The Dungeon’s Town

Book 2

(The Slime Dungeon Chronicles)

Jeffrey “Falcon” Logue

Acknowledgements

To my family for believing in me

Cover and Design by Silvia Lew, my amazing illustrator

Gallery:  http://www.silvialew.com/

Thanks to my editors and beta-readers for their efforts

●●●

#1 story on Royal Road Legends Website for the month of June 2016; over 100,000 views

http://royalroadl.com/

All work within this novel is fiction.  All characters, places, and adventures were born within the mind of the author and have no relation to anything in real life.

This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only; no copies should be made without the consent of the author. Thank you for respecting the author’s hard work.

Text Copyright © 2016 Jeffrey “Falcon” Logue

All rights reserved

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Epilogue

Prologue

I'm walking through a strange land.  All around me there are moving images of things I have never seen before.  I see tall plants, humans, and strange places.  The road I walk takes me through all of them.

The path is long, but I manage to walk past everything without understanding anything.  Should I feel accomplished?  The strangest thing is that I feel like I should recognize everything.

Especially, that one human, that girl that seems to flit on the edge of every image.

The path is ending now; the images are different.  One side blue, the other side red they seem to be warring with each other.  It feels kind of silly to be honest since I seem to be purple on the inside.  As I walk by, the two sides appear to become subdued and join back together in harmony.

I reach the end of the path; someone is there waiting for me.  He is sitting with his face resting on his arm which is on his knee while the other arm is on the floor.  Strange human; he doesn't seem to wearing any clothes.

"Who are you?" I ask the strange human.

He raises his head, his eyes colored a sparkling purple.  He grins with a strange smile.

"Why, I am you of course."

And everything goes to black.

*********

As Doc felt himself become more aware of his surroundings, he tried to call out to his partner.

"......Cl.......aire....."  He said weakly in his mind.

"Doc, is that you?" He heard his little pixie’s voice in his head, and Doc felt a small measure of relief.

"...Claire.......I'm…… home.” He sent her the mental image of a smile as best he could.

He heard a gasp and then heard her crying happily.  “Doc, I missed you so much!”

His crystal beginning to glow brighter, Doc spoke with a stronger voice, “I’m happy to hear that . . . why are you a slime?”

Claire took a moment to assess her appearance before shrieking.  With a cry of, “Wait right there”, she flew into her home and slammed the door behind her.

“Just listen while I change!,” she cried out, half in relief and half in embarrassment.

(Flashback Begins)

Claire sighed to herself as she flew backwards and rubbed the sweat off her brow.  After defeating the demon of rage that had invaded the dungeon, Doc had fallen into a deep sleep as he absorbed the infernal power from his nemesis.  As the demon had been fully summoned into the world, Claire knew Doc had a long and arduous task ahead in making sure he only took in the demon's power and none of its personality.  This issue was a real threat when a dungeon absorbed the power of strong beings, especially those of infernal or celestial power.  She was doing her best to help him; wiping down his dimly growing crystal every few hours, using her limited abilities to keep the dungeon running smoothly, and employing as much magic as she could to cool the room down to chill him when he got too hot.

Claire was very exhausted after doing this for a week.  The twins had begged her to let them assist, but she made them stay in their room to deal with the adventurers.  They couldn't afford to let those who reached the final room know that Doc wasn't awake to control the final boss properly.  Quite a few strong humans had already tried to reach the lower floors, apparently seeking the demon and the now missing Sir Koran.  The twins had made sure to inform them of the folly of this course of action.

Checking her work, Claire nodded to herself as she finished polishing Doc's crystal.  The crystal still sat in the wall, but she could tell that it was growing much quicker than it had in the past.

She sighed to herself, "I hope that you are successful in purifying the demon's power Doc; I miss you and your quirkiness."

"Momma, we miss daddy too," the twins echoed in her mind, "When will daddy wake up?"

"He will wake up when he's ready, unfortunately."  She sighed again, "Do you know where the new one is?"

"She went down momma."  They reported, "She got scared after we fought a team of adventurers."

Claire nodded and flew out of the heart room up to the third floor.  She began to search for the dungeon's newest occupant, one that neither she nor the twins had any control over.

"There you are,” she declared with annoyance as she came to a stop in one of the corridors, "I told you before, you can't keep wandering about like this.  You could get hurt."

The blue, slightly purple slime paused its journey and began to wiggle in happiness at Claire's appearance.  It bubbled up to her height and slowly took re-formed into the head and body of the former princess, smiled, and tried to wrap Claire in a tentacle hug, which Claire swiftly dodged.

"None of that now," she scolded, "I just finished getting the slime out of my hair from the last 'hug' you gave me."

The princess slime saddened and began to cry slime tears after Claire dodged her hug.  Claire sighed and floated down low enough to pat the crying slime on the head.

"Now, now, no need for tears.  I just have to teach you the difference between hugging and eating.  Anyway, why do you hate fighting so much since you eat everything in sight?,"  she complained to the slime girl.

The slime tilted her head, obviously not understanding a word the pixie said.  Claire rubbed her temples as she remembered her surprise encounter with the new slime.  Nicknamed "Lady" by the twins, this new slime had come out of nowhere and now lived in the dungeon with them.  Claire classified it on the same level as herself and the twins because neither she nor they could exert any control over her like they could with all the normal dungeon slimes, marking her a unique existence.

"A unique child is more like it,” Claire thought to herself, as "Lady" nuzzled her small hand, searching for more affection, "Or maybe a new pet."

Lady had the bad habit of wandering throughout the dungeon and bypassing all obstacles with her slime body.  In the past week, she had made a name for herself as ‘the ghost of the dead princess’ to all the adventurers.  From what Claire understood, this was not the first time something like this had occurred in the world; though, it was a very rare thing and not well understood by anyone.  Even Claire, well versed in dungeon history, lacked an understanding of this new being.  What she did know was that any adventurer who saw her immediately attacked in the hopes of a rare treasure drop.  Lady thus learned to run away from any adventurer she laid her slimy eyes on; but, she still 'hugged' any remains she came across with a happy smile.

Claire's musings were interrupted by the tentacles wrapping around her and pulling her in.

"No.  Bad Lady.  Stop it!  Nooooo!"

Chapter 1

"And so," Guild-master Vance concluded, "The princess used her life to help destroy the demon of rage that had killed and taken over Prince Marcus' body.  She perished in the dungeon alongside the demon as well as the servant of evil Sir Koran.  A search of Sir Koran's living quarters found documents linking him and several others to various crimes and criminal groups within the City of Duran.  The city guard has been given all the evidence and has begun investigating and arresting the evil-doers."

Vance put away his report and bowed his head to the council, indicating his report was finished.  He turned and swiftly left the room as the large oak doors closed behind him.

The council of nobles turned to look at the king.  King Duran sat on his chair, his face hidden in his hand.  With a shuddering intake of breath, he lifted his face with a resolute expression and glared out across the council.

"My son and daughter are dead," he said softly, "One from using unfamiliar magic, the other from protecting her friends.  The weight on my heart is too much."  A frown began to grow on his face, "And yet, I've received reports from my personal guard that some of you have been obstructing the city guard’s investigations."  His voice was even softer now.

One of the council cleared his throat and began, "My king, it is an insult for us loyal nobles to be . . ."

"HOW DARE YOU!," the king roared out in rage, slamming his fist into the table, shattering it in half.  The former adventurer king had not displayed his power in many years, and the noble who had spoken paled quickly.  The king rose in a fury and pointed at each noble.

"This city is filled with the filth of evil!  If I had cleared it sooner, my children would be alive!  Marcus, Diana," he whispered their names, "THEY WOULD STILL BE ALIVE!"

The nobles scattered as a large, flaming sword materialized and destroyed the table completely.  The door slammed open as Queen Nia, Prince James, and Prince Kenneth rushed into the room.  The two princes grabbed their father's arms as the queen hugged the king and whispered into his ear.  Gradually, the king's eyes began to droop as he sagged down and wept.  The two princes nodded to each other, and Kenneth led his father out of the room toward the living quarters of the royal family.

When they were gone, Queen Nia turned to stare icily at the cowering nobles.  She reached up and activated the magic necklace that allowed her to speak.  "The king is too emotional at this moment over the loss of our children, so my son the crown prince will lead this council.  I must go tend to my husband, but if there are any problems I will return to settle them." With a piercing glare, she turned, her gown sweeping, and left the room.

Prince James sighed softly and took his father's seat as if nothing had happened.  Lord Marcus, one of the few nobles who had not flinched at the king's rage, spoke up, "Your highness, you have my full cooperation with the investigation.  I offer my own personal guard to help you deal with this tragedy."

Father Tobias, who had also not flinched inclined his head as well, "The church shall also offer our services with truth scrying magic and templer knights.  We too wish to rid the city of the filth that gave Prince Marcus access to demonic summoning."

Crown Prince James stared both of the men down severely.  "Your help is not needed," he bluntly stated, waving his hand dismissively, "You've both shown inadequacies in your duties, and the royal family does not trust either of your groups."

As the two opened their mouths to protest, the prince raised his hand to silence them, "Enough.  Lord Marcus, you are the leader of the noble council and have a fine network of informants.  I doubt you lacked knowledge of the shady activities your fellow noblemen performed under your nose.  Father Tobias, your church is supposed to be on the lookout for demonic influence at all times, especially with the empire beginning to start the war on our neighbors.  The fact is that you did not detect a powerful demon when it was right in front of you.  My family and I are greatly disappointed in both of your efforts."

The two men, whose influence was large in the City of Duran, could do nothing but stay silent at the prince's reprisal.  Everything he said was true, and they could not refute it.

"As you seem to have this matter under control, can we move to the next topic of discussion?"  This question came from the second to last man who had not moved from the table.  The gentleman, as no other word could describe him better, wore a fine black robe with silver stripes on the sleeves with a floppy black hat on his head and a circular piece of glass over his eye.  His handle-bar mustache twirled as he smiled with a broad grin.

"I second the motion." This came from the fourth man at the broken table.  A very large person covered in splendid robes and jewelry, this man sat in a chair made especially for him.

Prince James regarded the two, "I recognize the motion from the mage representative Ganus and the merchant guild representative Wendle.  What matter is next on the list?" In the meantime, the rest of the nobles returned to their seats, embarrassed.

Ganus chuckled as he twirled his mustache, "Why, the dungeon of course.  It was the site of a terrible tragedy after all, and it even managed to devour a powerful demon of rage.  Perhaps it has become too dangerous?"

Wendle rolled his eyes, "How can you say that Ganus?  A dungeon devouring a demon is nothing terribly new; in fact it will likely lead to new profits for all of us."

Father Tobias spoke: "I protest, the dungeon has clearly absorbed demonic influence and is now at risk of becoming corrupted.  We should destroy it before it becomes too much of a problem."

Lord Mannis interjected: "I disagree.  The dungeon town has clearly been an advantage for our city as many of the homeless and destitute have moved there, cleaning our streets and improving our security.  We would put many out of a job if we destroyed the dungeon, and we nobles would experience a severe strain of resources."

Prince James rubbed his head as if he had a headache and sighed loudly, "Two for destruction, and two for keeping.  I wonder how much each side invested in bringing the other council members to their side?"  In reality, it was these four who controlled the council.  The other nobles present were there originally as the people's representatives, but time and money had made them into votes to be bought.  The prince bringing up this grey area caused many to cough awkwardly and a few to smile wryly.

"My vote goes for keeping the dungeon,” insisted James, “It is the final resting place of my brother and sister, and shall be their grave.  My one regret is that this final victory over my brother is bittersweet, as I was not victorious over him." He continued sadly, "However, I concede that the dungeon must be heavily watched from now on.  We cannot risk any further corruption."

Father Tobias nodded, "Allow me to contact my fellow clergy to send a Father to watch over the dungeon.  He will no doubt be able to recognize any signs of trouble."

Wendle snorted and waved his hand, "Like you and your clergy were able to find the trouble here before!  Your majesty, allow me and Guild-master Vance to contact the main Adventurer branch of Soria to send some skilled adventurers here.  They will have a much higher experience with identifying dungeon corruption than the clergy."

This sparked a flurry of arguments across the room and Prince James had to raise his hand again to quiet the room.

"We will do both," he decided, "It would not be detrimental to have two pairs of eyes watching the dungeon.  Is there any other concern?"  He waited a moment, and then continued, "Now, what are the reports from Groatland indicating regarding the war?"

Lord Mannis cleared his throat, "The Empire is on the move again.  It seems they have settled resistance within the former country of Rilia to an acceptable level and are making moves toward Groatland.  War will likely begin after the next winter."

"So a little more than a year," Prince James mused out-loud, "After Groatland is the country of Soria, and then our country of Nehatra.  We must prepare for the war that will undoubtedly come our way."

The council continued until the sun had long since set.

Chapter 2

Leo and Gran stood side by side as they waited patiently outside the doors to the Elven Elder Council.  The two had just finished giving their respective reports on what had occurred in the dungeon and were now waiting for the elder's decision.

Gran sighed and scratched his right ear, "It is truly a tragedy that has occurred for the humans.  Two members of the royal family are dead and even my friend Nick is gone as well.  It is truly a shame."

Leo looked over at Gran and nodded his head, "Indeed, Sir Ken is besot with grief within the castle walls and mourns the loss of his sister.  Take this to heart Gran, no matter how many centuries you live, it will always hurt to watch friends of the younger races die."  Leo, or Leopold, had lived for close to 800 centuries now and had seen many friends come and go.  Gran nodded in respect, listening to his elder's words.

They both turned and bowed, as the large vine door opened into the chamber once again.  The two walked in and bowed a second time toward a half-moon arrangement of chairs, each occupied by an elf elder.

"We greet the elders of the forest," the two said together.

"And we greet the future of the forest," the elders responded.  The pleasantries over, Leo and Gran both took a seat in front of the council.  The doors closed behind them, and the room was lit only by the glowing plants all around.  Sparkling seeds dropped down from the ceiling and disappeared into the floor.  All was quiet.

"We have come to a decision,"  one of the elders began, "The dungeon shall be watched for now by the forest guard protectors.  We are long over-due to send a settling of our own to the Dungeon Town, and this shall be rectified.  Leo, return to your post within the rangers and continue to be our eyes and ears.  Gran, you will return to your adventurer group and search the dungeon from within for signs of corruption."

Gran raised both arms and his head, a sign that he wished to speak.  The central elder stamped his staff onto the ground, granting him permission.

Gran explained: "Elders, my team is currently unavailable to explore the dungeon as the human members are in mourning.  It is unlikely we will enter the dungeon anytime soon."

"That is acceptable," an elder replied, "As long as you are there you can do your own investigating.  The humans will learn to cope with their grief eventually, and you should help them expedite this.  You may be called upon to intervene with the meeting between the protectors and the guild, so watch for messages."

Gran bowed his head and took a step back.

Leo now raised his hands and moved forward for his turn to speak.  At the elder's strike, he began, "Given the circumstances, it is unlikely I will be treated as I once was even if we elves had nothing to do with the murders.  Humans are unpredictable creatures, and grow worse when angry.  If unwarranted prejudice arises, should I evacuate myself and the other elves within the city?"

The elders mused to themselves for a moment, "That would be a wise choice; we do not desire to have unnecessary conflict when we can avoid it.  Calmer heads will fix the situation in time, but you must stay with the third prince so as to keep the good relationship between you two.  Are you both satisfied with your assignments?"

Leo and Gran clasped their rights arms over their chest, and released them slowly with a head nod.

"See to it that the will of the forest is protected.  We are the guardians, and it is our home." The central elder struck the ground twice, and the two elves disappeared from the room.  They reappeared outside where they had previously been standing, but now there were only vines where the door had been.

*********

Fiora knocked back a beer as she relaxed by herself in the local tavern.  The tavern in the tent area was not the best, compared with the others found in the main town, but it was the sole best place to get a drink after night-fall and was very popular with the mass of adventurers that lived here.

Fiora mused to herself how much the town had grown since she had first come here.  A large wooden palisade surrounded the tent area, or Tent City as it was called locally.  The few shops that were originally present had grown alongside other businesses to form their own lively area that was becoming known as Iron City, also surrounded by the wooden palisade.  The Adventurer Guild had a real building now and administered the quests for loot from their quest board.

"And all this in about a month; cheers," she sighed to herself as she downed another glass.  "If only Nick was here to appreciate this."

With Nick's death, the group had temporarily split up.  Nat, who had been controlled by the demon, blamed herself for losing control even though everyone knew it was not her fault.  She had retired to her tent to practice meditation to lose her emotions.  Fiora knew the close relationship between the twins, and she doubted Nat would ever truly recover.  Gran had returned to the elf village in the forest to give a report on the incident.  Jonas, who had been best friends with Nick and in love with Natalie, had left to travel to the Mage Guild in Duran.  He wanted to grow stronger to prevent a similar incident from happening.

“And after all that,” she chuckled ironically, “I find myself in a bar with no one to drink with me.”  As she picked up her glass, she noticed it was empty.

“Ah crap,” she murmured.  Fiora winced as she put down her drink to hold her head.  The headaches were coming back; she needed another drink fast.

Fiora raised her glass to signal for another drink.  The barkeep walked over and shook his head, taking the glass from Fiora. “Miss, you've had too much already.  Go home," he told her firmly.

Fiora roused herself and tried to stand up, wobbling slightly, "I have a prescription from a witcc, um, a wittc, I mean a witch,” Stumbling slightly over her words, shaking her head to clear away the pain.  “Anyway, I need a drink.”

The barkeep caught her as she stumbled and helped her back into the chair, "Fine, one more glass.  After that, I'll let you sleep in one of the bedrooms upstairs.  Half-price to you if you don’t cause any trouble."

"Owkay," she muttered as she stood up and followed the barkeep up the stairs to the room.  The rooms upstairs were seldom used by adventurers unless one found a good tavern wench or wretch to warm the bed.  Fiora collapsed awkwardly onto the bed as the barkeep closed the door behind her.  She waited until his footsteps were gone before she chortled and took a flask out of her bodice.

"Foolish barkeep, you can't be a C-rank adventurer without being able to hold your booze,” she laughed to herself; this was one of the cons used by all high level adventurers.  The barkeep must be new to fall for it; so she decided the room would be his lesson payment.  As her head throbbed again, she quickly downed the flask and sighed in relief as the pain passed.  She stared blankly ahead at the wall.

“Then and now, you are still the cause of my pain,” she frowned in the candle-light. “I didn’t need to know dammit . . . I didn’t want to know,” she whispered to herself as she nursed the empty flask.

A knock on the door alerted her from her thoughts.

“Enter,” she announced.

The door opened to reveal a young girl holding a glass.  “Your drink ma’am.” The girl set the drink down and bowed slightly before leaving.

Fiona stared deeply into her glass for a moment.  “Yeah, I can stop when I want to.  I don’t need it,” She muttered to herself.  Feeling the headache returning, she lifted the drink to her lips.

After finishing the drink, she placed the empty glass on the table and closed her eyes.  She was asleep and snoring in moments.

*********

Lord Mannis sighed as he rubbed his head.  The lord was sitting in his office desk reading through reports.  The whole incident caused one problem after another for him.

"Damnation Rotch, couldn't you have taught your son better how to hide his tracks," he swore under his breath.

Lord Mannis was used to dealing with shady deals and shadow crime from the other nobles; in fact, he expected it to happen if a noble was competent.  From his experience he learned that some things could only be accomplished under the table, which is how he ended up from a lowly third son of a no name merchant family to become the leader and voice of all the nobles in Duran.  He even had contacts and friends in some of the other city states in the country of Nehatra.

However, in this case, dealing with the repercussions of such shady activities gave him a headache, especially since he had to take steps to protect his own interests.

Sir Koran, first-borne of Lord Rotch, had made a mess of his and other nobles' affairs.  The documents in his adventurer tent led the city guard to crack-down on a number of criminal organizations within the city, including some run by nobles.  Of course, only low nobles were found guilty as the high ranking nobles were smart enough to hide their affairs properly.  Still, two of Mannis' friends had been ratted out, and he had been forced to sign their arrest papers.  This turn of events ruined his mood, naturally.

In his personal opinion, Koran had been far too reckless for a member of the nobility.  Nobles dabbled in dark dealings to further their ambition, but they never dived into dealings as Koran had done.  Slavery, brothels, counterfeiting, treason, and theft were all among the list of crimes the young boy, in Mannis' eyes, had managed to commit.  The worst, however, was demon worship.  Koran's city home had been revealed to be the main site for a demon worshiping cult with connections to the empire.  Naturally, the church fanatics and even the king's personal guard had swarmed the area.  Almost every house in the slums was forced open and investigated; revealing other criminals in the process.  Mannis despised demon worship more for the risks than the actual practice.  He especially hated any connection to the empire as it would most definitely destroy everything in its path.

A knock at the door woke Mannis from his thoughts.  "Come in," he called out.

A servant walked into the office and bowed, "Lord Mannis, Father Tobias to see you."

Mannis nodded, "Send him in."

The servant bowed and exited the room.  Father Tobias entered a second later walking over to sit in front of Lord Mannis.

"Mannis," he said simply.

"Tobias," Mannis replied, "what brings you here today?"

Father Tobias looked at the reports on his desk and inclined his head, "I apologize for disturbing you while you are busy.  It must be hard cleaning up your fellow's mistakes."

Lord Mannis smiled, but it did not reach his eyes, "I'm just surprised you had the time to visit, what with your church finding all the things you missed in the city."

The two smiled at each other, but the tension in the room could cut iron.

Tobias sighed and rubbed the sleeve of his robe, "Well, enough of that.  Have you found anything to be worried about?"

Mannis nodded and pulled out a report, "Koran and his friends were the main leaders of the group responsible for the cult’s activities and are all dead; however, they did not start the cult on their own.  They were given the secrets by two who are only referred to as 'the prophets'.  These true leaders are no longer in Duran and have not been here in weeks."

Tobias sighed and crossed his hands, "You think they moved on to another city?"

Mannis explained: "It is likely the two were agents for the empire sent to breed internal strife here before they invade.  I'm sending this information to all my allies as well as the leaders of the other cities.  Groatland and Soria will also receive a copy.  This tragedy is an opportunity in disguise as we now know one of their hidden cards."

Tobias nodded, "I will make sure this report finds it to the top of the clergy as well.  We must do well to weed out any corruption or evil within our midst."

Lord Mannis didn't say anything.

Father Tobias got up and bowed, "I thank you for your time Lord Mannis; I also came here to inform you that the father has been chosen who will be sent to the dungeon town.  It is Father Jonas."

Lord Mannis couldn't keep the frown off his face, "Jonas the Pure?  You play dangerous games Tobias."

Father Tobias shrugged his shoulders, "To be honest, I did not have much to say in this matter.  My place within the church has been hurt due to this incident, much like your own reputation.  We must recover what we can in the meantime."

Lord Mannis nodded, "I will keep you informed if anything else comes up."

"Thank you," Father Tobias said simply and he left with a graceful air.

Mannis sighed and rubbed his head, returning to his reports.

Chapter 3

Claire zoomed down her corridor through the dungeon, making her daily rounds.  As her partner was currently resting, it was her job to make sure the dungeon ran smoothly and without incident.  Normally, Doc's ever-present mind would automatically take care of any problem in the dungeon, but he was currently comatose.

By its own nature, dungeon magic was a corrupting source of disaster if left unchecked, and sometimes the mana would leak through the dungeon territory into the surrounding area.  Corruptive dungeons took advantage of this property to increase exponentially, but it was a hassle for a normal dungeon if the sentient races found traces of it.  Claire had limited control over the dungeon herself, but she required sight in order to affect an area.

Today, she was patrolling for leaks as usual.  She had already fixed a couple of minor leaks on the third floor and had just finished sweeping the second floor.

"Let's see, after I finish the first floor, I'll find a slime and watch it eat an adventurer for lunch, then I'll visit my lovely daughters, and finally I'll sweep through the dungeon again.  Oh, and I need to polish Doc again," she reminded herself as she zoomed along happily.  It was a good plan for the day.

As she zoomed near the mine room, she took a moment to appreciate the efforts the humans had put into the dungeon.  What once had been a single room with a few copper veins was now the central hub of a mine that stretched out in 4 different directions.  Miners, of course, were not adventurers and had very little combat ability, but were very productive and far more inclined to greed.  The 4 corridors stretched out as the miners followed the veins into the depths of the dungeon area and found new veins of iron, gold, and silver, the minerals Claire had shown Doc originally.

“When Doc wakes up, he’ll have to do something about this,” she muttered to herself, “These miners are too greedy and reckless since slimes don’t spawn in this area.  It’s a waste of Doc’s energy to give them these rewards and only get mana passively from their bodies.”

Sighing to herself, she moved around until she found a group of inexperienced adventurers heading to the overslime.  She plopped herself down at the viewing hole and sat on the slime placed there for her benefit as she watched the new group fight.

She analyzed the fight critically as she watched the overslime overpower the adventurers.  “Really now, this dungeon has been here long enough for reports and advice to exist about fighting the overslime; why enter this fight so unprepared?” She scoffed and laughed to herself, “Mr. Shield man, you’re supposed to take the ramming attack, not dive out of the way.  Look, now your mage is wrapped up in a tentacle.  An archer, really?  Worthless without enchanted arrows; oh look, your fearless leader ran away down the stairs.  Doc needs to make the staircase close until the boss is defeated; otherwise, these kinds of things will just keep happening.  Oh, there goes the mage; nice bones there.”

*********

Later on that same day, as the twilight was settling in, Claire plopped down into her chair with a sigh.  The little table and chair that sat on the outcrop in the boss room looked worn now, covered in vines and scratch marks from boss fights, but it was still her favorite place to be.  Even though her home had moved down to the heart room, her table and chair remained part of the jungle slime boss room.  She put her head down on the table and breathed in the fresh plant scent, remembering her fun times with Doc.  No matter how long it had been, anytime he was not with her was too long to her.

"Big dummy, I miss you," she whispered to herself as her finger began to idly trace a slime on the table, "Hurry up and come home to me.  It has almost been two weeks now."

A slithering, slurping sound alerted her to someone's entrance.  Claire turned and smiled at the humanoid slime who had finally wandered back down.

"Did you have a fun time today Lady?" Claire asked kindly.  Lady still didn't quite understand words, but she had gotten better about understanding tone and emotions.  The princess slime giggled happily and wobbled up to Claire, trying to wrap her in a slimy hug.  Claire, used to the slime's antics, had already moved out of reach and was now shaking her head.

"That's a ‘no’ Lady." She scolded, "No hugs."  The slime drooped, but still smiled happily up at Claire.  Claire giggled and floated down to pat Lady on the head.

"When Doc wakes back up, we'll give you a better name than Lady, alright?" Claire rubbed Lady's head until she began to wiggle in pleasure, "You'll like him for sure.  He's a nice dungeon and treats all his slimes with respect.  I just wish I understood what you are exactly," Claire frowned.

Perhaps her memory was still shaken, but she didn't remember learning anything about what Lady was.  Certainly, Claire remembered the princess who died in the dungeon during the demon attack, and she recalled Doc's strange reaction to her.  Whether this development was a unique situation or one with a precedent, she had no idea.  The humanoid slime obviously was of a higher tier than any of the other slimes in the dungeon and could move to her own will, but she still avoided fights when she could, and fled at the first sign of trouble.  The adventurers who had seen her referred to her as the ‘ghost of the princess’ because of this.

"I guess I can classify you as a hidden boss then," Claire reasoned as she floated away from Lady.  Hidden bosses were unique - in dungeons, though usually only within larger ones.  Hidden bosses were very enigmatic, never appearing in the same place and never showing up when one expected.  They tended to drop rare loot when defeated, but were stronger and more prone to escape than a normal boss.  Still, Lady did not and would not have any special loot assigned to her until Doc woke up and gave her some.

Lady gave a good-bye wave and slimed her way down to the heart room.  Claire returned her wave and flew down to lay in her hammock on the wall, conveniently made out of the vines that grew there.  She closed her eyes and let herself fall into a nice sleep . . .

Rather, she was almost asleep when a large earthquake began to shake the entire dungeon.  With a shriek, she fell out of the hammock and had barely righted herself before she hit the ground.  "What in the nine hells and three heavens is going on here?," She cried out in shock.  The entire dungeon was shaking, and the twins were freaking out in their room as well.

"Momma, everything is moving!,"  they cried out.

Fearing the worst, Claire flew down the hidden stairwell and into the heart room.  To her shock, she found Lady wrapping herself around the crystal in a large, slimy hug.  She wore a pleasant smile and didn't seem to be worried about the rumbles.

"Lady, you can’t eat that!  Hurry and let go!," Claire shrieked as she flew over and began tugging on the slime girl's hair.  Naturally this was a useless endeavor, as slime could not be pulled up so easily, but Claire managed to startle Lady into letting go.  The two landed on the ground with a thump, Claire getting engulfed in Lady's body again as the latter landed on top of her.

She quickly escaped and flew around Doc's crystal in a panic.  "Doc, are you alright?  Doc, please be alright!" Claire was terrified as she searched Doc's crystal for any cracks or injuries.  She even ignored her current appearance, which was covered in a layer of goo that made her look like a flying, glowing slime.  To her fear, she found different specks of light within Doc's normally purple crystal, one red as fire and one blue as the sky.  The two colors were flying around inside the purple in a multitude of specks, with each eliminating the other on impact.  Eventually, the two colors decreased in amount and gathered on either side of Doc’s crystal, forming a strange triad of blue, purple, and red.  The purple color occupied most of the crystal with the two new colors each had their own little section on either side.

"What does this mean?," Claire wondered as she inspected the new colors, "Is it a coincidence that this blue is the same shade as Lady's color?  And, where did this red come from?"  In her days of polishing, Claire could not recall ever seeing either color within the crystal, yet here they both were, causing the dungeon to rumble.  Actually, she realized, once the colors settled down so had the dungeon.

"......Cl.......aire....."  She heard a weak voice in her mind, a voice she hadn't heard in a long time.

She gasped and covered her mouth, tears forming in her eyes, "Doc, is that you?"

"...Claire.......I'm…… home.”

Claire gasped and covered her mouth with both hands as she began to cry happily.  “Doc, I missed you so much!”

His crystal beginning to glow brighter, Doc spoke - with a stronger voice, “I’m happy to hear that . . . why are you a slime?”

Claire took a moment to assess her appearance before shrieking.  With a cry of “Wait right there”, she flew into her home and slammed the door behind her.  She began to explain to Doc what had occurred during his rest.

(Present Time)

Doc metaphorically rubbed his crystal with a sense of awkwardness before turning his attention to the other occupant in the room.

“I haven’t seen you before; who are you?,” he asked the princess slime.

Lady cocked her head at the sound of his voice and began wiggling happily.  Doc watched her dance for a moment before saying, “Can you understand me?”

“……L……ord…..” He heard a faint new impression in his mind, but it did not continue.  As Doc took a moment to speculate, Claire’s door slammed back open as she presented herself.  She had made herself as pretty as possible, but Doc couldn’t help but overlap her images with the flying slime viewed from earlier.

The two, who could hear each other in their minds, coughed awkwardly, then laughed clumsily, then laughed in earnest as they let their minds rejoice together at their reunion.  The nearly two weeks had seemed like an eternity for Claire, and to a lesser extent Doc, because they had always been together.

“Poppa is back, Poppa is back!,” Doc heard the twins cheering happily in his mind.

He smiled and sent them feelings of love. “It’s good to be back girls; have you two been good?”

“We have, we have; we ate most of the adventurers and got lots of battle experience.”  Doc had the vague impression that the two were currently rolling around in happiness.

He grinned and turned back to Claire, “Can you tell me what’s been going on?”

Claire nodded, “In the almost two weeks since you’ve been gone, the town has grown little.  However, more masons and builders have been sighted coming into town, so it should be growing more soon.  No new adventurers of high level have been seen, so either we are safe or they have been called away for high ranked adventurers from some foreign place.  The dungeon itself has not changed, besides our new inclusion here.” She gestured at Lady, who wiggled happily.

Doc nodded, “Any idea what she is?  I don’t think I created her.”

Claire shook her head, “Nope.  She spawned after that princess died but seems to have low intelligence and no memories.  Well,” Claire admitted, “She definitely is smarter than all the slimes in this dungeon put together, but less than the four of us.  I haven’t seen her fight, but I believe she is strong.  She may be your first hidden boss.”

Doc nodded, “Oh, so she can move wherever she wants and can flee when she chooses; how interesting.”

Claire cocked her head in surprise, “Well yes, but how did you know that Doc?”

Doc looked at her, “You thought it didn’t you? We can hear each other’s thoughts remember.”

Claire frowned, “It’s my job to explain; don’t take that from me now.  I’ll cry you know.”  She began to fake pout as realistic tears formed in her eyes.

“Okay, I’ll let you do the explaining from now on,” he reassured her.

She nodded and wiped her face with a smile, “Good.  Now, I think it’s time for a dungeon makeover, don’t you think?”

Doc grinned, “You read my mind . . . that joke is going to get old quick.  Anyhow, I’m excited to see what I can change now.”

Claire nodded, “Now, you previously acquired the ‘reality’, ‘evolution level 2’, and ‘mana stone’ upgrades, so here are your current choices.”  She waved her hand as the familiar blue screen appeared in the air.

Ability

Description

Teleporting Glyph

Inscribe a glyph on every floor that allows adventurers to move from one floor to another easily.  Must have cleared the previous floor to be able to move to the next floor.  Groups are restricted to the lowest level conquered by a member

Additional Race

Able to create an additional race to the one held.  Increases dungeon diversity

Upgrade Monsters III

Grants the ability to improve monsters by unlocking next evolution level.
Current Monster levels: Slime Lvl 2

Instances (Acquired)

Able to create parallel realities within the dungeon, allowing for more adventurers to enter the dungeon at the same time

Environments

Able to create new obstacles in the form of environmental hazards.

Trap knowledge

Able to improve and add to existing traps by using mana.  Current trap types available: pitfall, aerial.  New trap types: launch, ceiling-fall

Mana Stones(Acquired)

Throughout the dungeon, places naturally fill with ambient mana.  Now, those places will condense into mana stones that can be mined

Puzzle knowledge

Able to create simple puzzles on floors that test knowledge, imagination, and intuition

Locked

Locked

Doc blinked, “Puzzle knowledge is the new option here.”

Claire nodded, “Yes; with it you will be able to make floors more than simple walk through areas.  Now, adventurers will have to unlock doors and lower bridges in order to proceed.  However, before that there is something you have to do.”

“What?,” he asked curiously.

“You need to make more floors, and I don’t mean 1 or 2.  I think it’s time for you to show how much you’ve grown, and make the maximum number of floors you can,” Claire said resolutely.

“Why; did you not tell me that growing too fast will scare the adventurers?,” Doc asked, feeling a little concerned.

Claire nodded, “That was before you absorbed a demon of its power.  It’s better now to show how you used that power, rather than hide it.  Also,” She held up two fingers, “If strong adventurers are coming, it would be better to have a larger dungeon to tire them out.  Also, being a larger dungeon would increase your worth to the adventurers.  Two slimes with one stone approach to this situation.”

Doc nodded in agreement with her logic, “Okay then; I think that makes a lot of sense.  Do they all have to be unique though?”

Claire shook her head, “Not if you don’t want them to be.  If you grew floors slowly, then your floors would be unique through necessity, but a sudden growth of floors doesn’t have to be unique if you don’t want to take the time.  Pick a floor number, like every 10 floors, to be unique and make the rest of the floors simple and similar.”

Doc thought to himself for a moment, “I want 25 floors with every 5 floors, except the first, to be unique.”

Claire nodded, “In that case, you need 6 unique floors.  Do you have any power leftover to improve your abilities?”

Doc nodded his head slowly, “I think I have enough to use the teleporting glyphs, trap knowledge, and puzzle knowledge.  I really wanted the next evolution level, but it seems to be higher than these three combined.”

Claire nodded, “Evolution is a tricky thing.  Your power must be greater than that of your creations, so you can’t make anything stronger until you are stronger.  Didn’t I say something along those lines when you wanted to make dragons?”

Doc sighed sadly, “My dreams --- all gone in an instance.  Anyway, I’m going to start working on the 6 unique floors now, so you’ll be sleeping soon I guess.”

Claire nodded her head, then paused, “Oh, be sure to do something about the mines.  Also, make the staircases out of the boss rooms close until the boss is defeated once a party enters the room.”

“Mines?”

Claire gave Doc a quick summary of the mines and the current situation.  Doc scratched his metaphorical head and shrugged, “I’ll think about it.  Have a nice rest Claire.”

Claire rolled her eyes, “Considering I haven’t slept since you disappeared, I’ll be out for a while.  Don’t wait up, dear.” She winked at him and flew into her home, closing the door behind her.”

Doc smiled contently as he turned his attention toward himself.  Concentrating, he took the ambient mana floating around inside of him and condensed it into additional crystal layers on his body.  As the new layers formed, he felt his body and power expand until the change was complete.  With the new knowledge floating around his mind, he took a moment to admire his crystal.

The previous purple was now covered in layers of red and blue, creating a strange duality with the purple at the center.  With his power developed, he turned his full attention to the dungeon.

The "real" first floor of his dungeon was the one Doc still liked the most.  It was simple, straightforward, and killed most of the arrogant and inexperienced adventurers that entered.  He had no desire to change it at all, so he decided to skip it.

“Oh wait, almost forgot about the mines and the staircase,” he reminded himself thoughtfully.

After quickly making the stairs disappear where the boss lived, he focused on the mines.  The mining area was almost complete physically in his opinion.  He decided to increase the chance of mana stone discovery and jewels; since he had acquired a variety of jewels from the many fallen adventurers.

“I need something as a hazard,” he muttered to himself.  Checking his dungeon, he came across a strange sight.  “What are you there little fellow?,” he muttered as he inspected a slime in the wall.  When he started working on the dungeon, slime birth had stopped, but it appeared that this slime had failed to form properly before it was cut off from the dungeon mana.  It was coreless because the core had shattered under the pressure and thus lacked mobility.  Without it, the slime was stuck as an immobile puddle of goop that could only rely on gravity for movement.  Doc liked it at once.

“I’ll call you an ooze, and you’ll make a perfect hazard for my dungeon,” Doc declared with excitement.

He focused on the ooze and copied its body in his mind as he turned back to the mines.  He then placed multiple oozes in the walls and used part of his mana to make sure oozes would spawn even when he wasn’t there.  After that, he adjusted the frequency so oozes would appear in greater numbers around rarer deposits.

Still, he wasn’t completely satisfied.  “Oozes are too easy to defeat by any adventurer,” he thought to himself, “What can I include to increase the risk?”

A moment later, it came to him.  “A boss would be perfect!”  He poured his essence into the first ooze and watched it change.

To be honest to himself, he really didn’t like this particular evolution.  The ooze boss was, to put it simply, boring to Doc.  It grew in size to cover about half the height of the mining tunnel and about 10 feet across the floor.  It had some rigidity to it now, and could move like water by flowing down the paths and tunnels.  Also, it couldn’t be killed without a large amount of fire.  Doc estimated the amount of fire needed would kill anything in the mines, including the caster due to the low air supply.  Doc certainly wasn’t going to allow fresh air into the mines for such a spell.

Doc sighed and shrugged to himself, “I guess I’ll make this, what did Claire call it again, a ‘hidden boss’.  I’ll set it to appear in one of the four, er, areas once every few hours and then have it disappear; should make for an interesting dinner show with Claire and the girls.”

Lastly, he made the stone close to his dungeon floors impossible to mine-through so that floors could not be skipped.  He also enchanted the mining space so that if a corridor or tunnel was not used frequently, it would disappear and fill up with stone.  This would prevent the miner from digging too far outside the dungeon's boundaries or too deep as well.

"Twins, are you two there?," Doc asked as his mind worked its way down to the second floor.

"Poppa, are you okay?  Are you changing the dungeon?” They clamored over themselves, asking so many questions at once that Doc felt his mind start to freeze up.

"Your poppa had to sleep while he absorbed the demon, but I’m okay now.  Is there anything you girls want on your floor?," he asked kindly.

The twins rolled back into their minds as they processed his words.  Putting their heads together, they asked, “Can you add trees Poppa?  We miss the scent of the night and the call of the forests."

Doc shook his head sadly, “I'm sorry girls, but I can't grow anything from scratch right now."  He said apologetically, "I would need to either bring in tree seeds from the outside or purchase an expensive upgrade to do so.  I can give you both permission to come to the jungle boss room, but that's my limit for the moment I'm afraid."

"Thank you very much," they replied happily, wagging their tails, "Can we go while you change our floor?"

"Sure, go ahead."  Doc felt them disappear from their room and reappear in the jungle room.  He smiled warmly as he listened to their happy yips and barks as they ran around the green room.  Doc returned his attention to the second floor as he implemented the next changes.

Doc decided to move the twins down to his 6th unique floor.  After moving their room down to the bottom, he returned to the second floor and began changing it.

“The first floor introduced the adventurers to the fights, so let’s have the second floor deal with the introduction to exploring.”  Doc liked the idea of having adventurers succeed and fail based on their own decisions rather than what he caused to happen.

“Let’s have a few grey slimes and mimic slime patrol . . . oh ho ho! New slimes!” Doc was incredibly excited as he sensed slimes evolving throughout the dungeon.  In order to get his work done though, he decided to only look at the relevant slimes on each floor rather than all at once.  He first concentrated on the mimic slimes.

The lesser mimic slime had two new evolutions; chest and mimic slime.  After evolving, the mimic slime had increased in size and could now form more complex shapes based on the creatures it ate.  For instance, it could grow the mandibles of an ant and the wings of a bat for a scary diving attack.  While the forms were complex and sometimes disturbing, the parts were still composed of slime and could be eliminated easily.  The chest slime was an interesting slime that evolved due to Doc’s new trap knowledge.  These evolved lesser mimics could turn into a chest, though lacking the smell and feel of a real chest, and could lure adventurers in due to their desire for treasure.  Doc decided take advantage of this behavior and made certain areas of the dungeon spawn areas for either a real treasure chest or a chest slime.  These spots would always be in the same place, but whether or not there was treasure depended on luck and diligence.  Doc assigned jewels to chest slimes and armor to mimic slimes.

He also put a few grey slimes on the second floor.  They too had gained new evolutions; being of magic slime and metal slime.  The two new forms seemed to arise from the grey slimes eating metal and mana stones from foolish miners who tried to mine in the dungeon.

The magic slime could use weak forms of magic from all the elements, though the slime required fairly frequent mana stones in order to remember the elements with their bodies.  The top of the slime had actually grown a point and the slime took on a slightly pink tinge to their normal purple after evolving.  Doc assigned mana stones and potions to the magic slimes.  He was quite excited to look at the rest of the evolutions.

First thing first, however; Doc began labor on the third floor.  "Now, let's make this place worthy of the boss."  Keeping with the theme, Doc removed the restrictions that kept the plants locked in the boss room.  Instantly, vines and flowers began to spread on the walls and ceiling of the entire third floor.  Doc nodded in satisfaction as the plants overtook the area.  "Now, let’s remove these old slimes and add these."  As the other slime families disappeared, herb slimes began to populate the floor, with a few heal slimes and plant slimes also taking residence.  Doc predicted that this jungle type environment would create new slimes in the future as well.

While the plants moved around, Doc worked on the layout of the third floor.  Keeping up with the previous maze theme, Doc began to extensively expand the floor layout.  Like before, Doc could freely change the shape of his dungeon area so long as the total volume remained the same.  The total volume, of course, grew with his capacity of mana.  The third floor was now a much wider maze, with many corridors, false paths, turnarounds, and basic traps in the form of chest slimes, pitfalls, and aerial falls.  Combined with the rapid and extensive plant coverage, it was very easy to get lost.

Doc ‘patted’ himself in satisfaction.  "Now, I just need to make the fourth and fifth floors just as interesting." He concentrated, moving the heart room down to below the sixth floor, where the twin’s room was now located.

The fourth floor Doc designed to completely repulse adventurers.  Instead of a normal floor, the fourth floor had no walls and consisted of a single, massive room.  The entrance and exit were high above the floor and connected by a series of skinny paths that were elevated high above the ground.  The paths were wide enough to walk across without too much effort, but the drop was extremely intimidating, as well as the numerous armor, gelatinous, and metal slimes that moved around below.  So as to be fair, Doc did move the rock on the wall next to the entrance and exit into a ladder-like form so adventurers who fell, and survived, could easily climb back up to try again.  A single room for the boss was made right after the exit.

Skipping the boss creation for now, Doc moved down to the fifth floor and made a quick, simple form to begin with.  The new floor was essentially a strange combination of the first and third floors.  It was a clear path with a few paths that led back to a previous room.  In Doc's opinion, it wasn't that interesting and was easily conquered by experienced dungeon divers.  Its current setup was a lesser version of what Doc planned to use for the generic floors.

“How droll, let’s use my new slimes to make this more interesting.” Doc began singing one of the catchy tunes he had heard an adventurer singing before as he began changing the floor.

Taking a hold of the floor, he created four separate tunnels from the staircase room.  Each one made its way to the boss room and they all held the occasional trap tunnel that looped back to an earlier room.  Excluding the first room, Doc used his realty ability on the tunnels and boss room so as to keep it simple for adventurers.  While doing that, he went ahead and changed the dungeon so that every staircase room was free of instance/alternate realities, resulting in a single reality for all occupants to exist in between floors.  Doc figured it was about time to confuse the minds of the adventurers; the dungeon had been too stagnant for too long.  Instead, each tunnel entrance was the beginning of the alternate realities.

Each tunnel was also colored differently, to represent the elemental hazard within.

The red tunnel held the power of fire, with fire mana stones giving the walls a crimson tone.  Fire slimes roamed its walls, as well in their evolutions.  Burning slimes were the first and most common fire slime evolution form.  Slightly larger and a brighter red, these slimes had the nasty habit of covering themselves in fire and ramming their opponents.  Besides these, there were three other new forms --- firestorm slimes, flaming slimes, and lava slimes, all of which also added danger to the level.

Firestorm slimes had the interesting ability to devour any flame that came near them.  They were very rare, and were always found near large groups of the other fire family slimes.  When a firestorm slime absorbed enough flame, it glowed bright and exploded in a fiery blast that shook the immediate area.  Lava slimes were the second evolution and had the strange ability to leave behind a fiery residue that would continue to burn for about five minutes.  Beyond that, they were extremely resistant to fire and fire based attacks.  The last slime was the flaming slime, a darker red one that attacked by spewing fire at opponents.  Doc also had a strange slime known as an infernal slime, but all it did was absorb fire and fire mana.  It was content sitting in traps and passively absorbing all flames that came near it; so Doc left it alone.

The wind tunnel softly glowed in white light as the air moved slowly through it.  Accompanying the small wind slimes were its four evolutions: Static, Speed, Breeze, and Whisper slimes.  Static slimes had yellow stripes through their purple and white colors and gave off an occasional spark of energy.  When multiple static slimes came near each other, they could unleash a yellow energy-like lightning that paralyzed any hit by it.  Breeze slimes launched balls of air that knocked their prey over.  The Speed slimes were an evolution.  They seemed completely focused on speed, and were by far the fastest slimes in the dungeon currently.  They forgo anything that slowed them down and focused on ramming attacks.  They also gained a more grey color instead of white that went along with its purple undertones.

The last slime in the wind tunnel was a strange slime Doc found comforting.  He dubbed it 'whisper slime' because of its tendency to release soft noises when it moved.  The noises were very similar to that of the things adventures would say, albeit in a softer tone.  It could lure adventurers’ with soft cries of help.  Beyond that ability, it had no offensive strengths besides the slime's natural ability to devour.

Doc resolved himself to spend a little more time in the wind tunnel with Claire and the girls when they had the chance.  It sounded very peaceful.

Smiling at the thought, he continued to the next tunnel.

The water tunnel held the destructive power of water within its walls.  The water slime had evolved into its own second evolutions with each increasing with their water prowess.  The bubble slimes were an aquamarine color completely through and controlled water to form a shield around itself, which was used for protection as it charged its prey.  Its counterpart, the ice slime, launched spikes of ice at its prey and chilled the air around it.  In addition, the stream slime could create water and left a damp floor wherever it went.  Doc’s trap knowledge seemed to have unlocked another water evolution; that of the puddle slime.  This slime pretended to be an ordinary puddle of water on the floor until prey stepped on it, when it would wrap tentacles to seal the movement of whoever got caught.  The last water evolution slime was the spray slime, which only sprayed water.  Doc guessed it would become more important in the future.

