A Living Dungeon

by Allan Joyal

  Aylia reformed her body and moved to sit next to Faestari.

  “That would have killed most people,” Faestari noted.

  Aylia nodded gravely. “I can’t do much far from the water, but I have great control over water and as you noticed I can drag people under. Sorry if I scared you.”

  Faestari giggled. “I knew I was safe, so I was more interested in how it felt. That water is a bit cold.”

  Aylia laughed. “I just demonstrated that I can drown a man and you worry about the temperature of the water?”

  Faestari nodded. “What kind of treasures would you put here? And can you be hurt?”

  Aylia shook her head. “I’m a spirit of water. I guess someone could cause all the water in this chamber to evaporate and I’d be driven from the realm, but otherwise I can’t really die. As for treasure, if you are willing to allow me to leave, I know of some freshwater oysters that produce pearls. In water as fine as this, they would probably grow large. I can just make sure that when I’m defeated the adventurers find a pearl or two.”

  “Are the pearls magic?” Faestari asked.

  “Not normally, but they can be enchanted,” Aylia said. “I might also find some cave crayfish. You’d need to encourage moss to grow, but the light in here would allow them to thrive. Make them grow large and they will be surprisingly good opponents. They are tough to fight and can surprise most adventurers.”

  Faestari giggled. “I have kobolds and spiders on one level, orcs on another, although I need to bring in some goblins for them someday. My next level is giant beetles and then some bug-headed furry humanoids. And now I have this level which will have giant beetles and giant crayfish. No adventurer will ever figure this out.”

  Aylia looked surprised. “So you like the idea?”

  “Do you?” Faestari asked. “You’d be the one having adventurers trying to boil the water in this room and stabbing you with swords and spears.”

  Aylia nodded. “I’m safe from wizards here. They often enslave my kind, using us to defend their towers or to produce ichor for their experiments. Here I just have to fight adventurers who get too close to the stream. You’re even indicating an interest in the crayfish. I could have them do most of the fighting.”

  “So you can command them?” Faestari asked.

  “They live in water. I can command the water, or anything that lives in it. Although many creatures won’t obey my commands. Crayfish tend to be willing,” Aylia said.

  Aylia reached out to hug Faestari. The young dungeon avatar was surprised that this time it felt like a human woman was giving her a hug. Aylia then kissed her forehead. “I can’t promise on the other rooms, but I can make the stream a challenge for others. I’ll even visit your pool when you are resting in the heart if you want.”

  “How?” Faestari asked as she lifted a hand to her forehead. It was moist, but not wet.

  Aylia smiled. “The one gift my wizard master left me with. Well, from him it wasn’t a gift. He wanted to prevent me from turning into water and escaping, so he trapped me in the form of a young woman. I have gained control over the form, so when I want I can look and feel like a human woman.”

  Faestari nodded. “I guess I do the same thing, but it was a surprise.”

  “So can I go and start collecting the crayfish and oysters?” Aylia asked.

  “You might want some fish and algae as well. I’m sure the light will encourage it to grow, but having some to start will help. I try to have my monsters eat normally rather than rely on my mana,” Faestari said.

  “You actually care about them?” Aylia asked. She had an expression of shock on her face. “I never.”

  Faestari smiled. “Just as much as I care about my stone rabbits over there. My mother and father taught me to love. If I failed to care for the creatures who protect and support me, I’d be betraying their memory.”

  Aylia hugged Faestari one more time. This hug ended up feeling wet, as the water spirit’s arms turned into water. Aylia lunged backwards, jumping into the water with a cry of dismay. “I’m sorry!”

  Faestari smiled. “You didn’t hurt me. And it’s nice to get a hug. You should go. I want to head back to my dungeon heart. The adventurers who were on the mountain have been in camp for a while, and I like to see what they are doing.”

  “You can see them?” Aylia asked.

  “I can sort of watch from the edge of my domain, but I do it in spirit only. There is at least one wizard who wishes to capture me out there,” Faestari replied.

