CONQUEST: The Dungeon Core Gambit Book One

by Antony W. F. Chow

  Alethea took her hand and squeezed. "I'm sorry," she said sympathetically.

  Yozka squeezed back. "It's been two decades since I set foot in this town. But it has mostly stayed the same."

  The tavern girl returned with a large tray. She started serving the platters to Yozka's table. She made a second trip to serve the same platters to the adjacent table. A third return delivered the ale. "Please enjoy your meals," she smiled and left.

  As the group ate, Markos took out Sibalt's ID card. "Can you explain the date on the bottom of the card?" he asked. While the dungeon core COULD shift through Yozka's memories for an explanation because she was part of the Hivemind, it would be time-consuming. He preferred for her to explain the system directly.

  Yozka read Marko's thoughts and understood what he wanted to know. "You're asking about the calendar system for Enwald. Our week is divided into six days and there are four weeks per month. There are 10 months in a calendar year: Starre, Subba, Mares, Eastre, Bona, Iiun, Quintus, Sextus, Tem, and Yule. We count the year under the rule of the matriarch of the kingdom."

  The explanation gave Markos an insight. "Ah, so this is the 12th year that Queen Levioda has ruled Vessar," he said.

  She nodded.

  Markos was really glad that Yozka agreed to merge with him. She was a fountain of knowledge that he desperately needed. And from his access to her mind through the Hivemind, he knew that she had no harbored no hidden agenda aside from a strong desire to be with Sibalt and that she was trustworthy.

  "Second question. From the Bulddinger Mountains, we traveled northwest and then went straight north to reach Bethmund. What is the topography of Vessar like?" he asked.

  "The kingdom is 'L' shaped. Think of the mountains as the foot and Bethmund as the ankle. The capital city of Lamour is further up north. Bethmund is a small city but an important destination for trade," Yozka explained.

  "Since you're familiar with the ways of this kingdom, what do you recommend we should do next?" he asked.

  "Two things," she responded. "First, we need to join the Adventurer's Guild. That gives us the right to submit a request to investigate your dungeon and accompany whoever the guild sends for this quest. Second, we need to go to the Administrative Office and get a charter to establish a new town within the kingdom."

  "How do we go about getting the charter?" Markos asked.

  The witch shook her head. "I'm not sure. It's not something that comes up in the daily life of a simple town resident," she admitted.

  The dungeon core sighed. It was too much to expect her to be knowledgeable in the affairs of the kingdom. After all, she had fled this town and lived in seclusion for many years. "Okay. We'll go with your suggestions," he decided.

  Chapter 32

  The Adventurer's Guild

  in Bethmund

  As promised, Yozka took the party to the Adventurer's Guild. It had the appearance of a college campus, with a series of buildings bordered by courtyards, which were occupied by fighters and magicians who had engaged in lively practices either alone or in groups.

  She headed toward the main building, located in the center of the campus. "The left building is the Magician's Guild. The right building is the Fighter's Guild. The other buildings are for various trades and professions. The main building is for administration. That's where people register to join the guild, review the jobs board to obtain quests, hold meetings, and store important records and documents," she explained.

  The set of double doors were left open as if to entice people to enter. Markos saw that people of various races constantly entered and left the building. But to his disappointment, the overwhelming majority of them were women. In fact, the sight of a man was as rare as the mythical unicorn.

  Sibalt's presence and his handsome and youthful appearance elicited plenty of stares from the passerby. However, no one dared to approach him given the size of his entourage and how closely Alethea clung to his arm. Instead, the curious women were content to follow him into the building and loitered in the guild hall.

  Yozka marched straight for the clerk's desk, where a bespectacled young lady sat behind. The witch sat in a chair before the clerk, whose name tag stated her name as "Qrivana." "Welcome to the Adventurer's Guild," the clerk said with a cheerful smile.

  "Hi," Yozka replied with a nod. "We're here to register 6 people to join the Adventurer's Guild."

