by Konrad Ryan
Tad thanked the salesman and walked out of Grimoire’s Gear and Goods, exhausted but exhilarated. As they walked out of the dungeon, the oppressive atmosphere disappeared. Tad could breathe again.
Gruff thanked Tad for the equipment advice and left after giving Tad more details on when and where the next dungeon was located. Crowds of people parted to get out of Gruff’s way as he waved goodbye. Tad laughed at the scene. He felt content. He hadn’t felt like this in a long time. To create experiences with another person, with a friend. It felt superb.
Tad hoped he could make memories with Gruff for a long time.
Chapter 15
Tad was the first at the bright red dungeon on the roof of the three-story apartment building. He arrived early to beat everyone else there. He had been rushed into the last dungeon and wanted enough time to inspect this one.
Bright red tendrils flailed aimlessly from the surface of the dungeon until Tad approached. They reached to caress his skin, almost making contact before they evaporated into a crimson mist. The red smoke pooled to the ground then made its way back to the dungeon exterior. The way it found him gave Tad the creeps. There was something intelligent behind the motions. As if the dungeon were alive. Hungry. The red gleam of the dungeon was brighter than the previous dungeon had been. It was intense. Tad wasn’t sure if it meant anything. He circled the dungeon, inspecting it.
The dungeon door was gigantic. Made from cobblestones with a large iron ring as a door handle. The back was a round cobblestone mound that eventually met flush with the ground. It reminded Tad of a turtle shell emerging from a concrete lake. Tad held his breath as he gingerly placed his hand on the back of the dungeon exterior. A dangerous musical chime played in his mind.
*Warning! This dungeon has been failed once before. Warning!*
The hairs on the back of Tad’s neck stood erect. Another reminder this wasn’t a game; other slayers had already died inside. There was a deeper meaning to the warning than just to tell him other slayers had failed, but Tad didn’t understand what it was. Was this dungeon exceptionally dangerous? Or had it become more dangerous because of the failure? One thing for sure was he didn’t like the atmosphere of this dungeon. It was as if something sinister lurked inside, waiting… or feeding. Growing? A shiver ran down Tad’s back.
Tad circled to the front and inspected the strange script on the door that no man could read. It looked like the same script that had been on Wraithford’s cape. What information did those characters contain? Five gems settled in a shape that resembled a star. Another five-man dungeon. Besides the script, the only other symbol on the door was an unimposing symbol of a fluffy cloud. What it meant, Tad could only guess. Maybe Gruff would know.
Footsteps climbed the stairs as the door to the roof opened behind him. Scar and Becca walked through the door to the roof. Scar regarded him with a cool glare, his thoughts unreadable. Becca ignored him completely.
Tad sighed internally. They would be here first. The tension between him and Scar was more uncomfortable than the dungeon aura had been. Tad looked down at his immaculate white healer’s robes. He held a brown symbol-etched crook in hand. He finally looked the part of a slayer. At least one of a healer. His dungeon pouch sat on his hip, which held the light armor he’d bought. Two daggers hung from a belt cinched around his waist. The usual flowing robe looked more like a summer dress because of the belt. Tad thought he cut a striking figure, summer dress or not.
Scar ignored Tad as he approached the dungeon to inspect the symbols on the door. His visage darkened as he waved Becca over.
“You ever seen this before?”
“No… Brando might know though, he’s good with symbols.”
With the matter behind them, Becca and Scar began the practiced ritual of equipping themselves. From Becca’s dungeon pouch at her hip, small enough that it shouldn’t have fit two coins, she pulled out both her and Scar’s equipment. Becca helped Scar with his armor, securing each piece with ties and clamps. Piece by piece, Scar became the metal knight Tad had become accustomed to. Chain mail under a breastplate with armored sleeves and leggings. It was an entire process but didn’t take more than a few minutes with the pair’s enhanced speed.
