Ultimate Level 1 - 159 - A Dragon Dungeon (Patreon)

Max watched as Fowl moved up to the crystal first, putting his hands on it and closing his eyes.  The gem glowed momentarily, changing colors until it settled on brown.  A flash of light went off, and Fowl stepped back and smiled.

“Done!”

“That fast?” Max asked.  “I mean… wow.”

“It’s not hard when you know what you want.  Haven’t you tried using the one in the adventurer hall at some point? Even before joining us?”

Shaking his head, Max couldn’t take his eyes off the now clear crystal.  “I was always afraid if I went in and tried to use it, an alarm or something would go off.”

“Nothing has ever happened when I touch one,” Tanila said as she moved toward the crystal.  “I mean… it’s not the same, I guess, with your skill, but then again, I’m not certain what the adventurer guild can see.”

Batrire came over and gently squeezed Max’s arm while Tanila approached the crystal.  “Before I go, you can touch it if you want.  I don’t believe you to have anything to worry about.”

Frowning, Max didn’t reply; he just watched Tanila as she mimicked Fowl. The crystal turned blue, and a flash of light came from it.

Sighing and smiling, Tanila turned and moved to where Max was.  “It doesn’t bite, I promise.”

Laughing nervously, Max felt the pressure of everyone wanting him to touch it, remembering when he was younger, his parents warned him about peer pressure.

“Fine, I’ll try, but if I die, just remember: Fowl doesn’t get any of my stuff.”

“What?!” exclaimed Fowl as he feigned a look of pain.  “I thought we were brothers!”

Ignoring his friend’s attempts to calm him down, Max slowly moved until he was only a foot from the crystal. His hands were shaking, and it suddenly hit him how much this moment really frightened him.

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Max put his hands on the smooth surface of the crystal and waited.  He could feel the energy flowing through his hands, yet nothing popped up in his mind or vision.  Standing there for a few seconds, he opened one eye and scanned the room, seeing that there was no change.

“I guess I really can’t use it,” Max stated as he moved away, realizing his palms had become very sweaty during that brief moment.  Wiping them on his pants so Batrire could select her skill.

“It wasn’t that bad, was it?” Tanila asked as he approached and stood beside her.  

“If I said I was more scared the first time I kissed you?”

Tanila slowly turned her head toward Max and smiled, reaching up with a hand and touching his cheek.  “Hopefully, you’re not afraid of that part anymore.”

“No,” he said with a wink, a flash of light going off before he leaned in for a kiss.

“Alright. Let’s go,” Batrire said, turning to see how close Max and Tanila had gotten while looking at one another.  “Ugnh… wait till we get back to the inn… you know how I feel about public displays of affection.”

Tanila held up her free hand, giving Batrire the middle finger, and smiled. Pulling Max’s head up and toward her, she bent her head down and kissed him on the lips for a few moments.

“Ahh, young love,” Fowl teased, moving to stand near Batrire. “I remember when you used to do that to me.”

-----

Both couples had taken lunch in their rooms, and neither felt the need to discuss how the afternoon had gone when they met for dinner.

“One more day of doing nothing,” Max said, smiling as he and Tanila rubbed each other’s hands.  “What shall we do to pass the time?”

“Apparently, I’m going shopping tomorrow,” Fowl groaned, not looking in Batrire’s direction.

“Yes, we are… someone needs a few new sets of clothes.  The amount of alcohol they have been consuming in the last week has affected their waistline.”

Grumbling, Fowl picked up his tankard of ale and downed it without waiting.  “Well, I’ll make sure to get my money's worth then.”

“What about you two?” Batrire asked as she winked at Tanila.  “Any plans for tomorrow?”

“No,” the elf shot back, holding her chin high and refusing to get embarrassed. “We’ll stay here unless Seth decides he wants to leave the room and do something else.”

Fowl chuckled evilly and winked at Max, who ignored the warrior's attempt at being bad.

“So what we’re saying is, if you don’t see us before dinner tomorrow night, don’t come looking for us.”

Batrire nodded at Tanila and smiled.  “Good.  You deserve it.”

-----

“You four sure you want to go in here?”

Max nodded at the male guard outside the dragon dungeon. Yesterday had been an amazing day spent entirely with Tanila, but it was time for the next part of their plan.

“We are.  Surely, you heard we attempted the other one.”

The guard nodded and shrugged.  “I’m just glad to hear you all made it out okay.  It’s been ages since any of us have had someone come down here, and to be honest, knowing someone is actually attempting it makes this guard duty worthwhile.  I won’t tell you how the duty gets assigned, but it isn’t one many would request.”

“I’d be bored outta my mind,” Fowl muttered, glancing around the tiny stone room with the glowing yellow portal.  “All day?”

“Allllllll day,” the man replied. “Be safe, and I hope to see you all soon.”

After feeling Batrire’s buff, Max nodded and moved through the portal, weapon out.

-----

Nothing attacked him as he came through the portal, and as his eyes adjusted to being able to see, he did a double-take at the sight that filled his vision.

“Do you all see that?” Max asked as he glanced behind him and then back ahead.

“I do, but I don’t believe it can be real,” Fowl replied. “Can it?”

Max looked at Tanila, who shook her head, just as wide-eyed as Fowl was.

“Holy mother of Ockrim,” Batrire cursed, realizing what she had just said, and covered her mouth.  “Forgive me.”

Twenty-five yards ahead of them was a blue portal; behind them was one that they assumed led back to the adventurer hall they had come from. They stood inside a fifty-yard-diameter circle with a peaceful blue sky and mountains that rose straight to the clouds. Green grass swayed gently in the wind that blew across the area.

