Tree Dungeon

by Andrew Karevik

  “The World Tree is curious what makes a king greater than others. Why must you be fed and dressed by servants? Why do men bow and obey you, even serving in your wars? You are no different than any other mortal, are you not?”

  “I fear that I’m not interested in discussing political theory with a tree,” Soren said. “No offense, of course.”

  “Perhaps you would be willing to make a bet? To satisfy my curiosity?”

  “What sort of wager?” Soren asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked at Jineve. His tone had changed a little, his voice was less directed at her and more directed to anyone in the room. He was now keenly aware I was talking through my surrogate.

  “You have a great army, a paid staff and a loyal retinue. But I am not interested in testing the mettle of an army. Just of a man. If you will satisfy my curiosity, as to what makes a king different from other mortals, I propose this. You enter the dungeon, alone, and in turn, I shall allow you to restrict access to me until you have the amulet.”

  “I must have at least an attendant,” the king said.

  My mind flashed to the betrayal trap. Yes, having another person with him, one weaker would show me his true heart.

  “You may bring one of your servants, but bring one skilled and cunning, so that they may survive the rigors before them.”

  “As a king, I must respect the domains of others, especially when I am in foreign lands,” Soren said, stretching his hand to shake Jineve’s. “I shall agree to this wager. I cannot risk greater adventurers from entering this place and taking the amulet.”

  Jineve shook his hand back and smiled at him. “This will be an interesting arrangement. I wish you the best of luck. You are going to need it.”

  Chapter 21

  I must admit that I was conflicted as I watched the king prepare to embark on this quest with only a squire. Every time a soul had entered my dungeon, I was hoping to see them fall to the many traps and dangers within. While I had never felt sore about those who managed to escape, it was always my hope to see someone die and give me their precious raw essence.

  But now? Now, I was watching a man with a great purpose enter. He was not here to glorify himself, but rather to rescue his people. It was the ultimate test of mettle and heart. I was hoping that he would succeed, I realized. Yet, there were many traps and cruelties planned for him. What chance did a lone king have? I supposed I would find out.

  The entrance to the second floor was readily accessible from entering my mouth. I saw no reason to hide the more difficult room somewhere else. There was still the occasional adventuring party that would wander in, looking for the Charm of Recollection, and the last thing I wanted was to see them walk into the second floor by accident.

  King Soren and his loyal squire, Jeffrey, were quick to approach the great door, sealing the Age of a Thousand within. He was careful in handling the door, moving his hands all over in search of something secret. He would find nothing, of course, but that did not stop him from spending half an hour at it.

  This would be reflective of how he would explore the rest of the dungeon. He inspected everything meticulously, even doors before opening them. The first room he stepped into was the Orbling Room, where the Orblings greeted him.

  Much to my relief, he was not inclined to draw his weapon and start attacking. While the Orblings did have defensive capabilities, I worried that some adventurers would try and just attack the orbs blindly. Instead, he spoke at a length with them, until finally he agreed to enter into one of the orbs.

  He was transported to a small enclosure, chained to a wall, unable to move his arms or legs. There were no visitors in this prison. Had this been what was used on Immix? I could not see any possible way to escape when one’s arms and legs were both bound so. His assistant, Jeffrey, had been trapped in another realm as well, forced to walk across a long beam at a precarious height. I had instructed the Orblings to be kind to assistants and squires, for they would be necessary for testing Knerl’s Fallacy.

  But the king was not afraid when he realized he was unable to budge. Instead, he began to sing out war chants, as loudly as he could, until finally the chains themselves broke free. I did not realize the king knew magic. Did the orbs? After he was free, he kicked the door to the prison down with a mighty roar and was liberated from the Orbling itself.

  A few hours later, they both emerged from the Orbling Room, green gem in hand. I was impressed, although concerned with exactly how Soren knew to use that spell to gain his freedom. Normally, the Orblings dampened magic use within them, especially if they could sense a magic user’s power. Perhaps that was simply a mistake on the Orblings part. I would discuss this with them after the king’s adventure had ended.

  The second room led Soren and his companion to the invisible blades trap. Here, Soren was vastly overconfident, laughing about how poorly designed the trap was as he pried the brick loose.

  “I don’t wish to insult a man in his own home,” he bellowed to the air, “but truly you must realize how poorly hidden this lever was?” He pulled the lever, causing the spell to activate, hiding the blades.

  “And your pit! I can make it in one jump with my armor on!” Soren chided as he prepared to make a running leap. As he dashed up the platform, suddenly, he stopped, sliding just to the edge. He cocked his head. “No…wait a moment,” he mumbled.

  He dug into his squire’s bag, producing a long pole for carrying lanterns. To my amazement, he pushed the pole over the pit, watching as the invisible blades shredded it in seconds.

  “Not bad!” he said, “I take back my previous criticism.” And with that, he began seeking another way around the trap.

  Something was amiss. King Soren had been so fooled by my trap, there was no possible way he would have realized it was an illusion. How was he gaining this information? I watched intently as he and his squire managed to cross the blade trap by carefully wedging a pole into one of the mechanisms that allowed the blade to spin, jamming the trap. The trap was still invisible, and the king wore no rings that would grant him sight unseen.

