Dungeon Imperiled: Dark Dungeon 02

by D. R. Rosier

  Then she added contritely, “But I’d love to hang out down here for a while. Jerrold hasn’t said much about you and I’m curious. We should also talk tactics.”

  Mina smiled tentatively at her atrocious behavior and backpedal. Either she was very forgiving, or Jerrold had warned the girl that she was a mess over Sienna’s death. Maybe both.

  “That sounds great, we’ll be going in the dungeon tomorrow, and we’ll need to depend on each other.”

  The blood drained from her face, and she almost threw up. Would she get Mina killed too?

  Mina asked, “Are you okay Princess?”

  She took a deep breath, “Cat, or Catalina if you prefer. I’m fine. Let’s talk tactics, we can get to know each other after these two miscreants leave.”

  Jerrold snorted, “See how she treats the son of the king?”

  She scoffed, “It’s not like you’re the heir.”

  Jerrold coughed, and rubbed the side of his eye, with his middle finger.

  Mina giggled…

  Catalina frowned as they entered the dungeon for the first time in just over two weeks.

  Jerrold shrugged, “Apparently, we need to do this all from scratch, the teleport pads remember where you were. The good news is we can start on the exact level we leave off now, instead of a shortcut every three levels it’s every level.”

  Actually, she decided that would be a good thing, she needed to be in the right headspace. She was terrified someone would die, but rather than that fear being distracting, it had her super focused. But it still felt wrong, this should be fun as well as scary, she wasn’t having fun at all as they smoked past the first three levels.

  She had to admit, mina’s power was impressive. Mina was a first level Journeywoman, when she was probably third or fourth level. Still, she took out small things with spikes of ice shot from her hands, and the larger stuff she shot a stream of water that coated the mob before it froze solid. It didn’t usually kill them, but it gave Jerrold a free aimed thrust against a target that couldn’t move, which usually finished off the mob easily. Mina could even make her whirlwind into an ice storm, and the sharp wind blades along with the ice blades did a whole lot of damage as well as slowed and disoriented the mobs. Water paired with air, as well as fire had.

  She was also frustrated, every time she started to relax, still vigilant and cautious, but relaxed and having fun as well, there would be another tide of guilt and grief that washed away the joy. But, she could see the end of the grief, she was slowly getting better. Maybe fighting again and facing her fears was what would finally get her through the heartache...

  Chapter Five

  It was raining and miserable, but he couldn’t have hoped for better conditions.

  Carlton felt strange in breeches and a shirt. He smirked at Diana in a dress, she looked gorgeous, but completely uncomfortable as well. They weren’t suited for peasant clothes, but it was their only chance to sneak in the city. Since the city’s guards manned the gate, they didn’t have to worry about being recognized by them, but they were also sure the gates were watched by the church from a distance.

  Hopefully that distance along with their clothes and the rain would prevent them from being identified. Otherwise, this was all for nothing. The only other problem was his master level status and aura, but at his level he had enough control over it to suppress it. Not completely, to fully hide it would take dark magic, but he could mute it greatly.

  That, along with the crowd, and a city full of other paladins and clerics, would hopefully be confusing enough to get through. He laughed in the silence of his own mind, as he went back over all the ways it could go wrong, he was nuts, and before he’d been turned into a desperate fugitive he’d have given his own plans zero chance of success. Now it was all he had.

  Especially if they were expecting him, which he was fairly sure they wouldn’t be. Verin wouldn’t expect him to show up in the crown city while he was on the run. He hoped.

  After all his worry, it was rather anti-climactic as the guard didn’t even talk to them and waved the four of them through. They immediately turned to the less affluent side of the city, and travelled that way. The risks weren’t over, now he had to hope his old mentor and retired high cleric, Norris, would help him.

  “Are you sure about this?” Selwyn asked.

  He nodded, “Norris is retired, and I learned the morals I passed onto you three from him. Hopefully he hasn’t changed, and is willing to help us.”