The last tunnel, the earth tunnel, trembled under the might of the ground.  The mighty rock slime had the habit of picking up any rock it came across within its slime body, resulting in a rolling ball of stone.  The rumble slimes had an interesting gimmick similar to the song slime; when it stood still it began vibrating at a low hum.  The vibrations were annoying; the sounds also caused stones to become dislodged from the ceiling.  When encountered together with a rock slime, it created an extremely hard-to-kill combo.  The next second evolution slime was the blast slime --- a brown slime that could throw stones using its own magic by exploding parts of its body to launch them.  The ground slime was similar to the rock slime, except that its slime had completely changed it into dirt.  It could not launch ground attacks; instead it relied on delivering a pounding with its ram attack.  The final evolution was the metal slime, the cousin of the ground slime.  It had replaced its slime with a kind of liquid metal that seemed to continuously flow around its core.  It was fast, and liked to join the ground slime in ramming attacks.

For the sixth and final unique floor, Doc decided to make it dedicated to his twin girls.  To start with, there was no source of light anywhere, making the floor completely dark.  He decided that the twins could move across the entire floor, but could not kill anyone except when in the boss room.  They could stalk anyone they wanted, but were not required to fight until someone reached the boss room.  He also installed hidden paths that only the two could find, allowing for quick navigation throughout the entire floor.  The floor consisted of 4 large rooms with many walls to separate them into sections with four corridors to connect the rooms.

In order to unlock the boss room, Doc placed flames in each room that would change locations every time an adventurer entered.  All flames had to be lit, which would cause the boss room entrance to open, which was back at the entrance room.  The entrance room also listed the requirement to unlock the boss room and held two torches to light up the instructions.  Doc wasn't so cruel as to make a complicated lock without instructions.

Nodding his satisfaction, Doc gently moved the twins down to their new boss room, complete with a soft slime bed hidden away from prying eyes.  The two had run around the third floor room so much after he changed it that they had fallen asleep.  Doc gently brushed them with his mind, and they shivered happily as they rested.  He quickly left them and began working on the bosses for each level.  For the pit floor, Doc used the last member of the grey slime family, the magic slime.  Oddly enough, after changing it into a boss, the magic slime did not evolve; instead, it grew bigger and gained the ability to use the magic of all his elemental slimes without the need to recharge.  He spawned two heal slimes to assist it and moved up to the second floor.

Since it was a simple floor, he decided to use the bug slime as the boss.  Similarly, the bug slime did not evolve when it became a boss; instead it just grew larger and became able to switch between three different bug forms.

Before moving to the elemental floor, he decided to improve upon the twin’s restrictions.  Now, they would have a second phase after their first defeat; this was important since they would be the 25th floor bosses.  After being defeated once, they would dissolve into darkness and reappear as their human selves garbed in black robes that would hide their figures and faces.  The daggers they wielded would be the rare loot that could possibly drop after defeat.

Finally, Doc moved to the elemental floor.  There, he spawned the four basic elemental slimes.  He had an idea he wanted to try out.

"Devour each other," he commanded.  Normally, the slimes in the dungeon could not eat each other.  However, he had gained a sliver of knowledge from his sleep; normal slimes in the wild ate other species of slimes to grow stronger.  Oddly enough, slimes of the same family rarely ate each other.

Having disabled the ability to coexist, the four slimes rushed each other and began devouring one another.  It was a strange mesh of green, red, blue, and white as the four slimes mixed and churned on top of each other in a strange ouroborus like fashion.

"Perfect," Doc declared as he focused his energy on all four slime cores.  When the energy came into the slimes, the four cores moved together and fused.

The four slime cores became a single black core, and the slimes morphed together into a large black slime.  Oddly enough, there was no information about it except for its name, 'Elemental Overslime.'

Chapter 4

Johan yawned as he slowly opened his eyes and stretched out his arms.  Feeling groggy, he looked over at the tent flap, and saw sunlight streaming in from the fabric.

“Aye, guess it’s morning already,” Johan muttered to himself as he dragged himself out of his tent cot. Leaving the comfort of his nightly rest, he reached down to his chest and took out his work clothes.  With a head of brown hair and a full beard, the man did not look his 25 years, but instead gave off the visage of someone far older and more experienced.  After adjusting his rope belt, he picked up his lantern and pick and left his tent.

“Morning Johan!” A voice came over from his left. Johan turned and grinned at his close neighbor Hamish, who was similarly dressed.

“Morning to you to Hamish,” Johan said, returning the greeting, “How are you this fine day?”

Hamish smiled and patted his stomach, “Quite hungry if truth be told.  I figure it be about time for de taverns to be open so we can eat before work.  Care to join me?”

“Of course you old sack of bones, just point me toward the smell,” Johan chortled.

Hamish smacked Johan’s back as the two began walking together, “Oy, just because I’ve been doing this sort of work for 20 years doesn’t mean I’m old ya know.  Not all us miners are strapping young folk like you.”

Johan scratched his beard and smiled ruefully, “I sure don’t look it anymore; I remember arriving here clean-shaven.”

Hamish nodded as they passed another group of miners, “Aye, that be the way of life of a miner.  Why do ya think dwarves are famed for their beards?”

“Calling me a dwarf are ya?” Johan teased him.

Hamish guffawed, “If ye be a dwarf, I be a pretty elf lad with long flowing hair.”  He pretended to preen himself before the two began to laugh uncontrollably.  The two finally made it to the local area tavern, ‘Hilda’s Bar’, and took a seat on one of the open tables.

“Lass, a pint of ale and a small miner’s meal if ya don’t mind,” Hamish called on one of the working girls.  Dressed in the tavern’s uniform of a long skirt and revealing neckline, the lass smiled and nodded as she went to put in the order.  Johan looked at her shapely backside before returning his gaze to Hamish.  The older man was smiling at him.

“Lass caught your eye has she?,” Hamish’s grin growing  from ear to ear.

Johan shook his head, “As a man, it is important to appreciate beauty, but beyond that you know I have no interest.”  A hard, yet sad, glint appeared in his eye, warning the other man to drop it.

Hamish, not indicating that he had noticed, changed the topic, “Ya hear the news on the dungeon?  They say the whole thing has changed overnight.”

Johan raised his eyebrow, but the two stopped as the serving girl returned with two ales and two plates of potatoes and lamb.  The two men passed over a few copper each and dug into their meals.

Between bites of lamb, Johan asked, “Did the dungeon wake up?  Is that what they are saying?”

Hamish took a swig of ale and wiped his beard of crumbs, “Aye, apparently the dungeon awoke yesterday and made all sorts of changes.  Truth be told, I can’t tell ya everything because rumors are flying around everywhere.  But,” he leaned over as his voice got lower, “They say the dungeon finished eating that damned demon who attacked the princess.  My buddies over at construction told me they’ve been paid to work on two new quarters; one for the elves and one for the church.  What do ya think about that?”

Johan frowned, “The elves are welcome, but I don’t want no church folk near the dungeon.  Much as I praise the gods, I don’t want them hurting my meal pay.”

Hamish nodded, “Aye, that’s the general feeling going around the area.  All us miners, builders, shop keeps, and adventurers need the dungeon; and ya know what they say about what the church does to dungeons.”

Johan shook his head, “Well, we’ll have to wait and see how they act.  Now, enough of the unpleasant news, you hear anything else about the dungeon changes?”

Hamish shrugged, “It grew, but that’s about the limit of what I know.  Some say another floor, some say 100 more floors.  Hard to judge the truth until the adventurer guild releases more information.”

Johan poked his potatoes in a solemn silence, “Ya think it did grow to 100 floors?  That sounds kind of dangerous to me.”

Hamish looked over at the younger man’s unease and clapped his back, “Hey now boy, don’t be getting nervous over rumors.  The mines should be just fine, so don’t ye worry more about it.  Let the adventurers deal with that kind of situation.  Come on, let’s finish up and head out.  I have a good feeling about today.”

Johan snorted, “You have a good feeling everyday ya old coot.”

Hamish nodded, “You’re right; it’s a good feeling because I’m still alive.”

The two made their way over to the dungeon entrance after they finished eating their meal.  Tent quarter, or ‘city’ as it was nicknamed, was the farthest part of the dungeon town to the dungeon.  They were thus required to walk a good 30 minutes through the rest of the tents, pass the check-point into Iron City, through Iron City, and out the town exit through the palisade checkpoint.  There were about 100 or so miners who lived in tents, but it was also home to the other laborers of the town; so it was the largest part of the town.

Johan rolled his eyes as they neared the dungeon, “Oh great, look at that crowd.  It’ll take forever to get into the dungeon.”

Hamish sighed and nodded, “Aye, most of them adventurers are too chicken to go in.  Least they could do was move out of the way.  Oh, there are the guards now.”

A group of guards from the town made their way to the entrance and began to move the crowd off the path that led to the dungeon clearing a space for those brave enough to enter.  The two men nodded their thanks to the guards as they passed into the dungeon.

Hamish perked up as he caught sight of a friend leaving the dungeon, “Oy, Henry, that you man?  What, you work the early morning and didn’t invite me?”

Henry was a large black man with a shaved head and a large grin.  He laughed and clapped his hand on Hamish’s back, sending the smaller man tumbling into the wall, “You would have never gotten up even if I did invite you.  Anyway, I was just returning to the mines because my pick broke again.”  He held up the broken pieces of his pick-axe.

Hamish wiped off his shirt in an ironic sort of manner as he grinned up at the bigger guy, “As it happens, I brought an extra that you can buy at 20% of what you mine today.”

Henry groaned and clutched his stomach in apparent pain, “Hamish, you must wish to kill this old man.  I can only afford 5%, or I won’t be able to pay for my poor kid’s dinner.”

Hamish and Johan stared at Henry, “You have kids?”

Henry stopped faking and frowned at the two as the three began to walk into the dungeon, “What, is that such an impossible idea?”

Johan scratched his head awkwardly, but Hamish merely grinned and said, “10%.”

“Done deal,” Henry grinned as he took the pick-axe from Hamish, “Hey, you boys hear about the changes yet?”

Seeing them shake their heads, Henry continued, “Well, the mines got more interesting.  Some of the old passages disappeared, and more intriguing things have been found in the walls now.  I hear a fellow got lucky and hit a gold vein.”

“Get out!  Gold vein?  The luck of that fellow must be high,” Hamish exclaimed and wiped his forehead theatrically, “Let’s go help ourselves then.”

Henry shook his head, “The guy hired some muscle and claimed the entire wall.  Bit of an ass really, goes by ‘Carver’.”

Hamish frowned, “I was jesting before, but I really can’t stand that fellow.  I do feel like staking a claim now.”

“It’s not worth it Hamish, let’s just find our own spot,” Johan spoke up, patting his friend’s arm.  Hamish grumbled for a bit, but ended up agreeing.  The three made it to the center room and took the north tunnel into the mines.  They passed a few miners and made their way down a newer passage on their left.

“This a good area?  I don’t think I’ve mined in the north tunnel before,” Johan asked his fellows.

Henry shrugged, “Mining doesn’t really change with the tunnels; just depends if you get lucky or not.  I started mining over this way earlier today, so we can start a new tunnel.”  He led them down a small alcove into a small, rounded room.

“Good a place to start as any I guess.  Here, I’ll start on the left.” Hamish took a spot and began to swing with his pick, quickly falling into a rhythm of 1, 2.  Henry went into the middle and began a pace of 1, 2, 3.

Hamish looked over, “Kind of fast pace ye got their Henry.  You sure you’ll be able to keep it?  Rather, you sure your pick will be able to keep it?”

Henry frowned and nodded, slowing down to match Hamish’s pace. Johan began on the right, and soon the three of them were hammering away in a perfect rhythm on all three walls.  Bits of stone fell down and littered the floor, creating an uneven surface.  However, after a while the stones melted into the floor, leaving it as smooth as when they entered.

“See, this is what I love about mining in a dungeon; ya don’t have to worry about the clean-up,” Hamish declared happily, “The other mines I worked at, ya had to stop and put all ya stone into a mine cart and send it up the tracks to be melted.  Here, all the dungeon stone disappears and leaves ya with a nice shiny rock to sell.  Ah, looks like we got a winner.”  He bent down and picked up a small shiny stone.  He gave it a polish and inspected it with his eye.

“Bit of iron here, must be near a deposit.  Good eye Henry.  Give me a hand here lads.”  Henry and Johan moved over and began to mine on the wall with Hamish.  After a few minutes, they exposed a vein of iron in the wall.  As they knocked, large and small chunks of the metal began to litter the floor.  The three stopped and stored the iron away in their sacks.

Unlike adventurers, the miners did not have magic bags that could hold a large amount of material and be light.  Instead, they had to make periodic stops and return to the center room, where merchants gathered to buy the ore and crystals found in the dungeon.  The prices inside the dungeon were lower than back in town, but few miners were willing to make the time to travel back to town and risk losing their spot.

“I’m full up, how about you two?,” Johan announced.

Henry nodded, “Same here.”

Hamish nodded his head in agreement, “Alright, time to make a trip then.”  The three shouldered their picks and made their way out of the room, packs full of iron ore.  They made their way back to the center room and over to one of the merchant’s stalls.

“Hey boys, what did you bring me today?,” the portly merchant grinned as he rubbed his hands together.

“Got you some quality ore right here sir; take a look.”  Henry handed over a small piece of iron and watched as the merchant chanted some spells over it and gave it a good look.  The merchant nodded his head in approval and smiled at the three.

“You’re in luck; iron is in high demand with the new building orders.  I’ll even match the price from town for you three,” The merchant announced.

Hamish raised an eyebrow, “You sure?  I thought merchants were all about making a profit?”

The merchant chuckled and patted his belly, “I’ll still make a profit; so it’s better to make repeat customers in such a case.”

Happy and light hearted, the three men handed over their bags to the merchant, who weighed them and double-checked their contents before collecting the ore and returning the bags.  He handed over a pouch of silver in exchange.

Henry was ecstatic as the trio made their way back into the north cave, “This is the best payday I’ve ever seen!  I think I’ll go to the iron quarter and get a hot bath today and a real high-quality meal.  Maybe even some nice clothes and a good wench to warm my bed.”

Hamish laughed, “Well then . . ,” he paused, and Johan looked over his shoulder.

Two adventurers were standing outside the alcove that led to their mining spot.  The two glanced at the trio and fingered their sheathed weapons.

Johan frowned and stepped forward, “Excuse me, we’re on our way back to our digging spot.”

One of the adventurers grinned and looked over at his partner, “Say, did this area have someone’s name on it?”

The other shook his head, “Nope, I didn’t see anything in particular like that.”

Johan nodded, “Okay then, well I’ll just go . . .” The two took their swords out and pointed them at Johan.

“Sorry there old man, but this area is claimed by Carver.  You’ll have to run that by him if you want to mine here.”

Now Hamish was frowning as he fingered his pick-axe, “Didn’t Carver have a gold vein to mine?  Why is he here in the north tunnel?”

“Gold ran dry quick, and then he struck it again here with iron.”

“That thief must have seen us leaving and stole our spot,” Henry hissed under his breath, “Damnation, I bet he did the same with that gold vein.  By the 9 hells I won’t let this thief take our iron spot.”

The adventurers must have sensed the change in mood, as they frowned and took a ready position with their swords.  The trio of miners began to slap their pick-axes against their palms in rhythm, the universal signal in the mining world for attack.  A few other miners appeared, began to appear, and they soon joined in with the wordless chant as the adventurers found their paths of escape blocked.

However, before anyone could do anything, a horrifying scream came from within the alcove.  Everyone froze and turned to see a human-like figure run out of the alcove.  He was screaming and clutching at his face as he tried to remove what  looked like a viscous goop.  He stumbled and fell to the floor and rolled around.

“HELP ME, SOMEONE HELP ME!,” he cried out.

“Shit, that’s Carver!,” Hamish yelled in alarm, dropping his pick axe, “Get it off him!”

A few miners ran forward and tried to pry the goop off of the struggling man, but their picks merely went through whatever it was.  In a few moments, Carver stopped struggling and fell limp as the thing devoured his head and neck.

“What in the 9 Hells is that thing?,” a miner cried out in fear as he moved backwards.  One of the adventurers muttered something under his breath, causing his sword to burst aflame.  He sliced down and cut the goop in half.  It jiggled and vibrated as it burned and disappeared.  A piece of iron dropped in its place.

“Whatever it was, it was definitely some kind of dungeon monster.  My guess is that it’s some kind of lesser slime; an ooze of some sort.”

“Ooze works just fine,” Henry muttered as he bent down and inspected the iron, “Where did it come from though?”

Hamish poked his head into the alcove and took a look around.  “There’s a hole in the wall; my guess is that it came from there.  Poor bastard must have opened the hole by accident and had the thing drop on him from above.”

“That begs the question,” Johan began, “What else changed in the mines while the dungeon was improving itself.”

The miners looked nervously at each other as they contemplated the possibilities.

One of the adventurers shook his head and sighed, “There goes our employer.  Well, guess we have to go back to diving the dungeon then.”

“It seems . . .” The other adventurer paused as he cocked his head and placed his hand on the tunnel wall, “is the tunnel vibrating?”

“What are you talking about?  I can’t feel anything going on here,” one of the miners frowned at the adventurer.

The two locked eyes and nodded, quickly making their way around the bend back toward the center room.  The miners scoffed and muttered to themselves about superstition and adventurers being overly nervous and arrogant.

“What an orc pounder,” Hamish muttered as he picked up Carver’s bag and looked inside, “Ah, looks like ole buddy Carver hadn’t turned in his gold yet.  What luck for us indeed lads!”

Johan frowned and shook his head, “I think we should leave the mines fellas.  I don’t feel right about this.”

Henry laughed and clapped Johan on the back, “You scared youngling?  Don’t be listening to no superstitious adventurers about that nonsense.  Let’s get back to mining in our room.”

Johan shook his head, “No, let’s just be safe about this and leave.  We already had so much good luck today; perhaps it would be better to call it quits.”

Henry and Hamish sighed, but decided the younger man was right.  It was better to stop when ahead than when behind.  The trio began to make their way back toward the center room, when they felt the floor rumbling.

“Run,” Henry cried out in alarm, and the three began running toward the exit.  As they neared it, they heard cries of fear and prayers behind them, and turned to see what was happening.  Around the corner a large blob appeared, looking like the ooze from earlier, and began to rapidly cover the floor like a flood.  A few miners were running from it, and one tripped.  He cried out for help, but the ooze monster quickly covered his body.  The trio watched as the one arm above the monster turned into a skeleton before sinking and disappearing.

They dived into the center room, and watched a few other miners reach them before the monster reached the exit.  It gave a soft gurgle noise, and dissolved into the ground before their very eyes, leaving nothing behind.

Henry, pale faces and gasping, turned to Johan and nodded.  “Remind me to never gamble against you.”

Chapter 5

Newly christened Guild Master Mary sat with her arms in front of her, hands crossed.  She stared forward at her lead receptionist, Ally, with unblinking eyes as the young girl trembled slightly.  After a moment, she sighed out and nodded her head.

“Please repeat the report you just gave me,” she commanded flatly.

Ally nodded quickly, her face still nervous, “Yes ma’am.  According to the reports from adventurers and miners, the dungeon has undergone several major changes.  Firstly, the mines have grown and changed to meet the needs of the miners.  Reports of iron, gold, small jewels, and mana stones have increased and caused a small boom in the mining group.  However, the mines also gained new monsters that hide within the walls.  We have tentatively named them ‘oozes’.”

Mary nodded her head and gestured for the girl to continue.

“Furthermore, mine tunnels that are not frequently used disappear and are filled with rock overnight.  This will make the mines last forever so long as the dungeon exists.  The largest change, however, is the presence of the mine boss.  It’s a giant ooze-like creature that moves like a flood of water and devours everything it touches.  It appears in one of the four tunnels every once and a while and stops all mining activity in the area.  Casualties reports from the initial attacks have reduced the miner population by 14, almost 20% of the total number of miners here.”

Mary frowned, “Put up a new task for earth sensitive mages on the guild board.  Offer a reward for guarding the mining tunnels and warning the miners if the boss appears.  I’ll inform the miners of the new tax to pay for this service.”

Ally bowed and continued, “The dungeon itself has gone through a large change.  Beyond the first floor, there are many more floors evidenced by the new teleportation glyphs at the beginning of every floor.  The lowest floor is number 25, and adventurers are currently scouting down to discover the new levels.  The first floor remains unchanged, and the overslime seems to have gotten a little weaker.  Also, the stair room onto the next floor does not appear until the boss is defeated, which has raised some complaints from D and E ranked adventurers.”

Mary rolled her eyes at this and scoffed, “If they are complaining, it’s because whatever con they were pulling no longer works.  Have the guards investigate the complainers for evidence of illegal activity.”

“Understood ma’am, is there anything else?,” Ally asked tentatively.

Mary shook her head, “No, but please send up Bella and Carla when you go back down.  I need them to help mediate between the elves and the church.  I have a meeting with the elves later today.”

Ally nodded and bowed as she left the room and closed the door behind her.  When she was gone, Mary let the tension drain out of her body as she sagged in her chair and looked down at one of the new reports.  She fingered it and muttered to herself, “Are you truly a ghost now in the dungeon?  Can your spirit not find peace on its own now because you stopped being a chosen?”

The report described seeing a blue figure in the form of the former princess, but it had disappeared so fast it could not be confirmed.  Mary got up and placed the report in a small box, which contained a few similar reports.  She stared at the box, kissed her two fingers, and placed them against the box’s latch.  The top of the box was covered by the picture of a blue sword.

After confirming the price of construction with the builders, Gran the elf went back to his temporary tent.  He picked up a beautiful glass orb decorated with smooth wood and rubbed it.  After a few moments, a face appeared within the glass.

“Did the builders accept the price?,” the face of Leo asked Gran.

Gran nodded, “They agreed to extend the palisade around the land we bought from the Adventurer’s Guild, but I had to convince them we didn’t need any help with building construction.”

Leo nodded, “Indeed, I imagine the humans had a desire to coax more coin from us.  It is unfortunate for them, then, that we elves grow our own homes.” The two shared a heartfelt chuckle at the thought of living in buildings made of dead wood and stone.  If they did that, they might as well grow beards and call themselves dwarves after all.

Gran wiped a tear from his eye as his face returned to its stoic visage, “How goes it in the city?”

Leo shook his head, “The purges have been bad in the noble community.  Apparently, the former Sir Koran had a lot of incriminating evidence on him that was not filtered before being handed over to the city and royal guards.  They busted a lot of illegal businesses that didn’t have time to rid themselves of their own evidence; so now it has become a large mess here.  Sir Ken and I have been forced, with the rest of the rangers, to help calm riots in some places.”  Leo shook his head with an ironic chuckle, “Honestly, humans are so foolish in believing they can get away with things, yet they throw the largest tantrums when they get caught.”

“Has there been anything related to the tragedy?,” Gran asked, a colder glint now in his eye.

Leo nodded, “We did manage to find a small cult responsible for the demon summoning book falling into the prince’s hands.  Unfortunately, they all managed to evade our grasp by taking their own lives in prison using some foul sorcery.  We did, however, manage to find out the two responsible for the cult’s creation.  After establishing the group, they left in short order.  The other human cities have since been warned, for what little that will do to find any other branches of the cult.  The church, however, has taken it upon itself to perform some rather large holy extermination, apparently,” Leo began to mutter, “While I disagree with some of their policies, they are quite effective at ridding evil and corruption.”

“Any word on the identity of the father they will be sending here yet?,” Gran inquired.

Leo shook his head, “It has been all rather hush hush here you see.  In any case, I doubt he or she will arrive until the church district is complete.  How is that going?”

Gran pursed his lips, “They rejected the builders, sowing a little resentment, in wanting to have their own acolytes create the new grounds.  I hear Mary will be meeting them after myself today to finalize the land purchase, in which case they will start building at once.  They have sent many building materials already to the site as it is already a done deal, as the humans say.”

Leo nodded, “Keep us informed, and good luck.  Also, see if you can perk your leader up.  I heard she is quite the drunk now.”

Gran sighed sadly, but nodded, “Understood.  May the forest guide your steps.”

“And cover your tracks as well,” Leo finished, and they both bowed as the crystal stopped shining.  Gran sighed once again as he put away the crystal.  His thoughts turned to his team and their current whereabouts.

Nat was still off training somewhere, her mind filled with regret, self-anger, and determination.  In Gran’s personal opinion, she would likely keel over and suffer a breakdown if she kept up her desperate pace to improve herself.  The loss of her twin had been too much, made even worse by the fact the demon had controlled her for a little while.  Before they had split, Nat had confided in him that she still had nightmares of the fiend’s black hold on her.

Jonas might have been able to temper her down, but he was also filled with regrets.  The wizard blamed himself for the princess’s death, as she had jumped in front of him to save his life.  Few actually knew this, but he still considered it a reason to get stronger.  He had left for Duran in order to expand his spell repertoire at his mage guild and train harder as well.

Fiora, fearless Fiora, was now a drunk.  Gran’s previously courageous leader blamed the death of so many on herself.  To make matters worse, the princess had been a fellow disciple of Mary, who clearly felt the bond she had with her dissolve when the princess died.  It hadn’t been obvious at first, and had only begun a few days after her final report to the guild-master.  Fiora had taken a large blunt of Mary’s grief inadvertently through her own bond, and had taken to drown away the pain in alcohol.  Mary fixed her problem, but the former leader was now knee deep in booze as her only company.

Resolving himself to find her later, Gran left his tent and headed to the guild hall.  Upon arrival, the receptionist named Bella led him up to Mary’s office.  Gran bowed to Mary as he entered and closed the door behind him.  “Master Mary, it is good to see you again,” He said softly.

Mary nodded and gave the elf a half smile, “Does it get old, bowing to a half breed?”

Gran’s face held a hint of a frown before it returned to its poker appearance, “Perhaps if it was anyone else my lady, but you have shown a grace to both bloodlines and proven that those like you have a chance to do meaningful things in this world.”

Mary chuckled ironically as she leaned back, “You mean I’ve lived long enough to prove myself correct?  No matter, forgive this elder her small jokes.  You’ve been a good adventurer and a good companion to my friend; so it is not fair to bring you in on such old matters.”

Gran shook his head, “It is a shame the kingdom exiled you for your bloodline but I must observe you have shown them their error time and time again.”

Mary laughed now, a bright expression of cruel pleasure on her face, “Oh, you have no idea the embarrassment they feel.  After killing their last assassins a century ago, they have gone out of their way to invite me, ‘home’, as they put it.  Let them stew in regret; I found my place right here.”

Gran nodded as he waited for her to calm back down, “To be honest, I figured you would be a little more distraught after. . .”

Mary’s face grew neutral as she replied, “Death is never a thing one can become accustomed to, but I have lost many friends over my years of life.  I have my ways of coping, and it is to my regret dear Fiora had to assist me with it this time.”  Mary rubbed her forehead in sadness, “I would be grateful if you could drag her out of the tavern before her funds disappear.  If you get the chance, throw her in the jail to sober up.”

Gran held a half-grin on his face, “That does sound rather satisfying doesn’t it?  To business though,” he gained a gleam as he leaned forward, “Are we set with the deal for our quarter within the city?”

Mary held up a piece of paper as she read through it, “The guild’s main branch is satisfied with the amount paid, even after taxes for Duran, and will be happy to welcome you into this town Sir Gran.  Will the quarter be in standard elf form?”

Gran nodded, “We have prepared the mother tree to be planted, as well as the smaller seeds for the buildings for shops, businesses, and human habitation.  Will the mother tree be in the way?”

“No, you have cleared enough area that the mother tree will not impede anyone.  Buying the land closest to the forest also has reduced the need for a view, so I don’t expect too many complaints from the merchants.”

Gran nodded and got up, “Then I believe our business is settled.  Good day Guild-master; congratulations by the way on your promotion.”

Mary shook her head ruefully, “I accepted the commission with great irony, believe me.  Now, go help your leader out.”

Gran inclined his head and left the room.  He did not grant her a goodbye like he had Leo.

*********

Gran frowned as he entered the tavern.  As an elf, he had a naturally high tolerance for poison, including intoxication, and found the act of drinking quite boring.  While he did drink for social purposes, especially around his human companions, the idea of coming to a tavern just for the purpose of drinking was slightly unnerving to him.

He quickly found Flora, his leader, as she was one of the few in the tavern and the only red-headed women with a small pile of bottles around her.  She was currently snoring on the table, her left hand for some reason around a spear.  Gran found the sight quite ridiculous, because Fiora had no idea how to properly use a spear.

He walked over to her and began to shake her gently.

“Sod off,” She said drunkenly, the spear slightly waving, “I’m ‘sleepin here.”

Gran felt an incomparable sadness filling his heart as he beheld his leader in her current state.  With a frown, he walked over to the bar and rapped his knuckle on the counter, attracting the bartender.

“I need a large bucket of water, the colder the better,” Gran stated flatly.

The bartender raised an eyebrow, then eyed the sleeping redhead, “Using magic to cool water ‘ould normally cost ya, but consider this ‘ne on the house.  Milly, get the Wake-Up special!,” He yelled to the back.

A moment later a young girl, the barkeep’s daughter by the look of it, came out with a large bucket of water and handed it to Gran.  He nodded his thanks as he took the bucket and checked the temperature, ignoring the girl staring at his face.

“Are ‘ou an elf sir?,” The little girl, Milly, asked tentatively.

Gran, finding the water temperature cold enough, looked down at the little girl and smiled softly.  He bent down to look the little girl in the face, “I am indeed.”

“You live in the ‘orest and eat no meat?”

Gran nodded, “That’s right; we elves eat only what the forest provides.  We do not eat animals, but we do kill dangerous beasts.”

Milly cocked her head to stare up at Gran’s hair, “Why is ‘our hair shiny, and why are ‘our ears ‘ointed?  Did you get ‘urt?”

“Milly, that’s rude,” the barkeep barked from behind the counter, giving the girl a hard glare.

Milly bowed her head and mumbled an apology.

Gran reached his hand out to raise her head, “Our hair is shiny because we use our magic often; even human mages have glossy hair underneath their hats.  Elves, however, do not get old quickly so we don’t go bald, like humans do.” His eyes twitched toward the barkeep, whose hand edged toward his receding hairline for a moment.  The little girl giggled at the implication.

“My ears are like this because I was born like this.  It’s part of being an elf,” he explained.

The little girl nodded in understanding and smiled happily as Gran patted her head.  As he turned to look at his leader, his smile grew a little sinister for a moment.  He grabbed the bucket and swung its contents onto the redhead.

Naturally, cold water was not the most pleasant of experiences to feel when asleep, and/or drunk.  Fiora awoke quickly and violently, sputtering and waving her spear around as she fell backwards out of her seat.  She quickly got up and growled as she searched for the perpetrator.

“Alright, who was the genius mastermind behind this stunt?,” she snarled.  Everyone in the tavern began looking the other direction as she stared at them, the annoyance in her eyes visible to all.

“That would be me, oh fearless leader,” Gran announced from beside her.

Fiora whirled around to stare at him, and then smiled sarcastically, “Well, well, well, if it isn’t my old comrade Gran.  Come, sit and share a drink with me.”

“You’ve had enough drinks; it’s time to go home,” Gran said evenly.

Fiora began to chuckle, “How rich, coming to lecture me now are you?  Where were you and the others when I needed advice?  I found what I needed to go on, same as the other two.  They understand this pain, but you?  You have all the time in the world to mourn don’t you?” She gave him a bitter look.

Gran raised an eyebrow, “I must say Fiora, I never thought you ever had a side like this to you.  Humans are surprising creatures indeed.”

Fiora chuckled darkly and sat down in her wet seat, “Ay, we are indeed curious aren’t we?  So determined to live our lives to fullest, but we aren’t here in this world long enough to make a difference.”  She fingered one of the empty goblets in front of her idly, “Never knowing which day will be our last; burning brightly like a candle until we get snuffed out.  That’s human’s all right.  Worse yet, we need leaders and the like to tell us what to do, and to blame when things go wrong.”

“Well,” she said with a grin, having found a glass half-full of beer, “I fought, I led, and caused people to die.  Here’s to being human!” She raised the goblet for a drink.

Gran took a step forward and slapped the goblet out of her hand.  It hit the floor and shattered, spilling its contents over the wood.  Gran quietly flipped a silver coin to Milly, who was watching from a nearby table.

Fiora frowned at Gran and fingered her spear, “That was my booze you know,” she said accusingly.

Gran nodded, “Indeed, and you have had quite enough.  Where did you even get the spear anyway?”

Fiora looked down, “Oh, this old thing.  Someone traded it for my sword, I think.  I can’t rightly remember.”

“You mean, you traded the precious sword gifted to you by your mentor for a worthless piece of iron,” Gran scolded in a dead-icy voice.

Fiora gave a shrill laugh, “Aye, that I did, I think.  I was disowned, you know?  I felt her pain and blame through our bond; she blamed me for her death.  I don’t need such a worthless thing, seeing as I’m such a failure I couldn’t even keep a young boy and girl alive.”

“That was not your fault . . .”

“IT WAS!,” Fiora slammed her fist on the table and screamed, her anger spilling out.  Milly jumped and hid herself under the table, peeking up.  The other patrons quickly made their way out of the room.

Fiora took in a ragged breath, “It is my fault; I can see the blame in your eyes too.  I saw it in Nat’s, I saw it in Jonas’s, I even felt it from Mary.  A good for nothing like me, is, well, good for nothing.  So let me go back to my drink.”  She reached over to search through the other glasses for leftover booze.

Gran sighed, and knocked all the glasses to the floor.  He threw a gold piece to the barkeep, who was keeping a close eye on the situation.  The gold piece was too much for the goblets, but Gran expected what was coming next to not stop there.

Fiora glared and stood up abruptly, grabbing the spear, “You seem to be looking for trouble Gran.  Go back to the forest and live with your plants; it’s what you’re best at.”

“I’m sorry I left you alone when you needed someone,” Gran said, a trace of regret entering his voice.

Fiora snorted and rolled her eyes, “Little late for that one love, and seeing as you spoiled my mood, why don’t you provide some entertainment instead?”

With that said, she lunged forward with her spear.

Gran snorted and dodged backwards, leaping over a table to create room between them.  The two combatants eyed each other from across the room.

“Since you are using an unfamiliar weapon, I’ll do so as well.”  Gran removed a silver sword from his magic pack and took a ready position.

“Who said I don’t know what I’m doing?,” Fiora laughed and twirled her spear, throwing herself forward violently.  Chairs and tables went flying as she knocked them out of the way and ran forward like an unstoppable force.

Gran raised the sword and pointed it toward at her, and then leaped forward.  As they neared each other, Gran swung his spear down as Fiora drew her spear back.  His swipe knocked into her spear as she plunged it forward, knocking aside the tip aimed for his heart.  Fiora snorted and turned her body, contorting it in a way that the spear came hurtling back at him.  Gran’s feet touched the table, and he launched himself backwards from the blow.  Fiora, not letting him off, ran forward and began to rapidly strike with her spear, intent on stabbing him.

Gran parried her thrust in mid-air, but was sent flying backwards into a few chairs.  Seizing the opportunity, Fiora leaped into the air, hair flying behind her.  She held the spear pointed down as she dropped, her figure a deadly battle goddess as she descended.

Gran quickly rolled out of the way as she hit the ground, her hair flying around her.  He swung the sword out to hit her arm, and she too rolled away, taking the spear with her.  They eyed each other from across the room again.

“I thought you were drunk,” He stated bluntly.

“I am; you just aren’t strong,” she replied just as bluntly, “With that level of strength, do you expect to protect anyone?”

“I do,” Gran smiled lightly as he ran forward towards her, his sword pointed at her from his shoulder.  Fiora snorted and took a ready position, her spear pointed at him as she pulled it back.

As he got close, she used all her strength to throw it forward, watching the point fly toward his heart.  Gran made no move to stop it as the spear approached him.  However, as it neared, the spear seemed to waver for a moment.  In that instance, Gran whirled rapidly and slashed upwards with his sword.  The sound of metal on metal echoed across the room, and the spear fell apart into two pieces.  Fiora just stared blankly at the divided piece of metal in her hand.

Gran walked forward slowly and held the sword in his hand under her chin.

“You lose,” He said gently.

Fiora’s shoulders slumped as she smiled weakly at him, “Huh, I guess I was drunk.”  As she said this, a small sob began to vibrate over her figure.  Gran, feeling slightly reluctant, held the sword down and embraced Fiora in a hug.

“It’s okay now, everything will be okay now,” he said as gently as he could manage.

Fiora broke down in his embrace, her heartfelt cries echoing around the room.  The bartender took Milly and closed the door behind him as the two exited the room.  Gran, feeling slightly awkward, patted Fiora’s back as she released the feelings she had been repressing for so long.

After a few minutes, Fiora’s cries changed to sobs, then to sniffles, and finally to small sniffs.  She took a step backwards and gave Gran a sheepish smile.

“I guess I made a fool of myself huh,” She asked him.

Grans shrugged his shoulders, “To be fair, in my few centuries of experience, you humans do that on occasion.  Don’t feel too bad about it.”

She wiped her eyes and nodded her head, “Okay, so what do we do now?”

“First,” Gran raised a finger, “we are going to find your sword.  After that, I’m taking you to a healer since I’m sure your body is full of that disgusting poison you humans call booze.  You may be sober because of the rush, but you’re still sick.  We’ll see how it goes from there.”

“Okay.” Fiora nodded, her countenance being that of a small girl scolded by an elder; which really was the situation if one considered it.  The two left the tavern, leaving behind only a mess of spilled booze.

Chapter 6

With the affairs of the two new quarters settled, the dungeon town soon became a hot-bed of new activity.  Because of their preference, both the elf and clergy delegations only hired the local builders and artisans to work on their portion of the palisade, while the two factions brought their own workers to set up their buildings.  The local working class grudgingly accepted the elves’ policy, as the elves grew their buildings from plants, but were quite snubbed over the church’s decision.  Many felt that it was a slap to their faces, as if to say their quality of work was inferior.

Naturally, this was indeed true, but no one likes to be reminded of such things.  In response, local merchants began to hike their prices toward the clergy, while the craftsmen toiled harder than ever to create works worthy of the church’s envy.  Even the miners began to work harder and refused to sell their spoils to the church.

In the midst of this growing tension, more people came to the town.  New miners arrived from all around the country, looking forward to mining in a place that was overflowing with wealth.  The majority of the country was flatland, so what few mines there were severely lacked any substantial amount of ore.  Some of the nobles of Duran paid great coin to have splendid mansions built near the town, prompting the development of a third new quarter that catered to the wealthy.  Most of these nobles had no real interest in living in the dirty and under-developed dungeon town, but instead made their houses available to wealthy merchants and relatives who desired to fight the dungeon.

Most importantly, apprentice enchanters, witches, and apothecaries all came to market their craft and gain the necessary experience to improve themselves.  All three magic specialists could grant weapons and armor the magic needed in order to fight the hordes of slimes in the dungeon, but each worked slightly different.

Enchanters directly cast their magic into an object to make a permanent rune, creating a magic object.  They practiced a type of magic that was very similar to jewelry crafting, and many did in fact sell jewels as a side-craft.  When an enchanter was presented with, say, a sword, the magister would create a magic flame to heat up the weapon in a certain spot.  While casting the appropriate enchanting magic, they would then use a silver stick to carve out a rune in the heated spot on the sword.  When finished, the enchanter would take a special, secret powder and cover the newly carved rune then finish the incantation and blow mana directly into the sword.  When the sword was picked up and shaken, the excess powder would fall off as most of it was absorbed into the weapon.  A glowing rune signaled the success of the enchantment.  The downside to this process was that the material used in originally making the object being enchanted limited the amount of magical enchanting it would absorb before breaking.  The stronger the material, the more or better enchantments could be put into the weapon.  Also, the enchantment was permanent and could be removed without destroying the weapon.  Because the highest readily available ore was copper, most adventurers could only hope for a minor enchantment on their copper weapons.  Apprentice enchanters, who didn’t know higher enchantments anyway, took the opportunity to promote their trade through affordable enchanting for these adventurers.

Witches were a specialized group of female only magisters who practiced an item dependent form of magic.  Relying on their skills and ingredients, a witch created specialized items through which she could cast her own magic on anything she had a physical connection with.  The most infamous witches were known to be able to curse a man three countries away using only a single hair from his head and a straw doll.  Ignoring their tendency towards curse magic, witches knew their way around item enchantments as well.  They could enchant weapons and armor, but these were temporary enchantments good for only a period of time before disappearing.  The upside was that any number of enchantments could be cast on the weapon, but the more enchantments, the shorter the time they could be used.

Witches were a very secretive group, and kept many of their powers hidden from others.  Their magic, however, was very dependent on what ingredients they had to work with.  For instance, a witch could create a wand of fire if she had herbs and monster parts related to the element, from which she could cast a variety of fire spells and enchantments.  If she wanted to cast another form of magic, she would need new ingredients to create a new wand or similar object of power.  A witch could only make a certain number of items per level of strength as well, so they carefully decided what they would create as it would determine their path of magic.

Apothecaries were the third form of magisters that could enchant weapons.  Strictly speaking, being an apothecary did not mean one had to be a magister of magic; it simply meant they could create potions through the use of ingredients.  Anyone could be an apothecary, including other mages.  Those that specialized in apothecary, however, were well known for creating power potions of numerous effects.  An apothecary enchanted a weapon by pouring a suitable potion onto the weapon or armor in question.  This process created an effect stronger than a witch’s, but less so than an enchanter’s.  The enchantment also lasted for a prescribed number of attacks, rather than a certain amount of time.  Also, so long as one had more of the potion, one could easily re-enchant the weapon.  The downside to this, however, was that the potion-making process was very expensive compared to the other two.  After all, creating a bottle of “liquid fire” required many uncommon ingredients that would be more easily found in a desert environment.

With each branch of enchanting having such high business, the call for merchants rose, and merchant caravans made their way to the dungeon town in search of wealth and opportunity.

About a week after the labor for the new quarters began, a merchant caravan pulled up to the palisade gate outside the iron quarter.  One of the gate guards walked up to the first wagon and nodded to the wagon driver, “Welcome to Dungeon Town.  Is the owner of this caravan present?”

The driver smiled and said, “Good morning to you sir.  Yes, I will get him if you will give me a moment of your time.”

Seeing the guard nod, the driver dismounted and walked past his wagon to the carriage behind it.  He knocked on the door once, “Excuse me sir, we have arrived at the dungeon town, and the guards are requesting your presence.”

The door opened quickly as a large, round man with a pleasant smile exited the carriage.

“Thank you for telling me Arnold; you may return to your station,” the man said happily.

“Yes sir.” The wagon driver nodded and left, taking a moment to wave to the carriage driver, who waved back.

The round man made his way over to the gate guard and bowed his body in an oddly graceful manner, “Thank you for your patience my good sirs, and allow me the courtesy to introduce myself.  I am Polaris, the owner of this merchant caravan and bringer of wonders and trinkets alike.”

The gate guard nodded his head, “It’s always a blessing to see new merchants arrive.  As this is your first time, shall I explain the rules of the town?”

Polaris laughed and nodded back, “My good man, I would appreciate nothing more.”

The guard, slightly taken to the man’s good humor, smiled and said, “Merchants can set up camp on the plains side of the town, near the entrance to the tent quarter.  You may sell your wares there for a small tax, or rent a shop in the iron quarter to sell from there for a slightly larger tax.  If you sell directly to the adventurer guild, you will receive a higher price for any of your wares.  Beyond that: no fighting, stealing, selling illegal goods, or messing with the dungeon entrance.  If you wish to set up shop inside the mines, you must make an appointment with the guild master to discuss terms.”

“Now,” The guard continued, “If you would allow us to check your cargo for contraband?”

Polaris laughed loudly and folded his arms across his chest, “You have my utmost permission sir, for I, the great Polaris, have no secrets to hide.  I only bring items of wonder and useful equipment with me, and have never dealt in such heinous activities.”

Hearing Polaris's name, the other gate guard perked up, “You are the famous Polaris, the traveling merchant?  I thought you traveled to the other side of the country this time of year.”

“Of course,” Polaris declared loudly, his body naturally posing in a heroic fashion, “My caravan always follows its routes, but how could I let such an interesting business opportunity escape me?  I heard of this new dungeon and the town that popped up around it and decided it was time to see it for myself.  My normal caravan went on its way, and I formed this new one to explore the riches of the area.  Though,” he raised an eyebrow at the guard, “I hadn’t heard that the name had been decided.  ‘Dungeon Town’ is the name of this place?”

The first guard coughed awkwardly into his fist, “The matter of name has yet to be decided, but the guards have taken to calling it ‘Dungeon Town’ for the sake of reference.  Anyway, once your cargo checks out, we will have someone lead you and your cargo to the merchant grounds.”  The guard turned to his companion, “Did I forget anything this time?”

“Just forgot to explain how we were going to check the cargo,” The second reminded him.

“Oh right.” The first guard turned back to Polaris, “We will have an enchanter examine your cargo for any magical traces, while an item appraiser will check for anything hidden.  Have you understood the rules as I explained them?”

“Yes sir.  Please, call your men; I will see to it that they see everything I brought without fail,” Polaris nodded in agreement, “I also have some passengers who served as my guards in return for transportation here.  May they enter the town from here?”

The first guard nodded, “As long as they are not criminals, they may enter and leave as they please, but they must first show their identification.”

“Boys, this is your stop!,” Polaris cupped his hands and shouted toward the back.

At his shout, three large figures exited one of the wagons and walked to the front.  The guard’s mouth dropped open as he took in the sight before him.

Being a country within the human and elf domain, few residents had ever seen the other races, especially a beast-man.  It was not surprising that the guard would lose his cool after seeing three, seven foot tall bear beast-men.

The first wore a massive hammer on his back, its size comical by human proportions.  His fur was black as the night with golden eyes that stared into one’s soul.  However, his serious aura conflicted with the honest and friendly smile on his face.

The second was a little taller than his brethren, with brown fur and several claw scars on his rugged face.  He had a longbow on his back and several long knives on his chest and side.  His countenance was more serious, but he also wore an amused grin on his face.

The third beast-man was of a strange red color and possessed a ringed, bushy tail.  He didn’t have a weapon on him, but instead carried several pouches on his belt and a tome, which peeked out of a bag over his shoulder.  His face was one of youthful exuberance and excitement, possessing several white spots on his face that outlined a smile.

“No need to fear us little man,” the black bear laughed deeply, “We only come to test ourselves in the dungeon.  We are registered by the adventurer guild,” handing the guard his registration plate, “and are here to provide additional security to any important guests who come to visit the area.”

The guard raised an eyebrow in surprise as he read the bear’s status.  According to it, the bear was a rank B adventurer!  With the disappearance of Sir Koran, only rank C adventurers remained in the area.  The guild had sent out a request for a new rank B adventurer after the incident involving Princess Diana; so while the arrival of these new adventurers was not unexpected, their strength certainly was.  Rank B adventurers were some of the strongest the continent had to offer after all.

“May I have your names to include in my report to the adventurer guild?,” the guard asked politely.

The black bear beastman laughed and nodded, “Of course my friend!  I am Jare of the Maltherpus Clan!  These are my brothers, William and Anhel, also of the Maltherpus Clan!”  The other two nodded their greetings.

The guard bowed his head to them, “Understood; I shall deliver my report after verifying Mr. Polaris’s wares.  Feel free to enter the town and dungeon.”

They nodded and walked through the gate, ignoring the shocked looks on people’s faces as they made their way down the road.

Polaris slapped the guard on the back cheerfully, “No need to fret my good man.  I’ve worked a few times with those boys before; they’re good people.  Well, figuratively speaking anyway.”  He waved his hand dismissively, “Shall we get going my sir?  I have wares to sell and happiness to bring!”

Chapter 7

The trio of beastmen made their way to the adventurer's guild.  Having lived in the human kingdoms for many years, they were used to the shocked stares and hints of aggression as they passed by the inhabitants of the Dungeon Town.

"Big brother, are you sure it was smart coming here?" the red-tailed beastman asked as he spied a group of men fingering their weapons, “Coming to these human places always seems to bring trouble to us brothers.”

Jare laughed and slapped his brother on the back with his massive hand.  The sound clapped loud enough to make everyone jump, but the little beast-man showed no signs of pain.  "Anhel, you worry too much.  Leave the worrying to your big brothers.  With the war between the human empire and the dwarf citadel, the city state country here has put aside past enmities to ally with our beast tribes of the plains.  It's important that we do our best to help promote this alliance so neither country gets absorbed by that corrupted empire.  Even those strange, demon folk are thinking about joining the war against them."

"But," Anhel questioned, "Isn’t the Empire ruled by humans who make everyone into slaves.  Aren't these humans the same?"

A few humans nearby heard the red beast-man and instantly grew dark as they frowned heavily at him.  Noticing the tension, Jare sighed and pulled Anhel to him, "Listen little brother, never say that aloud or you'll invite a large disaster. This kingdom is made up by independent city states that work together.  The empire is a cruel place ruled by that shitty emperor and that corrupt priesthood.  They even enslave humans not from their kingdom, so they are hated by everyone."

"If they are hated by all races, then why are they such a danger?," Anhel asked, “If everyone unites together, then shouldn’t we be the strongest force on the continent?”