  Perhaps he had used divinations to discern the traps ahead of time. He did have a cabal of priests with him, blessing him each morning as they prepared to plunder. Yes. I must create a shield, a divine shield that would prevent any scrying or divinations into my dungeon. I had not considered such a concentrated effort to gain information ahead of time. I would not allow this to happen again.

  Soren passed the test of intention with flying colors. The case discerned that he was indeed in pursuit of something greater than himself and allowed him to grab the gem. He chose to leave his signet ring behind, which was an heirloom passed by all other members of House Soren. It was the last of its kind. While it might have been worth a few thousand gold coins to an antique collector, it was not a financial sacrifice. Rather, it was Soren giving up the one thing passed down from father to father. He would not be able to present this gift to his own son when he came of age. There was much pain in this choice and, as such, it was truly a sacrifice.

  I was growing more impressed with Soren’s actions. But while he had beaten two tests, there were still three more to go. I was most curious to watch him attempt to pass Knerl’s Fallacy. Would he view his own squire as expendable, thus damning him to instant destruction? Or would he know better?

  After camping for the night, the two embarked straight towards the betrayal room. Soren was moving faster than usual this morning. While he had been initially meticulous about his travels, searching every square inch of the hallways and doors in the hopes of finding secrets or traps, now he was moving without a care. Perhaps he had grown careless or comfortable. Or maybe he had realized that the only challenges in this level of the dungeon were contained within the rooms? If that was the case, he was sorely mistaken, as there were a few runes scattered about that would send him to the Magekiller. He just simply hadn’t come across them yet.

  The pair entered into the betrayal room and began
to examine the altar of betrayal. As King Soren stood before the altar, reading the words aloud, he suddenly paused. A slight gust of wind picked up, moving his cloak ever so gently. This was a curious event, for there was no airflow within the dungeon. My magic would create and sustain the oxygen adventurers needed in order to survive. There was no wind. Why was his cloak moving like that?

  Soren ceased reading the words on the altar and turned his attention to the statue of Knerl. With the assistance of his squire, he was able to climb up and retrieve the true gem from inside of the mouth. His cloak ceased to move from the wind after that.

  What was that wind? It was faint, weak, but no doubt magical in origin. I cast a spell of insight, to gaze up the magical traces that the wind had left behind. The wind was part of a spell, I learned, called Whispers of Wind. A magic user could whisper words to a person up to a mile away, only to be heard by the receiver.

  At once, everything made sense. Someone was assisting Soren with navigating through the dungeon. But who? It could not be anyone from the outside, for I did not detect any form of divination within me at the moment. They would have to be aware of Soren’s position in order to continue providing moment to moment assistance. This left only the denizens of the dungeon.

  Of the many who lived within me, there was only two who would dare to do something like this, Immix or Jineve. Immix would have most certainly lured Soren to his death by now, or at the very least ensured that the king ended up trapped in a pit trap with no way of escape. This left only Jineve as the one who was providing instruction. But why? Why would she see fit to aid the king in his quest?

  I was angered by this turn of events. King Soren was instructed to undertake this quest alone with only the aid of a squire. He had violated the rules of our wager by accepting her aid. The entirety of this test was to check if he truly had the mettle to navigate and survive this dungeon by his lonesome.

  There was a great temptation to just collapse the dungeon room on top of Soren, killing him instantly. I seethed at him for a time, all the while searching for Jineve. I had been so focused on Soren that I had not bothered to keep an eye on the rest of the dungeon, including the small academy that the sorceress was running. I found her in her quarters, sitting cross legged, a map of the second level sketched out before her.

  It had taken a few months to build level two and Jineve had popped in and out of the rooms, using her magic to aid the goblins in their construction. At the time, this had seemed normal to me. Jineve had told me she would not attempt to go after the amulet herself, which meant she was free to help me in construction. Often, she would assist as means of increasing her magical talents, such as when I needed to create a large population of Shrevar. She learned the spell I used and aided me in creating them for weeks.

  In short, she knew just about everything in the second level. She would be able to help Soren pass every trial. She knew the secret weaknesses of the Shrevar and the Hurlic. She knew the passphrase to speak to the Stone Giants to curry favor with them. I thought nothing of her participation at the time; it was just the same as when I had expanded level one or built the Magekiller Room. But now, I realized she was learning everything she needed to guide someone else through the dungeon.

  This treachery confused me. Soren, I could expect to use some kind of trickery, after all, he was an outsider. He might have seemed noble, but I still did not truly know him. But Jineve? What could she possibly have to gain by double crossing me? I understood that she had been angry about the Age of a Thousand, but this was inexcusable. I would have to handle both of their actions, but what was the best way to go about it?

  Chapter 22

  Soren had three gems and was working his way to the realm of the giants, Igio. I watched Jineve intently for a few hours as she continued to advise him. She had been casting a spell that would hide the magical trail of the wind, but not the effects of the wind itself. The moving cloak had been the thing to tip me off, but she was unaware that I knew. My presence within the dungeon was great, so she could not sense that my focus had shifted to her.

