“Try to wait until they attack if you can. It’ll make it far more believable, and they’re less likely to hesitate attacking you,” said Wynne in his head.
Snorting in mild irritation, Ryker shook out his hands as they closed in on his would-be foes.
They weren’t much further ahead now. In fact, they’d be in front of them on the next turn.
She’s not wrong, though, we probably need to make this as valid as possible. The less we have to worry about the dark pantheon taking a bite out of us the better.
“Slow it up, Elfy, take it at a walk. We’re going to go around the whole thing, and come out the mouth of that alley they’re practically standing on. Remember the cover story, and let’s make this happen,” Ryker said. The Elf warrior gave him a strange look then looked ahead again.
Everyone slowed down to a walk, and passed through the street into a side alley.
The enhancer, whoever she was, started casting. Ryker’s skin hardened, his healing rate increased, and his movements felt faster.
“Hold,” Ryker said softly before they left the alley. As much as he hated the idea, Wynne really was right. If they waited for the church to attack, it’d be far better. They’d likely attack his group thinking they were reinforcements, rather than dungeon creatures.
And this’ll all be fine, so long as Robyn actually survives the first pass.
Crushing that thought as if it were a wild and silly thing, Ryker waited.
The assassins seemed happy to wait right there as well, hoping that Robyn would be coming out to get another patrol or monster and pull it back to her team.
Ryker wondered if they’d attack on the way out, or the way in.
If it was him, he’d attack her on the way back in. Let the monsters engage her and simply join them.
One moment everyone was waiting, and then it was utter chaos around the bend. Screaming, shouts, and the sounds of weapons and armor.
“Go!” Ryker hissed.
Miss Elven Fairy in front of him stepped out. She rounded the corner and entered the street proper with her shield up. She made no aggressive moves, but it was clear she was going to head towards the scrum.
No sooner had she taken several steps than an arrow crashed into her. It smashed into the steel reinforced shield.
And there we go. That’s all we need to justify this.
“Death!” Ryker screamed, activating his bloodlust war cry. He saw the physical ability rapidly construct itself. The spell weaving itself together into the shape it would take.
A red tinge overtook the edges of his vision. His heartbeat pounded in his ears, the rest of the world became a dim riot of sound. Before his cry could fade, Ryker was around the corner and leaping at a man in a black robe.
It was a leaping attack that was a class ability, one that relied on the momentum of the dash. He felt the energy of the blow in his arm as he sailed towards the man.
Then it was all released in a single blow, his hand exploding with the might and force of the body he’d created.
No sooner had his fist crashed into the man’s hood-covered head than Ryker was crouching down with the leftover momentum of his jump.
Ryker’s rear leg flashed out in a sweep and he spun around once, upending the dark mage onto his back on the ground.
Moving forward atop the fallen man, Ryker took a good hold of the man’s head with both hands and cracked his knee into the side of it. There was a wet crunch and his arms came up in front of himself in a position that signaled the man had brain damage. And that it was time for Ryker to move on to the next target.
Placing his hands on the ground he rolled forward and activated a Wind Blast spell. He modified the spell down into two circles of air constructed in a way that would release a violent blast of air a short distance. It launched him upwards and forward. Ryker did a front flip and used the speed to his advantage. His right leg extended and his heel came whistling down onto the armored head of a fighter.
This wasn’t something Ryker could have done if he hadn’t made this avatar from the very ground up. The force and speed of the blow probably would have caused his knee to fail and buckle.
The helmet didn’t break or fail, but the man’s head seemed pressed into his shoulders unnaturally.
Ryker let himself fall backward in a controlled manner, coming to his feet next to the woman who was probably his enhancer.
With a quick glance he found she was a Hobgoblin. A Hob that looked as if she were only a beer away from being a rather cute Human. It really only showed in her cheekbones and nose that she wasn’t human.
Curly brown hair, with a lack of fur anywhere else on her, only lent itself to his verdict of her being a beer away from being more than just bedable.
Someone got creative, didn’t they. She really pushed her chest size into a whole different dimension. Holy crap.
Ryker had a hard time pulling his eyes away from her impressive bust and wide hips. She had a wicked hourglass figure.
Her black eyes caught his, even with where he was staring, and she flicked her hand out at him. A rapid burst of energy filled him, breaking his thoughts. Ryker charged back into the brawl a moment later.
Three of the dark church assassins were down, and one of Robyn’s group as well.
Robyn herself was now watching from the sidelines.
Ryker’s strike team had soaked up the focus of the other group entirely now.
The Elven warrior let out a shrieking howl and pinged her shield off the foe she was facing. The strike was true and the crunch of bone was audible to everyone as his arm bent backward.
Ryker’s Human assassin slipped in between the two of them and whisked her short swords into the man’s guts, then back out. She danced away as nimble as could be, the Elf trudging forward to engage the dark priest who had been attempting to heal at the back.
“In the name of—”
His words cut off abruptly as a ball of fire slammed into his head. He screamed piteously as he wiped his hands over his head repeatedly, as if trying to wipe the fire off of his skin.
