Ancient Ruins

by Benjamin Medrano

  “Actually, most of the time you can learn a lot about a dungeon just from its entrance. But those that aren’t modified by the dungeon can be a bit trickier,” Penelope told him idly, leaning into Joseph as she sipped at her wine. “And this dungeon has an unassuming, normal entrance. That means one of three things to us. It might be trying to hide its power, so it could be incredibly deadly. It could also be weak, not even Wolf class and barely enough for starting adventurers. Or it could be a new dungeon, with relatively normal threats.”

  “From what you’ve told us, it sounds like it’s the last of the three,” Nirath spoke calmly, her voice soft but clear. “Mutated plants, basic animals, but no known undead thus far, nor other threats. This dungeon is either elementally unaligned, or is developing an alignment. Or it may be nature aligned, but we have no way of knowing that yet. Natural threats, while not generally the most powerful of opponents, can be quite deadly in their own ways. But few dungeons grow truly powerful by restricting themselves to such threats.”

  “Which means we’ll have to take this slow,” Darak agreed, nodding his head as he refilled his mug from a pitcher. “Also means the treasure we haul out might not be worth much, at least not at first. It often takes a dungeon a while to realize it needs to adjust the treasure to fit the threat at times.”

  “That’s interesting. How big do you think the dungeon is? I’ve heard of enormous ones like the Great Labyrinth,” Evansly asked curiously, leaning forward in his chair, hands cupping his own mug of wine.

  “That varies wildly. But generally, the older and more powerful the dungeon, the bigger it is,” Darak answered, frowning. “What do you think, Pen? Twenty chambers or so?”

  “Seems likely. Maybe thirty,” the warrior agreed, smiling. “Clearing it will probably will take only a couple of tries if we’re careful. But this’ll probably be a good beginner’s dungeon.”

  “If we’re right, you mean,” Joseph cautioned, shaking his head. “Don’t count your chickens before they’ve hatched. It’s a dungeon.”

  Penelope laughed and shook her head, grinning. “Oh, don’t be such a pessimist, you spoilsport.”

  * * *

  Sistina finally settled back from her work, feeling like she’d actually finished the dungeon for the moment. It should be enough to protect herself and those she’d taken as her charges. It had taken over nine parts out of ten of all the mana she’d collected over the past month, but she’d reshaped the full set of tunnels and populated them with basic threats. Adding actual hunting grounds for the different creatures so that they weren’t reliant on intruders had eaten still more of her mana, but she had managed to finish that as well.

  There were just over two hundred chambers in the massively sprawling network she’d created, and it had taken a good deal of work to get it properly ventilated. There were dead ends, traps, crevasses to fall into, and even fire jets for when invaders reached the old dwarven foundry. Sistina was also going to use the innate heat and supply of metal from the foundry for other traps later on, but she was exhausted for the time being. No, most of the threats would have to come from the creatures she’d convinced to nest and grow inside her tunnels. First were the bears and wolves, of course, but they had limited utility underground and she’d realized that she wasn’t using the full potential of some of her other creatures as well.

  First among the creatures she’d underestimated were the bees. Sistina had created a large cavern full of flowers and areas for them to build their hives, then lured the first of them inside. The honey would be nice, and encouraging them to grow to gigantic sizes hadn’t been too hard. Alongside the bees were her more deadly creations, wasps. She had to keep a sharp eye on the wasps to keep them from invading neighboring caverns and wiping out the bees. Sistina couldn’t help but wonder if she could cross-breed the two insect types. Creating a wasp that made honey and pollinated her plants, while still defending her caverns, was an enticing thought.

  Then there were the ants. Lots and lots of giant ants. They were the easiest to command, and a part of her was tempted to make other modifications to them when she refilled her mana reserves.

  The entire project was going to take a lot more work to get to where Sistina wanted it, but it was a good start.

  Chapter 33

  Adjusting his helmet to make sure it was properly settled in place, Darak finally pulled on his gauntlets, staring suspiciously at the dungeon entrance. No matter what they’d told the local captain, there was no way in all the hells that the four of them were going to underestimate a dungeon. That was how living adventurers became dead adventurers. That was a good part of why Joseph was reading through his checklist. They’d already hit all the mundane gear, and now it was time for the magical parts.