  Qrivana's smile brightened. She opened a drawer at her desk and pulled out several wooden boards, forms, and quills. "Please fill out the registration form. The membership fee is 1 silver per person," she said while putting the gathered materials on the desk.

  Each member, aside from Yozka who was already a member, took one board, form, and quill, dipped the quill into the inkwell on the desk and started filling out the form.

  Sin was reluctant to take the form but Yozka whispered, "You should register as well." Thus, the dark elf took the registration form and started filling it out.

  Sibalt saw that the form asked for name, race, and profession. Beneath that was a long horizontal line and the words, "For office use only." The first line was the date of registration and name of the registrar. Under that was space for additional notes, which took up two-thirds of the page.

  The reincarnated dungeon core took the time to fill out the form and identified himself as Sibalt. His race was human and his profession was elementalist/herbalist. Through the Hivemind, Markos saw that Yozka had previously listed "elementalist/herbalist" as her profession and he simply copied her.

  "When you finish filling the form, please raise your hand," Qrivana instructed. She took out a needle. She saw that Sin was the first person to raise her hand and passed the needle to her. "I need you to poke your finger and smear a drop of blood next to your name. This will create a blood pact between you and the guild. We will expect you to follow our rules and we will do our best to come to your aid if your life is in danger. Your blood will allow our magicians to locate you and teleport to your location," she explained. "Once you have added your blood to the form, please place everything on the table. But the needle should be placed in this tray. The liquid is a disinfectant," she added.

  The dark elf poked her left thumb, smeared her blood on the form, and then dropped the needle into the tray. She placed the form and writing tools on the desk.

  Wearing a plastic glove, Qrivana took the needle out of the tray and wiped it dry with a cotton ball. "Next?" she asked.

  Sibalt took the needle and poked his thumb. After smearing his blood on the form, he returned everything.

  The party performed the blood pact slowly.

  Ryota, through his telepathic link, asked Markos for help. Since Ryota was an undead, he had no blood to offer.

  Markos understood the problem. He directed Yozka to furtively use Water Work to create liquid which resembled blood when Ryota pretended to prick his thumb.

  A blood mark appeared on the form and Ryota handed it back to the clerk.

  Once all the forms were returned and collected, the young clerk smiled again. She took out a small money box with a slot on the lid. "Okay, now I need to collect your registration fee," she reminded them.

  Yozka took out 6 silver coins and placed them on the table.

  Qrivana collected the coins and inserted them into the slot. Each time she did so, there was a tiny "clink" sound as the coin dropped into the box. The clerk returned the money box to the drawer and took out a stack of guild membership cards. She took the registration forms and carefully copied the name, race, and profession onto the cards. Next, she took out a sticker sheet and added "F" at the bottom of each card.

  The clerk handed the stack of cards to Sin, who searched the stack, took her membership card, and passed the rest to Sibalt.

  He repeated her action to retrieve his own card and passed the rest to Alethea.

  When Ryota, the last person in the chain, received his card, Qrivana started her lecture. "You are currently ranked 'F.' The adventurer ranks are S+, S, A, B
, C, D, E, F. F is probationary. You need to complete four 'F' rated quests or two 'E' rated missions to advance to rank E. The job board lists the quests by difficulty and suitable ranks. You cannot take a job with two ranks of difficulty higher than your current rank. However, you CAN take a lower difficulty job."

  "Thus, some members make arrangements to join a higher ranked member to take on a more difficult assignment and advance faster. But do note that a Rank F member cannot receive credit for jobs rated C or higher. This rule was adopted to protect the lower ranked members."

  The clerk paused for questions. Seeing that there were none, she smiled again. "Okay, you can now check the job boards for quests or visit the other buildings. When you decide to take a job, please take the job sheet off the board and return it to any clerk sitting at a desk. We will record your quest. Most jobs have no time limit. But for the ones that do, if you fail you will receive a black mark on your record. If you collect too many such marks, you may be demoted, fined, or suspended from the guild. Please take into consideration your ability to complete these timed quests."

