Chapter 4: NPC friend!

The Dungeon reminded me of mid-European mountain valleys, if the towns and farms had been replaced with thick forests. For the first ten minutes or so, I allowed myself to calmly enjoy the scenery and take in the sights, relishing in the small wonders of the alien plants and strangely shaped castle ruins.

Okay, not exactly. I actually had a mini breakdown over the portal disappearing behind me and over my dumb bimbo ass not even trying to have sex before traipsing into the deep end. Sure, the System assured me that I could retreat at any point (I’d set ‘Bazinga’ as my safe word), but having milk on hand doesn’t make the trying habaneros any less intimidating.

After repeatedly failing at composing my nerves, I decided to press on regardless and left the little ruined I’d spawned in. A set of stairs set against a wall led me uphill, from where I could hear the lazy bleating of sheep, or something else... Despite kinda wanting to be ravished, my instinct was to approach with caution and I pressed my back against the worn rocks, sneaking forward as silently as my sandals allowed. It turned out to be unnecessary.

Five regular sheep populated the overgrown remnants of what might have once been a library, or a kitchen. Hard to tell with grass and plants everywhere. Hanging upside down from a tree was a petite girl with big fluffy dog ears, a walking stick, and a parka. [Lumi the Cursed Trapper. Friendly.] hovered over her. 

Handiwork that had earned her the title was spread all over the room. At the top of the stairs lay a thick noose ‘hidden’ under two strands of hay. Crude tripwires ran across the opening, all of them either in plain sight or so crudely hidden they might as well have been.  

“Oh no! Woe is me, boohoo!” Lumi bemoaned dramatically, rotating as she dangled from an ankle. “If only I was so fortunate as to happen across a strapping adventuress willing to help me.”

I blinked. A little on the nose, but oh well. She must’ve been an NPC, or whatever magical equivalent the System had cooked up to entertain the adventurers. Either way, it was a pretty obvious hook and I was still looking for a line to follow so why the heck not? I bit.

“Um, ahoy stranger?” I stepped over the shoddy trap, giving Lumi a small wave. “Can I help?”

“Oh joy and praise, kind stranger! Please, if I might trouble you. It seems I’ve gotten entangled in a peril of my own making.”

Cheesy, but kinda cute, I decided, picking up a knife from below the tree and cutting Lumi free. She tumbled down and stood, shaking herself to shed grass of her hair and parka.  

“Biggest thanks! Please, keep the knife as a reward for your act of benevolence.”

 

[Knife acquired. You can stove loot on your person. All items held by you when you exit will exit the Dungeon with you.]

 

So no inventory system. Figures. One of the folks chilling at the entrance had carried a big backpack. Lumi handed me a sheath and a belt to stove the knife with and I strapped them on my hip, already looking like a semi respectable… Yeah okay, I wasn’t looking anything like an adventuress yet, but I did look a bit less like a promiscuous girl taking the walk of shame in last night’s party-dress. 

We exchanged quick introductions, after which Lumi burst into a monologue without prompting.

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“Prepare your heart and steel yourself, Gwenlyn, my friend, for I reveal now the dark reason behind all these traps of mine. Fortnight ago, a great beast of fur, claw, and ruthlessness fell upon the town of Ruffberg, and stole a number of our sheep and took them to the haunted depths of Ruinous Ruins. An expedition was launched to rescue our beloved fluffies, and ten brave Ruffbergians ventured here, only to never return. And so, I Lumi, daughter of Ruffberg’s chieftain, decided to take matters in my own hands and to entrap the beast! Now, I ask thee, brave adventuress Gewnlyn, will you lend me your strength and help me vanquish this horror!”

 

[Quest: Help Lumi rid the Ruinous Ruins of a mysterious beast. Reward: 1 point.]

 

“Uhuh.” I nodded, ruffling the neckwool of a sheep who came to poke my leg. “Sure. What do I need to-”

 

[Quest accepted.]

 

“-do. Oh. Alrighty. I swear to try my best, but how do I say this… I’m new, and not exactly handy with a knife.” Though given the nature of this Dungeon I doubted that’d be a problem. Most likely, I’d end up pinned down and used by this beast. Hooo boy, it was starting to get hot again. Please be a girl or a futa, I prayed.

Lumi smiled. “Rest assured, adventuress Gwenlyn, you need not fight this battle by yourself. If you lack the skills in combat, perhaps you can instead add to the cunning of my trap.” She hefted a bundle of hemp rope. “Sheep the beast may have ignored, but an adventuress will be a temptation too great for it to ignore.”

Sound of rope snapping taut made me flinch and sent a hot throb under my panties and felt the fabric get a little wet. Finally, I understood what ZJ had meant when she joked about going sploosh. 

Being a terminally horny genderbent virgin that I was, I peeped ‘okay’ and invited a melodramatic Dungeon NPC truss me up as monster bait.

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