Dungeon Crawl

by Drew Jager

  "Greetings. Today is the day we begin sending people into the Dungeon. Know that should you become injured, or a team..."

  * * *

  Back to present, Joy waits with Holly in front of the Dungeon.

  The Gigant, Holly, looked nervously at the small Life Crystals in her hand.

  "How long are you going to stare like that? It's starting to freak me out." Joy, the woman beside her, whispers.

  They were both standing guard at the entrance of the Dungeon, their new job location for the foreseeable future. For a Dungeon entrance it was definitely one of the creepiest. The statues ringing around the hole in the ground were all depictions of vicious monsters the likes of which she had never seen, and she had seen a lot. One in particular almost resembled what she knew of a Dragon, except with far more eyes. She supressed a shudder, she couldn't show any weakness infront of the new Adventurers.

  "I'm just so worried...this is the fourth group of F ranks we sent in, and already we lost one team and the other two came out missing a member. I just don't want to lose any more of these little cuties." One of the men waiting in line with his group to enter the Dungeon cringed at her comment, and her mood soured even more. Everybody was unnecessarily rude to Holly, who had only shown them kindness. She knew the Gigant would never say that they hurt her though, she was the toughest woman she knew. Aside from the Guild Master maybe, that Beast-woman was closer to a monster now though.

  "They knew what they were getting into. Although I do admit, the things the groups that came out have said do intrigue me. I wonder what this 'Silver Tree' is? Why does everyone come out babbling about hidden snakes, and why on Bermin do they all have injured legs?" Joy knew injuries were to be expected. When the last two groups came out of the Dungeon without having even reached the boss and all had vicious spines and unhealthy doses of venom in their legs, she knew something was strange.

  It was a Dungeon though, so strange was the name of the game.

  Just as her introspective thoughts came to a close, she watched all four of the Life Crystals in Holly's large hand turn red. It seemed as though something managed to injure all of them at once, and she had an idea as to what. Every so often, she, as well as everyone else waiting outside, heard what resembled an echo of a scream that seemed to reverberate out of the Dungeon. It was definitely not the scream of a Sentient.

  A few of the Adventurers near the back seemed to actually be sweating in nervous anticipation. None of the groups sent in so far had even reached the Boss, and it seemed like this group would not be any different.

  After another minute of Holly stamping back and forth in worry, the group of four F rank Adventurers emerged from the Entrance. Blood leaking from their ears, but otherwise unscathed. Aside from the torn up armor on their legs, that was just par for the course though.

  Joy could tell who they were just by the sound of their voices now. Those two Humans were especially creative with their speech.

  "I fucking told you Jared, don't try to pet the god damn birds. Because of you, now we have to go speak to that monstrous Cleric."

  "It'll be the first action you've seen in over a decade, you should be thanking me." Jared retorted. His ears were in the worst state of the four by far.

  The two other Adventurers roped into their group weren't even listening, they seemed to have mastered the ability to tune them out.

  Joy felt a twinge of pity for them, but she knew they chose those two for their ability to cooperate. Joy had helped oversee all the formation of the F ranked Adventuring groups during the caravan ride over. She got to know many of the people standing in front of her personally, and she knew many of them would not survive the next week.

  Holly nearly crushed the two bickering men as they exited in her attempt to be the first to check their wounds.

  "Um...we missed you too?" Kevin whispered out between Holly's forearms, which were currently wrapped tightly around their waists. They weren't going anywhere until she had given them an all clear.

  "Take your pants off." She said.

  "If you've got enough coin sure." Jared replied automatically. He regretted his words immediately, he knew better than to test her. Joy just smiled as Holly sighed and removed his pants to look at their injured legs.

  "Surprising. No bite marks on these ones Joy. It looks like the information the other groups provided might not be true." Holly remarked. The groups before them had all warned of the Monsters abnormal tendency to go for the legs.

  Holly finished giving them a head to toe inspection on the spot, causing many of the other Adventurers to blush at her methods. Most of their group seemed uncomfortable with her intense inspections, but the Human Jared seemed to be relishing the attention. As they were leaving she swore she saw him wink at the Cleric.

  "They only got as far as the Flower room, at least that was what they called it. How far did those other groups get?" Holly asked.

  "The second group said they got as far as the Flower room as well, the third said they stopped after an especially long trapped hallway. The first group we sent in... Well, they never came out so we can't be sure."

  Joy turned towards the next group of Adventurers and felt her ears perk up at who they were. She knew if any group had a chance of making it farther in, it would be these ones. "Link your Crystals to Holly, then you may go in."

  The one D rank and two F rank Adventurers nodded once. Then they moved past the horrific statues of the entrance, and started their first Dungeon Dive together.

  * * *

  Congratulations!

  You have reached Level 4!

