The Wandering Inn_Volume 1
Page 272
“Is it the Circle of Thorns again? Please tell me it’s not. That nightmare took my great grandmother’s entire life to sort out and we can’t have it now. At least we know it isn’t Lord Tyron’s doing.”
Ressa’s shoulders rose slightly.
“You never know. He might have found a potion that allowed him to grow another brain.”
Magnolia laughed at her friend.
“Even with two brains, Tyron’s sense of honor wouldn’t allow him to use [Assassins]. No, this is something else and I don’t like it. And it’s come at the worst time too, almost as if someone knew what was about to happen.”
“Perhaps they did.”
“You’re not helping.”
Ressa shrugged.
“I like to think of the worst case scenario.”
“This is one of them. Right now, we have two major situations on our hands, Ressa. Even as we speak, that damnable Antinium group is converging on Liscor. Representatives from at least three Hives are there and we have no way of spying on them. Not in person, at least. Teriarch might be able to find them visually, but he won’t be able to scry them. I cannot trust any [Assassins] to report on them, and they just ate my best two [Scouts].”
“We have people in Liscor.”
“But no one who can follow them anywhere else.”
Magnolia drained her tea cup and scowled darkly.
“That’s one problem. The second is the same. The Antinium are about to unearth that dungeon, either now or in the next few days. The worst timing, Ressa. Do we know when the Gold-rank teams are going to open the doors?”
Ressa nodded. She had a smile on her face that Magnolia didn’t like.
“Now, I believe.”
Lady Magnolia’s tea cup smashed through one of the windows of her mansion. Theofore didn’t know it was a tea cup, but did inspire him to run even faster. He was vaulting over the wall of the estate grounds before the last of the glass had even finished shattering on the ground.
—-
“Do we have to do this now?”
Halrac scowled; essentially his normal facial expression, but today’s scowl was special. It was pronounced.
“The entrance is right there. Why are you getting cold feet now?”
The stitch-mage visibly hesitated. She flicked her dark hair and glanced uneasily at the massive double doors in front of their team.
“I just feel nervous. You hear tales of what happens to the first groups that enter an unexplored dungeon. I’d like to keep all my cloth attached to my body, that’s all.”
Halrac scowled again and opened his mouth, but this time Ulrien nudged him. The huge man lowered his greatsword and looked at Typhenous. The older [Mage] seemed confident, but all the members of Griffin Hunt had learned long ago to work together. An adventurer who was less confident dragged down the group, so they had to address this before they went in.
They stood at the bottom of a massive ramp into the earth. Over two hundred feet of gently sloping dirt led down to a huge stone wall and a set of huge double doors. They looked like they were made of bronze, but golden inscriptions had been carved into the metal. The reliefs looked like twisting Dragons breathing fire.
Or…Drakes. Drakes casting magic. Halrac eyed the inscriptions distrustfully.
This was the entrance to the dungeon beneath Liscor. The true dungeon, according to the Antinium. They had completed the excavation this morning, and the Antinium named Klbkch had led Griffin Hunt to this location.
The Antinium stood off to the side with an escort of the huge Antinium Soldiers, calmly watching Griffin Hunt. Halrac didn’t like the Antinium presence and he gritted his teeth every time he saw them. Ulrien was clearly just as uncomfortable, but the big man had managed to deal with the Antinium. It had cost quite a lot of gold to hire them to dig, but now Griffin Hunt was at the entrance of the dungeon first.
All their efforts, all their long days of feuding with the Halfseekers and the other adventuring groups to deal with the Antinium and be the first into the dungeon had come to this. For a while it had truly felt like Halrac and the others were at the center of all the drama in Liscor as they bullied and bribed their way to this point. Halrac still had a bad taste in his mouth from dealing with the Antinium and that irritable Watch Captain every single day.
But it had paid off. Griffin Hunt was here, and the Halfseekers and other adventurers had grudgingly bowed out to let them claim the first crack at the dungeon. But they were wavering at the last moment, or Revi was.