  “Let him reach my chamber, I’ll kill him for you,” Aylia said firmly.

  “He won’t enter my domain. I already heard him tell others that he would never put himself in a position where I have control. I have adjusted the mana at the edge of my domain to block the forms of magic I’ve seen him use. I expect he’ll try to work with others,” Faestari said.

  “I’ll protect you,” Aylia said. “But I should go. It will be dark here soon, and that will be the best time to bring things past the camp.”

  Faestari nodded. “Go.”

  Aylia dissolved back into the water. Faestari could see a cluster of bubbles form under the surface. It headed downstream at a speed far faster than the rest of the water was moving.

  The bubbles disappeared under the wall of the cavern. Faestari sat for a minute looking at the wall before she stood up and looked across the stream at her stone rabbit. “I think we have a new friend,” she said before jumping to one of the rocks in the middle of the stream and starting back to her home deep in the mountain.

  Chapter 18: How an Organized Company Works.

  Faestari almost skipped along during her return to her home. The short conversation with Aylia had helped remind her of what being human was about. The visits by the avatar of Wynterhold Dungeon were interesting, but the dungeon was cold. Aylia seemed to see something in Faestari she had not seen before.

  She also looked at her chambers a bit differently. Talking to Aylia had given her a few new ideas, and she was now thinking of some other surprises she could build into the dungeon. She paused in one room long enough to mold a giant crab out of the granite. The creature would be nearly impossible to see in torchlight, and would prove to be a mighty obstacle. She almost immediately realized that this monster needed to be in a special room. It took some of her mana, but she marched it to the final room on the floor before returning to her home chamber to rest.

  Once home, she settled down next to the pool rather than in her usual sleeping alcove. A pillar of granite rose up out of the ground offering her a place to lean on and rest her head. She closed her eyes, planning on taking a few moments to scan the edges of her domain in spirit. A small pillow of moss sprouted as she sent her mana off.

  Outside, she found a new group of adventurers taking the path she had installed from the west slope. This group was made up of six hard looking men. They carried a mix of axes and hammers with a fierce confidence as they made their way around the mountain.

  Faestari followed their progress. Once they were through the sheer granite cliffs on the southern slope they paused to look around.

  “Boss, why are we coming here?” one of the men asked the leader. “Last I heard there were no towns and definitely no small farmers we can steal from.”

  “There is a rumor that the mountain contains a new dungeon,” the leader said back. “Dungeons attract fighters. We can probably recruit here. Our band is no longer large enough to take down any of the caravans moving from the Sand Wastes and heading west.”

  “When will we start recruiting?” the third man in line asked.

  “You won’t,” a loud gravelly voice called out. Faestari spun her awareness and found a pair of well-armed and armored men standing just outside the border of her domain.

  “Boss?” the last man in line asked as the group quickly spread out. Several of them brandished their weapons as they moved.

  “Who are you to tell us what we can and can’t do?” the leader asked as he carefully
eyed the armed men.

  “I am Vistilek. I am a member of the Impaled Cats Adventuring Company. We don’t need bandits here recruiting,” the man on the right of the two armed men said. He was a grizzled man, with a beard that was grayer than brown. He was wearing chainmail on his chest, but both shoulders bore heavy plate pauldrons. The pauldrons had deep gashes from previous fights. The man was holding a short spear and carrying a solid looking shield.

  “Why can’t we recruit here?” the leader of the bandits said.

  “Because we aren’t going to allow it,” Vistilek said.

  “And you will be permitted to stop us?” the boss of the bandits said.

  “I think the local lordling would encourage it, if he knew. Not that it matters. There is no one for you to recruit here,” Vistilek said.

  The leader of the bandits sneered. “So you have enslaved the members of your group? Not one would accept my offer of a life of leisure?”

  “Banditry is hardly leisure,” Vistilek’s fellow adventurer said. “Besides, we all know that there is more money to be made raiding dungeons than taking on caravan guards.”

