A Living Dungeon's Madness

by Allan Joyal

  The group had continued to move forward. Thanul and his three followers slowed down to allow Kalacho to go ahead of them. They then ran around the group and started to advance along the left side of the line. Thanul shouted out for the approaching group to identify themselves.

  One of the approaching men ran faster. He waved wildly as he tried to close the gap between the two groups as quickly as possible. “The village at Fair’s Ford is gone!” he shouted.

  “What?” Thanul shouted back. “How could it be completely gone?”

  “All the people and animals are dead,” the running man shouted. “The buildings have all been burned to the ground. It’s gone.”

  “Any sign of how it happened?” Thanul called out as he and his companions started running towards the group.

  The rest of that group paused and then turned to block the path of the adventurers. One figure wearing a metal helmet topped by a huge crest made of horse hair thrust a sword toward the group. “Halt and be identified.”

  “Let’s pause, Kerytyn,” Roquel said with a sigh.

  The adventurers all stopped, allowing their skis to glide to a halt. They formed a half-circle facing the approaching soldiers. Each adventurer was leaning on the poles they had been using to increasing their speed.

  The soldiers continued to approach. The one with the crest on his helmet sheathed his sword and moved to stand at the center of the half-circle. “I am High Guard Vermiculn. These two farmers say that you know something about what might have destroyed the village at Fair’s Ford.”

  Gee’if shrugged. “I’m not sure any of us have ever been there. However, we do know you have a kobold problem to the south and we are already heading to remove it.”

  “Why?” the soldier said.

  Before anyone could answer him the snow between him and Gee’if swirled. A moment later the snow solidified into a humanoid body. The shape of the head and hair made it look like a female’s, but the snow was a bit too loose to see details.

  The figure giggled. “I thought I’d try something,” the adventurers heard Faestari say. “I see everyone is healthy. The kobolds weren’t too dangerous?”

  “They were not easy to eliminate,” Roquel said. “And a couple tried to kill off the villagers who were with us.”

  “New inhabitants of Montgar or the valley?” Faestari asked eagerly.

  “The ones we helped yesterday were with us when you told us about the kobolds,” Gee’if replied. “They are from Oersteglen. It’s the closest village to Montgar.”

  The snow figure nodded. “I should have thought about that. The force heading for South Falls hasn’t arrived yet, but it should in a day or two. The other one was aiming for Fairview, but I get a feeling the natural caution of most kobolds has them moving slowly and wiping out villages they encounter.”

  “How do you figure that?” Gee’if asked.

  “Because from what I’ve seen the dungeon isn’t making the kobolds more intelligent. They are more powerful and many of the recent ones show signs that they have been given gifts based on fire, earth or air mana. The only thing I haven’t seen is any sign that they are growing smarter. I don’t think the dungeon knows how to do that,” Faestari said.

  The soldier turned to the snow avatar. “Explain yourself. Who are you?”

  Faestari turned slowly until she was looking right at the guard. “Guard from Fairview?” she asked.

  “I am High Guard Vermiculn!” the soldier proclaimed authoritatively. “You are trespassing within the domain of Fairview. Identify yourself or face arrest.”

  Kalacho and Gee’if both started laughing causing the soldier to glare at the adventurers. Faestari held up her hand to get the man’s attention.

  “Don’t,” she commanded, her voice echoing. “They are just reacting to the idea that you could arrest a dungeon. I am not actually here. The snow is a projection of my will and desire to talk to Roquel and the others. However, your question deserves an answer. My name is Faestari.”

  “And that is supposed to mean something to me?” the guard asked.

  “No,” Faestari said. “The village I grew up in was destroyed more than one hundred years ago. Well, I guess I can’t say I grew up. Wizards attacked the village and my mother revealed that I wasn’t really a human child. Then she sent me away to sleep until I had enough mana to build a dungeon for myself.”

  “You’re what?” the soldier asked.

  Roquel stepped forward. “Faestari is a dungeon spirit. She doesn’t really have a physical body. Right now, she’s here to talk to me. My companions and I are headed to another dungeon in order to destroy it.”