  “Healing potions?” Joseph asked, seeming ever so slightly bored.

  “Three each,” Penelope reported, grinning as Darak rolled his eyes at the cleric’s tone.

  “Antidote potions?” Joseph continued, not seeming to notice.

  “Considering the critters inside, five each.”

  Darak grunted, starting to stretch to limber up.

  “Fire beads?” Joseph asked, glancing up at the entrance warily.

  “Two each. And two ice as well,” Nirath spoke softly.

  “Right… those weren’t on the list. Let me add those,” Joseph muttered, pulling out an ink pen and inkwell to add the ice beads to his list. Darak couldn’t resist a grin at the methodical nature of their quartermaster. He may not always like the cleric’s caution, but the man didn’t lack for courage, and his planning had saved Darak’s life more than once. That was why he put up with him.

  * * *

  “Dear gods. That’s hundreds of silver coins’ worth of magic items,” Daniel murmured, eyes wide as he listened to the litany of items that the adventurers were carrying. The adventurers were just a few dozen feet in front of the entrance to the dungeon where Sina had died, and they looked surprisingly grim and purposeful compared to the previous night. When Daniel had seen them before, he hadn’t thought the four would have a chance, they were so carefree.

  “Try over a thousand, maybe two or three for the lot of them,” Fredrick disagreed, shaking his head firmly. “I can’t begin to imagine how much money even their armor must have cost them.”

  “True, but… actually, give me a minute,” Daniel replied, hopping off his rock and approaching the group.

  “Danny? What do you think you’re doing? Oh, nevermind,” Fredrick sighed, settling back on his rock and muttering, “Not like you’re going to listen to me anyway.”

  “You’d do better to step back, army boy. It doesn’t happen often, but sometimes these dungeons like to throw a little pre-emptive strike out their front door,” Darak spoke gruffly as Daniel approached. The dwarf nodded at the entryway grimly. “Who knows what this one will do? It isn’t like we’ve gotten a grip on its personality yet.”

  “Personality? Why would a dungeon have a personality?” Daniel asked, startled. “And I actually just wanted to ask you a few questions.”

  “Ah, you’ve got a lot to learn, boy. Suppose I can’t blame you, with this being the only dungeon in nearly a thousand miles.” Darak chuckled, and the cleric grinned before taking pity on Daniel.

  “Contrary to what you might think, dungeons are living creatures. They defend themselves to keep out those who are too weak or malevolent,” Joseph explained, shrugging apologetically at Darak’s amusement. “Few dungeons go out of their way to deliberately kill individual groups, and those dungeons that are actually bloodthirsty are killed by the guild. All dungeons feed on deaths of those who delve into them, though, and they seem to somehow gain power from our mere presence inside of them. It’s something of a mutually beneficial relationship. The mana inside is generally so thick that it helps improve the body of those who manage to survive long. You know why monsters inside dungeons are so deadly? Because the monsters live and breathe in mana densities that most people can only dream of. In any
case, each dungeon has its own quirks and personality, and it takes time to figure them out.”

  “Ah, I suppose that makes sense.” Daniel was taken aback by the surprisingly thorough explanation. The idea that a dungeon was alive, and could be killed intrigued him, but he set it aside for the moment, instead asking the question that he’d originally come over for. “But I actually was going to ask if you really need all those items I heard you listing off. I’d thought about trying to get together a group for the dungeon, but that’s a very expensive list.”

  “A prospective adventurer! Nirath! What do you think of him?” Darak laughed, glancing at the elf, a toothy grin flashing through his beard. The elf looked him over closely, and suddenly Daniel felt like he was practically naked under her cool gaze.

  “Not bad. Decent physique and agility. Good senses. Modest mystic talent. Third tier recruit.” She spoke in an almost clinically soft voice, and Joseph laughed as well.

