Chapter 17

First Minister Lonnell walked rapidly down the hall. He was a bit nervous about having to meet with the Emperor to deliver bad news. Calming himself down, he thought, at least it wasn't my idea to destroy the dungeon. Of course, he won't accept the blame, so I'm most likely to be the one who falls on his sword. As his feet clicked down the marble hallway, he realized that his heart was racing. The news about what had happened in neighboring Khal was incredible. I have to spin this into a positive light, or the emperor will have another fit, killing everyone nearby.

He walked up to the double doors that entered the court, sweat slowly beading down his cheeks, staining the powder that decorated his face. He nodded to the announcer, who opened the doors and rapped his staff against the floor twice, before saying, “The First Minister Lonnell comes before his majesty, the Emperor, defender of Kendra, master of the nine seas; may his holiness live forever.”

As Lonnell walked in, he kneeled, and repeated with the entire room, “May his holiness live forever.” Lonnell didn't look to the left or right, at all the officials of the empire. But he could feel their stares. They were hoping he would die by the anger of the Emperor, so that they might have the chance to fill his role.

“Rise,” came the powerful voice of the Emperor.

Lonnell stood and looked at his liege, praying that he would be able to spin this properly.

“What are the results of the mission in Khal?” asked the Emperor.

Lonnell managed not to stammer, saying, “My liege, I'm afraid the news is both good and bad. While our agent was able to dominate the adventurer leading an expedition to explore the dungeon, the adventurer was unable to destroy the core of the dungeon. Apparently, the core is encased within magical shields so powerful, that even S-level master mages would be unable to break through. The good news is how powerful this new dungeon is.”

At this point, the Kendran Emperor interrupted, saying, “How can this possibly be good fucking news. The Ilsanians will gain another powerful dungeon, denying us our opportunity to finally destroy them. East Lucenia must belong to Kendra.”

“Yes, my liege. While it is true that Ilsan will invade, it is also true that their forces are weakened from the civil war, and that they will weaken even further against the pitiful armies of Khal. Khal has always been the border nation between the two empires, and invading was tantamount to declaring war on Ilsan. There is no rule, however, that we cannot simultaneously invade Khal and take the dungeon for ourselves, before the Ilsanians manage to do so.”

“Hmm, this idea has merit and sounds beneficial to us. How do we prevent Khal's forces from being directed at us?” asked the Emperor.

“If we invade immediately following the invasion of Khal by Ilsan, they will simply be unable to re-route their soldiers in time to deal with us. Especially if we stop at simply expanding Kendra's borders slightly. Nothing will be able to stop our armies. After the Ilsanians have finished fighting two wars, they will be unable to fight a third. Then, with this dungeon in our control, our armies will flourish. This is the good news.”

“How can a new dungeon be powerful enough to train our armies?” asked the Emperor.

“This is news that just came from our agent within Khal, my liege,” Lonnell said, proffering the parchment he had received via pigeon.

The Emperor's eunuch went and received the missive, before bowing to the Emperor and delivering it. The Emperor read the message, with absolutely no expression showing on his face. Lonnell sweated some more, waiting for the Emperor to finish the letter, and to think.”

Finally, the Emperor pronounced, “We are happy that this mission has failed to destroy the dungeon, as this powerful and sentient dungeon will now belong to us. Prepare the armies of Kendra to make war on Khal. We will invade immediately following Ilsan's invasion. This dungeon will belong to Kendra. Lonnell, see me in my office.”

After speaking, the Emperor stood and walked out of the room. After this pronouncement, the nobles standing on either side of the throne room started walking out. They would each be going to raise their militias to follow their liege in waging war on neighboring Khal.

Lonnell hurried to join the Emperor in his study.

When he entered, the Emperor was sitting behind his desk, studying the letter that had been sent by their agent in Khal. Looking up at his First Minister, he said, “Have you read this report, Lonnell?”

“Yes, my liege.”

“And your thoughts on the dungeon itself?”

“My liege, I believe this to be one of the world's most incredible dungeons, if the report is accurate. It looks like the beginnings of a super-dungeon, like the sort only seen in Central Fantisa. If true, this could raise Kendra's power to the level of a Fantisan powerhouse.”

“I agree, which is why we must capture this dungeon. Send a report back to the agent, telling him to guard the dungeon with his life, and to ensure that nobility from Khal stay out. Those fucking Ilsanians will grant the local nobles the land they already hold. We cannot allow the greedy nobles of Khal to keep the dungeon. Be ready to fight whatever noble who owns the land of the dungeon, for he will certainly move his troops back from the war with Ilsan once we invade. We must prepare for a siege of the dungeon. Also, ensure that no feelings of patriotic pride or love for the crown flourish within the dungeon. Tell him to sow discord.”

***

Kiera activated the space shield around herself as the goblin shaman's curse came flying at her. She watched in fascination as the spell hit the shield and harmlessly splashed off. While she was enclosed, Thalia launched an arrow right through its heart. After the final goblin in the small cave was killed, they all hurried in to the end of the cave, where the puzzle device was located.