"Because they are strong," William, who had been quiet the entire time finally opened his mouth to answer.

Jare nodded, "That is it exactly, however," he continued, seeing Anhel's expression, "That war is far from here, so you shouldn't worry about things you can't control.  Just focus on the here and now; we're going to pay our respects to the leader of this branch of the Adventurer's Guild,” stated Jare, arriving at the Guild Building.

As Jare opened the door and the trio walked in, the hustle and bustle of the guild died down.  Adventurers sitting at tables or reading the task board all paused their conversations to look at the new arrivals.  Thankfully, there were no hostile looks, merely curiosity and shock.

Ally the receptionist was the first to recover from her surprise and she quickly approached the trio, “Welcome sirs to the Adventurer’s Guild.  May I assist you in any way?”

Jare smiled down at her and winked, “What a pretty little thing.  I apologize for ruining the mood in here, but we are the adventurers sent from the main branch in Soria.  Duran’s guild sent the call out a few weeks ago, and we have finally come.”

Whispers arose from the surrounding crowd:

“Amazing, those are beast-men, real beast-men!”

“I’ve never seen one before.  Is that fur soft and comfy?”

“I wonder what rank they are; are they strong?”

“Quiet, of course they are strong if the main branch sent them.  Look at the size of them!”

“I feel attracted to that kind of softness.”

Jare tried to find the source of that last comment, but couldn’t identify the person.

Ally, feeling the weight of her peers on her shoulders, turned and called out, “Bella, if you would inform the guild master of our visitors.”  Bella nodded and hurried back to the staircase.  Having turned back to the beast-men, Ally said, “Sirs, might I be so bold as to ask for your names and adventurer rank?”

Jare smiled and let out a booming laugh, “My name, young one, is Jare, a high B ranked adventurer.  My battle brothers here are William, a medium C ranked adventurer, and Anhel, a low C ranked adventurer.”

Ally coughed awkwardly, “Um, what does “high” mean?  Are you B ranked adventurer?”

Jare coughed and scratched his head awkwardly as he noticed everyone giving him a strange look.  Anhel pulled on his arm, “Big brother, I don’t think they use the specific rankings here.”

“Oh, I’m sorry for being presumptuous,” Jare apologized honestly, “The main guild ranks are broken down into low, medium, and high at the main branch.  A low C, for instance, is stronger than a high D but weaker than a medium C.  We use this more specific ranking because of the higher number of adventurers at the main branch.”

“Does that mean you are almost an A-ranked adventurer?,” someone called out in question.

Jare nodded, “Yes, I’m almost there.  My team was sent here to  . . .” Jare pulled a scroll out of his bag and read it for a moment, “to replace the former B.S. ranked adventurer Sir Koran and confirm the safety of the dungeon near the town.”

There was a pause throughout the room.

“Excuse me sir,” Ally spoke up softly, “can you explain that rank you referred to the murder Koran as?”

Jare began to chuckle, “He was actually a medium C level adventurer, but used connections and money to make himself a B-rank adventurer.  Hence, he was a B.S. ranked adventurer.  The other ranks have a similar title.

Another pause, then someone snorted, followed by someone else giggling.  Soon, the entire guild was filled with roaring laughter as everyone vented the tension.  Men were crying as they pounded the walls and tables, and women were struggling to control themselves by placing their hands over their mouths.  Failing that, a few accidently snorted, resulting in more snorts and more laughter.

William frowned and covered his ears, “Loud.”

Anhel scratched his head, “I don’t get what’s so funny.  Are these humans right in the head?”

Jare grinned and patted his two brothers, “They are merely having a good time brothers.”

At that moment, Bella returned and ran over to the beast-men, "Lady Mary sends her greetings to you, great adventurers.  Unfortunately, the lady is very busy with the paperwork regarding the changes in town and the dungeon.  However, I have been charged to assist you in any way you need in your investigation and stay here."

Jare nodded, cupping his hands strangely and bowing, "My brothers and I thank you for your help.  We only require a map of the dungeon and a place to stay between dives into the dungeon."

Bella, having been slightly affected by the mood, grinned at them and replied, "You are in luck; the dungeon changed a week and a half ago, so we can provide basic maps up to the 10th floor.  That being said, the maps are temporary as the dungeon likes to have the floors change with every dive.  Every 5 floors, including the first, stay the same though, so we have the first three unique map floor plans for you.  We cannot provide you with aid, but you are welcome to recruit anyone here to assist you in the dives.  In regards to your accommodations, we have reserved three rooms for your group in one of the inns here in iron quarter."

Jare nodded his thanks, "We'd like to enter the dungeon today.  Can we take the map now and return later to be taken to the inn?"

Bella agreed and handed over a scroll of paper.  “This scroll is enchanted to show the floors recorded on it.  You can also use it to map the floor you are on so you don’t get lost.”  Jare took the map and inspected it for a moment before nodding.

“We will see you again after exploring the dungeon; thank you for the help.”

He turned and led his two brothers away from the Guild Building and headed to the dungeon.

"So this is the dungeon," Anhel said in wonder as they came up to the entrance, “Big brother, are the entrances always this simple?  It looks like a normal cave to me.”

Jare shook his head, "Most dungeons look like normal caves little brother.  Personally, I like that.”  He took a moment to appreciate the entrance, “A nice entrance; not too showy and not too simple either.  The rock formations provide an interesting touch, and so is this." Jare leaned forward to inspect the skull shaped rock in the wall.  "William, which species does this skull belong to?"

William gazed at it, "Canine, wolf.  Variant species."

Jare scratched his chin and straightened, "This corroborates the worg report we received; how interesting that the dungeon made a tribute to it.”  He took his hammer off his back, "Anyway, let's see how deep this dungeon goes before we start the investigation."

The brothers walked into the dungeon and began their dive.  They stayed a little while in the central mine cave to ask the merchants and miners a few questions before heading down into the first floor.

“Anhel,” Jare asked, as they began walking, “you have the map; what’s coming up?”

Anhel un-scrolled the map and gazed at the pictures as they moved into the current floor.  “It’s really simple big brother; the local adventurers even call it the ‘newbie floor’.  It has 2 rooms and the boss room at the end.  The first room has aerial traps, and the second is a pit room with a single path.”

William grunted and began to twirl his dagger, “Simple, lessons, smart.”

Jare scratched his head in thought, “To make a floor so simple, it’s almost as if the dungeon is teaching the adventurers what to expect.  How fascinating. . .”

Jare paused as his brothers gave him a look, “What?,” he asked sheepishly.

Anhel rolled his eyes, “Big brother, you’re too simple to think like that.”

William nodded, “Simple?”

Jare felt kind of depressed at being figured out; truth was this floor was rather boring to him.  “Fine, fine let’s just hurry up and clear this floor so we can move on.  I want to fight the boss already.”

Anhel and William chuckled as the trio rushed into the first room and quickly eliminated the slimes.  The second room was even easier, as beast-men had heightened senses and found the path around the pitfall traps.

When they got to the boss room, Jare looked in and nodded.  “Right, Anhel go get it.  An overslime should be easy prey for you, even if it is a boss.”

Anhel gulped, and walked in.  Ignoring the sounds of fighting, Jare and William each took out a piece of smoked meat and put it in their mouth, savoring it.

When Anhel walked out a few minutes later, he found his glutinous brothers snoozing with the stripped bones in their hands.

“I beat the boss big brother, come on now.”  He kicked the two of them in the legs and roused them.

“What did it drop?”

Anhel held up a crystal and a few silver pieces, “The core and some silver; enough for a normal person to get by on for a few months if spent wisely.  Also, I saw a glyph light up next to the stair case; it seems the dungeon has teleporting glyphs now to move between levels.”

Jare raised an eyebrow, “That’s convenient, but also not something mentioned in the reports.  I suppose this is one of the new things the dungeon recently created.”

“Guess so.” Anhel had pulled out his own stick of meat and was chewing it now.

Patting his brother’s head, Jare walked to the stair-case, “Well, let’s see what else this dungeon has to offer.”

The trio made it down to the second floor.  “Anything special about this floor Anhel?,” Jare asked.

“No, it seems this is a generic floor with a varying pattern,” Anhel replied as he put the map away, “However, the map said the floors between 1 and 5 are simple and have a direct route to the stair-case room.”

“Straight shot,” William muttered.  The tall beast-man lifted his nose and sniffed loudly for a few moments, moving his head back and forth.  Jare and Anhel waited patiently for him.

William stopped a little later and pointed down the tunnel, “That way, next floor.”

His two brothers coughed and grinned at him.

“Thank you for pointing out the only tunnel in the room big bro Will,” Anhel said sincerely as he patted William on the back.  Jare also came up and greeted William warmly, patting him on the back, wearing the same, honest grin on his face.

William’s face fur ruffled up, making him look like a rather fuzzy ball with eyes and nose.

Jare bellowed laughter and said, “No need to be embarrassed little brother; we all know you have the best nose out of the three of us.  Come, let us put your nose to better use, yes?”

William nodded slowly, and the trio disappeared down into the tunnel.

*********

"Big Bro, these slimes are really weird," Anhel observed as he shot fire-balls at the bug slimes, causing them to burn down to their cores.

"Indeed, this is the first time I've seen this species of slime," Jare agreed happily, "I'll be able to submit a report to the old coot without feeling like I’m wasting his time.  That makes two new species now if we include those slimes that looked like armor."

"New species good." William agreed happily as he used his crossbow to impale slime cores.  The trio had never seen so many slimes before, and they were having a blast.  Even William, who preferred his twin daggers, got in some practice with his crossbow.

"It's too bad slime dungeons are such a rarity," Jare sighed.

Anhel perked up as he blasted the last of the bug slimes, "I thought this was the only slime dungeon big bro?  Are their others in the neighboring countries?"

Jare nodded, "This is the only slime dungeon known now, but in the past there were confirmed reports of other slime dungeons.  Unfortunately, they all grew into corrupted dungeons and had to be put down before they could damage the area.”

“Why did they all have to be destroyed?,” Anhel inquired, “I thought some could be maintained in areas using magic.”

Jare grimaced, “Because, unlike other forms of corrupt dungeons, corrupted slime dungeons devoured everything from rock to tree to animal.  Each wiped out the surrounding area where they existed.  If we ever travel to other countries, then I'll try to show you some of the dead spots that are still recovering from the disasters."

"This dungeon, become corrupt?," William suddenly asked, his eyes alert as he scanned the dungeon.

Jare shrugged, "The demon we heard about was probably trying to seize the dungeon's power, but it was likely devoured instead in an ironic fashion.  Still, its influence could be moving through the dungeon right now and changing it, which is something we will have to keep an eye out for.  Is this the last room of the floor Anhel?"

Anhel opened the map and checked, “You’re right big brother, and the fifth floor boss should be just up ahead.  According to the reports, it should be a new boss few have managed to beat so far.  It should be a weird looking slime like the ones we just fought.”

Jare nodded, “Before we go in, did we miss anything?”

William piped up, “Other corridors, new smells.”

Jare raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to look at Anhel.  Anhel took a quick peak at the map, “Um, it appears that this is the first floor to have paths that lead to treasure chests and traps; there is nothing else about the floor.”

“So,” Jare mused as he tapped his battle hammer thoughtfully, “The map becomes less useful after this floor because we are encouraged to explore for treasure.  What a marvelously adventurous dungeon!,” Jare roared happily as his eyes glowed with excitement.  For an adventurer at his level, the prospect of risking his own life for treasures and excitement filled him with joy.

Anhel frowned at his brother’s wander-lust, but smiled all the same.  “Big bro, there was a branching path a room back from here; do you want to check it out before fighting the boss?”

Jare was already running back down the tunnel.  Anhel and William exchanged a glance before rushing after their impulsive brother.  They caught up with him down the new corridor, in front of a treasure chest.

Jare grinned happily at his two brothers, “Look, a real treasure chest!  Shall we take a peak?”

Anhel shrugged and shook his head with a wry smile, “Go ahead big bro, don’t let us stop you.”

William merely grunted and made a ‘hurry up’ gesture.

Seeing their reactions, Jare flung open the chest and peeked inside.  With a grin, he reached in and removed a potion and silver piece.

“Anhel, what kind of potion is this?,” he asked, tossing the potion to Anhel.

The younger beast-man popped the top and gave it a quick whiff, “It’s a weak healing potion bro, likely made from the plants found in the dungeon.”

Jare flipped the silver coin and scratched both sides with his claw, “This will be my new lucky coin.  Is there any other spot with a chest?”

Will pointed down a connecting tunnel, “That way.”

The three walked down and found the new tunnel a room away.  At the end of the tunnel, another chest sat in wait.  Anhel and William took a step, but Jare threw out his arms and caught the two before they entered the tunnel.

“Brothers, you can’t be so careless here; remember we are in a dungeon,” Jare reminded them, “Watch this.”  Jare reached down and picked up a pebble from the ground.  Eyeing the rock, he threw it down the tunnel.  The rock bounced a few times before coming to a rest near the chest.  As it stopped, two bug slimes in the forms of a beetle landed and began attacking the rock with their slime mandibles.

“Anhel, if you don’t mind?,” Jare gestured.

The red-tailed beast-man nodded and began chanting under his breath.  He flipped his tome open and chanted.  Snapping his book shut, Anhel pointed toward the slimes.

“Fireball!”

The typical ball of fire burst out of Anhel’s hand and zoomed down the tunnel, striking and destroying the two bug slimes.  They gave off a hissing sound before their cores fell to the ground, as well as some minor loot.

Jare edged cautiously down the room, eyeing each step as he made them.  He finally breathed out his breath when he reached the chest.  “Okay guys, the tunnel is clear for the moment.”

Anhel and William hurried down and joined him in front of the chest.

William frowned, “Bad chest,” fingering his daggers as he stared down at the chest.

“Big brother, William is right; that chest doesn’t have a smell.  What is it?,” Anhel turned his head to look at Jare.

Jare frowned, “If this were a demon or undead dungeon, I’d say that it was a mimic.  That can’t be though, because not only are mimics not slime-related monsters, they are also extremely powerful beings that can easily fight a B ranked adventurer like me.”

Anhel reached down to examine the cores dropped from the bug slimes, “Maybe it’s like a mimic then.  These buggy slimes seemed to copy bugs; so why not chests?”

Jare narrowed his eyes and frowned, then raised his hammer abruptly and smashed it down into the chest with all his strength.  The chest burst apart into slime as the former monster melted away.

“Looks like it was a slime,” Anhel observed, “Rather weak though wasn’t it?”

Jare didn’t say anything, but merely kept frowning at the disappearing goo.  After a moment, he put his hammer back on his back and folded his arms in thought.  “A normal adventurer would not be able to identify this without experience. Its combat ability is likely the same as a normal slime, with the exception of the element of surprise though.  This makes the third new slime we’ll need to report to the doc.”

William pointed, “Loot.”

Jare and Anhel turned their heads to look for the treasure.  The chest slime had dropped a gold piece and an arm bracer.  Anhel inspected the bracer.

“Decent piece for an archer, but not enchanted; the leather quality is high though,” he observed.

Jare turned and left the tunnel, “That was likely from a fallen adventurer.  We’ll return it after we finish this dive.”

Turning his head, Jared grinned at his two brothers, “Let’s see what this boss has to offer us.”

*********

The trio finally made their way back to the entrance of the boss room after exploring the rest of the floor.  As luck, or lack thereof in Jare’s opinion, would have it, there was another normal chest with some ores inside it.  William had taken the ores with a curious smile, and the three were now preparing themselves for the boss.

“It should be a bug slime, right Anhel?,” Jare asked one more time,

Anhel frowned at Jare, “I’ve already told you this big bro; you don’t believe me?”

Jare chuckled and patted Anhel’s head, “Just making sure little brother.  It’s always important to verify information before believing it.”

Anhel sighed, but nodded in understanding, “Fine, but don’t ask me again okay?  I feel like I’m not doing a good job when you ask like that.”

William grunted, “Slow.”

“You said it William,” Anhel muttered, making sure Jare didn’t hear him.

Jare, having not heard -- or deciding to ignore – the comments took out his hammer and grinned happily,  “Let’s see what this new boss has in store for us.”

The trio walked into the boss room and took stock of their surroundings.  The fifth floor boss room was rather strange looking; it was a round room with different rock formations on the floor.  It seemed more like an ancient, decrepit arena than a boss room.

William growled softly, “Room, advantageous, boss.”

Jare nodded in agreement, “Yeah, this could be a challenge seeing as it’s our first time.  Anhel, hang back for a moment.”

Anhel nodded and took a crouching position next to the entrance.  William moved off to the side into the shadows, while Jare strolled forward into the torchlight, casually slapping his hammer grip into his hand.

As Jare entered the various rock formations, a screech came from the middle of the room.  Jare’s face darkened as he moved swiftly backwards and readied his hammer.

The ground rumbled and moved apart as a large, crystalline green slime dug its way out of the floor.  It reared up and shook itself, like a dog in the rain.  Once it calmed down, it jiggled as its form began to shrink and harden before their eyes.  In a moment, a giant ant-like slime was staring at them from the middle of the room.

“SCCrrrrreeech!,” it roared at them.

"Sorry beastie, we aren't for eating," Jare laughed as he brandished his battle hammer, "Looks like I'm going to have to get a little serious for this one."  Anhel and William nodded as they stepped further away from Jare.

Jare growled as his body tensed up.  His previously human looking face began to morph and elongate, gaining a long snout as his nose extended outwards.  His body grew larger and bulkier as he changed from a large looking man into a walking bear holding a battle hammer.

Anhel sighed in appreciation, "Big Bro is so good at using his beast-form.  It's been some time since we last saw it."

William nodded with a smile as he shouldered his crossbow and took out his daggers, "I fight too, you watch and learn."

Anhel nodded with a sad smile.  He was too young to have mastered his beast-form, the alternate form of beast-men that tied them to their ancestral roots.  Bear beast-men, like the trio, could grow into massive bear-men, while other types could also change into their respective forms.  Anhel, like most children and teens, still transformed into a cub and lost most of his reasoning.  The purpose for moving away was because even mastered beast forms still tended to be slightly overly aggressive until the blood lust wore off.

William brandished his duel daggers, growling out his transformation.  Unlike Jare's black form, William became brown and smaller than his original height, displaying a speed-focused fighting style.

The boss roared angrily, and suddenly took off into the air at Jare.  Jare roared in answer and threw himself up to meet the boss’s mandibles with his hammer.  The two met and sent a small shockwave out through the room, throwing both attackers back as they landed on the ground.  Jare reached out with his clawed hand to balance himself as he moved back, but the ant boss landed on its back against a rock.  It gave a loud screech as it turned back into a slime and slithered out of view.

At its call, a mass of big slimes crawled out from the rocks and rushed toward the beast-men with chitters and squeaks.  Jare roared and swung his battle-hammer forward, smashing everything in front of him with absurd strength.  The hammer slammed down and crushed the bug slimes where ever it landed, but the horde was too much for him to handle on his own.

Before they could overwhelm him, however, the mass was forced back by William, who leaped into the fight with unexpected agility and swiped with his twin long daggers.  The blades cut through the hardened slime shells easily and sent small wind blades out to cut down another slime behind the first.

Moving back- to- back, Jare and William howled out in battle-lust as they moved together as a team.  Jare smashed down with his hammer one-handed, picking William up with his other, and swung him around like a sword before letting go.  William soared through the horde, slashing his way through, before Jare grabbed the very edge of William’s foot and brought him back with a yank.

Returning, William reached into his pants and took out his collection of small knives.  Throw after throw, the daggers sailed through the air and hit the slimes at their core.  Jare followed up by smashing his hammer into any slime that got past the volley of knives and ended the horde by sweeping his hammer from right to left, sending the last bit of slime flying into the air on sheer wind force alone.  The flying slimes were easily targets for William to destroy.

When the horde disappeared, another shriek came from the rocks.  The crystalline green slime reappeared, this time shifting into a Hercules beetle.  Its massive mandible clacked as it rushed forward in a charge.

Jare and William dodged to the side as the boss sped past them.  The boss didn’t slow down, but crashed into the room wall, inflicting a large hole and trapping its mandibles in the stone.  Jare and William didn’t waste any time as they rushed the boss, thinking it trapped.

However, the beetle turned into a slime, then reformed back into the beetle with its head facing the two running beast-men.

“Jummpp!,” Jare growled loudly, the two of them barely avoiding the second charge as the boss ran under them.  Because it was an emergency dodge, however, they both hit the ground awkwardly.

The beetle boss kept moving, but now circled around the room and rushed them for a third time.

“THAT’S ENOUGH!,” Jare roared to the heavens as he threw away his hammer.  With a mighty cry, the big beast-man rushed the boss with his bear hands, letting out a battle-cry to his god.  When they met, Jare grabbed both mandibles with his hands and growled loudly as he was pushed back.  His feet began to leave trails in the stone floor, but the boss was forced to slow until it vainly tried to escape Jare’s grasp.

Jare grinned, the blood thirst dripping from his face.

“Thanks for the ride.”

The boss found itself picked up and flung directly back into the rocks in the middle.  It gave off a wounded cry as part of its back was impaled on a pointed rock.  It seemed to give Jare a dark look before dissolving back into slime.  This time, however, the slime did not call for reinforcements.  Instead, it began to shiver and shake.

“Weapon,” Jare growled loudly.  Anhel quickly threw the hammer he had retrieved to Jare, who caught it with one hand as he took a ready position.

William’s eyes reappeared in the shadows near the wall, his patient gaze betraying a hint of red as he eyed the situation.  Jare gave him a nod as they watched the boss take on its third form.

The crystalline green slime began to grow this time, its form much bigger this time around.  Soon, a large, green rhinoceros bug was glaring at the beast-men, its mouth roaring.

Jare gave a brutal, animal laugh that shook the room, “A battle of strength?  Well, I shall oblige you!”

The beetle shook its horn and pelted off the ground as it rushed the brave adventurer.  Its movement across the floor shook it and made Anhel sit in order to not fall.  Jare grabbed his hammer with both hands and twisted his body to position the hammer behind him.  As if swinging a bat, he wound up just in time for the boss to get in range, and then swung with all his might.

Hammer and horn connected at the same moment, and the boss flew backwards.  It tumbled and rolled through the rock formations, impaling itself multiple times before coming to rest at the other side of the room.

Jare, in the meantime, coughed out a mouth-full of blood as he was forced to the ground in a kneeling posture.  Anhel ran over to him as William rushed toward the boss.

“Geez big brother, that was really dangerous!,” Anhel admonished him as he chanted healing magic, “You can’t deliver that kind of blow and not feel any blowback!”

Jare gave his little brother a grin as he stood up and cracked his back.  He was injured, but he could still fight.  The boss, on the other hand, was in a miserable state.

The beetle was collapsing slowly now, its body a grotesque mix of bug body and slime, as if it were dissolving.  Jare looked down at it, and then nodded to William.  The two dropped their weapons, and pounced on to the fallen boss.  William smashed the boss’s head and reached down, pulling the slime away from the rest of the body.  Jare, with his strong hands, pulled the boss’s body apart, revealing the slime core within.  Together, two beastmen roared in victory and began eating their spoils of battle.

However, the remains quickly disappeared and were replaced by loot.  Obviously confused, the two beast-men roared in anger and fell onto all fours, sniffing the area for their stolen meal.

Anhel coughed awkwardly and raised his hands in the air.  A quick lightning bolt knocked the two beastmen to the floor and made them moan in pain.  As they did so, they regained their senses and their bodies transformed back into their original forms, albeit with ripped clothes and bloody wounds.

Jare chuckled as he pushed himself off the floor and spat out the slime left in his mouth, "Well, that was certainly a fun fight; too bad the meal was disgusting.”  He gave the previous location of the boss’s body a wistful look.

“That was really gross,” Anhel deadpanned to them, “Do you realize how deadly slime is?  That stuff dissolves bodies you know.”

“Bad taste,” William agreed as he began coughing towards the wall.

Jare had the curtesy to look sheepish as he said, “Well, it looks like we're going to have to bother that receptionist girl for some new clothes and weapons."  His battle-hammer was chipped and cracked in many places, and most of William's daggers had exploded under his force when he had thrown them through the slimes and into the floor.

Anhel rolled his eyes, "Big bros, you know that's the reason why we beast-men never have any good things right?  Why can't you guys fight without destroying everything you own?"

William shrugged, "Too fun."

"You said it second brother." Jare laughed as he slapped William on the back, "Anyway, it seems we only got some generic loot today.  Let's head back up and take care of our needs.  We'll try the sixth floor tomorrow, and I'll send our initial report to the old coot tonight."  Nodding, the three grabbed the useful things off the floor and activated their escape talisman.

Chapter 8

The three brothers safely left the dungeon and went back to the Adventurer's Guild.  Though their fur was still mattered with caked blood, Jare and William were injury free as they walked straight into the guild hall, with Anhel right behind them.  Their appearance drew quite a number of stares, as well as the stench coming from them.  Jare laughed heartily at some F ranked adventurers who were wrinkling their noses.

"Don't worry boys; you'll get used to the smell eventually.  This world is a harsh place after all, so better to learn all you can now rather than later."  With a cheeky wink, he led his two blood brothers to the counter.  Bella was waiting for them, her smile not flinching as their scent intruded in on her space.

"I trust your adventures into the dungeon were satisfactory?," she asked the trio.

Jare nodded, "We reached the sixth floor and fought the . . . bug boss, right?" The receptionist nodded and Jare continued, "It was a fun challenge, but it seemed too difficult for anyone weaker than us.”

Bella frowned, “That shouldn’t be.  One of the groups who made it past the bug slime boss was a rank D group; they said it was hard as well, but not very difficult compared to the worgs confronted in the past.”

Jare raised his eyebrow, “What forms did they fight?”

Bella gave him a confused look. “Forms, as in more than one?  They reported only fighting the boss as an ant.  Did you fight something different?”

“It took on the forms of an ant, a hercules beetle, and a rhino beetle.” Anhel piped up, using his hands to mime the different insects.  Bella coughed quickly, almost sounding like she was hiding a giggle.

William turned and looked at Jare, “Boss, adapt?”

Jare gave him a helpless look, “I guess so William.  The second floor boss must conform to each group’s combined strength.  That plays along with the theme of getting stronger slowly.”

Bella nodded and passed Jare a form, “If you would write down your experience in the dungeon as a report and turn it in, we would be most grateful.”

Jare agreed and passed the report paper to Anhel, who stowed it in his magic bag.

“We're a bit dirty now from the fight.  Can you tell us where the inn we will be staying at is so we can get a hot bath?," Jare asked her kindly.

Bella pulled out a town map and handed it over to Jare, "The inn is marked here for you.  Unfortunately, my fellows had to deal with some business today and are unavailable to guide you properly.  I am unable to assist as well because I am the only one taking in new requests here at the moment.  I took the liberty of marking the bath house and some other interesting sites within the two town quarters for you three to explore while you are here.” Bella tapped her finger thoughtfully on her chin, “Oh yes, the bath house is free for the first day you are here."

"This is all we need ma'am; thank you for the assistance." Jare bowed respectfully and turned around to look at his brothers.  “Battle brothers, let's explore this Dungeon Town some."

Jare paused and took a quick whiff of himself, "first, the bathhouse."

Will nodded and Anhel rolled his eyes, but they obediently followed Jare out the door.  When the door closed, the adventurers began to talk to each other in exited voices.

"Did you see them; those were beast-men!  I've never seen a beast-man before!," one lady in archer attire gushed.

The man next to her noted, "I heard these three were special B-ranked adventurers sent by the guild to investigate the dungeon for them.  I must say, they are a lot friendlier than I thought they would be."

“That’s wrong; I heard the small one is the B-rank while the other two are some special A-rank,” another man spoke up from the nearby table.”

The archer rolled her eyes, “Why would they send an A-ranked adventurer here?  The dungeon isn’t that tough yet.”

A different man flexed his muscles and declared to his friends, "They don't look so tough; I bet I could beat them with one hand behind my back."

His companions rolled their eyes, and one scoffed at him, "You ran as soon as we reach the second floor boss room; how could you beat them?  Didn't you see they were covered in blood; they likely ripped those two monsters in half with their bare hands."

"You mean bear hands?," a thin, comical looking guy said with eager eyes.

"No, I didn't Larry; stop trying to be funny."

All of a sudden, the door slammed open and shocked everyone back into silence.  Jare ran back in with an embarrassed expression on his face.

"Excuse me, but which way is north, and do you have a beast-man language map?  I can't read human."

The silence became all-encompassing within the guild hall.

*********

Anhel groaned as Jare exited the guild hall with an abashed expression, "Seriously brother, didn't I tell you before we got here you needed to learn how to follow directions?  Now you've embarrassed us in front of everybody."

Jare coughed awkwardly, "Well, it's not like we beast-men ever had to worry about directions before.  We go where the wind takes us."

"Yeah, which is why we always get so terribly lost.  The races think we are a wandering group of tribes, but it's because we forgot how to get home," Anhel berated him.

William shook his head, "Plains is home."

Anhel sighed and rubbed his head in exasperation, "I swear if it wasn't for my master and the other shaman, we would still be searching for the ancestral burial grounds.  You warriors are insane, you know that?"

Jare laughed loudly and pounded Anhel on the back, barely moving him, "Of course we are little brother; in the heat of battle, sanity is the least needed thing for us warriors.  We leave all the thinking and rationality to you and your brethren spirits."  Will nodded in agreement.

Anhel rolled his eyes, "Did you at least get a translation guide?"

Jare agreed and threw Anhel a small tome, "This is it right?"

Anhel flipped through a few pages before nodding, "Yup, this is it.  Now," opening the map and pointing to one of the marked dots, "We are here and the bathhouse is over there.  The inn is here and . . ."

"Alright, let's go!," Jare and Will picked up Anhel and began dragging him down the street as Anhel continued to mutter to himself, flipping through the book and the map.

The bathhouse of the iron quarter was a large facility separated into two baths; one for men and one for women.  The baths were created from the combined effort of earth, water, and fire mages.  A pool was dug and filled with water, with a large rock in the middle.  The rock was enchanted to heat the water for a period of time before needing to be recharged.  Every two hours, water and earth mages purged the bath water of impurities, allowing for fresh water to be available most of the time.  Naturally, the three bathhouses found in each city section were ruled by varying policies.  For instance, the tent quarter bathhouse was unisex, mostly because the lady adventurers were just as deadly as the men and bought talismans that covered their bodies in steam while they bathed.  It was a unique system borne from years of fighting to the point where no one cared.  Any perverts were immediately punished in brutal ways and expelled from the bathhouses for a long period of time.

Jare, William, and Anhel walked into the bathhouse and were immediately welcomed by the staff, who had been expecting them.  After stowing away their gear, the three entered the bath area and waded into the pool, relaxing as the warm water eased their bodies.

"Bath, good," William confirmed as he close his eyes.

Jare agreed, "You are right brother.  Magic bathhouses and volcano hot springs really are the way to go.  It makes me never want to return to the tribes and their ‘never bathing’ lifestyle."

"Really?," Anhel asked in curiosity.

"Nope," Jare confirmed, "The wind really is the most comfortable path after all."

Anhel rolled his eyes again, but relaxed as he rubbed the water over his furry tail.  Soap was a rare commodity, as it required animal fat or certain plants, so like the majority of people the three brothers had to use only the warm water to clean themselves.  “At least,” Anhel mused, “We don't have to lick ourselves clean like the feline tribes do.  Their aversion to water is legendary.”

William and Jare both chuckled at this as they closed their eyes and sank into the water.  A few minutes later, they sputtered in shock as the water entered their noses, startling them from their asleep.

Seeing his two older brothers act so foolishly, Anhel couldn’t help but sigh once again to himself as he poured water over his wet body. “You two, what will I do with you both?”

“Nothing, because we are the older brothers and are in charge,” Jare answered promptly, his coughing attack over.

“I wonder about that,” Anhel muttered.

Jare’s ear twitched as a devilish grin grew over his face, “William, it seems our little brother has forgotten the proper respect due to his family.”

William grinned and cracked his knuckles, “Punish.”

As a merchant was donning his bath outfit in the changing room, loud laughter and cry of pain startled him into dropping his robe.  Embarrassed, the man quickly decided that today was perhaps not the best day for a bath.  Perhaps tomorrow would be quieter and more peaceful.  Another round of giggling made him satisfied with his decision.

*********

Once they finished ridding themselves of the blood and grime, the three left the baths and wandered around the town.  Anhel and William, being rather new to the adventuring business, were very curious and inspected almost every stall and store they passed.  Their eyes glittered in wonder as they watched blacksmiths work and enchanters cast magic.

“Big bro, these humans look so weak, but they can create powerful weapons.” Anhel pointed at a blacksmith, who did not look impressed by the comment.

Jare coughed awkwardly, “Anhel, humans have their own strengths; it is not fair to compare them to the dwarves and other beast-men who make our weapons.”

Anhel took a moment to look at the man’s face and Jare’s face, then turned red.  He gazed at the blacksmith and placed his hands over his ears, “I’m so sorry sir, I didn’t mean to offend you. Uhh . . .”

The blacksmith chuckled, “It’s okay young ‘un, looking at your brothers there, it’s no wonder you’d think we are weaker.  Come, allow me to teach you.”

Anhel glanced back at his brothers, but they both gave him a hard look.  Slumping, Anhel made his way into the shop and stood next to the blacksmith.  Up close, he could see the hard lines drilled into the man’s face and bald head, scars adorning his arms.  The man gave Anhel a grin as he crossed his burly arms over his leather apron.

“What’s your name young ‘un?,” he asked.

“Anhel,” The beast-man replied.

The blacksmith nodded, “Call me Olaf.  I’ve worked the forge since I was about your age . . .”

“I’m 34.”

The blacksmith looked at Anhel and raised his eyebrows in surprise, but recovered quickly, “Since I was a pup by your terms, which you still seem to be.  What do you think blacksmithing is?”

Anhel frowned as if the question offended him, but thought carefully, “It’s about making tools from metal and stone using fire.”

“Is that all?” Olaf pressed.

Anhel cocked his head, and nodded.

Olaf smiled, “Here is a lesson young ‘un; crafting is a unique gift.  It is about bringing into the world things that cannot exist on their own.  Using our bodies and souls, craftsmen like meself create wonders designed to help our fellows.  With each hammer blow or spell or threading of needle, we impart our lives into our work.  This here,” he picked up the sword he was working on, “is a piece of metal.  If I continue hammering, it’ll become a sharp piece of metal.  If I add a guard and handle, it’ll be a sword.  If I melt it back down, it’ll be a piece of metal again.”

Anhel folded his arms curiously, “So, you make a sword here; how is that a lesson on anything?  I’m not really interested in learning how to smith.”

Olaf chuckled, “No, I imagine you’re not, specially with dat there tome on your side.  No, this lesson is about making life.”

He pointed again at the unfinished sword, “See, there are many ways to make a sword.  You can hammer metal into one or you can pour metal into a mold; if you had the time you could even shave a piece of metal down into a blade.  Point is, there is many ways of doing it, and no way is better than the other.  Tell me, if one sword made by man is compared to a sword made by a dwarf, which would be better?”

“The dwarf,” Anhel promptly answered.

Olaf smiled, “Really; but what if the dwarf was a drunk?”

“It would still be better than anything a man could make.  Dwarves are known to be the best blacksmiths, and they’re usually drunk anyway.”

Olaf gave a nod, “That’s true.  So, you’re saying a dwarf-made weapon will always beat a human-made weapon of the same type?”

Anhel nodded his head.  Olaf turned his head to look at Jare, “You happen to have a dwarf made blade on ye person?  I’ll pay . . .”

Jare reached into his magic bag and threw Olaf a beautiful blade, “No need; this is one I bought back when I worked for a dwarf caravan.”

Olaf held the blade up and nodded, “Aye, this be a proper dwarf blade.  No blunt markings, perfectly smooth and balanced.  You agree young’un?”

Anhel held the blade after Olaf passed it to him, “I’m no swordsman, but it feels good to have in my hand.”

Olaf nodded, then threw the sword back to Jare, “Give me a hand with this will ya?  Swing at me with that blade as hard as you can.”

The beast-men all gave Olaf an incredulous look.  “Aren’t you afraid I’ll kill you old man?,” Jare asked.

Olaf held up his unfinished blade and smiled, “Give it a go then.”

Jare grimaced, but held up the sword and took a stance.

“Big bro, that’s dangerous!,” Anhel cried out in shock.

Jare took a deep breath, then swung the sword down at Olaf with all his strength.  Anhel closed his eyes and covered his face.

“CLANG!”

After a moment, Anhel didn’t hear any sounds of pain, so he slowly opened his eyes.

Olaf stood proudly with his unfinished blade.  Jar was looking down in shock at his now broken dwarven sword.

“How?,” he asked simply.

Olaf smiled, “Dwarves like to boost that their skill at metallurgy is the greatest, and to an extent that’s true.  However, dwarves prefer axes, hammers, and picks as their weapons of choice.  Most smiths do not even bother to learn how to make other weapons, and when they do they are often things of beauty rather than of practical usefulness.”

“You see,” Olaf said as he turned to Anhel, “the quality of weapon, or armor, or magic is determined by the heart the craftsman puts into his craft.  A good maker will devote everything he has into what he makes, resulting in a creation that serves as a reliable companion to whoever buys it.  There must be,” he gestured with his hand toward the sword, “a core of being within the object.  I put my heart and soul into everything I create, and thus my swords never break for those who buy them.  Think about that, for as a magic user, the same applies to your magic.  Pour your feelings in, and your magic will never fail you either.”

Anhel nodded, his face glowing from the lesson he learned.  “Thank you for teaching me Mr. Olaf,” He crossed his arms across his chest and bowed his head, “I shall not forget this lesson.”

Olaf smiled and patted the young beast-man, “I hope so young ‘un.  Here, take this sword to replace your broken one.”

Olaf walked back to shop and pulled out a long dagger, passing it Anhel.

The beast-men nodded their thanks and left the shop.  Anhel gazed down at his dagger in wonder.

“Big bro, was that man very strong?,” he asked softly.

Jare gave his youngest brother a side-ways grin, “Considering that man is believed to be one of the greatest blacksmiths in the country, I’d be surprised if he wasn’t.”

Anhel looked back at the sign of the shop, ‘Masterwork Blades’, and nodded in agreement.  He would never forget what he had learned today, he vowed to himself.

After a day of exploring the town and all the shops, the three brothers turned in for bed.  Anhel and William fell asleep quickly, exhausted from their journey and adventure.

Before he went to bed, Jare took out a magic scroll and copied his report on the dungeon onto it.  The paper shimmered when he was done, and the words disappeared.

"That old geezer should find it in the morning," Jare nodded to himself, "I wonder how long it'll take for him to get here after he reads it."  Shrugging, Jare lay down and closed his eyes.

Chapter 9

That evening, as the beast-men were going to bed, Mary walked out of her office and down the stairs to the ground floor.  Ally, Bella, and Clara all greeted her with a curtsey.

“Good evening guild-master,” they said together.

“Good evening girls,” She said, giving them a small smile, “was the day eventful?”

Bella took a step forward, “The beast-men arrived and explored the dungeon.  I have the copy of their report for you to read later.  Since you were meditating all day, I put off the meeting with them until tomorrow.”

Mary turned thoughtfully as she processed the news, “What kind of beast-men were they?”

“Bear, mistress; all three of the bear clan,” Bella answered.

Mary nodded and snorted, “As if we needed more hairy men in this city.  Ah, well, at least it will be more lively now.”

The three receptionists smiled and nodded their heads in agreement.

Mary turned to Clara, “Is the meeting with the church still set to today?”

Clara agreed, “Yes, they will likely be ready for you in a short while.  Shall I call for an escort to their quarter?”

Mary shook her head, “I’ll go on my own this time Clara, but thank you for your concern.  Watch the guild while I am away,” she directed to all three of them.

They all nodded their heads, and Mary left.

Mary was the opposite of excited as she made her way into the faith quarter.  Unlike the rest of Dungeon Town, faith quarter was relatively orderly and clean.  Even with the massive construction going on, the church had gone to great lengths to fix up the road and landscape and to make many shrines and pavilions for decoration.  There were neither inns here nor taverns; instead, there were great temples dedicated to the various deities of the faith.  Due to the nature of the country, the church was actually made up of a collection of individual faiths.  The City of Duran primarily worshiped Duras, God of the Plains, and naturally the ruling sect in the area was the Duras faith.

Mary made her way past the other temples to the main Duras temple located at the middle of the quarter.  She walked up the stone stairs into the temple.  There, a large statue of a man holding a fan in a dance-like motion loomed over the room.

A priest walked over to her, "Good day Guild Master, the Father has been expecting you."

Mary sighed, "Of course he has.  Lead on then."

The priest respectfully bowed and guided her through the church corridors to a large, ornate door.  He bowed and walked away from her, his job complete.

Mary cracked her neck a few times before knocking on the door.

"Enter,” a voice came from within.

Mary pushed the door open and walked into the room.  Inside, she found a smaller statue of Duras directly in front of her, with a large desk and two chairs to her right.  A man was kneeling in front of the statue, his arms clasped together in prayer.

The man spoke from his kneeling position: "Guild Master, it is good to see you in person.  I was hoping you'd be by so we could meet face to face."

Mary inclined her head, "I was indisposed due to recent circumstances, but I have since finished my meditation.  I apologize for the wait,"

"No need for apologies.  Meditation is very important; especially since losing a trusted friend can be a harsh blow to one's spirit.  Have you tried prayer to assist you with your meditation?"  There was no hint of mockery in his voice, yet Mary couldn't help but twitch at his words.

"Trying to convert me father?  I apologize, but other men have tried before,” she frowned at him.

The man got up and turned around.  His long, white hair framed his face as a small smile danced on his lips.  Pale blue eyes stared at her over a rounded nose and freckles. "My dear, I meant no offence.  It is merely an old habit of mine you see.  Come; sit with me at my desk."

The father led her over to the oak desk and took a seat.  "Now, if I may introduce myself, I am Father Jonas.  I am a brother of Father Tobias."

Mary's eyes betrayed a hint of surprise before it vanished under her calm demeanor. "Forgive me Father, but I was under the impression that someone else would be in charge here."

Father Jonas chuckled and stroked his white beard, "I understand the confusion; this is simply the way things are my dear.  I apologize if I have undermined your expectations."

Mary snorted, "Someone who is brother to the legendary ‘Father Tobias the Just’ could never be a disappointment.  Tell me, what is your name within the fatherhood?"

Father Jonas merely smiled at her, "Now, I trust you didn't come all this way for the sake of a mere greeting.  I also doubt you believe I wanted to merely extend my greetings to you as well.  Shall we get down to business, Guild Master?"

Mary crossed her legs and folded her hands on her lap, “Indeed, I must say I admire a man who gets down to business so quickly.”

“You flatter me my dear.” Jonas gave her a warm smile as he too crossed his hands, “Now, I have come here under the express order of the church to investigate the dungeon and any and all connections to demonic influence.”

Mary nodded, “I assumed as much.  To be honest, I thought you would arrive after construction finished; even now I see signs this temple is far from complete.”

Father Jonas nodded as they both glanced at the unfinished wall behind the statue, “Yes, that was the original plan.  However, some things have come to light that have expedited our plans.”

Mary raised her eyebrow, “Oh, what have you learned?”

Pulling out a sheet of paper from his desk drawer, Jonas explained: “In our raids in the other cites, we were fortunate to apprehend a local leader and read his memories before he expired.  From him, we learned that this town was the last known destination of the leaders of the demonic conspiracy.”

Mary’s façade betrayed no indication of emotion, “In other words, this town has become the focus of the entire church clergy in Nehatra.”

“Quite so my dear.  This is why I was sent so quickly, to determine if the masterminds are still here; also I am to find their intended next destination.  With my abilities, I am able to see through any illusions that may have been cast to hide their footsteps.”

Pondering for a bit, Mary stated, “I can send you the reports on missing people if that will assist you.”

“I thank you.” Jonas bowed his head.

Rolling her fingers and considering his words, Mary asked, “What is your stance on the dungeon?”

“It is important to the investigation, but not the focus at the moment.  My dear, I will tell you if that ever changes.”

“Is there anything else then?,” she asked.

Father Jonas shook his head, “At the moment, no.  Should you need me in the future, you merely have to send word through one of my acolytes or priests. I will endeavor to make myself available to you.  If you have nothing else, then I must return to my duties."

Mary's eyes narrowed at the dismissal, but she bowed and headed toward the door with her head held high. As she reached the door, Father Jonas called out, "My title within the clergy is 'The Pure'."  Mary paused for a moment, then closed the door behind her without turning around.  Father Jonas watched the door for a few minutes, his mind in thought.  He reached out and rang a bell on his desk.

A hidden panel in the hall opened and the same priest that had led Mary walked into the room.

"Tell me, Horace, what did you make of that?," Father Jonas asked softly.

Priest Horace inclined his head, "She is being cautious around us, but she does not seem to be hiding anything.  Likely, she will assist us with whatever we need as long as we don’t endanger the town and its way of life."

Father Jonas nodded, "Indeed, exactly what I thought.  Tobias desires the dungeon's destruction; yet, I have an interest in it for now as part of the investigation.  With the recent changes, who knows if there might be a hint of demonic influence within just waiting to be found?"  Father Jonas tilted his head and nodded, getting up gracefully.

"Brother Horace, go and prepare the temple knights for an expedition into the dungeon.  Let us see if we can determine with our own eyes the nature of this dungeon."

Horace nodded, "Will we be informing the guild of our dive?"

Father Jonas smiled at the priest.

"No need.  After all, they will know as soon as we take a step in the dungeon’s direction."

*********

The next morning Jare left William and Anhel in the iron district to explore some more as he made his way to the guild.  He had received a letter to come meet with the guild-master; so he was going all by himself.  As he walked into the guild hall, he gave a bow to Bella, who was waiting for him.

“Good morning Sir Jare; the mistress is ready to meet with you in her office up the stairs.  Nodding, the beast-man walked behind the counter and up the stairs to Mary's office on the second floor.  He knocked confidently on her door and strolled in.

Mary was waiting patiently with her hands crossed on her desk as Jare walked in.  “Greetings Sir Jare, welcome to my office and to this Dungeon Town.” she said.  Mary got up and shook his hand before the two sat down across from each other.

Jare nodded his greeting, "I am glad to be here guild-master,"

Mary shook her head, “Please, call me Mary.  It is a lot simpler to remember for me, as I just recently became the guild-master.”

Jare scratched his head, “Okay, but isn’t that kind of familiar?  I know you by reputation, Mary, and you are very much my superior in rank and strength.”

Mary scoffed and laughed, "Oh, those days are far behind me now; there is no need to dwell on the past here.  How did you enjoy your first day here and your first visit to the dungeon?"

“It was an interesting experience.  The floors were not difficult, except for the sixth floor, where the boss seemed to match us in strength,” Jare confessed.

“Yes, I read your report.” Mary picked up a piece of paper and looked down at it, “The boss had 3 forms, where previously if it was reported to have 1 or 2 depending on the group’s average strength.  I admire your insight and agree with your opinion that the second boss can match strength with its opponents.”

Whatever Mary was going to say next was interrupted by Ally hurrying into the room.  Mary and Jare both turned to look at the winded, young receptionist with curious expressions.

"Guild-master, I'm sorry, but there is a problem!," Ally managed to spit out as she gasped.

“Go on,” Mary said.

Ally took a breath to calm herself, "The church has made their move.  They sent two knight and priest expeditions into the dungeon only a few minutes ago."

Mary frowned in annoyance, "Leave me.  I'll deal with this."  The receptionist bowed and ran out of the room.  When she was gone, Mary sighed and began drumming her fingers on the table.

"While annoying, there is really nothing I can do about this.  I wonder why they made a move so soon though.  Their home isn’t finished yet, and two squads of men exploring the dungeon puts a dent in their badly needed manpower," Mary pondered out loud.

"Maybe they have more than a single goal in this," Jare offered, "I doubt any of them have been in the dungeon since it changed; so they will have to go down floor by floor.  Since the teleporting glyphs limit a group to the lowest floor a member has been through, they are likely trying to get as many people down as possible for future dives.  Or, perhaps this is just a large scouting mission to learn as much as possible."

Mary hesitated before nodding her head, "Your thoughts make sense.  We have kept a close eye on those who enter the dungeon and no church related diver has gone in recently.  Still, it is rude to not inform us before making such a bold move in our territory.  I wonder what is going through that Father Jonas’s mind."

Jare frowned, "Father Jonas ‘the Pure’?," he asked cautiously.

Mary agreed, nodded her head, "Indeed, do you know him?"

Jare folded his arms across his chest and let out a slow breath, "Only by reputation.  To be fair, he is one of the fairest church officials in this part of the country.  On the other hand, however, he is very biased against other races, monsters in particular.  If he wasn't so biased, he would likely be known as "Just" instead of "Pure".  A few beast-men have suffered false crimes under his ruling, though nothing too major.  He is also known as an opportunist for the clergy, which is likely why he was sent here instead of one of Father Tobias's one-track mind priests."