“It’s just…can’t we deal with the Halfseekers? Or another Silver-rank group? If we formed an alliance and moved in, we might be better prepared, wouldn’t we?”
Revi looked uncertainly around the group. In terms of seniority, she was by far the most inexperienced Gold-rank adventurers, as well as the youngest.
This time it was Typhenous who argued against Revi. He normally took her side, but the mage was staring at the images of Drakes casting magic and he was clearly eager to enter the dungeon.
“You think there might be strength in numbers, Revi, but look what happened to the last group of adventurers that tried that. Unless we’re prepared to wait a week or two and practice tactics with another team, there’s no point.”
The stitch-girl didn’t look convinced.
“We could still send in a team to scout things out.”
“To die, you mean.”
Both Ulrien and Halrac’s faces showed what they thought about that. Revi held her hands up defensively.
“I didn’t mean it like that—”
“No.”
It was common practice for some Silver and Gold-rank teams to send in inexperience adventurers to soften up monsters or clear out traps and assess a dungeon. As a [Scout], Halrac had been on the receiving end of that sort of assignment more than once, and Ulrien shared his sentiments. He was about to tell Revi this in no uncertain terms when Ulrien interrupted him, putting a hand on Halrac’s shoulder.
“No sacrifices. No one else goes in first. We go in, and if we find monsters or traps we deal with them. We have the equipment and the experience.”
“But can’t we wait and see—”
“No.”
Halrac couldn’t take it any longer. He broke in angrily, ignoring Ulrien’s sigh. He glared at Revi.
“If the Halfseekers or another Gold-rank team go in, they might be able to sweep through a huge amount of the dungeon by themselves. Any second we waste here, we could lose a fortune in artifacts.”
He stabbed a finger at the Antinium. Klbkch looked over at Halrac interestedly as the [Scout] raised his voice.
“Do you think they’ll just wait for us? No. They’ve got an army ready to go in and the instant this dungeon opens every adventuring group on the continent will want to get in there and raid the place. Remember the dungeon near First Landing? They’re still exploring parts of it, but the first adventurers that went in came out as Named Adventurers. That’s why we’re here.”
Typhenous nodded.
“We are on a time limit, Revi. If a Named Adventurer gets here, they might be able to clear parts of the dungeons by themselves. If a team does…I’m told there are even [Mages] from Wistram who are coming to look at the dungeon. If there’s any time, it’s now.”
Revi looked uncertain, but Ulrien put a hand on her shoulder. The normally taciturn Captain spoke reassuringly to her.
“You’ll be behind us all the way. You’ve got your summons and we don’t take risks.”
He nodded to Halrac and Typhenous. Both of the older adventurers nodded back.
“We are not Silver-rank adventurers. We go in, and retreat the instant we run into anything dangerous. If something follows us, we contain it. We’ve already set up enough traps to take down five Griffins.”
“Okay. Okay…”
Revi took a few deep breaths. Then she nodded at Ulrien. He let go of her shoulder and stepped away. She clenched her fists and nodded at Ulrien. He looked at the others.
> “Ready?”
Halrac already had an arrow on his bowstring. He was ready for anything as their team approached the doors. But he looked back at the Antinium one last time.
It was odd. They’d been cooperative in helping Griffin Hunt locate the dungeon, and they’d excavated a huge amount of soil in no time at all. According to the Antinium, they’d found more than one entrance to the dungeon; collapsed parts of the ruins, and even what might have been a secret entranceway. But this was the main entrance, untouched by time.
It was suspicious. How had they known exactly where the dungeon was? And why was there such a huge escort of them waiting around the dungeon?
There weren’t just one or two Antinium Soldiers waiting with the unique Antinium named Klbkch. Halrac had counted fifty of the massive brutes standing at attention behind their leader. He’d never seen that many warriors outside of a battlefield.