“Could this be a trap? I mean…” Max slowly began to move forward, his weapon out, and taking small steps.  

“Is it safe?” Fowl asked, moving closer to their healer and mage, shield and hammer out and ready to use his taunt.

“Shhh, let me see.”

After a few moments of moving across the area, Max found himself staring at the portal from just a few feet away. Nothing about it looked off, and no creatures appeared in his sonar range.

“I think it’s safe,” he shouted. “I’m not sure how, but this has to be the second-floor portal.”

“Unless the one behind us leads to the second floor!” Fowl shouted back.  

Groaning, Max frowned, knowing Fowl might be right. Every time they had come in before, the portal to leave had always been behind them.  

Could someone be doing this to kick us out of the dungeon? Who gets to choose how this all is laid out?”

No response came to his thoughts.

“I guess we just have to trust how it has always been,” Max yelled.  “Everyone comes here, and I’ll go first again.”

“And if you’re wrong?” Fowl asked as they began to move.

“Then we blame me for picking wrong.”

“Works for me,” Fowl said, trying to lighten the mood a little.

Tanila glanced back at the portal they were walking away from, frowning as she approached where Max awaited them.

“Are you sure?” she asked, constantly looking between the two.  “What if…”

“Then I’m wrong, and we miss out, but we could spend days trying to guess which one to take,” Max answered.  “Ultimately, we have to choose one, and I’d rather go with my gut.”

“And your gut tells you to take this one?” Fowl asked.

“It does.”

Batrire pointed at the portal with her staff.  “Then go. Warriors first. If you say you feel it’s this one, I’ll trust your gut, too.”

Max nodded and took a deep breath.  “Here goes nothing.”

“Wait, what–”

Max heard Fowl start to protest as he stepped through the portal and felt himself shifting. Nothing appeared in his Sonar range, and he blinked his eyes quickly, trying to speed up the return of his vision.

When his eyes worked again, Max groaned.  “Mother of elf tits…”

He stepped forward, sensing his three friends appearing behind him.

“Are we… holy elf tits! Another one!” Fowl exclaimed.  

This dungeon floor matched the first one exactly. Nothing looked different, from the color and size of the mountains to the green grass that continued to move in the wind that gently blew over it.

“What is this?” Batrire asked.  “Some kind of trick or trap?”

Tanila shook her head and then gulped.  

“Do you know?” Max asked, sensing her reaction and the difference in her heart rate.

“No… but I wonder…” she shook her head and stopped talking. She looked over her shoulder again before turning back to face the portal further away from them. “Let’s go take that one.”

Max studied Tanila’s face.  It was steady and poised, reminding him of when she faced down the demon in the other dungeon.

“Alright.  Let’s go.”

Fowl started to protest as the other three moved across the grass, but he grunted and walked faster, trying to catch up.

“This is crazy,” he muttered as he reached Batrire’s side.

“Yes, but when has anything ever been normal for us?”

Unable to answer that question, Fowl said nothing, watching as Max reached the portal and turned. “Give me two seconds, and then follow.”

He turned, not waiting for a response.

-----

The first thing to hit him was the smell.  Nothing showed up around him, but there was a scent of death in the air.  

As his eyes adjusted and his friends appeared behind him, Max gazed ahead and, twenty-five yards away, saw a dragon so large he had to crane his neck almost all the way back to see its head.

“Holy elf tits! A dragon!” Fowl shouted, adjusting his hammer and shield.

Max didn’t say anything, instead taking in the beast before him.  The golden dragon had to be almost one hundred feet tall, and its body was wide and long. Massive scales shone in the soft light of the sun as it shifted slightly.  Massive horns flanked its head, and spikes dotted the back of its neck all the way to the base of its tail.  Wings that looked large enough to cover a few city blocks were resting against its massive body, and talons bigger than him were barely digging into the rocky floor they rested on.

Two silver eyes stared at them, as the head shifted slightly from side to side.  Teeth that looked like they could bite through a mountain without effort were visible as the dragon smiled at them.

“Welcome to my domain… it appears you four are the ones who caused problems for the demons.”

Max’s jerked his head back in shock as the dragon spoke, the words not filling his ears but instead sounding in his head.

“I can hear it in mah head!” Fowl exclaimed, banging his hammer softly against his helm.

“Quiet, you fool,” Batrire growled, thumping Fowl on the helm with her staff.

“I’m sorry,” Max said, doing his best to regain his composure. Though his heart was pounding fast enough that he thought it might explode inside his chest, he asked, “How do you know about what we did to the demons?”

A thrumming noise filled the air as the dragon’s sides shook. 

“Word travels fast in the other realms, even when one wishes it did not.  I wondered if you four would venture into my domain, knowing that you most likely would after such a victory.  Tell me, did that demon try to cheat you in the end?”

“He did,” Max answered.  “The gem was trapped.”

The dragon was frowning and growling slightly, and a whiff of smoke came from both nostrils.

“That is unpleasant to hear… he will not like that news to be shared, but I am grateful you have.  Come, join me. You can sit, and we can talk before the trial.  It has been eons since anyone has graced my domain.”

The dragon turned, as nimble as a cat. The weight of its body and claws did not make a single indention in the stone as it moved toward a spot behind where it had been.

As it moved, the four of them saw four small stone thrones.

“Uh… do we go sit down?” Fowl asked, glancing back at the portal behind them.

“We do,” Tanila quickly replied.  

Max studied her face, seeing that she looked enthralled.

Moving as one, they followed the dragon, unsure of what was about to take place.