  He added, “Cory, stop looking so uptight, you’re a peasant, not a warrior on patrol duty.”

  Cory blushed, “Yes sir.”

  Diana walked over and put her arm on his, “I’ll keep him distracted.”

  He tried not to laugh, and put on a stern face, “Good idea.”

  They walked through several blocks, and drew a few suspicious looks but no one bothered them. Once on the other side of town, they made their way back over toward not the affluent side, but somewhat in the middle, and he knocked on Norris’s door.

  There was no answer at first, but he could sense his old master’s aura coming toward the door.

  Norris opened the door, and scowled at him, “Get inside, what the hell are you doing here, I taught you better than that.”

  Damn, he’d been a master for many years, and suddenly as he shuffled into the small house, he felt like the greenest initiate on the practice field all over again.

  “Good to see you too Norris.”

  Norris didn’t lose his scowl, “See me alive you mean? What the hell are you doing here?”

  He was slightly annoyed at the looks of amusement on his three protégés, but let it pass.

  He told Norris what was going on, and the basics of his plan to get proof and take it to the king. He did his best not to blush, it sounded even more harebrained when he said it out loud.

  Norris grunted, “Have you thought this through all the way?”

  He frowned, “What do you mean.”

  Norris sighed, “So let’s say by some miracle of the gods, that you manage to evade recognition and capture, find the evidence you need. Hmm, maybe Verin keeps it in a large red book labeled evidence? Then you take it to the king, and he goes to hang Verin. What happens then?”

  He tilted his head, “Verin hangs?”

  Norris chuckled, “Maybe. But how many of his people here in the city are already in on the plot? There’s a very good chance he’d resist, and then we’d have civil war right here in the city. Even if the king has enough mages to counter all our paladins and clerics, and wins, what do you suppose happens then?”

  He cursed as he finally saw it, “Then with the church all but decimated, and the king’s forces only slightly less so, Jennesar will simply roll in with their army and take over.”

  Norris nodded, “Yes, but you’ll have to do it anyway, and hope for a miracle. Actually, make that a whole bunch of miracles.”

  He raised an eyebrow, “Why?”

  Norris said, “Because if you don’t, then Jennesar will roll in and the church will betray them on the field of battle without taking equal losses. Plus, Verin will be around with his plans to restore order quickly. At a guess, the first targets on the battlefield will be the king and duke of Tenemin. All that’s even worse.”

  He sighed, “Then why even mention it?”

  Norris scowled again, “So you know what you’re getting into, and have realistic expectations. Your plan is the best possible outcome, but either way Nysten is in for a ton of shit. Of course, you may be completely wrong, Verin may only be guilty of treason, and not insurrection and consorting with the enemy. I suppose that’s the best outcome, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.”

  Diana asked, “Why, what do you know?”

  Norris turned to Diana, “This one is sharp. I don’t know anything, except all my contacts in the church have either disappeared, been transferred to another city or town, or have gone quiet on me. I retired, but I used to keep abreast of things. That stopped over a ye
ar ago, and I haven’t been able to learn why.”

  He frowned, “That doesn’t make sense, if the conspiracy was that big someone would have talked.”

  Norris grunted, “Maybe, I could just be an old man with an active imagination.”

  He didn’t believe that for a second, and tried to imagine how the secrecy could be kept. He cringed as it occurred to him.

  “Loyalty spells? But they’re outlawed.”

  Norris nodded, “They also have limits. My guess is they’re using a dark mage as well, to erase the knowledge on the ones who balk on betraying their kingdom and gods for another’s. Then they get quietly reassigned.”

  He shook his head, “That’s paranoid, but if it’s true things are far worse than I’d thought.”

  Norris said, “Yes. But that’s the worst-case scenario, I’d guess the truth lies somewhere in between. Regardless of how dark things look, the best thing you can do is what you came here to do. If the king wins the brief bloody civil war, then you can truth spell everyone, separate the guilty, and at least have a small core following to resist the Jennesar when they invade. It kind of sounds like fun, but I’m too old to join you.”