Halrac knew what that many Soldiers could accomplish. They might not have been able to overwhelm Griffin Hunt in a fight, but they could take down several Wyverns or Griffins together. Why so many?
Fifty Antinium Soldiers. And their so-called Prognugator. Halrac slowly adjusted his quiver and began counting how many magical arrows he carried. He put the regular arrow back in the magical quiver and drew one with an arrowhead that crackled with electricity.
Ulrien looked at Halrac. The two adventurers had been together long enough to read each other. The Captain of Griffin Hunt looked at Revi and Typhenous.
“We’re going in. Revi, I want your strongest summons out at the first sign of danger. Typhenous, hang back and use your best spells; don’t worry about conserving anything.”
The two other adventurers reacted to his warning, visibly straightening and bracing themselves. Halrac looked at Ulrien. The big man stepped towards the double doors and cracked his fingers.
“Might be rusted. I’ll give it a shot before we use ropes.”
He grabbed the two door handles. Halrac saw the muscles on Ulrien’s arms bulge, and then he heard the doors groan and then something break.
Rust, dark and brownish-red flaked off from the doors. They moved a fraction as Ulrien grunted, and then the adventurers stepped back.
“I can open it. Get ready.”
Halrac took several steps back. Revi and Typhenous had already set up twenty paces away from the doors, ready for something to come out. Halrac sighted down his arrow and nodded at Ulrien.
The big man grabbed the door handles. Halrac’s heart was beating faster than normal, but he was ready. He’d faced down Griffins with nothing but a dagger. He’d open these doors and come out better. Stronger.
Ulrien counted down as he braced himself on the doors. His voice was steady and calm and echoed slightly in the excavation site.
“Five…four…three…two…”
His pulse slowed. The world slowed. Halrac saw Ulrien brace, and he drew back his arrow.
“One.”
The doors opened. Ulrien didn’t pull them open slowly; he threw them open and surged backwards, drawing his greatsword and bracing in an instant. Halrac’s eyes pierced the darkness, seeing a long corridor full of dark stone. But nothing else.
There were no monsters. No visible traps, and judging by the way Typhenous relaxed, no magic.
They were safe. And the dungeon was open.
For another second Halrac was tense, then he relaxed ever so slightly. Ulrien lowered his sword, and Revi and Typhenous walked forwards. They looked at each other and shared a smile. The tension wasn’t gone, but the worst was over.
Halrac had expected something to happen when the doors opened. He’d expected a monster or a warning spell or…something. But there was nothing. He nodded to Ulrien and walked towards the door. As a [Scout], he would go in first. His foot crossed the threshold of the dungeon. Ulrien felt something peculiar for a second, but then it was gone, like a bad memory.
He turned towards Typhenous, about to ask if anything magical had been triggered. And then he felt it.
Danger.
—-
Zel Shivertail stood in front of a jury of idiots. Technically, they were his peers, but he didn’t respect any of them.
They were the rulers of the Drake city-states, the Lords of the Wall who ruled the Walled Cities, and even Watch Captains of renown. He hated their guts.
They didn’t understand. They stood or sat as they preferred on the soft, elongated chairs that Drakes preferred in the room they had chosen to judge his testimony. Wall Lord Ilvriss was standing next to him, but not with Zel. He had his own circle of authority and friends in this room.
Zel had precious few allies and more than a few enemies. But they had to hear his message. He glared around the room and raised his voice.
“As I’ve said, this Goblin Lord is the real threat. If we ignore him, he will become a Goblin King in time.”
A Lady of the Wall raised her voice. Her tail twitched irritably as she stood and spoke down to Zel.
“So you have said, Zel Shivertail. And we will create a coalition army to deal with the Goblin threat in due time. But I see no reason for our cities to form the grand alliance you suggest. We have and always will be independent bodies unto ourselves; Drakes do not hold hands like Humans.”
Several other leaders in the room sniggered at this. They fell silent as Zel glared at them. All of these powerful Drakes, and they acted like they were barely more than hatchlings at a playground.