  Mana is now 40/40

  Mana Regeneration is now 20/d

  Will was still giggling about the latest entrants into his Dungeon when he heard a chime and the blue screen popped into his vision. He cleared it away with a flick of his thoughts and stared expectantly at the entrance to his Dungeon. He knew it was good he had levelled, but Bel had told him to expect it over the course of the day, so he was not surprised. That marked the fourth group of Adventurers the Guild had sent him, and none had dissapointed.

  One group just flat out died in the Flower room after they ran head first into two Howlers and the sister Spinebacks. The other lost a member to his hidden snake in the Ore room, and then left after reaching the Flower room. The third just cut their losses after an unfortunate Falling Boulder trap in his Trapped tunnel. The final group was his favorite, as the members had given him fantastic ideas on new nicknames for Two-legs. They tried to capture one of his Howlers, for what reason he had no idea, and it was hilarious. They left after that, but he knew they would come back so he didn't send any of his Serpents to harry them as they left.

  Bel for her part was freely crying on the top of his Crawl, she had been having just as much fun as he had. It may have been morbid to laugh at the pain and death of others, but this was how Mr.Blue had made him, and subsequently made them. So he decided to roll with it for now.

  She rolled onto her stomach on top of his Crawl with a mischievous gleam in her eye, "Are you ready to see what we got from all those Two-legs?"

  Will felt his mood better even more, "I'm ready Sweetheart, let's see what they so graciously donated." She just smiled and took on a glassy eyed expression.

  "From the four groups of Adventurers we got...Some basic leather armor, as well as cloth. Not much metal armor on any of them aside from the odd metal plate on their shoes. You got a lot of new kinds of shoes. Some basic weapons, as well as a few utility items. It looks like one of them gave us a Water Crystal. Before you ask, it's used with a Sentient's affinity to help them fight better. You got a flask of water, so we finally have water now. It's about time!"

  Will was ecstatic, but he had expected all of this. "Don't leave me hanging Bel. What about from the recently crushed Hero?"

  She just smirked. "We got a fancy kind of Uncommon wood called Ebony. It was in the handle of the Two-legs dagger. The blade was Silver, but we already had that. The Dagger also had an Air C
rystal. Lucky you! Over time a Dungeon will get every Crystal imaginable, and maybe even make their own. For now though, both of the Crystals you got work well with our Dungeon's affinity. He also gave us... Some fancy cloth." She had stopped listing the items after she reached what she was waiting for.

  She was spinning on the spot, and Will was happy for her. Also annoyed that she only went as far to say 'Fancy Cloth'.

  "What is it actually called?" He asked, trying to reign her in.

  She blushed, then whirled on him and said, "It's called Silk, and is an Uncommon tier item. Most Nobles use it under their armor to make the pieces more comfortable. It doesn't provide much protection at all, as it's really thin. It is SUPER soft though."

  Will took the hint, and decided to make some of the Silk in the Crawl room. Thanks to the last few Adventurers his resources had sky rocketed. He didn't see himself running out anytime soon. With that in mind he took a look at the Silverbark Bed he had created so long ago, and covered it end to end in a small strip of the new cloth.

  He also added a little to one of the shelves in his Crawl room, he liked how it looked.

  The cloth was a snow white color, and Bel wasted no time snuggling up under the sheets and smiling at him from her bed. It was adorable.

  Will hesitated for a moment, then asked what he had been holding off on for a while now. "Bel... What about the Treant?"

  He had caught her in a good mood apparently. "It's still way too early to put something like that in the Dungeon. I guess it couldn't hurt if it stayed in the Crawl room. ONLY, if we make sure no Adventurers see it. A first floor Dungeon has no business having a Unique plant so early on."

  He knew she may change her mind at any moment, so he was ready. He mentally slammed the button that could create things from his resources, and moved to make a Treant. He could only have one per floor, so he expected something amazing.

  He was not disappointed.

  Due to the Unique nature of the Plant the Dungeon is about to create (Treant), the Dungeon may only have (1) per floor. As the Treants are a recognized Monster race, once created, it will become Bound to the Dungeon. Bound Monsters may leave the Dungeon for a short time if they so choose, but cannot be recreated upon death should they die outside of the Dungeon.

  If the Dungeon still wishes to create the Bound Monster (Treant), the amount of Bound Monster slots available to the Dungeon becomes (0).

  Bound Monsters - 0/1

  "Yes. Please." Will whispered in excitement.

  He focused on creating the Treant, and watched as over three fourths of his Resources disappeared in an instant, then he saw golden-green light coalesce in one of the corners of his Crawl room. A small stalk of green shot up out of the ground.

  "Bel! It's happening!" He was pumped up, but Bel seemed nervous.