At that moment the Fairy Elf caught up to him and skewered him through the chest. The man stopped screaming and now gurgled, his hands hovering between his chest and head, his wrists resting on the blade.
She pulled her blade free, and then ran him through again. Then again. And again.
Finally, the man crumpled to his knees and fell to his side.
Everyone in Ryker’s group turned to look at Robyn and her charges. They were all fresh-faced youths. Their eyes were bright with fear and revulsion. Only one of them was on the ground, but they had the appearance of only being wounded.
Robyn held her sword out in front of herself, standing between the two groups. Ryker could see her eyes in her helmet, moving back and forth amongst his group.
“We’re only here to explore the dungeon,” she said finally. “We want no trouble.”
Ryker stepped forward, taking this as his chance to help this charade along.
“Dungeon? This is no dungeon. Don’t you know this city is under siege?” Ryker said, gesturing at the buildings all around them.
Robyn froze, her eyes stuck on Ryker. Her sword tip dipped an inch.
“You’re not adventurers,” she said.
“No. Are you here on kingdom business as well? We were told another team was sent out but hadn’t reported in. Would that be you?” Ryker asked.
“Yes… yes, it is. We were waylaid and had to seek shelter. When we regrouped we couldn’t get back out,” she lied. And lied very well, he thought.
“Ah, yes. When the siege settled in, everything was closed up. I believe the way is open now if you wish to seek to escape the city. We must continue our survey, but we should remain and clean up these corpses,” Ryker said
“Yes. We’ll be going then and report in for you,” Robyn said, sheathing her sword. She didn’t turn away from Ryker though. Her hand gestured to her charges and motioned them back towards the entrance.
Ah, she can technically leave through there. It’s not like it’s sealed.
Soon enough, Robyn and her people were gone, leaving nothing behind but the dead.
“Well done. I’ll take care of the bodies,” Wynne whispered in his mind.
“No. Take all the loot off them, but hang the bodies up at the entrance to the dungeon. Upside down. Put a sign up that reads that the dungeon will not tolerate those who violate the rules. One party at a time. Any further transgressions will receive penalties. Not those words but whatever you feel is best,” Ryker said.
“Everyone, save your blueprints for later. In fact, put them in the alcove. We might need these again,” Ryker said, and then did exactly as he’d instructed them to do. As soon as he laid down the blueprint for his avatar, he shifted the entire alcove back by twenty feet and turned it into a room.
One he could use to plan or speak privately from within the dungeon itself. An office away from his office, so to speak.
Then he abandoned his avatar, and settled back into his body. The trek back to his farm was quiet, and uneventful.
Tomorrow was likely to be a firestorm of a day with what had happened.
It’s not every day you hang corpses at the front of a dungeon who just happen to be part of the dark church.
Oh… I wonder what their memory cores are like. Every new core is the new possibility of quests and characters.
That and abilities and skills.
Ryker was suddenly much more excited about how the day went.
***
Sitting at a table in his inn, which was practically a hotel with a bar at this point, Ryker listened to the comings and goings of bar room gossip.
It’d been two days since he’d massacred the dark church troops. The first day had been a day of people trying to figure out what happened and who they were. The second day was when the dark church came to collect their bodies. In doing so, the identities of the dead were confirmed. There was also an apology given to the city of Dungeon, and the dungeon itself, for the actions of the church.
As the city leader, Ryker of course accepted it with a smile and an apology of his own.
The dungeon, however, said nothing to this apology. Ryker wasn’t about to do anything more that might firm up their beliefs.
Their suspicions.
Those beliefs and suspicions were that this dungeon, his dungeon, was alive.
Every person in Dungeon suspected that the dungeon was a living thing. That it was alive and intelligent. Much as Wynne had predicted, this was almost entirely due to Ryker’s penchant for wanting to make the dungeon truly different.
Unique.
Ryker had taken to sitting quietly at a table or the bar. Playing the part of a day laborer, and watching.
Listening.
Most people didn’t know who he was since most of his affairs were handled by others.
It gave him a measure of anonymity.
Eying a group of adventurers, he wondered which wing they’d be going in. Amongst all the fuss, the dungeon had gotten new clientele. The second wing and the war wing, as it was being called, were getting more busy by the day.
The war wing was capable of supporting nine or ten groups all working together to sway one side of the battle or the other. It was the only wing that would allow multiple groups.
And amusingly enough, quite a few of them are getting trained in tactics and warfare. Though with every adventurer death in the dungeon, I add memories to the soldiers on that battlefield.
They’re becoming quite the scary collection of fighters.
Of course that was all by design. Ryker wanted to have backup plans if someone ever decided his dungeon wasn’t the type to be allowed to exist.
His goals were the same as ever, but his ability to enforce them and back them up was evolving.
“And what the fuck are you doing here this evening. Sitting here, looking like a peasant,” Adele said, slamming down into the chair next to him.
Ryker coughed into his beer mug, trying not to spit it everywhere.
Eying the woman dangerously, he felt his eye twitch. “Doing exactly that. I am a peasant after all. And you? Miss cousin to the queen? Princess Adele? You even got your hair cut and styled. Going pretty far to hide, aren’t you? You don’t look anything like the royal cousin,” Ryker said.