“I don’t suggest that we ally just because of the Goblin Lord. But what about the Antinium? Are they any less of a threat? And Flos? Will you ignore his return or will you take my advice and do something before it is too late?”
“We have heard you make the same case every year, Zel Shivertail. Flos may have returned, but all reports claim he barely has an army, let alone a force powerful enough to threaten our lands.”
That came from a Watch Captain. Zel gritted his teeth and thrashed his tail on the stone floor. How would someone who defended a static wall understand the dangers of someone who moved armies around like Flos?
“His forces may be weak now, but give him time and he will be just as strong as before.”
Another dismissive voice.
“The Emperor of the Sands will crush him. The King of Destruction is a continent away, Zel Shivertail. He is not the threat.”
“That is what we said last time, right until his ships started landing on our shores!”
Zel raised his voice, but that did nothing. He controlled himself with effort.
“Then the Antinium. They grow stronger while we fight each other pointlessly. What about them?”
“If they dare to attack a third time, they will be destroyed. We have built our armies and cities, and we know how to fight them now. They may grow, but we will grow faster.”
The arrogance. Zel closed his eyes, and then raised his voice again.
“If you really think you can beat the Antinium in the long term, you are as blind as well as stupid. I am telling you, they are ready for war. If you would just put aside your cursed pride and consider—”
“Silence, Zel Shivertail.”
This time the censure was accompanied by a slap of the tail. Zel looked up and saw one of the rulers of the Walled Cities had spoken. The Serpentine Matriarch of Zeres stared down at him with icy disapproval, the gemstones around her neck and tail flashing as she spoke.
“This assembly has heard your voice since you are a hero of the Antinium Wars. But your conduct is disrespectful to those gathered here. Moreover, your defeat against a single Goblin Lord calls into question your abilities as of late. This conflict with the esteemed Wall Lord Ilvriss—”
“You mean the fool who lost a battle!”
That came from a lesser ruler of the city. Zel saw the Matriarch’s eyes flash and knew the beginnings of a new feud between the cites had been started. He watched, helplessly, and the assembly meant to combat a mutual threat fell into bickering and shouting. As it always did.
“This war isn’t over! Zel Shivertail won that battle, and put his tail on the line to defend a Gnoll tribe and take on a common threat. If you want a resolution to this conflict, we will discuss terms—”
“Terms? Hah! You’ve lost your grand army! We can put another one in the field in a second. Know your place!”
Zel looked around helplessly. There had to be someone willing to listen to reason. But all he saw were Drakes too caught in complacency to listen to reason. One last time. He had to try one last time, as he’d tried a hundred times before.
The General of the Line, the famous Tidebreaker of old took a deep breath. He was a hero to the people, but ignored in this room. But he could still shout. He took a deep breath, and then his eyes widened.
Someone in the room screamed. Two of the Watch Captains swore and reached for their weapons, and the guards at the door rushed in, armed and ready. Zel spun around and looked north. The feeling came from the north. It was the sensation of dread and danger, but it felt as if it came from far, far away. He had never felt anything like that with his [Dangersense].
“What happened? What is it?”
Those Drakes in the room without [Dangersense] looked confused and demanded explanations as Zel exchanged glances with Ilvriss. The Lord of the Wall had no [Dangersense] ability, but he understood what the reactions had meant.
“Danger?”
“Something. Something has happened far away. Something very dangerous. A monster, perhaps. Or something else.”
“What else?”
Zel had no answer. He looked towards the north. Something in the Human lands? What could be dangerous enough to affect him from so far away? He’d heard of sailors being warned of volcanic eruptions or people predicting an earthquake, but this wasn’t the same. Those warnings were sharp and urgent. This felt deeper, quieter, yet just as ominous.
He clenched one claw as he stared around the room. Already order, or rather, chaos that looked like order, was restoring itself. He doubted he could use this to persuade these rulers to give him any soldiers to investigate, let alone ally. He was wasting his time here.