“Thanks for the markers.” Eldrin said. “We weren’t sure if you’d be out scouting when we got here, so we hoped you’d leave something out.”

“Glad you found us. We weren’t looking forward to taking that thing on by ourselves.” I pointed over my shoulder at the castle with my thumb.

“Let’s catch each other up over some food.” Saelyn chimed in.

“That sounds like a good idea.”Eldrin agreed.

“Fuel, and rest. We’ll conquer come morning.” Saelyn winked

***

We advanced up the road in a phalanx, our Shield Fighters on the outside with their shields forming a shell, and our ranged attackers inside. Our healers were in the middle where they could access anyone in seconds.

After all our preparation, the walk in was somewhat uneventful. Nothing attacked us, but we did see activity back where the road entered the clearing. It seemed something triggered the mobs to move around and cut off our line of retreat once we passed the halfway point to the castle.

I suspected that the rest of the mobs were already moving through the trees so that if we tried to retreat now, we would face ever mounting attacks, driving us back to the castle.

It seemed the Apprentice Dungeon was a one way trip until it was cleared.

***

At the main entrance we split into two groups. The Raid Party facing the massive double doors, and the Rear Party establishing a defensive barrier behind us, facing outward. We didn’t know if we would need them to secure our way out or not, but this wasn’t the time to be taking chances. We did not want to stumble out of the Castle and be set upon by fresh enemies.

The Rear Party was lead by Tehlmar and had a solid wall of Shield Fighters, backed up by heavy-duty Battle Mages and Archers. Battle Clerics rounded them out to make sure they could fight as long as possible. The wide open clearing meant they would be able to see and thin out the ranks of anything that tried to attack them long before they were engaged in melee.

On our way in the Archers had placed stones painted in different colours along both sides of the road to help them gauge ranges. While the Battle Mages would never admit it aloud, they also benefited from the markers and planned to make use of them.

The Raid Party consisted of myself, Saelyn, and Eldrin, plus two Shield Fighters and two Battle Clerics from Springbrook’s Militia. If we were adventuring outside, we likely would have taken Druids or Rangers, but we weren’t sure how removed we would be from the Sylvan environment once we entered the castle or dungeon proper, so we decided to play it safe.

With only two Players in the Raid Party, we were sure to add Levels faster than if we were spreading the XP out over a larger party. Our Militia shield wall was there to soak up and heal damage, so we could do our jobs and clear the rooms as quickly as possible. Saelyn and I had worked together enough that we were starting to anticipate each other’s moves, and the Militia knew their jobs well enough. Hold the line, heal when needed, duck when told.

***

The massive doors opened with a low groan as the Clerics pulled on the brass handles. The Fighters covered the widening gap with their shields, and the three of us were ready to fire past their heads if anything threatened us. Atmospheric, I thought...as well as being just loud enough to alert anyone inside that we were entering.

The entrance opened into a large room, with grand staircases on both sides leading up to the second floor landing. On the main floor, doors lead off to the left and right, and a hallway disappeared into the darkness ahead of us.

***

We turned to the right and headed down the hallway. While we weren’t expecting much opposition this early, we kept alert and prepared to do battle.

A few doors lead off the hallway, and we tried each one as we passed them. The fighters kept their shields braced against the floor and we were ready to shoot over their heads as one of the clerics watched our backs and the other shoved the door open.

After several disappointingly empty rooms, we started to relax and wonder if there was anything in the castle proper. Of course that’s when we opened the door to a pantry and surprised a dozen giant rats.

***

They blinked at the sudden light and noise, then hissed and surged forward to attack us, fangs bared.

The fighters dropped their shields to the floor and blocked the doorway while Saelyn shouted, “Morari! Glacio!” into the room. Frost lined the helmets of the fighters as the rats shuddered to a halt and the room was suddenly filled with savage chunks of ice that slammed back and forth, following her gestures.

The howling winds pushed us back, but the remaining rats were frozen solid mid-charge, fangs and claws still reaching out for us.

Unfortunately the noise attracted the attention of other residents of the castle and the last door in the hallway creaked open. Armoured skeletons lurched and clanked out of the room and into the hallway. Sensing us, they turned and raised their weapons, moving to attack.