Mary grimaced, "That all but confirms it; he is looking to make a power play for the church.  It's such a pain to have to deal with these types; why couldn't they have sent a ‘Kind-hearted’ or ‘Generous" Father?,” she complained.

Jare rolled his eyes, "Forgive me Guild-Master, but that is very unlikely.  Anyone who earned one of those names is likely so kind and naive they would be used by those opportunistic types for recruitment and public appeal.  Believe me, there are some wonderful members of the clergy out in the world, but not everything can be accomplished by being kind."

Mary sighed, "I suppose that is true.  Being ruthless is a necessary trait to survive after all sometimes.  Still, I wish some of my old comrades were here instead."

"You had priests in your adventuring party?," Jare asked curiously.

Mary smiled as the memories moved past her eyes, "A long time ago.  I believe she is now a Holy Mother in one of the far off capitals.  I really hope she is doing well."

Jare waited a moment, allowing her to reminisce a little longer.  “I’m sorry to disturb you, but this means my brothers and I must make haste into the dungeon so the church does not beat us to the bottom floor.”

Mary shook her head free of her memories, “Alright, keep me informed of anything unusual down there, and good luck.”

They shook hands, and Jare left her office.

Chapter 10

“Those new adventurers were really amazing, weren’t they Claire?,” Doc commented as he watched the beast-men exit the dungeon.

“I will admit, I never thought they’d be strong enough to bring out 3 of the 4 bug boss forms,” Claire agreed as she left her sitting area next to the sixth floor boss room, “It was even more amazing that the adventurer was able to stop the forceful charge and throw the boss around like that.”

Doc moved away from the sixth floor and flowed back down to his crystal body, Claire right behind him.  “It’s a good thing I didn’t form near any beast-men cities or they might have beaten me black and blue instead of my normal purple.”

Claire giggled, “I don’t think they would have beat your crystal . . .”

“Boo, you know what I mean.” Doc gave her a feeling equivalent to a sideways frown.

Claire giggled again and flew down to sit on her conjured slime seat, which moved slowly up the wall.  “Okay, it looks like those beast-men were the investigation adventurers sent here because of the demon incident.”

“Do you think they suspect me?,” Doc asked her curiously.

Claire shook her head, “Nope.  I think they had a great time exploring you.  From their smiles and laughs, I believe they’re going to report you as a fun, challenging dungeon.  We may even get more people to visit!”

“So, are we safe?,” Doc indicated, giving Claire his full, undivided attention.

Claire sighed and shook her head, shrugging her hands, “I have no idea.  Since we can’t listen in on what happens in town, there is no way of knowing what is going on.  We can only wait and see what they decide to do, and react to it.”

Doc gave her a mental sense of agreement, “Well, since we have nothing else planned to do . . .er . . .what should we do?”

Claire groaned and rolled around the slime on her belly, “I don’t know, and it’s so frustrating!  Even watching adventurers falling to their deaths doesn’t have the same appeal anymore.  Why can’t they man-up and move further than the 10th floor?”

“Why is it ‘man-up’ and not ‘woman-up’?,” Doc asked.

Claire rolled her eyes, “Because a smart woman makes a man do the work for her of course.”

“Isn’t that saying women are lax?”

“No, that’s saying . . .why are you fixed on this again?”

“Boredom,” Doc replied dryly.

“Right,” Claire rolled her eyes, “Since you are neither male nor female that’s kind of irrelevant anyway.  So, how are you doing then?”

“The same as always?,” Doc said, a question in his tone, “Why do you ask?”

Flying off the slime and buzzing around his floating crystal, Claire responded: “There are two new colors in your crystal and it feels like you’re actually hiding something from me!  You can’t fool me Doc, we’ve lived together for too long.”

Doc looked up at Claire’s folded arms and sighed, “I’m sorry, I knew I shouldn’t have kept it from you, but I’ve been seeing this other pixie . . .”

“WHHAATTTT!,” Claire’s scream filled the room.

Sticking his tongue out at her, Doc replied: “Just kidding.”

The rest of the day was filled with Doc apologizing to a traumatized Claire, who shut herself in her house and refused to come out.

“Is momma still mad at you?,” the twins asked Doc as he was currently moping around their boss room.

“Yeah, she hasn’t talked to me even once since that joke.  I heard it from an adventurer and thought it would be funny.”

“Poppa,” one of the twins scolded him, “That adventurer got slapped silly; and wasn’t he the one that got pushed to his death later on?”

“Claire thinks falling to one’s death is funny,” Doc explained.

The twins sighed and shook their heads at him, “Poppa, it’s really sad that you don’t even realize what you did wrong.  We’ll talk to momma later for you.”

“Thank you girls,” Doc said, feeling appreciative, “Now, I know you haven’t had any adventurers reach you yet, but how do you like your new boss forms?”

“We like them, we like them a lot!,” they chorused, “Want to watch us practice?”

“Of course, give me a second . . .” Doc called a small horde of armor slimes up into the room, “Here, use these as practice targets.”

“Watch us poppa!,” they called out.

The armor slimes moved around until there were 5 groups of 5.  Under Doc’s direction, three moved forward while two shifted to flank the worgs.  Growling, the twins braced themselves as they watched the slimes approach.

When there was barely any space between the two, the slimes charged, throwing themselves at the two bosses.

As one, the twins rushed forward into the mass of slimes before them.  The armor slimes in the front leaped forward, but the worgs were too fast for them to tackle.  They weaved back and forth through their attacks, each slime missing by a small distance.

Seeing the worgs in action, Doc directed the left and right flanks of slime to join in the brawl.  In the midst of the free-for-all throwing contest, the last two groups flanked the girls, cutting off their easy exit.

The worg girls let out a howl of battle, and began to pant happily as they dodged slime after slime from every direction.  The slimes, seeing that their attacks did nothing, proceeded to continue attacking the same way.

“Um, I’m sorry girls but this is the limit of my control.” Doc said apologetically, “The fewer slimes I control at once, the better their attacks are.  With this many, I can only tell them to ram.”

“It’s okay poppa, this is what we need to practice our speed moves!,” They chorused to him happily.  Doc smiled as he watched their slimy tongues dangle from their mouths, jumping all around.

“Fine; let’s see if you can dodge this then!” Doc focused, and the slimes massed together into a giant wave of slime.  As a single unit, they leaped together all around the worgs in a dome pattern.

Doc winced as the slimes landed together on the floor where his daughters were.  “Are you all right my dears?,” he asked cautiously.

“Over here poppa.”  Turning to see his two daughters wagging their tails next to the wall, they said to Doc, “over here poppa.”

“Silly poppa, if they all jump up, then all we have to do is run under them.” They explained.

Doc coughed awkwardly, “Oh, right.  Anyway, your first forms seem to be doing well.  Have you mastered fighting in your second form too?”

“Not yet poppa; it’s hard to move since we aren’t used to fighting with weapons,” they complained.

Doc laughed heartily at them, “You girls will get used to it eventually.  I have faith that by the time the first adventurers get here, you’ll be ready to fight them in both forms.”

“Thank-you poppa,” they smiled at him happily and wagging their tails together as one.

“Well, I’m going to find Lady; see if you can talk to your mother for me.”  Doc requested as he flowed out of the room.

“Yes sir,” they nodded as their spirits left the boss room as well, destined to the heart room.  Quickly checking each floor, Doc soon found Lady sliming her way through the fourth floor.  He zoomed up next to her.

“Lady, how are you doing?”  He asked kindly.

Lady jiggled and wiggled in response.

“I see.  Have you fought any adventurers today?”

Lady wiggled and jiggled in response.

“Alright, do you want to fight any today?”

Lady jiggled and wiggled in response.

“Alrighty then, let’s see what we have to work with,” Doc turned and scanned the area.  Since the fourth floor was not unique, it lacked the multiple realty ability and thus all adventurers that reached this floor could interact with each other.  Doc examined the few groups and picked out a two person group.

“There are two men heading this way; get ready,” he told her.

Lady nodded her head and made her way up into an aerial trap.  Ever since Doc had woken up, Lady had gotten better at understanding others.  She still couldn’t talk, but Doc could understand her slime wiggle-jiggle language well enough.

The two men walking down the tunnel were very mean looking in Doc’s opinion.  One was large, and the other was skinny.  The skinny one kept licking his blade and talking about ‘prospects’ or something.  The fat one was laughing and agreeing with him.

“Well, no one is going to miss you,” Doc nodded to himself.

As the two men walked underneath the trap, Doc sent a signal to Lady.  As they moved away, Lady stealthily fell to the ground and gathered herself up.  Taking a pose, she slapped the ground with a tentacle hidden behind her.

The two men jumped at the sound and whirled around with their weapons.  The blades glowed as the magic within them was activated.

“Blimey Jimmy o’le boy, it’s a lady.”  The fat one said in surprise.

‘Jimmy’ squinted and narrowed his eyes, not dropping the blade, “You o’le squint, that’s the bluest girl I’ve ever seen ‘ere.”

Lady puckered up her face and giggled as she moved her body back and forth, hypnotically.  The two men gulped and wiped their mouths.

“Lass may be blue, but she be asking for it or I be a matron’s nanny,” the fat one declared.

Jimmy nodded in agreement, “Let’s not be keeping the lady waiting then, aye Richard?  Don’tcha worry lassie, we be giving you what you need.”

The two lowered their arms as they raced forward.  Jimmy laughed, “Too bad though, we like our ladies a wee bit on the cold side.”

They slashed together, Jimmy going high and Richard moving low, and Lady had a bewildered expression as she fell to the ground in three pieces.

Richard chuckled, “Like we’d be daft enough to fall for that.  Come on then Jimmy, let’s see what this monster had in her pieces.”  He reached down happily, only to have a tentacle shoot up and wrap around his arm.

“Oy! Jimmy, she be still alive!  Help get her off me!,” Richard cried out in alarm.  Jimmy ran over and tried to pull the tentacle off, but it was no use.

“IDIOT!,” Richard screamed, “USE YOUR BLASTED SWORD!”

Jimmy reached down, but a second tentacle reached up and tied his arms to his body.

“It’s got me Richey!  Help me!”

Doc chuckled as he watched Lady reassemble herself back together, still smiling at the two men.

“Enjoy your meal Lady.” he said to her.

Lady grinned, and her mouth opened widely as she engulfed the two cutthroats at the same time.  She gave a little burp, then slid back down toward the staircase.

Doc grinned, “That’s my girl.”

Chapter 11

"Tell me again, why are we hurrying back into the dungeon after the last dive?," Anhel complained as he ran after his two big brothers, "I thought we'd have at least another day to rest and explore.  I was hoping to speak with Mr. Olaf again."

Jare laughed as the wind swept through his fur, "Come on brothers, the scent of adventure is in the air!"

"That and some serious bull-crap," Anhel muttered under his breath, "Did you say something to the guild-master?  Is she forcing us back in?"

Jare coughed awkwardly as they reached the dungeon entrance, "Uh, not exactly.  The church has sent two delegations into the dungeon to secure a path down to the unexplored floors.  Ignoring the suspicious nature of two large parties, it would be in our best interest to be ahead of them at all times.  Thus, I figured getting through the 10th floor boss would be enough for the today."

William growled and fingered his daggers, "Bad church."

Anhel patted William's arm, "No brother Will, these people aren’t the bad church.  They are just on their own side."

William looked down and cocked his head at Anhel, "Not your church?"

Anhel's face turned ugly for a moment before he shook his head, "No, this is not the empire's church -- considering that they lost the right to call itself that years ago.  It’s an evil cult now," He muttered angrily as his hand itched toward his back.

Jare slapped both of them on the back of their heads, "That's enough out of you two.  These guys aren't our enemies; they are our rivals.  If we meet them, no attacking them unless it's to defend, understood?"

William and Anhel nodded in agreement, faces slightly ashen and ashamed.  Also, they rubbed the back of their heads to relieve the pain.  Jare smiled and patted both of their heads, "Good, then let’s head down and check on the sixth floor.”

They made their way to the sigil in the central mining room and had William touch it this time.  In an instant, the three found themselves down at the staircase room of the fifth floor.  There was no one else there.

Jare sniffed the air and nodded, "Good, we're the first ones down to this level in quite some time.  Anhel, what does the map say about these next 5 floors?"

Anhel peeked down at the map, “These are the last few floors mapped; everything below has yet to be challenged.  The next five floors are all maze style floors, with the largest being the 10th floor.  Also, there is a lot of new vegetation here too, so our sense of smell will be diminished a little."

Jare shrugged, "All we have to do is watch out for traps; our noses can easily lead us through the maze no matter the interference.  Can some of the plants be picked?"

Anhel turned the map over, “There are a lot of basic herb plants apparently . . . oh the rare Moonglow can appear as well.”

William shook his head and pointed, "Nose bad, plants."  The two brothers turned to look where William was pointing.  They saw the entrance to the floor, and how the walls and ceiling were covered in plants.  William grunted in annoyance.

Jare could only chuckle with irony, “About what I just said, maybe our noses will be kind of hard pressed to find our way through here.  Oh well, adventure awaits."

They nodded in agreement as the trio set off down the tunnel into the first maze.

*********

"Commander Hawkins sir!," the temple  knight saluted his superior, "We have eliminated the mass of slimes impeding our path."

Commander Hawkins was one of the top knight officials in Dungeon Town.  A sandy-haired, wise, older man, he had experienced his share of battles through his long military career.  He nodded at the knight in front of him.

"Good work soldier; we shall rest for 5 minutes before heading deeper."

The knight saluted again and left to carry out his orders.  Hawkins sighed and took his helm off as he rubbed his head.  When orders had come down to explore the dungeon, he had been quite interested.  The town was very peaceful with a low crime rate; so, there had been little for him and his men to do besides guarding and training.  The temple knights were an organization led by the head knight, Orso, who had equal authority with a High Father or High Mother.

Personally, Hawkins was of the Yore faith, goddess of the forest, but in this country where all faiths worked together, he had been assigned to guard the clergy of Duras here at Dungeon Town.  It gave him a slight headache though, given that some of the moral values were slightly antagonistic between the two faiths.

"What I would give for some good forest wine,” He muttered under his breath as he cleaned his sword, "I'm very tired of the plains wine.  Who makes booze from grass anyway?  Berries are the only proper ingredient for making wine in my book, or at least booze that tastes like wine."

His mutterings ceased as a priest approached him.  "Commander Hawkins, why are we waiting around and not advancing further into the dungeon?"

Resisting rolling his eyes at the 'leader' of this expedition, Hawkins explained as evenly as possible: "The men just finished a fight and need to rest."

The priest scoffed and waved his hand dismissively, "That was hardly a stamina draining battle.  Surely your men are stronger than that?"

Hawkins took a breath to calm himself, "Brother Leroy, that fight was . . ."

Brother Leroy interrupted him, "I don't care temple knight; I am the leader of this expedition, and the great Father Jonas has tasked me to defeat this floor as soon as possible.  All these delays are unacceptable and will not continue, is that understood?"

Hawkins gritted his teeth and nodded, "Aye sir, it shall be done."

Brother Leroy nodded and left to return to his group of fellow priests.  Hawkins sighed and finished cleaning his sword before he heard someone else approach.

"I'm truly sorry for Brother Leroy's attitude," a voice came from behind.

Hawkins turned and grinned at the priest, "Friar Henry, no need to worry.  I am used to dealing with types like him.  They are in every group."

Friar Henry sighed and rubbed his rope belt, "That is the sad way of the world isn't it?  I would do something myself, but I am a mere friar and have no authority on this expedition."

Commander Hawkins truly liked the young friar; he was kind and empathetic.  It was unfortunate, then, that the young man lacked the ruthlessness needed to advance in the shadows.  He would likely remain a friar for the rest of his days unless he performed a large, public service to the church.

He clasped the friar’s shoulders and said, "As long as you keep your spirit pure and take advantage of opportunities when they come to you, I'm sure you will grow in the future.  It wouldn't matter if you were a government official, a merchant, a soldier, a mage, or a farmer; there would always be an arrogant man over you."

The friar nodded his head and smiled at him before leaving to tend to the priests.  Hawkins turned and walked over to his men, who were resting.

"Men, the priests wonder if we are such children we need to rest after playing.  Why not show them our fighting spirit!," he bellowed out.

The temple knights shot to attention and cried out, "Sir, yes sir!"

Hawkins ordered, "Good.  Move out men!"

The group set out again down the tunnel.  As they rounded the bend, they came face to face with a group of 5 grey slimes.

"Advance and destroy the enemy, for DURAS!," Father Leroy bellowed out from behind Hawkins.

Hawkins grimaced at the clear violation of military protocol, but agreed, "Forward!"

His squad of 6 temple knights gave out a battle cry and advanced with sword, spear, and shield.  The 5 grey slimes turned tail and fled.

"Brothers, fortify them!"  With Brother Leroy's call, the priests cast holy magic on the knights, increasing their speed and strength.

As the soldiers chased the slimes farther away, Hawkins frowned and barked out, "Return swiftly!"

"Ignore him, kill those slimes for the glories of Duras!," Leroy counter-called.  The knights paused and looked at each other awkwardly, not sure whose orders to follow.

A moment later, lesser mimic and armor slimes rained down from the ceiling onto the priests.  The group instantly turned into a mess of chaos and panic.

Hawkins insisted his men return as he cursed to himself for not inspecting the ceiling for aerial traps.  The priests scattered in a panic, none possessing the offensive power to fight the slimes.  The temple knights rushed to return, only to find their path impeded by the grey slimes, which attacked with their bodies.

Brother Leroy ran screaming back down the tunnel, only to trip and slam into the floor at full force.  Ironically, he fell on top of a rather thick pitfall trap with enough force to break through the stone and into the waiting slimes down before.

"Brother Leroy, nooooo!," some of the priests cried out.  Hawkins cursed outwardly as he slayed the slimes threatening the priests.  Lacking any offense besides tackling, the slimes were easy prey to his blessed sword.  His knights also managed to recover and slaughtered the grey slimes as they returned to the group.

The battle over, everyone took a breather as they stared wide-eyed at the hole in the ground.

"Bro . . Brother Leroy J. Kiln is dead," one of the brothers spluttered out, "What do we do now?"

Commander Hawkins sighed to himself privately in relief.  Coughing slightly, he announced loudly, "We finish the mission.  Come on now brothers, will you let his glorious death be in vain?"

This instantly cheered up the priests as Friar Henry, Commander Hawkins, and the temple knights privately rolled their eyes.  “Glorious death indeed,” He thought, “now who would care for the temple chickens?”

After resting, they resumed their journey down the tunnel.  The next bend led to a medium sized room.  Strangely enough, the walls here were not purple, but grey.  Hawkins narrowed his eyes as they entered the room.

"Be wary men, this room is not so simple," he warned.

As they reached the middle of the room, grey slimes began to rise up through the floor.  At the far side, a large blob exited the tunnel and moved slowly toward them.

Hawkins cursed, "Gray slimes and a gelatinous slime.  Be wary men, they are strong against physical attacks!"

With battle-cries flying from their mouths, the group moved into battle.

*********

“So, it looks like the church has finally made their move,” Claire observed from atop Doc’s head.  After a closed door explanation from the twins, Claire had forgiven Doc on the condition he serves as her mount for the next few days.

Trapped within Claire’s slime cushion, Doc appreciated the ability to float around the dungeon even more.  He hated being trapped in a single body that was so slow, especially when moving between levels.

“They seem kind of strong Claire, but not in a way I’ve seen before.  What kind of spell casters are those?,” Doc asked, pointing with his tentacle at the strange men wearing dresses.

“Those are priests; they use magic through faith,” Claire explained, “Unlike other spell-casters who use items of power or the mana within their bodies, priests employ the faith they put into their god as a source of power.  The stronger the faith, the stronger the spell.  Also, the god or goddess they worship gives them a tiny bit of their power to increase their ability and even add an attribute to their magic.  Those priests seem to be channeling wind and light magic, so their god or goddess is inclined to both.”

“Is that kind of how I am with my slimes?,” Doc asked curiously.

Claire couldn’t hold in her laugh, “You think you are a god?  Ha ha, you’re so silly Doc.” She patted his head lovingly, “Gods are the creators of this world; you are one of the creations, like I am and like everyone else.  Now, what do you think of these church people?  First impressions?”

Doc mused as he rolled his thoughts around, “Well, they are stronger than most adventurers, but they don’t work really well together do they?  That old guy with the shiny forehead seems to know what he’s doing though; the whiny one in the dress died.”

“That’s called a robe Doc.”

“It looks like a dress.”

“Only women wear dresses.”

“They are women; wow, I need to learn more about adventurers; they blend together too much.”

*********

"Men, prepare yourselves." Commander Hawkins commanded, steeling himself, "The boss room is directly ahead."

His temple knights nodded as they raised their weapons for battle.  The priests, guided by Friar Henry, began their prayers to the gods as the group entered the room.  As they had discussed before, the priests moved around the outside of the room to form a perimeter while the warriors walked down the middle.

As the group entered the middle of the room, a knight let out a cry of warning as a green blob seized his leg.  He quickly stabbed it with his blessed weapon, destroying the slime, moving back swiftly.

When the green blob died, to everyone's surprise the boss rose up in one fluid motion and grabbed the offending knight with its ant mandible.  The soldier screamed as the mandible snapped shut and cut him into two pieces.

"NO!," Hawkins cried out, brandishing his sword, "Avenge our comrade!"  The knights moved forward quickly, each wearing faces of rage as they brandished their weapons.

The ant boss screeched in rage as countless blades fell on its body.  It swung its huge head back and forth, sending men flying backwards into the rock formations

Hawkins gnashed his teeth in anger, "Get in formation men!  Don't let it grab you!"

Conforming to their training, the temple knights retreated into a turtle shell form, shields out front, beside and above while spears poked out from every opening.  As a unit, the formation moved forward toward the boss monster.

The priests finished their prayers and let loose a barrage of holy magic.  Golden light landed on the knights, augmenting their speed and strength.  At the same time, the golden light hindered the boss, robbing it of its vitality and agility.  As if feeling pain, the boss roared and moved forward toward the formation of men.

The boss swung its head at the shields.  However, the shields held out against the blows and pushed the boss’s head back with the holy blessings placed upon them.  Spears lunged out and stabbed into the unprotected head, dissolving the slime with their light.

The ant quickly jumped back as it returned into the crystalline green slime.  Morphing, it now took on the form of a worm.

“It’s a new form men; watch yourselves!,” Hawkins cried out as he took a stance.

The slime boss now bunched itself up, then burst forward with the speed of a cannon.  It shot itself through the shield wall as men and weapons went flying.  Two unlucky men were eaten and the worm slime slithered quickly back into the darkness.

"Formation change, Anti-Calvary Charge!," Hawkins bellowed out.  Instantly, the shields were retracted as a wall of spears and swords replaced it.  The boss, mindless as it was, reappeared and crashed straight into the onslaught of holy blessed weapons.  The magic weapons ripped into the slime and inflicted heavy injuries even as the boss once again sent men flying.

Close to death now, the boss screamed in pain as it swung its head violently back and forth, trying to dislodge the weapons stuck in it.  Some of the knights dived for cover as stray weapons were sent flying at them.  Over half were forced to retreat from the boss as their weapons were currently in its slimy body.  The boss roared again and went into a rampage.  Knights and priests alike dived for cover as rocks flew across the room, knocking them into the air.

Hawkins, on the ground as a piece of earth blasted overhead, roared to his men, "The boss is on its last slimy legs men, keep up the assault!"  Following his own order, the commander raised his sword and shield and charged forward with a valiant battle-cry.

The men who still retained their weapons followed his lead and charged the slime from every side.  The priests unleashed blasts of holy light all around the room in order to back up the knights.  The boss monster roared as its body was ripped to shreds by the holy weapons still inside it.  It had no defenses, and reeled from the numerous holy blasts, followed by the knight's final assault.  With a wail, the boss fell over and dissolved completely back into the ground.

'Clang', Hawkins dropped his sword and began panting loudly as he tried to catch his breath.  He took a seat on the ground as he tried to stabilize his breathing.

"Hu, hu, I'm getting too old for this," he muttered out loud.  A couple of the knights heard him and chuckled, much to his annoyance.

Friar Henry approached with the loot in his hand, "We lost another priest after a stalactite impaled him.  That leaves the total casualties at 3 priests and 5 temple knights."

Hawkins sighed and nodded sadly, "The boss's weakness was facing a large group, but the risks are always larger the bigger the group gets.  I'll have to include that in my report when we get back."

Friar Henry nodded and continued, "The boss dropped its slime core, two gold pieces, and a buckler shield enchanted with resistance against physical blows.  It seems as though this is the end of today’s journey."

Hawkins sighed as he inclined his head, "Yes, we are too tired to continue any further without experiencing more casualties.  Perhaps the other group did better than us.  We finished our mission for today, so it's time to report our success."

Nodding, the friar helped Hawkins to his feet.  After one of the priests touched the sigil, the group disappeared.

“Oh, they reached the second boss phase; that’s fairly impressive,” Doc murmured out loud.

Claire poked him, “Hey, what’s with that worm boss?  I thought there were only ant and beetle forms for that boss.  Are you keeping things from me again?”

“Sorry, I forgot to tell you,” Doc winced at the strange sensation of having part of someone inside of him, “The boss here can take the form of a ladybug, roach, ant, Hercules beetle, rhinoceros beetle, and praying mantis for typical battles.  The worm only shows up with large groups, and only for adventurer parties above C-rank.”

Claire blinked, “Are those forms in order of increasing difficulty?”

“That’s right.  Now, the boss will fight depending on a party’s strength, and all the battles will be interesting challenges and not boring massacres.” Doc was very pleased with himself.

Claire rubbed her head in exasperation, “Oh Doc, you make strange decisions some time.  I can’t even begin to imagine what the adventurers are thinking out there.  A boss that adapts to power level . . . oh well what’s done is done I suppose.”

“Yay.”

“That’s not exactly something to be happy about.  Now come on, you need to take me to the next area so we can watch those beast-men.  Mush my servant!”

“Yes ma’am.”

Chapter 12

Jare scratched his head for the umpteenth time, "Hm, I think it's that way."  He pointed down a hallway, which was next to two other hallways.  He turned to look at his brothers, "I'm very sure I'm right this time."

He was met with two very annoyed glares and two sets of impatient, rolling fingers.

"Bro, even I, not so bad," William spat out in annoyance.

Anhel nodded, "Seriously big bro, this is rather ridiculous.  We've spent most of the day in these mazes, and we haven't even made it to the 10th floor yet!  Your sense of direction is terrible!"

Jare laughed awkwardly, "Um, well, my nose isn't working quite right here and . . ."

Anhel snorted, "Don't try to pin it on the dungeon; we would have made it to this point two days ago if you hadn't been 'following your nose'." Anhel air-quoted the air, "How does a beast-man get so lost that he can't even tell east from west when the SUN IS RISING!"

Jare held up a hand, "Easy; the same way the tribes all lost the route to the ancestral burial grounds a few years ago.  I think it's because the sun is against us and keeps rising in different locations."

Will groaned and sank to the ground in a huddle, "Me like that, one day?  Sad."

Anhel patted William, "Don't worry, you'll never be as bad as big bro.  You have the potential to rise from his ashes."

As the two shared a moment, Jare felt a shiver down his spine, "Oy, don't speak like I died or something; that raises a tribal flag you know."

"Tribal flags are hocus pocus nonsense you warriors came up with to explain accidents," Anhel dead-panned, giving his brother a dry look.

Jare shivered, "Tempting fate is bad.  Come on, let's follow this tunnel and move along."  He turned and started walking away.  William and Anhel sighed, but they both got up and followed their leader down the tunnel.

“Claire, can I please move out of this body?  I wanna fight them already,” Doc whined as he followed the beast-men from the hidden tunnel.

Claire rolled her eyes and poked Doc again, “Really Doc, it hadn’t even been a full day yet and you’ve been moaning for hours.  It’s like you’ve never been in a single body for so long.”

There was a moment of silence.

Claire coughed, “Um, what I meant to say is that hopefully now you can appreciate your abilities a bit more.  Everyone else in this world is stuck with a single body, except for special circumstances.”

“And no,” she continued, “I’m not telling you about them so go ahead and forget about it.”

Doc sulked for a moment, then formed a tentacle behind Claire’s back.  He wiggled it around her and began to tickle.  Claire shrieked and giggled as the tentacle got to all her funny areas.

“Enough, enough Doc, okay I’ll tell you something more interesting,” she relented.  She waited as Doc dissolved the tentacle and took a calming breath.

“Go on,” Doc prompted.

Claire rolled her eyes, “Soon, it’ll be springtime out in the world.  I know that doesn’t mean much to you, but this world has four seasons that affects the weather outside.”

Doc swayed his body from side to side, “I kind of picked that up from some of the adventurers, but what’s the significance of spring.”

Claire grinned and leaned forward until her upside-down face was in front of Doc.  Mouth wide open and eyes closed, she looked rather funny to Doc.

“Spring time is when nature occurs in bloom.  Flowers will come out, new animals will be born, and monster season will start!,” throwing out her hands, Claire sang an unfamiliar tune.

Sensing Doc’s confusion at the song, Claire plopped onto her stomach and began to draw on Doc’s body, “You see, monster season comes with the spring along with all the other fun events.  Monsters have lots of babies, and those babies grow quickly into adult monsters that need their own territory; so there is a huge migration of monsters everywhere.  It’s the best time to attract new monsters to our dungeon too, so we have to think of ways to get them.”

Doc wiggled in excitement, “New monsters; that sounds really interesting!  If they are anything like the twins, I really look forward to seeing them in action.”

Claire patted Doc’s body, “Yup, yup.  We’ll have to go over the finer details of monster contracts, but that’ll be for another day.  When you’re done with your punishment though, you should fix the forest tunnel back up.  I want to find lots of pretty flowers to plant in the dungeon once they bloom.”

“Okay dear.”

“It’s been awhile since you’ve called me that.”

“Has it?”

“You’re right, not long enough,” Claire nodded to herself, “Now, hurry up and catch those beast-men.  They’re finally entering the 10th floor.”

*********

"RUUUNNNNNN!," Anhel screamed as the trio of beast-men raced down the maze tunnel.  A large, grey slime which took up the entire tunnel was chasing them down.

"Anhel, what is that slime!," Jare cried out as they ran full pelt down the corridor.

"It's a gelatinous slime, an evolution of the grey slime.  It’s impervious to physical attacks and takes a lot of magic to defeat; more than what I can bring.  We have to find a split off tunnel!," Anhel cried out.

William pointed, "Tunnel ahead!"

"Dive!," Jare commanded as the trio dived into the branching corridor.  The gelatinous slime zoomed past them and disappeared down the tunnel.  A few moments later, they heard a loud impact as the slime ran into the wall.

The trio panted as they lay on the floor in exhaustion.

"Big brother, that was too close," Anhel muttered from his spot on the floor.

Jare was leaning forward with his back against the wall, "Yeah, no kidding.  I was wondering why I could smell something strange about that wall."

The two turned to glare at William, "WHY DID YOU TOUCH IT!"

William groaned and released his tongue into the air as he panted on the floor, "Smell funny."

"No shit grizzly," Anhel dead-panned, "Which is why we were going to avoid it.  I swear, you grizzly types are too curious for your own good; you might as well be a cat."

Naturally, even beast-clans had their own individual groups.

Jare took a deep breath and stood back up, "It was just bad luck that the gelatinous slime was spawning at that time.  It must have been forming there over-night when the dungeon was empty, and just now finished forming.”  He flicked his ears and looked around, “Alright, I can smell the wind from this direction.  Luckily, we didn't get too far off track.  Let's get a move on."

In order to get through the maze, the trio had relied on their noses to smell the movement of the air, which signaled the next floor.  Dungeon air was always moving from the deepest part toward the entrance, the wind sounding like moans as it traveled past the adventurers.

The three checked their weapons before continuing down the tunnel.  Ahead, two light green slimes wiggled toward them with a pink slime in the middle.

"Head's up brothers, two plant and one heal dead ahead," Jare announced.

Nodding, William donned his knives as Anhel cast the spirit of the hawk onto him.  Instantly, William burst forward behind the plant slimes and cut the heal slime in half.  He jumped back to avoid the vine snares that leaped off the walls at him.  Jare bellowed and ran forward like a force of nature, his hammer swinging back.  He leaped to the side as a thorn spear erupted from the ceiling at him, then rolled ahead to dodge another snare vine.  Not leaping this time, he smashed the plant slime in front of him and rolled to the other side as a second thorn whip tried to stab him.  He smashed the other plant slime and the plants returned to normal.  He casually walked over and slammed the heal slime as it was trying to pull itself back together.

Anhel hurried over and bent down to inspect, "3 slime cores, a healing herb, and 2 silver.  A small take this time."

Jare shrugged, "That's two days in a decent inn room there.  Besides, we can't find big winners all the time."

Anhel sighed and nodded as he stowed away the items in his adventurer bag.  The magic bag held everything and didn't appear to be any larger.

"Okay, let's head out.  The boss should be just ahead," Jare announced as he strolled forward.

William scratched his head, "He say that, what, 3 times?"

Anhel rolled his eyes, "That's right, 3 times already.  Hopefully his nose hasn't gotten as old as he has."

"I heard that."

*********

Doc and Claire watched the beast-men quickly dispatch the slimes.  They sighed as a single unit.

“Those guys are way too strong Claire.  I’m really happy they aren’t aiming for my core, because I don’t think I could easily stop them.”

Claire got off of Doc and floated over to the window, where she peeked down.  “That lead one must be what the adventurers call a B or A rank adventurer.  Those other two aren’t that much weaker either.  Maybe we should think about improving again.”

Doc groaned, “Don’t even bring that up.  I want to get to the next evolution level so bad, but my mana levels are nowhere near high enough to acquire it.  I don’t even have enough for another floor.”

“Then we’ll have to look for other means to improve the dungeon,” Claire declared matter-of-factly, “Did those church adventurers drop anything useful?”

“No.” Doc said regretfully, “I thought the whiny one would have some useful things, but all he had was the typical gear and a book on a new animal called chickens.  I did learn a new item enchantment from the weapons, but I can’t use it for some reason.”

“I told you, Doc, you can’t use faith magic, which includes blessed items.  Just save them for when you have more slime varieties.” Claire walked over and gave his body a quick flick.

Doc rubbed his head in annoyance with a tentacle, and winced as Claire threw herself back on top of him.

“Onwards my steed, the dungeon boss fight awaits!”

SSSSSSSKKKKKKrrrrrrreeeeeeee!

A horrible shriek filled the room, causing the beast-men to cover their ears in pain.  Distracted as they were, the trio still managed to leap away from the center of the room as the boss dropped down from the ceiling, its shadow covering the floor.

The huge green slime fell from the ceiling and quickly crushed the floor where they had just been standing, its spike shining under the torchlight.  Two heal slimes followed it down from the ceiling and landed on either side of the boss.

"This is the jungle slime boss!," Anhel cried out as he recovered, "Don't let any of its body touch you; its slime can erode over time and there is poison in its spikes."

"I'll handle the heal slimes quickly; you two distract it," Jare commanded as he wielded his giant hammer, "Let’s see if we can beat this guy without using our other forms!"

Nodding, Anhel and William leaped into battle.  Anhel quickly cast the spirit of the hawk and bear on his two brothers, augmenting their attack and speed.  William raced forward and slashed the boss wildly in many places.

When the heal slimes moved to fix the slash marks, Jare appeared and slammed them into the ground, killing them instantly.  He smiled with a blood-thirsty grin as he wiped the pink goo off his hammer, turning back to look at the boss.

"William, any problems?," he asked quickly.

William shook his head as he dodged a launched spike, "No need; know routine."

Anhel nodded in agreement, sitting down against the wall, "Even with our lower level of experience, it's easy to fight the bosses if we know their attack routine big bro.  No need for either of us to do anything else."

Jare nodded his head in agreement and took a seat next to Anhel, "I guess you're right little brothers.  Now, keep a heal spell in case of emergencies; it always pays to be vigilant.  William, use this as an opportunity to train," Jare called out with his hands cupped around his mouth, "Improve your reaction time by fighting right next to the spikes.  If you can dodge them as they fly out, then you've got a good start."

Anhel frowned suddenly, "What if he doesn't have a good reaction time or slips up?"

"That's why you need to have the heal spell ready," Jare advised evenly.  Anhel quickly opened his book and prepared a spirit of the water spell.

William got right up next to the boss and attacked with a flurry of dagger slashes.  The jungle slime launched spikes at him, only to have him dodge them at the last second.  William cursed as a few strands of hair flew off of his face from where a spike came close to hitting him.

"Careful there William; if they even graze you, then you'll be poisoned,” Jare advised from the sidelines.

William nodded and grunted as he flipped his daggers around into an under-handed form.  His shape blurring, William began to sink the daggers deep into the slime boss and dragged them down before vanishing to another spot.  The boss, enraged, grew two tentacles that chased him, intent on devouring him.

William leaped over one tentacle as his arms crossed his chest with the daggers pointed ahead.  As the second tentacle swung toward him, he unfolded his arms and slashed completely through the tentacle, severing it from the body.  The thick tentacle landed on the ground and dissolved into nothingness.

William hit the floor and leaped forward, keeping his momentum.  The boss grew another tentacle that shot out in front of him and immediately began to swipe at his head.  William threw his right arm down, pushing off the ground over the slime as he used the right dagger to cut right through the tentacle as he soared over it.  The stump quickly regrew itself as the two tentacles chased after him.

As William ran in for another attack, Anhel's spell expired and he began to slow down.

"Not good," Anhel jumped up in a panic, "I can't call upon the spirit again for some time."

Jare was noticeably calmer, but his hand suddenly gripped his hammer as eyes watched the battle sharply.

William was also calm as he adjusted to his slowing speed.  While still faster than a human, the slime tentacles would soon catch him at this rate.  Making a sudden decision, William ran straight at the boss as the two tentacles swung at him from either side.

Growing, he put on a sudden burst of speed as he threw himself into a spiraling circle.  Reaching the crescendo of his turn, he threw both daggers into the slime boss with pinpoint accuracy just as the two tentacles caught up with him.

Almost reaching him, the tentacles froze in the air, then collapsed to the ground as the boss fell back, defeated.  It dissolved into primordial nothingness as the two watching beast-men walked over.

"Big bro, big bro, that was amazing!  How did you kill it so fast?" Anhel was very excited by what he had seen.

Jare chuckled as he walked across the room and pulled the two daggers out of the ground, the boss's slime core impaled by the two.  He casually walked back and threw both daggers to William, who caught them with grace.

"Good job there knocking the core out of the boss," Jare complimented, "It's very hard to pinpoint the core's location since it's always moving inside.  To land both daggers is a very impressive feet indeed little bro."

William scratched his head awkwardly and nodded in thanks.  Anhel picked up the other loot, which held little interest, as Jare walked over and pressed his hand against the sigil next to the stairs.

"Right, so are we going down or going back up?," he asked.

Anhel crossed his arms and thought for a moment, "The church is racing us right? It would be better if they experience a floor without our scouting reports right?"

Jare nodded happily, "Sounds good to me.  Let's make our report to the vice-master, then sleep in for a day so the church can catch up."

William and Anhel raised up their arms in celebration; bears did indeed love their naps.

Chapter 13

After leaving the dungeon, both the church and the beast-men submitted their respective reports to the Adventurer Guild.  Mary sent a brief note to the church to express her annoyance at such a large move, and the church returned the note with a polite apology.

Neither group made another dive into the dungeon for the next few days.  The clergy focused all their efforts into completing their quarter of the town and the beast-men were interested in exploring the town some more.

The only significant event that occurred during this time was that the elves neared completion of their area.  They put up notices that they would have a large celebration when they were done, so everyone was looking forward to it.

In the meantime, a hooded figure made his way through town.  He carefully avoided everyone as he walked down the streets, and no one seemed to notice him either.  Even passing the outer gate to the dungeon, the guards did not stop him to check his identity.  When he reached the entrance, the figure took off his hood, revealing a kindly old face and grey hair that was as long as his shoulder.  The old man chuckled to himself as he entered the dungeon, his hand stroking his grey beard.

"This is such a wonderful opportunity; the ability to go into such a profound dungeon and the security is light.  I’ll be able to get a lot of good research done now." He shed his dark robes for an old leather enchanted armor and a smaller brown cloak he wore around his shoulders. For a weapon, he carried a simple wooden stave. It was an interesting thing because he hadn't brought a staff with him, just a cane.

As he walked down under the torches, he was surprised to find a central room with a group of people milling about. Some headed down the tunnels on the walls, while others went down the center hallway.  There were even merchants milling around in stalls.

The old man scratched his head, “Hm, very different from the reports I read.  Oh, I guess they sent in new reports after I left.  Well, learning first hand isn’t so bad either.”

Nodding to himself, he walked over to one of the merchants, "Excuse me sir, can you tell me what's going on here?," he asked softly, “I just arrived, but the dungeon is so different from the stories I heard.”

The merchant turned and looked the old man over.  He sniffed and frowned.

The old man grinned and tossed the merchant a gold coin.  He grabbed it and bit it, nodding his head in satisfaction.

“This here is the central room of the dungeon.  Those tunnels lead to the mines, and that central tunnel leads to the first floor of the dungeon.  The sigil next to that central tunnel can be used to move to specific floors after you have reached them.  If there are too many people using the sigil, there are 3 others in this room scattered around.”

The old man nodded his head in thanks.  Gazing around the room, his eyes fell on a lone warrior leaning against a wall.  Grinning, the old man walked up to him.

“Are you interested in being an escort for this old man?”

The warrior turned and eyed the old man's outfit. He snorted and gestured with his shoulder, "Not sure why you're here old man, but whatever the reason I'd rethink it. The dungeon has been an active place since it changed, and there’s a lot more danger involved now.  The farthest anyone has reached is the 11th floor, so do yourself a favor and go back to where you came from.”

"Ho ho ho, aren’t you being awfully considerate of this old man?  While I appreciate your sentiments, will you guide me down there?  There are many interesting slimes just waiting to be revealed you know," the old man declared in excitement, his hand shaking from his fervor. He was sure to see new slime evolutions down there!

The warrior snorted again, "Whatever old man, long as you can pay I really don’t give a damn.  Just be careful and try not to die down there."

The old man grinned at the warrior, "How much to get to the 6th floor?"

The warrior raised an eyebrow, "As long as you have the silver, I can take you down as far as you want.  I won’t go past the 10th floor though; I'm waiting for the new reports before I risk my life going further."

The disguised old man took a small pouch of silver and handed it to the warrior. Getting up from the wall, he opened the bag and counted out the sixty silvers held within. The warrior smiled and nodded to the old man, "My name is Juan and it will be my pleasure to take you down to the second floor."

“I’m Magus Falcon,” the old man smiled and said, "Lead the way good sir."

*********

Falcon clapped as Juan swung his massive sword down and cleaved an armor slime in half. "Most impressive young man," he complimented as he inspected the remains, "I heard it took a team of at least 3 to battle this boss effectively."

Juan smirked as he hefted his sword onto his shoulder, "That's true for most adventurers, but I have confidence in my abilities and experience to match a group of three adventurers under my rank." He himself was rated a C-rank adventurer and was on par with most of the strongest in the town.

"I see.  Well, you do have a look of strength about you," the magus commented, eyeing the other man's muscles, "If you have this much confidence, why do you limit yourself to escorting and not diving for yourself? Where are your teammates?"

Juan shook his head, "I've never enjoyed working with others beyond a contract, and I'm not foolish enough to risk myself over pointless endeavors. I make enough to have a good meal every night and a warm bed, and that is ample for me."

"You lack ambition," Falcon observed.

"Maybe," Juan admitted as he began walking to the staircase, "But I'm also alive, which is more than I can say about other solo adventurers."

The Magus nodded as he followed the warrior down the staircase. After a few minutes, they emerged into a large room that held people.

"Seems like we’ve reached the 7th floor," Juan observed, "thus, it seems my job is almost complete."

Magus Falcon shook his head, “No need young man; you’ve earned your pay by getting me this far.  There is no need to accompany me any further.”

Juan raised an eyebrow, but gave the old man a sideways grin, “If you say so old guy.  Let me know if you need any help in the future; you seem like a good employer.”

'What an interesting guy,' Falcon thought to himself as he watched the mercenary leave. He made a mental note to seek him out again later.  “Now, I’ve taken some notes from watching the slimes fight, but I want to experience them with my own power.”

Passing some of the other adventurers in the room, Falcon noted that a group of three burly men were giving him evil grins from across the room.

“How foolish,” he shook his head at their smiles, “well, to be young is to make mistakes I guess.” He ignored the other people as he entered the first tunnel and entered the 7th floor.

“Now,” the Magus murmured to himself as he stroked his beard, “Where is a good place to start researching?”

He came to a fork and quickly took the right tunnel.  There was a rumble, and three slimes fell from the ceiling behind him.  Falcon turned his head slightly with a grin.

“Just what I was looking for,” he analyzed the slimes behind him, “a grey slime, a herb slime, and  . . .ah a plant slime.”  He clapped his hands together and rubbed them excitedly, “I’ve never had a chance to inspect a plant slime directly.”

The grey slime rushed him, while the herb slime and the plant slime controlled the vines to attack him from the ceiling.

“Too slow.” Falcon raised his staff and swiped it into the grey slime, sending it into the wall.  With surprising strength, he threw himself forward, spinning like a top.  His robe bellowed around him and deflected the vines with magical force.

“You should sleep for now,” he said as he cast an ice spell on the herb slime, freezing it solid.  He landed, and rolled out of the way as the plant slime grew enraged.

“Whoops, I forgot plant slimes go berserk when their plant brethren are attacked.  Must make a note of that later,” he murmured as he jumped from side to side retreating from vine blows.  Just as he was clear, he bent forward as the grey slime went flying over his head, missing him with its tackle.

“Now, now, enough of that,” he said as he raised his staff.  The staff shrunk down into a wand with a ruby crystal on the end, which glowed as three fire-balls flew and hit the two slimes.

The grey slime shrunk, but the plant slime wiggled as it burned away into its core.  With a flick, the wand turned into a spear which flew straight into the grey slime and killed it.

Falcon breathed a sigh and cracked his back, “I’m starting to feel my age.  Oof, this is going to make those apprentices laugh if they find out about this later.”  After verifying his body felt as good as it was going to get, he turned to the frozen herb slime, a maniacal grin growing over his previously wise face.

“Let’s begin the experiment.”

*********

“WHAT!,” Doc spit out all over the floor.

“Hey, what the heck Doc?,” Claire sputtered in shock as slime particles flew across the room, “What are you doing Doc?”

“Oh, I saw adventurers react like this to show surprise.  Well, they spit out whatever they were drinking, but since I don’t need water I thought it would work if I shot my own body,” he explained to her.

Claire shivered, “Don’t do that again Doc.  Spitting out parts of your own body is something really, really bad.  Also, it’s kind of gross.”

“Okay.”

“Anyway,” Claire flew back over to him, “What’s with the surprise?  Did something happen?”

“Yeah, one of my slimes got kidnapped!,”  Doc exclaimed in shock.

A moment of silence filled the room.

“What?  How did that happen?,” Claire asked him, confusion evident on her face.

“An old guy just froze one of the herb slimes and is taking it through the 7th floor.  He kind of scares me actually.”

“Well, let’s hurry up and follow him!”

Doc’s punishment had ended a few days ago, so the two zoomed up to the second floor as they inspected the old man.

“Claire, what is he?,” Doc asked her mentally.

Claire shrugged, “He’s levitating that ice block of slime, so he must be some kind of magic user.  He looks old, so he has to be stronger than a normal person too, especially since he is in so deep.”

They watched the old man reach a room of lesser mimic slimes, where he easily defeated them with a sweep of his wand.

“His weapon changes form,” Doc observed.

The old man sat the herb slime down in the middle of the room.  He created a small flame and melted the top part of the ice, exposing the wiggling slime underneath.

“Now, now, no need to rush out.  I just need you still for an experiment,” The old man said.

Claire looked over at Doc, “You going to let him do whatever he’s going to do?”

Doc shrugged, “Not like I can stop him directly.  I might as well lend a hand; it looks interesting anyway.”  Doc moved part of his will into the slime, making it stay still within its icy prison.

“Good, now let’s see what I have to work with.”  From under his robe, the old man pulled out a small bag and began to rummage through it.  He muttered faintly to himself before crying out in joy as he pulled a vial of purple liquid.

“Nightshade extract; just what I needed.  The purple is a nice match too.”

“That’s a poison,” Claire explained, “Nightshade is a plant that can be made into poison.  We don’t see many rogues, so you’ve never dealt with it before.”