  "Also, I encourage you to join a professional guild. Each profession requires a separate entry and a test of your proficiency in order to join. But the benefits of membership include access to their specialty shops and trainers, sparring halls, and workshops. Once again, I welcome you to the Adventurer's Guild and I wish you the best!"

  It was clearly a dismissal. However, Yozka did not budge from her seat in front of the clerk. Instead, the witch turned her head over to Sibalt.

  The young man looked directly at Qrivana and said, "I represent a reincarnated dungeon core named Markos Turloch. My master is inviting members of the Adventurer's Guild to visit his dungeon. With the understanding that his dungeon core will remain untouched inside the dungeon. He is also in the process of establishing a new town and he would be interested in having your guild open a branch in his town."

  Qrivana's eyes widened in surprise. But to her credit, she quickly regained her composure. "I need to speak with the Vice-Guildmaster. Please wait here." She slowly rose from her chair and walked up the stairs. But once she was out of sight, the group heard frantic steps as she ran down the hallway on the second floor.

  "That went well," Tensa remarked quietly.

  "While we're waiting, why don't you check the jobs board? We might have time for a job or two as long as it isn't time-consuming," Sibalt said.

  "I'll wait with Sibalt. The rest of you should check the jobs board," Yozka ordered.

  When it was the two of them at the desk, a group of adventurers approached. "Hey, handsome! I heard what you told Qrivana. We would love to take the first crack at your dungeon. Can you tell us the location?" a woman asked.

  Sibalt slowly turned around. He saw a woman nearly two heads taller than him. She had shortly cropped light brown hair. She wore plate mail armor in a size that was XXL. A thick sword pommel peeked over her right shoulder. She had a square jaw and her eyes were mismatched green and purple colored. She was openly leering at him and made clear her physical interest in him. Behind her were a few more women.

  He smiled politely. "My name is Sibalt and my master is Markos Turloch. And you are?" he asked while holding out his hand.

  The warrior took his hand and gave it a firm shake. However, she did not squeeze his hand tightly. Instead, it was gentle. "My name is Veryl Rhanheart, from the Rhanheart family of knights. Standing behind me are Corhena the Swift, Kissa the Sister of Ianuaria, and Zusi."

  Sibalt noted the archer, the priestess, and the magician standing behind the knight. He gave them a polite bow and received a reciprocal nod in turn. However, he noticed that the two spellcasters were staring at him uncomfortably.

  "Now that we are introduced, could you tell us?" Veryl grinned.

  However, someone cut into the conversation. "I'm afraid I can't allow it."

  Chapter 33

  Gormanda

  The woman who approached was middle-aged but she had sharp blue eyes, curly black hair pinned back with a yellow pin, and a tight smile on her face. She wore a red dress with a scabbard tied to her black belt. Following behind her was the clerk, Qrivana. "I'm Gormanda, the Vice-Guildmaster. Please follow me to my office," she said. Gormanda turned around and climbed the stairs.

  Sibalt nodded politely to Veryl and followed the Vice-Guildmaster up the stairs.

  The group was led to a large conference room on the second floor. It was well furnished with a fireplace, paintings on the walls, and one window with blue silk curtains drawn back. There was an oval shaped wooden table in the middle of the room plus a dozen chairs.

  Gormanda closed the door after the final party member, Ryota, entered the room. "Please take any seat you wish," she invited and sat in the chair closest to the door.

  Sibalt noted that it was the ONLY exit from the room, meaning that they were trapped if the discussion went sour.

  The Vice-Guildmaster waited patiently until everyone was seated. "My employee said you represent a newly reincarnated dungeon core named Marko Turloch? And your master is inviting adventurers to visit his dungeon?"

  "That's correct," Sibalt nodded.

  "Where is the dungeon located?"

  "Near the Bulddinger Mountains to the southeast."

  "You say that the dungeon core is reincarnated. Was he a human in his past life?"

  "Yes."

  "Born in this world?"

