The City and the Dungeon

by Matthew Schmidt

  "Thanks. A bit. For taking us in."

  "You are welcome."

  Wait, what? I thought to Elise. I thought you disliked them.

  So? I can be thankful if I want.

  * * *

  "How are you planning to cross the River?" Seth Black asked us on the 29th Floor.

  "A bridge, sir," I said.

  "A wise choice, a bridge," Seth Black said. "Have you all gotten Bridge Building?"

  "We did, sir," I said. "We were mostly prepared when the summonstorm hit."

  "Have you gotten wands?"

  "Wait, what?" Xavier asked.

  "Wands of Ice and Crystal are a far superior method then manually assembling a bridge. It is far faster, for one."

  "Huh. Alice—Alice Black never mentioned it," Xavier said. "I've never even heard of it, actually."

  "It is, to its detriment, quite expensive. Since you cannot craft such wands, they must be collected from random drops on the 30th Floor. Doubtlessly she did not want to burden you. Or perhaps she wondered if you would think of it yourselves." Seth Black sighed. "My niece can be... untrusting. She will not consider you competent until you prove that you are."

  I didn't know how to reply, and one turn of the corridor later we were before the Undercity. The gates, aside from the fading explosion and claw marks, were little worse for the wear.

  "'Sup, gramps," one of the guards said. "Learned any new fire spells?"

  "Indeed," Seth Black said. "Nonetheless, I am busy..."

  "Ah, sure, it's comped," the other guard said, and pulled the lever to open the bridge. "Have a nice day."

  * * *

  It had been but days, but the Undercity seemed mostly back together. Mind you, it was always chaotic and haphazard; simply because a horde of monsters had wrecked the place, didn't mean much had changed.

  "I do have business here, as I said," Seth Black said. "I suggest you use this time to prepare." He handed us a number of indigo crystals. "I trust you will use these exclusively for Wands of Ice and Crystal. When you are finished, I am certain you can find something to do while waiting. It may be some time." He flew away, I noted, in the direction of the Deep House's buildings.

  "Don't go hanging in the Temple, please," Xavier said.

  "I've done what I wanted to do," Elise said.

  "Which is...?" I asked, and motioned for them to follow me. "I mean, what is it that labydules do? I saw you kneeling."

  "I was meditating," Elise said.

  "But what were you meditating about?"

  She paused in thought. Xavier said, "Nothing."

  "Shut up. How can I put it? The Dungeon, for its evil, is nonetheless a divine work of the Creator. It is worth studying it, not only in order to one day clear it, but simply to understand the vast power and infinite intelligence of the Creator." She paused again. "Maybe 'admire' isn't the right word. It's like admiring a nuclear bomb from Earlier for its power, but not for its ethics."

  "How is kneeling and throwing away crystal admiring the Dungeon?" Xavier asked. "It didn't change one thing about what happened—we even got summonstormed."

  "Why are you upset about what Elise shows as devotion?" I asked.

  "It's pointless."

  "It is not," Elise said. "The Dungeon is the perfect place to consult the Creator and 'admire'—contemplate—the Dungeon itself."

  "We had other things to do on that delve!" Xavier complained.

  "And...?" Elise said. "I've known about the Undercity since I was a little child. Don't I have a right to visit the Temple when I'm there?"

  "Wait, what?" I asked. "You knew—oh, House Purple. Right."

  Perhaps this memory was too much, for she was suddenly silent.

  * * *

  We entered the Market; the fact that much of it had been destroyed did little to damper its enthusiasm. As we passed through the crowds, I saw that purple delver—Joseph?—was still talking to a shopkeeper, possibly the same one.

  "Haggling 6," Elise said as we approached a wand shop. "I got this."

  "Aw, I wanted to try," Sampson said.

  "Get your own skillstone, then." Elise walked to the counter, and said, "Six Wands of Ice and Crystal, four indigo."

  "Two too much one per no trade?"

  "No trade, too much."

  "Too little. Five fine, deal?"

  "Done!"

  Five indigo and the wands traded hands.

  "That was the weirdest thing I have ever seen," Xavier said.

  "Don't ask how I did it," Elise said. "I don't know either."

  "Shame we spent so much of Seth Black's money," I said as we walked away.

  "It's indigo to him. That's like green to us," Elise said. She handed me the remaining indigo. It occurred to me I was holding the equivalent of a quadrillion red in my hand.

  "And now what?" Sampson said. "Explore?"

  "I guess we could fight wandering monsters," I said, "since they spawn inside here, right?"

  "We'll have trouble finding them." After a pause, Elise said. "Hey, ever thought about the Cornerstone?" she asked. "Where it came from? Why it is?"

  "It was discovered outside the Public Entrance, some people touched it, and then they could enter," Xavier said. "Haven't you read history books?"