Adele froze for a moment, then snorted and nodded her head. She waved a hand at a waitress and then pointed at Ryker’s beer.
“You’re right. I can’t deny that. It’s just nice to be anything other than what I am. People treat me like a woman. An adventurer. Not a cast-off cousin,” Adele said. “Though it’s getting annoying constantly fending off advances,” she added with a rueful shake of her head.
“Huh. I guess people can see past that sharp personality of yours to the beautiful face. Though I think it’s supposed to be the other way around,” Ryker said, giving her a saccharine smile.
“Har har. Ass. I don’t see you making the rounds, you’re not exactly a ladies man.”
Ryker shrugged at that and took another sip of his beer.
She wasn’t wrong. He hadn’t had a chance to enjoy some company since he’d opened the dungeon. Even when he had before, those were usually one night ordeals.
Purchased or not.
“I take it you have to remain a virginal bride to be sold to some noble?” Ryker asked, trying to change the subject.
“Hmph. More or less. Are you trying to ruin my appetite? Besides, it’s looking more and more likely my dear cousin will wait till I’m thirty and then let me off the hook. Who wants to marry an old woman past her prime childbearing years,” Adele grumbled.
“You don’t seem like the type to push out a kid or two and then settle down anyways,” Ryker said.
The waitress came over and set a mug down in front of Adele and left.
“Suppose. Doesn’t seem like I’ll get the chance to find out anyways,” Adele said. Taking her mug in hand she took a deep draught of it.
He often saw her drinking. Almost too often, one might say.
Smacking her lips, she set her drink down. “That dark church thing isn’t over. They’ll be sending people to finish what the first group started. They just won’t do it in the dungeon again,” she said.
Ryker did his best to hide his interest in the subject. If they were really coming back to finish off Robyn, he’d have to be ready for it.
“Why’s that? It seems like a strange thing to put so many resources into one Paladin,” Ryker said. He tried to make it seem offhanded as he watched an attractive priestess with her party.
“Huh? That your type? The good girl homemaker thing? Claire wouldn’t be good for that. She’s got political aspirations,” Adele said, following his gaze. “As for the Paladin. She’s not well known outside of the war, but her enemies know her. She’s actually gotten rather good at putting down enemy Death Knights. Their version of a Paladin.”
Ryker frowned at that, looking into his half empty beer.
Suppose that makes sense. Not sure what I can do to help. I can’t really act in the city.
Or can I?
Chewing at the inside of his cheek, Ryker started wondering about the possibility of creating wandering monsters that could leave the dungeon.
He’d already heard a number of people ask about the fact that the city itself was probably within the reach of the dungeon. That it was only a matter of time before monsters started boiling up from the depths.
It happened at every dungeon. Eventually.
What if I gave it a spin though. Not monsters or creatures hellbent on killing people. But… quest givers? That wander the streets? Offer basic randomized quests to people with small rewards. A copper or two here, a silver for a noteworthy task.
That’d give me a better excuse to watch for problems. Interact.
Spy.
And maybe have a compound specifically built just above the dungeon in the open ground.
Call it the
human wing? The level which beginners could graduate to intermediate in the guild by completing?
Where the humans from the “kingdom” are operating out of? It could be its own section that people could attack and engage. A reverse quest from the Gnolls, maybe?
“Depressing, isn’t it?” Adele said with a weary tone. “Their personal war is spilling over faster and faster into our lands. Dear cousin is already at her wits end putting up with it and trying to keep them apart from one another.”
“I take it banishing them simply isn’t possible?”
“Ha, no. Most of the population of the kingdom is religious in one way or another now. It’s easy for you to forbid it since you own most of the land. In the capital, they own the land. Dear cousin doesn’t even own all of the buildings that her people work out of. They don’t even have the courtesy to warn her before they start gouging her on rent. I imagine you giving her the building at no cost made her smile.”
“Hm. Is she as pretty as you and your cousin by the way? Last I heard she was unwed and wasn’t accepting any suitors that she didn’t pick herself,” Ryker asked, letting the subject change away from Robyn naturally.
“You can see for yourself. She’ll probably be here in a week or two. Or that’s my bet at least. We’re supposed to be receiving a courier today with her latest dispatch. Last one I sent out had all the news about the dungeon and how it’s behaving. Especially the war wing. I’m betting that’s got her panties all twisted up wet. She’ll probably want to put down a military intelligence academy here. Eternal war and a chance to study it, while trying out tactics? Priceless. She might even throw herself at you if it’s worth enough. Honestly her prospects of marriage aren’t much better than my own. Too much of the noble class would chain us up and take the power for themselves. Fancy humping the queen’s bunk?”
Ryker blinked and shook his head.
Note to self. In the future, talk to Wynne about changes to the dungeon. This is all because I got overeager.
“Speak of the devil, there’s the courier,” Adele said.
A man in riding leathers was looking around the common room. It took him only a few seconds to spot Adele. He hurried over and handed over a sealed tube to her.
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