  “Well, that’s a better review than I got when I joined the guild,” Joseph quickly explained, grinning at Daniel as his internal bristling settled down. “Mind, I’d say that nine out of ten recruits don’t make it through the training period. Dungeons can be brutal. What do I mean they can be? They are brutal meatgrinders. Only the best survive their first delves.”

  “I—” Daniel began, but then the thus-far silent Penelope spoke.

  “And none of that answers his question. So I’ll answer it. First, though, what’s your name?” she asked, turning to look at Daniel. Her gaze was oddly hard and penetrating as she stared at him. “You’re the first person brave enough to actually step forward and ask us about delving into dungeons. Why?”

  “I’m Daniel. Daniel Fisher,” he replied after a moment, startled by the way the woman was looking at him, weighing him. “I… I was one of those who first scouted the caves, when we learned it was a dungeon. I lost a couple of good friends in there. And someone important to me, too. I don’t want their sacrifice to mean nothing.”

  “Hmm. That’s a fair enough reason, I suppose. Well, Daniel, we’re not the best adventurers in the world. In fact, we’re only a little above the rank of raw recruits. Except for Joseph, but he’s a crazy cleric and a glutton for punishment. So you’ll want to take what I say with a grain of salt, alright?” Penelope explained calmly, glancing toward the dungeon entrance pointedly. “Do we need all the items we listed? No, probably not. We’re trying to prepare for whatever situation we might run into when we start our delve. Since we don’t know what we might face, we’re trying to prepare for anything. This dungeon is almost a complete unknown, as your two expeditions were forced back after only two chambers.”

  “Most dungeons have ten to twenty chambers to start,” Joseph interjected seriously. “And their difficulty can vary wildly. The first few rooms are rarely the worst of the lot.”

  “Indeed,” Penelope agreed, taking another deep breath before looking at Daniel. “The first delves into a dungeon are the most dangerous. Even for a group like ours, there’s perhaps a one in three chance that we won’t make it out of the dungeon if we aren’t cautious. The first trailblazers find out what sort of defenses and guardians the dungeon favors and reports about them, assuming that they survive. This lets following groups consider their tactics or what items they can use to counteract the threats they’ll face. You were very unfortunate that this dungeon appeared so far from a guildhouse, because the emanations are quite distinct if you know what to look for. If we’d been nearer, we might have reached here first and your patrol wouldn’t have gone in there to get mauled. So no, you wouldn’t need everything we have. At a minimum, though, you’ll want a magical healer in any dungeon you enter.”

  “That being said, we’re not going to go in far today,” Joseph added, his voice sober. “We’ve dealt with moderately threatening dungeons before and have been contemplating trying to rise in the ranks. We’ll probably be fine even if we push hard, but we’re not going to risk that. We’re only going to go through five chambers, making modest maps to get an idea of the basic threats and layout before retreating and planning for our next delve.”

  “A slow, gradual approach,” Darak agreed, laughing softly. “As much as I hate to go slow, charging in with the intention of clearing the entire dungeon in one go is just asking to blunder into a monster lair, and that’s nigh unto suicide.”

  Daniel saw all of them shiver at the mention of a lair, and was about to ask another question before thinking better of it. He’d already taken enough of their time, so instead he nodded slightly and thanked them. “Thank you for answering my questions. I’ll keep what you’ve said in mind if I decide to give it a try.”

  “You’re welcome. If you want mentoring, I might be convinced to give a few pointers,” Penelope replied with a broad grin. “In the meantime, we’ve got a dungeon to explore.”

  “Right,” Daniel agreed, quickly falling back to his post and taking a seat.

  Fredrick looked at him in slight admiration, shaking his head. “Damn, Danny. I was afraid they’d spit you on the spot and roast you over an open fire. I’ve heard that adventurers are really temperamental.”

  “What does the lieutenant call it, a calculated risk?” Daniel told him with a faint smile. “At least it paid off. That was interesting.”

  “True enough. They’re… wow, umm…” Fredrick paused, his eyes going wide as he watched the group, drop-jawed.