  Vistilek nodded. “And with the exception of the lordling’s guards, everyone you might find here with experience in using weapons is an adventurer. We’re far more interested in the cave entrance up on the mountain than in what you are offering.”

  “Maybe I should show your members what we can do,” the boss said confidently. “Show me this dungeon entrance.”

  “You’d have to wait a few days,” Vistilek said. “We’ve got a party going up in a few minutes. Tomorrow the Flame Vultures will send a party. I believe there is another group for the day after, but they aren’t an official company.”

  “Why would we have to wait?” one of the bandits asked as he relaxed. He put the head of his axe on the ground and leaned on the handle as he looked at the two heavily armored men in front of him.

  “Dungeon’s don’t like crowds, and from what little experience people have, this one enforces a limit of one group at a time. We don’t want to push the issue,” Vistilek said.

  “Sounds like a bad deal, if you only can enter once every few days,” the boss said.

  “A group came out yesterday after completing five chambers,” Vistilek said. “From what people heard they had over twenty silver worth of alchemical ingredients.”

  One of the bandits whistled in surprise. The boss of the bandits just laughed. “You make that sound like a fortune. One caravan wagon can hold hundreds of golds worth of goods.”

  “And a promise that you’ll be pursued for days if not for the rest of your life,” Vistilek’s partner said. “I’ll stick with dungeons. Yes, they do try to kill you, but they only pursue you if you break the rules.”

  “Rules?” one of the bandits asked. He stepped away from the others. “Are there rules for joining in a dungeon run?”

  “Many,” Vistilek said. “And you’d have to talk to Kalacho. He’s the one in charge of the Impaled Cats here.”

  “But he’s about to take a group up to the dungeon,” Vistilek’s partner said.

  The young bandit who had asked about adventuring turned to look at the leader. “Royban, I don’t like the idea of attacking caravans. The guards are getting better, and many merchants refuse to purchase the goods you do capture. This sounds like a better option. You always said we could leave at any time.”

  “I need more men,” Royban muttered.

  “Why don’t we try taking on this dungeon,” another of the men said. “It sounds like we can camp here and rest up and then head into the dungeon in a few days.”

  “But what do we do in a dungeon. The only type I know of is the one a king throws you into if he’s angry,” Royban said in a growl.

  Vistilek laughed. “This one is a series of caves. The caves are inhabited by monsters that will do their best to kill you. As you fight you can find items that are worth money. For adventurers the goal is to get out alive with as much as you can find.”

  “Sounds easy,” one of the bandits said. “Why don’t more people do it?”

  “What part of monsters trying to kill you did you not understand,” Vistilek’s partner said. “We don’t wear this armor just for fun.”

  “Are you heading up today?” Royban asked.

  “No, but any good adventuring company has guards around their camp. At least until we can build a permanent base here, if we decide to. Kalacho’s run today will help us make that decision,” Vistilek said.

  “Royban,” one of the bandits said. “Can we do something other than argue. Either we set up a campsite or we move on. There are a lot of heavily armed people around here.”

  “We’ll leave,” Royban grumbled. “I’m not waiting for a faint chance to make a run through a mystery set of caves.”

  Five of the men headed back the way they had come. The one who had expressed an interest in being an adventurer walked over to Vistilek. The grizzled guard looked him over and shrugged. “I can’t really help you at the moment. But if you head to the far side of that grove, there is a tent that is being used as a tavern area. Wait there and I’ll try to get Kalacho or Lonstance out to talk to you. You also might run into a member of the Flame Vultures, they might help as well.”

  The young man headed off just as Kalacho emerged from a tent about seventy feet away from where Vistilek was standing. He was wearing a chainmail vest over a thick leather jacket. Plate greaves covered his legs, and he wore elaborate plate bracers covering his arms. He was checking the straps on a crested helmet as he strode over to the guard post.

  “I thought I’d take Humtar, Idolyn, Exeritn, and Udyran,” he said. “They are the first ones prepared.