They watched as the old man poured the poison on top of the herb slime.  As he was doing that, however, three big men entered the room.

“Hey old man, it’s dangerous down here.  For a small protection fee, we can make sure no one messes with you,” one of them called out.

“I’m quite fine, though I thank you for your offer,” the old man replied evenly.

The three men chuckled, “Thing is old man, it’s not an optional fee.  Hand over everything you have now, and we’ll make sure you’re in good enough shape to reach the exit sigil.”

The old man grinned at them as he tilted his head sideways to look at them, “Alright, but you have to beat this slime first.”  He flicked his wand, and the ice block flew closer to the men and melted away, revealing the herb slime.

“Screw off, it’s just a weak herb slime.” They laughed at him from across the room.

“Is it then?,” the old man smiled, but this smile was much too big and evil for his kind face.

Doc widened his imaginary eyes, “Claire, it’s evolving!”  Before everyone’s eyes, the herb slime turned a deep purple and grew to the height of a man’s knee.

“Kill it, kill it quickly!” The three men panicked as they ran forward to attack the slime.

In response, the slime spat out a purple liquid onto the rushing men.  It hit two of them, and they screamed as their bodies began to smoke and dissolve.

The third man turned pale as he watched his friends die slowly in front of him.  “You monster, you caused this!,” he screamed at the old man.

The old man grinned, “Hope you have your talisman still.  I wouldn’t wait too long.”  He disappeared in a flash of light, leaving the dungeon.

The last man turned to run, but the purple slime snaked a tentacle around his leg and brought him down.  As it burned him, the tentacle began to retract itself into the slime’s body.

With open mouths, Doc and Claire watched the new-born slime devour the men.

“A poison slime; I can’t believe that old man gave you a new evolution,” Claire finally gasped out.

Doc couldn’t even nod his head, “This is going to make the dungeon a lot more interesting.”  They listened to the fading screams of pain as the poison slime jiggled in ecstasy.

Chapter 14

"Come on Nat, Gran managed to get some special passes for us.  It'll be fun."  Fiora tugged on Nat's arm.  Since recovering from her alcohol addiction, Fiora had dedicated herself to training and sparring with some of the other C-ranked adventurers.  After a week, she had recovered most of her strength and even managed to rescue her sword back from the swindler who had taken it.

Currently, she was trying to persuade Nat to stop training and join her and Gran for the elf quarter opening.

Nat, as usual, was being obstinate.  "I don't have time for worthless pleasures; I need to train more." Nat pulled her arm free of Fiora's grasp and turned away.  She walked over to the practice dummies and began to swing a large broadsword.

Fiora shook her head, "Come on Nat, I know you don't use the broadsword."

"I'm learning," Nat answered as she began to swing her sword.  The blade sliced through the dummy's arm, which regenerated quickly.

"No you aren't; you're swinging a giant piece of metal.  A real broadsword user would have sliced clean through that magic dummy.  You don't have the arm strength,"  Fiora reprimanded.

Nat whirled around and glared at her former leader, "You think I don't know that?  You think I'm just messing around and being depressed and worthless like you were?"

Fiora visibly winced, and Nat's stance softened, "I'm sorry about that."

Fiora shook her head and crossed her arms, "No, you're right.  No matter what rebound or magic affected me, I let myself fall into the bottle.  I was worthless, and I was weak.  Gran helped me break out of it, and I'm here to break you out."

Nat scoffed and turned back around, throwing another swing.  "Break me out of what?  I'm just training."

"Exactly," Fiora walked in front of Nat, staring her directly in the eye, "I've talked to your sparring buddies and the keepers here.  You've only been training since you recovered.  You haven't had fun, haven't gone into the dungeon, haven't eaten properly, and you haven't cleaned yourself properly in days."

Nat turned her head and sniffed under her arm, "Smells alright to me."

"Your nose died," Fiora said flatly, "Why do you think no one comes near your practice spots?"  It was oddly deserted around the two girls.

"Screw them; I don't need anyone here anyway.  Move please." She gently used her sword to push Fiora out of the way as she began to swing again.

Fiora crossed her arms and tapped her fingers in thought.

"You know, Gran went to bring Jonas back."

Nat paused for a brief moment before continuing, "So?"  She asked.

"He's supposed to be here in a few days.  You want to look like you do when you see him?"

"I don't care about him; he was weak before, and I doubt he's become anything more since he left us."  The way she said it though, it almost sounded like she meant to say 'me' instead of 'us'.

Fiora grimaced to herself, 'Alright, so that approach won't work . . .'

A little gleam appeared in her eyes, "You know, no matter how much training you do, you'll only get weaker if you don't eat properly."

This time, Nat sighed and stopped swinging.  She turned to look at Fiora, leaning on the handle of her sword, "I don't have that much money left for food since I don't have an income anymore."

Fiora nodded her head, her arms still folded, "Well, the passes Gran got us not only get us into the quarter, but they also provide a free meal at any tavern or restaurant in the area.  Not only that, it'll give you a discount for the weapon stores."

Nat's face twitched violently in conflict, and then her stomach growled loudly.  The two ladies stared at each other before Nat coughed awkwardly.

"Well, I guess I could give it a look."

"Good," Fiora placed both hands on Nat's shoulders, "That being said, they'll only serve someone presentable."

Nat's face paled, but her weakened form was no match for Fiora's grip.  She was helpless as Fiora dragged her out of the guild's training ground and to the baths.

*********

Gran waited patiently outside the Mage's Guild in Duran.  He had made an appointment earlier that day, and he had nothing else to do in the meantime.

The door opened and a young boy in a mage robe walked out, "Adventurer Gran, the mage you requested will see you now."

Gran nodded and followed the young boy inside.  The apprentice led him to a doorway and opened it.

Inside, the room was round and the floor was wooden.  Targets were placed on the far wall and a dummy stood in the middle of the room.  The boy bowed and closed the doors behind him as he left.  A man was sitting in the middle of the room in meditation.  Gran almost didn't recognize his friend, who was now shirtless and muscular with a few burns on his back.

Jonas turned his head and smiled at Gran, "It is good to see you again Gran; it has been awhile."

Gran nodded, "I'm glad to see you too, my friend."

When Jonas got up and turned around, Gran saw the old scars from the dungeon, along with more recent burns across his solid chest.

"You've changed," Gran observed.

Jonas chuckled, "Yes, I imagine this is a small surprise to you.  When I struggled during my recovery, I came to the conclusion that my weak body was the reason why I was a burden."

"You have never been a burden." Gran stared at his friend with resolute eyes.

Jonas smiled gently and walked over, exchanging a hand-shake.  "I appreciate that comrade; but it is not false to say the princess died protecting me."

Seeing Gran's silence, Jonas chuckled, "Don't worry, I don't blame anyone anymore, especially myself.  My master helped me to cope with the shock; he taught me the only way to stop similar things was to learn from my mistakes and get stronger."

Gran gestured toward the targets and dummy, "I can see that.  But, what is with those burns?"

Jonas winked, and pulled a stone out of his pocket.  He threw it at the dummy, which shot out a fire-ball and blocked the stone.  The fire ball disappeared a meter from the dummy.

Gran frowned, "You've been practicing close range spell casting?"

"No," Jonas said simply, "I've been practicing battle magic."

Gran whirled around to stare at his friend in shock, "Battle magic?  Jonas, how could you be so reckless?  Battle mages . . ."

Jonas nodded, "A normal mage casts magic by channeling magic into spell.  A battle mage casts magic by channeling magic into their own bodies.  I was always merely 'adequate' at casting spells, but until recently that was good enough for me." He held up his hands in a shrug, "As it turns out, I have a rather high aptitude for battle magic."

"Allow me to demonstrate."

Jonas motioned to Gran to move, then approached the dummy in the middle of the room. Taking a calming breath, he raised his arms and positioned his hands in front of his body, his fingers creating a triangle.

"Ignite!," he cried out suddenly.

Flame burst forth from the triangle, covering Jonas's body in a flaming armor.  He reached down into the fire, and pulled two swords of flame from the armor.

"COME ON," Jonas yelled at the dummy, and ran at it.

The dummy began to shoot balls of elemental energy: water, fire, earth, and air.  Jonas's sword slashed through the earth, absorbed the fire, blocked the air, and avoided the water.  His body blurred as he dodged the onslaught, his foot work augmented by the power of flame.  Reaching the dummy, he performed an X-slash and cut it into two pieces, ending the attack.

Coughing, Jonas extinguished the flames and waved his hand to disperse the smoke rising from his body.  He grinned at Gran, "So, what do you think?"

"You are much stronger," Gran admitted, "but is that worth a shorter life?  Channeling magic into your body will ensure you don't live past 50."

Jonas shook his head and placed his arm on Gran's shoulder, "For us humans, it's important to do as much as we can with the time that we have.  With this power, I can make sure I shine as bright as possible in this brief time.  I'm sorry if this saddens you."

Gran shook his head and gave Jonas a rueful grin, "It's not like anything I say would make you change your mind."

"No I don't think so." Jonas gave a small laugh.

The laugh turned into a chuckle, and then both began to laugh as loud as they could.  It was a happy sound, but one could still hear the melancholic note somewhere within.

When they were done, Gran shook his head, "Well, the reason I came was to invite you to the opening of the elvish quarter.  We're done growing the buildings, and we want to welcome everyone."

Jonas pondered for a moment, "I believe I've learned everything I can here, so this is as good a time as any to return to the dungeon town."  Jonas clapped Gran on the back as he walked to the door, "Come on then, let's return to adventure!"

Jare laughed joyfully as the three brothers slowly moved up the line.  “Little brothers, you should look forward to this event!  I’ve only been to one elvish tree growing ceremony before, and it was the one time I ever saw those emotion-less stumps party like true warriors.”

“They likely acted like that because you have too much emotion,” Anhel pointed out.

William nodded, “True.”

Jare sighed and shrugged, “Why do you make it sound like such a bad thing?  When you are happy, be happy!  When you are sad, be sad!  When you are scared, remember everyone who has your back and won’t let you fall!”  He roared out these words, and everyone who heard him raised their voices in a cheer.

Anhel smacked his face, “We’re not even inside yet, and it feels like a party.” He removed his hand, but his mouth was still trying to twitch into a smile.

Jare wrapped his brothers in a hug as they made it to the front of the line.  The elf waiting there looked them over briefly.

“Do you have a pass or permission?,” he asked, his voice like a soft wind.

Jare nodded and handed over three passes.  The passes were thin wooden sheets inscribed in magic runes of the elf language.

The elf looked over the passes and handed them back with a soft smile, “Honored guests, we hope you enjoy your time here in the elvish enclosure.”  He bowed his head, and the three beast-men bowed back.

“See, that was easy,” Jare chuckled as they walked past the gate into the quarter.

“Where did you get those passes anyway?,” Anhel pressed.

“Just an old gift from a long-time friend,” Jare said mysteriously, “He’s visiting in town and dropped theses passes off for us.  Not that we couldn’t get in without them; the guild master had obtained permission for us.  These passes just add some perks like free first meals.”

The elven quarter was an amazing place as they beheld its sights, sounds, and smells.  To the beast-men, the exotic smells of the forest was a relaxant that made their bodies feel like they are having a peaceful through the woods.  In the middle of the small town, a huge tree stretched up and covered most of the land in its shade.  Its branches glittered with small lights, and the trunk glowed from the torches in its windows.

“That, mother tree?,” William asked.

Anhel nodded, his eyes sparkling, “That is the mother tree, the special tree where all elves in the town will live.  It will live for thousands of years and grows its own rooms when needed.  Any plant living near it will be boosted in vitality with increased growing speed, any flowers will smell more fragrant, and any fruit will smell better and be even more delicious.”

All three of them took in a deep breath, appreciating everything Anhel just said.  A delicious scent drifted in alongside the smell of nature, rousing their hunger.  They followed their noses to the first food stand, which was outside a tree grown in the shape of a large restaurant.

“Greetings,” the female elf behind the counter said to them, “We are serving samples of what our restaurant can provide.  We will be open once the festival of life ends.”

Jare handed over their passes, and the lady returned them alongside three fruit shish-ka-babes and three small bones of meat.

“I thought elves only ate plants?,” Anhel pipped up as they finished off their meals.

“Most are like that, but some elves devote themselves to appreciating all forms of nature, which includes making delicious meals out of everything,” Jare explained as he took a bite, “There are even a few that go so far as to become animals themselves, or so they say.”

The three brothers found a bench and sat down as they consumed their fruit happily.  To bear-beastmen, fruit was the best delicacy to be found.

“Come on Nat, I smell some good meat over here.” Fiora was dragging Nat along the path as they made their way down the roads lined with small shrubberies.  Nat accidently kicked one of them as she was dragged.

“Oy, you shall not be kicking our shrubberies!,”  a small person spoke up as he appeared out of the shrubbery.

“I’m sorry,” Nat apologized.

“Then I forgive you, in the name of Ni!”  The strange little man disappeared back into the shrubbery.

Nat gave Fiora a confused look.

“Garden gnomes,” Fiora rolled her eyes, “Always obsessing over their plants.  Come on then, we need to try more food.”

“Um, Fiora,” Nat spoke up with a slight blush, “are you sure we are in the right kind of clothes?  I haven’t worn these in a long time.  Nat was currently wearing a long, dark yellow dress with black patterns and her hair was smoothed down her back.

“I know, it has been awhile for me too, but this is a special occasion.” Fiora herself was in a shorter red dress designed for female adventurers.  It was dark red with emerald vines growing up from the bottom.  Naturally, this kind of dress would never be worn in a civilized city as it showed more leg than proper, and was outfitted with many hiding places for weapons.  “Just be happy I let you wear the attachments to your dress, otherwise you would look like me.”

Nat blushed more deeply this time, at which Fiora gave off a chuckle.  “Oh look, they have elvish wine!”

The two walked over to a handsome looking elf serving wine out of a wooden bottle.  He grinned at the two ladies, “Care to try some oak-aged wine from the elvish gardens?  It’s been seasoned for 100 years, and the first glass is free.”

“Sounds great!,”  But, as Fiora reached for a glass, a hand moved past her and snatched the glass out of her grasp.  Fiora turned with a raised eyebrow to find Gran standing next to her with a frown.

“Fiora, you cannot have any alcohol,” he reprimanded.

Fiora nodded sheepishly and toed the ground, “You’re right Gran, I forgot myself there.”

Gran snorted, “Actually, elvish wine gives off a smell that makes one forget himself naturally.  Also, it is known to have quite the interesting aphrodisiacal effect on other races.”  He said this last line to the male elf, who had the decency to blush and nod.

Gran returned the glass to the elf, “I won’t stop you, but these two are my friends, and I would prefer they didn’t lose their mind in pleasure tonight.”

The elf bowed deeply, “As you say ambassador, forgive my impertinence.”

“Ambassador?,” Nat asked Gran as he led the two away.

“A mere formality due to my efforts in making a home for us here,” Gran explained with a smile, “Now, I have brought someone here who you both should meet.”

He led them past a few more stalls to a bench, where a man was snoring away under a mage hat.  Gran walked over and shook him for a moment.

“Up now Jonas, our friends are here.”

Nat froze up as Jonas raised his hat and unveiled his face.  He yawned and stretched his arms out, “Geez Gran, the least you could let me do is sleep after that ride.  That . . .”

Jonas and Nat stared at each other for a long moment.

“Hey,” Jonas said as he waved his hand stiffly.

Nat frowned and crossed her arms, “Why are you here?”

“Gran invited me here.” Jonas looked awkward as he explained.

Nat’s frown grew, “Oh, is that all?  Well, it was nice to see you again.”  She turned and began walking away.

“Nat, wait!,” Fiora cried out as she chased her friend around a corner.

Gran rubbed his forehead, “You humans are really sad sometimes.  Is that the best greeting you could give her?”

Jonas sighed and slumped backwards, “I froze up Gran; what was I supposed to do there?  My mind just went blank … seeing her in that dress, as if she was carved from gold.”

“Then tell her that you stupid human,” Gran dead-paned, “Why must you say such simple things, and without any emotion?  No wonder she ran off.”

“Should I chase her?” Jonas asked.

Gran slapped the back of his head, “Don’t ask me you idiot; elves take years to properly court a mate.  We have the time, you don’t.”

Jonas nodded with a resolute face and got up quickly.  He ran over to the corner, only to run into a large furry mass.

“Oh sorry about that,” a loud voice boomed from above him.  Jonas backed up and looked.  A large beast-man stood in his way, grinning.

“You seem to be in a hurry, so she went down a block and turned left,” the beast-man explained.

“Thank you,” Jonas said sincerely as he ran in the directed direction.

Gran watched the beast-man join with two others, and kept an eye on them as they left.

“So those are the bear trio,” he murmured to himself, “they seem quite capable.”  The large one, already moving away, waved a hand in his direction, almost as if he had heard him.

Before Gran could ponder about that, a red-faced Nat ran up to him.

“Use your elf magic to hide me,” she demanded.

Gran raised an eyebrow, but put his finger on Nat’s forehead and chanted.  She shimmered and changed into an elvish female, who sat down next to him.

Fiora hurried over and looked around, “Gran did you see where Nat went?”

Gran pointed over his shoulder, and Fiora disappeared in a flurry of red.

“Thank you,” Nat said to Gran when Fiora was out of earshot.

“No problem, and it’s good to see you again Natalie.” Gran patted her on the shoulder.  He released the spell from Natalie’s body.

Nat smiled softly, “It has been awhile hasn’t it; it’s good to see you.”

Gran leaned forward onto his knees as he tilted his head toward her, “So, why the running?”

Nat shook her head, “Jonas is a fool.  He looks and acts the same as he did before he left.  He’s an incompetent fool who only knows how to act from the backlines and never from the front.  I expected him to at least be a little more assertive, but it looks like he failed his training.  I can’t even sense his magic anymore, which must mean he got worse.  How stupid; instead of losing his powers he should have stayed here.  He should have stayed with us . . . . .”

“He should have stayed with me,” she whispered this last sentence, her eyes red from her ranting.  She sniffed and rubbed them with the back of her hands.

Gran sighed and put his arm around her, “Nat, he left to get stronger like you.  I heard from Fiora, you haven’t been treating yourself right.  Forget Jonas, I can see you are a lot weaker now than when you last entered the dungeon.”

She sniffed again, “I know; but training was the only thing I could do.  No one was there for me, and I needed something, ANYTHING to do.  I just had to . . .had (sniff) to . . .get . . .stronger.”  She began to bawl now, and Gran embraced her in a hug.

“It’s okay Nat, you did what you could,” Gran whispered to her, “no one blames you for anything, nothing was your fault.”

“But . . .”

“No,” Gran said simply, “I already dealt with this when I confronted Fiora you know?  At least you aren’t trying to kill me with a spear for spilling your booze.”

In spite of her tears, Nat couldn’t help but giggle at the thought, “Fiora hates spears.”

“I know; that’s why I had to stop her then.  That’s why I had to bring Jonas back, and that’s why I’m helping you now.  I was gone myself, and as the oldest it should have fallen to me to help you all recover.  I failed as a teammate, and I let all three of you fall into sadness.”

Nat looked up in surprise to see Gran’s face twitching.  For elves, showing sadness was a very rare thing, even rarer than expressing joy or annoyance.  Yet, at this moment, Gran had a tear appearing in his eye.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry I left you three in pain for so long,” he managed to get out in short gasps, “I was able to save Fiora, I was able to stop you along with her, but I was too late for Jonas.”

Nat’s eyes widened as she grasped Gran’s shoulders, “What do you mean Gran?  Gran, what did he do?”

Gran shook his head and removed Nat’s arms, “I’m sorry, it’s not my place to say.  I’ll let him tell you that.”

Nat turned around to meet the gaze of Jonas, who was slightly out of breath as he watched the two of them.  She got up slowly and walked over to him.

“I missed you,” he said simply.

She nodded as she searched his face, “I missed you too, more than I thought I would.”

They stared at each other for a moment longer.

“You left me,” she said accusingly.

He nodded, “I felt so weak and worthless, I just wanted to get stronger, no matter the cost.”

“I know that feeling,” she whispered, taking his hand and looking at it, “did you?”

“Yes.” he nodded.

She looked back up into his eyes, “Was it worth it?”

He shook his head, “I should have stayed with you.”

She nodded, and pulled him into a hug, “Yes, you should have you stupid fool.  Promise me, you won’t leave me again.”

Jonas, his face hidden from Nat’s gaze, smiled sadly as he glanced over at Gran, who also smiled sadly.  This was a promise he couldn’t keep.

“I promise.” he whispered to her, the lie buried inside him.

“Welcome home Jonas,” Nat embraced him harder and began to cry softly over his shoulder.

“Hey Gran, she . . .” Fiora shut her mouth as she watched the scene in front of her, “Oh, well I guess it worked out then.”

She plopped down next to Gran and began chewing on a skewer in her hand, “Those idiots seem to have finally gotten their affairs in order huh.  Here, want one?”  She handed over a second skewer, which Gran took gracefully.

“All’s well that ends well,” Gran whispered as his team was finally back together.  All elves were intuned to the natural world, but few could commune with those who had passed.  Now, his job done, it was time to say good-bye to his last friend.

He turned to look at the invisible specter next to him.

Nic grinned at him and held a thumbs up as he disappeared in a small shower of lights, heading into the sky.

“Rest well my friend, I will take care of them from here on out,” Gran whispered.  Nic, who had appeared in his dreams, prompting him to return to help the others.  Nic, who calmed the anger in Fiora’s mind.  Nic, who kept Natalie’s spirits up even when she was alone.  Nic, who helped Jonas find his inner peace.

“Thank you.”

Chapter 15

As the sun set and the night fell, the elfin quarter glowed with light as the party began.  The houses grown from trees all sprouted flowers on the roofs which spewed glowing light balls that floated up slowly into the night sky and became trapped in the foliage of the mother tree.  Under the torchlight, musicians played their instruments, and the booze flowed from street to street.

"You guys, you know, no one knows how to dance," Jare slurred as he stumbled in a crowd, "Here, let me show ya'll."  He got up onto a table and raised his voice, "THIS IS A TRADISIONAL, UH, DANCE OF BEAT-MAN."

In one fluid, elegant, and graceful motion, he stripped himself by ripping his clothes off.  With a strange animal cry, he began shaking his hips and body back and forth, moving his arms up and down at the moon.

"Ha ha ha, Big bro is so dummy head," Anhel slurred from the ground, "This is the best Juice evers . . ."

"Anhel, you shouldn't drink so much; you aren't used to it," William sighed and propped his brother up onto his butt.

Anhel looked over lazily at William, "You shut up, you stupid head.  You aren't talking funny, you liar."

William scratched his head awkwardly, "My apologies younger brother, but my speech impediment fades under the consumption of vast quantities of alcohol.  It will not last."

"Whatevaaa . . ." Anhel's eyes rolled up into the back of his head as he collapsed backwards.

William sighed again and picked up Anhel over his shoulder, "Alright, let me pick up Jare, and you two can learn the real meaning of pain tomorrow."

Across the street, Jonas and Nat held hands as they walked slowly through the lights.  They didn't look at each other, but soft, warm smiles adorned their faces as they made their way through the crowds.  Gran and Fiora followed behind them.

"At least we got them together finally." Fiora observed as she walked with her hands behind her head.

"Well, they should enjoy themselves for as long as possible.  Let's just appreciate the peace while it lasts." Gran let a small smile grow on his face.

"This does kind’a frustrate me you know; I want to find a good life partner too" Fiora complained with her eyes closed.

Gran chuckled, "You'd have to find a man as fearless as you, not an easy task you know."

"Oh shut it you, you're just jealous because you haven't found anyone yet." Fiora snapped at him.

"I have fiancé and have been with her for 10 years.  We'll marry in another 10 years." Gran said simply.

Fiora sighed, "Geez, I thought the leader always went first with love.  All my teammates are traitors." She muttered to herself.

They walked a little farther before they heard a loud voice.

"Come one come all!  Polaris the magnificent has brought wares and wonders from all corners of the country!  Buy, sell, look, and enjoy everything I have to offer!"

"Oh, is that oaf here too?," Fiora said, "Well this is a surprise."

She walked over to a sizable tent, where the large merchant was shouting out advertisements.

"Oy Polaris, why didn't you tell me you were in town?" Fiora grinned as she placed her hands on her hips.

Polaris turned and looked down at the fiery haired women.  He grinned, "Oh, if it isn't the little firecracker.  How are the bombs I sold you?"

Fiora shook her head, "I used those things up a long time ago.  They worked out well; got anymore?"

"Of course my dear!  Come in, and I'll give you a discount."

Across the square, an old man walked slowly, using his walking stick as a third leg.

"Oh, my poor back."

A stall owner felt pity, and handed the old man a skewer of meat, "Here sir, take this meal, and feel better."

"Oh thank you young hero, thank you so much for your help!" The old man bowed and scrapped as he walked away.  Once he was around the corner, he grinned and changed his plain staff into one with a knotted piece of wood on the top which surrounded a green gem.  His plain robe was replaced by one of finery, and his unkempt hair was replaced by long straight hair and full beard.

"Ho ho ho, this is a good place." He chuckled as he stroked his beard, "The young people are so kind these days."

"Guards!  That's the man who stole my bottle of ancient elf wine!"  A voice startled the magus as he turned around to see a shopkeeper pointing him out to a couple of elf guards.

"Uh oh, time to vamoose."  Falcon paled as he made his getaway.

"GET BACK HERE YOU CRIMINAL!" The guards yelled as they chased him.

"THE ELDERLY ARE INNOCENT!  I DID NOTHING!"

As the night grew darker, the full moon rose over the town, creating a perfect background to the mother tree.  Everyone gathered around the mother tree for the festival final ceremony.

Adventurers, miners, merchants, elves, humans, beast-men, young, old, man, woman all joined together under the mother tree.

As a bell rang, the crowd grew silent.  From within the tree, a small group appeared.  Three elves dressed in flowing gowns of leaves surrounded a female elf who was dressed in silk with a veil over her face.  The dress flowed over her body, accenting her curves and giving her a mysterious air.

The small group walked up a pedestal to a round stage that resembled the inside of a tree.  When they stopped at the center, the three male elves moved to the edges and knelt  down.

“Greetings of the forest to all of you.” A soft, gentle voice flowed over the crowd.  She said it softly, but everyone from the front to the back heard her clearly.

“We gather here tonight to commemorate this new mother tree, and to celebrate the peace we have here,” she lifted her hands to the sky, “From human, to elf, and every other race here, we are gathered in a night of celebration and peace.  This town, this realm of possibilities, is the ideal world everyone strives for.  It is where those who work hard earn rewards, where those who risk find gain or loss.  It is amazing, so amazing, that this achievement only took a new place of opportunity to gather us all together.”

“Above all,” she continued, “we offer our thanks to the dungeon for all of us being here.  I know it seems strange to honor a monster, but through its action we have prospered.  To peace and to the dungeon.”

“TO PEACE AND THE DUNGEON!” The crowd roared out in agreement.

Unbeknownst to anyone, a pair of little legs dangled back and forth from the top of the mother tree.

“I think this is the first time a dungeon has ever been this appreciated.” Claire giggled happily, “You should feel honored Doc; now you’re an icon.”

“I have no idea how to feel about this.” Doc told her in her head.  He was sharing her senses as she hung out in the tree, “And I’m really concerned you’re so close to so many people.”

“Oh quiet you spoilsport.” She chastised him, “This is a night of fun, so let me let loose.  I’m going to steal some of that elf wine and bring it back.”

“Fine, but be careful.”

Back at the crowd, the lady raised her hand to quiet the crowd.  “Now, in order to finalize this ceremony, I will call upon the power of nature to bless the mother tree.  Watch, and wonder at her power.”

The lady turned and held her hand out flat in front of her.  From the stump, a staff rose up as if the wood was made of water.  This staff was carved with exquisite detail, outlining vines and leaves.  She grasped the staff and pointed it at the tree.  A beautiful golden light flowed up from the stump, through the staff, and up into the tree.  It spread around the tree, casting the entire area in its golden light.  The crowd ‘ooh’d’ and ‘ahh’d’ at the sight

When the entire tree was covered in light, it sparkled for just a moment before the light collected in the branches and leaves.  The golden light began to fall in sparkles down to the town below it.

“This light will restore your mind and heal your spirit.  Feel free to bottle the light for future use.” The lady announced to the crowd, “It will continue to fall until first light, so do not fight over it.”

The crowd cheered again, and the four on the stage bowed, and sank slowly into the stump.

The crowd dispersed to collect the falling light.  Claire flew above the quarter, a small jar of light in one hand and a large bottle of wine in the other.  Oddly enough, she could carry the bottle that was bigger than her entire body with a single hand.

“Doc, I got something interesting for you.” She said in a sing-song voice.

“That’s great!  I can’t wait . . .”  Doc stopped talking abruptly, prompting Claire to hover for a moment.

“What’s up Doc?”

“Something is coming . . .something bad.  Hurry back!” Doc warned her.  Claire zoomed away back to the forest entrance.

Meanwhile, the crowd was enjoying themselves in the after party.  Suddenly, the crowd began to shake violently.

“Earthquake!” Someone cried out, and the happy cries turned to scared ones.  People fell to the ground and grabbed whatever was still as the tremors shook the area.  To the shock of everyone, the ground on the plain’s side of the town began to move apart as something rose up.

In no time, a large mound was next to the town.  To make matters worse, this new mound had an entrance and 5 large spires on top of it.  It resembled an evil crown.

Jare, sober at this point, slammed his hammer into the ground.  “CALL THE CHURCH!” He roared out, “THAT’S THE TOMB OF THE FORGOTTEN KING!”

“THE UNDEAD PHANTUM DUNGEON HAS COME!”

Chapter 16

"ATTENTION!  EVERYONE BELOW C-RANK GET TO THE WALLS AND PREPARE FOR AN INVASION!  ALL C-RANKS AND ABOVE, FOLLOW ME TO BATTLE!" Jare roared so loudly that his voice echoed through the entire quarter.

"Fiora and her party are ready to fight." Fiora announced as she, Gran, Nat, and Jonas hurried over. Jare gave them a glance and nodded.

"Good to see you have recovered; let us exchange greetings later."

Fiora nodded.  More C-ranked adventurers joined them until they were a group of 20.

"Alright, that seems to be the limit of what we are getting.  Follow me, and let's speak as we run." Jare turned and ran for the gate that connected to iron town.

"For those of you who don't know, I am Jare of the beast-man group 'Brother'.  This is my brother William and my brother Anhel."  The two mentioned waved as they turned down a street.  "This is a special emergency mission, so if you survive be sure to report in to the adventurer guild for rewards."

"Sir Jare, what is going on here?  What is that thing?" Nat spoke up from behind him.

"It's just ‘Jare’, no need for sir." He corrected her, "That THING there is one of the legendary phantom dungeons that has caused untold death and destruction for a century or two.  It's called 'The Tomb of the Forgotten King'."

"I've heard about that!" One of the new adventurers called out, "Isn't it one of the few undead dungeons that the church has never been able to destroy?"

Jare nodded, "It's a dungeon that teleports during the full moon.  Afterwards, it can hide its aura so no one can find it.  It is also a corrupted dungeon."

Gasps were heard from the majority of the group as they passed through the gate.

"The reason why I mobilized everyone is that this dungeon's worst trait is its consumption of entire villages and small cities.  It purposely moves itself to consume all living things at the locations where it appears, but it especially goes after people.  It's rather surprising it appeared here, where the defenses are much stronger.  It doesn't bode well for us though if it is confident enough to attack."

"How does it devour villages?  Is it a monster that eats people?" One of the adventurers was hyper-ventilating now.

Jare snorted, "No, it's a dungeon through and through.  Problem is, as a corrupted dungeon, its influence stretches quite a bit from it, which allows it to . . ."

They were alerted to screams as they all halted.  From the ground, skeletons began to arise, their naked bones glowing with a dark, red light.  A small fire burned in their eyes as they brandished sword, axes, and spears."

Jare cursed, "By the nine hells, it has started already.  THE INVADING DUNGEON IS SPAWNING SKELETONS WITHIN THE WALLS!  WE MUST HOLD OUT UNTIL THE CHURCH CAN BLESS THE LAND AND STOP IT OR UNTIL THE SUN COMES OUT.  WE MAKE OUR STAND HERE, FOR THE TOWN!"

"FOR THE TOWN!" The high ranked adventurers scattered and threw themselves into battle.

Magic flew everywhere and swords clanged as the sound of battle spread through the iron quarter.  Those who slept here ran for the gates, as the undead were only appearing here for the moment.  Screams rose up from the unfortunate who were cornered and slain by the skeletons.  To make matters worse, those townsfolk who were slain soon rose back up as undead.

"Damnation," Jare cursed as he saw a body rise, "These skeleton foot soldiers are bad enough, but those animated corpses are going to make this even worse."  Jare turned to Anhel, who was firing away with his magic.  "Anhel, I need the spirit of the owl to connect me."

"Jare, that will debilitate you for the rest of the day.  We need you here." Anhel was fully concentrating on the battle at hand as his fireball smashed through another skeleton."

"It's fine; as long as they know what to do, we can easily survive this first night.  Hurry!"

Anhel shook his head, but opened his tome and chanted a spell.  The spirit of a mighty owl appeared and flew behind Jare, resting on his back.  Jare closed his eyes and kneeled down.

"Attention, this is Jare the beast-man to everyone who can hear me." Jare's voice rang out in the minds of everyone in the iron quarter; from fleeing townsfolk, to newly arriving adventurers, and the adventurers currently fighting.

"The dungeon can only spawn skeleton foot-soldiers for the moment.  They are weak to fire and blunt weapons.  If you can fight, join the battle across the quarter.  If you cannot, flee, otherwise your body will come back as an animated corpse.  As long as we kill the monsters quickly, everything will be fine."

"However," Jare continued, "Do not allow them to remain longer than an hour, or they will evolve.  The battle will be won when the church blesses the land or if the sun rises.  That is in a few short hours, so fight with everything you've got!"

His message complete, Jare collapsed onto the ground, every muscle in his body screaming in pain.  "Shit, I forgot how bad this was." He chuckled painfully as he fell onto his back and panted.

"We'll protect you big brother, so take your rest now." Anhel spoke up.  William nodded in agreement, "Rest now, fight later."

"Okay, night then." Jare's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fell unconscious.

Across the way, Fiora smashed her sword through two skeleton heads.  "Oy, did you guys hear that?"

"I did." Jonas spoke up, sending a fireball smashing through a group.  He winced as it struck a building and set it ablaze, "Whoops."

"As did I, Jonas you need to watch your spell strength." Nat spoke up next to him.  Her daggers weren't doing much work, so she pulled her broadsword out and used it to smash her enemies.

"Likely the beast-man payed a price for such large scale magic, but he did well in telling us the monster’s weaknesses and calming down the general populace," Gran observed, his arrows flying out and hitting the eye holes.  His shots were accurate and precise, but ultimately ineffective against the skeletons.  He sighed, "Using a sword is not as graceful, but I guess I will have to.”

Fiora rolled her eyes, "Why complain when your silver sword is blessed by light and earth magic?  It's the perfect thing right now."

Gran didn't bother answering her, but his sword flashed out and skeleton after skeleton disintegrated.

“Jealous,” said Fiora.

“Too strong,” said Nat.

“Stop showing off,” said Jonas.

Gran nearly tripped in surprise at his friend’s words, “Shouldn’t you guys be complimenting me or something like other humans?”

“No,” said Fiora.

“Don’t feel like it,” said Nat.

“Stop feeling, and start killing,” said Jonas.

Gran, even with his superb control over his own emotions, really felt like crying now.  “Fine, let’s just beat these things until they regret ever intruding here,” he muttered to himself as he brandished his sword yet again.

In tent city, a bartender burst into his tavern, slamming the door behind him.  His daughter Missy came up from behind the counter, concerned.

“Daddy, ‘hats wrong?,” she asked.

Her father ran to her and pulled her into a hug.  “Sweetie, we need to hide now, okay?  It’s not safe now.”

The two jumped as the door shattered and a zombie walked inside.  It moaned at them as it raised its sword and moved toward them.

“Missy, run! Get to the basement and lock the door!” The bartender roared as he drew his knife and charged the zombie.

“DADDY!,” Missy shrieked in panic.  She watched her father wrestling with the zombie, then whirled around at the clattering noise behind her.  Two skeletons were knocking against the window.

“No . . . “She whispered to herself.  As the skeletons fell into the room, the world seemed to stop around her.  Missy stared in wonder as a red-haired figure appeared before her.  Through her tears, Missy couldn’t clearly see what the lady looked like.

“Fight for what you desire.” The lady whispered, passing a set of throwing knives to Missy.  She blinked, and the lady was gone as the world resumed motion.

The daggers glowed red, with a stream of red slithering up into Missy’s eyes.  Her eyes holding a red hue, Missy’s fear faded away as she took a stance.

Missy’s father struggled as the zombie pressed its attack.  “Is this the end?  I don’t have my strength anymore . . . please be safe Missy.”  The zombie knocked away his knife, and he closed his eyes.

He opened his eyes as the whistle of the wind brushed his ears.  The zombie staggered and fell, a knife in its head.  The bartender turned in shock to look at his daughter.  Missy stared back in surprise, her arm still extended, and two dead skeletons behind her.  Her face relaxed into a smile.

“I won’t let anything happening to you daddy,” her voice clear for the first time in her life.

Thankfully, with Jare’s instructions the majority of monsters were easily beaten back, and the quarter was soon cleared.  However, the skeletons had continued to arise unhindered outside the wall in front of the dungeon.  All the adventurers were gathered in front of the gate to iron town as they gazed out nervously at the horde of skeletons.

Jare, propped up against the wall, shook his head, “Damn, the sun won’t be out for another hour, and those bastards are already evolving.”

Fiora, who was leaning against the wall as well, cocked her head to look down at Jare, “Do you happen to know the undead evolutions.”

He shook his head, “No, I just know the basics.”

“Then you should have listened to me more when I lectured you.” A chortling voice made everyone turn their head in surprise.

An old man in plain, black robes was chuckling as he stroked his beard, “My, my, I came here to learn about slime evolution, but it looks like I’ll also have the opportunity to study the undead as well.  Life goes so well when one has accumulated so much good karma.”

“You and good karma are like oil and water.” Jare muttered, “Where have you been you old coot?”

“Oh, just here and here, saving the rather balmy fellow trying to flee with full money purses,” the old man said evenly.

“Who’s the old guy?”

Jare sighed, “May I introduce one of the leaders of the Adventurer Guild, Magus Falcon the Evolutionist.  He’s also a teacher of mine.

Falcon chuckled, “Don’t brag boy, you’ll make me look bad for having a student like you.  Seriously, you could have used a number of ways to communicate rather than sacrificing your own body.  Now, I have to reveal myself and save you.  I was looking forward to having more fun too.”

Jare rolled his eyes, “Whatever you say old man; you were going to join in anyway.”

Falcon grinned and coughed loudly, “Now, everyone, if I can get your attention here please.” he waited a moment, “Now, you lot have been fighting basic skeletons and skeleton foot soldiers.  Please know that the horde before you has many other types now that it has had time to evolve itself.”

“First, skeleton cultists.  They are on the same level as a foot soldier and can cast small spells of various types.  Second, I spy a few slingers in the mix over there.  They use slings to throw stones, so try to block them if you can.”

“Those are the basic enemies, but enough time has passed that the 2nd tier monsters have begun to appear.  Swordsmen are stronger sword users, shield wielders will block your attacks on the weaker skeletons, and warriors will charge you with their axes and daggers.”

“On the other side, the cultist can evolve into a specific element type of mage or an acolyte which can curse us and heal skeletons.”

“Everyone got that?” After watching heads nod, Falcon grinned.

“Good, because I think they are tired of waiting.”

*********

Claire made it back to the forest tunnel before the fighting began.  When she was inside, Doc closed the entrance and hid it back into the ground.  Claire flew down to the heart room and dropped off her goodies.

"Doc, what's going on up there?" Claire asked in a panic.

"Here, see for yourself."  Doc's crystal turned reflective and Claire was greeted with the images of the fighting and the dungeon."

She gasped and put her hands up to her mouth, "Oh no, that's a dungeon!"

Doc nodded, "I thought so.  It appeared out of nowhere and rose up from the ground.  It's weird though; I can feel my influence increasing beyond my dungeon.  What you are seeing here is what I can see from actually being there."

"That makes it positive that it's an invading dungeon." Claire nodded in confirmation, "I told you weeks ago, that when two dungeons meet, their areas of influence overlap.  In these places, both dungeons can create their monsters to fight each other."

Doc narrowed his gaze at the fighting, "Claire, that's not your mother’s dungeon right?  You said she was an undead dungeon pixie partner . . ."

"Oh no," Claire waved her hand dismissively, "My mother's dungeon doesn’t have the phantom teleportation ability, and it’s a lot stronger than that.  No, this is a new dungeon for me, but if you can listen in and figure out the name I might be able to remember some things."

"I think the furry one called it 'The Tomb of the Forgotten King'." Doc remarked after a moment's inflection.

"Hmm," Claire hummed as she folded her arms and thought.  She drifted around as she watched the adventurers beat back the skeletons within the town.

"Oh yeah!," She plopped her fist into her open palm, "That is a popular dungeon in pixie society.  It has quite a few accomplishments and has lived for many years.  It's quite infamous."

"How so?," Doc asked.

"Because that dungeon is one of the few dungeons that killed their pixie partner," Claire replied evenly, but Doc could sense a dark feeling coming from her, "The dungeon severed the connection and while the pixie reeled, it devoured its pixie."

"But why would it do that?"  Doc asked confused, "You pixies are the only allies we dungeons have, right?"

Claire frowned deeply, "That has never been asked because this dungeon is hostile to everyone.  However, it actively hunts humans in large enough groups."

"You mean it wants to wipe out my town," Doc's tone was incredibly hostile now.

Claire smiled privately to herself as she picked up on Doc's use of 'my', "That's right; all the adventurers will leave, the animals will flee, and this place will be a small wasteland for many years even if the dungeon ignores us."

"I don't like that."  Doc's voice was so quiet now that Claire had to strain to listen.

She grinned evilly, "Then let's show our new guest exactly what we think about trespassers."

Jare groaned as he tried to push himself up onto his feet.  Falcon rolled his eyes and smashed his cane onto Jare’s head, knocking him back down.

"Boy, it's worthless for you to move now.  I'm reluctantly impressed you even managed to wake up after that show of magic."

Jare chuckled, then coughed hard, "Well, I can't be everywhere at once you know?"

"Don't give me an excuse, that’s quite an easy spell you realize."

"You're a magus you old jerk.  You've mastered at least three schools of magic right?"

"4 now, I finished studying enchantments a few weeks ago." Falcon said evenly.

Jare rolled his eyes, "Combined with the elemental magic of mages, witch craft, and wizardry, you have the nerve to tell me splitting into multiple forms is easy?"

"It's just an illusion after, nothing but  . . . oh never mind.  It looks like they are coming."  Falcon raised his staff, and it transformed into a long wand with 4 crystals of elemental energy on the end.  Raising it, he cried out in a loud voice.

"I call upon DARKNESS RESISTANCE!"

A golden light shot out of the staff and struck all the adventurers, covering them in a golden light.

"You lot, I've increased your resistance to darkness for the next hour, but don't think you're in the clear.  If you have a bottle of fairy light from the mother tree, I advise you to prepare to use it," Falcon called out to the crowd.

"Now, prepare yourselves."  He transformed his staff into a smaller wand of white wood and ran forward.  The crowd gawked for a moment at the old man leading the way, running with a limp.

Falcon rolled his eyes, "Oh really? Stare at the old man who can run?  Tarnation you STUPID YOUNG FOLK!,"

He roared as the wand let off a burst of light, and he rose up into the sky.  Bathed in white light, the magus pointed the wand at the approaching horde and launched blast after blast into the monsters.  The beams destroyed monster after monster, but now the horde began running forward, bones rattling and teeth chattering as the ghastly army made its move.

Seeing the army move, the adventurers let out a cry of defiance as they too ran forward.  Mages and healers in the back, the warriors and swift fighters led the charge as the two groups smashed into each other.

Screams shook the night as swords fell and magic blazed.  Jare, managing to get up on his own, chugged a fairy light as he beasted-out and swung his hammer blow after mighty blow.  William's sleek form blurred as he assassinated enemy mages and healers.  Anhel chanted support spirit after support spirit as he boosted his allies while his nose began to bleed.  He wiped it off, his eyes blazing with determined furor.

Fiora and Nat smashed into the front lines, their swords knocking the skeletal swordsman aside and smashing the shields of the shield bearer.

"You know Fiora, I'm really glad you got me out of that training hall." Nat cried out, "This is the best night I've ever had!"

Fiora laughed as her magic sword set blaze to another enemy, "Ha ha, this is the life!  We don't know what tomorrow will bring, so live life to the fullest today!  THAT IS THE ADVENTURER WAY!"  She screamed out the last sentence, raising the spirits of those around her with her magic battle cry.  The men and women roared and fell upon the horde with renewed vigor.

As they destroyed the enemy, a skeleton ranger appeared and launched an arrow at Nat.  Grinning, she blocked it with her broadsword and ran at the ranger.  It backed up slowly, releasing shot after shot at the female adventurer, but everything was blocked.

Roaring in delight, she jumped up and sank her giant blade into the ranger.  As she did so, however, a shield came out of nowhere and bashed her to the ground, making her cough up blood.

"Dammit, it was a trap." She muttered as she got up shakily to her feet.  She was surrounded by three shield wielders and four swordsmen.  They chattered their teeth as they advanced on her.

"Nat, hold on I'm coming!" She heard Fiora cry out, but she was too far away.  Gran was struggling against the swordsmen as he himself had no real skills in swordplay.  Jonas had disappeared during the initial assault, so she was all alone.

She grinned lazily, "Shoot, this is what I get for leaving my group.  Dammit, I am out of practice aren't I,"  she picked up her broad sword and pointed to the skeleton in front of her, "Well, if I'm going down, then you all are coming with me!"

She yelled and swung her broad sword around in a huge arc with one hand, knocking the shield wielders into the air.

"BERSERKER ART, FINAL ASSAULT!" Nat felt her muscles bulk up as her body went into overdrive.  This was a skill she learned after practicing the broadsword, an art typically used by berserkers in battle as a last resort.  Her strength would rise for a few minutes, but she would be defenseless afterwards.

"DIE!"  A second broadsword appeared in her other hand from her adventurer bag, and she swung the swords in an insane flurry of blows, demolishing the group around her.  She ran forward, her sword carving a path of destruction through the horde.  She eyed a group of mage skeletons that was launching magic and made a bee-line for them.

As she ran forward, her body was cut, pierced, smashed, and hurt with magic, but she was relentless.  In a final cry, she jumped upon the mages and smashed them to bits, the last of her energy burned away.

"(Che), dammit Jonas you waited too long." She muttered as the skeletons closed in on her, "Well, looks like I'm joining you soon Nic.  Wait for me will ya."  She closed her eyes and waited for the blows to fall.

"I can't let you do that Natalie Cloud."

An explosion of heat burst around her, and Nat opened her eyes in shock to find Jonas standing of front of her, his body ablaze in fiery armor as he wielded swords of flame.

Jonas turned his head to look at her with a lop-sided grin, "You can't go before me Nat.  I won't let you."

Turning back to the skeletons, Jonas thrust his hand forward as his sword extended on a fiery chain.  He whipped it around his head, sending the flame sword flying into every skeleton around them.  They clattered as they fell, burning to the ground.

Dispelling the flame, Jonas turned and held out his hand to Nat, who took it as he helped her to her feet.

"Jonas, you became a battle-mage." Nat had tears in her eyes as she held her hands to her mouth, "But. . ."

Jonas chuckled as he reached up and pulled a grey hair out of his hair.  He stared at it for a moment, "The more I use it, the less I have to live, and I will not live longer than 20 more years.  Such is the cost of power."  He looked back at Nat and pulled her close, "It's worth it if I can save your ass now."

She sobbed and chuckled at the same time, "You idiot, you big idiot."

He smiled down at her, "Let's save it for after the night okay?  Lot of work . . ."

His eyes widened as he grabbed Nat and dived out of the way.  Shards of ice struck the ground where they had just been.

"Damn, I can't fight against ice magic," he muttered as he watched a group of ice mages protected by swordsmen approach.

"They aren't simple skeletons; one led me into a trap," Nat spoke up.

Jonas cursed, "We forgot, this isn't a mindless horde of undead.  This a dungeon hive mind, and it's learning."

All around them, adventurers suddenly found themselves in precarious positions.  Swordsmen were out flanked by skeletal rogues, who attacked the mages and healers.  Without the assault from the back-line, adventurers were becoming increasingly cut off from their allies and were soon surrounded on all sides.

Even Falcon was becoming increasingly pressed as he was assaulted by an increasing number of spells.

