A Living Dungeon

by Allan Joyal

  “Why are so many people interested?” Jyxton asked. “It’s not that special, is it?”

  Betrixy snorted. “We haven’t even checked what was in that pouch we grabbed. But at the same time we found a Lifecap Mushroom and a Mush Stone. Just those two will probably sell for five silvers to Colasmel. We already made more than ten silvers with the first two trips in.”

  “And a silver is more than most men get paid for a year’s work,” Gee’if said.

  “But won’t it stop?” Jyxton asked worriedly.

  “There are dungeons that have been challenging adventurers for generations and they still provide treasure,” Gee’if said.

  “I see another group approaching from the North,” Hal’vik said as he pointed out northeast of the grove where the group was encamped. “Looks like twenty or so people.”

  The group kept walking. They watched as the group of wagons turned away from Dared’s encampment and then formed a circle in the middle of the plain a short distance to the south of the grove. The group quickly raised a flag in the center of their camp as people began pulling things from one of the four wagons.

  “What?” Jyxton asked.

  Betrixy laughed. “I’m wondering as well. But there is no breeze to reveal the flag. All I can see is that it has a blue field.”

  Hal’vik snorted. “That would likely be an adventuring company then. Most of them appear to prefer blue for their field color.”

  Jyxton pointed to the north. “The group approaching from the North has a blue flag being held up by one of the men. And I see another group behind them, but that’s just a few people.”

  “Do you think they noticed us?” Betrixy asked.

  One of the members of the nearer of the two adventuring groups had separated from the group and was moving to the trailhead leading up to the dungeon entrance.

  “Nope,” Gee’if said sarcastically. “I believe they haven’t seen us.”

  Hal’vik snorted. “What should we do?”

  “Keep walking,” Gee’if said. “We can stop by our camp and then visit Colasmel with our latest treasures.”

  “I see another group approaching from the south,” Jyxton said. “Why are they all arriving now?”

  “I think the Kindred got the message out,” Hal’vik said. “I do remember Avcrod saying that the Kindred were bitter about this dungeon. He wasn’t exactly sure why they felt that way though.”

  “You do realize that this many people is going to strain the local game,” Betrixy said. “There will be food shortages unless people are careful.”

  “The adventurers probably will be,” Hal’vik said. “And Dared has already planned to have food brought in until he can get the town set up and bring in farmers.”

  “He has a lot of gold,” Jyxton said. “But this area is so poor.”

  “That dungeon will change that in a hurry,” Gee’if said. “We haven’t even tried all that hard and we’ve brought in enough money to pay for the next season. I’m sure that will increase with this many groups.”

  “And you only get treasure in rooms you clear,” Betrixy pointed out. “We have no idea how many the dungeon contains.”

  “Can the adventurers figure that out? Are there any spells?” Jyxton asked.

  “I never heard of any, but Yellowrock dungeon has been around for over a hundred years. It’s well known by now,” Gee’if said.

  “So there would have been no reason to use any spells like that,” Hal’vik said. “How many adventuring groups have camps there?”

  “At least four,” Gee’if said. “It’s a popular dungeon for beginning adventurers.”

  “Why didn’t we go there?” Jyxton asked.

  “The treasures aren’t the best,” Gee’if replied. “It’s often very low quality gemstones or small ingots of metal. If you want to get a special weapon or armor made, it’s a good place to adventure since you can collect the raw materials needed, but it doesn’t provide much beyond that.”

  “I can imagine that healing potions are expensive,” Betrixy replied as the group navigated the last switchback on the path. “And we have a welcoming party at the base of the path.”

  The first adventurer to walk toward the path was waiting for them. They could also see that the small band that had been coming from the north had rushed past the adventuring company and were running directly towards the path as well.

  “Think any will try to enter today?” Betrixy asked.

  The adventurer waiting at the base of the path raised a hand and waved. “Hail!” he shouted out.

  Gee’if cautiously returned the wave as the group made their way down the final section of mountain trail. The adventurer stood and watched as they made the final turn and exited the path.