The two-handed mosquito sword rested across Scar’s back, a faint green glow emitted from the small spherical slime-pommel. Besides the gargantuan weapon, Scar had a multitude of smaller swords and daggers strapped to his thighs, sides, and calves. He looked like a walking armory. Becca looked hardly equipped at all. She’d thrown on a tight-fitting shirt made from some silvery fabric. Gloves, boots, and leggings of the same material completed the set. Tad’s initial thought was the armor was too thin to offer proper protection. It practically looked like everyday clothes. But the metallic fabric gleamed mystically. It might even be more protective than Scar’s heavy armor. Strapped to her back was a crimson longbow, and a pair of rapiers adorned her side. She had no sheath for arrows. Tad had seen her materialize spectral arrows from thin air. She didn’t need physical ones.
Ten excruciating minutes later, Bunta and Gruff clambered up the stairs. Tad had tried small talk several times, only to be met with stony stares. It wasn’t his fault silence made him uncomfortable. Both Gruff and Bunta came fully geared as they climbed the stairs, but they performed the same routine check of the dungeon door. Gruff let out a slight grunt upon seeing the strange cloud symbol. He turned toward everyone else and pointed at it with a thick, meaty finger.
“Anyone seen this before?”
Everyone shook their heads. Scar grunted. “We were hoping you would know.”
Gruff pulled out his phone. The man spat several curses as he searched online for an answer. After a few minutes, Gruff let out a surprised grunt.
“That can’t be good. The symbol… it’s not here. Not on the DDD’s website or anywhere else I can find.”
Alarm shot through each member of the group like a ripple. Gruff casually held up his phone and took a picture, then fiddled with his phone some more.
“Well… What should we do? The city has put a $100,000 bounty on this dungeon, it’s apparently making residents nervous.” Gruff gave a knowing chuckle. “Not counting whatever we earn from plunder. If we don’t grab it up, then someone else will.”
Everyone hesitated. No one wanted to go in blind. Tad wasn’t sure it was the right moment to break the silence, but after a moment of hesitation he found his voice.
“I’m pretty sure a party has failed this dungeon already.”
Tad felt the stares of his party members.
Gruff looked troubled. “Can’t be. It just appeared two days ago, and no one signed up for it.”
Gruff turned to Bunta, muttering something Tad didn’t quite catch. Bunta nodded and disappeared back into the building. He returned a few minutes later, the owner of the building in tow.
Gruff’s imposing figure towered over the smaller man as he interrogated in growls. The owner cowered before Gruff, intimidated, but adamantly pointed toward a security camera hidden on the roof. The man pulled out his phone and scrubbed through the footage. After a minute, Gruff dismissed the smaller man with a grunt. The apartment owner disappeared faster than Bunta could have.
“The surveillance shows no one has even been up here besides the kid who first found it and the building’s owner. No one has gone inside.” Gruff paused for a moment before his gaze drilled into Tad. “You’ve been a surprise before, Kid, so if you know something, spill it.”
Tad froze. He couldn’t just say a video game alert popped up and told him that information.
“I sort of touched the dungeon and I kind of saw a group of five slayers go in… I’m not sure how to explain it.”
The air grew thicker. It was hard to breathe.
Gruff didn’t seem alarmed by Tad’s statement. “If that’s true, then this dungeon could be many times more difficult than a regular soldier dungeon.” Gruff scratched the fresh growth on his face. “No one knows why, but some dungeons are deceptive.
They glow red or blue or whatever, but the monsters within are a cut above the rest. Those instances almost always end in a party wipe.”
Gruff said it so casually that Tad almost doubted what he heard. A party wipe? As in, everyone died with no survivors? Tad’s stomach tightened with dread. The others looked no more comfortable. Except for Gruff. Gruff seemed unaffected. After a moment, Scar walked close to the dungeon and pointed at the symbols.
“The snake symbol isn’t here, so we can leave. Why don’t we just have a look around and leave if it gets dicey? Even if they are warrior rank monsters, Bunta should be able to cover our retreat.”
Becca and Gruff nodded. The argument made sense. But Bunta didn’t seem as convinced.
Scar continued, “well, how about we vote on it then?”
Gruff took a step forward. “No, it’s Bunta’s call. If we’re relying on him to get out of there, then he gets to make the call.”