"Damn, I used too much magic escaping the guards," he muttered to himself as he blasted a group of mages.

However, this time a single skeleton raised its hand and summoned a black shield that deflected his attack into another groups of skeletons.

"Three heavens and nine hells." Falcon cursed, "A tier three necromancer, already?  This does not bode well."

Fiora and Gran joined Nat and Jonas, and the four stood back-to-back as the skeletons closed in.

"I'm glad we all got to meet up again." Gran said simply.

The other three nodded and grinned at the elf.  Fiora clapped him on the back, "You brought us back together Gran, don't forget that.  Whatever mistakes you think you made, you did good here."

An honest, simple smile grew on Gran's face, "I never thought I'd say this to a bunch of humans, but you are all not so bad."

"Screw off," all three said to him, inciting a chuckle.

They raised their swords and pointed them at the approaching horde, death not scaring them in the slightest.

All of a sudden, a giggle echoed out in the mind of every adventurer in the field.

"What?" Fiora said in shock.  She remembered that giggle.

In her moment of distraction, a skeleton was already swinging its sword down on her head.  The world seemed to slow down as she watched the blade come closer and closer.  She didn't close her eyes, instead choosing to watch death come her way.

The sword froze an inch from her face, a slimy tentacle wrapped around its hilt.

"A tentacle?" Fiora said in wonder.

In front of every adventurer, slimes began to rise up from the ground.

“SLIMES!,” someone screamed in terror.  Fiora cursed as all around the battlefield, slimes were rising from the ground.

“Damnit, not now; is there no hope?,” she began to feel the resignation of death approaching.

However, as soon as the slimes arose, they launched themselves into the skeletons with astonishing force.  They did not harm a single living thing.

"THE SLIMES ARE HERE, THE SLIMES ARE HERE TO SAVE US!"  A cheer rose up and spread through the crowd as the adventurers felt their spirits rise.

"OH ho," Falcon raised an eyebrow from his play in the sky as he exchanged magical spells with the necromancer, "It seems that all the players are here now."

On the ground, armor slimes and earth slimes charged the skeletons, using their force to blast their way through bone and armor.  Grey slimes and gelatinous slimes devoured skeleton after skeleton and even the few reanimated corpses that spawned from the fallen adventurers.  Plant slimes and herb slimes controlled the grass and wrapped around the feet of the skeletons, tripping them to the ground.  The new poison slimes corroded the skeletons with acidic blasts, and the magic slimes launched spells at their elemental counterparts.

Jonas laughed as two flame slimes jumped onto his shoulders, their nature augmenting his magical power.

"I can do this all night now!" He roared as his armor morphed into a clone of himself that charged the horde, "These things are filling me with magic power!"

Fiora also ignited her sword, and a flame slime wrapped itself around her hand.  It was surprisingly comfortable, and her sword's fiery aura doubled.  She looked down in amazement.

"Oh yeah, I can get used to this."  With a happy cry, she also jumped into the battle again.

Gran stood next to Nat, who had collapsed from weakness.  Two heal slimes moved over her body, filling her with renewed healing energy.

"This, this is impossible," Nat said in wonder, "These slimes, theses monsters are helping us."

"They are helping themselves." Gran observed, "If we fall here, then the dungeon will be left alone without any prey."

Nat looked into the distance, wondering.  "Is that really the only reason?  Because, I think it would become quite lonely." She thought to herself.

With the help of the slimes, the horde of undead was beaten back.  The slimes were just too strong against the skeletons, and the undead mages were countered by the resistant elemental slimes.  Soon, the adventurers and slimes were at the entrance to the dungeon.

Anhel laughed out loud, "We might as well try to conquer this dungeon now; it's way too easy."

However, the dungeon began to shake in front of them.  It was almost as if it was laughing at them.

All of a sudden, moans and screams began to rise up around them.  The ground erupted as zombies and spirits appeared in all their tormented glory.

Falcon paled, "Not good!"  He landed and smashed his staff into the earth, and a dome of white energy surrounded everyone.  The zombies, spirits, and skeletons smashed against the barrier, sending ripples out.

"Oy! This is really bad!," Falcon yelled at everyone as his face paled and sweat dripped down his face, "I can't hold them off for long.  The zombies are walking damage takers and the spirits will try to possess your body.  Spirits are like slimes and can only be beaten by magic, but only light magic!  We can't win this fight, so when the barrier falls, I'll make a path.  RUN WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT AND MAKE IT BACK TO TOWN.  ONLY THE CHURCH CAN STOP THIS NOW!"

Having said that, the barrier collapsed around them.  Falcon twirled his staff as his hair began floating around him, an icy fire glowing in his eye.

"Unique magic, ICE BORNE ROAD!"

The staff flew out of the magus’s hand and shot out a terrifyingly cold magic.  Instantly, an entire section of the horde froze and shattered into pieces.  Falcon coughed and fainted as blood poured from his nose, eyes, mouth, and ears from over using his magic.  William grabbed the magus before he fell.

"RUN!," he roared out.

As a unit, the adventurers ran like the forces of hell were behind them. which was kind of true in this case.  The warriors carried the mages, who used their magic to beat back the spirits who swooped in.  The zombies were quite slow, so it was only the immaterial specters that they worried about.  The slimes stayed behind and acted as a barrier against the zombies and skeletons, further slowing them down.

The adventurers made it back to the wall, where an entire platoon of priests waited with Father Jonas at the lead.

"Everyone, together!," he called out.  As one, the priests chanted and raised their icons, wands, and talismans.  In the night sky, a beam of light shot down and slammed against the plains.  Undead and slime alike were vaporized as the land shook for a moment.

When everything settled, the town was covered in a glowing shield of holy magic and the plains were littered with fallen loot.

For that night, the town was finally safe.

Chapter 17

After the blessing fell upon the town, the few remaining undead within and outside the town quickly withered away into dust as the holy magic filled their bodies.  The exhausted adventurers were taken into emergency tents while the priests all cast their magic on them, healing their bodies and spirits.

Father Jonas watched, his brow slightly pale from the earlier magic.  Mary walked over to him.

"How is the Magus?," she asked.

Jonas sighed and shook his head, "The Magus over-taxed his body with that last spell.  He ended up using some of his life-force, but we have stabilized him for the moment."

Friar Henry, who was standing behind Father Jonas, spoke up.  "Why would the Magus put out so much power?  Granted, he saved the adventurers, but I'm sure a few of them would have managed to escape."

Jonas and Mary locked eyes.  Mary sighed and nodded.

"Friar Henry, have you ever fought against spirits and the undead?," she asked him.

"I have assisted in exorcisms of various grounds before now," he answered promptly.

Mary inclined her head, "Have you ever dealt with an undead dungeon that uses spirits before?"

At this, Henry shook his head, "No, the only undead dungeons that I have seen used skeletons and zombies.  Even then, they were quite weak."

Mary turned to gaze out at the sunrise as it finally began to appear: "A natural spirit, ghost, specter, or any other spiritual being is a threat, but not one to be overly feared.  However, a dungeon spirit used by a corrupted dungeon is the most terrifying thing we could have encountered here."

"Tell me," she turned quickly to look at Henry, "In the many years this dungeon has been plaguing this part of the continent, do you not think your and other churches have sent out forces to slay it?"  She watched his uncomfortable look as his face frowned, "Spirits naturally have the ability to possess living bodies.  When they do, the body becomes the prisoner of the new soul unless the original owner possesses unusual spiritual strength."

"The same occurs with dungeon spirits, except . . .”

A scream sounded in one of the tents, alerting the three.  They ran over just as a priest fled the tent.

A lone figure slowly exited the tent, an adventurer that had assisted on the battle field.  However, his body was twitching unnaturally and his eyes were so red they glowed.  He screamed and charged the group, his sword raised high.

In the time it took one to blink, Father Jonas and Master Mary were on either side of the possessed adventurer, one releasing golden light while the other cast an unknown spell from her palms.  The adventurer, frozen in time, fell over and collapsed into the dirt.  A spirit rose up, holding the man's soul in its arms.  Under the light of the blessing, the spirit screamed and was shattered.  The soul turned transparent, but not before a grateful tear fell down his face.

Mary was frowning, "Corrupted spirits can copy their host's mind and act like them for as long as they are commanded by the hive mind.  They take the original soul hostage, and try to drag it back to the dungeon to be corrupted.  The body becomes either a skeleton or a zombie."

"So," Henry stared down at the dead adventurer, "All those zombies, skeletons, and spirits . . ."

"Most are former villagers, adventurers, and many others that have died at the claws of the Tomb of the Forgotten King," Mary confirmed, wiping her hands on her robe, "Even all the other undead we’ve seen have been fodder.  The real monsters mostly stay within the tomb itself."

Jonas sighed, "It is as she said.  The real reason we are checking every surviving adventurer is that some may have been possessed.  To be honest, a few spirits may have formed within the town as well, so we have our work cut out for us.”

Another ragged scream arose, signaling that the night was not yet over for any of them.

Hours later, the leaders of the town all sat down together in the meeting room of the adventurer guild.  Fiora sat with Mary as her aide, Jare sat with Anhel and William, Father Jonas with Priest Horace, and Magus Falcon with a hot-pad and a bottle of booze.

He drowned his drink and breathed out slowly, “Ah, nothing a little elf wine won’t fix.”

Father Jonas raised an eyebrow, “Magus, your injuries were quite severe you know.  Are you sure you should be here?”

The Magus raised his own eyebrow in response, “As the healer in this situation, shouldn’t you be ordering me to rest?”

“If I could make you, then I would,” he responded evenly, “but I doubt I’d be able to keep you anywhere you didn’t want to be.”

“Well, you’re right about that.” Magus Falcon took another swig of his drink, “So, anyone else have an idea of what we should do?”

Everyone gave him an incredulous look.

“Oy old man, you know what’s going to happen?,” Jare asked, the surprise evident in his voice.

Falcon ‘hmph’d’ and looked smug, “Well, I am quite proficient in dungeon studies you know.  This isn’t the first time I’ve seen this dungeon tomb attack a village.  When I was much younger, I encountered it while researching monsters.”

“But, I was far too inexperienced that time to stop it,” Falcon regretted, his face losing its smug look for a moment as a deep sorrow engulfed him.  He shook it off and resumed his smugness.

Falcon explained: “Well, this is the first time in a century the Tomb has attacked a settlement of this size, especially one with such a large church presence.  I’m not sure exactly what this means, but the dungeon is here to stay.”

“What!  I thought phantom dungeons only appeared during the full moon?,” Fiora asked in shock.

Falcon inclined his head, “That is true my dear; they can ONLY move during the full moon, and if I recall correctly, last night’s full moon was the last one till next month.”

Father Jonas frowned and shook his head, “Our spell of protection won’t last another week, let alone an entire month.  Though the blast rid the land of the undead, they dungeon’s influence has already surrounded the town again, allowing for the undead to hide themselves underground.  We don’t have enough faith to cast it again for a while either.”

Falcon pointed toward the Tomb, “The dungeon intentionally chose the last night of the full moon to appear as a statement saying it is planning to stay here to consume us.  We can’t call for help either; messengers would be eaten and spells would be intercepted by the dungeon’s magic.  The most we can do is to raise distress flags on the palisade walls to warn off anyone approaching the city.”

“Forgive me Magus,” Anhel piped up, “But everything you’ve said makes it sound like the dungeon is acting like a tactician.  It’s just a dungeon, right?”

The Magus shook his head, “If it were just a dungeon, we wouldn’t be this hard pressed.  No, that is a tomb, a dungeon that somehow possesses a sentient spirit young beast-man, and the sinister nature of its presence here means that we still have quite the fight on our hands.  In order to survive, we are going to have to defeat it.”

Everyone began thinking on this.

“How deep is the dungeon?,” Jare asked.

“At least 50 floors,” Falcon answered honestly.

Mary spoke up: “That means it is at least a C-ranked dungeon; most of our adventurers and clergy are too weak for an expedition of that size.”

“It also lacks teleport glyphs and spatial magic will not work inside the dungeon; so our escape talismans are worthless,” Jonas reminded them, “If we go in, we must either succeed or die.”

Jare rubbed his head, “Can it still attack us?”

Jonas shook his head, “No, the sun will keep the undead away during the day, and our holy barrier will resist them all night for about a week.  That being said, I sense that zombies are in the fields around the town, and they are just waiting to pop up and drag down victims; their cursed flesh will protect them from the sun long enough so they can kill anyone they grab.”

“That means,” Mary summarized, “we have 6 days to prepare an assault team.  The team will have a day to reach the bottom and destroy the dungeon before it massacres our town.”

Jare let out a sigh as he thumped his hand on the table, “Without glyphs, we will only be able to reach the 50th floor if we move as fast as possible.  By myself, I could reach the 60th floor if I encounter no enemies at all.”

“Besides,” he pointed out, “The specters and spirits will rip through us if we don’t have protection.”

Jonas stated: “My priests can create spiritual talismans to protect you from being possessed, but we need 5 days to recover our faith for the magic needed.”

Falcon asserted: “I and the other enchanter types can assist the priests, but most will only be able to give you elemental enchantments besides light.”

“So, we have 5 days to come up with a strategy . . .” Mary cautioned.

As they broke apart into small groups to discuss proposals, Nat walked out from behind Fiora.  She had come in with her, but had neglected to say anything before.

“Excuse me,” she said tentatively, calling everyone’s attention, “but why not use the dungeon to help us?”

Father Jonas coughed, Falcon spit out his wine, Mary raised an eyebrow, and Jare gaped for a moment before everyone recovered.

“Excuse me my dear, but are you referring to the slime dungeon?,” Father Jonas clarified.

Nat nodded, “The slimes helped us in the battle -- this must mean the dungeon is on our side.”

Jonas shook his head, “My dear, a dungeon is on no one’s side but its own.  If it helped, then it did so for purely selfish reasons.”

“Yeah, but if we can persuade  . . .”

“You can’t talk with dungeons Nat; it doesn’t work that way.” Fiora put her hand on Nat’s shoulder kindly, “It’s a good idea, but now’s not the time for fantasy strategies.”

Nat looked around but found no support.  Seeing that she had made a fool of herself, she turned and left the room.  She wandered over to a bench and sat down, staring up at the glowing sky.

“Was it really such a foolish idea?,” she wondered out loud.

“Actually, I thought it was brilliant,” came a voice to her right.

Startled, Nat jumped and turned to find the Magus next to her, smoking a cyan colored pipe.  He paused and blew out a smoke-shaped slime, watching it fly into the sky.

“Sir Magus, I thought you were inside?,” she asked, surprised.

Falcon grinned, looking sideways toward her, “Oh, I am.  I’m also lying in bed resting and gallivanting around the abandoned stores in search of booze.  As I told my young student earlier, being in multiple places at once isn’t hard.”

“Anyhow, I actually agree with your idea.”  He took a moment to create a bird out of cyan smoke.

“Then why didn’t you support me inside?,” she inquired.

“Because,” He put away his pipe, “That would have required stepping on some toes when cooperation is needed for now.  However, I made a fairly decent impression on the dungeon before, so let’s take advantage of that and go ask.”  He got up and pulled Nat to her feet.

“But, how can we reason with a hive-mind?  It’ll devour us for sure.” Nat was rather nervous now at the thought of being alone in the dungeon with only a crazy sounding old man.

Falcon chuckled, “What people forget is that a hive mind, is still a mind.  It has desires and fears just as much as the rest of us; at least that is what I have learned through my research.  Come, let us hold the first ever negotiation with a dungeon.

Chapter 18

The gate facing the Town’s dungeon was quiet now.  The guards were patrolling the plain side of iron town; so, there was no one to stop Falcon and Nat as they walked toward the dungeon.

"Sir, are you absolutely sure you can make this trip?," Nat asked again, "You were horribly hurt from using all that mana."

Falcon chuckled and pulled out a cyan colored hat with golden patterns from his black robe.  After adjusting it on his head, he put his pipe back into his mouth and held his hands out.

"This is my official outfit; what do you think?"

Nat nodded, "It looks good sir, but . . ."

"I'm known as the Ice-Fire Wizard in certain circles, so my outfit caters to that you know?  Since I finished with enchanting, I really need to look into a new field of magic to study.  Maybe a technomancer; they make all sorts of interesting gimmicks," he babbled away.

"That's very interesting but . . ."

"No, technomancy requires too much time learning what enchantments go with what material and how two materials interact.  And you can forget about the cost, it's outrageous.  I mean, sheesh, you'd think giant bones and dragon fangs would be easier to get when you're a leader in a multi-national organization, but you'd be quite surprised."

"SIR CAN YOU PLEASE STOP TALKING AND LISTEN TO ME!," Nat screamed at the Magus.  He watched in amusement as she huffed and glared at him.

"There you go; are you still scared?," he asked gently.

Nat blinked, and looked down at her clenched fists.  Her nervousness subsiding, she felt better than she had since the attack.

Falcon walked over, his robes returning to their normal plain black color, and put his arm on her shoulder.  "People forget sometimes that living through a horror can be just as dangerous as dying.  You looked death in the face last night; you were prepared to die.  Yet, you were saved, and now where do your emotions go?  You hid your feelings to avoid the pain, and now they return all at once.  A little outburst is all you needed to settle down."

"So, everything you have been saying has been intended to calm me down?," Nat spoke in wonder as she stared up at the older man.

Falcon snorted, "What are you talking about?  I needed someone to bounce ideas off of since Jare won't help me anymore.  Besides, your boyfriend perked my interest, and I wanted to get a feel of him through you."

"He's not my boyfriend," Nat muttered as she blushed deeply.

Falcon rolled his eyes and resumed walking to the dungeon, "Right.  The man saves the girl from certain death, reveals his life draining powers, and tells her he won't let her die. Definitely not your boyfriend!"

Nat stuttered in protest, but the Magus was too far away to hear.  She gave up and hurried after him into the dungeon.

When they reached the center room, they found it similarly abandoned, like the gate.

"Now, let's see . . ." Falcon moved his hand over the teleport glyph and checked through the list.

"Really girl, you haven't been past the first floor with your strength?," he turned and asked mockingly.

Nate toed the floor, "I haven't been back since the big change."

"No matter; come, take my hand."  He held out his hand as Nat grabbed hold.  He pressed the rune, and the two found themselves on the 7th floor.

Nat blinked in surprise, "How did I get to this floor?  I haven't made it here before."

"Magic.  Now, come along my dear; we can't waste time here."  He turned around with a flourish of his robe and walked swiftly.

"Are we going to conquer the dungeon to get to the last floor?," Nat asked.

Falcon snorted, "I don't have the time or mana reserves to do such a thing.  I barely have enough power to maintain this corporeal illusion from my bed."

'Oh, so that's what he is.' Nat thought to herself, 'I was wondering where his staff was.'

She followed the Magus through the tunnels to a dead-end room.  When he got there, Falcon sat down against the wall and folded his hands.

"Um, sir, what do we do now?," Nat asked, feeling rather confused by his actions.

Falcon raised an eyebrow, "Now, we wait of course."

*********

Claire waited patiently as the light returned to Doc's crystal.

"Oh good, I was worried you'd be gone longer," Claire said, the relief evident on her face.

"Ow.  I feel like I got smashed by a broadsword," Doc moaned.

Claire grinned, "Well congratulations Doc, you just experienced your first exorcism.  Now, since you aren't exactly in your best mind, I'll go ahead and explain what happened to you."

"When the adventurers made it back to the town, the priests cast a large scale holy spell designed to eliminate foreign mana from the land.  Naturally your and the other dungeon's mana seeping into the ground counted as foreign magic.  When the spell hit, it destroyed your influence in the area and the connection to all the mana outside of your dungeon --- thus creating a back-lash in your crystal as the amount of mana you had decreased."

"Now," Claire continued with her finger in the air, her body in full lecture mode, "Thankfully it was the invading dungeon's sphere of influence that drew your mana out, so you received only a small backlash.  That fellow is likely reeling in pain, and maybe has even lost a few floors because of it.  If you had been the one to start that fight, then I imagine you'd be back to only having 4 floors again."

Doc shivered at the thought, "So, that is the kind of spell the church would have used against me?"

"Nope.  That spell only works on land that is newly controlled by a dungeon.  It would be useless against your physical dungeon."

"Anyway, thanks to your help, most of the adventurers survived the night and made it back safely to the town.  They are probably thinking of a way to counter attack, but will waste too much time talking before the undead dungeon recovers its lost power."

"That's too bad then.  I . . ," Doc paused and tilted his imaginary head, noting, "Someone entered the dungeon."

"Really?  That's a surprise; well go ahead and summon your monsters . . ."

They both paused and cried out at the same time, "OH CRAP!"

"Doc quick! How much mana do you have left?," Claire  asked, flying around in a panic.

"Not enough!  The cost to make more slimes is too damn high!  I don't think I have enough to make the bosses either!" Doc, too, was panicking.

"ARG!" Claire slapped her head, "Why did I make you send out all the slimes?  Now we don't have anything to protect us; we're a sitting dungeon."

"I mean, we already were but. . .ARG!"

The twins and Lady stared on, sensing the panic but doing nothing.

"Momma, Poppa, the two adventurers are not doing anything."

"Eh?" Doc wondered, and he and Claire paused as Doc tuned his crystal to show the adventurers.

"Hey, that's the old guy who evolved the slime," Doc cried out.

"Hey, that's the adventurer who fought against the demon!," Claire yelled.

"Huh? Oh lady, you learned a new word, congrats," Doc complimented her.

Lady smiled and jiggled, but held her hand and pointed at the screen.  "Talk?"

"Poppa, I think she wants us to talk to them," the twins pointed out.

Doc scratched his metaphoric head, "Do dungeons talk to adventurers, Claire?"

"Nope, they eat them."

"What about in emergencies?"

"They eat them quickly."

"What if they helped us out?"

"Painless death."

"Is there no way to help them?'

"Not without making some very paranoid priests concerned about an atypical dungeon."

Doc thought for a moment, "What if they don't tell the priests?"

Claire paused, "Oh, then that's alright then."

Doc felt his spirit crash to the floor in surprise.  "I thought you liked to kill people?"

"It's funny to watch them die, but I don't WANT to kill people for no reason you know?  Over-eating is a crime, and everything we do is so we can survive," Claire pointed out.

"If you're going to help, then we will need to act very carefully . . ."

*********

"How much longer?," Nat asked wearily from her position on the wall.

"I have no idea; it's not like I've done this before," Falcon reminded her.

The two of them had been waiting on the floor for close to an hour.  Nat was getting rightfully bored, but Falcon seemed to find amusement in everything he could experience.

The Magus moved in and began to move his body in a strange fashion.  He resembled a snake suffering a disease, shifting his body up and down in a strange wave fashion.

"Magus, what are you doing?"

"It's a dance popularized up north; since the slimes must communicate by wiggling their bodies, this is the closest thing I've found to mimic it."

*********

"What is that strange old man doing?"

"I have no idea Doc.  Let's just play along."

*********

The slime wobbled, and began to lift its body side to side in rhythm with the Magus.

Falcon grinned triumphantly, "See, I knew it would work!  Now, let's try this."  He stopped and got up and began to perform the same motion, this time on his two feet.

*********

"Should I give the old guy a heal slime?  I think his brain is broken." Doc raised an imaginary eyebrow.

"Wait a bit longer; maybe this is one of those so insane ideas it just might work kind of thing."

*********

The slime once again copied the Magus, this time moving up and down in time.

Falcon wiped the sweat off his face, "Okay, so up and down is a 'yes' and side to side is a 'no'?"

"I don't think that's going to . . ." Nat watched as the slime moved up and down in agreement.

Falcon gave her a triumphant look, "Told ya."

Nat groaned and covered her face, "I'm in a hostile dungeon with an insane, eccentric old man and a talking slime.  I must be still asleep in that tent."

Falcon ignored her and turned back to the slime.

"Just to verify, you can understand me correct?"

“Yes”

"You are the dungeon hive mind?"

“Yes”

"Would you fight us if you had the mana?"

The slime paused, then said “yes”.

Falcon nodded, “Good, honesty is important.  Not that you could eat me currently of course, but that's not relevant.  Are you hostile to the invading dungeon?"

“Yes, Yes”

"If we fight that evil dungeon, will you help?"

“Yes, No”

"You want to help?"

“Yes”

"But you are scared of something," Falcon narrowed his eyes.

“Yes”

"The church?"

“Yes, Yes”

"Do you enjoy devouring us humans?"

“Yes, No”

Falcon shrugged, "I understand.  We are just food right?  You can sympathize with us since we are smarter than animals, but we are still food in the end.”

“Yes”

"Would you prefer I keep this talk a secret between the two of us, not even writing this down?'

“Yes, Yes, Yes” The slime was hopping like crazy.

"Alright, alright I understand." Falcon held up his hands in surrender, "I'll make sure the girl forgets, so this will be just between the two of us."

Falcon scratched his beard as he looked around the room in reflection, "I study dungeons and monsters as a hobby, so this has research value to me.”

Addressing the small purple slime, Falcon stated, “I want you to allow a group of adventurers into your dungeon and let them reach the 25th floor.  From there, you can form a tunnel to the invading dungeon and join an attack with them."

“No”

"Are you worried we'll betray you and attack your core?"

“Yes”

"What if I made sure there were no priests?"

“No, Yes”

Falcon stroked his beard in thought, then pulled a book out of his robes, "This is a research book full of my notes on slime evolutions." He sat it down on the floor, "Now if you help . . ."

The book disappeared in a flash of light.

Falcon stared at the slime.

The slime may have been staring back.

"Ah, right." Falcon scratched his beard awkwardly, "Dungeons can take anything left on their floors.  You wouldn't mind giving the book back for the sake of negotiation?"

“Noooo,” the slime stretched very long, almost forming a smile.

Falcon 'hmph'd', "I never thought I'd meet someone as shameless as me.  Well, that book is a fake anyway since I'm actually a projection of magic and not a real person."

The slime deflated.

Falcon chuckled, "In return for giving you a copy of my real notes, catalysts for two new evolutions, and the promise that you can have the dungeon core from the conquered dungeon, will you help us?"

The slime began to vibrate violently.

“Yes”

Chapter 19

Doc figuratively wiped his crystal of condensation as the negotiations between Falcon and the purple slime finished.  "Phew, that was intense."

Claire was lying on a slime, panting from the stress, "I never knew talking with other people could be so difficult.  I really wanted to run away and hide."

"Me too.  When that man started to move all funny, I wanted to give a yelp."

"I screamed," Claire admitted.

"Believe me, we all heard," Doc told her seriously.

The two looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"Ha ha, did you see the way that old guy was moving?  Ha ha, that was the weirdest slime dance I've ever seen!"

Claire giggled off her slime onto the floor.  "For a so called 'evolution researcher', he sure got his languages mixed up.  I've watched snakes make love to each other using that dance."

Even the twins were rolling around the floor laughing in their barks and yips.  Lady, not understanding what was going on, rolled around the floor with the others, a happy smile on her face.

Doc wiped his condensation again and let out a slow laugh, "Huuu, okay, that's enough of that."  Serious again, Doc asked, “Claire, how was the old man able to bring the girl down?  I know she hasn't been here to reach that floor before."

"Oh, he explained it already," Claire said from the floor, "He is not a real person; he is an illusion created by magic.  Naturally, if you look back up at the first floor I think you'll find the girl's unconscious body."

Doc gave a quick check, and confirmed what she said, "Seems that you are right Claire.  But, isn't it still dangerous that he can go wherever he wants in my dungeon?"

Claire snorted, "Doc, our slimes eat mana.  That illusion is pure mana.  It is not any bit of a threat to us."

"Oh."

"Yes, yes, but are you sure about this?," Claire flew up to hover around his crystal, "Letting a group of strong adventurers free roaming in the dungeon is very risky, especially if you give them access to your final floor."

"I thought about that some; what if I make a special room for them?"

Claire raised an eyebrow, "It has been awhile since you've come up with an original idea; go ahead and lay it on me."

Doc nodded, "Well, I’ll create a single room, once I recharge, on the 25th floor that is not connected to anything and has its own glyph with which to enter.  I'll form the battle tunnel and connect it to this room, so they can invade directly to the invading dungeon's 25th floor."

Claire rubbed her chin as she flew in a figure 8 style pattern, "Hm, that does sound like it can work.  I can even imagine uses for such a room even after this mess is over.  You should make it an accident room, like a 1 in a thousand chance they will be taken to that room when using the glyph.  It will have a treasure box and the ability to go to any floor they've been to after."

"Idea found acceptable, court adjured," Doc announced.

"That's weird; where'd you get that from?," Claire asked.

"I think the old man rubbed off on me in the wrong way."

*********

Nat opened her eyes slowly, her world coming back into focus.  “What?,” she muttered as she roused herself into a sitting position.

“Shh my dear, you fell asleep from the exhaustion.” She looked up to see Falcon’s kindly face staring down at her, “Are you alright?,” he asked.

Nat got up and stretched her body, “Yeah, I seem to be in perfect shape.”

“That’s good,” the Magus said as his eyes looked anywhere but at her, “We need to get going back to the council room.”

Nat raised an eyebrow then looked down at herself.  A cheeky grin forming, she leaned forward to stretch and pushed her arms behind her.  “Hey Magus, why don’t you look at me when you’re talking?”

Falcon turned quickly and began walking away, “Come along now my dear, don’t be dawdling.”

“(Che), spoilsport,” Nat muttered as she chased after him.  Suddenly, she remembered, “Hey wait, don’t we have to try to negotiate with the dungeon?”

“I already have my dear; you fell asleep, so I went on without you,” he said, without turning back.

“Oh.” Nat scratched her head in confusion, “I guess I must have been very tired.  Wait, so were you successful?”

“Kind of,” he admitted, “We can bring a small team to the 25th floor, but it won’t allow church members to join the group.  This slime dungeon seems to have a healthy bit of fear of the clergy.”

“After that display of magic last night I’d say I have a bit more caution concerning them,” Nat admitted, “So where are we going now?”

“The adventurer guild of course.  My other self seems to have just finished talking with the battle council, and they have started to draw up battle plans for the fight to begin in 5 days.  It’s quite foolish if you ask me, since the undead can pop up out of the ground, but Father Jonas insisted on a ‘holy war’ type of fight.”

“What is a ‘holy war’ type of fight?,” Nat asked, confused.

“Superior firepower and overwhelming force; well, that’s my interpretation anyway,” the Magus admitted, “Anyway, this gives us a bit of wiggle room to plan out our own assault without the church’s interference.”

Nat cocked her head as she caught up with the Magus, “You don’t much like the church, do you?”

“On the contrary, I think they are one of the greatest organizations and allies we could have on the continent,” Falcon declared, “In fact, I have many friends within the clergy.  The problem comes from being too big with a few shadowy members with hidden agendas.  It’s hard to be a big organization you know; even our adventurer guild has trouble in the farthest settlements.  As they say, when the cat is away, the mice will play.”

“Is Father Jonas a good person then?,” Nat asked.

Falcon sighed, “He is, but his prejudice toward any non-human is too much.  He barely tolerates the other races, and he outright hates monsters.  I can’t blame him though; his past is filled with enough tragedy.  His making it to ‘father’ is quite the accomplishment.  Right now, though, he is the perfect person to have here.”

“But not for your plans,” Nat finished.

“Precisely; I’m glad we have these talks.” He winked at her as they entered the gate, “Now, if I remember correctly, it should be this way.”  As he took a turn, Nat grabbed his arm.

“No, the guild is that way sir,” she noted, pointing in the opposite direction.

“Oh no, I’m not heading for the guild quite yet.  The self of mine that was gallivanting around seems to have found a bit of trouble and was arrested for the most outrageous reason.”

“What?”

“Petty theft and Indecent exposure.  Well, the illusions do tend to have their own, deviant personalities after all.”

It took a bit of convincing to get the guards to release the second Magus, who was drunk out of his mind.  Once out of the guard house, the cyan Falcon turned to Nat and said, “I’ll meet you back at the guild.”  The two Falcons dissolved into a yellow and cyan light in front of her, startling the guards once again.

Nat quickly ran to the adventurer guild.

Bella greeted her at the door with a smile.  “They are waiting for you upstairs in the office.”

Nat thanked her and hurried up the stairs.  Upon opening the door, she was met with Fiora, Jare, Mary, and Falcon.  Falcon rolled his eyes.

“You’re late.”

“And you’re the serious illusion,” Nat responded.

Jare guffawed and slapped his leg, “Ha ha, she’s got you there on that one old man.”

The Magus sighed and nodded, “Naturally, in order to be in multiple places at once, I have to divide my mind; otherwise I’d be overwhelmed by the amount of stimulus.  Of course, I don’t expect one of your mental fortitude to understand.”

“I liked the other you better.”

“He is a likable person.  He’s not me though, so please mind your respect and give me due address.”

“I greet the Magus and Guild Master,” Nat said politely, but she stared down the Magus, who nodded in approval.

“Now that we are all here, would you care to explain what this meeting is about,” Mary inquired from her chair.

The Magus nodded, “I have attempted negotiations with the dungeon for safe passage and have succeeded.”

The silence was overwhelming in the room.

Mary narrowed her eyes, “Can we trust it?”

The Magus nodded in approval, “Straight to the point --- an admirable ability you have there guild master.  To answer your question, yes.  We can trust it as long as our interests align.  The dungeon was quite honest with me about having the normal desire to devour me.  Naturally, we cannot retreat once we enter; otherwise we will be eaten, or at least attacked.”

Jare scratched his head, “That’s all well and good, but I assume there are other restrictions?”

“There are,” the Magus acknowledged, “We cannot bring a member of the clergy, and we must deliver the core of the conquered dungeon to the slime dungeon.”

“Impossible,” Mary said flatly, her frown growing, “If we do defeat the dungeon, by some miracle, the church and frankly everyone involved will refuse to see the greatest prize delivered to a hostile element.  I cannot accept that.”

“Can we give the dungeon something of equal value?,” Fiora asked from the side.

Falcon rolled his eyes, “Do we have anything equal to the value of a centuries old dungeon core?  No, think of this as an investment to improving the wealth you can get from the dungeon down the road.”

“I doubt the majority believe in delayed gratification,” Mary dead-panned, “We’ll likely have riots, and we’ll lose support from Duran and the church --- not to mention the main adventurer guild.”

Falcon shrugged, “Well, then we don’t have to deliver it.  We’ll have the dungeon steal it.”

Everyone raised an eyebrow at the Magus. He rolled his eyes, “Oh come on; you cannot believe a small group of adventurers would be able to conquer this undead dungeon on its own?  We will need two things for this plan to work.”  He held up two fingers, “One, the church and other adventurers will lead a frontal assault from the top, distracting the invading dungeon.  Two, the slimes will join us into the tomb and do most of the bulk work fighting the skeletons and zombies.  This way, our invading party can save their strength for the boss fight.  Also, if one of the slimes takes the crystal in the end, how would we be able to stop it anyway.”

“Ignoring that last point, but, you meant ‘fights’, right?,” Nat inquired.

Magus shook his head, “No, as I said before, this dungeon is a tomb.  It is not a typical dungeon.  It holds no boss except for the final one.  Adventurers have made it to the final room before, but none have been able to conquer it.”

“What we can confirm, though, is that, there are four different final bosses.”

Nat spluttered, Jare coughed, Fiora gripped her sword, and Mary stood up.  “How is that possible?,” demanded Mary “A dungeon of any size does not have the power to control four final bosses at once.”

The Magus nodded, “Right, but the groups who have made it there fought only one of the 4.  While it was never confirmed how, we did learn that each boss has its own requirements to call it out.  The suspicion, then, is that perhaps the four are actually all part of the same boss, but the proper procedure to trigger them all was never figured out.”

Magus Falcon closed his eyes and shook his head.  “Many were lost trying to learn this information, and because the dungeon was never properly conquered, few managed to escape its grasp.”

Mary drummed her fingers on the table as she sat back down.  “So, you’re telling me our best plan to succeed involves lying to our allies, teaming up with a dungeon, storming a hostile corrupted dungeon fortress with  a small group, defeating an undefeatable boss, and giving the greatest treasure to said dungeon.”

“Pretty much, yeah,” the Magus nodded.

Mary groaned and rubbed her head, the headache returning.

“Alright then, what do we need to do first?,” Mary succumbed.

*********

“Fine, since we are going with this plan,” she continued, “it’s best if we split up for now.  It’s important to make sure that your teammates are all on board with this; we can’t afford to have word spread of our plans.”

Mary instructed, “Jare, you and Nat talk to your respective teammates.  When you have their agreement and silence, report back here.  I’ll have Ally and Bella come up with something for you both to do so as not to raise the town’s suspicions.”

The two adventurers nodded and left the room swiftly.  Mary turned to the Magus.

“Sir, how long will it take for you to heal?,” She asked politely.

The Magus shook his head, “Unfortunately, mana drain is impossible to recover from quickly.  I’ll be dissolving this clone and focusing on recovery, but even then it’s unlikely my physical body will be able to accompany the team into the dungeon.  I should recover enough, however, to be able to make a magical clone of myself to join the team into the dungeon.  He’ll be able to assist with support magic, but not much with firepower.”

“We will need all the help we can get,” Mary told him, “Go ahead and start healing up.  I will get everything we need; so, be ready in 4 and a half days.”

Falcon bowed to her, and disappeared in a small flash of light.  Only Fiora and Mary remained in Mary’s office.  Mary opened her mouth to say something and then stopped.  The two looked at each other from across the desk.  Now that both of them thought about it, this was the first time they had been alone since the princess’ passing.  She didn’t know what to say.

Mary had a stoic face on as she looked at one of her best apprentices and trainees.  Fiora stared indifferently at her former mentor.

After a few tense minutes of staring, Fiora got up.  “I’d better go check on my team.”  She turned and walked to the door.

“Wait,” Fiora paused as Mary called out to her.

“Do you need something, guild master?,” She asked politely.

Mary’s face began to twitch, “Please, don’t call me that.”

“Is there any other way I should address you, guild master?,” Fiora said, her body still facing the door, “After all, didn’t you tell me once to leave and never come back.”

Mary’s face finally collapsed, and she began to sob violently, “Please Fiora, don’t leave me alone.  Please, please don’t go.”

Fiora began to shake, “You told me to go, you screamed at me in my mind to GET OUT!”  Fiora turned around, the tears streaming down her eyes, “I felt your pain, your loss!  YOU HATED ME!”

Mary shook her head, “No, I never hated you, really, I didn’t . . .”

“Don’t lie to me,” Fiora hissed, “We are still connected.  I can still feel the ugly emotions rolling around inside of you.  They disgust me, and I have suffered enough already being your emotional sink.  If not for Gran, I would STILL BE A DRUNKARD WITH A SPEAR!”  The agony was clear on Fiora’s face ---the struggle of being alone and incapable of controlling her own actions.

Mary sobbed harder, “Oh my Fiora, my little precious daughter.”

“Don’t call me that,” Fiora spat out, “You abandoned me as a child; it was only your guilt that brought you back to train me as a warrior.  I always wondered who my mother was, and then I find out from your thoughts shouting in my head.  To think, once I may have been happy to have been your daughter, but I know now it’s all a source of shame and guilt for you.  You can’t lie to me, not now.”

Mary chuckled, in spite of her sobbing, “Oh my dear, you felt my hate, but not its source.  This hate I feel; it’s directed at me.  I loved you and Diana as my daughters; you both mean the world to me.  But,” Mary shook her head, “I never desired the company of man, it was the embrace of my equals that I found comfort in.  Men are vile, easily corruptible things.” Mary’s face turned so evil that Fiora backed away in shock.

“I should have known, should have remembered, but he was my friend for so long.” Mary was lost now, lost to her centuries of memories, “He was kind, and he took me in when I had no one to turn to.  He saved me from my family and made me an equal with the others.  But then when I wanted to leave,” she spat hatefully, “he took me, against my will when I was weak and vulnerable!  The crimson haired freak gave in and summoned that demon in order to trap me.  He may have taken my purity, but I made sure to take something equal from him.”  Fiora paled at the blood-thirst coming from the guild master.

All of a sudden, Mary’s aura vanished, replaced by a saddened and depressed figure, “When you were born, I was so conflicted.  When the deed was done, I considered taking your life, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it after seeing your eyes, so much like mine.  I left you at that orphanage so that you could have a better life than the one I could have given you on the battle-field.”

Fiora snorted, “Oh, so leaving me in the hands of strangers was the best decision?  To be the only girl with red hair there; do you know what I grew up with?  When my siblings began to grow up and I remained a child, do you know what they called me?  ‘Cursed child of chaos,’ that’s what they always said about me behind the backs of the adults.  Even the adults hid from me, as if my glance could curse.”

“I persisted though,” Fiora declared through gritted teeth, “I worked harder than anyone and got accepted into the royal guard training barracks.  They put me through more hell, but I was used to it already.”

“And then,” she said mockingly, “When the legendary Mary the Blood Elf came looking for an apprentice, she picked the best out of us all ---me.  Little did I know she only picked me for my blood, not my skill.”

“That’s not true,” Mary whispered, “you had the greatest potential . . .”

“Because I was of your blood, right?  BECAUSE MY WORTHLESS MOTHER BELIEVED WITH ALL HER HEART THAT THIS WOULD MAKE EVERYTHING BETTER!,”  Fiora screamed and stabbed her sword into the ground, leaving it there.

“What of it then mother?  Were you proud of me when I became the youngest C-ranked adventurer?  Did you become disappointed when I failed to improve myself up to the next rank in record time?  I always wondered why you pushed so hard.  That was why I left you; you became too demanding.  Perhaps being raised in an orphanage was better than what you would have put me through.”

Mary didn’t move now, her mind overflowing with emotion she could not put into words.  Fiora felt it though, and narrowed her eyes.

“Oh, is it self-pity now?  You feel bad being lectured by your bastard of a daughter?”  Fiora shook her head and scoffed, “You think that just because you have lived for so long that you know everything.  Let me tell you, mother, that you know nothing about me.  The only one who ever had my side was Diana, my adopted sister.  You think I wasn’t as shocked over her death as you?  You think, watching her perish mere feet from my face, that I didn’t cry in pain?”

Fiora turned around, leaving her sword, “I don’t need this anymore.  I don’t need you anymore.”

Mary could only watch through tears as her daughter slammed the door behind her.”

Fiora walked through the town, dazed and depressed.  If she was being honest with herself, she hadn’t run to the bottle to hide from the pain; she had run to hide from her past.  Fiora had idolized Mary from the first time she had heard of her, the legendary half-elf who had proved her kind could fight on the battle field and bring victory.  Before her, half-beings were treated as worthless and given only the basest jobs to do.

Fiora, being self-conscious of her hair and slow growth, had viewed Mary as her role model, and had worked hard to be accepted in the most difficult warrior teaching school, the royal guard.  It was almost like a dream to be picked out of every other candidate to be her personal trainee.  She left the school immediately and began her life as an adventurer.

That had been 20 years ago.  Fiora reached up to touch her face, feeling its smoothness.  “If this keeps up, I’ll look the same when I am 60,” She joked quietly to herself.  She thought back to her training with Mary, their adventures in the land: saving a village from a goblin invasion, searching for herbs in the mountains, sleeping under the stars after a long fought battle.  And then about 10 years ago, she had met the young princess for the first time.  She adopted Diana as her sister apprentice, leaving them both after arguing with her master.  She formed her own group and never looked back.

“Until now,” she whispered quietly, “Now, it’s too late.”

As she walked through the streets of the iron quarter, she heard the clanging of a hammer.  With the area abandoned for the moment, she found herself drawn to the sound.

“Masterwork Swords,” she read up on the sign, “Well, I guess I do need a new blade to fight with.”  She walked over to the door and opened it, ringing a bell.

The hammering stopped, and a bearded man walked out from the back.  He smiled gently at her.

“Come in my dear; what can I help you with?”

“I need a sword,” Fiora said, “I’m willing to pay any price.”

The man stroked his beard in thought and nodded, “I understand.  Follow me please.”  He led Fiora into the back of the shop, where his tools lay.

“My name is Olaf, and I run this smithy,” he greeted her, “Sit here and allow me to measure your arm.  I will also ask you some questions regarding your style.”

He sat Fiora down on a wooden stool, and took out a measuring stick from his tool wall.  As he measured her arm, he asked, “What kind of blade would you like?”

“I need a longsword, 1 and a half my arm’s length with a simple guard.  It needs to also be enchantable, so please use the best material you have for it,” She answered.

“Ah, so money is not an issue with you,” Olaf observed as he wrapped a tape around her arm, marking the touching point.

Fiora shook her head, “No, I have no real use for money.”

“I bet you prefer fighting with your allies than living on your past successes,” Olaf remarked as he took stock of Fiora’s build.

She chuckled, “Yeah, no point dwelling on successes.  There is too much work to be done right?”

“Does that apply to failures as well?,” Olaf asked as he walked around to the anvil.  He began to study two very similar looking hammers.

After a moment of silence, Fiora stated, “Failures need to be remembered so they aren’t made again.”

Olaf chuckled, putting both hammers down and grabbing a third, “What an interesting idea.  Come, watch me for a moment.”

Fiora turned her head and observed as Olaf began hammering at an ingot.  As he hammered, the ingot cracked and broke in half.

“Oh dear, I broke my ingot,” Olaf sighed and shook his head, “This was one of the best I made in my forge, but I guess it was never meant to be.”

Fiora raised her eyebrow, “Are you giving up Olaf?  You can just reforge it, right?”

“No, no,” he shook his head, “Didn’t you see my sign?  Any sword I make has to be perfect, so I’ll just throw away this worthless piece and start over with a new one.”

Fiora frowned, “That’s not right.  It’s just metal, so just heat it together and pound away until it’s back together again.”

Olaf smiled at her, “So, it’s important to not dwell on past mistakes, but to learn and forge the future correct?”

Fiora nodded and opened her mouth, then froze.

Olaf winked at her, “Nothing in this world is perfect; from people to things.  Even my best blade is my best because it has the least amount of flaws, not that it has no flaws.  When something is broken, it is best to reuse it.  Either break it down to its bare origins and make something else from it, or shape what you have into a new purpose.  There is nothing in this world that is worthless, nothing that can’t be fixed.”  He held up the broken ingot again and winked at her, “This could be a fine dagger if I whittled it down, or a kitchen knife.  If I wanted to, I could turn this into the nails that support someone’s house.”

Fiora’s body shook for a moment, then she turned and looked at him, “You aren’t going to make a sword for me, are you?”

Olaf laughed, “Dear girl, I already made you a blade, many years ago.  An old friend of mine begged me to make it for her best trainee, as a present for completing her training.  As I recall she was quite proud of her for going off into the world and forming her own team.”

“You made my sword?,” Fiora whispered.

“It’s waiting for you, and so is she.  It’s time to mend and recycle little Fiora, time to make whole what was broken.”

Fiora woke up suddenly.  She was on a bench outside the adventurer guild.

“Was that real?,” she wondered, “what was that?”

Her thoughts were interrupted by the door to the guild opening.  She saw Mary leaving, her hand wrapped around a sword.

Mary didn’t notice Fiora until she reached the bench, and was so startled she jumped in surprise.

“Oh, I’m . . .” Mary teared up and turned away.

“Wait!,” Fiora cried out, jumping up and grabbing Mary in a hug, “Please wait.”

Mary froze, uncertainty on her face.  Fiora teared up, and turned Mary around for a hug.

“I’ll never forgive you for my childhood, so I won’t call you mother,” she began, “But, you taught me so much and loved me as a student.  So please, let me be your trainee again.”

Mary choked as happy sobs shook her frame and she hugged Fiora back.  The two shared a moment in the empty street, none to watch them save the breeze.

When they finished hugging, Mary handed the sword back to Fiora, “This belongs to you; it has always belonged to you.”

Fiora unsheathed the sword.  As if the sword were sentient, fire blossomed along the edge and cast the street in a soft, flaming light.  She glanced down at the blade to see a tiny set of initials she had never notice before, ‘M.S.’.  She smiled and put the sword away.

“Let’s win this fight together; for me, you, and my sister.”

Mary smiled and nodded, pulling Fiora in for one more hug.

Chapter 20

Father Jonas was writing down orders when a knock came from his door.

“Enter,” he called out.

The door opened to reveal Mary, who nodded in respect to the father.  “Father Jonas, how goes it?,” she asked.

Jonas sighed and rubbed his head, “After establishing the plan with the war council, I’ve been going through and writing out the orders for my subordinates to follow.  As a leader, I’m sure you understand that most of our efforts come down to paperwork.”

Mary smiled wryly, “Isn’t that true.  Somedays, I just want to throw everything away and go back to my previous life.”

“Ho ho, even the bloody elf wants to return to the field of battle?,”  Father Jonas smiled, bringing up her old nickname.

Mary rolled her eyes and sat down in the chair in front of Jonas, “Oh please, I know the church’s intelligence division is better than that.  The only reason why I was given that nickname was because I led charge after charge.  Why couldn’t they give me a nickname like ‘Rider Mary’ or ‘Vanguard Mary’?,” she complained, “I hate the name ‘Bloody Mary’ or ‘Mary the Blood Elf’.”

