Raising an eyebrow, Ryker didn’t say anything, but instead waited.
Get it right, pintsize, or I’ll pull your little arm off and beat you to death with it. Then eat it. Fairies really do taste ‘magical.’
Wynne’s eyes narrowed and the magic Ryker was building shot towards him. It began to loop around him as it had done to Wynne.
Wrapping around him from head to toe, it dove into his chest and stopped. Ryker felt the contract bind itself to his magic, and then expand rapidly. The pool he could tap into continued to grow, and grow, and grow, to the point that it felt as if he’d expanded his magical endurance by a factor of ten when it finally stopped.
Then it went away since it wasn’t his own pool.
Wynne watched him with a small smile. “I told you. Large pool, no aptitude for spellwork.”
Ryker snorted and nodded his head.
“So… you said plans. What plans?” asked his Fairy.
And his she was. He could actually feel her location now. Could feel it, and even know what she was feeling.
She was excited, energized, smug, and… held a touch of fear.
“I want to turn the adventurers guild in the nearby city into a smoldering ruin and piss on the ashes,” Ryker said with a toothy, feral grin. “By whatever means necessary.”
Wynne said nothing, her eyes glued to his face. Her hands were clutched one in the other in front of her stomach.
“I… see,” she said finally. “I would like to add my own goal to your plans then. I don’t think you’ll slight me for them, or even disagree.”
Tilting his head to one side, Ryker was intrigued. “Oh? I’m listening. Do tell.”
“I want to take revenge on those who exiled me. Would you be willing to bind them forcefully? Against their will and make them our minions? They would serve our dungeon and us.”
Now it was Ryker’s turn to be stunned.
The ferocity that he could feel rolling off of her was intense. It was hatred.
It was fury.
It was perfect.
Ryker grinned again and walked over to Wynne. Getting down in front of her he patted her gently on the head with careful fingers.
“I agree to that wholeheartedly. We’ll ruin those who slighted us,” Ryker said seriously. “So, my little Fairy. My Wynne. How do we begin? I was about to start using spells to control the dungeon core, since it has no soul. I’m open to other options or ideas.”
Wynne’s expression was thoughtful. “Let me think on it. Try the spells you had in mind and we’ll go from there. What are your plans with the actual dungeon though?”
“Oh, that’s fairly straightforward. For now, I’m going to use it as a means to make money. I need to build up the location, reinforce it. Secure my standing so when the dungeon goes live, the guild can’t try to throw me out. Easiest way to do that is to draw up a contract with the queen, giving her thirty percent of everything I make from the dungeon. As well as promising that her citizens are the only ones allowed in,” Ryker explained. “She won’t move against me for fear of the repercussions that her nobility would raise up against her. They’d never object to one of their own owning it, but the queen? She’d gain too much power through it.
“From there, we simply ask for a few royal guardsmen to help protect her investment. At this time, she has no dungeons to claim as her own. The church of light has one, and the adventurers guild two.
“Before we do that though, we’ll build the dungeon up. Drop in items so it can replicate them, draw in monsters, maybe buy a few creatures. Really get it going. Build it from the ground up with the intention of being a training ground. To lure in the guilds when it gets moving.
“Then, when we’re ready, we get it squared up to the point that beginner adventurers can start going in. I plan on opening an inn right in front of the entry. It’ll serve as a store as well. It’ll sell equipment and items to those would-be divers. We’ll also want to build the dungeon in such a way that they’ll be forced to buy gear that they’d need. Torches, antidotes, curse breaking, stuff like that,” Ryker said, rambling off years’ worth of planning in a few sentences that didn’t do the time spent on it justice.
“Goodness. You’ve… really planned this out, haven’t you?” Wynne asked. He could sense her feeling of awe.
“Some of it. We’ll also build a store at the exit of the dungeon. That way they can sell what they don’t want back to us. Though I must be honest, the buy back prices aren’t going to be very high there. They’ll be better served carrying it back to the city to sell. Those who value the coin will, those who just want whatever they can get will sell it there.
“After that we ship it back to the inn, and sell it for a higher price there. My understanding is that items gathered in that way don’t vanish, so that works,” Ryker said.
“Okay, that… that all sounds good. I like it. We’ll need to make sure we only drop common things that won’t hurt the market. But… what about the revenge part of it all? Do you have a plan for that?” Wynne asked.
“Oh yes. Originally the plan was to make enough money to just buy the town. But I realized that was too simple. I want revenge, not just to cause them pain. See… the adventurers guild will want to send people here to evaluate the dungeon. To see if they can use it as a training ground,” Ryker said.
“Ah. That’s why you wanted an inn right on the opening?”
“Yep. We’ll get them coming regularly, charge them for entry, and make a killing by keeping the price low. Then, after a while, we’ll start spreading rumors of a special dungeon inside of the dungeon. One that is only available to higher levels. And that it doesn’t always appear, but does so randomly.”
Wynne’s eyebrows came together and she opened her mouth.
