Chapter 3.15 STARGATE

The road north of Dustgrove

4th Dreamday of the Full Moon

Flea and his companion left the protection of the inn’s ruins and headed outside. Looking around, they couldn’t find their Dengre anywhere. Walking around to the back of the inn still didn’t reveal Than’ro’s location. As the duo was walking towards a small hill on the other side of the road, they heard tree limbs snapping from behind them. Turning around, they watched as a massive boar came crashing through the trees and into the field between them.

A moment later, they heard the laughter of Than’ro coming from within the forest, and then the giant yellow man came sprinting out of the woods with a large tree limb in his hand. Seeing the boar turn around to face him, Than’ro charged towards the animal and swung the tree limb like slugging a baseball. The massive boar flew into the air, landing with a thud twenty or so feet away from the Gnome and cat. The boar never moved again.

“Oh! Flea and Bob back! I find food!” shouted Than’ro at seeing the duo behind the now-dead boar.

The giant yellow man walked up to the dead beast and grabbed it by one of its legs. Than’ro then dragged it over to the ruined inn and left it there. A few minutes later, the Dengre came back from the forest with a few whole trees in his grasp. Than’ro then tried to create a fire by smacking two large rocks together, but they would not spark.

“Let me try, Than’ro.”

“Alright. Than’ro give up.”

Flea removed the fire starter from his cooking kit and had a smaller fire going within a minute. Flea and Bob ran into the forest and got some kindling to keep the fire going till the large trees caught.

Less than an hour later, they had a massive fire going. Surprisingly, Than’ro butchered the boar like a pro and soon had it hanging over the fire on a spit. Flea had never noticed the Dengre had a blade in his boot.

“How did you learn to dress the boar and cook it, Than’ro?”

“Baba show Than’ro when small. All village children learn.”

A few hours later, the boar was finished cooking. Than’ro tore off one of the hind legs and passed it to Flea. The hunch of meat was almost as big as the Gnome. Taking out a dagger, Flea began to carve large strips of the cooked flesh off and put them into his inventory. When there was nothing but bone left, Than’ro casually tossed it into the forest. Flea removed two pieces of the still-hot flesh from his bag and handed one to Bob. Biting into the meat, Flea couldn’t believe the taste. The boar had a sweet and sour taste, as if it had already been marinated.

After the Gnome and cat watched Than’ro eat the rest of the massive beast, they began heading north again. Looking up at the sun high above them, Flea figured it was around noon. The sky was clear and crystal blue. To the west sat a massive body of water. Flea figured it was probably a sea or a vast lake. Ahead of them, they could finally see the beginning of mountains peaking over the horizon.

“How many miles do you think those mountains are from us, Bob?”

“I don’t have enough information. On Earth, you can see mountains a hundred miles away in clear conditions such as this. If Mea is six times larger, it’s possible they are over ten times that. Right now, all I can see are the tops of a few mountains. Depending on how tall they are, we have anywhere from a few days of travel up to a week,” explained Bob.

“Tiny kitty have big brain,” said Than’ro.

Than’ro kept walking as Flea and Bob sat on his shoulders. The tiny companions didn’t seem to bother the large man as he kept walking. A couple of hours later, they came to a small crossroad. At the crossing, there was a worn-down sign. The top part of the sign had Fringtel Mountain pass pointing north. The second sign pointed east and said Stuglegen. The third pointed back south and had Dustgrove, while the fourth part had been broken off.

“Than’ro, could you please pick the part of the sign that fell on the ground, please?”

As the Dengre bent over, the Gnome and cat almost fell off his shoulders. Both needed to grab his shirt to stay on the man. Than’ro picked up the wooden board and stood back up.

“Sorry, forgot not hold you,” said the Dengre.

“No worries, buddy,” said Flea patting him.

Than’ro turned over the worn wooden panel in his hands for Flea to see. The words World Dungeon were engraved and darkened on the board.

“Let’s take a detour and check it out?” asked Bob.

“I can use some change of pace. Than’ro, let's follow the smaller trail west.”

“You da boss,” said Than’ro.

The group journeyed down the small trail towards what Flea assumed was the body of water they saw earlier. Around an hour later, they came over yet another hill to their final destination. At the end of the trail sat the dungeon entrance, a giant stone carving in the shape of a hollowed-out circle. However, the area in the ring was not empty. A blue substance shimmered slightly with the wind, giving the impression of water filled to the brim of a stone cup.

“A stargate!” shouted Bob.

“I doubt it’s a stargate, Bob. There have been games where dungeons are behind gates such as those,” Flea said as he held in a laugh.

As the group drew closer, Flea noticed the grass around the gate had been trampled down. It looked like others had recently been around the gate, but no more than five or ten feet from the portal.

“How do we do this? Can you ask the others if anyone’s done a dungeon?” asked Flea.

Bob tilted his head for a moment before speaking up.

“Kinetic says Barricade entered a dungeon on day five. That is how he was able to level so fast. His reward for finishing the dungeon was his Guardian Egg which he used for himself. He also says there should be a green Crystal inside which will allow us to register with the dungeon,” said Bob.

“What about Than’ro? Can he join us?”

Bob shrugged.

“Than’ro, do you want to try and beat the dungeon with us? It’s up to you. If you don’t want to, we can make a camp out here for you.”

“Than’ro not afraid. Dungeons gift worth beating them.”

“Well, there we have it. I’m first, always wanted to try this,” said Bob as he tapped the surface of the water.

The cat then walked through the gate. A few moments later, Flea and Than’ro followed. The experience was instant; one moment, they were out in an open area. The next, they were standing inside a large sandstone brick building right out of Egypt. Looking around, Flea noticed the large room was not empty.