The Battle Clerics moved between us, chanting their divine incantations as I reached for a Lighting Arrow. I nocked and fired between their heads, aiming into the mass of undead bearing down on us. Tehlmar was stashing his bow and drawing out a quarterstaff from his cloak.

One of the front skeletons raised its shield at the last second, intercepting my arrow. Fortunately the discharge didn’t care what it was stuck in, and it arced and sizzled around the walls and ceiling. Disappointingly though, no flickering numbers to indicate I had done any damage to the skeletons.

On the other hand, the clerics unleashed the wrath of their gods and drove the skeletons back, bits of bone flying off them as the front ones slammed into the ranks behind them. This time yellow numbers counted off as the front ones were pummeled to the ground.

“Blunt weapons!” one of the clerics yelled back at us as they charged, maces swinging.

Recalling my lectures on fighting the undead, I remembered that slashing and stabbing weapons were less effective against skeletons. I quickly slid my bow into the large compartment of the Quiver of the Elements and withdrew a quarterstaff. I didn’t have a lot of room to swing it, but I could stab the reinforced ends past the clerics as they fought.

The fighters turned and took up the rear guard while Saelyn pressed forward, Tehlmar and I on either side of her, supporting the clerics as they beat down the ranks of skeletons. Red numbers mixed in with the yellow ones as we pressed forward.

***

Bone fragments crunched under our feet as we searched the remains of the skeletons and the room they came from. Sometimes I shook my head at the thought of skeletons carrying, or even needing, treasure, but it seemed it was as much a part of dungeons as the skeletons themselves.

A few of them had pouches attached to their equipment that revealed several coins, which we passed to the fighters and clerics.

[Springbrook Militia +10 Reputation]

Apparently rewarding our allies brought us bonuses. Something to keep that in mind for the future.

Inside the room we found a few gems that we pocketed, and Saelyn discovered a book that glowed with Arcane energy. Since neither of us seemed advanced enough to read it, she tucked it away for later examination.

We didn’t want to wait around for the giant rats to thaw out to search that room for treasure, so we doubled back and started clearing the hallway to the left of the entrance.

***

Our routine made clearing rooms...well, routine. There were times I wished our companions were actual players so we could share the XP as well as the some treasure, but that would also mean slowing down our own Levelling, so it evened out. That was also assuming this was some sort of game, and not a dream or something else I hadn’t considered. For now, this was my reality, although I was still suspicious that there was more to it than what I was seeing.

The rooms down the left hallway were all devoid of monsters, although one was a small armoury that we let the Militia help themselves to. We opened the front door to let the Rear Party know about it and loot it before we moved on. We assumed the castle reset after each raid, so we might as well gain some standing with the locals by letting them have treasure along the way.

[Springbrook Militia +500 Reputation]

Okay, now that was something to file away for the future.

After a brief discussion, we decided to clear the upper floor before heading deeper into the castle. Respawns and thawing rats aside, we would feel better knowing the rooms behind us were empty.

***

The second floor rooms were mostly sleeping quarters, but they still resulted in a few gems and coins, the latter we gave to our companions for whatever uses NPCs had for coins. Regardless, it seemed to improve their willingness to fight harder for us, so it was a worthwhile investment.

[Springbrook Militia +20 Reputation]

The third floor was a little more interesting, even though ‘interesting’ was something we could have done without. Several lookouts kept watch over the castle grounds, and their skeletal occupants didn’t take kindly to their eternal watch being interrupted.

In most cases their positions weren’t intended to be defended from the rear, so the clerics and fighters were able to simply force them over the edges with their shields. When that didn’t work, maces and hammers did the job.

Overall the castle was a bit of a disappointment, but we were all still alive and we consoled ourselves with thoughts that the dungeon would be where we found the real treasures, either in loot or information form.

***

At the back of the central hallway, the floor started to slope downwards. By the time we reached the back wall of the castle, we could tell we were now underground.

Finally we had entered the actual dungeon.

The passageway curved to the right and the walls changed from smooth worked stone to rough hewn walls. Approximately every 10 feet were sconces holding ancient torches that burned as brightly as the day they were lit. I guess they figured the dungeon was going to be challenge enough without worrying about light.

They were right.