  "I have," Elise said. "And they're..." She paused. "Let me tell you the story I was told by my parents. 'When the Creator was pleased to destroy the Earlier Paradise, He was pleased to give us hope as well. When the last monster was slain, the First Drop, the Cornerstone, was given. The Earth opened up with a quake, and forth from the chasm did the First Entrance appear. Thus we passed the test before the test.'"

  "You realize the Public Entrance looks nothing like a giant chasm," Xavier said. "It's just a staircase."

  "I know," Elise said. "I've seen it myself. I've just stood there, wondering if I should try it or not. Up until you guys… I never did."

  We were silent for a moment, and a Black Snake spawned next to Sampson who cut it down with a slash. "No wonder the Underdwellers are so nonchalant about this," Xavier said.

  "If that story's true..." I said. "Look, Elise, what I don't get is why monsters attacked the surface, then the Dungeon appeared. If this is a test, why kill so many people? Why destroy entire civilizations, before even giving a chance?"

  "They were evil," Elise said. "We cannot fault the Creator's judgments. And like I said, it's a test before the test. The Dungeon would have appeared Earlier. But the armies of the Earlier Paradise failed to kill all the monsters, and their world was crushed."

  "Elise, I lived in the ruins of an Earlier city," I said. "You can still see claw marks in the walls of the Sky Scrapers. I can't—I can't even describe what the devastation looks like. Half the population is too afraid to touch the remains, and the other half is too afraid of the first half. Our own tiny buildings are scattered around, like fungus decaying the remains of a torn-down tree." The metaphor came to my lips as easily as speaking—high Charisma at work.

  Elise paused at this. "I've... never been to a surfacer city."

  "Or it's just a story," Xavier said. "Ask me, whatever created the Dungeon decided to leave it going when it left. That meant the Dungeon just spewed out monsters, without anyone to keep the population down. Eventually, the monsters grouped up, destroyed Earlier civilization, and then eighty or so years later someone finally finds the Cornerstone."

  "Which brings us back to the Cornerstone," Andy said.

  "Where did it come from before that?" I asked. "Did it just appear at the same time the Dungeon did? Did the Dungeon make it? Or is it a separate entity?"

  "Where did the Dungeon come from in the first place?" Sampson asked with a shrug.

  "The Creator made it. As our judgment," Elise said.

  "Suppose 'he' did," Xavier said. "What does that have to do with anything? You may as well use 'the Creator did it' to explain anything whatsoever."

  "Be that as it may," I said. "Has anyone ever wondered if the Cornerstone and Dungeon are unrela
ted? Like, suppose one was created to fight the other. I've always assumed they were from the same place..."

  "Precisely," Elise said. "You notice how nearly everything related to the Dungeon requires the use of the Cornerstone. But—I don't know—what if that's deliberate on the Creator's part? Give us the lock, then give us a separate key—something that would transform us into creatures able to use skillstones and gear."

  "I'm amazed," Xavier said. "You, not having an opinion on something you want to propound as fact?"

  "Hey!"

  But we were interrupted by a spawned Deep Cockatrice, and we ran for it. An explosion behind us told us not everyone had.

  "You know," I said. "We're not even having to look for monsters."

  "Oh, there's another one," Elise said.

  "What are you doing?" I demanded of Cat, who was dragging another young man by the arms.

  "Having some fun!" Cat said brightly, and tugged the boy along.

  "Really?" I asked. "Really?" I turned to the boy. "She's going to steal your heart."

  "I think that already happened," the boy said, dazed, like he was drugged.

  "Don't you have anything better to do than torment young men?" I asked.

  "Nope," Cat said, and rested her head against the boy's. "Besides, it's not tormenting."

  On an instinct, I cast Perfect Cure on the boy. He blinked, then tried unsuccessfully to pull away. "Interesting," I said, "that he doesn't seem so enthusiastic after a cure. I wonder what happened."

  "Interesting, indeed," Cat said, and I could hear unsheathed claws in her voice. "Shame what can happen."

  Alex, what are doing? Elise thought to me. She can kill us all easily.

  But if the guards intervene... I thought back.

  They won't, if they haven't done so before.

  "Oh, look what you're doing," said Sirea. I could tell the girl was in a terrible mood by the way she slammed her staff into the ground on every step. "I met him earlier. He was going to go on a date. With ME."

  "'Oh, I found him first," Cat said in a mocking whine. "Too bad. He wants me now."

  "Um..." the boy protested, and tried again to pull away.

  "No FAIR," Sirea said. "Just because I had to be in a stupid meeting—"

  Make a break for it, Xavier suggested.

  Let's, I thought, and we ran down the nearest corridor—into, in fact, Seth Black.

  He was having a conversation with no one—or, more accurately, Michael. "I am sorry, but if she insists on being leader, she may not come."

  "That is how she is, regrettably," Michael said. "She is our tactical commander mostly because no one can stand her if she is not. Well, it is not as if she is sufferable even as commander..."

  "By the way," I said. "If you're talking about Sirea..." A distinctly feline yowl came from behind us. "You might want to go over there before she and Cat start—"

  "Not this again," Michael interrupted, and I felt a cloak brush by me.

