Chapter 13: Dungeons Can Be Fun

I spent the last 2 days getting ready for my first ever dungeon crawl. I have stocked my inventory with just about everything I can think of. I have 3 dozen each of HP and MP recovery potions bought from the Great Game store and a traveling alchemical kit to sample things. Empty vials and jars, rope, rations for 2 weeks and a variety of other mundane things. I also have some magic jewelry and accessories to boost my stats, some enchanted clothes instead of armor, and hand weapons and shooting weapons of all sorts to try out.

I am going to use these beginner dungeons for some quick xp and to test my magic weapons against actual Great Game creatures. The 1st dungeon I am going to travel to looks to be slightly north and east of my castle. After a little more than an hour of driving I realize that I am very close to the town of Asheville, North Carolina. If a dungeon opened up near people you think that it would have made the news. Maybe there is something else going on, or the Great Game is hiding things again. I expected to be led into the mountains and needing to hike to some cave entrance. This is way outside my expectations. I guess I read to many role playing books and they have colored my expectations.

Strange, the blinking red dot has led me to Biltmore Estates. If the dungeon is located at a such a prominent tourist attraction how come no one has said or reported anything? Is it some sort of government cover up? Well only one way to find out. I load anything suspicious, like my weapons, into my inventory where no one else will see them and put on a pair of serviceable and functional camo fatigues and a backpack that has been enchanted with extra storage capacity. Let’s go see what this whole dungeon thing is about.

After I buy a ticket at the guest services area I approach the main house and am surprised when a blue screen pops up in front of me. I look around quickly to see if anyone else notices, but it looks like it is just visible to me. I concentrate on the screen and read:

“Biltmore Estates is a Level 20 instanced dungeon, make sure you and your party are in contact with each other after reading this message or you will be transported to different instances of the dungeon. You will teleport in 30 seconds.”

OK, this actually makes a little more sense. I guess an instance dungeon is usable by different parties at the same time. Since I am the only beta tester that passed no other person is being transported into the dungeons and are just visiting the normal Biltmore Estates.

After the 30 second countdown I see sort of a heat shimmer and the other people around me disappear. After which another screen pops up:

“For being the first to enter Biltmore Estates Dungeon you will be rewarded with double xp for the first 48 hours. If the dungeon is finished within the bonus time frame unique rewards will be given to the party.”

As I look at the manor in front of me I notice a distinct difference between the “real world” and the “dungeon” Biltmore Estates. The dungeon estates looks much more run down and generally exudes a creepy feeling. Well they certainly got the ambiance of a dungeon correct. This place has horror movie written all over it. Oh well let’s see what we have. As I approach the front of the manor another blue screen pops up:

“Biltmore Estates Dungeon is divided into 3 parts. The order you complete them will influence the rest of the dungeon. 1. Save the villagers 2. Stop the Zombie Plague 3. Defeat the Lich Teleportation is disabled inside the dungeon.”

Interesting it seems that there may be some strategy involved. The simple strategy seems to be to just go in order 1, 2, 3. However, I always like to do things differently. I think the most efficient way to do this will actually be to go in the order of task 2, then task 3, and then finish with task 1. I will stop the zombies before the numbers increase, then take on the “main boss”, the Lich, leaving the villager rescue last. This may backfire on me but I think it will work. If the villagers have survived this long hopefully they can survive a little bit longer. I think it would be a mistake to let the zombies and Lich gather strength while I save the villagers. I also might have to then protect the villagers from all of the other dungeon creatures until the end.

Now I need to figure out where everything is. When in doubt conquer the high ground. Most people would probably go inside the mansion and head up, but that is so predictable. I quickly scan the outside of the manor. There we are, that side has windows all the way up to the roof with relatively wide ledges. I can simply climb right up to the roof. I would not have been even able to think about doing this a year ago. With my new Great Game earned levels and strength it should be easy to use those windows as a make shift ladder to the top. I can do some basic reconnaissance while looking through the windows and then scan the entire are from the roof.

The climb was easier than I expected. I could not see much through the windows though, it might be a function of the dungeon. Wandering around the roof I am able to see a large cemetery with shambling figures behind the mansion. That was never there before. Find zombie plague check. This dungeon seems to be following standard horror/bad guy movie logic. This means that the villagers should be imprisoned in the basement/dungeon and the Lich will be in either a grand ballroom/throne room or in a laboratory on the upper floor. That means that I can head to the cemetery in the back and deal with the zombies, climb back up to the roof and work my way down the manor until I find and defeat the Lich and eventually end up in the basement to set free the villagers. Easy peasy lemon squeeze.

Alright time to gear up. I probably should have done this before climbing to the roof, but I forgot. I have my magical fatigues on that give some armor bonuses but allow me freedom of movement. These things are fantastic, they have an improved protection ability, self-cleaning and limited repair ability, and to top it all off I gave them a temperature regulation enchantment. Making it a set of 4 was the best I could do, 1 for shoes, 1 for undergarments, 1 for pants, and one enchantment for the shirt. Some people may question why army fatigues, well they are durable, comfortable, have lots of pockets and just plain look cool. I gave them such a variety of enchantments because it seems that enchantments do not stack in the Great Game. In other words if I have a ring of protection +2 and boots of protection +3 I do not get protection +5 I just get the highest value and the other one is wasted. So variety is the name of the game when enchanting. clothing, armor and accessories.

Strangely enough you can stack weapon enchantments. I do not know why, probably some strange game logic I just won't understand. Next is my accessories, I have different sets for different situations. Through experimentation I have found out that I can have one necklace, 4 rings, 1 head covering, and one outer covering. The outer covering can be a cloak, a jacket, or any other similar type thing. For this dungeon I think I will go with 1 HP regen boosting ring, 1 MP regen boosting ring, 1 agility boosting ring, 1 strength boosting ring, a disease resisting necklace, a duster jacket of camouflage and finally a magic resisting boonie cap. These choices should cover most situations I will run into in this dungeon.

