Dungeon Annihilation 5 (Patreon)

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Louella

The trek took longer than I would have liked. The hunter had reported that it was quite far up the mountain but I hadn’t realized quite how far until we made it to the ruin over an hour after we had set out and that was only reaching the edge of the woods. There was still a ways to go to reach the building itself.

The scout of the party motioned for us to get down when we reached the foot of the valley wall. Looking at the ruin, I found it looked quite tall. From the distance we were at it was hard to tell, but I would wager anywhere from four to five stories. It would rival just about anything found in the outer districts of the capital.

“What do you think Sir Harold?” I asked moving next to the leader.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think it was a dungeon,” he replied observing the structure with more experienced eyes than I expected. 

“What do you think, Ezal?”

“I would agree with Sir Harold. I have been to a few during my training. You can tell by a sort of mana fluctuation they give off. The one in Lecazar I visited covered acres of land outside its entrance,” Ezal said with a nod to Harold. 

“Them, what should we do?” I asked. If it really was a dungeon, then my luck might have finally changed for the best. It could still take a few years, but I won’t be some bought noble. I still needed to know what was inside this thing so I can promote it later.

“You say this structure only appeared a few days ago?”

“Yes. I swear,” I replied.

“Then it is still young, we should be able to handle anything it has in store for us. Plus, we need to make sure it dealt with our goblin problem.”

“The tracks lead into the structure. I see a few hints of some of them leaving to gather from the surrounding, but all the tracks lead back into the structure,” the scout said emerging from the brush. 

“Good. Let’s head in to check this thing out,” Harold said motioning forward. 

The two defenders in their party took point as we crept towards the entrance. A large opening on the wall that led faded to darkness almost as soon as you entered the strutruce. The scout peeked inside but only shook his head after peering in for several moments.

“The darkness is almost unnatural. I have good night vision, and even I could only make out a few meters inside,” the scout explained.

Harold looked to a member of his party. A man named Jaden that had only stopped talking when we reached the ruin. He nodded and created a glowing sphere of fire that hovered above the party casting out an aura of light. Harold looked at each member of the party and they nodded after checking their gear. 

Ezal and I checked ours as well and nodded. The defenders walked in first and there was a gust of wind from inside that caused a roaring. I took a step back without meaning to. This is definitely something unnatural.

“A warm welcome,” Harold said with a tight laugh. 

We moved in and I found there were numerous pillars across the wide space. It was very open and I felt it opened a party up from attacks from multiple directions. Harold knew that to, as he ordered one of the mages to watch our rear. 

The scout moved in and checked the floor. He stayed about three meters ahead of the party checking for traps. The scout held up his hand right before we crossed between two of the pillars. “We got a pressure trap here.” He traced his hand along the square on the ground. “I can’t tell what it triggers so be careful.”

“Noted. Thanks. You heard the man, watch your step!” Harold said in a loud whisper.

We walked around for a few minutes but didn’t find anything on note. Jared did trigger one of the traps and an arrow shot through the party barely missing him and another member by a few centimeters. 

“Shouldn’t there be monsters?” I whispered to Ezal.

“It depends mistress. With the dungeon being so young it might not have collected enough mana yet. No one is sure what causes monsters to form in the dungeon. Well, the Gnomes might,” she whispered back. 

“I agree with the miss. I think it might be too young, but that raises another question. Where are the goblins?” Harold said.

“Shh, I see a spiral staircase up ahead,” the scout said motioning for us to come to a stop.

“The next floor?” Harold said coming next to him.

“Likely. It fits the size of the outside structure,” the scout replied.

“Risk it?” Harold asked the party at large.

“We really didn’t get an idea of what we’re dealing with. There might be a hint on the second floor,” said one of the mages.

“Very well.”

We took the stairs carefully while watching for more traps. The scout poked his head through the opening. “Its open to the sky for the most part. It looks like there are some rooms to the side. I can also make out the co…” his words were cut off as something pulled him through the opening. There was a clash of metal then a spray of blood shot through the opening. The defenders rushed forward along with the rest of the party to save the scout.

When I could see the floor, I saw what looked like a goblin with an arm through the scout’s chest. It yanked its arm back and let the body drop to the ground. Then almost tauntingly, it liked its bloody hand in front of us.

“Bastard!” One of the defenders yelled as he charged the goblin. 