  “A successful run?” the adventurer asked.

  “Not as good as we’d like. We had a band that was little more than bandits following us closely,” Hal’vik said angrily.

  “So there are more still inside the dungeon?” the man asked.

  “Bodies only,” Hal’vik said. “Or at least that’s what we surmise from the screams and from what we saw.”

  Jyxton coughed. “We think they were taken out by the spiders that marched through the passage and ignored us.”

  “Spiders?” the adventurer asked.

  “The dungeon has at least two varieties of spider,” Gee’if said. “The one we’ve seen had a body the size of a person’s head. The other one we didn’t see, but heard about listening to the bandits. They entered a chamber filled with webs. I’m not sure how large those spiders are, but the bandits lost at least three members in their encounter with the spiders.”

  “But Jyxton said they ignored you,” the adventurer asked.

  Hal’vik sighed. “Look, it was only our third trip into the dungeon, but we’ve noticed that when you stop moving forward and start working your way back to the entrance, the monsters seem to vanish. We had reached the end of the first floor that had creatures and turned back. The bandits were heading down the stairway in the final room. We were moving through the passage between rooms when at least a dozen spiders walked down the passage toward the room with the stairway. They ignored us.”

  The adventurer’s eyes widened. “I had heard rumors that dungeons could think and react, but to hear that someone witnessed it.”

  “Who are you?” Betrixy asked. “And what group do you belong to? Heck, how did you find out about this dungeon.”

  The adventurer looked a bit upset. “I’m Kalacho, a member of the Impaled Cats. We heard a rumor of a new dungeon almost a season ago. It was spreading through the taverns of Crystalton.”

  “The Kindred have a hall there don’t they,” Gee’if asked.

  “One of their larger ones I think,” Kalacho said. “Several of the larger adventuring companies recruit there because of the number of dungeons nearby.”

  “Nearby meaning that you can arrive there in no more than ten days,” Gee’if said.

  Kalacho shrugged. “This one took us twenty-five. It’s quite far from any established kingdom.”

  “We have a king’s son who has decided he wants to change that,” Betrixy said with a nod towards the grove. “He’s already got a bunch of men working to build a tavern and an inn. He even brought an alchemist. The man pays good prices for spider eyes.”

  “Anything else you have found?” Kalacho asked.

  “The venom sacs on the spiders we have killed have interested the alchemist,” Betrixy said. “That’s been about it so far, but we’ve only made three delves, and in the first two we only managed to get through the second chamber.”

  Kalacho just looked scornfully at the quarter. “And you call yourselves adventurers.”

  The band that had come from the north arrived. They were led by a man of at least forty years. He glared at everyone as he approached. The other five were two men and three women. One of the men put a hand on the older man’s shoulder. “Father, we need to be diplomatic. I’m not sure why you insisted that
we come this far.”

  The man looked up at the mountain. “This has to be the one,” he said firmly. “It fits. We may have finally found it.”

  “Father?” one of the girls said. “What are you babbling about?”

  The man just turned at looked at the young lady. She appeared to be about sixteen years old. She was wearing a ragged leather tunic and some thin leather greaves. “Luniri, don’t worry about it right now. I first want to find out a bit about the dungeon.”

  Kalacho pointed over at Gee’if. “He appears to be the leader of the only group of adventurers to enter the dungeon and return.”

  “The other group was a group of bandits,” Hal’vik said angrily. “They had no idea what they were getting into. And they showed no respect.”

  Kalacho whistled. “I’ve heard that you always show the dungeon respect.”

  The father of the other band just shrugged. “Look, my name is Mordlew. Can you tell me much about the dungeon? How big is it? What kind of monsters does it contain.”

  Jyxton was about to speak as a man broke off from the other approaching adventuring company and ran over to the group. “Wait! I need to hear this too.”

  Betrixy snorted. “I guess we see that our dungeon is no longer our little secret.”

  “With this many groups interested, will we be able to please everyone? I mean it doesn’t look like multiple groups can enter the dungeon at the same time,” Jyxton asked.

