Dungeon Annihilation 17

Hey Guys! I know I owe you a DR chapter. I'm just trying to decide how I want it to go so it might be tomorrow before I get it up! Sorry for the delay. 

Louella

“How much did you say this cost?” I asked looking over the armor Ezal had gotten for me. It had to be at least tier two. I could feel my mana flowing much better than without it.

“Are you sure you want to know?” Ezal asked with a serious expression. I could figure the amount just from that face. 

“I guess we’ll live off water and plain bread for a while,” I said with a tight smile.

“It would not be an understatement that we might need to dive the dungeon a few times to avoid starvation.”

I could pull money out of the town development fund, but that was a slippery slope. One that I was not prepared to get on just get. I could survive until I get my percentage at the end of the month. I should be quite well off by then.

Income from taxes was going to be nearly tenfold higher from the influx of people and from how much people make off the first floor of the dungeon. The bone weapons the goblins use were worth a few silver as well. Not a big market for those with the necromancer threat, but some people will take what they can get.

I looked in the mirror at the outfit. This was top of the line within my budget. It was enchanted with several defensive spells and was supposed to be the best of the best. “Tell me Ezal. Why is that women’s armor always exposes the top of the breasts?” I asked placing my hand on my exposed skin. The metal plates protecting my vitals were pressing my breasts together making them appear larger than they really were.

“I’ve always just assumed it had something to do with most blacksmiths being men,” Ezal replied with a shrug.

With a deep breath, I took in the rest of the armor. It would serve to protect me well, I thought. There was a coat that completed the set that reached nearly to my knees. I decided to do my best to ignore the one defect.

Moving over to the desk, I picked up the staff that rested against it. Made from white wood, the end reminded one of lightning bolts. I felt another jump in my mana as I channeled a bit through the staff. Just with this equipment, I felt like I had reached a completely new level. 

Before coming to this valley, I was already tier-one level six. I had been diligent in cultivating every day and had managed to reach tier one level eight. With this gear, I could almost be considered tier two just with lacking mana capacity. I just hoped it was enough for the boss.

There was a knock at the door while I was helping Ezal put on her set. “Enter!”

A Golden Dawn guard opened the door leading a messenger. He handed over a stack of letters from the hawk post. I thanked him and as he was leaving he paused. “Lady Louella. I’m not sure if you heard, but the first boss was finally defeated today.”

My heartbeat accelerated at the information. Finally, someone had gotten past the first roadblock. “Do you know who?!” I asked excitedly.

“An adventurer named Ivan…” the guard made the right call and pulled him out of the room as anger wrapped around me. With a thought, I sent a lightning bolt into the wall and it crackled along the surface. 

“That mother fucking pig!” I shouted.

“Mistress. Calm down. It was bound to happen. From the information we had on the boss, using numbers to basically push the boss off of the bridge was one of the most valid tactics.”

“Who many of his slaves do you think had to die for him to achieve that victory?!”

“I know. I know. The next floors will only be more difficult. I doubt he can climb too much higher with numbers alone. This dungeon is too intelligent for something like that.”

“Intelligent…” Something about that made me pause. This dungeon was much too smart given the design of its floors. “Ezal. Have you found anything on the dragonkin?”

“Huh?” Ezal looked surprised at my sudden jump. “No. One of the Golden Dawn members saw him last night coming from the dungeon. Other than that, we haven’t found anything else.”

I moved to my seat and sat down then put my forehead in my hand. “I think I might know who it is.”

“Mistress?” Ezal asked concerned. 

“I think it’s the damn host! For no one to recognize someone like that and for him to only be seen coming from the dungeon.”

Silence reigned in the room as we contemplated what that meant. As I stared at the desk, I noticed the leader on the top of the stack the messenger had brought and my day only got that much worse. I quickly opened it and read the contents.

Dear Baroness Louella Coates,

I, Duke of Thonaca, High Advisor to King Ataulf Vetericus of Thonaca, have sent you this missive hoping to find you in good health and prosperity. In a week from the full moon of Lelune’s harvest month, my son, Marquis Valamar Soas, shall be coming to your town to tour and inspect the dungeon. His Majesty is pleased with your loyalty and shall reward you in due time if you continue to show him your pleasure of his rule.

In witness hereof, I set my seal at Thonaca Kingdom, Ebony Falls City, Valaravans Soas.

Ezal noticed my actions and moved over to the desk. “Mistress?” I handed the letter over to her. 