All right sooner started, sooner done. First I think I will try out my new sniper rifle. I want to try out each of the special ammunitions I have created along with a “normal” projectile. I think I will try out the lightning bullet first. I carefully aim for the head of one of the zombies wandering around in the cemetery and squeeze the trigger. The head just disintegrated and the zombie flopped down on the ground. It looks like the there is a small 1-2 foot crater in the dirt behind it. Ok, note to self, special ammunition is overkill for smaller non armored targets. The penetration was fantastic, but I did not get to see lightning affect the zombie because it just went through the target so fast.

What a waste of an enchantment. Oh well at least it was only one. I think I will postpone the trial run of the other special ammunition until I find a more suitable target. The sound of the bullet hitting the ground has started to attract more zombies near the crater that was formed. I put away the sniper rifle into my inventory and bring out my newest version of the rifle the MA 12. Why is it called the MA 12? Well, that would be rifle designation “Mark Anderson version 12”. Some people are probably curious about what happened to versions 1-11, please do not ask, several of them were extremely painful and embarrassing failures.

I carefully line up a shot on another zombie. I have to be careful, unlike my sniper rifle which I had equipped with a scope, the MA 12 is iron sights only. I fire my first shot and check to see what the damage was. I see an arm slowly pinwheel through the air and then hit the ground. Huh, just like in the movies, it was just not in slow motion. I did not know that could happen in real life. Well an arm is not lethal to a zombie but at least I know the MA 12 is a success. I just need to work on my personal aim a bit.

I want to finish this as quickly as possible so I should move closer to make aiming easier. This way I should eliminate the zombies and their threat quicker. I climb down the back of Biltmore and cautiously make my way over to a garden shed just outside of the cemetery. Using the slight height advantage should allow me to see farther and also keep me relatively safe from the slow shambling zombies.

After I set up a small shooters nest on top of the shed I get to work. This is becoming monotonous. Is there no end to these things? I have been up here for over an hour and while there are less zombies now I still am getting new zombies from deep in the cemetery wandering into my shooting zone. Wait a minute. New zombies? Maybe there is something deeper in the graveyard that keeps spawning these things.

It seems I am going to have to do this the hard way. I clear up my immediate area and pack everything up. I jump down from the shed and pull out my shotgun, “Betsy” and make sure that she is easily available on her quick sling. I then take out a rather large Warhammer that I have nicknamed the “Persuader”. Now I realize that some out there may wonder about or question my selection of weapons. Experience and movies have taught me many things that make this the best combination.

First with a shotgun all I have to do is be close. My aim does not have to be perfect in order to do a massive amount of damage. Second it is easier to crush a skull with my enhanced strength than to cut a head off. I learned this through T.V. and I actually tested it out on some pigs and their carcasses during training. Why a pig? I needed to train myself not to hesitate or get sick at the sight of blood. I have read to many books and seen to many movies where some character kills something for the first time and is then overwhelmed or killed when they get sick to their stomach. Pigs are pretty good representatives of humans for tissue layers, weight, and have similar anatomy. They are the best I could do because I am not a sociopath and was not going to train on humans.

Feeling like I was prepared for anything I set out. Man this is boring. I do not know if I am overpowered, but this just seems too easy. I know theme music, that’s what I need to make this better. Man there goes my brain wandering off again, although it would be great to have some theme music, Na Na Na Na, Na Na Na Na, Mark Man. Stop it brain and focus. What is that up ahead? It looks like a campfire.

I decide that discretion is the better part of valor and sneak closer instead of just blasting my way in like an 80’s action hero. As I sneak closer I see that there appears to be a, Witch Doctor, Shaman, Some Guy with feathers on his head, chanting near the fire. Let’s call him Hank. As I watch Hank chant I see 3 new zombies start to claw their way up out of the ground in front of him. So Hank is the source of the new zombies. He must be like a mini boss in a game.

Alright, time to get psyched. I can do this. I carefully and quietly put my shotgun back into my inventory and switch it out for my sniper rifle with a fire enchanted bullet. I quickly but carefully line up my shot, breathe out, and squeeze the trigger.

“Congratulations on finishing part 2 of the Biltmore Estates Dungeon, stop the zombie plague. The dungeon has been modified. All experience will be tallied and administered after exiting the dungeon.”

That was terribly anti-climactic. One shot one kill. I should be ecstatic, but I am actually kind of nervous. Should it be this easy? The experience from kills is not awarded until the end of the dungeon so I thought I would struggle more being a level 18 character in a level 20 dungeon. Could I be that much of an OP character? Perhaps it is my weapons, maybe they are over leveled for this dungeon.

I need to figure this out so I can safely prepare my friends and family. This is so strange. I guess another marathon round of ask the help screen will occur when I get out of this dungeon. Let’s loot everything first and then move on to the next stage. Nothing spectacular in the loot, a couple gems and a magic weapon that is worse than what I have. That is an indicator that I may actually have over powered equipment for this dungeon. Good to know.

Oh well, I need to focus on right now. I can figure out the other stuff later. Next I think I will try and defeat the Lich. That was task #3, and then go back and rescue the villagers. So according to video game logic which has served me well so far, the end boss or Lich should be on an upper floor of the mansion. There are not throne rooms in the Biltmore Estates, but there are a couple of rooms that are very large and ostentatious. The grand dining room, it is large and from what I remember when I took the tour years ago it could easily be fancy enough to double as a throne room.