  The man from the second adventuring group ran up. He looked over at Kalacho. “I’m not sure about the Impaled Cats, but the Flame Vultures have always accepted that the first group of adventurers to enter a dungeon has the right to decide who’s entering on any given day.”

  “What?” Mordlew shouted. “You mean this group of kids can say who gets to enter?”

  Gee’if took in a deep breath. “I’m hoping we can come to an agreement. Honestly, we had to wait seven days after the first delve before we felt rested enough to return. This trip was easy, but I suspect that the dungeon was doing something to make sure the fight wasn’t too difficult for us because of the other group.”

  Kalacho looked puzzled. “Why would a dungeon do that?”

  “Not all dungeons are heartless and cruel,” Mordlew said.

  “How would you know?” the member of the Flame Vultures asked.

  Luniri rolled her eyes. “Please. He’s been dragging me into dungeons since I was twelve. It’s some kind of family quest to find a specific dungeon. When we don’t find it, we put in time learning how dungeons work.”

  Faestari looked more closely at the young woman. She had some muscles, but seemed more than a little bored by the conversation. The two adventuring company representatives looked closely at her and the other members of the family.

  “Why?” Kalacho asked. “And who all is here?

  Gee’if sighed. “I guess we don’t have a name yet. But we decided to start working together last fall. I’m Gee’if. My companions are Hal’vik.”

  Gee’if pointed at Hal’vik who raised his scimitar. “Former caravan guard in the Sand Wastes. The others are Jyxton and Betrixy.”

  “What are your specialties?” Kalacho asked Betrixy.

  “Protection, some healing and fire,” Betrixy said.

  Kalacho nodded. “I’m Kalacho, I’m with the Impaled Cats. We brought fourteen adventurers and then a few people to support the delves.”

  The man from the Flame Vultures nodded. “I’m Bezztol. The Flame Vultures appointed me to lead the founding of a new hall here. We only have eleven adventurers and six of those are recruits who have no experience in dungeons.”

  “They’ll do fine,” Betrixy said. “Gee’if was the only member of our group with previous experience in dungeons. However, make sure they know when to turn back. We lost two members in our first attempt after our leader refused to turn back.”

  Mordlew scowled. “I’m Mordlew. My family has been adventuring for generations. My family is with me. My sons, Lewfeld and Mardrew. My daughters Luniri and Salene. And Lewfeld’s wife Koristal. When can we enter the dungeon.”

  Gee’if shrugged. “I’d suggest that you rest and go in the morning if you insist on being next. I can say with some assurance that you do not want to enter the dungeon if you are tired or distracted.”

  “Traps?” Bezztol asked.

  “The rooms we have entered are guarded by a combination of kobolds and giant spiders. The kobolds are masters at attacking from ambush,” Gee’if said.

  The man looked less than impressed. He turned to say something to his sons just as Dared ran over. “What is this?” the man asked.

  Kalacho looked at the finely made tunic and vest worn by the king’s son. “I understand that you are building an inn and a tavern.”

  Dared scowled. “I heard that there was a dungeon. Several people told me that there would be adventurers here and that they would pay well for the kind of support a town could provide.”

  Bezztol nodded. “We will once it’s built. But how long will it take you to have it finished? Or were you going to try to just put in one building and claim you are the new baron in charge?”

  Dared’s scowl deepened. “I’m not looking to cheat you, but I’ve talked to my master builder. He thinks we’ll have a building that can serve as a tavern built in another ten days. The inn might take twenty if I’m willing to use wood for it. I’ve also sent men out to gather logs we can use to build a palisade.”

  “A wooden palisade?” Kalacho asked.

  “The stone around here is mostly granite. If we find pieces the right size we can use them, but it’s very difficult to cut, and it shatters far too often,” Dared said. “Master Builder Joward has sent out one of his apprentices to scour the countryside for a source of stone we can use.”

  “You’ve put thought into this,” Kalacho said respectfully.