  “How do you destroy something that you just said doesn’t have a body?” the soldier asked.

  “The spirit needs an anchor,” Roquel said. “Every dungeon is centered around a gemstone that houses the spirit. If the gemstone is destroyed, the spirit is banished.”

  “And this has something to do with what destroyed Fair’s Ford?” the soldier asked again. He had taken off his helmet to reveal hair that was thin and grey from age. The man scratched his head as Roquel looked over at Faestari.

  “I haven’t been following the progress of the kobolds,” Faestari admitted. “I knew when they left because some of the kobolds talked about it, and I understood their speech. I was visiting the dungeon to scout it out for this expedition.”

  “Anything to tell us?” Roquel asked.

  “I checked around the dungeon. I don’t see any new paths worn in the snow. It looks like the fighting in the passages is getting worse. I wanted to check, but the domain was too unstable. The dungeon was pulling hard on fire and earth mana and the volcano it created was active,” Faestari said.

  “Coward,” High guard Vermiculn muttered.

  Faestari just glared at the man for a moment. It was a bit eerie to see a humanoid made of snow stand and look directly at someone, but Vermiculn did not react. The adventurers grumbled for a moment before Kalacho broke the formation by stepping backwards and turning to face the south.

  “We should keep moving,” Kalacho said. “If Fair’s Ford was destroyed by kobolds as we expect, we can stop the depredations by taking out the dungeon. Didn’t Faestari said that the changes make them dependent on the dungeon’s mana to survive.”

  “I did,” Faestari said. “And you are probably right. The kobolds won’t survive long once the dungeon is destroyed and if they travel only at night, the guards might be able to clear the area ahead of them. You are only five or six days away from reaching the dungeon.”

  “Closer to nine,” Roquel said. “We pushed hard from Montgar, but if we want to be able to fight when we arrive, we’ll have to slow a bit.”

  “I should demand you help with the kobolds, or whatever creature destroyed Fair’s Ford. I hear you took on some monsters just a day ago,” Vermiculn said.

  “The dungeon has been attempting to get the mana that feeds Faestari,” Roquel said. “We’ve faced a couple of attacks from upgraded kobolds. They are strong and fierce, but not particularly skilled.”

  “What does that mean?” Vermiculn asked.

  “For an adventurer the kobolds aren’t particularly dangerous,” Roquel said. “These kobolds are faster and tougher than most orcs, but they still don’t show any real tactical thought or skill. Soldiers can defeat them using their disciplined tactics, but villagers fighting them will get torn apart.”

  “Then come with us and help defend the villages these kobolds are headed towards,” Vermiculn demanded.

  “Bad idea,” Faestari said calmly. “The dungeon is going to eventually lead it’s kobolds to victory over the creatures they are fighting. Once that occurs, it will realize that it has an opportunity to gain mana by having the kobolds bring humans back.”

  “To eat?” Roquel asked.

  “Blood sacrifice,” Faestari said. “Remember all dungeons feed from the death of anyone within our domain. There are other ways, but that provides the most mana in the least time. Howe
ver, it is a dark mana, and hard to use in a positive way.”

  Roquel looked over at Faestari. “And most dungeons are awakened by a burst of dark mana. That might explain why they are at best indifferent to the plight of the adventurers who enter.”

  Faestari shook her head. “I can’t say, although from what I’ve seen there is far more to the attitude of your average dungeon than just the dark mana. Remember that many dungeons have been destroyed because humanity grew to fear them. I’ve had more than one dungeon ask me to stop talking to everyone.”

  “Why?” Gee’if asked. “I mean you have been careful not to reveal any weaknesses that other dungeons might have as well.”

  “They are more worried about the actions that humans might take. I haven’t sat and asked for a history lesson from any of the older dungeons, but the conversations I do have hint of occasions where one dungeon went bad, but the response was to eliminate all nearby dungeons, even the ones that hadn’t tried to kill every adventurer that entered,” Faestari said.