  I watched as she whispered instructions to him very carefully, paying close attention to the small artifact on the map. It was a Dowsing Crystal, tied to the king’s position. When he moved, the crystal would move as well, keeping her updated as to his location. The map was so detailed that she could see each step that he was taking, allowing for her to guide him away from the teleportation runes.

  The temptation to crush her with rocks was great as well. But, I could not allow my emotions to get the best of me. Jineve was still my representative; she had served me well in my times of need. She should be allowed to speak her side before I gave any judgments.

  “I see what you are doing,” I whispered to Jineve, using the same spell that she was. As the wind blew across her, she immediately stiffened, her eyes growing wide. “You were present when we made our wager. The rules were that he was to solve this dungeon himself. Why have you done this?”

  Jineve sighed at that. “If you really must know, I intended to guide him to the amulet, then, when he returned to camp, I would slay him and take it for myself.”

  Of course. This had never been about helping the king. She was still after the amulet. “And you thought you’d be able to just walk into his camp and kill him? He has a great many ally on his side,” I told her.

  “Please, court magicians who haven’t seen war in a long, long time,” she replied. “My power is greater than theirs.”

  “I am disappointed in you, Jineve. Rather than test your own bravery against the dungeon, you manipulate others so that you can steal from them after they have done the work for you. That seems more like what a coward would do.”

  Jineve scowled at those words. “I aided you in a time of great crisis! I gave you wisdom and the means to contact Gannix, to cure your malady. I have been your voice when humans have encroached upon you. Yet, you still deemed me unworthy! You may do as you wish within you, as this is your domain, but outside? What I do in the outside world is my own business. You have no say in that world.”

  This much was true. Once the amulet was outside of the dungeon, it was no longer in my possession. Whatever happened to it was not my problem or my concern. All I wanted was to ensure that the person who had the amulet as they left were deserving of holding it. If someone unworthy were to come along and seize it, there would be nothing I could do.

  “I understand your desire for the amulet, Jineve,” I replied. “But I am greatly unhappy with your decision to interfere with an agreement between King Soren and me. It is true that what happens outside is your business, but you chose to violate my rules within my world.”

  “You never told me not to aid him,” Jineve said. “I broke no oath, or vow to you. I have done nothing wrong.”

  Again, she was correct here. There had been no agreement that she would not assist others in their endeavors. As far as she was concerned, she had done me no wrong.

  “Then allow me to correct this. You are not to aid him anymore, nor are you to help anyone in this dungeon without my permission, understood?”

  Jineve sighed at that. “Of course. You are the master of this domain, I shall follow the rules as given.” Despite her apparent frustration with me, I could still see just a tiny smirk on her face. She had already aided Soren through two of the hardest challenges. Surviving the Magekiller as a noncaster would be easy enough and dealing with the giants might not be a challenge for a king who knows how to speak diplomatically. Jineve knew that she’d be caught eventually. She figured it all out ahead of time.

  This was an odd sort of treachery. She had not violated any laws or rules that I had laid down, but that was merely because I trusted those who served me to continue to serve me. This was an exploitation, a loophole. I could expect this kind of behavior from a trickster like Immix, who defied authority as part of his career and character, but from Jineve? This did not bode well for our relationship in the future. I woul
d have to speak to Ehdrid about all of this, once the king had finished his quest. Perhaps the shaman would know what to do next.

  I returned my focus to King Soren, who was now in the icy tundra of Igio. He was riding on the back of a giant, moving to speak with the chieftain, to negotiate some kind of deal. He knew the language of giants, thanks to an amulet around his neck, granting him the ability to speak any language. No doubt a useful tool for a ruler who had to negotiate with foreign nations.

  He would pass this test quickly, I knew. Soon the amulet would be in his hands. Then, Jineve would slay him and take it for herself. She was powerful. If necessary, I would have used her abilities to clear out the camp of the king’s men, should they have refused to comply with my wishes. She had no life other than to study magic. While it was true that she had a few pupils to teach, all she spoke about to them was about magic. Her rebellious spirit gave her great control over arcane power. The king would die by her hand, this much was sure.

  I pondered the situation. I had grown fond of Soren, watching him over these last few days. He was strong and courageous, but more importantly, he treated his squire with kindness. He did not scold the boy, nor did he strike him. In one instance, I saw Soren actually step between Jeffrey and a snarling Shrevar that had somehow wandered out of the Igio portal. And then there was his mission.

  How noble was the cause to save one’s family from being trapped in a realm of torment? To free their souls from a punishment not fit for any being? Jineve would only seek to trap others, so that she could live longer. Could I sit idly by and allow for this to happen? But to tell Soren the truth would be to betray Jineve. She was still one of my allies. I was still responsible for her life, for as long as she lived within me. I could not allow any harm to come to her within my walls.

  Yet, would it be so wrong to play by her own rules? After all, she made it clear that the rules did not apply to the outside world. As long as Soren did not harm her within me, what concern was it of mine? Yes, it would be fitting to force her to live by the standards she had set. I was breaking no agreement by informing Soren of her intentions. I had never explicitly promised not to tell him about her cruel designs.