  “Idolyn doesn’t have much experience,” Vistilek said. “Shouldn’t you have veterans for this first run?”

  “The lad needs to learn, and he’s a better healer of poisons than Siristop,” Kalacho said.

  “In that case, he’s probably a good choice. I heard that a spider bit the patriarch of that family group yesterday. They used an antidote potion, but he was limping when I passed him at the tavern last night,” Vistilek said.

  “I’ve warned everyone that helmets and greaves are required in this dungeon,” Kalacho said. “It doesn’t look like we have any water features or difficult climbs, but the creatures everyone has seen are definitely good at ambush attacks.”

  “Do you need me to call everyone?” Vistilek asked.

  Kalacho looked over his shoulder. Four men were walking up to him. Two had battle axes in their right hands. Large shields were strapped to their left arms. They nodded to Vistilek as they approached. The next man was wearing what appeared to be thick woolen robes. He had a strange looking leather hat, which came down over his ears. The last one held a short spear with a strange head. Two tines jutted out in right angles from the shaft. The man just stared at Kalacho.

  “We’re ready,” Kalacho said. “Watch the camp and you can tell Lonstance to look up that lad after we leave.”

  Vistilek scowled. “I should have known you heard the conversation.”

  “The Flame Vultures might have missed it, but the lordling probably heard it,” the spear armed man said quietly. “That Royban man was loud and angry.”

  “Well, we won’t find out what the dungeon is like here. Let’s get moving. Humtar, you have the lead,” Kalacho said.

  One of the two axe wielding men moved to the front and started marching towards the path to the entrance. The others quickly formed up behind him. They were watching in all directions as they headed up the path.

  “Good path,” Kalacho said absently as they reached the first switchback.

  “No human made this,” the trailing axe wielder said. “I’m not sure that I know of any dwarven roads made quite like this. The granite seems to have been molded.”

  “Do dungeons create roads?” Idolyn asked. “I thought they rarely exerted themselves.”

  “All the information we have suggests that this dungeon i
s different. I’d say this indicates one of the differences. This dungeon almost invites us to come up and explore.”

  “And then it will try to kill us,” the spear wielder said.

  “They are all like that Exeritn,” Humtar said. “I was interested to hear how the tunnels are set up to encourage the monsters to ambush us. It’s almost like it’s playing a child’s game.”

  “You sound impressed,” Idolyn said.

  “It is unusual,” Kalacho said as they continued to follow the path. “But so much about this dungeon is. It’s the first one I’ve ever heard about that was not known as a monster lair years before people started considering it a dungeon. This one was talked about as a dungeon before anyone had set foot inside.”

  “What are you doing?” Aylia’s voice called out, causing Faestari to lose her concentration on the approaching adventurers. She opened her avatar’s eyes and found Aylia leaning out of the pool in the dungeon heart. The blue haired woman was smiling as she climbed out to sit on the grass.

  “I was watching some adventurers approach the entrance,” Faestari said. “They are the first group from an adventuring company.”

  “A company?” Aylia said. “What does that mean?”

  Faestari frowned. “They are far more organized than the other groups that have entered. I think I remember the leader of this group saying that his company has more than a dozen adventurers in their camp, but right now just five are climbing to the entrance.”

  Aylia laughed. “I love how you make them climb up only to have to travel down through the mountain. They are tired when they enter.”

  Faestari shook her head. “When I started, this room was closer to the summit of the mountain. My domain limited how far my magic could reach. It was earlier to be near the summit.”

  “And now?” Aylia asked.

  “I can touch the entire mountain,” Faestari said. “If my domain keeps growing I’ll end up controlling the countryside and able to bury the gem that holds my soul deep under the mountain.”

  “Is that important?” Aylia asked.

  Faestari shrugged. “I don’t know. I know that my power is centered on the gemstone. It dictates the center of my domain. I’m guessing that someone could take it from here, and I’d be forced to stay with it. But I will fight to keep it safe, and you can’t walk to it. It’s buried deep beneath us already.”