  He asked, “Any advice?”

  Norris grunted, “Get a drink, at the Lady’s Arms. You’ll never get close to Verin, but his personal guard of paladins have special rank, another recent change. If anyone knows his plans, and where to find evidence, it will be the people always around him but invisible.”

  Selwyn asked, “Lady’s Arms?”

  Norris laughed, “Yes, exactly what it sounds like, a whore house. Maybe you should leave the lady here, or have her and her boy here guard the quiet place you’ll bring him to after bagging him, for the questioning.”

  Cory said, “If we do that, we’ll have to silence him after.”

  The young man looked a bit disturbed by that.

  He said, “If Verin is doing what we believe, then you can bet his guards are in on it too. If the man and Verin turn out to be innocent, I’ll let him go and turn myself in.”

  Norris chuckled, “Fat chance of that young man, don’t fear hurting the innocent in this.”

  They talked a little while longer, but the plan was decided upon. He and Diana stayed in the house the rest of the day, while Selwyn and Cory went out to reconnoiter the area around the Lady’s Arms. It wasn’t in the nicest part of town, but not the worst either. They also found a small abandoned and boarded building nearby that looked to be a closed business of some kind. The place had been stripped down to the walls though, so they had no idea what kind. Not that it mattered.

  Several hours later it was still raining, and he huddled in the alley across the street with Diana, as Cory and Selwyn were inside getting those drinks. He wasn’t liking the fact that they were inside and he was outside, but between Diana being a woman, and his aura, it was the safest deployment. The plan was simple, Selwyn and Cory would be in the common room drinking, and follow the highest’s personal guard when he left.

  Then the four of them would ambush him, and drag him to the abandoned building a block over.

  Diana asked, “Was it necessary to send Cory in there, I bet those skanks are all over him.”

  He decided in this case, silence was the course of wisdom. Then he changed the subject.

  “I’m very proud of the three of you, and although I regret getting you involved in something so dangerous, it’s a comfort to have you all here.”

  Diana snorted, “I’m a true daughter of the church, and I can’t imagine betraying my goddess. It scares the hell out of me that so many would, if Norris was right I mean.”

  “Ambition can do strange things to men over time. All they can see is the chance to have ultimate authority over Nysten, instead of sharing the responsibility with the crown. They’re fools if they believe for one second Jennesar will honor that. Their highest is probably just using the church of light in Nysten as a temporary stepping stone to make things easier.”

  Diana agreed, “My only ambition is probably being pawed right… wait, they’re coming out.”

  Two paladins came out, followed by Selwyn and Cory. Of course they would come with a buddy, and not go alone. That would have been too simple. He stood up and released the spell he’d been holding for over thirty minutes now. He’d fed his magic to the spell slowly over at least a half an hour, earlier that night, to reduce the magical aura caused by it. It wasn’t an easy thing to do, or hold for so long, but he was a master.

  The paladins were powerful, Verin would only choose the best, followed by those he could corrupt, to guard his back. But they’d just spent the night drinking and screwing, and were hardly at their best. Not to mention, Carlton was a master and they were adepts at best. The sleep spell struck them both, and they fell to the ground like two sacks of potatoes.

  Selwyn laughed, “I guess our brothers are too drunk to walk.”

  Smoothly, Selwyn and Cory grabbed the two sleeping men and half supported half dragged them down the street. It was a short time later they all arrived at the boarded building, and he put up a privacy shield to thwart anyone too curious. As far as he knew, they hadn’t been seen. All the stores nearby were closed up hours ago, for the night.

  They stripped the paladins of armor and weapons, and tied them up. He hit one of them with the truth spell, it would force the target to tell the truth as they knew it. Then he woke him up, leaving the other asleep.

  The guard snarled, “You’re all dead, you just don’t know it yet.”