  "No."

  The officer's forehead scrunched at this answer. "He is an off-worlder, then. Why did he send you here with an invitation to the guild to visit his dungeon?"

  Sibalt shook his head. "He never told me the reason."

  "But you stumbled upon the dungeon core, then?"

  "No."

  "How did you encounter him?"

  The young man was hesitant to answer. "Let's just say that he came to me."

  "Can you explain what you mean by this?"

  "No."

  The interviewer decided not to pursue this line of question any further. She had no idea how this young man encountered the dungeon core and accepted servitude to it. However, she dabbled in a bit of magic in her youth and Gormanda could feel the enormous magical power in the room. Having spent time sitting near him, she was confident that he was the source of the energy. Since the energy was more than a human could develop on his own, it meant that the dungeon core somehow gave it to him, probably in the form of a magic item.

  In addition, she felt another powerful spellcaster in the room. However, the power was much less than Sibalt's and Gormanda could not pin down who was the second spellcaster despite casually looking around the room. She gave up the search and continued her inquiry. "Have any of you personally met the dungeon core?" she inquired.

  The human woman raised her hand. "I'm in the same boat as Sibalt here. Markos came to me. The two of us developed a special bond with him and he acts through us. I cannot reveal any more information than that."

  The guild officer turned her attention to the speaker. Yes, she was indeed the second spellcaster carrying an enormous power within her. Gormanda had read the registration forms and memorized the information already. But the woman's form was missing. "Who are you?"

  "Yozka."

  Gormanda was silent for a moment. Finally, she held up her left hand and pointed at a copper ring on her pinky finger. "This is a Ring of Lie Detection. It will glow bright blue if I hear a lie. Since it hasn't activated during our discussion, this means that you believe you are telling me the truth."

  "Now, moving on. Dungeons are very valuable. Kingdoms have fought wars to gain control of dungeons. I'm honored that you have approached us with this invitation. But the location of this dungeon presents a logistical challenge because it is on the southern end of Vessar and therefore, tough to defend against the lizardwomen and other beastkin to the South."

  The officer turned her attention to the three dwarves. "You three are part of the Bulddinger clan?" she inquired. The registration forms only li
sted their first names but the experienced traveler was familiar with the landscape of the kingdom.

  "Yes," Alethea nodded. She placed her hand on top of Sibalt's. "And we are newlyweds," she added.

  Sibalt blushed and looked away.

  "A political marriage," Gormanda muttered under her breath. "So this means the dungeon core is allied with the Bulddinger Clan?"

  Alethea nodded.

  Gormanda was very impressed with this development. Dwarves were often suspicious of humans and few were inclined to join the Adventurer's Guild. For a human servant of the dungeon to be married to a dwarfess, this meant there was a strong relationship between the clan and the dungeon core.

  "The clan has no objection to the guild opening a branch office near the dungeon's entrance?" the officer asked. Gormanda would not approve of opening a branch office under the shadow of the clan home without their permission. Otherwise, the dwarves could easily send a patrol to evict the guild from the land.

  Alethea smiled. "Yes, our elder has given her approval. She has also ordered my clan to assist in building homes for the town that Markos is establishing next to the dungeon entrance," she added.

  Gormanda offered a relieved smile. She could imagine the clan providing protection to both the human town and the guild office if, say, the lizardwomen decided to invade. While adventurers were generally stronger than the average humans, there simply weren't enough of them to protect the town from an army of invaders. And while the Guildmaster will make the final decision on this matter, Gormanda could recommend against opening a branch office if guild members will be the only defenders for the town and the dungeon entrance.

  However, the marriage of a clanswoman and a servant of the dungeon core implicitly extended such protection for the town. This changed the equation dramatically in her mind. Furthermore, the fact that the clan elder was providing assistance in building homes for the humans was a confirmation of her assumption that the two had a unique and strong relationship. Since the Bulddinger clan was already invested in the creation of the new town, surely the dwarves would not stand idle if the town was invaded.