Dungeon Annihilation 25

Morning everyone. Sorry no DR today or monday. I am almost done with the book. Only five more chapters to write. Either way I will get you a DR chapter friday. 

Louella

The party was a hit with the town. Almost too much of a hit. I felt like the entire place would need a thorough was the next morning. It didn’t help when I saw Ivan talking up the Marquis. The last thing I needed were the two of them to get on good terms. To make matters worse the annoying man we’d been trying to track down also made an appearance.

Moving through the crowd to Commander Yin who was guarding slash enjoying the party. Most of the other members of the Golden Dawn were out protecting the areas that had recently been developed for homes. Events like this were a good time to try and burglar people after all. “Commander Yin. Could you please have that man brought to my office once the Marquis leaves.”

“Ah, is that the one I think it is?” Commander Yin asked looking at the man.

“Yes. I plan to finally get some answers tonight.”

Thankfully, Ivan left shortly after the man arrived. It appeared something the woman next to him said rubbed him the wrong way. Given that it was Ivan, it could have ranged from anything under the sun. Commander Yin moved over to the man. He nonchalantly put his arm around the woman and loudly said. “Sure. We have time. It’s a party after all!”

I moved a head of them and waited for them at my office. I realized that it was small when all the people finally filed in. I mentally added a larger townhall to the list of improvements the town needed. Maybe a meeting room for these larger groups of people. 

“Thank you, Commander Yin. Sir, would you like to take a seat?” 

“I was enjoying the party. Nicely done by the way. The streets will need to be washed in the morning, but nicely done,” the man said moving to sit in the chair across from me.

“I am glad you are enjoying the party. I also wanted to say thank you for paying for those slaves’ food on that night. I admit I may have overreacted.” I decided to be agreeable. This man seemed to get along with anyone that treated him decent. If I hoped to have my suspicions either proven or rebuked it was better if he thought a little better of me.

“No problem. I am having quite a lot of fun in this town. That night just added a bit of drama to my time here.”

“That is good. Mister?”

“Earle,” he replied looking at his nails. I could feel my eye twitch but powered on. 

“The reason I asked you brought here is actually related to that. I wanted to ask you how exactly you got in my valley. Commander Yin assures me that no records of your entry into the valley have been found. Now we both know that the guards are only mortal and could have made mistakes. But someone of your… nature is hard to forget,” I explained. 

Truly, this man was quite memorable. He was not only handsome but anyone with any amount of mana training could feel his aura washing off of him. Even tier one mages can get a read on people’s levels. I gauged that he was about tier two from his mana. 

“I am quite the catch. Set here can vouch,” Earle said placing his hand on the woman’s butt before sliding it up to her waist. The woman, Set, only bowed her head, but I couldn’t see any signs of embarrassment or even enjoyment for that matter. More like it was a matter of fact that he was allowed to touch her.

“You didn’t answer the question. If I think it is dangerous for the town with you being here, I can have you banished.”

Earle only grinned wider. “You could certainly try, but I’m not sure miss shiny pants behind me could really stop me.”

I glowered as I thought about how to proceed. I didn’t want to write something I couldn’t fulfill. I was almost sure he was the dungeon host. If push came to shove then things would get ugly around here quickly. I decided to cut my loses.

“Alright. I won’t cause you anymore trouble tonight. Enjoy the rest of your night.”

“Pity,” Earle said as he got to his feet. His party moved to leave when I called out to him.

“If you’re diving the dungeon and happen to see the Marquis’s party in dangerous could you do us all a favor and help them. More than just my head would roll if the marquis was lost in a new dungeon.”

Earle gave me a grin that shivers down my back. “If I feel like it,” he said before he grabbed both of the women and started humming something as he made his way back out into the night. We all stared after him for a long drawn out moment.

“That man is dangerous. It has been a while since I felt… anxious about someone,” Commander Yin said. I felt like she wanted to say scared but didn’t bring it up. It wouldn’t do for my security chief to be afraid of someone. 

“I agree. Commander Yin. How much more to bring in more members of the Golden Dawn?” I felt my position was just too weak. Unlike a standing force granted to the Lord of a territory. The Golden Dawn wouldn’t have any restrictions on number of soldiers. I couldn’t use them in a war, but anything involving the defense of the town was fair game. 

“To get more members we have to go to battalion. We are currently under a Company Contract with a force of two hundred. The next level of battalion calls in an extra four to six hundred members. As for the price. You have to negotiate that with the Strategic Commander back at headquarters.”

“How long before they could arrive?” I asked mentally calculating in my head.

“When a battalion is assigned, they are allowed use of one of the airships to set up a base. Once the contract is signed, less than a week.”

“Get started. I’ll find the money.”

“As you wish.” She turned on her heel and left. Ezal and Iveta also left the office after I told them to go rest. The events of the day had worn us all out.