Everyone looked to Bunta. His form flickered, but between blinks Tad could see that his usually pleasant demeanor was loaded with uncertainty. Bunta looked quickly at each member of the party, then back to the dungeon. Finally, Bunta nodded his head. Somehow, the party became even more tense.
Gruff took the lead. “In we go.” He sounded almost eager to get inside.
Gruff went first. He pulled the vast iron rings on the door as the ground beneath them shook. The stone door opened and black mist poured out. Bunta was next. Then Becca. Scar sneered at Tad before he disappeared himself. Tad approached the open door and grabbed the thick stone slab to stabilize himself while he built his courage. A sinister musical chime, almost like a laugh, rang through his mind.
*Warning! This dungeon has hidden mods. Warning!*
What! Why hadn’t it told him before? Was it because the door was open? Or maybe because someone had entered already? The dungeon tricked him! Tad’s friends had gone in expecting retreat was possible, but if the symbol of a coiled serpent was one of the hidden mods, there would be no retreat.
Tad hesitated. Should he go for help? It was a five-man dungeon. It would be impossible to open the boss room and to clear without a fifth. But maybe Tad could get someone stronger? Maybe he shouldn’t, just in case it trapped his party inside! His thoughts raced as he unlocked his phone. Trembling hands swiped to the contact he was looking for, Gerald Smith. The Regional Director of the DDD, the Department of Dungeon Defense. Tad never planned on using the man’s phone number but entered it into his phone nonetheless. It felt nice to have more contacts than just ‘Mom’ and ‘Home.’
Another warning laughed through his mind.
*Warning the dungeon will lock in 10 seconds. 9, 8, 7.*
There wasn’t time! Tad placed the still-ringing phone gently on the ground outside the dungeon door. The phone wouldn’t work inside. If Gerald got the call, he would know something was wrong. Maybe there was something he could do. There had to be!
Tad leapt through the open doors after his teammates. He wouldn’t abandon his only friends. Not to a certain death. Not when he might make the difference. Four people in there counted on him. They were in it together.
Black mist met Tad instantly, thick and fog-like it forced itself down his throat. It wrapped him up like a blanket and smothered him. As the pressure hit his lungs, it became difficult to take even the slightest of breaths. The countdown slowed as Tad struggled to breathe. Each count seemed to take longer than the previous. As the attractive-sounding female voice said ‘five’ Tad counted an entire minute before she continued to ‘four.’
A colossal force, an immense and powerful being, arose behind Tad. He couldn’t see the entity, but he could feel it. Tad tried to turn and look, but fear petrified his body. He couldn’t move, couldn’t even breathe. Tad’s eyes bulged as terror gripped him from within. He’d felt nothing like this before. A power as huge as the sun was about to crash into him, about to swallow him like an ant. Cold sweat poured down Tad’s back. What was this strength! Could it be the dungeon’s boss? If so, nothing could save them. This was the strength of a God.
A dispassionate voice spoke from somewhere behind Tad. “Is someone there? Has it finally started again? It has been so long…” The sharp voice spoke an unfamiliar language. Alien words. Harsh guttural vowels followed by silky smooth consonants. Tad had never heard the words spoken before, but images and feelings appeared in his mind, matching the meanings. Tad understood each word as it passed through him in a wave of power. Tad screamed in pain in the endless darkness. The voice was quiet, but it filled his being. The pressure of each word threatened to snap him like a bone. His entire body quivered as primal fear completely engulfed him.
The voice came once again, stronger this time.
“You’re weak. So weak I can barely feel you, but you’re there. Respond, void. Answer me! Where have the rest gone? What has happened to Titan?”
And then, just as quick as it started, it was over. Tad crumpled to the ground in the gloomy interior of the dungeon. The black mist evaporated, dissipated from his lungs. Hot tears dripped down his cheeks, his mind scorched. Like it had fallen into a vat of boiling oil. Concerned voices spoke, but Tad couldn’t put the words together. The metallic tang of blood was warm on his tongue. Once more the female voice rang through his mind.
*3, 2, 1, the dungeon is locked. Good luck.*
The entire dungeon shook violently with a loud crack that split the air. Only Bunta remained on his feet. Silence filled the air.
