Chapter 32

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[Sigurd]

We made it up to the entrance of the dungeon at a leisurely pace, getting there in the early afternoon. I wasn’t expecting the dungeon to have kept the bodies lying around, most didn’t, but sometimes they did and that was what we were here for. To see if we could recover them. I also wanted to check for the eagle, having not seen it yet. I doubted the claims of how dangerous it was, but I didn’t think they had made it up. Odd, I would have thought it would have attacked me before now. Since we were only going to the first floor, we hadn’t brought anything with us beyond armour and weapons and so we didn’t prepare or anything, we just walked straight in, mindful of the steps.

It was such a dick move to put the steps in the dark mist of the entrance.

As the world broke over us, I was just as awed by at as I was the first time. I doubted I would ever get used to seeing the huge cavern. To the life that lived I the dungeon. It was just bizarre.

Still, I put it out of my mind, and we split up, taking a section of the floor each.

It took a half hour of searching the various trees - John and Indry being too shaken up to remember where in the floor it had occurred – before we found it. Not that ‘it’ was much.

“Over here!” Jackson called.

We rushed over, pushing through the grasses. When I got to him, I saw it, a bright red path of earth. Not a dusty red like that of soil, but a deep red. The red of blood-soaked ground. The bodies were nowhere to be seen.

We gave the area a more thorough search but there was nothing. No sign that they had been here, save for the red patch of course.

I sighed.

“Guess we can head back then, they’re gone.”

“Yep”

“Mmmhmm”

We trudged out of the entrance, up the stairs and stood outside of the dungeon for a while.

“Oh, shit, we forgot about the eagle, we should see if we can find it”

“oh yeah, hopefully there’s some cool loot too.” I laughed at that. Typical Kael.

We had been searching for half an hour when we found it, courtesy of Jenna’s sense life spell. The spell had only a short range, so we had to be virtually underneath it to sense it, but we did. A small alcove cut into the roof. From the exit of the floor you could just see the edges of its nest and the side of one wing. It was no wonder I hadn’t noticed it. Very well disguised indeed.

Kael took to the challenge of climbing one of the living trees while we gave it a harsh pruning, lopping off all of the moving branches. He reached the top easily, not being a particularly difficult climb and looked out towards the nest.

Luckily, or perhaps intentionally, one of the thicker branches extended towards the nest. An easy path for the rogue. Kael walked along the branch with as much ease as I walked along a road and paused, just an arm span away from the nest.

Much as any animal would, the eagle didn’t like someone being so close to its nest, and so it attacked leading with its talons and flapping its wings around.

As it swooped down at him, Kael snapped out a dagger and cut it down. Sending a scattering of feathers gliding gently to the floor. He caught the eagle, looked at it for a moment.

“Catch” he said, throwing it down.

A few moments later, he scampered down, clutching a few jewels and coins in his hands.

“Look at this, a veritable bounty for floor one, it’s a sweet find.” He said, showing us. The find was small as compared to the lower floors, but still a huge haul for a beginning adventurer.

The eagle turned out to be just a normal eagle, but with sharper talons and that was it, not the huge challenge the boys had implied, as I had suspected. It was just bad luck and no training that had led to their deaths.

Sad, but it was expected for newbies, the guild would clamp down on it when they got here, and having seen more of the dungeon, I suspected that they would be here in force.

We turned to exit the dungeon again and to carry the unfortunate news back to town, marching up the steps and walking through the black mist that shrouded the entrance in mystery.

Walking down the mountain, we passed the rocky section that was just below the entrance when Kael stopped suddenly. I stumbled into him and was about to shout at him when he slapped a hand over my mouth, putting a finger over his mouth and shushing me.

He cocked his ear, trying to hear better.

“People, below us.” He whispered. We stepped back, trying to stay quiet.

As they drew closer to us, I listened in, closing my eyes to focus.

“It’s got to be around here somewhere. We’re at the edge of the tree line and the rocky cliff side is just there” a male voice said.

“Well keep bloody looking, the master will be most displeased if we fail him. Just find the dungeon!” another replied.

A few moments later they spoke up again, much louder this time. “There it is, just round the corner”

“Good, lets get inside, grab that core and get it back to master before he decides to punish us.”

“Why do you think he wants the core?”

“Why do you think I know you fucking egit, it’s probably a source of power or something. Who cares? If he wants it, he can have it. You go ask him if you care so much. Idiot.”

“No need to be so tetchy, we’re here now. It’s a new dungeon it’ll be easy to grab it and go.”