We have just over three weeks before the Marques comes to the valley. “Things are only going to get even more interesting around here.”

~~

My party was in the dungeon the next day. There were mostly good things said about the marques, but I didn’t want to take the chance of him replacing me if he thought I wasn’t working in the interest of the kingdom. Part of that was being able to defend its interests if it came under threat.

With mine and Ezal’s new equipment we were able to blast our way past the first three floors. I noticed that the others had also upgraded their gear making the goblins easy prey for us. Flin and Mary were about what you’d expect with a gambeson for the archer and a new robe for the priestess. 

Tez had acquired a new hammer and it was quite deadly. Using a small amount of mana, it was able to amplify the force of his strikes by nearly double. Sara was probably the one I was most worried about. She had gotten a new set of armor, but it looked like she prioritized movement, as it barely covered anything. I wasn’t even sure of the principle keeping it on. 

I moved next to Ezal and whispered. “How does that protect her?”

“Don’t ask me. I would die of shame before any monster or weapon got me,” she replied while shaking her head.

We had to stop our chat as Sara raised her hand. Her fingers moved as she counted a dozen of the monsters. I readied my eight paralyzing orbs while Ezal created three fireballs to launch when we got targets. We waited with baited breaths for something to happen.

The goblins on the fourth and fifth floors were more of an ambushing sort. Without a good tracker or scout that can detect things hidden in the dark, your party was almost doomed to failure. Which meant death in this place.

Tez pointed in two directions and I nodded. Concentrating, I sent two of my orbs down the indicated paths. The glow from the orbs exposed six of the goblins as they hid in the dark. With their position exposed, they began to charge the party.

Ezal took a deep breath then sent her fireballs creening towards the largest concentration of the goblins, nailing one in the face and removing its head, while the two next to it were sent flying. Her other fireball struck the ground just in front of the other three charging goblin blasting them into the air were they tumbled back to the ground groaning.

I kept my eyes open for the rest of the goblins. Sure enough, they appeared on our flank. With quick movements, I sent the rest of my orbs at the four goblins. I didn’t have to be precise with my aim as long as the orb struck them, they ended up twitching on the ground. 

Of the ten goblins that appeared from the darkness, only two made it to Tez and he handled them with ease. Flin had buried arrows in the incapacitated goblins. They all had an arrow in their eye socket or neck. We looked around but couldn’t find the last two.

I realized that Sara was missing just as she stalked back into the circle of light. Her daggers were dripping with blood. With a nod from her, we relaxed from the fight. Sara moved around the bodies collecting anything useful while Flin recollected his arrows. There was a quest from the guild to collect bodies, but we didn’t have a storage bag for something that large.

“Good work. We should be able to take the boss with this teamwork,” Tez said looking at each of us. 

“I feel like some baggage that you guys are bringing along,” Mary said with a sigh. It was true that none of us had gotten hurt yet. Which I took as a good thing in my book.

“A fully rested priest is a good priest,” Tez replied shaking his head.

“I know, but still…” Mary said with another sigh.

“I’m sure you’ll have plenty of work when we get back,” I said grabbing her shoulder. She was helping out at the church until a larger clergy was sent from the Port Hope. The old retiree that had moved here in the past couldn’t keep up with all the adventurers coming to him.

With a bit more work, we quickly made it to the fifth-floor boss room. I had listening the entire time we were in the dungeon and hadn’t heard the strange voice again. Though, I hadn’t tried to cultivate yet. 

We had to wait as another party had gotten here before us and were preparing to challenge the boss. We all took that time to cultivate. You could never know if that potential higher step couldn’t have helped you against the boss. Thankfully, the area around the boss room door was a safe zone and we could all concentrate on cultivating.

I made sure my back was to the others as I sat down. I was about five minutes into my meditation when the voice entered my ear. ‘Welcome back. Did you miss me?’

“No. leave me alone,” I whispered barely loud enough for me to hear.

‘Where would the fun be in that? You are destined for greatness.’

“While we’re here. Let me ask you. Are you the host of this dungeon?”

The voice seemed to paused before it replied. ‘maybe.’

“I’ll go ahead and take that as a yes.”

The voice laughed. ‘I like you. Yes, I am the host of the dungeon. Have you been enjoying your stay?’

“A little dark for my tastes. Ever consider a few light stones?” I shot back.

‘There is plenty of light on the next floor. A gentleman has already reached it. I guess he’s just that much better than you.’ The voice snickered at the end.

“If using a flesh and blood shield is better than I don’t mind being less,” I replied sticking my nose in the air.

