. I did a quick scry of the camp before I went to sleep, making sure everything was copacetic and that the dungeon core was still resting where we left it. Since I couldn’t just place it in my inventory, I had suggested we wrap it up and place it on the back of my shield, up on the sled, and to keep it off the ground, given that the dungeon was sinking back into the ground, and we had no idea if it could reabsorb the core.
Rashir was very interested in the core and its potential value, which lined up with what I thought I knew about the man. Still, there should not be any real buyers for the red crystal, since it was relatively unknown, and that was part of why I needed to keep the level of secrecy high, even among those I trusted. So long as the best value was getting the core to the Church, and through the Church to me, there was no reason for Rashir to betray the party.
Though I would still make sure Shirel and her spies were keeping an eye on him.
* * *
Back in Haklan, we left a message with the Guild receptionist about what we encountered to pass on to the Guild Leader. Sidel went to go stable her flock of bushcallers until I could “contact my friend in the north,” and Rashir insisted on getting a price estimate on the dungeon core from local jewelers.
“Just so we know how much to accept from the Guild or the Church,” he said.
“It’s too dangerous to actually sell,” Markas said. “But fine. Go get a comparison. Do not sell it, Rashir. We already told the Guild Leader we have it.”
I watched him scurry off with the core, but there was no reason to worry. He would not actually sell it, and even if he did get a ridiculously good offer, the crown could match it. I kept a mental eye on him with 3-point magic anyway, just in case.
The next day, we were summoned into the Guild Leader’s office. Our party stood opposite Gorban’s desk, and the core was placed between us on it.
Standing beside Gorban was a Church priest. Shirel was off to the side, leaning up against the wall.
“Tell me about this dungeon you found,” Gorban said, and Markas launched into his explanation, telling the story of how we found it and what went on within. At the end, when Markas fell silent, Gorban nodded. “Good work,” he said stiffly, then turned to the man next to him. “Gatosh?”
The priest—Gatosh—smiled and nodded. “It is as you have heard. The Church is aware of the dungeons and is seeking to abolish the corruption. We are studying the cause, but for now we are hoping to simply lock away these ‘cores’ and prevent further damage.”
He motioned to the core on the table.
“In order to secure them for the safety of the Kingdom, we will offer you a fair reward. For this core, the Church will pay you ten gold.”
From the side of my eye, I saw Markas glance over to Rashir to confirm that the price was good. I already knew that the best offer he had received was one and a half gold, and had fed that information back through Shirel. Ten gold meant that each party member would get two gold, so Rashir had no reason to be upset or do something foolish like run off with the core. The “hunter” nodded, barely suppressing his glee, and Markas accepted the offer. Gorban tossed a sack of coin to him, then looked him in the eye.
“Markas,” Gorban said, standing. “Is your party prepared to tackle a Gold rank quest?”
Our party leader opened his mouth, but then stopped, and turned to look back at us. Rashir, Estorra, and Sidel nodded, then glanced at me. I looked back at Markas, and gave him a curt nod. Markas turned back to Gorban. “We are.”
“In that case, the Church has knowledge of another dungeon, in the east,” Gatosh said, placing a map on the desk. “We would ask you to clear it and retrieve the core.”
“The Church is willing to invest in you to make this happen,” Gorban added. “They have pooled some resources for your team, in addition to the reward.”
Gatosh nodded, then turned to Estorra. “You are the party’s mage, correct? Your specialty is water?”
Estorra nodded and answered in the affirmative, and Shirel stepped away from the wall, handing the mage a small binding of parchment.
“This is a new treatise out of the capital on the magical conversion of water to ice,” Gatosh said, and Estorra’s eyes went wide as she accepted the write-up that I had painstakingly spent the night creating so I could hand it off to Shirel this morning in time for this meeting. She could not resist flipping open the cover and starting to read about hexagonal crystal lattices and some of the other dumbed down concepts that I hoped she could apply to her magic to form and use ice.
Sidel let out a low whistle. “Ice in Haklan? Torra’s going to be rich when this is all finished.”
Gorban grunted, then lifted a crate from behind his desk and placed it on the table. It was yet another thing I had passed off through Shirel for my party. “The Tamers Guild has also arranged this for you, Sidel. This is Gold rank meat for your rhinothell.”
It was Sidel’s turn to be struck mute. She stepped forward and tried lifting the crate, surprised at how heavy it was. “This is all Gold rank meat?” she asked, incredulous. At Gorban’s nod, she turned back to us, stunned.
“How much is that worth?” Rashir asked when she moved back next to him.
“A… lot. Maybe as much as we just got for the core itself.”
“And this treatise is… invaluable,” Estorra breathed, still reading it.
“Well, you aren’t to sell any of that,” Gorban said. “The meat is to transform your beast.”
“And the Church would prefer if, for the moment, you did not share the information contained in the treatise.”
Sidel and Estorra nodded, and Rashir clicked his teeth. The gold wasn’t enough for you? I thought while trying not to shake my head.
Picking up on that, Gorban leaned forward. “The Church is willing to offer you twenty gold for the successful return of this second dungeon core,” he said, which got Rashir’s attention.
“It will be more difficult than the last,” Gatosh stated, and Shirel handed Markas a map.
“Gold rank difficulty?” Markas asked, making the connection to the earlier question about our ability to take a Gold rank quest. When the priest nodded, Markas opened the map, looked at it, then turned back to the group. “You heard the man. Estorra, go study. Sid, go feed Tug and see if she’ll transform.” He passed the map to Rashir. “Go price out the supplies we’ll need for the journey.”
Markas and I made eye contact, and I grinned.
“We’ve got a quest to prepare for.”