“Well that’s not good” I whispered to the others.

“No, not good at all. We can’t let them get the core.” Sebastien replied. “There’s no telling what they plan with it, but I doubt its anything good. Kael, head back up we’ll confront them, I want you to kill whoever looks most dangerous.”

“Ok” he said, sliding backwards and fading from view in short order.

We nervously stood in wait hearing the group draw closer. When we heard their boots marching on the rocky ground we stepped out from the edge of the cliff until we spanned across the path.

The motley crew of would be dungeon killers rounded the corner and stopped short, taken aback by the adventurers that blocked their way.

They were dressed like brigands, poor quality leather armour, sloppily stitched together studded with metal rivets. Cheap to produce in quantity and good enough for outfitting your minions. Only the leader had better, though not of the quality that they themselves possessed.

The bandits carried a variety of weapons from clubs and cudgels to swords and axes, none well maintained. Though how well you could maintain a club was up for debate, it being a bat with nails driven through it.

“Who are you lot?” The leader asked in a gruff voice, hostility and anger his foremost emotion.

“The guild sent us to examine the dungeon, we have done so and are going to report back. I’m afraid you have wasted a trip, its closed for now, closed until the guild get here.” Sebastien replied diplomatically.

“Its closed is it lads?” he laughed. “Well, we’d best go home then.” They laughed with him. “No, that’s not going to happen.”

“I’m sorry sir, but the guild hasn’t vetted the dungeon yet. As you well know, the laws place unregistered dungeons under the control of the guild, until a team of registered adventurers can examine the dungeon. A cursory examination has just been conducted, but the guild has yet to release the dungeon for public use. As a guild member I cannot allow you to enter the dungeon before the full examination has been carried out.”

“Oh, a sir, am I?” they laughed again. “Listen you poncey spoon-fed prat, I don’t care what the guild says, they aren’t here, I am going into that dungeon and no mincing fop and his merry band of sycophants is going to stop me. Move!” Anger clouded his words and though Sebastien stayed calm the rest of us shifted about, prepping our weapons.

“As I said, you cannot enter the dungeon, not only is it not open for public use, but dungeon killers are criminals that should be apprehended at all costs. Leave or face us and die!” Sebastien retorted finally letting emotion colour his words.

“So be it, men kill them.” As the words left the leaders mouth, an arrow whistled past us, slamming into his jaw, and sending him stumbling back over the edge. Needless to say, he didn’t rise again. Dead.

We charged forwards, weapons swinging and blood flying. Being shorter, I stayed on the outside, aiming for the one armed with a cross bow. He looked nervous and so I wasn’t too worried about the projectile. I swung my axe, cutting through his arms and making kindling of his cross bow before swiping back and removing his head.

Sensing an attack from my left I rolled over the headless man, catching only a shallow cut on my rump from the sword swinging thug who had attacked me. Getting to my feet I spun, just in time to see the head of a bolt slam out of his neck. He pitched forwards with a rasping cough.

A saluted Kael before charging into the battle again, cutting down a man fighting Jackson from behind before Jackson and I each took an arm from the last one. With one swing of his axe, Jackson cut the armless fellow in half, breathing heavily as the mans’ torso slid off his legs with a wet slap to land upon the floor, blood leaking out and seeping into the ground.

Catching my breath, I looked around. Fifteen dead bodies laid upon the ground, all of them bandits. My cut had been healed by Jenna and no one was injured.

“Nice work. Makes this day feel a little better. Dungeon Killers are scum” Lorelei commented, spitting on one of them. I laughed.

“Should we clean up the bodies?” I asked, “feels rude to leave them on the path.”

“Uh, just chuck ‘em in the dungeon I guess.” Jackson replied.

We laughed again, and did just so, chucking them in the dungeon to be absorbed and turned into mana. A fitting end to some dungeon killers, feeding a dungeon.

We walked back to town with smiles on our faces and slept peacefully that night.

In the morning, the group headed back, bringing news to the guild, and I stayed in town to pass on the news and prepare everyone for the huge influx of adventurers and the changes to the town that would be happening shortly.

Very soon, Littlebrook would be unrecognisable, and I was looking forward to it, I was young still and I had rekindled my passion for delving. Hopefully, Sebastien and his group would be back, and we could delve together. If not, I guess I would set up a new group.

God, I’d missed it. The adrenaline, the rush of discovering loot and the feeling of battle, and this was the perfect dungeon for me. Bring it on.