Chapter 32: Book 1: Chapter 13 (Part 1 of 2)

We arrived in a vestibule before entering the first official chamber of the dungeon. Carl, Kelly, and the rest of his group explored the room, while Shana and I got our bearings.

The walls of the room were made from the same black stone that the outside was constructed of. There was a large iron-bound, wooden, double door directly opposite us. The way into the first proper chamber.

There were a few wooden benches off to the left and right of the vestibule and behind us was a wall with the same shimmer in the air as the way in. If we chose to retreat and not complete the dungeon for any reason, we would have to return to this room before we could leave.

Placed beside the double doors was an obsidian pedestal reminiscent of the podiums we’d seen in some of the towns, only smaller.

<Torin, I know we discussed this on the way here, but to remind you, my capabilities are restricted in a dungeon. I won’t be able to enter you into ‘Action Mode’ or give you customised quests until we leave> Quixbix reminded me.

I remember, I thought back to him.

<If you check out the pedestal you can review some information about the dungeon layout> he advised.

I nodded and tapped Shana on the arm, and we made our way over and I scrolled through the information that was provided. Jackson moseyed over to join us and read the contents from my other side.

We didn’t learn a great deal that Quixbix hadn’t filled us in about already. Once we passed through the doors and into the dungeon proper, this would be our only permitted attempt for thirty days. It didn’t matter whether you completed the dungeon or retreated midway, you wouldn’t be allowed back in until thirty days had elapsed.

This was our chance to back out if we wished to.

The most pertinent information was that this was only a four-chamber dungeon. The first chamber contained Y-grade threats, the second W-grade, the third U-grade and the final chamber was S-grade. Quixbix had told me this was standard for all dungeons, that each subsequent chamber would house progressively stronger threats.

Although describing them as chambers was something of a misnomer, a wing was perhaps a more apt description. There could be multiple actual rooms in a wing, and there was theoretically no maximum size. However, diversity to that degree took time for a dungeon to develop, and as this one was still in the process of forming, the chambers were likely to be relatively compact and the layout simplistic.

Once a dungeon was established, the dungeon core might increase the number of chambers up to eight. Quixbix was a bit unclear as to how conscious the dungeon core was, though.

“Just in case you didn’t know,” Jackson confided quietly, so his compatriots couldn’t overhear him. “Unlike in games, dungeon mobs don’t drop items or provide XP. All rewards are granted at the end of the run. If the party or any member leaves without completing the dungeon, then there is no loot, and you only get a small proportion of the XP based on how far you delved before turning back,” he finished and pushed his glasses back up his nose.

I looked at the slight young man to thank him and realised what it was that had irked me about him outside. There were no lenses in his spectacles. Besides that, his eyebrows were a dark green as were his eyes. There were clumps of dark green in his mop of brown hair too. Presumably, from his newly acquired tainted fae heritage.

“Cheers, but you do know that you don’t need those,” I chuckled, and pointed at the lens-less specs.

Jackson smiled bashfully. “Erm…yeah, I know. It’s just, I’ve worn them for as long as I can remember and it felt weird without them, so I popped the lenses out.”

“Jackson, get over here,” Carl called stridently from the double doors.

Jackson sighed and scowled a little before he trotted over to join Carl and the rest of his party.

“Are you done pussying about,” Carl griped at me as I finished scrolling through the data available.

As tempted as I was to spite the snide dick, I did want to get on with this myself and re-summoned my scimitar.

“Lay on, Macduff,” I told him.

Carl scowled confusedly, obviously struggling to understand if I had insulted him or not.

I grinned in response, but inwardly admonished myself for giving in to the temptation to goad him. Had he been smarter he might have comprehended the subtleties in my verbal barb. That if he was Macduff, then that made me Macbeth, the man who would be King, after he killed Macduff, of course.

Carl shook his head and snorted in disgust and then nodded to the brothers. Peter and Lucas each took hold of the cast iron rings on the double doors and heaved them open.

Shana and I walked up behind Carl’s group and stared into the chamber ahead. Provided we didn’t cross the threshold we could technically retreat without it counting as our monthly run.

The first chamber was an open limestone cavern roughly fifteen metres wide and maybe a hundred metres long. The floor of the cavern had uneven footing and the echoing drips of water were the only sound we heard from within. The ceiling of the cavern was fifteen metres high and was studded with short stalactites half a metre long.

Abnormally, there were no accompanying limestone pillars or mounds on the cavern floor. The cavern was open, but there was no sign of any mobs.

“Where are the mobs?” Tommy breathed quietly after a moment’s observation.

“You didn’t think we would be able to see them from outside the dungeon, did you? You fat fool,” Carl sneered at the portly boy.

“Sorry,” Tommy apologised and blushed with embarrassment.

Carl was a right prick, and I was beginning to look forward to the inevitable showdown between us.

<Torin, you won’t be able to analyse anything either until you step in. And don’t forget, you don’t regenerate Hit Points or Mana in the dungeon. Spells, abilities, potions, or your pellets are the only way to get them back> Quixbix warned.

Stop clucking like a mother hen, I remember what we discussed on the way here. It was only an hour ago. I mentally shot back at him.

<Joke if you like, but you’re a noob and dungeons are meant to be difficult. That’s why you are getting such a big reward for capturing this one> he retorted.

With that, we all walked forward and committed ourselves.

“Stay behind us, and don’t get in our way,” Carl commanded imperiously once we were inside.

He tried but failed, to hide the calculating glint in his smirk as he said it.

I had a sudden flash of insight into his intentions. He planned for his group to take the lead for the first two easier chambers and then ‘surprise’ us and demand we go first for the last two, to even things up.