  Darak had just muttered something under his breath, and then his skin had slowly darkened, gaining the texture of stone, and both of them could see the dwarf’s boots sink a half-inch into the dirt. And then Darak drew his axe, carrying the enormous thing in both hands, yet seeming not to notice its weight. The weight of holding the axe in front of him like that should have tipped the man over, yet he didn’t even shift.

  Glancing at Fredrick as the group of adventurers advanced on the dungeon, Daniel shook his head wryly. “And remember, these are adventurers who’re considered to be about our rank.”

  “Shit,” Fredrick whispered prayerfully.

  * * *

  “Hmm… stone’s definitely been shaped with magic. I’d guess there was a cave-in here a while back,” Darak told the others, examining the wall closely. Shale, his earth spirit, enhanced his already good eye for stonework, and it wasn’t too hard to see where the cave walls had been changed. Most stone had flaws, however tiny they might be, but magically shaped stone generally didn’t.

  “Mana level is heightened. Slightly elevated from expected levels,” Nirath added, the gem atop her staff glowing brightly enough to provide decent illumination for all of them.

  “Right. Strange dungeon so far, but not too bad,” Joseph observed, looking at the walls critically. “No really nasty traps right off either. That’s always nice. I hate dungeons which try to kill you instantly.”

  “And trying to slowly kill us by inches is any better?” Penelope asked, her head tilted as she listened at one of the branching tunnels.

  “I never said that, now did I?” Joseph replied with a wry grin, shaking his head. “I just feel the longer approach has a lot more chances for survival. There’s not much to be done about a severed head in the first thirty paces unless you’ve got a temple nearby.”

  “And I sure didn’t see one outside,” Darak grunted, shaking his head. “I have to agree with King Clumsy over there. Better a quiet start than a nasty one.”

  “Maybe so. Unless the dungeon is allowing us to get in a decent distance before the trap snaps shut,” Penelope shot back.

  “Enough,” Nirath snapped, cutting off Joseph’s retort as she glared at all of them in icy annoyance. “We’re in a dungeon. Act like it. All of you.”

  “Right, right, sorry about that, Nirath,” Darak replied gruffly, bowing his head in an apology. It was too easy to get going with the arguments, even when everyone knew that the others were joking around. So he took a deep breath and nodded. “Smelling the vegetation from ahead. Shall we go see if the place is the same as report
ed?”

  “Sounds like a plan. I’m glad you use an axe,” Joseph added a moment later, smiling. “When I heard the descriptions of what happened with their spears and crossbows, I couldn’t help but be glad none of us really use weapons like that. Most of the time, anyway. You’ve got a crossbow, Pen, but you don’t use it often.”

  “Mostly because long, open distances are rare in dungeons,” Penelope murmured, then nodded. “Lead the way, rockhead.”

  “Shush, you,” Darak growled, and headed down the corridor, ignoring the sigh of resignation that escaped Nirath's lips.

  * * *

  Sistina watched the intruding group nervously. Each of them practically glowed with concentrated mana, and their gear was of much higher quality than anything she’d seen on the previous groups of intruders. The magic flowing off that gear worried her, but there wasn’t much she could do without taking a direct hand in things, and her reading about dungeons had indicated that doing so would be a very, very bad idea.

  So she mentally held her breath as the adventurers approached the first chamber, hoping they would be careless. But as the dwarf used his axe to cut the vines hanging over the entrance, she winced internally. Worse than simply cutting the vines, the axe blade had flickered with fire and the vines recoiled as the man stepped into the chamber.

  The four nearby bushes rose into shambling creatures, while the woman in the mithral armor darted forward with her own sword to cut the leg from under one of them. The creature toppled unsteadily, and Sistina felt her hopes sinking as she saw the dwarf cut another creature clean in half. The hanging vine plant rushed down to try to attack, but the elf stepped out and murmured a spell, and a bolt of crimson light lanced out from her hand, burning through the outer pod of the plant almost instantly. In addition, the healer stepped into the room with his mace flickering with fire magic. Sistina’s frustration was palpable, and it was made worse by how the human woman almost instantly spotted the different floor traps and tossed large chunks of her bush-creatures at them to set them off.