I turned to look out the window. The little village I basically ran away to when my stepmother and father tried to kill me. I thought I would waste away here when I first arrived then the Fates dropped a dungeon on my doorstep. I didn’t know where this all was leading, but I refused to be left by the wayside. 

~~~

I met the marquis the next morning. He had quarters in his airship, thus I had to make the small trek to the airdock to meet up with him. To be fair, his amenities were probably better than anything the town could offer.

Repairs or rather construction had already begun on the airdock. Thrad said he would cover all the cost and would even inspect all the projects the man that was sentenced to death had worked on. I worried about how much time was going to be wasted thanks to the man cutting corners. 

The marquis and his party soon joined us on the ground. The mages guild was putting on a production for the marquis. It would be interesting to see something entraining. I hadn’t seen any theater or anything even remotely close since I left my home city. 

“Good morning, Lady Baroness. Your town sure knows how to party. Some of my guards reported that the festivities were still going on as the sun came up.”

I curtsied. “Good morning to you as well, Lord Valamar. That they were. I barely got any sleep it was so loud throughout the night,” I replied with a chuckle.

“I hear there is a show in store for us?”

“Indeed. The mages guild has kindly put together a magical production for your viewing pleasure. They were quite excited to show off their talents,” I said with a nod. 

“No doubt something will catch fire,” Lord Valamar said shaking his head. I laughed nervously not sure if he was joking or being serious. 

We made our way through town over to the stage set up by the mage’s guild. I wanted to hide my face in embarrassment when I saw all the people passed out along the streets. I didn’t even dare glance down any alleys afraid of what I might see. I really might have to hire a few water mages to clean the city after last night.

“Don’t worry. I’ve seen much bigger messes. You aren’t the first person to throw a celebration due to my arrival. They generally end up like this,” Lord Valamar commented. He must have noticed my cheeks turning deep red from the sight around me. 

“Thank you, Lord Valamar.”

We soon arrived at the stage, which thankfully, was in the process of being set up. I was worried the mages responsible for this event might have been amongst the passed-out bodies along the street. An area that was obviously for the marquis was set up and had a servant ready and waiting. 

I spotted fresh fruit and chilled water sitting on a table. Fruit was rare here in the valley, so Jacqueline must really be pulling out all the stops. Lord Valamar took a set in the throne like chair that could have held two full people and still have some room to spare. The rest of us found seats in… less comfortable chairs.

The show started close to an hour later. The mage’s guild had set up stands for people to come and watch. While they did fill up, I felt most of the people would much rather be sleeping off their hangovers. Thankfully, the marquis was getting easier to talk with. Our meeting might have been a bit rough, but as the rumors claimed, he was a kind and righteous man.

A mage wearing black robes stepped forward. He spread his arms out, and a moment later, the morning sky dimmed to a twilight. Quite a feat in the middle of the day. A few mages in red robes moved and made streaks of light shoot across the dark sky, reminding me of falling stars. Bursting through the twilight, a dragon made of water appeared in the sky and chased after the falling stars. While it managed to eat two of them, but the third collided the ground. A few mages in brown robes moved forward, and the land surged forming a tower that raised the flame back into the air so that its light touched all the land.

A temple made of dirt formed around the flame. Then more and more buildings sprung up as a city was constructed around the flame. When the city seemed to encompass most of the land, the dragon reappeared. It caused a tsunami that struck the city, trying to reach the flame. Figures made from dirt appeared and surrounded the temple. Each glowed a different color for the many different elements. Each of the figures released a different spell and caused the dragon to flee back to the ocean.

Lord Valamar chuckled but didn’t say anything as we watched. I guessed that he had seen this play quite a few times given that the mages loved to tell it. According to legend, the falling star allowed mortals to learn magic. Modderm, the water dragon, was afraid of the power that it brought mortals had tried to prevent it. Considering no one had seen Modderm in an eon, I always thought of it as a legend.

The play continued with the city managing to grow even more. Now it was more along the lines of an empire. A circular flame appeared on the edge of the country. Wicked, evil-looking creatures made of stone emerged. Slowly they moved forward, gaining speed as they headed to the flame in the center, the land burning and turned to ash.

Right before they made it to the flame, the figures appeared again, with even more colors. They attempted to block the wicked beings, but this time they failed. The fire was absorbed, water evaporated, terra stood for only a few moments, and air barely nudged the figures. The same happened for all the other elements. 

A figure glowing purple, a Space mage, was able to destroy the portal, but his life was lost in the process. The evil creatures that inhabited the lands already were close to wiping out all life as we knew it. Only people that were hailed as heroes managed to halt their progress for even a few hours. 

Finally, when all hope seemed lost, a figure obviously modeled to look like a woman stepped up. She glowed a bright white light. The wicked creatures couldn’t pass her. More figures appeared with the white glow and pushed the wicked creatures until only a few were left. They scattered and ran. The glowing white figures surrounded the flame and made a barrier around it, which then seemed to fall into itself.

With the flame gone, the world seemed to come to a halt. The once great empire slowly fell to ruin with dozens of other countries taking chunks of the empire. Each one had a different creature representing them. Towns were built up around them, and figures of powerful adventurers began to appear from the towns. The lines representing countries once again went into upheaval until they looked as they did today. 

The Terra mages made the ground absorb everything back into it, and the Fire mages stepped up again holding their hands up. A dozen fireballs shot into the sky exploding into various shades of red and crimson. The darkening sky started to fade, much to the relief of the man in the dark robes.

“A lovely rendition of the classic story. I think few that I have seen in the past could top this one,” Lord Valamar said getting up and stretching. Everyone else in the private area did the same. 

“Thank you, my lord. I will be sure the mage guildmaster knows of your praise,” I said with a curtesy.

He nodded then looked to the rest of his party. “This is the only thing for today correct?”

“Yes. We didn’t want to overdo it on your second day here,” I replied.

“Good. We will be heading into the dungeon.”

I glanced at the tower in the distance. I didn’t manage to prove that Earle was the dungeon host last night but I still thought it was the truth. His look as he was leaving still made me worried about the Marquis. The last thing I needed was for him to perish while diving. My head on the chopping block would be the least of my fears. Months of torture and unspeakable torment were more than likely.

“My lord. Is it possible for my party to accompany you into the dungeon?”

Lord Valamar looked me over. “We generally like to dive alone. Less distraction as you can imagine, but the dungeon is free for anyone to enter. We will at least wait for your party before diving.”

“Thank you, my lord. We will be there within the hour.” I turned to Ezal and Iveta. “Go round up the others.” I had some Golden Dawn members escort me back to the manor so I could get armored up. I might be imagining the danger to the Marquis, but I’d rather be safe than sorry.