  “Perhaps we should eliminate you,” Vermiculn said angrily. “You are saying you are going to keep these people from fighting the raiders.”

  “I have asked them to go to the source of the raiders and eliminate the problem there,” Faestari said firmly. “I believe you’d agree that it is a far better idea to stop the raiders from increasing their numbers.”

  “But how do we protect villages near Fair’s Ford?” the soldier asked.

  “Warn them about the possibility of raids at night. Suggest that they find the most defensible building and shelter within it at night until the kobolds are killed. Patrol in small, but well armed groups that have plenty of light,” Kalacho said. “Try to find places the kobolds might hide out during the day when its light and ambush them as they return at the end of a night.”

  “Ambush?” Vermiculn said angrily.

  “You aren’t fighting an honorable opponent, but one that revels in wholesale slaughter of humans. Don’t risk the fight because you gave the kobolds a warning and a chance to flee, because they’ll run away the instant they see an opportunity,” Kalacho said. “They aren’t being driven to your walls, but to wreck havok and allow the dungeon that spawned them time to grow stronger.”

  Vermiculn looked confused. “What do you mean?”

  Faestari’s avatar seemed to start to melt. “He noticed me,” she said. “You need to move. He might try to route the nearby kobolds to you.”

  “Why?” Vermiculn asked as the avatar’s legs turned to water, causing the rest of the figure to collapse.

  “I feel magic,” Koristal said. “And its strong enough that I’m not sure I can shield everyone.”

  “Let’s move!” Roquel called out.

  The adventurers all started moving rapidly southward. Thanul and his men joined in at a sprint, rushing away from the melted avatar. A ball of fire was floating around chest level, slowly growing in intensity.

  Vermiculn and his men froze for a moment. Then one of the soldiers screamed in terror and ran off. He was following the villagers. The rest of the soldiers joined in chasing after the adventurers as the fire sphere began to compress.

  Vermiculn turned and noticed everyone rushing away. “I did not!” started to shout just as the fireball erupted violently. The flames engulfed the guard leader. What he was going to say was lost in the roar of the flame and his last pained scream.

  “Keep moving,” Roquel called out. “Hopefully the dungeon won’t try to track us.”

  “Can it?” Thanul asked.

  “Faestari meets with us at midday every day since we left Montgar,” Gee’if said between huge breaths as he tried to ski faster. “She has no trouble tracking us. I’m not sure if the other dungeon has the same skills.”

  “It can definitely use mana outside its domain,” Kalacho said. “I didn’t know that any dungeon could do that.”

  “They can,” Roquel said. “I’ve seen other dungeons do it. But from what I understand, it requires a lot more mana so the few dungeons I’ve watched do it always had a very particular target. Usually it’s someone who violated the dungeon in some way during their last delve. Obviously Faestari has figured out how to extend her range.”

  “Sometimes I forget she’s a dungeon,” Kalacho said. “I mean when you talk to Faestari you see a little elven girl. She seems so innocent.”

  “Hard to believe she’s innocent,” Kerytyn said. “How many adventurers have died inside her caverns?”

  “She’d tell you that too many have died,” Gee’if said. “The one thing that makes her different is her compassion. She won’t protect adventurers, but she doesn’t want to needlessly kill them.”

  “Which makes entering her caverns just slightly safer than any other dungeon,” Kalacho said. “I’ve seen her show little to no remorse. I guess the best way to put it is that she doesn’t really care about most people. She has a few she knows and would miss, but I get a feeling she’s already discovering that she has a hard time relating to others.”

  “What?” one of the soldiers asked as the squad finally caught up. “Our captain was just killed.”

  “We’ll talk about it later,” Roquel said. “Right now, we have to keep moving.”

  The group continued heading southward, hoping that the excitement for the day had ended.

  Chapter 29: Arriving at the Dungeon

  Eight days later the quintet of adventurers led a small company of solders and villagers into the valley that Faestari had guided them to. Kerytyn immediately held up a hand and waved for everyone to stop.