Beating her to the question, he held up a hand. “First, let me ask you this. What are the tenets that all dungeons hold to? Or at least, I think there are tenets? I could be wrong. Every time a dungeon starts to change from the expectation of what a dungeon should be, the church or the guild clean the dungeon out and shatter the core.”
Frowning, Wynne nodded her head slowly.
“Yes. There are rules. To a degree. They’re really only there so that a dungeon doesn’t get killed. Most do end up breaking them. That’s when they typically get attacked as you described. Not all fail, and the ones who survive the attack end up becoming monstrous.”
“Okay, and what are the rules?”
“Be fair. You’re allowed to kill as many people as you want in your dungeon, but it has to be in a way that’s fair. They have to be given a chance at least equal to a fifty-fifty shot, and a choice to take that risk or not. Now there’s some fast and loose playing with that one, but the general idea is there.
“Reward them according to the risk they’re taking. The quickest and easiest way to make sure they don’t contemplate destroying you is making it worth their time. You don’t have to be overgenerous, but you have to make it worthwhile. Stay away from precious metals and gems. It creates far more problems than anything else could. Especially with how much mana it costs to physically create it. We’d be out of mana pretty fast. Iron is common and inexpensive though. More so when made into weapons and armor of poor quality that tend to break.”
Ryker nodded to all of that, it was more or less what he’d expected. His research had shown that economy drove dungeons more than anything.
“Stay away from using demons in your dungeon. The quickest way to get a church demanding action is if you have a demonic presence. Undead are fine since they occur naturally even without magic.
“And I guess… the last one is to make sure your core is well hidden. Most cores put themselves at the center of their dungeons, surrounded by a multitude of creatures. A wizard, guild leader, or others would be happy to capture a core and use it to their advantage.”
“To answer your question then,” Ryker said with a smile, holding out one arm, “I provide those I want to die with a sign that, if they acc
ept, will allow them to enter a special area. That special area is going to be a death trap that should kill them quickly and easily. Though they’ll have a chance to survive. Just in ways they don’t expect.
“The sign will tell them quite clearly that the challenges will be elevated, and most likely kill them. I need to let at least one group survive though, so they can go reinforce the rumor, and that it really is there. Maybe make that a function of the dungeon and that people know about that function. Last person alive gets to live.”
“But they won’t go in again after that,” Wynne said.
“That’s why I have to make the reward for completing it obscene. To the point that everyone would try. Greed does nicely for motivation.”
Ryker laughed darkly with a grin.
And so, we set forth onto a lovely plan for vengeance.
Chapter 2 - Setting Up -
Ryker’s spells had been more than enough to get them started.
Wynne had provided technical knowledge of the core that allowed him to tweak and modify the spells for better efficiency and control. Instead of a blanket pattern spell over the core, it now used the core as an amplifier and spread out in every direction, relying on the strength of the core, rather than his own reserve.
Wynne and Ryker sat there in that basement for hours, planning out the dungeon that was the vehicle of their revenge.
In the end they settled on a straightforward layout for now to build up their cashflow.
A large chamber that opened up into his farmlands from below, with multiple shafts in the earth for sunlight to fall through, helping to grow the herbs quickly. They’d chosen herbs that could be used to concoct elixirs and healing potions. Those types of things were always in demand, and always fetched a high price. Once people started showing up he’d have to guard the area or remove the holes.
Staring down one such shaft in the early morning, Ryker couldn’t help but feel mildly impressed.
“It’s only been a week, and everything down there is growing. Growing fast,” he said.
Wynne bobbed in midair, holding her arms out.
“Of course! The dungeon is only being used to grow herbs. The magic is filling the cave and has nowhere to go. If it was a normal dungeon core, that poor crystal would have had problems keeping itself sane with that much magic. It’d be drunk right up to the point that it would do something that got itself killed. Quite a few die in that manner. But since it doesn’t even have a soul, that’s not really a problem,” Wynne explained.
“Hm. I’d put our plans ahead of schedule. Significantly. I think we’d be best served collecting all of that and heading into town. Sell that entire crop of herbs to the alchemist guild. Then make a visit to the blacksmith and the monster tamers,” Ryker murmured.
Wynne nodded her head and settled down into the grass. “I shall remain here and watch over the core. It wouldn’t be good for me to go into town just yet. Someone might recognize what I am. Besides, we can speak through the bond if we truly need to,” Wynne said.
Nodding his head, Ryker set about collecting all the herbs.
He’d have to be quick.
If he wanted to get home by nightfall, he’d have to hurry up. It’d take half the day just to get there if he moved fast, let alone the trek back which would probably be in the dark.
***
The guards passed him by with a single surreptitious glance.
They knew him rather well by this point. He showed up regularly to sell off his extra harvest. Or whatever else he could scrounge up in the wild.
In fact, the guards didn’t even bother to tax him.
All it had taken him was being willing to help a few guards with some magical needs several times in the past. Things they didn’t want to let other city-folk know about, but still needed help with. Without a spoken word, they suddenly looked the other way for him, and he helped them in the same manner.