Jonas laughed now, an honest one, “Ah guild master, I completely understand.  I never could agree with my own name, ‘Pure’.  I would much prefer ‘Honest’ or ‘Justice’, but I guess that is how we are viewed in the eyes of the masses.”

They shared a sigh.

“Anyway, I’m sure you didn’t come here to exchange complaints about our nicknames.  What’s on your mind guild master?,” he asked her.

Mary nodded, “I was wondering how fast you could make the protection charms.  Before the large assault, I want to send a small group into the undead dungeon.”

Jonas raised an eyebrow, “Do think that is wise?  That undead dungeon is much more dangerous than your slime dungeon, and we need as many fighters as we can get for the final assault in 5 days.”

Mary nodded, “While I agree with you, it’s also important that we know as much as possible about what we will be facing on the inside.  If we can uncover the type of traps, the level of the dungeon, or even the strongest monster, we can be better prepared when we attack for real.”

Jonas thumped his fingers and nodded in agreement, “Your tactics astound me as usual Mary.  You have persuaded me; how many talismans do you need?”

Mary considered for a moment, “15 would be good, so that they can go in 5 times, about once a day.”

Jonas nodded, “I can make that number for you once everyone restores their faith.  In fact,” Jonas continued, “Why don’t I lend you a few of my priests to go in with you?  I’m sure they would be of great help in seeing through any illusions of evil magic and dealing with undead.”

“As much as I would like to accept, I cannot,” Mary politely refused, “These are mere scouting missions, so it is important we don’t agitate the dungeon too much.  A priest inside an undead tomb is asking for too much trouble.”

“Alright then,” Father Jonas let that matter slide, “I will have one of the acolytes deliver the seals to you later today.  I wish you luck in your dives.”

Mary bowed again, and left the room.

Father Jonas waited a few moments, then began to ponder.

“I wonder what game you’re playing here guild master?,” he thought, “Well, no matter I suppose.  As long as the end is accomplished, I guess the means don’t matter as much.”

*********

“So Big Brother, why are we going through the front entrance if we’re . . .”

“Shh Anhel, quiet.  We are coming into the dungeon to investigate it before we launch the main counter-attack,” Jare cautioned.  The walls have may spirits listening in remember.”

The three beast-men were approaching the tomb dungeon to give it a quick dive.  All three wore golden charms around their neck, a gift from the church.

“Smell funny,” William growled.

“Of course it smells funny Will, it’s a tomb.  I doubt anyone living has been inside for many years,” Anhel pointed out.

“Okay you two be quiet.  We’re here,” Jare announced as they stood in front of the large burial mound.  The dungeon entrance loomed in front of them, a broken gate in a door surrounded by the carvings of wailing spirits.  The spire crown towered above their heads.

“I like the other dungeon entrance better, the slimier dungeon too,” Anhel muttered as he shivered.

Jare inspected the carvings for a moment, “Strange, the slime dungeon had the skull from the worgs it acquired.  Are these carvings of the people who joined this undead tomb dungeon?”

They pushed open the gate, which squeaked ominously as it gave them entry.  A cold breeze blew out from the dungeon, but all was silent.

“I think we were just welcomed,” Jare chuckled, “Let’s go on in boys and see what it has to offer.”

They walked inside, and the darkness covered them.

After walking for a few minutes down a dark corridor, they came into a torch-lit room with 5 doors.

Jare whistled, “Woah ho, it seems that bypassing this floor could spell trouble.”  He looked around the room, “You two see any clues on which door to take?”

Anhel turned and pointed up, “Look big brother, there is something written above the doorway where we entered.

Above the corner stone archway, a series of passages were written into the stone, glowing in a light green light.

Enter, and search for immortality

The Sentinel blocks the path, but can only be found through the trials

Through your bonds show Passion

Move the stone with Willpower

Defeat the horde in Battle

Overcome the cursed Resentment

Unlock one, face the guardian through

Overcome them all, face the true guardian

All is for my king, so I write this

Left General

Jare nodded, “I see, this is what the old man was talking about.” He pointed behind him at the doors, “The four doors lead to the trials, and the middle one leads to the final boss.  It’ll unlock after clearing one, but we can’t defeat the dungeon unless we fight the true final boss, which requires all four bosses to be overcome.”

“Hey big brother, why are these messages so clear?  Shouldn’t it be vague and rhyming to test the knowledge of those who read it?”

Jare laughed, “Those are riddles little brother.  These seem to be messages from one of the king’s generals, the left one anyway.”

“King?” Anhel raised an eyebrow.

“Well, it is called ‘The Tomb of the Forgotten King’, so there must be a king here.  Rather, I bet this message is what caused the dungeon to get its name,” he mused, “Well, let’s take the first tunnel, the one for passion.”

The other two shrugged, and Jare opened the tomb door.

The three found themselves looking into three long tunnels.  Jare grimaced and shut the door quickly.

“Ah crap, let’s not go in there.  You two aren’t mentally experienced enough to deal with that kind of separation and isolation.”

Anhel, not wanting to separate from his brothers, nodded in agreement quickly.  Jare walked over to the doorway-of-will and took a peak.

“Damn, this one will take too much time.” He shut the door quickly, not letting Anhel or William peek inside.

Seeing as they weren’t going to have any input, Anhel and William wandered around the room, inspecting the carvings.  All around, scenes of battle, carnage, and death were carved.  However, there seemed to be smaller writings beneath the pictures, as if someone had crawled up and carved their last thoughts into stone.

After reading for awhile, Anhel raised his eyebrows in alarm.

“Big brother, it’s a trap!,” he cried out suddenly.

Jare and William took their weapons out and assumed battle positions.  “Anhel, what’s wrong?  What did you find?,” Jare called out.

Anhel pointed, “These words were carved by past adventurers.  We aren’t on the 1st floor, we’re on the 50th!”

Jare put his hammer down and frowned, “That’s impossible,” he said flatly, “I felt no change in elevation, nor change in the air.”

Anhel pointed at the door they had come from, “It’s a trap the dungeon uses to trick scouts.  They come in here believing the dungeon is simple, and then the group is forced to fight floor after floor until they reach here.  It’s hard to stop once you commit to a dive.”

William frowned, “Good hint, why still here?”

Jare narrowed his eyes as he gave the room a closer look, “This room . . . this room has been hand-dug.  It’s not a natural room nor a dungeon built one.”

“Is that even possible?  I thought dungeons made everything in their dungeons?,” Anhel asked.

Jare shook his head, “Originally, the name dungeon comes from the prisons under castles.  In old ruins, the monster known as ‘dungeon’ took over the area and made it a monster breeding ground, or so the legends go anyway.  This place was likely a functioning tomb that a dungeon took over and incorporated into itself.”

“The question then is,” Jare muttered, “How did a dungeon form near enough to a tomb to take it over?  Tombs are blessed specifically so monsters never come into them or form in them.  Were the blessings broken somehow?”

“That means,” he continued, “the original rooms cannot be changed by the dungeon, so anything carved here, like the messages above or the scribblings below, can’t be erased.”  Jare tuned to look at the pitch black tunnel from whence they came, “It was curious that we couldn’t see through the darkness; it was actually a spatial tunnel that brought us here.”

From the center door, a strong breeze blew through the room, almost as if someone was laughing at them.

William gripped his crossbow, “Aware of us, it is mocking.”

Jare growled at the door, “It’s telling us that even though we know, we still can’t do anything about it.  Our forces will still have to pass through 50 levels of undead to reach here.  Then we will need to go through all four trials to unlock the final boss.  Damnation!” He punched the ground, “In this case, knowledge is worthless without the strength to accomplish the tasks.”

Jare got up quickly and turned around, “Come on guys, we have to leave and report this tragedy, even if it causes us problems.  We’ll just have to believe in ourselves and overcome challenges or obstacles with determination!”  Jare strolled forward into the dark tunnel, followed closely by Anhel and William.  After a few minutes walking through the darkness, they arrived outside the dungeon.  Jare turned back and made a rude finger gesture at the dungeon, then led his brother back over the plains.”

When they were far enough away, Jare breathed out a sigh of relief and sagged, “Geez, acting all serious there really gave me a headache.  ‘Over-come with determination’; geez I sounded like a completely ignorant hero didn’t I?”

William chuckled, “Bro too simple.”

“That’s for sure,” Anhel chortled as well, “I think you may have sold it too well; that dungeon is likely gloating over an easy victory now.”

Jare laughed with his brothers, “Well, we did what we needed to do, and the charms are still usable since we didn’t fight at all.  Come, let’s deliver the good news to Mary that we’ll be able to launch our two pronged assault after all.”

Chapter 21

------5 Days later-----

Mary stood with Father Jonas in front of the troops of adventurers, townsfolk, elves, and priests.  They looked out over the plains at the tomb, which contrasted against the backdrop of flat land.

“It seems like it is about time,” Jonas observed.

Mary nodded, “Were you successful with distributing the charms?”

He shook his head, “The sheer number of people who wanted to join in made it impossible to equip them all, but everyone of sufficient strength has a ward against possession.  Still, it shouldn’t be a problem as long as our magical defenses remain strong.”

Mary nodded, “Yes, the assistance of the elves and other townsfolk was surprising, but very pleasing to see.  Now, we are all in this together.”

Father Jonas gave her a side-long glance, “And your beast-men, I don’t see them here.”

“They have their own mission to complete that, if successful, will turn the tides of battle,” she responded simply.

He shook his head, but the Father said nothing to refute her.  It was too late to do anything about it anyway.

Mary turned around to face the crowd of fighters behind her.  “MEN, WOMEN, ADVENTURER, PRIEST, MINER, ELF,” she cried out, “WE GATHER TO FIGHT NOT ONLY FOR OUR LIVES, BUT FOR THE LIVES OF THOSE WHO WILL COME AFTER US.  WILL YOU ROLL OVER AND DIE A WORTHLESS DEATH?”

“NO!,” they cried out in defiance.

“THEN PREPARE YOURSELVES, BECAUSE THIS NIGHT WILL BE ONE THAT WILL BE TALKED ABOUT FOR A HUNDRED YEARS!,” she roared, and the crowd rattled their weapons in response, raising their voices to the heavens.

The earth began to shake, and 5 figures rose up in front of the dungeon.

Mary narrowed her eyes, “Those must be the 5 generals; a tier-3 Skeleton Necromancer, a tier 4-Specter, a tier-3 Mummy, a tier-3 Skeleton Dread Knight, and a tier-3 vampire.”

Jonas spat, “All are strong monsters, and that tier-4 tells me we may not even be forcing it to use its strongest creatures yet.  This is going to be difficult.”

The necromancer raised its arms, and a blackness shot out into the ground.  Rotten arms and skeletal hands burst out of the ground as the undead army dug its way up through the turf.  The dread knight walked forward on its undead horse, its aura sinking into the nearby skeletons and transforming them into swordsmen, shield wielders, and warriors.  The vampire cast forth its blood magic, transforming the zombies into ghouls.

Mary raised her weapons, a blood-red saber and wand, and cried out, “Mages, archers, release and fire!”

As they had practiced, every magic user and archer unleashed their payload as blessed arrows and magic rained down on the undead horde in front of them.  Skeletons exploded, zombies caught fire, and the vampire was forced to retreat from the flames.

The dread knight howled, and charged forward with his legion of undead fighters.

“EVERYONE!  FIGHT FOR YOUR FUTURE!,” proclaimed Mary.

*********

Jare’s ear twitched as he turned around to gaze at the distant battle.  “It sounds like they started just now.”

Anhel pulled on his brother’s arm, “I know you feel guilty about not being there big bro, but we have to hurry now.  The plan depends on us, so we can’t waste any time.”

“Hurry up Jare; we have to go,” Fiora called back.

Jare turned reluctantly and nodded, “Okay, let’s hurry.”

The two adventurer groups entered the slime dungeon and ran down into the center room where the Magus was waiting for them.

He waved pleasantly, “Good of you seven to join me.  Are you all fully prepared for this?”

Magus Falcon looked at the resolute gazes in front of him and nodded approval, “Good; feel free to address me however you want, since I’m the original personality by the way.”  He pointed at the glyph, “Our destination has already been added, so if one of you can choose it we will get this started.”

“Can’t you do it?,” Nat asked.

The Magus shook his head, “I can’t afford to waste too much mana since I’m a construct, and interacting with things would be troublesome.”

Jare and Fiora nodded and touched the glyph together.  When the options for floors came up, they both pressed on the new floor, the ‘Invasion’ floor.

The eight of them found themselves in a single room with a large, dark tunnel leading into the darkness.  As they took stock of the room, a slime fell from the ceiling, followed by another, then two more, until the entire room was filled with slimes.  The slimes made no move to attack and waited.

“Alright, looks like we have our invasion squad,” Falcon said cheerfully, “This tunnel will take us into the 25th floor of the tomb, after which we’ll have to fight down to the 50th floor and overcome all 4 trials.  The slimes here will be our vanguard.”

When he finished talking, two gelatinous slimes landed with a ‘splat’ and began to head down the tunnel.

“Let’s go!,” Jare declared, and the invasion squad ran into the tunnel of darkness.

*********

“They are going now,” Claire pointed out as she watched the squad enter the tunnel.

Doc sighed, “Well, I guess we can only wish them luck.  I’ll work the slimes as best as I can, but it depends on them, huh?”

“Yup, whether they live or die will depend on their skill and luck.” Claire nodded her head as she rested on her slime, “To be honest, this kind of fight, I don’t really like.  A battle like this is too epic, like if I watch it I’ll be glued to the scene before me.”

Doc raised his imaginary eyebrow, “Oh, so you don’t want me to show the fight?”

“I didn’t say that.”

When the invasion squad exited the tunnel, they found themselves in a long corridor.  The walls were lined in long alcoves, each filled with a dead body.

Anhel wrinkled his nose in disgust, “It really is a tomb then.  We didn’t see this last time we were here.”

William shook his head, “Smell bad, exit lost.”

Jare turned to the other five, “We can’t smell our way through the floor.  It looks like we’ll have to run around until we find the staircase.”

Falcon closed his eyes and pointed, “I can sense the flow of magic here vaguely, and it seems to be coming from that direction.”

At once, the gelatinous slimes moved down the hall way at high speed, their bulk filling up the space like a wall.

Fiora grinned savagely, “Looks like we’re racing the clock here guys.  It’s a speed-run!”

They chased after the two gelatinous slimes, the squad of other slimes moving behind them.

“Look, there’s the staircase!,” Gran pointed ahead.  Indeed, not even five minutes after they had entered, they had already found the first staircase leading down.

Jonas warned, “There are enemies up ahead too!” He prepared a spell, but the gelatinous slimes just ran over the skeletons.  The group watched as the monsters slowly dissolved inside the large slimes.

“Well, I guess we have a bit of overkill on our side,” Falcon chuckled, “Come on, as long as we are fast, we can easily clear these floors, especially since the dungeon is fully devoted to the fight upstairs.”

*********

Meanwhile, the battle was raging hard above ground.  The two forces met each other, and the fighting began in earnest.

The priests called upon their gods as holy magic rained down, healing allies and hurting the undead.  However, the necromancer led its contingent of undead spell users to cast dark spells of their own to boost their allies.  In this stalemate, Mary led a few of the C-ranked adventurers forward to attack the enemy mage squad.

“COME ON, SHOW ME YOUR BLOOD YOU DAMN BASTARDS!  I’LL RIP YOUR FILTHY SOULS FROM YOUR PITIFUL BODIES!” Mary’s face was terrifying as she grinned and slaughtered everything in her path.  Her saber sent skeleton after skeleton flying into their allies, clearing paths everywhere she struck.  Her wand glowed red as red light shot forward causing explosions wherever it struck.

Jonas smiled darkly from his place in the back.  He and the other stronger priests defended the mages and healers with their magical strength.  Jonas himself was clad in wind as he used two deadly fans to send spirals of air into approaching enemies.  The mini tornados moved neither friend nor ally, but skeleton after skeleton was sent flying away.  “YOU PUTRID SACKS OF FILTH!  THE WORLD HAS NO NEED FOR YOUR KIND, RETURN TO THE NOTHINGNESS AND DIE!”

“Geez, they really live up to their names,” Johan yelled out to Hamish as he kick-stomped a skeleton and followed up with an upwards blow.

“Shut up and fight or they might hear you!,” Hamish responded as he used a shield to block another blow form a skeleton.

“Our bosses are currently kicking the combined crap out of an entire army; why the hell would they be listening to a random miner?”

As the battle raged on, the undead army seemed to be hesitating for some reason.  A few of the undead even turned around and began to walk toward the undead dungeon.

Taking advantage of this distraction, Mary forced her way through and made it to the undead mages.  Laughing gleefully, her saber struck down the mages and finally beheaded the necromancer.

“HA HA, THIS IS TOO EASY!  THIS IS THE FEARED TOMB OF THE FORGOTTEN KING?  HOW UTTERLY BORING!,” Mary screamed out as she finished off the last of the mages.

The entire undead army seemed to flinch, and then howls of rage arose.

“That’s it, focus on us,” Mary muttered softly, “We need to buy them more time.”

The ground shook as a new undead army appeared --- one far more deadly than the last.  Squads of dread knights arrived, led by a black-helmed doom knight.  Pyromancers, cryomancers, electromancers, and more necromancers also arose, as well as healing skeletons like acolytes and corrupters.

The specter wailed out now, calling its brethren to the fight.  Wraiths and elemental souls appeared to torment the valiant defenders: chained souls, burning souls, freezing souls, and lost souls.

The mummy trembled as it changed, rising up as a legendary Pharaoh with its equally terrifying guard forming around it.  The vampire fell back as a vampire noble came forth, its fangs glowing white even in this afternoon.

Worst of all, a skeleton behemoth walked out of the entrance.  This terrifying tier-5 monster stood 30 feet tall and was made of countless bones.  It roared out, and the fight renewed.

Mary was forced to retreat with her squad as the death knights and pharaoh guards attacked her.  She was barely able to salvage their retreat as they fled back to their side of the battlefield.

“The fight just got a lot more interesting,” Father Jonas said with a grimace, as his tornadoes had less effect upon the undead, “So this is the true might of the legendary tomb.”

“It appears so,” said Mary, “I was wrong with my assessment, it seems to be at least an B-rank dungeon.” Mary was feeling nervous now.  If this was only half the strength of the enemy dungeon, then would the invaders who were already inside be safe?  Everything rested on them succeeding and the army holding out long enough to keep the enemy distracted.

Mary flipped her hand, pressing her wand against her saber.  The wand sunk into the weapon, its likeness appearing on the sword as an engraved carving.  With a single sweep, she sent out a shockwave of explosive energy, throwing enemies flying back, but, unfortunately, also the allies.  Jonas began to dance, and the wind wrapped around him in an armor of wind and light.

Their two pair of eyes closed and reopened, glowing in red and yellow respectively.

“COME ON, LET’S SEE IF YOU CAN KEEP THIS UP!,” Mary and Jonas cried out together as they jumped into the horde.

Chapter 22

“Keep it up guys, we’re making good headway,” Falcon called from the front as he floated after the two supporting gelatinous slimes.

The rest of the group breathed heavily as they hurried down the dungeon tunnels.  They had been running non-stop for 17 floors now, and even Jare was feeling the limits of his endurance approaching.  In fact, he was currently carrying Jonas, who had the worst stamina of all of them.

“Big brother, pass him to me now,” Anhel spoke up, “You’ve had him for 5 floors.”

Jare chuckled through his grimace, “Okay then, just be sure to not drop him.  We still need him for the trials.”

“Sorry about this,” Jonas muttered as he was tossed from one shoulder to the next, “This is rather pitiful, to be a sack of dead weight.”

Nat and Fiora laughed, but they too were getting red in the face, “Here I thought you got stronger?  I thought you said you were going to protect me?  Is this your new method, to be carried?,” Nat teased him.

“Yes, your endurance is quite poor, even for a mage.  You should be more like me; I’m not even breaking a sweat.” Falcon called from up from the front.

Everyone gave him a dirty look.  “Oy, you aren’t even a real person here.  How can you sweat it; you’re just an illusion?,” insisted Nat

Falcon shrugged, “Not my problem; but if makes you feel better my real body is sweating up a storm from the stress of forming this body.  Opps, here comes another wave.”

A group of skeleton warriors and mages appeared at the other end of the tunnel, while some of the bodies on the wall began to stir.  The warriors charged while the fire and thunder mages chanted their magic.

“It’s too bad the dungeon figured out that our vanguard is weak to magic,” Falcon sighed, “Well, looks like you guys are up for this fight.”

Moving in a practiced, fluid motion, Fiora and Jare reached behind them and each grabbed a slime.  Fiora held a magic slime while Jare had gotten hold of an earth slime.  They wound up their arms, and threw the two slimes as hard as they could.  As they passed through the air, Falcon waved his hand and added a little wind to the flying slimes.  The two projectiles sailed through the gelatinous slimes, over the skeleton warriors and smashed directly into the mages, interrupting their spell casting.  The slimes went to work immediately, devouring the mage skulls and torsos.  Since a magic slime was thrown this time, it enjoyed a nice meal of mana.

Meanwhile the group never stopped running forward, and the gelatinous slimes picked up all the warriors and devoured them.

Gran frowned as he watched the slimes dissolve the squirming skeletons, “I must say, this way is very efficient, but isn’t it kind of cruel?”

“Less talking, more shooting,” Fiora pointed to another wave of skeletons heading their way.  Gran sighed, but grabbed a slime and placed it on his arrow.  The poison slime flew through the air and landed with a giant splat of poison, dissolving the next wave of skeletons.

Fiora whistled, “Having a bow with the ‘explosion’ enchantment sure is useful, huh Gran.”

Gran’s frown twitched in frustration, “I hate using this bow; it’s not tasteful or beautiful.  It’s just a bow for slaughter, like all dwarf weapons.”

“Right now, I prefer this to your silver bow,” Jonas spoke up from Anhel’s shoulder.

“Be quiet flour sack.”

Jonas moped.

Doc and Claire watched the two battles from their heart-room.  Thanks to the mana corrupted ground, Doc was able to get a much clearer view of the battle.

Claire pondered, “It seems like the invasion team is doing okay.  I really like their slime approach; we’re going to have to figure out a way to copy that.  Maybe with a slingshot trap of some sort.”

Doc nodded happily, “That sounds like fun; a game of dodge-the-slime.  I can set up a trap tunnel that shoots normal slimes and the occasional special slime.”

Claire looked over at the above-ground battle, “Still, that undead dungeon is really strong.  It even has tier-4 and 5 monsters fighting for it.  If those two scary people weren’t there, this battle might have already finished.”

Doc shivered in excitement, “Yeah; I can’t wait till I reach that level too.  I wonder what kind of cool slime bosses I’ll be able to make by then.”

Claire and the twins nodded in agreement.  They all looked forward to seeing that outcome as well.

Doc took a closer look at the fight, “Hey Claire, is it just me or is that evil dungeon not making new monsters?  They keep dying, but nothing else seems to be replacing them.”

Claire grinned, “That’s the truly devious plan here.  Remember when the old guy came with the girl?  You couldn’t make any new slimes because the cost was too high, and you were still drained.  Well, that dungeon is currently going through the same problem.  The purifying blast drained it, and it hasn’t recovered yet.  Not only that, but the invasion group is preventing it from making new monsters.  Now, it has put its strongest forces on the surface, and can’t deal with the invasion group properly.  Combined with our help, it seems that this plan will go off without a hitch.”

“You, why do you interfere?,” a voice shook the heart room, startling Doc and Claire.

“Claire. . ,” Doc tensed up.

Claire nodded, her eyes aggressive “Yeah, it’s the undead dungeon.”

“I don’t care about you; recall your slimes and let me devour them in peace.  Even with your help, it is all pointless to resist.”  The voice was desolate and sad, a depressed presence of ageless distraught.

“I do care; this is my slime dungeon town and my people you’re trying to poach,” Doc refuted, “They are my source of power, so you can’t have them.”

The voice began to chuckle, a slightly dark tinge coming into its voice now, “Oh, you are so young and inexperienced little dungeon.  You see, when an elder comes to visit, it’s important to be polite.  I think a small lesson is in order here. Ho ho ho hu hu hu.”

All of a sudden, the undead dungeon began to shake violently, knocking Claire off the slime and the twins off their feet.  Lady wiggled in motion to the tremors, her face inquisitive.

“A few drops in power ought to teach you a lesson.  Why don’t you watch as I reduce you all the way back to a rock in the ground.  Come, feed my power little dungeon.  Join me.”  The other dungeon’s laughter reverberated around the room, forcing the girls to cover their ears.

“DOC, HE’S INVADING!  HE WANTS TO STEAL THE POWER YOU’VE BUILT UP!,” Claire cried out over the sound of the evil laughter.

Doc cursed as he sensed multiple tunnels opening up inside of him, “Not good, he’s sending a lot of groups in.”

“To be honest, I don’t care too much since they’ll never be able to do all 4 trials, but it irks me having to split my forces.  So, experience your punishment,” the voice mocked, and then Doc felt the evil presence leaving.

Claire rose quickly from the floor, “Doc, hurry and let me see the invading tunnels.  If they drain you, the slimes in the invading team will disappear, or worse, attack the adventurers from the loss of your control.  We have to either buy time or beat back the invading force!”

As Doc opened up screens on his crystal, Claire quickly looked through all of them.

“There are 4 tunnels right now: the first floor, the 5th floor, the 10th floor, and the 15th floor.  The enemy dungeon is aiming for the bosses deliberately so you can’t use them to counter,” Claire analyzed, “the invading forces consist of  . . .”

She frowned as tears formed, recognizing the dangerous “Skeleton knights, Crusaders, Barbarians, Pyromancers, Cyromancers, Electromancers, and Necromancers.  Doc, every single one of them is a tier-3, a rank higher than anything you can call up.”

Doc felt his anger start to boil over, “He’s humiliating me!  He sends monsters slightly stronger to conquer all of my bosses and even says he’ll only drain me and not kill me.  I’VE NEVER WANTED TO KILL SOMEONE SO MUCH IN MY LIFE!,” Doc screamed as the dungeon shook from his anger.

Claire balled up her little fists as well as she began to shed angry tears, “That stupid no good JERK!  THIS IS OUR DUNGEON, AND IT IS NOT ALLOWED IN HERE!”

“KILL THEM ALL!,” they both roared together, and the twins howled with them.  Even Lady began to turn a slightly pink color, her face angry as she made fists of her own.

“Girls,” Doc commanded, “Take Claire up to the 15th floor and lead the counter attack.  I’m flowing into the grey slime family right now to assist you.”

The twins nodded, and Lady raised her fist to her chest as they teleported up to the 15th floor.

“Doc, the enemies get stronger in numbers the higher up you go,” Claire cautioned, “If you devote too much attention there, we may get invaded on the 25th floor and be out-maneuvered.”

“I’m moving the elemental overslime down to this level to protect me; let those monsters try to come down here,” Doc growled out.

“And, as for the first floor,” Doc chuckled darkly, opening the view screen for Claire to see, “I have that taken care of.”

Claire watched as the strongest squad of invaders was swept away by the Ooze, which Doc released from its mining constraints.

“I can’t let it down to the other floors; it’ll devour all my hard work,” Doc confessed as he watched the skeletons dissolve, “But, it can serve as a warning to the bastard.”

Claire nodded, “Doc, I’ll be right back.  I’ll go fight with our daughters.”  She flew into her home and shut the door.  Doc turned and let the majority of his consciousness flow into the 15th floor.

The battle had just begun when Doc arrived in force.  Skeleton Crusaders and Improved Shield Wielders were smacking the ramming slimes away as the mage squads fired attack after attack into the mass of slimes.  Doc took possession of his mage slime boss, which was currently fighting 7 skeleton knights along with the twins.

“Girls, I’m here now; go crazy,” Doc ordered in a dark glee.

With a whirl of smoke, the two worgs transformed into two dark, hooded figures wielding twin daggers as black as the night sky.  They crossed their arms, and surged forward so fast their wake left dark smoke.  The daggers slashed through the knights, destroying armor and bone alike.

Doc unleashed his own magic against the mage squad, putting his influence into every magic slime to assist in his barrage.  Fireballs, Earth Shots, Waterballs, and Air shot rained down from the ceiling, destroying the bridges and walkways above from where the mages were firing.  With their supports gone, they fell into the waiting horde of grey family slimes who jumped and devoured everything that moved.

Doc used his magic slime body to roar out his victory before turning to look at the twins.

“Are you two alright?,” he asked.

The two hoods nodded as Doc heard their voices in his head, “This form is tiring, but we can go on,” they told him.

“Good; you’re going to need that,” he informed them, “Enemies are still flowing out of the tunnels, so lead the slimes here to conquer the bottom tunnel and lead a counter-attack.  If we just defend, we’ll lose by virtue of their experience and strength.  This enemy is fighting on three fronts at once while we are struggling on one; we can’t beat it in the long run.”

“But what about you poppa?,” they whined, “You can’t hold on without us here; you’ll get eaten.”

Doc grimaced, “I’m pulling all my slimes down to the 25th floor.  Dungeons can’t open up tunnels to heart rooms, so they’ll have to unlock your boss door before they can attack me.  That should buy some time for you to fight up through the dungeon and help the other adventurers.”

“WE DON’T WANT TO LEAVE YOU FOR ADVENTURERS!,” the twins cried out, running forward to embrace Doc’s body in a hug.

Doc wrapped a tentacle around each girl and advised, “You must hurry; this will be the only way to save me.  Please girls, do this for your mother and me.”

Even with their faces covered, tears still glistened in the darkness, “Okay, we’ll go and save the people.  You can’t die though, okay?”

“Okay, that’s a promise,” he told them with a smile, “Now go!”

They nodded, and ran off into the tunnel, followed by the horde of grey family slimes.  Doc waited until they were gone, then teleported all the slimes that weren’t currently fighting to the boss room on the 25th floor.

“Wait, where did Lady go?,” he wondered suddenly.  He hadn’t seen her on the 15th floor, but she had definitely gone there with the twins.

“Well no matter, I doubt she’d be a tipping point in this fight anyway.”  Doc shook his head as he watched the other three battles rage in his dungeon.  The 1st floor was already spitting out more enemies.

“I’m counting on you girls; save them to save us.”

Chapter 23

Mary’s saber struck forward against the sword of a dread knight, knocking the skeleton off its horse.  She growled as she was forced to dodge a cavalry charge from 5 more knights.  As she rolled, her arm shot out and launched another saber blast that sent the 5 horses flying into the horde.

“This is getting bad,” she muttered as she used the moment of respite to observe the battle field.  Besides Mary herself and Father Jonas, everyone was having a hard time fighting back against this horde of undead.  Before, the majority of the undead army had been comprised of tier-1 and 2 monsters, something the majority of the town’s people were used to.  Now, however, the tier-3 and tier-4 monsters were striking down adventurers and townsfolk left and right.

“Father Jonas, we need to make a quick retreat to the gate!,” Mary called out.

Father Jonas, who was currently a dancing whirlwind of slaughter, called back to her, “I thought you were trying to buy time for your adventurers, no?  Would that not defeat the purpose to retreat now?”

Mary gritted her teeth in anger, “If we fall here, the plan will be worthless, even if they succeed.”

“Wonderful answer my dear!” Jonas’s face grinned hatefully as he stared the horde down, “Allow me to assist in this plan!”

He put his hands together and chanted for a moment.  When he finished, his wind armor swelled out and turned into a maelstrom, sending the entire horde tumbling back and creating a dead zone between the two armies.

Father Jonas, his face pale and sweating, cried out, “Everyone, retreat to the city walls!  We’ll unleash fire on them with the protection of Duras!”

The adventurers and townsfolk retreated as the horde surged forward again, their moaning cries chasing the adventurers all the way back to the glowing dome of protection.  The dome of light actually extended a little beyond the gate; so the army of life took their battle positions before the gate.

Friar Henry, who had been healing the injured from the back lines, teared up as he inspected the army, “So many lost, so many empty tents await the night.”  He shook his head, “We lost too many in that attack.”

Father Jonas patted Henry on the shoulder, “They fought hard and died well brother.  I am certain the gods await them in the heaven of glory or the heaven of joy.  Shed no tears for those who gave their lives for a worthy cause.”

“Shed tears for the living instead,” Mary piped up from in front of them, “We still have to deal with this mess.”

She turned and walked over to the elves who had joined the fight.  They had shot blessed arrows into the undead army, but had yet to actually join in the main fight.

“Are your preparations set?,” she asked quietly.

One of the elves, a male, nodded his head, “The priestess is with her attendants at the mother tree now.  She awaits your call.”

Mary nodded her head, “And what of you elves?  I see your quivers are nearly empty.”

The male nodded respectfully, a resolute look in his eye, “When we planted the mother tree, we swore to protect it with our last breath.  If we run out of arrows, we will strike them with our sabers.  If our sabers break, we will claw them apart.  And if they break our arms, we will drag down as many as we can with our teeth.  We are the protectors of the forest, and we will not run from fate.”

As one, the elves stored their bows and unsheathed their silver sabers, thin blades that caught the fading sunlight in a shimmer of beauty.

“That is all we can do,” Mary assured them as she left and returned to the front.  The army was marching at them, the undead having no need to rush with all the time in the world on their side.

Mary held up her blood red saber, “Now is the time, FEEL THE WRATH OF MOTHER NATURE!”

As her saber dropped, it sent off a shockwave.  The ground burst open as thousands of roots thrust forth.  They slammed into the undead, sending them flying, piercing their skulls with rabid furor, and smashing them to dust.

The adventures released a cheer as the frontline of the undead was shattered in a single blow.

However, as the roots continued forward, a hooded skeleton walked into view and raised its bony arms.  An evil blackness descended on the roots and took hold.  At once, the roots rotted, and the rot began moving at a frightening pace back upward.

Mary cursed loudly, “IT’S A PLAGUE-BRINGER!  RELEASE THE ROOTS OR THE MOTHER TREE WILL FALL!”

The elves, pale and shocked, ran forward and began to cut the roots in front of the army.  Mary joined in as she struggled to cut every root in front of her.  The last root retreated as the rot reached the end, and the corrupted roots turned into dust before them.

“A damn tier 4 plague-bringer, blast and curses!,” Mary punched the ground hard.

Indeed, the fallen members of the undead army began to stir as they rose back up.  Even the fallen defenders arose at the call and shambled forward.

Father Jonas turned to look at Mary, “I do not know these monsters like you do; what is a ‘plague-bringer’?”

Mary gritted her teeth, “A plague-bringer is a tier-4 undead and the evolved form of a corrupter.  It is a strong healer, but its healing powers can also bring back fallen undead as tier-one puppets.  That one, however, is a boss controlled by the tomb.  It’s likely the hidden leader of this undead army as well.  As a boss, not only can it bring back any undead no matter the condition, it can also resurrect our dead and turn them into weapons against us.”

“So, this boss is a healer and necromancer put together,” Jonas mused, “As if we didn’t have enough trouble as it were.  I’m guessing the word ‘plague’ has some meaning as well?”

Mary laughed darkly, “Oh, and it can bring pestilence among the living; can’t forget about that.”  She stared out over the newly re-formed undead army, “Looks like we are going to need a bigger miracle.”

*********

The invasion group of the tomb collapsed to the floor of level 50 in exhaustion.  Even Falcon was bent over at the knee as everyone took a quick break.  Having completed their escort mission, the slimes all left except a gelatinous slime, a healing slime, a magic slime, and a grey slime.  The healing slimes began to work their magic on the exhausted adventurers.

“Phew, these healing slimes are really convenient,” Fiora declared as she felt her strength slowly returning to her body.

Nat stretched out on the floor as a healing slime wandered over her body, “Yeah, I wish we could take these slimes outside the dungeon to use.  It’s even faster than applying a potion.”

“Hey, can I use the healing slime now?,” Jonas asked from the floor.

Nat stuck her tongue out, “Get your own slime flour sack.”

“I’m never going to live that down,” Jonas moaned, placing his hands over his face.  Everyone laughed, and Nat sat the healing slime on Jonas’ body.

Gran walked around the room, observing the carvings.  “So, this is the original part of the tomb,” he murmured, tracing the grooves with his fingers, “I’m surprised you beast-men were even able to read ancient elven.”

They all blinked at him in surprise, “What are you talking about?,” Anhel asked, “those scribbles are obviously beast-man scratch.”

“They look like human to me,” Nat spoke up from the floor.

Falcon grinned, “It has been a while since I’ve seen translational magic like this.  The words in this room are enchanted to adapt to the language the reader is most familiar with it seems.”

“What’s it look like to you old man?,” Jare asked.

“My handwriting of course,” Magus Falcon answered promptly, “No one else seems to be able to read it except me.”

After a moment of laughing, they got up and stood in front of the doors.

Jare pointed, “From left to right: passion, will, battle, resentment.  I think 2 person teams will work, as too many would just increase the difficulty.”

Falcon pointed, “Well that first door is obvious.  Nat, Jonas, you two go through passion?”

Nat jumped, startled, “Why us?”

“Because you two are quite passionate I hear,” Falcon winked, causing the two of them to blush.

Fiora walked over to the door of battle, “I’ll go here with Jare since we’ve the strongest.”

Falcon rolled his eyes, “I think you and Anhel had better take resentment; you both know what I’m talking about.”

The two tensed up, but nodded their heads in acceptance.

“I’ll take the old coot and head into battle,” Jare spoke up, “Will, you and Gran go through will. . . ha ha what a good joke.”

William and Gran gave the black beast-man a dry look.

When they all stood in front of their respective door, Fiora called out, “Let’s go!”

They opened their doors together, and a moment later the doors closed and silence returned to the tomb.

*********

With the door closed behind them, Nat and Jonas found themselves in a room with two tunnels.

“I guess this is where we part ways,” Nat observed, her face falling slightly.

Jonas gave her a warm smile as he wrapped his hand around hers, “It’ll be fine Nat.  We’ll pass this trial together, even if we’re far apart.  Come on, I’ll take the left tunnel since you’re always ‘right’.”

Nat reflexively laughed at his joke, and the two let go of each other’s hands and walked down their respective tunnels.

*********

Gran and Will stared up at the hill in front of them, at the same time noticing the massive boulder at the bottom.  They noted the words on the ground:

“Make the rock stay at the top of hill.”

Gran’s face planted into his hand, “Seriously, this is kind of unoriginal isn’t it?”

Will shrugged, “Still hard, rock big.”

Gran declared, “Damn, this really is a test of willpower isn’t it?,” revealing a sarcastic smile as he patted Will on the back, “Come noble beast, let’s get this trial started.”

William removed Gran’s hand, “Not beast, beast-man.  Difference.”

*********

Jare and Falcon scratched their heads as they found themselves in a massive arena.

“Huh, this wasn’t here the last time I looked,” observed Jare, “then it was a horde of undead.”

Falcon shrugged, “Maybe the tomb dungeon improvised since it’s fighting up on the surface.  What do we do now I wonder?”

As if to answer his question, a stone floated up with the words:

“Defeat thy foe, leave this place.”

“I don’t see anyone here though, except your ugly old face,” Jare remarked, then frowned, “Hey, that didn’t come out right.”

“Oh I don’t know, your mouth has always been bigger than your little beast brain,” Falcon added.  He also frowned, “Well isn’t that odd, I always thought that . . . no wait I didn’t mean to say you are a complete idiot . . . uh oh.”

Jare tensed involuntarily, “Hey piece of crap teacher, what’s going on?  You turning senile over there?”

“I’m eccentric, not senile,” Falcon retorted angrily, “Anyway, I think that stone is affecting us, you forever single herbivore,” He paled, “Oh crap . . .”

“WHAT THE NINE HELLS DID YOU CALL ME?!,” Jare roared as he immediately beast-out in anger and lunged at the Magus, teeth bared.  Falcon dodged and rolled across the ground, his face contorted in anger.

“Calm down now you fool!,” insisted Falcon, “don’t make me put a leash on you!”

Falcon and Jare paused, Falcon’s face turning deathly white while Jare’s muzzle began to steam up.  The rising vapors spread over his entire, muscled, hairy body.

“Oh double crap.”

“EAT YOUR FLESH!,” Jare’s world turning red as he flew into the worst battle-rage he had ever felt in his life.

*********

Meanwhile, in the room of resentment, Fiora and Anhel were slumped over unconscious on the floor.  The single room had a single, azure fire torch on the wall that sent hypnotic light everywhere.  Fiora, her eyes twitching, began to sleep-talk.

“No, don’t leave me guys.  It wasn’t my fault, it wasn’t my fault,” a single tear rolling  down her face from her right eye.

Anhel’s face was contorted in a mix of fear and anger, and he growled as his hand swiped at the air.

“I will not submit, I will never submit.” His hands tightened as fur began to grow over his hands, “You dam imperial monsters!”

Nat walked down her path through the darkness, her hand using the wall as a guide as she made her way.

“I hope everyone is doing okay,” she prayed in her heart, “We all need to succeed.”

As the wall turned abruptly, she found herself staring at a far off light. She winced, as the light was too bright for her eyes, and she shielded them with her left hand as she walked toward it.

When she entered the light, the world changed around her.

Nat blinked as she found herself walking to her home, a small cottage placed next to the woods.  She looked at the familiar chairs and decorations.  Her eyes fell on a magic picture, taken . . . when had the picture been taken?

As she began to frown, two hands wrapped around her.

“Hey there beautiful, how’s my favorite girl today?”

Nat grinned and pulled the arms closer, “I’m feeling wonderful Jonas, how are you love?”

Jonas laughed and spun his wife around, “I’m doing great!  You brother and I made a killing on that last quest, and I even managed to haggle a bonus from the client.”  He waggled his eyebrows, “We are having meat tonight with all the trimmings.”

Nat giggled as she played with his chest, coyly, “Oh? What of the little one inside of me?  I don’t think we should enjoy any meat until he has come,” patting her rounded belly happily.

“Wait, where is my sword?,” Nat asked, confused.

Jonas waved a hand in front of her face, “You okay Natalie?  Don’t you remember? You left your sword with Nathan so you wouldn’t be tempted to practice with the baby.  Is this the forgetful phase of pregnancy?”

Nat punched him playfully, “Oh you jerk, there is no such thing.  Now come on, I feel the need for some vegetables and river clams.”

Jonas winced, “Oh, so this is the weird eating phase then.”

“Oh be quiet you big oaf.”

*********

“Heave, heave!,” Gran and William muttered as they pushed the huge stone up the hill for the umpteenth time.  The stone was everything; it was their only reason to live.

“Ah, looks like it rolled down again,” Gran sighed as they watched the boulder tumble down the other side of the hill, “Oh well, time to push again.”

“Rock is life,” Will nodded his head.

Gran slapped his back, “I couldn’t agree more, old friend.  After doing this with you for years . . ,” Gran frowned, “That’s not right, we’ve only been in here for a few hours.   We’re in a dungeon, the tomb.”

William also frowned, “Mission, save town.”

Gran frowned, “These trials are dangerous; this one has even affected my mind and sense of time.  So this is what the test of will is, to not only overcome the trial but to also avoid its trap.”

As they approached the stone again, Gran gave it a closer look.  He recoiled in shock, “Dear forest, this stone is made of bones and dirt.”

Will sniffed it, “Adventurer.”

“They let themselves get run over,” Gran realized in shock, “They became so obsessed with the rock and the job, they joined it forever.”

He took a step back, “These are trials of death, meant to weigh down on the soul until the person willingly gives themselves up to the dungeon.  Even the strongest adventurer would suffer to mind and soul attacks like these if he was unstable in the slightest.”

“What now?,” William asked.

“We need to succeed, that has never changed, but we should look at this differently.” Gran stared at the stone, “If this is not real stone, then I may have a plan.”

*********

The battle between Jare and Falcon raged on, the two fighting each other with hate in their eyes.

“Firestorm!,” Falcon roared as his tornado of flame burst into life and shot toward the beast-man.  Jare’s image faded as the tornado hit him, his after-image destroyed by the flame.  Falcon raised his left hand behind him, forming a shield to block the blow from Jare.

Jare growled and disappeared before the shield burst out in an electrical wave.  He hit the ground and blurred into multiple forms, each charging toward Falcon

“DAMNATION, I TOLD YOU BEING IN MORE THAN ONE PLACE AT A TIME WAS EASY!,” Falcon roared.  Jare just roared back, his mind too dim to communicate properly.

Falcon gnashed his teeth, “Whraaa, this getting annoying.  Thankfully, this spell of rage isn’t as bad on me because I’m not a real person, but I really do want to rip your throat out.”

Falcon paused and floated up out of reach, Jare roaring angrily as he ran in circles below, “Wait, how can a mind affecting spell affect an illusionary construct like me?  I have no mind to affect except for the magic link to my main body.”

Pondering, the Magus continued, “Oh, I get it now.” He plopped his fist into his palm, “I just needed to burn off some of the annoyance I felt toward my former pupil.  Well, since I did that, I guess it’s time to finish this battle.”  He grinned madly as he floated back down, “Ah well, I guess I always wanted to feel what dying felt like.”

He held out his arms widely as he called out, “Come and get me boy!”

Jare lunged in for the kill.

*********

Nat lay with her husband under the stars as they watched the night sky together.  She cuddled up to him, “Dear, I always wanted to do this with you.”

Jonas chuckled, “We do this every night; what are you talking about?”

Nat smiled sadly as she got up, “This has been a dream come true, but I swore long ago to never let my heart be controlled again.  That already cost me some of my life; I can’t afford to give up any more for a beautiful fantasy.”

Jonas’ smile became uneasy, “Natalie, are you okay?  You’re not thinking of anything bad are you?”

She smiled down at him, “Even if it was a false dream, thanks for the memories.”

She reached her hand down and grabbed at her waist, pulling up nothing as she swung her hand down into Jonas’ forehead.

Her world shattered; the dream dissolved, and Nat found herself in full armor standing over a skeleton, her knife in its forehead.  The skeleton seemed to grin, before fading away into dust.  Nat blinked back the tears in her eyes, then turned to looked around.

The room she was in was small, with a single red torch.  Word glittered under it.

“Take this flame to the door.  Passion is not only within large acts of battle and love; it also exists in the small things.  Never think that minor acts of passion are worthless.”

Nat nodded, reaching her hand to the torch.  When she touched it, she found Jonas standing beside her.  The two jumped back in surprise, then grinned at each other.

“We were right next to each other the entire time,” Nat giggled.

Jonas smiled sadly at her, “That’s right, we have always been together.  I wasted too much time not being with you.”

Nat shook her head as she grabbed Jonas and pulled him close, “Then, don’t let me go again fool.”

*********

“Okay William, hold it there!,” Gran cried out as he ran out from under the stone.  William growled as he beasted-out, his feet trembling as he held the massive stone by himself.

Gran ran around to the other side of the boulder and swung his sword out.  Using the blade, he carved an indention in the rock, knocking away the bones and dirt in the way.

“Alright, it’s ready!,” Gran jumped back.

William howled as he rolled the stone up onto the top of the hill.  The tip of the hill caught the indention, and the boulder did not move.  When it stopped, it cracked open into four pieces, revealing a green flame within.  The four pieces fell onto the hill and turned into dust.

The torch rested on a stone pedestal, inscribed with the following words:

“Take this torch to the doorway.  To have willpower is not only to have persistence and determination, but to have the ability to try new ways of doing things when nothing else works.  To do the same thing and expect different results is pure foolishness.”

Gran and William shared a high-five as they took a break on the hill.

*********

Jare stared down in horror as he watched Falcon slowly dissolve into magic light.

“Master Falcon, I’m so sorry.  I didn’t mean it,” he blubbered away, completely out of character, “You’re, and I, ah . . . I’m so sorry!”

Falcon chuckled and patted Jare’s head with his one good arm, “Ha ha, cough, it’s alright young one.  This trial was very devious; if I hadn’t done this we would have fought each other until we both died.  You did well you know; I saw a lot of lessons paid off.  I’m going to have to, cough, recommend you for the A-ranked test when I . . .when we . . .get . . . home.”  Falcon disappeared into sparkles of light in Jare’s arms.

As Jare wept, the floating stone fell apart, revealing a silver torch.  The ground beneath it glowed in words:

“Take this torch to the door.  Victory cannot be found in battle without sacrifice.  Defeat sometimes is the better way to allow for further victory.  Never forget what was lost.”

Jare wiped his eyes as he grabbed the torch, “I’ll make sure this cursed dungeon pays for this.”

*********

In the central room, the doors opened together as everyone left their rooms.  Nat and Jonas carried the red torch, Gran and William carried the green torch, Jare carried the silver torch, and Fiora and Anhel carried the black torch.

Jonas frowned, “Hey Jare, where is the Magus?”

Jare shook his head in sadness, “The trial, it required a sacrifice.  He gave his life for me and let me pass the trial when he could have easily killed me.”