  "I didn't think it would become a Bound Monster... Will, we can't let it leave the Dungeon. Not yet at least. This is way more advanced than what is normal for a first floor Dungeon. Whatever this plant turns into, we need to make sure it understands this. Bound Monsters choose to stay. So if it wanted, it could choose to leave. Not to mention you only get one Bound Monster per floor, so I hope this was the right choice..." She didn't seem very happy, but he could tell she was still very interested in what would happen to the small green sapling emerging in the Crawl room.

  Will watched in fascination as the stalk seemed to twist and curl into itself over and over. Each time adding a new layer to it's body. Soon the green stalk that resembled a sapling turned into a tiny tree.

  The tree continued to warp and fold onto itself until distinct features were able to be seen. Will could see what resembled legs forming together out of the roots, creating a tiny pair of feet for the tree to walk on. The torso was defined by rich brown wood and intricate patterns on the bark, then the arms followed. Miniature leaves sprouted all along the arms and hands that had formed, as well as on the Treants back. The face was what interested him the most though. The wood making up the body seemed to darken at the head in certain areas, until he realized it was sinking back into the wood, creating facial features. He could see what resembled two small eyes, a tiny indent for a nose. As well as a thin line forming for lips and a mouth. It had distinctly sharp cheeks. Leaves sprouted from small twigs all across the top of it's head, giving the fledgling Treant a vertiable mane of leafy green hair. The wood for its body was a gorgeous dark brown, similar to some of the trees in Grizzly's room.

  All in all, there was a new life in the Dungeon. Bel had stopped worrying after seeing the size of the new member. She was now circling the 1 foot tall Monster, ruffling the leaves on the top of its head while it watched on passively. It observed Bel for a while longer, then turned towards his Crawl.

  It shambled toward him, but then fell face first into the dirt. New legs take some time to get used to apparently.

  Bel squealed, but didn't interfere. She just flew to the side and cheered it on as it slowly hobbled towards Will.

  Once it reached the base of the pillar Will's Crawl was resting on, it stopped. It seemed to be admiring the carvings on the pillar. It took in the images of the crudely drawn trees, and the visages of Wils attempts at what a Deer would look like. All of this information was taken in silently, then the Treant slowly reached up.

  He was worried the new addition wouldn't complete its mission until he saw the roots on the legs extend upwards, propelling the small Monster towards him.

  Neat. I wonder if it can do that with all of its body?

  Once eye level, it seemed to hesitate. Will could almost feel the nervousness in the air as the Treant stared directly at his Crawl. He couldn't help himself though, seeing the Treant up close had highlighted for him just how cute it was.

  The small face, the tiny leaves all over its body. It was so frail, but he could see the power in the limbs that pushed it upwards, towards the unkown. He laughed in excitement, and Bel joined in with him at the absurdity of the situation they found themselves in.

  The Treant took in the emotions of its creators, and the line of its mouth split open wide, revealing a tiny smile. It then wrapped all of the roots of its hands around the Crawl and smiled again, basking in the warmth of its creator.

  A tiny voice sounded out in the Crawl room, "Father."

  Will couldn't even stop himself if he tried, he just screamed.

  Bel screamed too, but not in shock, in unrestrained glee.

  Chapter 12 - Sol

  A few healthy screams later, Will felt composed enough to respond to this latest development.

  "Bel, why didn't you tell me it could talk?" He whispered towards her. The Treant turned its tiny head toward him when he spoke though.

  That thing has some strong hearing, for a tree anyway. I wonder if my other trees can hear me... I'll try talking to one later.

  Bel, for her part, just smiled and said, "Most if not all plants won't, by some miracle you managed to get one of the very few with any meaningful intelligence. Mom never told me much about the Treant Monster race because the odds of a Dungeon getting one are really low. The fact you got it at all, let alone on the first floor, is just not normal."

  Great, I feel much better now. He thought sarcastically.

  Will knew he was flying blind here, so he decided to ask the source. He turned his full attention towards the tiny Treant and asked, "Can you understand me?"

  It didn't seem to be much for talking, as it just nodded. All the leaves on the top of its head and back shimmered with the movement.

  "Not one for talking... huh?" He felt a little absurd talking to a tree now.

  Another head shake for the affirmative.

  Bel swooped down from the top of his Crawl and went right into the Treants face. "Do you know what you are? Why you're here?"

  The little tree didn't do much for a solid minute as it contemplated the most likely detailed answer it would give.

  "Yes."

  Bel let out a loud harrumph and tried again, "You are a Bound Mons
ter, which means when the time comes you can leave the Dungeon. If you do though, me and Will can't take care of you. The outside is dangerous for something like you..." She trailed off as small tears formed in her eyes. She seemed a little over emotional towards the new guest and Will wasn't sure why.

  The Treant just took a long look at her, then around the rest of the Crawl room. After what was most likely some intense deliberation, it spread the fingers on its tiny hands outwards.

  "Home."

  After its declaration, the fingers of its hands extended out towards Bel. The leaf tipped nail brushed against the side of the Guides cheek, and wiped away the small tear that had formed.