“Are you okay, Kid?”
Tad wiped the wetness from his cheeks. His head pounded. Much to his surprise, a glance at his health bar showed it still at 100%. The immense pain he felt hadn’t damaged him. Not physically. It felt like every nerve in his body had been incinerated. Tad took Gruff’s extended hand and got to his unsteady feet.
“Everyone… I think we’re in trouble…” Alarm filled Bunta’s soft voice. His finger pointed to where the exit should have been. Instead of an exit, a large stone slab with seven symbols etched into its surface stood in its place.
The first was the cloud that had been on the dungeon entrance, the second looked like two mountains connected by a winding road. The third symbol was three monsters packed closely together; somehow there was a glint in their eyes full of searing hatred. The fourth looked like a marionette, strings extended above to a cross-shaped control bar clutched in a talon. The fifth symbol was a muscular arm flexed, followed by another symbol. The sixth a pair of boots with lines of wind or speed behind them. Tad gulped as his eyes locked onto the last symbol. The snake constricting its prey. But this snake looked different. Thousands of keyholes and locks made up its body. Was that why the dungeon had locked?
After a moment, Gruff broke the chilling silence. His voice even more gruff than usual.
“I’ve never seen the cloud, mountains, or the marionette symbols.” He said the words like they were an uninteresting fact.
From the bewildered looks on everyone else’s faces, no one else had seen them either. Tad hoped Gruff would explain what the ones he knew meant, but he didn’t seem in the mood to offer the information. Tad asked anyway.
“What do the other ones mean?”
Gruff’s voice contained a bit of annoyance, whether at Tad asking or from the situation they were in, Tad wasn’t sure.
“The angry-looking pack of monsters means swarms of monsters, a lot of them. The slime dungeon only had a dozen monsters. This one will have more. A lot more. Bulging muscles means stronger monsters, the speedy shoes symbol means fast monsters. And… well, we all know what the snake means, although this one looks different.”
Scar apparently decided this was the right moment to chime in.
“Yeah. It means we’re dead.”
Chapter 16
Tad stayed close behind Becca as the group pressed into the dark, winding tunnels of the foreboding dungeon. Gruff was in the lead, followed by Bunta, Becca, then Tad, with Scar guarding the rear. Faint clicking sounds grew louder as they delved deeper into
the dungeon.
This dungeon looked opposite of the slime dungeon, with its myriad colors and vibrant slime trails. Instead, this dungeon reminded him more of the first part of his soldier trial cave. Trapped deep in the bowels of the earth, with their escape route blocked off. It felt suffocating. Like they would run out of breathable air. But they could only go deeper. The earthen walls were damp and slick with moisture, only illuminated by one of Becca’s magical lightspheres. One floated just in front of Gruff’s left shoulder as he searched farther into the cave. The lights turned the group into shadows that flickered off the walls. Tad jumped at their shadows more than once.
Heavy scrapes and deep gouges covered the walls as if slashed by swords or some other thin metallic object. What kind of creature would dig like that? The tunnel opened into an enormous cavern, droplets dripped from stalactites on the ceiling. A mountain of hundreds of car-sized bugs sat in their path. Translucent brown, heavily armored with long antennae that grew from their heads. Their hairy legs seemed impossibly long.
Gruff pulled up his shield to prepare for the imminent swarm, but the insects were still. Too still. Gruff let out a grunt as he approached the mountain of bugs and prodded one with the tip of his metal shod boot.
“Metalroaches. Their husks, at least. Although… I’ve never heard of metalroaches that had just metal pincers, usually they are fully armored in metal. That’s weird.” Gruff paused a moment. “Let’s get over these things before live ones show up.”
Tad took a deep breath as he tried to calm his nerves. Becca almost floated up the side of the treacherous mountain gracefully. She didn’t even need to look for secure footing. Her balance was that good. Underfoot, each step crunched and compressed the metalroach husks. Razor sharp metal pincers dully gleamed in the reflected light. The mountain of husks almost looked like a treasure trove sparkling in the light.