‘It would seem your chance is up. Pride’s workout is over,’ the voice said before It vanished. I could tell he was done talking just from the way he ended his sentence. 

I opened my eyes and turned to the entrance of the boss room, a shadowy portal like the entrance to the dungeon. The giant skull had returned. I took a deep breath and stood up. “It looks like our turn is up.”

The others came out of their cultivation and stood while making ready. It was time for another party to defeat this bloody boss. We moved through the portal and I saw what I’d only heard about so far. A grand bridge spanned a large chasm. A large city sat on the other side with a stairway heading up.

“You guys weren’t lying. This is quite a sight,” Ezal said giving voice to my thoughts.

“Has Pride not taught most of you a lesson? Pride forever and will always be your downfall,” A voice called. I looked towards the source and found a goblin that was almost like that of a man. He still had blood on his white coat from the last battle even though the dungeon had absorbed everything else.

Tez stepped forward and pounded his mace on his shield. “I have come again Pride. This time I will defeat you.”

“Yes. Pride would like to see that happen,” Pride said with a yawn. 

Tez strode forward while the rest of us spread out. Flin, Ezal and I prepared for the battle to start. Sara shadowed Tez as we moved forward. “To victory!” Tez shouted as he started to charge. His steps heavy enough to cause the bridge to tremble. 

Pride looked to Sara that was slightly to the side of Tez. “You have the most Pride of the people here,” he said then with a kick from the ground shot towards the two. We’d studied the reports of the survivors to the point we all had them memorized. We knew Pride would declare a target as he did and had prepared different plans depending on who he named.

Pride brought his bone sword around with enough force to cause Tez to stumble, but Sara didn’t allow that to open herself up. She clamped onto Tez’s back and moved with him. Ezal and I sent our spells at Pride. He managed to dodge both of Ezal’s fireballs but was struck by one of the eight paralyzing orbs I sent at him.

Being a boss, it only caused him to stumble. That was all the opening Sara and Tez needed as Tez brought around his hammer knocking Pride into the air. Sara threw a pair of daggers at him with one sinking into his thigh and the other going wide. Pride brought the famous bone crossbow around to fire at her, when an arrow sank into his chest throwing off his aim. The bone sank into the bridge after putting a gash across her cheek.

Pride landed heavily a way down the bridge. With a rough cough, he got back to his feet. Tez was already on him. “As I said. To victory!” He brought his hammer down with deadly force knocking Pride back to the ground. 

We waited to make sure he was defeated then all of us took a deep breath. I was glad Tez’s plan had worked. I moved over to make sure Sara was alright as Mary started to heal here. Tez turned when we heard. “Pride always has the last laugh!” 

I felt a sharp pain through my shoulder as something impacted me. I saw that I had a shard of bone piercing my shoulder just as I saw Tez crush Pride’s head with another hammer swing. I dropped my staff as I hissed in pain falling back against the bridge railing. 

“Lady Louella!” Mary said as she rushed to me. She looked to Ezal who nodded, and they pulled the shard from my body. I couldn’t help the scream of pain that exited my lungs.

With a deep breath and a tinge of pain I looked at Mary with a blood-flecked smile. “This is because you complained about being useless.”

“My apologizes, mistress,” Mary said. 

I patted her hand. “Just fix me up so we can go brag.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

A good ten minutes later, the wound had gone through my shoulder but had missed anything important, I was back on my feet. Albeit a bit shakily. While Mary was healing me, Sara searched the body. Tez through it over his shoulder and we made for the platform that Ivan had reported to the guild. 

We made it to the top of the terrace and had to gap in amazement. I wasn’t sure about the others, but I had seen the capital of Lecazar. I would say this would rival it. The city was majestic. It made me fearful considering the mind that created it was actively trying to kill anything that entered its halls.

“Is that Pride?” Tez asked pointing to something. We looked and saw a creature that was almost a copy of Pride walking down a street dragging a large ax. Thankfully, there was only one but it made me worried about the level of the parties that would be required to proceed from this point.

“We need to report this. Ivan didn’t have any information on the monsters on this floor,” Ezal said. 

I agreed with her and moved over to the platform. Pressing the rune, we found ourselves on the first floor. Not wasting any time we made for the exit. 

‘Congratulations. Try not to get shot next time,’ said the voice as I walked over the threshold of the dungeon entrance. 

Enjoy it while you can. I would make sure to find out all your secrets if it was the last thing I did.