Shana side-eyed me. She must have had the same flash of inspiration as me.

“Be my guest,” I started, then when his team moved forward, I finished. “We’ll take the lead for the second and third. Your team can finish with the fourth. Equal apportionment of the risk, so to speak.”

Carl looked back at me and ground his teeth, he seemed ready to object when Kelly spoke.

“Of course,” Kelly smarmed. “Things need to be even.”

Their team stepped forward into the limestone cavern carefully. My eyes roved over their gear briefly before I scanned the surroundings.

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Carl had a backsword and heater shield and wore a breastplate and a few pieces of leather armour. Kelly was similarly attired, though he used a mace instead of the backsword. Peter had a short sword and buckler combo and his brother a wooden longbow with a quiver of arrows. They both had leather jerkins but no other armour that I could see. In addition to his brown monkish robe, Tommy had produced a cudgel as his weapon. Finally, Jackson had a sheathed dagger belted to his hip. He had leather boots, gloves, and chaps over his jeans.

In all, they seemed a bit under-geared, but if they hadn’t been out looting the unfortunate as we had, then they wouldn’t have had the Gold to buy much beyond their basic weaponry and would have been reliant on loot drops from wandering monsters.

I scanned the limestone cavern again and caught sight of a flicker of movement by one of the stalactites on the ceiling. The chambers mobs were clinging to the inverted spikes above.

They blended in quite well, but not perfectly. They looked like bats with dirty-white, mottled, scaly skin, instead of brown fur. They were roughly about a foot long head to toe and their wings were wrapped about their stalactite perch.

Now that I had spotted them, I could analyse the creatures.

Skreechers x20
Grade: Y Level:  1
HP: 50	Value: -
Threat: Low to Moderate	XP: -
Skreechers are a fusion of reptile and bat. They ambush their prey and use a sonic attack to disorient and incapacitate their prey. Individually they are weak but prefer to swarm an incapacitated target.

 

“They are clinging to the stalactites,” I told Shana.

She had been searching the chamber for them after Quixbix had shared my analysis with her.

“Yes, I see them,” she answered. “Are we going to tell them?” she asked and pointed at our ‘allies’.

“Nope, I want to see what they have to offer,” I pronounced.

Shana nodded her agreement.

“We will step in if it gets too much for them. They won’t be of much use to us if we let them wipe on the easiest chamber,” I remarked. “Save your Mana, though. I expect we’ll need it for the final room most of all.”

Carl’s team slowly edged their way further forward. They had passed the first few of the hanging beasts, but the Skreechers hadn’t dropped down on them.

No doubt the Skreechers were waiting for the group to get to the middle before they attacked in a swarm.

“Torin, do you have earbuds for your phone?” Shana asked me quietly.

“Yeah, why do you ask?” I responded, without thinking.

The words were no sooner out of my mouth than she smiled coyly.

Shana popped a pair of her own earbuds into her ear canals, which would, of course, provide a modicum of protection from the Skreechers sonic attack.

I really should have thought of that myself. I retrieved mine from my inventory and wedged them into my ears. They didn’t keep all the sound out, but it should certainly give us an edge.

No sooner were my defensive ear precautions in place than the Skreechers, still unspotted by Carl and company, made their move. Or to be more accurate unleashed their screech attack.

All twenty of the little blighters moved their heads from the limestone and let loose with their high-pitched wail.

Resistance check fully successful. You suffer no ill effects from the Skreechers sonic attack.

Quixbix flashed up and removed the notification for me quickly. Which reminded me there was no ‘Action Mode’ in the dungeon. It helped to have an imp, though.

Shana and I suffered no harm from the Skreechers sonic assault, if you didn’t count the scratched chalkboard icky shiver feeling that ran down our spines that is.

Carl’s party was not as fortunate.

All of them except for Carl and Kelly had dropped their weapons and attempted to protect or muffle their ears, trying to block out the piercing wail. I could see a bit of blood seep through their clenched fingers. Peter the Swordsman was completely overwhelmed and collapsed, shivering on the floor. Poor Tommy wasn’t far behind him and had fallen down on his knees.

After a handful of seconds, the shrieks from above ceased and the Skreechers released their grip on the stalactites and dive-bombed the party.

I could see how the Skreechers could be dangerous to a group of underpowered delvers even if they had numbers on their side.

Peter was down and helpless, Tommy could probably just about protect himself, but not much else. Lucas and Jackson, while coherent, would need to retrieve what they had dropped before they could put up any kind of defence. If Carl and Kelly hadn’t resisted the effects nobody would have been able to repel the first attack wave and Peter would likely have been killed.

Instead, the Crusader and Paladin raised their heater shields above their heads and deflected much of the incoming swarm. They flailed their backsword and mace as the Skreechers swept past and connected with a few of the flying creatures, more by good fortune than skill. But their actions protected their downed fellows, though their tightly packed formation likely had more to do with that than Carl and Kelly’s intent.

As the Skreechers flew past, the swarm split as it sought to turn about. When several of the swarm came near Shana and me, I swiped my scimitars at the opportune targets.

I sliced the head clean off one of them, killing it instantly. And cut into the scaly skin of the wings of two more, which caused them to hit the floor hard.

Hit! You have inflicted 17 piercing damage and 12 points of cold damage to Skreecher #4.

Hit! You have inflicted 17 piercing damage and 12 points of cold damage to Skreecher #5.

Shana darted forward with the ice dagger I had made for her this morning and stabbed the prone creatures to death. Three down, seventeen more to go.

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