  “That’s the dungeon,” Faestari said as she pointed to the strange overhanging rock. There was a dark space beneath the dungeon, but the layers of snow made it difficult to see what was there.

  “I thought it would have a very visible entrance,” Thanul said.

  “They can, but the Yellowrock dungeon is nothing more than a cave hidden behind a large boulder. The name of the dungeon is based on that boulder’s unusual color,” Gee’if said.

  “And since this dungeon doesn’t know enough to try to attract adventurers,” Roquel said as the villagers spread out.

  Koristal noticed the spreading villagers. “Stay close,” she called out. “The dungeon reportedly does allow its inhabitants to patrol. You wouldn’t want to be caught too far for people to support you.”

  A trio of villagers waved and kept moving. They were circling away from the dungeon trying to keep it in sight while they moved. All three men had bows and were keeping arrows nocked as they watched the snow.

  “Not good,” Kalacho said as he watched the men move.

  A soldier who appeared to be in charge of the various shattered remnants of guard units that had joined the group moved forward. “How can you know it’s a dungeon?” he asked. “I see nothing indicating that there is anything under that overhang.”

  Roquel stood and stared at the overhang. She whispered something that none of the others could hear clearly.

  “What is she doing?” Thanul asked.

  “Probably asking one of the many spirits she’s contracted to about what is under the overhang,” Koristal said. “I can feel a disturbance in the mana. Hopefully the dungeon doesn’t notice.”

  “What can it do?” the soldier asked.

  Loud shouts of alarm echoed out over the valley. The source was the three archers who had moved away from the main body of the group. Everyone turned and could see several kobolds bursting out of the snow right next to the men.

  “Thanul, keep the villagers in formation,” Kalacho shouted as he turned to race towards the erupting melee. Gee’if was at his heels.

  The kobolds had timed their strike perfectly. Two of the archers were tackled into the snow bank, disappearing under a pile of brown fur and fury. Blood splatted upwards as the cries of these men was quickly silenced. The third man stumbled in his attempt to escape and was now trying to race backwards on both hands and feet as he stared up at a kobold.

  The kobold ha
d a stone axe raised over its head. It prepared to bring it down.

  “Cuan Bi’s Shield!” Koristal shouted. The eerie barrier of light Thanul and the other villagers with him had seen before burst up into the air directly between the retreating archer and the kobold. The kobold brought his axe down on the barrier. It bounced off causing the kobold to stare ahead in shock as the villager continued to race back towards the rest of the men.

  Kerytyn was the next adventurer to react. He drew his sword and raced across the snow-covered landscape on his skis. The other adventurers rushed to move to his aid as more kobolds climbed up onto the snow.

  “Are you sure the cave isn’t where the kobolds are emerging?” the soldier asked. “Men, get in tight formation, shields up, spears at the ready!”

  The soldiers fell into formation as Kerytyn glided past the kobolds. He managed to slash several before moving out of range and having to start pumping his legs to increase his speed. A couple kobolds watched him go, but then joined the mass as it charged around the archer.

  “They’ll realize the shield doesn’t prevent them from attacking the archer from the side and rear soon,” Gee’if said worriedly as he and Kalacho ripped their skis off.

  Roquel was still kneeling. One of the straps on her left ski appeared to have gotten tangled and she was unable to join in the fight at the villagers tried to rush forward to protect their friend.

  “No time to talk,” Kalacho said. The veteran adventurer rushed forward holding his shield up. The snow in the area had been packed down before the last storm, so he was only sinking about ankle deep and was able to build up a decent amount of momentum as he charged the kobolds.

  One kobold had managed to pull ahead of the others. It was running on all fours and lowered its head just before colliding with Kalacho’s raised shield. Everyone heard a rather sickening sound, a bit as if a melon had been crushed under a rock as the kobold’s body stopped and then fell to the right. The snow under the shield was covered in blood and other fluids.

  The other kobolds bayed in dismay. They slowed down long enough to rise back on their hind legs and pull out weapons. Gee’if moved into position next to Kalacho as the kobolds spread out around them.