They all bowed their heads in sadness.  “Damn, these trials were really messed up.” Anhel growled as his foot stamped into the floor, “I did not want to live through those memories again.”

Everyone nodded as they described their experiences.  Anhel and Fiora were curt in their explanation, but vaguely referenced living through traumatic memories.

Gran nodded his head in understanding, “These trials were designed to break one’s soul.” He pointed at each torch, “Through happiness, through confirmation, through depression, and through anger; these tests were designed to appeal to the soul in the most devious of ways.”

Fiora frowned, “It’s strange though, those words in the end, it was almost like the writer was trying to teach us lessons.  But,” she gestured to the entire room, “Why would a dungeon care about teaching adventurers a good lesson?”

“I think,” Anhel began, “Like this room, those trials were not originally part of the dungeon.  It may have added its own power to make them like they are now, but they were meant for something else originally.”

Jare scratched his head and sighed, “This just gets more mysterious the longer we stay in here.  Come on, let’s light the door.  For the town, and for Magus Falcon.”

“For the town and Magus Falcon,” the other 7 people in the room echoed.  Jare stated, “Come on guys, it’s time to go,” scanning the 7 before him and nodded as he turned.

He paused and looked back around.  He counted again, and blinked.

“Why are there two Jonas’?”

Everyone turned to look over at Nat, who had a Jonas on either side of her.  Nat herself looked around and began to twitch her eye.

“It was bad enough The Father in that tunnel was named Jonas too, but now there are two of my Jonas’?  Am I still in the trial?” She was starting to feel the need to freak out.

The Jonas on the right grinned as he changed into Falcon.

“You guys miss me?”

With a resounding ‘Pop’ sound, Nat punched the Magus in the balls, followed up with an uppercut to the chin, and then slammed her elbow into his chest.  The old man stood no chance and fell to the floor in agony.

Jare, his face angry now, picked up the Magus and growled at him.  “What was with that dramatic moment if you weren’t really going to die?”

“Oh, I was trying to talk but the connection got cut before I could tell you.  So, I made another body and waited for you guys out here.”

Jare put his hand over his face and calmed down, “We are going to have a talk later, and you will take your punishment from everyone.  Right now, let’s just solve this dungeon first.”

The Magus shrugged, “By the way, we better hurry.  It’s not looking so hot upstairs.”

Chapter 24

The undead beat their fists and swords against the barrier wall, their chattering teeth and bones sending chills down the living army’s spines.  The adventurers thrust their weapons through the barrier, stabbing as many enemies as they could.

The mages on both sides launched spells at each other, though only the spells from the living mages made it through the barrier.

“Keep it up!  The barrier won’t last forever, so take down as many as you can!,” Mary called over the roar of battle, her saber sending wave after wave of skeletons flying.

“Guild master, they keep getting back up!  We can’t keep them down!,” an adventurer cried out in panic.

“Then destroy everything until only dust remains!  Do not give up, or we will all perish!,” Mary ordered.

Her eyes darted across the battle-field toward the other side, where the corrupter boss stood, channeling its foul magic into the fight.  The behemoth and pharaoh stood close by, acting as protection for the monster boss.  Above them, the vampire swarm slashed at the shield, dodging the occasional blast of magic that came their way.

Mary pointed up, “Aim a volley at those vampires; I don’t want them getting behind us!”

On cue, a volley of fire magic spewed into the swarm, scattering the vampires.  Mary smiled in grim satisfaction as the vampires were not regenerated or brought back.

“Take out the special undead, the corrupter can’t bring them back!,” she directed.

As she wiped the sweat off her forehead, she noticed a small crack in the ceiling of the dome.

‘Hurry you guys, we’re running out of time.”

“Come on, get them guys!,” Doc cried out as he rolled the last mass of slimes from outside the boss room into the horde of undead.

Doc’s armor slimes rammed forward, taking the hits while the other slimes darted around and leaped onto the bony meals in front of them.  From the back, his magic and plant slimes threw attack after attack; the mage slimes shooting magic while the plant slimes formed obstacles with the plants around them.

There were just too many skeletons for him to defeat.  After knocking down the initial wave of enemies, the skeletons slashed through the weaker slimes, and the undead mages destroyed his armor slime wall.  Finally, his backline was wiped out by the press of sheer numbers of undead.

“Rotten undead; shike this battle,” Doc rumbled in anger, “Now it’s just plain bullying.”

“Well what did you expect Doc?  That dungeon has centuries on us,” He heard Claire’s voice behind him.

“Oh, good to see you back . . ,” Doc stared, “What are you wearing?”

Claire was not wearing her normal purple dress.  Instead, she was decked out in a battle outfit, complete with plating and a rapier on her belt.  Her hair was even in a pony-tail of all things.

Her current outfit was purple and green, and Doc could not quite place the material.  The torso piece had no openings and wrapped around her tightly with beautiful patterns running up and down it.  She wore a plate skirt over leggings, both equally patterned.  Even her arms were decorated beautifully.  Her right hand carried a helmet with an opening in the back for her pony-tail.  The helmet was pointed in the front with teeth like openings running down the mouth area.

She grinned at him, “This is a dungeon pixie’s traditional battle suit.  Using our power, we mix stone from our dungeon and natural plants to form this.  Every set is unique and reflects the dungeon we are a part of.”

“You plan on fighting then?,” Doc asked.

Claire whipped her hair in annoyance, “Of course I am.  While most pixies might prefer to watch their dungeon battle, my mother taught me how to properly fight in the tradition of my ancestors.  If we are in danger, then we fight together.”

Doc laughed as his spirit enveloped her body in a hug, “Together forever, right Claire?”

“Right Doc,” she smiled at him, “So what’s the current situation?”

“The four slimes just entered the final boss room with the invasion team.  Actually, I think they forgot about the slimes completely, or didn’t notice them anyway,” Doc shrugged, “Anyhow, I lost connection with them, but they have strict orders to not attack anything alive.”

Claire whipped out her rapier and held it in front of her face, “And us, how are we doing?”

“The last slime squad just fell on floor 19.  They are coming straight here since I moved the elemental boss to the final room.  Every other slime is here as well, including the versions the adventurers have yet to see.”

“That should buy us enough time then.” Claire looked through his crystal at the horde, “We have to put our hopes in the adventurers.”

“Oh, and the slimes,” she said quickly as Doc’s face began to fall, “Of course the slimes are important too.”

*********

Behind the final door, a short hallway revealed a room.  The group entered to find a strange site before them.  The room was huge, with a large, round, raised platform in the middle.  On either side of the doorway, massive statues stood at attention.  The right statue was headless, wielding a large naginata; though the sword part looked like a normal sword.  The left statue was broken, its weapon broken and stuck in its torso.  Bones littered the room except on the raised platform, where a single skeleton lay, broken.  And at the far side of the room, a throne sat in golden light, with a horned skull resting in its seat.

“We made it; this is the final boss room,” Jare said mutely.

Anhel looked around, “Where is the boss?”

Falcon pointed, “From the limited reports, each of these icons was a boss.  I don’t know what we are going to face though.”

A chuckle began to emanate from the throne.  To the shock of everyone, a ghostly figure rose up from the skull.

While he looked human, 4 horns grew up from his forehead in a twisted crown.

“Good day, or is it good afternoon?,” The spirit greeted them.

Everyone blinked.

“Um, who are you?,” Jonas asked.

“Me?,” the spirit laughed, “Why, I am the spirit of this tomb of course.  The one who oversees everything and commands the undead.”

Falcon frowned, “Impossible; this is a dungeon, not a crypt.”

“Well, it used to be,” the ghost scratched his head, “This was once the tomb of a wizard who researched death and how to overcome it.  He failed, of course, and this place lay empty for a long time.  Well, let me show you.”

A light burst forward, and everyone saw the images of the past.

An army, running in flight into the abandoned crypt.

“My lords, we’ll hold them off while you flee to safety!,” a soldier cried out as they met the invading army.  The king fled with his two generals and his guard.

They fled deeper and deeper, the invaders never giving up as more and more guards stopped to gain time for their king to escape.  Eventually, the king and his generals were trapped in the final room, the teleportation exit having been sealed long ago.

The king slammed his fist into the ground, his other arm holding a small bundle.  He smiled sadly at his two old friends.

“I’m sorry you two, it seems that we’ve travelled to our deaths.”

The left general laughed, “They would have caught us even if we had retreated to the mountains.  Come, then, let’s take as many of them down as we can!”

The king placed the bundle away and drew his sword.  When the invaders came, the three fell upon them like demons.

After hours of battle, the army lay dead.  The left general slumped down against the wall, his broken weapon beside him.  He coughed out blood as he inspected his injuries.  He looked over to his brother, who lay headless against the stone.

“Sire, are you alright?,” he asked, coughing again.

The king slumped against the throne, his body broken and tired.  He didn’t even have the energy to respond.

The left general growled and lurched up, stumbling over to the throne.  As he reached out and grabbed the throne for support, his blood flowed into the stone chair.

“Do you wish to live?,” he heard a voice in his head.

The left general shook his head, “No, save my king.”

“Then choose the path to immortality,”  Two flames appeared in the air, one blue and one red.  The left general looked down at his king, who stared up in shock.  The left general smiled and coughed out more blood.

“I choose the red flame,” said the left general.

“Understood.” The flame flew down into the king’s body.

The king roared in agony as his body burned away, leaving behind only his skull.  In his pain, he blasted the left general into the wall, his broken weapon impaling him through the chest.

The left general coughed up more blood as he watched in shocked eyes, which quickly faded away as he slumped over.

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME!,” The king roared.

“I am a dungeon that was sealed here by the wizard.  As I live forever, you are now joined with me as my servant,” the voice replied.

The king roared, “I AM NO ONE’S SERVANT!”

AND HE ATE THE DUNGEON’S SPIRIT.

*********

The adventurers stared in absolute shock at the ghost in front of them.

“You, you ate the dungeon’s spirit and became the dungeon,” Falcon whispered in awe and disgust.

The spirit of the king nodded, “That’s right.  It’s been so long since I have been able to talk to someone, it’s nice even if you are all going to die,” he smiled at them.

Fiora’s eyes narrowed, “Wait, if you control the dungeon, then why are you attacking people and eating them?  You are nothing but a corrupted dungeon, the most hated kind.”

“None of that matters to me.  You see, I’m searching for someone, and every time I fail to find them, I get a wee bit angry.  Also, my forces can only grow through the bodies of others since I never learned how to properly work that out.  I guess I shouldn’t have eaten that dungeon pixie that showed up; but he tasted so delicious,” the king shivered in pleasure.

“The dungeon’s mentality and corruption has eroded his mind,” Falcon whispered, “Whatever noble intentions he may have had now are lost to appetite and desire.”

The spirit grinned, but now his face turned evil, “NONE OF IT MATTERS ANYMORE ANYWAY.  NOW, BECOME MY FOOD SO I CAN FINISH MY MISSION!”

“WHA HA HA HA HA HA!,”  the room shook violently as the spirit raised his arms.

The bones around the room gathered together in the center, forming a massive body.  The complete statue flew over and hollowed, covering the skeleton in rock armor that changed into metal.  The statue broke its weapon and grabbed the sword, while the other sword flew out of the broken statue’s chest into the other hand.  Finally, the skull rose up and grew, landing on the headless body.  Instantly a helm formed over it, covering the skull in a faceless mask, with a crown of 5 horns appearing on the top.

The spirit rose up and entered the monster before them.

“Now, let’s see how you face the guardian of my tomb, SENTINEL,”

The colossus swung its swords and smashed them into the ground, cracking the floor.  It raised them and took a stance, its body radiating a noble air.

Jare raised his hammer, “TIME TO GO TO WORK GUYS!

*********

The adventurers scattered: Jare, William, Fiora, and Nat ran forward while Falcon, Jonas, Gran, and Anhel moved back.  The statue swung its sword at the adventurers, forcing them to jump over and slid under it.

Jare smashed his hammer into the weapon, and was sent flying back as the other sword smashed into him.  He rolled mid-air and landed on his feet.

“Watch it guys, it’s a lot faster than it looks!,” he warned.

The spell casters unleashed a torrent of flame, their magic combining to form a dragon of flame.  It smashed into the giant, forcing it back as it took a knee.  When the fire faded, the giant was unharmed.

“It’s immune to magic!,” Falcon announced, “You need its break its armor!”

Fiora and Nat worked together, Fiora swinging the girl up as Nat slashed forward with broadsword.  The arm moved back from the blow, and Nat used her sword to protect herself as the other sword mashed her away.  William darted behind and unleashed a flurry of dagger attacks on the feet.  He dodged as a foot came back in a kick, which then swung forward to kick Jare away.

Fiora dodged another sword smash as she felt the light of Anhel’s support magic lending its aid to her.  Calling upon her sword’s power, she spun rapidly as she turned into a flaming whirlwind of sword blows.  She moved so fast she turned sideways and spun up the giant’s leg to its chest, leaving marks wherever she landed.  She barely jumped out of the way as the giant’s fist punched across its chest, the wind throwing her into the back wall.

Nat cursed as she saw Fiora land badly, “Take this, BERSEKRER RUSH!”  Nat turned red as her blood pumped her muscles full of energy.  She met the giant’s sword with her own, and held it back with a mighty scream of defiance.

“Jare, now!,” she screamed.

Jare rushed out from behind her, his body beasted-out.  He leaped forward high into the air, his hammer held behind his back.  As he reached the torso, he swung out with all his might, smashing it into the giant.  The giant contorted into a U and flew backwards, its legs catching against the raised platform and falling to the ground.

Falcon and Gran cheered from their spot, as they were healing Fiora’s injuries as best they could.  Neither one of them was good at healing magic.

Gran jumped as he felt something slimy touch his arm, then relaxed as the heal slime began its work.

“Good work little buddy.,” he complimented.  He looked behind him at the magic and gelatinous slimes.

“Big guy, we are going to need you in a moment.”

The gelatinous slime wiggled in response.

William, Jare, and Nat pounded away at the giant, but were forced to retreat as it got back up.  Its armor was open in a few places now, but it showed no sign of stopping.  It flipped the right sword around in its hand, holding both swords perpendicularly to its body.  It then began to spin, slow at first, but with increasing speed.

“Everyone look out!,” Jare roared as he grabbed William and Nar and ran for it.  The tornado chased them, bouncing against the circular platform and the walls.  Falcon and Gran hurriedly picked up Fiora and carried her up to the raised platform, followed closely by the slimes.

The tornado eventually came to a stop, and just as quickly the giant whirled the swords around and smashed them into the ground.  A shockwave shook the platform as everyone was launched off into the walls.

“Damnation, a trap,” Jare coughed, “It wanted us up there.”

The giant began to move forward toward them, its swords swinging into the walls as William and Nat dodged to the floor.  Jare ran up from behind and smashed his hammer into the back of the giant’s knee, forcing him down.  He leaped back as the giant swung its sword around, destroying the ground Jare had just been standing on.  The giant’s other sword knocked both Nat and William back, both of them barely blocking the blow with their own weapons.

Fiora struggled to her feet as the heal slime finished its work.  Growling in anger, she ran forward, her sword held behind her back.

“FLAME WHEEL!” Once again, she whirled and turned cartwheels into a flaming wheel that smashed against the giant’s leg, traveling up its kneeled form all the way to the head.  When she reached the top, she kicked out and flew away as a hand brushed through the air as if she were a fly.  She grinned darkly in satisfaction as she stared at the cuts up the armor.

The giant roared and stood up, taking the tornado position again.  The four melee fighters and supports leaped onto the platform as the giant bounced around the room.

“Jump now!,” Jare cried out, and everyone jumped off the platform before the giant smashed down.  The slimes flew into the wall, but formed back up quickly.

As the four warriors returned to the fight, the other four magic users stood around the gelatinous slime.

“Ready?,” Gran asked.  Seeing everyone’s nod, he began to chant wind magic.  With the help of his fellows, they formed a small tornado under the slimes, and threw them at the giant.

The gelatinous slime flew with a comical sound and splatted directly into the giant’s helmet.  The giant roared and dropped its swords to paw at the slime, but it was useless. The gelatinous slime happily ate through the helm and the giant collapsed on its knees.

“We got it!,” Anhel cheered.

The giant’s face exploded, and the poor gelatinous slime disintegrated as it flew through the air.  The helm was gone, and now a glowing, red eyed skull looked eerily out at the adventurers.  Its skeletal smile grinned at them as it stood back up.  All around, armor fell off the giant, revealing the bones underneath.  A blood-red aura burst out, the blood-thirsty monster causing fear in everyone.

It roared out in fury, and the battle resumed.

*********

Leading their army of grey family slimes, the twins dashed up the dungeon tunnels, their daggers of darkness held in their mouths as they ran with all their might.  The slimes swarmed right behind them, a terrifying force of grey, pink, and purple that consumed anything and everything in their way.  When a skeleton appeared to bar them, the twins ripped right through, it and as the skeleton fell to ground the body was devoured in a flash by the horde.

“Poppa, hold on poppa!” They cried out in their hearts, “Just a little longer and we’ll be there.”

Even though Doc referred to them as ‘The Twins’, they actually each had a name.  Claire had given names to both of them during their first talk: Ayla and Aisha.  Claire could tell them apart well enough, but since Doc couldn’t, they just left let him refer to them as a single unit.

“Ayla, is this really alright?,” Aisha thought to her sister, “I mean, Momma and Poppa are fighting for their lives without us.  We should turn around, right?”

Ayla bit her snout as she ran, “No, Poppa gave us an order.  Even if they survive with our help, there won’t be anyone left to fight or play with.  This is poppa’s village, and we protect our pack!”

“They killed our other momma though,” Aisha whispered angrily, “They killed our pack brothers, sisters, and alpha.  We . . .”

“We are the alphas now,” Ayla said firmly, “We run the pack for poppa and momma.  The village is the prey that we hunt and no one else’s!  OUR PREY, OUR FOOD, OUR REVENGE!”

Ayla howled in fury, her sister joining her as their speed increased yet again.  The slimes began to disappear as they were left behind the twins in the dust.

The two burst into a round room, filled with zombies.  The zombies moaned and shuffled toward them, their hunger evident.

“NOTHING WILL STOP US!,” the twins howled as they dashed into battle, the daggers in their mouths whistling through the air.

*********

With the armor off, there was nothing left to hold back the aura of death and hate from the boss.  Rather than being a complete skeleton, the inside body was made by countless bones that were constantly moving up and down the limbs and torso.  The horned skull grinned evilly in the torchlight as its eyes burned with a sinister red light.

It took a step forward, and roared out a scream that made everyone hold their hands to their ears.

“TAKE IT DOWN!,” Jare roared, and the front line ran forward together.  Anhel summoned his spirits and cast support magic on them as they ran.  The monster launched spiked bones from its chest, forcing the four to scatter as they kept running forward.

Jare raised his hammer and leaped ahead, smashing his hammer into the boss’s leg.  The hammer bounced off, as the moving bones easily deflected his force.  Nat and Fiora followed up with massive smashes into the other leg, but were knocked away by one of the swords and landed back on the pedestal.  Following up, William beasted-out now, his daggers sinking into the bones as he lunged forward.

With startling strength, his daggers were ripped out of his hands as the bones carried them away up to the torso.  William yelped as he was hit by a sword and sent flying back into the wall, unable to properly defend himself without a weapon.  He slid down and landed in a heap, blood flowing from his chest.

“WILLIAM!,” Jare cried in anguish, the sight of his brother’s broken body filling him with fear.  He shook his head quickly, reminding himself of the lesson that, no battle was ever won without sacrifice.  He roared in anger and rolled past the sword, his hammer swinging out into the hand and knocking it away.

The skull’s eyes glowed, and four fireballs flew out at the three front-liners.  Jare rolled forward, while Nat and Fiora leaped out of the way onto the platform behind them.  The fireballs exploded in heat and wind, sending the three farther than they expected.  Nat and Fiora were fine, but Jare was kicked back and sent spiraling into the wall.

Falcon grinned, “The armor is off, looks like it’s our turn!”

He rose quickly into the air, a cyan fire bursting from his eyes.  As he began to chant, icy blue fireballs formed in both hands, which he threw at the behemoth.  The monster thrust its swords down, destroying both fireballs in a single slash.

Anhel opted not to join in, as his shaman magic was better for support.  Instead, he focused on healing William and Jare with the help of the heal slime.

Gran raised his arms as the wind answered his call, but grimaced slightly, “I can’t call the earth here; the land is corrupted.”

“Then don’t!,” Falcon insisted. “Smash this monstrosity with everything you can muster,” Falcon cried out as he surrounded himself in cyan fire balls and launched them in a flurry.  The skeletal giant swung its swords with surprising agility, blocking the fireballs.  Gran nodded, and commanded the wind to buffer the fireballs.

When the next wave flew forward, the wind magic made the fire balls scatter all around in a large sphere as they sped toward the monster.

With a wild gleam, the giant began to spin rapidly, the swords moving so fast they reflected the fireballs, sending them across the room.  Everyone dived for cover as icy flames exploded everywhere.

“You guys need to keep it distracted; we can’t get a hit in otherwise!,” Falcon called out.

Jare, healed up by Anhel, stood back up and growled, “We’ll keep its attention; you just do your part old man.”

With a roar, Jare put his hammer on his back as he fell to all fours and ran forward like an unstoppable beast.  “GET ON!,” he roared at Nat and Fiora as he neared them.  The two began running, and leaped forward onto his back, grabbing hold of the hammer as the massive beast-man surged on ahead.

The giant roared in defiance, and ran forward at the beast-man.  The two met on the center of the pedestal, Jare’s strength propelling him up to chest height as the giant swung its sword at him.

“BERSERKER RUSH!,” Nat cried out, using her last reserve of strength to augment her arms.

“HELLFLAME SLASH!” Fiora’s sword lit up with dark red flames as she channeled her magic.  As Jare stretched out his claws and teeth, the two girls swung their swords and beat back the giant’s weapons.  The trio slammed into the giant’s torso sending it crashing to the ground.

“NOW!”  Falcon, Jonas, and Gran released their magic, creating a storm of fire that blew forward toward the giant.

Nat and Fiora leaped out of the way, but Jare remained on the boss’s chest.

“BIG BROTHER, MOVE!,” Anhel cried out in fear.

Jare turned his head and shook it sadly.  Time seemed to slow as everyone noticed his paws being sucked into the boss’s chest, just like the daggers before.

“No victory without sacrifice,” Jare mouthed to Anhel, and then he was lost from view as the storm of fire hit them both.

*********

Mary fell to the ground as she felt one of the bonds she had placed on the attack team break.  “No,” she whispered, “Not you.”  But it was too late to do anything.  His life was gone; she could no longer feel Jare with her magic.  As if fate mocked her, the cracks on the barrier were growing steadily down toward them.

“It looks like this will be the end soon.” She felt regret and anger build up inside her as she laughed ironically, “Looks like this will be my last stand.”

Father Jonas glanced over at her, “You give up easily guild master.”

She flashed him a sad smile, “I’ve lived for a long time.  Well, if it’s my time now, then I best make the most of it.”

Her gaze resolute, she turned back to the battlefield.

She breathed out slowly, letting her awareness spread through her body.  “I promised myself never again, but I refuse to let evil like this remain in existence.”  The blood began to pump quickly through her veins.  Her eyes glowed red as the white disappeared.

“Forbidden magic, Blood art.,” she whispered.

At her command, the blood from the fallen flowed out of their bodies, moving like snakes across the ground toward her call.  It gathered around her in an ever increasing pool of dark liquid, crawling up her body, staining her armor and skin red.

Father Jonas raised his eyes in shock, “So this is the power of the ‘Bloody Mary’; truly a forbidden magic.  I see,” he nodded with revulsion in his eyes, “this is quite the trump card.”

From the pool of blood, Mary held her hands up in the air.  The collected blood around her all flowed up onto her body, forming a terrifying red armor.  The remaining blood collected and formed into a blood-red battle horse.  With a leap, Mary jumped onto the horse and drew her saber.  The horse reared up into the air as she held her saber out over the fading light of the day.

“I will not wait for the shield to fall before the enemy comes to me.  I will meet my foes on my own terms!,” she declared to the army, “Who will ride with me?”

Adventurers raised their weapons and cheered for her.  Mary raised her arm, and the blood flowed forward once more, forming mounts for all who wished to join her.

“When sieged, save the charge until there is nothing is left,” Mary whispered one of her lessons to herself, the voice of her teacher in her head.  With the adventurers lining up behind her, she pointed her saber at the corrupter.

“Leave nothing to chance; we strike at the enemy leader.  FOR THE TOWN!”

“FOR THE TOWN!,” the adventurers roared and charged out of the barrier into the waiting horde of undead.

*********

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!,” Anhel screamed as he watched the storm explode, sending bone fragments flying everywhere.  He fell back as a femur impaled his arm, and was forced to throw himself over William to protect him.  Falcon summoned a shield around everyone a second later, the tears flowing down his face.

“Idiot apprentice, you should have split like I taught you,” he whispered sadly.

They gathered together as the dust settled.  “Did we win?,” Jonas asked.

A fire ball exploded in front of them, sending them back onto their butts.  From the dust, the two swords and the skull rose up into the air, their eyes burning brighter than ever.  The skull began to laugh over and over again, a mocking sound that made Anhel tremble in rage.

“I’ll make you pay,” Anhel vowed as fur began to stretch down his face.  As he took a step forward, however, William grabbed his arm and shook his head.

“Without Jare, I cannot, stop you,” William’s stern face staring deeply into Anhel’s, “need calm, save friends.”

Anhel teared up, “But, my magic is worthless in battle.  I can only provide support.”

“Then, support me.” William took out his crossbow and loaded it, “Guide, me.  Fight with, me.”

William roared as his fur stretched over his body, the grizzly bear beast-man growing in much greater size than anytime previously.  The crossbow magically expanded with him, the etched runes glowing and outlining the many beast heads carved into the wood.

Jonas and Gran stood on either side of him, “We’ll help you two with ranged attacks,” William nodded his head in acceptance.

Fiora and Nat were cared for by Falcon.  The old man had used up most of his mana in the last attack and with the shield, so he moved to support the two girls who had exhausted all their energy.

Surprisingly enough, the magic slime hopped up onto the crossbow.  As it began to feast on the magic of the bow, its form shrunk until it had completely covered the bolt. The three eyed the pink bolt in surprise.

“I guess that’s our silver arrow ---, I mean pink arrow in this case,” Jonas joked.

The swords trembled, and flew down to attack.  William bellowed and charged forward, substituting speed for power.  Gran jumped on top of him and held his sword out in front, the silver gleaming in the light.  Jonas ran beside William, his armor of flame lighting as he withdrew his swords.

When they met the swords, Gran slashed back and forth from the bear’s back as he parried the massive longsword.  His footwork and momentum allowed him to deflect the blade’s attempt to stop the beast-man.  Jonas’s flame swords whirled ahead on the flaming chains, wrapping around the other sword and bringing it to the ground.  The sword struggled and, failing to break free, burst forward in a savage flurry to attack the battle mage.  Jonas formed another set of flame swords and countered each blow, his body forced to retreat from the opponent’s strength.

“Blast, looks like I have more training to do,” Jonas chuckled, as his swords blocked a large slash, but his body was forced back two steps.

William continued his rush toward the skull, the battle continuing on his back.  Gran was beginning to pale, as his endurance was being quickly used up.  Snarling in a manner unbecoming of an elf, he forced the power of the wind inside his body, copying Jonas.  An armor of wind formed around him, and two swords made of moving air materialized beside him, joining him in blocking the flying sword.

As they approached the skull, it began to glow again.  Fireballs appeared and flew down, seeking to destroy the bear and its rider.  William roared and leaped from side to side, dodging the fireballs that came his way.  Gran locked his feet into the crossbow, which was still strapped to William’s back, as he was forced to balance himself and fight the sword at the same time.

As the skull formed a larger fireball, a cyan fireball slammed into it and caused it to explode, blinding the skull and making it howl in pain.

Falcon grinned, and winced as his right arm dissolved into light.  “Damn, I’m going to burn again at this rate,” He muttered as he stared at his lost arm, sleeve and all.  He managed to form another shield to protect his group as the skull fired more fireballs at him.  His leg began to disappear as the barrage continued, the skull angered by the flames.

“WILLIAM, TAKE THE SHOT!,” Falcon shouted as half his body dissolved into magic lights.

William roared in response, jumping into the air at the skull.  Gran leaped up off his back as the beast-man turned over and grabbed the crossbow off his back.

The sword, free from Gran’s assault, swung itself at William.

William, grinning, threw the crossbow up to Gran, who caught it.  As the sword fell, a turtle spirit appeared around William, taking the blow as William fell from the force.

Gran aimed the crossbow, and pulled the trigger.

The pink bolt zoomed straight and true.  The skull howled and formed a fireball in front of the bolt.

The bolt pierced the fireball and the skull, passing through unharmed.

The bolt flew out the back; the slime did not.

Chapter 25

The skull shook and shuddered as it hovered back and forth, screaming in pain.  Bits and pieces began to fall off slowly from it as the magic slime devoured it from the inside.  The sound was so painful, no one was able to withhold sympathy; the agony of being eaten from the inside was one of the worst pains anything could experience.

Anhel sighed as he released the turtle spirit that had protected his brother.  He coughed up a bit of blood, which he wiped away with a smile.

“I guess summoning one of the four great beasts was a little too much for me.”  As he stumbled, William appeared behind him, in his normal speed based form.  William smiled down at Anhel.

“Good job, Jare proud.” He complimented him.

Anhel nodded slowly, but happily.

With the help of the somewhat recovered girls, they picked up the half of Falcon’s body that remained and carried him over to the Gran and Jonas, who stood together, watching the skull cry out.  Together, they watched the skull fall to ground, completely eaten by the slime.  The magic slime jiggled and wiggled over to them.

Jonas patted it, “Good job there little buddy.”  The slime wiggled.

The two swords suddenly rose up and floated to the middle of the room.  There, they fell in an X shape, and a large treasure chest appeared in the middle.

“Thou who hast overcome thy trials, choose thy form of immortality.” They all heard a voice in their heads.

“What?,” Anhel asked, confused, “What was that?”

The two swords began to glow; one red and one blue.

“It’s the same,” Falcon coughed as he looked over with a single eye, “Those flames are the same ones we saw in the memory.  This crypt was created by a wizard pursuing immortality; so he designed it to test a person’s body, heart, and spirit.  Even after being changed into a dungeon, it appears the magical system still operates.”

“So,” Nat said in wonder, “We can become immortal?” Her eyes drifted over to Jonas, who looked a little conflicted himself.

Falcon laughed, “Do you think living forever is so easy?  I doubt the wizard who created this place would be dead if he succeeded.”  He looked over at the flames, “Hey you, explain the options to us.”

“The sword of resentment will bind the user to the dungeon as the new guardian.  The sword of willpower will bind the user to the dungeon as the king.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad,” Gran observed, “Not that I need to live forever since I am an elf.”

Falcon nodded as he turned to look at Fiora and Anhel, “You two, you never told us; what were the words you found in the trial of resentment.”

Fiora looked slightly pale as she made a fist, “Take the torch to the door.  Resentment is not justice, nor is it vengeance.  It is a corruptive force that burns away all good.  Remember the past, but do not dwell there.”

Falcon nodded, “As I suspected, that king we fought, he was once a good soul.  However, he was filled with resentment that ate at him until he was a shell.”

“Then the sword of willpower is the one to choose,” Jonas observed.

William shook his head, “Words, same choice, same result.”

Gran nodded, “The lines from the trial of willpower told us that doing the same thing over and over will never result in something new.  From what was described, I imagine this ‘king’ would never be able to leave the area around the dungeon, forever trapped here as a prisoner.”

Fiora nodded, “Yeah, but what about the chest?”

“If thy hearts choose to reject immortality, then open the chest to reveal morality.”

Falcon formed a cane as he stood up on his reformed leg, “I doubt we’ll be able to find the core without choosing something.  I’ll open the chest, since I have the least to lose here.  Prepare yourselves for anything.”

Everyone nodded as they watched the half-man hobble over awkwardly to the chest between the swords.  Kneeling, he reached down and undid the lock, throwing the chest open.

Inside, there was nothing.

Falcon cursed, “Really, it’s one of those ‘you found your true self’ kind of things?  I have half a mind to bring the creator back from the dead and kill him myself.”

A small light flew out of the chest, knocking Falcon into the air as his body flew back into the group.  It soared over to the throne and fused into it.  A black soul gem grew out of the top of the chair, the dungeon core revealing itself in all its glory.

“Oh hey, it worked,” Falcon muttered, annoyed as two of his fingers turned into magic lights, “Damn thing didn’t have to throw me like that though.”

“Good, now we can finish this,” Nat said in relief.

Evil laughter filled the room, and the ghost king reformed in front of the throne.  He gave them a happy smile.

“Oh, I was so worried you’d choose one of the swords.  See, one would free me and force me to afterlife while the chooser would become the new spirit, and the other would force me to work for the chooser.  However, you selected the third option, so I’m still free to search!,” he cackled with glee.

“But, we beat you,” Anhel gasped.

The ghost shook his head, “You may have beaten my final guardian, but I’m not a dungeon so I don’t have to follow the rules.  In fact,” he raised his hand as his form began to turn red, “I think I’ll treat you all to a special show.”

With an unblockable force, everyone flew into the wall and stayed there, held by an invisible hands.  The king waved his hand, and the crystal flew out and grew to an enormous size.

“I was quite surprised to learn about this ability from your dungeon, so I think now’s the best time to show off my new power,” he bragged, changing the reflections into scenes of battle.

He paused for a moment, “I was just going to punish your dungeon for interfering, but I really don’t know enough to be a ‘good’ dungeon since I ate the dungeon pixie.  I guess I’ll just eat this one and take his dungeon pixie for my own.”

‘His?,” Falcon wondered.

“And if she doesn’t help,” the ghost continued, “Then I’ll just eat her like the other one.  Now, let’s watch everyone die in a glorious fight!”

*********

At the front of her charge, Mary gave off a rallying cry as she led her cavalry of blood horses into the horde of undead.  Moving in a spear formation, her forces trampled through the undead that stood in their way, their weapons falling and their horses smashing the opponents into the dirt.

At the peak of the formation, Mary’s saber sent wave after wave of explosive energy, clearing a path through the horde.  It didn’t matter if they were tier-3 or tier-4 enemies, her blasts destroyed them all.

“We’re almost there, keep it up!,” she roared out as her eyes locked onto the three figures ahead of her.

As she approached, the specter rose up with its army of spirits and soared at them, intent on possessing their bodies.

“NOW FATHER!,” Mary called out, her voice booming over the battlefield.

In the back, the priests all channeled their faith power into the father, who glowed as his wind and light armor turned into a spear.  He reared back his arm, and threw it across the dome.  He collapsed afterwards, his energy all spent.  The spear traveled fast and appeared in front of Mary a moment later.

The spear burst out, light and wind energy turning into a shockwave that obliterated the undead and left the living unharmed.  The spirits shrieked as their forms dissolved into light.

The colossus and pharaoh made their move now, advancing to stop the onslaught.  The pharaoh raised its arms, and the ground shook as areas turned into piles of quicksand.  The horses that were caught threw their riders to safety before being eaten by the very ground.  Mary cursed as the formation was broken, the riders were forced to splinter off to avoid the sinkholes.  In her moment of distraction, the colossus swung its fist and bashed into her steed.  She leaped off in the nick of time as the force turned her horse back into blood.  She rolled to her feet and took a stance with her saber.

All around her, she saw death and fighting, the noble adventurers who had accompanied her losing their lives to the horde.  She their bodies humiliated as they rose back up, turning on their former friends and loved ones.

“DAMN YOU!” she roared, charging the colossus by herself.  It reared back and punched her, Mary barely able to dodge the blow as she ran up the arm.  The colossus roared and punched its other fist down over its arm, and Mary jumped over it too.  Its arms tied, the monster could not defend itself against her saber blow.  Its head exploded as its body fell to pieces, Mary landing behind it.

She coughed, staring at the blood in her hand as she wiped her mouth.  “That’s what I get for casting blood magic without a sacrifice,” she murmured with a smile.  She turned to look at the pharaoh, who was approaching her with his squad of bodyguards.

She took another stance, but her feet wobbled as she struggled to regain her balance.

“Shoot, so this is how it ends,” she smiled, “I’ll be joining you soon Diana.”

She ran forward, her saber lashing out as tier-4 bodyguard after bodyguard fell to her blade.  However, her strength failed her, and she was forced to her knees.  She gave the mummies one last look of defiance as they raised their blades.

“Rot in the hells with me,” she began to churn her remaining magic into her saber, making it into a weapon that would explode when she died.

At the last moment, her enemies exploded into dust in front of her.

“What?,” her eyes opened in shock.

From the dungeon entrance, a hailstorm of magic flew out, destroying the undead around her.  To the shock of all who saw it, two wargs burst out, black daggers in their mouths.  They were quickly followed by a horde of charging and magic throwing slimes, who rushed onto the battlefield in mass.

The corrupter leaped out of the way as two gelatinous slimes splat into the ground where it had been standing.  It shot forth a black ball into the ground, forming another colossus to ride as the evil horde turned to meet the new threat.

“THE SLIMES ARE HERE! THE SLIMES HAVE BROKEN THROUGH THE DUNGEON!,” someone roared out.  Cheers rose up from the living as they felt their spirits renew.  They fell upon the horde with renewed vigor as the undead were forced to fight on two fronts.

“Impossible,” Mary whispered as the slimes charged around her, ignoring her completely as she sat there on her knees.  A healing slime came up to her and began to heal her wounds.  She closed her eyes as tears began to fall, “They made it.”

*********

Doc roared in angry happiness as the door shook from the second flame going out.  “Claire, the twins made it!  They are turning the battle around out there!”

Claire giggled in mad glee as she raised her rapier to the ceiling, “Those are my girls, yeah!  We can’t let them show us up now can we?”

Doc laughed as he flowed into his elemental overslime, “No we cannot.  I’ve wanted to try out this new boss for a while now.”

Doc could sense the going-ons in the other dungeon, and with the defeat of the guardian the invading undead horde had weakened in power.  Most undead fell a tier in strength due to loss of mana.  Doc’s forces, however, were still soaking in his raw and utter magic.

All the slimes the adventurers had yet to see were filled with Doc’s eagerness to test out their new abilities.  His boss began to glow in power as the door burst open to confront the horde.

“COME ON THEN!  YOU WON’T WIN ANYMORE, YOU CAN’T WIN ANYMORE!,” Doc roared out as his slime army charged forward, “IN MY HOME, I’M UNSTOPPABLE!”

*********

The king smashed the floor with his fists, “No, that’s not possible!,” he shrieked, “The dungeon lent forces?  That defies everything, I won’t accept this!”  He began to rave as the light of madness filled his eyes.

He turned to look at them all, and grinned, “Fine, I guess I’ll just turn you all into my undead and have you lead my forces.  With power like yours combined with the despair they will feel, I will win again, and again, and again until I find them!”

“Not happening.”  The ghost’s face said ‘hello good-day’ to a hammer- head and was sent flying into the throne.  Jare grinned as he plopped his hammer onto his back.

“If you’re going to go crazy, then do it on your own time.” Jare leaped back and pressed his hammer into Falcon.  It glowed in magic energy, destroying the invisible force around the Magus.

Falcon dropped and began to regenerate his body. He looked up in shock, forming his other eye to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating.

“Jare, how are you still alive?,”  he muttered as Jare pulled him to his feet.

“Free them first,” Jare reminded him, and the two of them broke the magic bonds on their companions.  Everyone was wide eyed and shocked.

“You, how are you still breathing?,” the ghost roared as it flew toward them.

Jare pointed up, “Oh, because of that.”

The ghost looked up, and was crushed by a dark blue slime falling from the ceiling.  He screamed and struggled, but the slime held him tight in its embrace.

“Never seen that type before; I need to take notes,” Falcon murmured, taking a step forward.

The ghost glared and roared, “Fine, if I can’t win I’ll crush the whole dungeon on you all!”  The room began to shake violently.

Jare cursed, and ran over to the large crystal, “No time to steal it, we need to smash it!”

As one, everyone attacked the large, fragile crystal.  It cracked as the ghost wailed.  Under their onslaught, the core shattered into big and little shards.

“You fools, without that I can’t control the dungeon.  Now I can’t stop the collapse!,” he cried out.

Falcon grabbed the largest pieces he could carry in his hand.  Waving his staff, he levitated a few more pieces and shouted, “Okay guys, time to go.  I can teleport us out now that the tomb is no more.”

“What about them?,” Nat pointed at the ghost and the slime.

Falcon shook his head, “The ghost dies with the dungeon, and the slime will regenerate later.  Come on now, into my circle.”

He formed a magic circle and chanted, the air beginning to distort around them.  Fiora looked over one last time at the ghost.

Lady smiled back at her.

“Diana!,” Fiora said in shock, and then they were gone.

*********

The undead forces collapsed as the slimes overran them completely.  The adventurers, empowered by the turn in the tide, directed new ferocity and slaughter upon the corrupter.  Surrounded, the colossus stood no chance and fell, taking the corrupter boss with it as it turned into dust.

Before they could celebrate, a blue circle appeared.  The invasion team came into being, with Fiora still reaching her hand out.  As they appeared, The Tomb of the Forgotten King shuddered and fell in on itself.  The land shook, and everyone fell to their knees and bottoms as the centuries old dungeon collapsed in on itself, becoming nothing.  The slimes all around began to disappear as the corrupted land faded away.  Unlike last time, no spell shattered their connection to the slime dungeon and their mana comprised bodies returned safely.  The two worgs howled together as they too teleported back to the dungeon.

When the land finally stopped moving, all that was left of the undead dungeon was a destroyed mound and dust.  Only two spires remained of the five, and they lay against each other in the shape of an X.  Everyone still alive turned and looked around.  Together, they raised their weapons to the sky and cheered as hard as they could.

The battle was finally won.

Epilogue

In the aftermath, everyone who survived gathered together under the mother tree for a victory celebration.  Worries over repairs and burials would be for tomorrow; now was the time to honor those who had fallen and those who survived.

The largest cheers were given to the members of the invasion force.  Jare, William, Anhel, Fiora, Gran, Jonas, and Nat were awarded high seats of honor on the stump stage with Mary and Father Jonas.  As the Magus was actually visiting in secret, no one mentioned his presence.

Everyone laughed as the two Jonas’s met for the first time and sized each other up.

They laughed as the beast-men brothers got up and danced for the entertainment of everyone, and soon many were copying their moves as the night filled with music.

Later on, Fiora sat down with Jare, a faint smile on her face.  It seemed to clash with the joyful mood around them.

Jare looked over at her and pushed her slightly, “Hey, what’s up little flame girl?”

Fiora sighed, “I just can’t get over what I saw.  Diana, she was there in the tomb with us.”

Jare scratched his head, “The princess, right?  The reports said she died during the demon attack; you saw her body yourself.”

Fiora shook her head, “We never recovered the body, but it’s possible she survived her injuries since no one actually checked her body to confirm death.  She could be . . .”

“She isn’t,” Jare stated flatly, “That wasn’t the girl you knew.  She wasn’t even human.”  Jare took a sip of his glass, “Whatever she really was, she did save my life.  It was her body that shielded me from the blast.  Her body even hid me from the dungeon’s senses.”

Fiora stared deep into her cup.  Her thoughts were her own the rest of the night.

Meanwhile, Father Jonas and Mary sat together at a table, both recovering from their spent power.  The elves had allowed the human cooks in, and the cooks were hard at work preparing meals.  Father Jonas cut a piece of meat, and placed it in his mouth, savoring it.

“While I acknowledge why you did it, you still used forbidden magic in the battle,” he said quietly to Mary.

Mary inclined her head, “I sacrificed no innocents for their blood nor did I use it to corrupt the minds of others.”

“Be that is as it may, that magic still had to be powered by something,” Insisted Jonas, pointing her body with his knife. “Even if you only used your own life-force, I will still have to report this to the higher ups.  Your body is a temple Mary, be careful not to harm it.”

Mary raised an eyebrow, “Is this concern in your voice I hear father?, I’m surprised.”

Father Jonas chewed on another piece of meat, “The clergy honors self-sacrifice for the good of others; so even if I disapprove you still did something good today.”  He mulled it over with a smile, “I guess since this particular report will end up in her holiness’s hands anyway I might as well send it directly to her.”

He chuckled at Mary’s shocked look, “Don’t be so surprised my dear, you have some very powerful and grateful friends.  Still, don’t think this makes us friends.  And, I still intend on investigating the slime dungeon completely.”

“Speaking of,” he put his fork down, “everyone is saying the team broke into the undead dungeon the night before and hid themselves until it was time to attack.  How curious, then, that they survived 50 floors of undead forces and were still well-enough to fight the final boss.”

“Most curious indeed,” Mary agreed as she took a sip of her drink, “I guess they were had enough healing potions for their wounds and fairy light to relieve their fatigue.”

Seeing he would get nothing more out of her, the father scanned the crowd.  “Where is the Magus?  I doubt he would be one to miss the festivities.”

Mary smiled, “He had an errand to run.”

*********

Magus Falcon sighed as he took out the largest shard, as large as his hand, and placed it on the floor in front of the purple slime.

“We had to shatter the core, but this is the largest part I gathered,” Falcon explained, “I got other shards, but they are worth more to us as enchantment ingredients.”  The slime moved up and down, signaling it was okay with the deposit.

Falcon placed his notes on the ground, “This is a copy of my complete notes concerning the slime monsters I have had the opportunity to study,” he continued, “And here are two catalysts that should unlock new slimes for you.”

He then took out two monster cores and placed them on the ground, “With that, my job is done.”  He winked out of existence, leaving only Doc and Claire the image of an empty room.

“I’m rather surprised he held up his part of the bargain,” Doc observed.

Claire shrugged, “I don’t trust him still, but at least this worked out for our benefit.”  She looked behind her at the pile of small core shards, “Not as useful as the entire core, but it should give you enough power to unlock the tier-3 evolution level.”

“I can’t wait,” Doc said happily as he patted Lady on the head, “Good job, bringing the crystals back.”

“Thank you lord,” Lady said happily.

Claire rolled her eyes and ‘hmph’d’, “We’d have more if she didn’t eat most of them on the way back,” She complained.

“It’s fine since she can talk to us now,” Doc remarked, “I guess I need to give you a better name than ‘Lady’, huh.”

The slime girl nodded happily.

Doc mused for a moment.

“How about ‘Anadie’?,” he asked.

Anadie clapped her hand happily, “I like it my lord!  It fits perfectly!”

“Doc,” Claire commented dryly, “Did you name her that because . . .”

“Oh quiet; you know I’m not good at names,” Doc muttered, “the twins don’t even have names.”

“Actually they do.”

“Really?”

“Excuse me lord, but what should we do with him?,” Anadie pointing at the floating orb behind them.

*********

The ghost stopped struggling as the tomb dungeon shook around him.

“I . . . I just wanted to find my daughter,” he began to weep, “My child, my lost child who escaped, where did you go?”

Lady turned and cocked her head at the ghost, then turned back into her normal form and hugged him.

The ghost froze, his hand tracing her face, “You, you look just like my Ghira.”  His eyes widening, the ghost forced his hand inside her head and used the last of his ghostly magic to search her soul.  The tears fell as a contented smile warmed his face.

“Perhaps, she was your ancestor.  If so . . . I’m so glad she was alright.”  The ghost changed, his body transforming into the appearance he had had when he was still alive.

“Now that I’ve found you, I need you to take care of your brother,” he waved his hand, and a seal on the back wall faded, revealing an orb of light, a small boy within.

“Take him and the remaining parts of my crystal back to your dungeon.” He commanded Lady, making sure she understood his orders. “He has been here too long and is no longer human.  Tell your dungeon to care for him, and he will become a force to be reckoned with.”

“Go.” The ghost waved his arms, calling the shards and orb into Lady’s hands.  With a final swipe, a tunnel appeared in the wall, connecting to Doc’s dungeon.  The king watched happily as Lady waved and slithered away into the tunnel.

“Oh, I wonder if I should have told them I was sent here by those two strangers.  Those disguises couldn’t fool me, silly little devils,” the ghost mused as the ceiling began to fall in chunks around him, “No matter, with my son there, I doubt they’ll be able to follow through with their plans.”

He closed his eyes as the world faded, and the dungeon disappeared.

*********

Bonus Content

This is a small chart of the slime evolutions created to this date.  Not all are canon at this point in time, and I intentionally made it like this to tease you guys.  I’m sure someone out there is fully capable of rendering it readable, but why ruin the surprise?  There are even a few groups not on here.  Over 150 different slimes, so I won’t run out of things to write for quite some time.

This is the current map I have of the continent.  I’m not a good artist, and someone offered this to me for free so I took it.  The empire controls all the countries without names next to it.