“This time, it's my turn,” said Jeromy, carefully walking up to the device.

He read the metal carving that was underneath the machine:

What can run but never walks, has a

mouth but never talks, has a head but

never weeps, has a bed but never

sleeps?

“Don't help me,” Jeremy warned his team. Then he started muttering words under his breath, mostly saying words like run and mouth.

“Ah ha,” he said, “a bunny!”

The next second, a splash of acid was launched at Jeromy who carefully phased into shadows to avoid it. The rest of the team just started laughing hysterically. Jeromy looked aggravated and said, “Well then, you solve it if it's so easy.”

Kiera, who's turn was next, winked and walked up to the statue. “A river,” she said.

A small high steel coin popped out. Looking at it, she said, “Sweet, that's a second ring coin. Only need one more.”

Each riddle device had the rules of the level written on it. They knew that they needed three copies of the same coin to receive an item, and that each device could only be used (correctly) by a person once. After being guessed correctly, the machine would shut down for 24 hours to absorb mana and switch to a new riddle.

Walking back out of the cave, the group looked around. They were on the beach off the river running down the middle of the canyon. They would soon have to start making their way up towards the exit teleportation glyph. They had already been on this floor for six days, and they were going a lot slower than they needed to. This was mostly due to the team's wanderlust and sense of adventure. They loved finding the riddles, and had turned it into a team competition, to see who could answer more correctly. So far, Thalia was easily beating the rest of the team, and poor Vossan was lagging behind, with only a total of two tokens.

“I'll never get tired of looking at this place,” Jeromy said, heading towards the river. A crocodile came out and waddled towards Jeromy, who killed it with a lazy swing of the hand and a flash of fire. “Looks like cooked alligator is on the menu for tonight.”

Thalia said, “You ruined its hide, which is very valuable to tailors.”

“Whatever; we already have dozens of their hides in our bags as it is.”

Jeromy stooped down and filled his water bag with the water. After collecting the sediment-laden water, Jeromy waved another hand over his bag, muttering a water-purifying spell. He offered the bag around, allowing people to drink the crystal clear and chilled water.

“Thanks,” Vossan said.

They then just sat down on the beach, enjoying the smell of being in the canyon. They watched as a bald eagle swooped down on a snake, grabbing it with its claws, and flew off to somewhere unknown.

“You know, this dungeon is even more amazing than the nature dungeon was in Ilsan,” said Jeromy.

“Agreed,” said Vossan.

“I had never been to it; what was it like?” asked Kiera.

Vossan replied, “It was considered to be one of the most amazing dungeons ever, since it was unlike most others. The first floor was just like a gigantic rainforest that sprouted inside some walls. It was the most profitable place around, and there were even some wars between the empire and the mage guilds over who would control it. And then one day, it simply ended. No one knows what happened. Some were still foolishly hoping for the dungeon to come back, but it's dead and gone forever.”

Kiera, who knew what really happened, said, “Sad, the way such an amazing place was just gone in an instant. I hope that never happens here.”

Thalia said, “I will not allow the same to happen here!”

Jeromy said, “Don't worry, with those shields it had erected around itself, I really don't see anyone being able to destroy this dungeon.”

The team settled into an amiable silence, staring at the stratified rock cliffs and the river that disappeared around a bend.

***

The next day marked the long trek back up to the top of the floor. It was a much more arduous task then climbing down had been. It was marked by battles with goblin forces. They also stopped in a few more caves, trying to complete their triplet coins to receive items at the end of the floor. Kiera managed to trade coins with Thalia to receive her third ring coin. She was excited to find out what magical ring she would be able to add to her collection. She already had the ring from the assassin in Khal City that hid her cultivation levels from prying eyes.

“Don't expect too much out of D-level enchanted equipment,” warned Jeromy. “It most likely will be useless junk.”

Kiera snorted, “Does this seem like a dungeon that would accept giving out useless junk? After going to all the trouble of setting up these puzzles?”

The party quieted as they came up to another rock outcropping on the cliff's face, infested with goblins. The team waited while Jeromy disappeared into the shadows, checking out the danger. After waiting a few minutes, Jeromy returned.

“A little over fifteen regular goblins, three shamans, and one chief. This is the most we've seen yet,” said Jeromy.

Vossan sneered, saying, “They're only goblins. What are we waiting for? Let's take them down the same as all the rest.”

“Just be careful of the chief, he's a big one,” said Jeromy.

Vossan then gave a war cry, running out onto the rock outcropping. The fifteen goblins turned as one to look at Vossan. The goblins were ugly-looking green monsters. They looked like someone had mashed together body parts from different animals in order to make a vaguely humanoid-looking creature. They were dressed in rags, even the chief and shamans. The little goblins raised their clubs and started running towards Vossan.

As they ran, Kiera tossed a fireball into the group, killing three goblins and setting another two on fire, who went running around in a panic. These two ultimately ran off the cliff and fell into the distance.