Shifting his grip on his backpack, Ryker headed for the alchemists’ shops. He was a man on a mission. And since he didn’t have a whole lot of time, he planned on keeping the haggling down to a minimum.
He could always grow more crops.
With that mindset, the sale was done in under five minutes. Most of that time was spent letting the alchemist examine all the herbs.
Tying the purse full of silver and gold tightly to the inside of his robe, Ryker left the alchemist’s shop and sped off to the blacksmith. His newfound extreme wealth was burning a hole in his pocket, as were his worries of being a target.
At the smith, he picked up a basic iron sword, iron dagger, quarter staff, simple bow, one arrow, a sling, torch, lantern, shovel, and a shield.
Those purchases decreased his newfound wealth significantly. From thirty gold down to seventeen.
Solid equipment was expensive.
It’s an investment though. Buy one, have the dungeon make more.
“If it isn’t my dear old friend. Whatcha doing here, One-pump?”
Looking up, Ryker found himself staring into the face of Robert. He just so happened to be one of the very same people Ryker was quite happily planning to murder.
The man was in his early thirties and had the demeanor of the very weapon he practiced with.
Sharp, dangerous, to the point. A short sword.
Mud brown hair and shit colored eyes. Ryker wanted to cook that pretty face off his skull in a sauté pan.
Not bothering to respond, Ryker walked away, heading for the monster tamers. Rob didn’t merit his attention, and he’d give him none of it.
“Keep walkin’, One-pump. Go sell your vegetables,” Rob said, laughing at his own cruel remarks.
Oh you wait. I’ll turn you into a vegetable. Maybe I’ll drag your corpse out of the dungeon and build an outhouse over it. Take a shit on you every morning as you rot.
That’d be fucking delightful.
Ryker smiled to himself at the thought, feeling his mood brighten immediately.
He had a task to complete and almost no time to do it in. In fact, he wasn’t even sure what they’d have available to purchase.
So long as their card classified them as a monster, Wynne promised him they’d be suitable for the dungeon. And he’d only need one of whatever it was of each gender. The dungeon could multiply them as much as they had mana for. All he had to do was kill the creature, or have it bind itself into a contract to the core. Either would work.
Stepping into a large, squat building, Ryker took a quick look around.
It was a simple entryway. A high, polished and clean counter, limited art on the walls, and an attractive young woman behind the counter.
Because every good salesman, or saleswoman, starts with a pretty face.
“Good day, sir. What can I do for you?” she asked, putting on a bright smile.
“Monsters. Anything classified as a monster I’d like to take a look at. Preferably several different types,” Ryker said, stepping up to the counter.
“Oh? Are you starting a zoo?” she asked. It didn’t seem like she was prying into his business. He imagined it was more conversational. She gestured with her left hand to a doorway to the side.
“Something like that,” Ryker said, moving to the indicated door.
“Right through there, sir, our tamer will be happy to work with you to meet your needs. Merely tell him the same thing you did me.”
“Great. Sure,” Ryker said, opening the door and going through.
Stunned by the room, he didn’t even realize he’d shut the door behind himself.
Arranged in neat, orderly rows were rows upon rows of monsters. As far as he could see, it was a menagerie of creatures.
Peering at an Orc to his left, then a Goblin next to it, Ryker suddenly wasn’t sure of his plan.
He didn’t want something so common as that. He wanted his dungeon to stand out to a degree. To be unique and draw attention while at the same time tempting his enemies.
“Slimes… no, let’s not do that. I don’t really want to
deal with something like that. I can only imagine the entire place would be sticky and goopy. Neat though.” Ryker kept moving, looking over countless monsters.
Coming to the end of the aisle he looked left, then right.
There was no one around.
Shrugging his shoulders, he took the left aisle. Much sooner than he expected, he wandered into a circular subsection. It looked more akin to a furniture showroom.
Items of every make and shade were arranged in strange room-like settings. Enough to fill several houses completely.
“Found your way into the Animated Objects, did we?” asked a voice from his side.
Breaking his focus off a table, he found a Gnome next to him.
“Animated Objects? These are all ensorcelled?” Ryker asked.
“Every one. They’re not exactly intimidating, and if they’re not a weapon, they’re typically of limited use. I keep them as a curio. No one would ever want one in their house though. Can’t be sure they won’t just… attack,” admitted the Gnome with a smirk. “Name’s Twitch.”
“Ryker.”
Twitch nodded his head at that and scratched at his chin.
He looked young for a Gnome, maybe twenty-something. Blue eyes and black hair gave him a bit of a striking look.
“Interested in them?” Twitch asked.
Ryker thought on that. He imagined this could actually be rather useful. Having all of these items would keep adventurers on their toes when moving, never knowing which table was a table, and which candle was a candle.
I’ve also never heard of anything like this. I know they’re classified as Monsters, I’ve just never heard of them in dungeons.
Mimics? Sure. But those are everywhere now. People run around with “detect life” on simply to find them. One of the simplest spells out there and they’re nothing more than a novelty.
Not to mention, we can use these as furniture or props as well.
“Depends on the price,” Ryker said, making up his mind.
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