  “I’m a fifth son,” Dared said in a tired tone. “My father let me know when I was barely able to walk that the only way I might stay in the kingdom would be as some kind of minister for whichever brother won the throne. He had me shadowing the treasurer when I was seven and sitting in on the city planning meetings when I was nine.”

  “And yet you ended up here?” Mordlew said in a voice filled with scorn.

  Dared shrugged. “My brothers and I don’t get along. Actually that is an understatement. Alphrin tried to kill me one day while we were sparring. My father learned that he was looking to hire someone to kill me. For my protection he publicly repudiated me and banished me from the kingdom.”

  “Where do you get your funding?” Mordlew asked condescendingly.

  Dared sighed. “Look, the reason I’m not going to become king is partly because my mother was not married to the king. I won’t say where I’m from because she might end up in danger. She’s still close to my father and to her daughters. When he made the decision to banish me, he met me in a tavern at the edge of town. He knew about the rumors of this dungeon. I had told him. He suggested that I could found a town here and promised me funds. I can access the funds through the dwarven bank in Fairview.”

  “Smart,” Kalacho said. “So right now it’s just you and your builders?”

  “No,” Dared said. “I brought an alchemist. His name is Colasmel. If you look at the encampment there is a tent that has a white banner with the sigil of a pair of scales on it. That’s his tent. We’ve already marked off space for a workshop and store once we finish the tavern and inn. I also brought out a brewer and a cook for the tavern. That’s why that building will be finished first.”

  “Good,” Hal’vik said. “I could use a good ale.”

  “We brought in enough stone to set up a hearth and a stone oven. The laborers finished digging out the foundation yesterday, so we’ll start building tomorrow,” Dared said.

  “Taking a day off?” Mordlew said. The disdain in his voice caused his children to visibly cringe.

  “Organizing,” Dared said. “Joward is a master builder. He also prefers to
have all the pieces of a building laid out before he starts.”

  “Can we talk about setting up some kind of delivery for food and other goods? The company is willing to pay,” Bezztol asked.

  Dared nodded. “I will definitely be willing to make deals regarding delivery of goods. Although I am hoping that once the town is established we get farmers to come in. The valley to the east of here would make some fine farmland.”

  “There are signs of orcs and trolls in the woods,” Bezztol said. “You’d need to establish some kind of… Oh, now that I think of it, you probably are working to build a town guard.”

  Dared smiled. “I have one experienced guard sergeant with me. He brought three recruits. So far they have just done some simple patrolling around the goods we have stored in the tents. I’ll look to hire more once we have a barracks in place.”

  “Wise,” Bezztol said. “I can guarantee that no member of the Flame Vultures will try to steal anything. Although the fact that we only have one alchemist will cause some concern. My people like to negotiate hard for potions.”

  “More will be coming,” Kalacho said. “But it will take time. They have to hear that the dungeon is producing items they might want. But giant spider venom will definitely interest many.”

  Betrixy sighed. She carefully reached into the belt pouch where she had stored the two mushrooms they had recovered and pulled out the Mush Stone. “We found this on our last delve. Gee’if and I were going to visit Colasmel to sell it.”

  “What’s that?” Luniri asked.

  “A Mush Stone,” Kalacho said. “Now that is a rare item.”

  “So it is valuable?” Jyxton asked.

  Faestari felt her face move for the first time in hours as she silently laughed at Jyxton’s amazed statement. Gee’if and Hal’vik both stood a bit stiffer for just a moment as Kalacho shook his head.

  “How new is he?” he asked.

  “Joined us from Tallqurik on the far side of the Sand Wastes,” Hal’vik said. “We all quit after a run to Zathmorlu. From there we hooked up with Gee’if and decided to try adventuring.”

  “Very new,” Kalacho said with a nod. “Son, a bit of advice. Questions like that should be asked only within your own adventuring company. However, I can see that your wizard knows the value, so I won’t lie. Mush Stones can be used to make stoneskin potions and a couple of other protective enchantments. Depending on the skill of the local alchemist, that one item could prove to be far more valuable than just the silvers it will sell for, since those potions might later save your life.”