The building had as many as thirty or so occupants. Along the walls, Flea noticed what looked like merchant stalls. Turning around, Flea made sure the exit was there, and they hadn’t gotten themselves trapped wherever they were. To his relief, the stargate-looking dungeon portal was there.

Flea tried not to make eye contact with anyone as the three of them crossed the room and passed through the only exit he could see. Exiting the building, Flea was amazed to find sunny skies, a blistering heat, and a massive city of tents and structures sprawling in all directions from them.

“Maybe I was wrong, Bob. That sure as hell acted like a stargate,” said Flea.

Flea looked down to see a big grin on the cat’s face. The exit opened up to a small square plaza made of the same sandstone as the building. At its center was a familiar green Crystal. Flea walked up to the green Crystal and placed his hand on it.

You have registered with the Akhetaten Dungeon Crystal.

“Excuse us!” someone shouted from behind them.

Turning around, Flea was greeted by a group of four. If looks could kill, anyone in this group would have done so in seconds.

“Yes?” asked the now nervous Flea, suddenly quite aware of his shoddy record when first appearing at crystals.

“Where did you guys come from?” asked a large dark-red and white Centaur, with a massive two-handed sword strapped to his back.

“Umm... from the gate thing against the wall.”

“We know that. I mean, what region of Mea did you come from?” asked the Centaur.

“Oh. Does the gate connect to many places?”

“Are you new to The Games?” asked a young-looking female Elf.

“Yes, only been playing a few weeks. This was our first time entering a dungeon,” explained Flea.

“Oh, we got us some new blood. Well then, let’s find a place to eat, and our group will explain how things work. Before we leave tho, everyone’s waiting on your response to my question. Where did you guys come from?”

“Dustgrove was the last town we were in. Stuglegen is close by too.”

“Stuglegen Territory!” the Centaur shouted to the crowd behind them.

A group of mostly Elves cheered and began running in all directions. The remaining people looked disappointed and slowly dispersed.

Seeing the Gnome’s questioning look, the Centaur said they would explain over some food. The group of four with looks to kill seemed to be some of the nicest people Flea had met so far. He had gotten no indication or warnings from Bob, so he followed the four down one of the many streets which led away from the stargate building. The four adventurers talked about various things, but Flea had no idea what any of it meant.

The Elf said they would take them to the inn they were staying at and recommend they booked a room there as well. As they walked, the Centaur slowed a bit till he was even with Than’ro and put an arm around the Dengre’s shoulders.

“Man, what level are you? I bet you could punt a Kobold a mile or two with a swing of a club.”

Than’ro began to giggle like a little boy as he put his hands to his mouth.

“That funny, but mean to little dragon-kin.”

The Centaur gave him a funny look, then looked down at the Gnome. Flea seeing the look, began to speak.

“Than’ro is a Dengre. His race has ‘Fallen.’ He's also not very old from what we can tell, so please excuse him.”

“Ah, no worries! You’ll be fine, Than’ro. The dungeon is only a level 10, so no need to worry,” said the Centaur, patting Than’ro on the shoulder.

“Thank you,” said Than’ro.

The group arrived at the inn soon after, and Flea understood why the adventurers had chosen it. The door had to be twice as tall as the Dengre or Centaur. The inn was built with the larger races in mind. Soon the group of seven was sitting down at a table in a corner. Flea and Bob climbed up a small set of stairs to reach booster seats on the same table as the Dengre and Centaur.

“So, as this is your first delve into a dungeon, we’ll let you know how things work here and let you decide on what to do. As I’m sure you already figured out, the portal you entered is a World Dungeon Gate. When the water fills the stone circle, the gate can transport those to the area around a dungeon and vice versa.”

“That would explain why it looked like someone had come out and walked around the ring only,” said Flea.

“Good eyes! Now here is the part you need to listen to carefully. The World Dungeons are on the moons that have been or are still above Mea. If you want to return to where you’ve come from, then you need to leave in…” the Centaur said and stopped talking. He looked to try to do math in his head but quickly gave up and turned to the female Elf.

“You have until the 5th Waterday or five days from now,” the Elf said.

“Yes, you have five days before the World Dungeon Gate closes and reopens somewhere else on Mea.”

“So this entire world or moon is a dungeon? We have five days to clear it and leave, or get stuck here waiting for our territory to open up again like those back at that building?” asked Flea.

“Partially correct. The entire world isn’t a dungeon. The dungeon’s entrance is located not far from the gate’s temple where you entered.”

“Is there a town Crystal here as well then?” asked Flea.

“No, only the green dungeon Crystals show up on the moons. It prevents those who are stuck here from using them to travel. Towns like this one are made up mostly of those who are waiting for the gate here to connect to one near their homes on Mea,” explained the Centaur.

Flea found out the four of them had been an adventurer group for a couple of phases now. They had gotten stuck here when one of their party’s Dwarves died on what would have been their last dungeon run. The group didn’t want to leave him behind, so they decided to stay. Since then, they have kept running the dungeon while waiting for their territory gate to come back up. The group makes plenty of money selling the Brilliant Cores found off of the dungeon’s last boss to the traders who show up, more often than not, when the gate changes territories.

The group explained each World Dungeon Gate on Mea re-opened every couple of weeks and could connect to any of the moons’ thousands of dungeons. Flea also learned dungeons gave the best reward the first time players cleared the dungeon, and that monsters gave only cores and mob parts. As far as dungeon denizens went, Akhetaten was made up of large scarab-looking monsters called Dynast, and each floor had various bosses that could show up.

As the conversation transitioned over to what drinking game to play tonight, Flea excused himself. He made his way over to the front desk, currently manned by a sleepy-looking Raccoon Beastkin. Flea rented a room with three beds and paid for the five nights. That would give them a comfortable place to rest before they would need to head back out the World Dungeon Gate.