  "Something makes me think this happens on a regular basis," Elise said. "More than regular."

  "Cat attacked a human," Andy said. I saw no small anger in her face. "She broke the Rules. But the guards..."

  "I find that the Undercity can be selective in enforcement of their Rules," Seth Black said, "though one must note that the City is the same. But shall we go? I am finished here."

  "Sorry," I said, and handed only one indigo crystal back. "We bought as cheap as we could, but... We got six wands."

  "I am not offended. I doubt you would have found a better price."

  * * *

  Seth Black led us through many sections on the 30th before we stopped at the River. I was glad for my Constitution, or otherwise my legs would have become exhausted. I was also glad we had a Tier Zero with us, as he incinerated monsters we passed without us having to do anything. Didn't help my nerves, though.

  When we finally stood in front of the River, I breathed a sigh of relief.

  "Hey," Xavier said, and cast Ice Ray over the River's water. Perfect squares of ice solidified and moved to the surface. "We can do this too, right?"

  "As long as none of you slip on it and fall to your deaths." Seth Black's words were free of the least irony. "Such is the disadvantage of pure ice, and why I recommend Wands of Ice and Crystal. Nonetheless, when the denizens begin attacking the bridge, as they inevitably will, any technique would be good to keep the bridge intact. On that matter, we will have a limited time." As he spoke, the squares began disintegrating.

  "How wide is the River, anyway?" I asked.

  "It depends on the section. In places it is more akin to a sea than a river. Here it is not. Those of you with higher Perception may be able to see the other shore."

  I strained my eyes, but could not see. "Why would anyone want to take a wider section?" I asked.

  "It appears different monsters spawn in the sections. This section is known to have the more powerful ones. But, as I noted, it is much thinner."

  "The Dungeon is not so friendly," Elise said. "No cheating it. Ever."

  "About tactics," I said.

  "I suggest you fire your wands, sprint as fast as you can across, then fire your wands again. Make the bridge three wide—it is too easy to fall off if it is thin. Mr. D'Ambrose, I suggest you fire your Ice Rays in the middle for that very reason. If you can, all of you ought to cycle your actions, such that your rays will not overlap. For example, the first three should fire, the second three sprint to the edge, fire, and the first three run past them to the edge, and so on."

  "Sir, I don't presume to suggest where you would go," I said. "But I would be much happier if you were nearby."

  "The fire from my aura would doubtlessly damage the bridge. I shall fly in the vicinity." He raised an eyebrow at my worried expression. "Monsters that could drag me below the depths would be burnt by my aura. Short an out-of-depth or a Lorkesth, I would not be in danger."

  "Right," I said as we got into formation. "One, two, three—"

  We didn't cycle properly. Well, we tried, but maybe we should have practiced before risking our lives doing it. Instead, we almost tangled with each other as we ran. It was no help that through my telepathy I could already feel shapes moving beneath us.

  A Tier Zero subclass is something else. Seth Black raised a hand, and a bolt of black fire hit some distant shape. "I recommend we move fast," he said. "The River denizens become increasingly angry the longer the bridge is in existence."

  "Fast as we can, sir!"

  And then it was over. We saw the other shore. Xavier screwed up a cast, leaving a huge hole in the middle of our bridge, but Elise grabbed him and ran across the tiles beside.

  "We made it!" I said, and jumped the final distance to shore. A slight bit of acid sprayed onto my boots, and I cursed—they were expensive. I made the mistake of turning, only to see what looked like an entire army of River denizens after us.

  "One moment," Seth Black said, and drew a massive shape with his hands and wings. A colossal ball of black fire went out and struck the River, and a kind of negative explosion blinded us with darkness. When it was gone, all that was left was boiling, acidic water. "Let us be on our way. The River will only spawn more while we are on its banks."

  "Yeah, let's," I said.

  "Thanks," Xavier told Elise. "I could have been a goner."

  "No prob," Elise said, and set him back down.

  * * *

  The other side of the River seemed no different, although I was already weary from our delve so far.

  "Be careful," Seth Black said as we came to the Lock. "If you die here, you may be lost indefinitely. I assume all of you have your retrieval insurance paid?"

  We all nodded.

  "We will be careful, sir," I said. "Thanks."

  "You are quite welcome."

  * * *

  The gold on the walls of the Lock glowed through a number of colors. The walls themselves were pitch black. The Lockstone was the same as ever—no, it was slightly larger.

/>   "We're going to act as if this is a standard Boss," I said, "since it is. But be careful not to get wounded—I've got a limited number of Tier Two heals.

  "One, two, three—"

  When Sampson touched the Lockstone, it shattered. By the time he reached us, it had reformed into it.

  It was an enormous rat—well larger than all of us. And yet, each limb and the body was a writhing mass of rats. Atop the mass, where the head was, were different kinds of rats, and their tails were tied into a knot.