  He grated out, “What are Verin’s plans with the Jennesar, and what is he getting out of it.”

  The guard laughed, “Fuck you!”

  He cursed, the only way to resist the truth spell was a loyalty spell, which meant his mentor’s worst case scenario just became a lot more likely. He could try to overpower it, as far as he knew there was no way to remove it. He wasn’t sure what to do though, because overpowering it could kill the guard. Well, they did have a second one handy, just in case…

  Chapter Six

  “Holy crap, what is that,” I blurted out.

  Ebony flew over, “What’s what? I was about to head for the library.”

  “Umm, fifth, no, sixth floor now.”

  There was an old elf lady just strolling through my dungeon, like it was a damned park. There was a clear bubble around her, that seemed to be invulnerable to everything my mobs threw at it. Even the traps weren’t doing anything to the old bat.

  Ebony got a faraway look in her eyes, “I don’t know, but that elf is ancient. What should I do?”

  What could she do?

  “Just go to the library sexy, I don’t feel any hostility from her, but she’s scary all the same.”

  Ebony frowned, “I don’t like leaving when you’re in danger.”

  I laughed, “Well, I don’t like you in danger little imp. Your job isn’t to defend me anyway, it’s to advise me. I want you safe, so please go, and try to find something about elementals this time, she’s almost here already.”

  Ebony glared, “Fine, but we aren’t done talking about this.”

  I felt better as she zipped up and out of the dungeon. I was a lot more nervous than I let on, that bubble thing was crazy and I couldn’t identify what it was. I didn’t think I could defeat it either.

  After the old woman bypassed the last final mob she walked into my room. I was already devising a new hook into the teleport system, where it wouldn’t work to advance someone if the boss mob from that floor still lived. Didn’t help me now though.

  The bubble disappeared, and the old woman smiled, “I mean you no harm. Yes, I know the secret of the dungeons, and I will not share it. I was contacted by the head of the adventurers’ guild as an authority in this matter. I’m just here to take a look at you. The humans here, and even other elves in my group think we’re here to examine the elemental stones you’ve been building, and I will keep that fiction alive. Though in truth, that alone is a worthwhile goal, which makes it a very effec
tive cover story.”

  She paused a moment, and to be honest I had no idea what to do. I didn’t want to answer her, but it felt somehow rude not too.

  “I see, you’re a shy one,” she said with a quirked smile.

  With a wave of her hand, the top came off my crypt, for the third time since I woke up I felt prying eyes on my crystal body. She looked down at me, the ebony crystal, and pursed her lips in thought. Then she cast a spell, and I felt like I was being manhandled. I almost struck out at her, but held myself back. Despite my wariness, I sensed she had no intentions of harming me.

  She frowned, “Why have you done this to yourself?”

  Wait, what? I thought Ember said I was a genius for doing the band thing.

  She shook her head, “It’s more efficient for absorbing and using magic from the nearby sources yes, and you won’t lose any in translation, but you’ve hamstrung yourself for holding life energy. Life energy is more compact than magic, more can be stored in a much smaller space.”

  Oh, well there was nothing I could do about that, I wasn’t in a normal dungeon stone like other dungeons, I was trapped in a prison. It was the best I could do. I couldn’t exactly explain I had a sex demon cavern to store life energy for me. But now I was wondering if I could create a secondary crystal for that, maybe bury it where it couldn’t be reached by any but me. The sex demon thing was working, but I had the feeling I was torturing them a bit as a side effect. If the insatiable need for sex that never ended could be qualified as torture.

  She smiled, “Yet, you’ve managed to grow quickly. Something is also stopping my magic from reaching your center, which might explain all this, would it not?”

  Another question, I ignored it. I wasn’t sure if it was the first two layers of light and dark magic, or the crystal prison itself that was resistant to her probing and invasive spell. In the end, it probably didn’t make a difference. I was just happy she didn’t know what I was in truth, and thought I was a misguided dungeon.