“Loid! Wait!” The words had barely left Harold’s mouth when a spear made of bone slammed into the man’s side throwing him a few meters to the side. The other defender stood his ground in front of us as a dual wielder took Loid’s place. I could only see two goblins that wore what looked like armor made from bone. 

An aura of darkness withdrew and a dozen of the monsters were revealed. “Mistress! We have to flee! The dungeon has taken the goblins in. They’re not going to be simple stupid monsters.”

“I can fucking see that!” I whispered back at her. Sadly, we followed the party up the stairs and they were cut off by two of the monsters. 

“I’ll take the one of the left, you take the right,” she whispered back.

“What about the party?” I asked glancing at the six remianing of the party.

“They’ll have two less goblins to deal with. They already told us they can’t protect us,” Ezal said tightening her grip on her Elderwood staff. A tier two weapon that she was just barely able to afford before we left Ferias. 

I started channeling mana into a lightning spell. I needed a few seconds to make reach a lethal level. Ezal did the same creating a fireball at the tip of her staff. The other mages in the party were creating their own spells readying for a counterattack. 

Ezal and I looked to each other then threw our spells as soon as the party threw theirs. We started running at the same time, my lightning struck the right goblin and it jerked as it fell over. Ezal’s fireball exploded on the left goblin throwing it half a dozen meters to the side. The entrance to the first floor was only a few meters and we made it before the spells even finished their effects. 

The dual wielder that had moved up to the front line came crashing down the stairs when we were a few steps down. There was five bloody cuts along his chest and he wasn’t breathing anymore. We heard another explosion from above us but didn’t turn back.

“We need to get out of here!” Ezal shouted when we hit the ground level of the first floor.

We didn’t even pause as we made for the exit of the dungeon. Only a few minutes in, we heard the sound of running steps behind us. We didn’t stop to see if it was someone from the party or goblins. We almost made it out when I misstepped and triggered one of the traps. An arrow slammed into my shoulder sending me rolling.

Ezal stooped and picked me up and helped me get out of the dungeon. We flung ourselves through the entrance praying that the monsters didn’t follow. Rolling over, we turned back to the entrance a spell on our lips. Three of the bone goblins stood at the entrance licking their blood covered fangs before they walked back and faded into shadow. 

“I thought goblins were the weakest monsters! What the hell was that!?” I asked then hissed in pain from my shoulder.

“Don’t speak! I need to get the arrow out to check for poison!” Ezal shouted as she set me against a blouder. I gritted my teeth but nodded. She fully wrapped her hand around the shaft then gave one swift pull removing the entire thing in one motion. 

I tried my best, but still screamed from the sting of pain. Ezal sniffed the arrowhead then nodded tossing it aside. She pulled out some bandages and wrapped my shoulder. We waited for an hour hoping someone else might make it out, but no one emerged. A red shadow filled the entrance then a white skull appeared for a moment then faded leaving only the shadow. 

“I guess that’s the answer to that question,” I said.

“Let’s head back, mistress. You have a lot of things to decide,” Ezal said helping me to my feet. 

I nodded. “A lot.”

~~~

The village, thankfully, had a healer. A tier one priest of Lelune that lived her to escape the trying times of the church. At least that’s what the old man told me four or five times as his magic healed my wound. At least he knew his stuff, it almost felt like normal when he was done. 

“Thank you. A little donation,” I said as I handed him a silver coin. He told me it was free, but a healing like this would have cost around ten silver back in a city.

“Thank you, little miss.” 

Ezal and I left the old priest’s cabin and made for the manor. Now that I was patched up, I had a lot of planning to do. The party being decimated left a bitter taste in my mouth, but it did have a plus side. I had plenty of time to plan my next action. 

Depending on the dungeon, we could get a lot of travel from adventurers. They would bring a tremendous amount of business with them, but also cause just as much trouble. I could already imagine the crime rate soaring through the roof. There were a few guilds could be hired for security. The Golden Dawn were a good choice, from just their reputation. 

“What do you think of the Golden Dawn?” I asked Ezal as she brought me some tea.

“They are a good choice. They have a pretty decent record of keeping to their word,” Ezal answered setting the cup on the desk.

“Then we’ll go with them. I guess that leaves the regular assortment of guilds,” I said dropping my pen into the inkwell and leaning back in my chair. 

Ezal took a seat on the couch. “I hope we get a good Adventurer’s Guild master. Get a crappy one and its like dealing with rabid dogs whenever you have business with the adventurers.”

“A problem for the future. It’s not exactly up to us,” I said with a harsh chuckle.