Meanwhile, Thalia was firing her arrows as fast as she could, killing two in the time it took for them to reach Vossan. When they did reach him, Kiera switched from damage dealer to healer. She started healing Vossan for all the club hits he was taking.

“Any time now, Jeromy,” snarled Vossan.

“Just thought you guys should get some practice in,” said Jeromy, right after appearing from shadows and slitting the chief's throat. “Well, that was anticlimactic, being a big chief and all, still just as easy to cut through his throat.”

Roaring in anger, the three shamans simultaneously cast curses at Jeromy, who promptly disappeared into the shadows once again. By this time, the rest of the party had managed to take down all but three of the goblins. At this point, Vossan gave a giant shield bash to the three goblins, causing them to stumble back and fall on the ground. Thalia then put an arrow through each one's throat, causing them to drown in their own blood.

“Right,” Kiera said. “Let's kill the shamans.”

Without the goblin fighters keeping them occupied, the shamans were doomed. This was the problem with mages in general: they were very weak in defense. Kiera had managed to offset this with her Defensive Form manual and her Earth mastery. The last shaman was apparently a soul mage. It launched a final desperate attack on Kiera's soul, but it was like throwing an egg at a rock. Kiera had taken Dorn's advice about protecting her soul seriously. Soul magic was a dangerous and mostly illegal art, but it was necessary to protect one's self properly.

Walking into the cave, they came upon a treasure chest. Jeromy walked up to it, keeping his eyes open.

“Careful,” he said. “This one's trapped.”

“How can you know what's on the inside of the chest, without even really inspecting it?” asked Kiera.

“Skill and dedication,” he replied flippantly.

Kiera just rolled her eyes. Disarming the trap, Jeromy flipped open the lid of the treasure chest. Looking at the loot, he said, “And we have, 2 silvers, 230 coppers, some bracers for a fighter, and a crudely made dagger. Gods, I can't wait until the dungeon creates its C-leveled floors; I'm so sick of all this crap.”

Kiera disagreed. “This would be a really good haul for a D-ranked party.”

“Yes, but we're not a D-ranked party, now are we?” said Jeromy.

Thalia just snorted, saying, “You're in the most amazing floor of any dungeon ever, and you're bitching about there not being better loot in a D-ranked floor?”

Jeromy, not chastened at all, simply said, “Go get your token from the machine.”

As it was her turn, Thalia walked up to the puzzle mechanism. It was simply a relief carving of a dragon in the middle of the wall at the back of the cave. It was glowing green this time. Underneath the dragon was a plaque made of simple steel, with letters carved into it. Thalia read the riddle that was written:

I have both a head and a tail, but I am no snake. What am I?

After thinking for just a moment, Thalia answered with, “a coin.” At the dragon's mouth was a small hole that spat out a coin when Thalia answered. It had a stylized picture of an arrow printed on the coin. Thalia grinned at receiving her third arrow coin. With this, she should get a small batch of enchanted arrows to go along with her new melee weapon she would receive, for she had three short sword coins as well.

After finishing with the machine, the letters on the plaque disappeared, and the dragon stopped glowing. In 24 hours, it would start glowing again, filled with a new riddle. Kiera said, “I wonder how many riddles there actually are on this entire floor. Do you think that there's a new one for each statue and each iteration, or do you think it'll just cycle the riddles?”

Thalia answered, “I imagine it just cycles between a rather large number of riddles. It might be interesting to make a compendium of all the riddles offered by the dungeon, along with the answers.”

Vossan's eyes gleamed, “Aye, that would make things much easier. Plus, I bet the book would sell really well.”

Kiera liked the idea too, as she liked any plan to make money. Collecting their loot, the team walked back out of the cave and started climbing the wall again. Finally cresting the cliff, they turned around and looked backwards.

“This was an incredible floor,” said Kiera.

“Aye, agreed. It makes me wonder what it will have in store for the C-ranked floors,” answered Vossan.

Jeromy said, “I wonder when this dungeon will connect its tenth floor; I'm excited to see what it means by a boss floor.”

Thalia said, “It'll probably just be a room with a large monster to fight.”

Kiera, having already been through the floor, said, “I don't know; this dungeon is full of surprises. It makes me think it'll be a really cool floor. Just look at this floor leading up to the boss level.”

At that, they all stared out at the ninth floor.

Thalia just said, “I still can't believe this is a dungeon floor. It's more amazing than the Large Canyon. I think the Dry Canyon is going to become even more famous.”

Vossan, “If only it wasn't infested by goblins.”

At this time, they walked over towards the building that housed the exit teleportation and the machine for receiving tokens. Putting her three ring tokens into the machine, out spat both a ring and the three coins, each now having a small hole in the top.

Looking at the ring, Thalia said, “Ah, that's a Danger Sense ring, but not a very strong one. It'll help you see low level traps.”

Sweet, Kiera thought, putting on the ring. She didn't care that it was low-leveled; she always enjoyed getting loot. After the team got their items from the machine, they all stepped into the exit teleportation glyph, leaving behind the massive canyon floor.