Respawns – The term respawn is a misnomer as the new spawns are not the same as the old. Spawns are summoned creatures from a world overrun with that species. By summoning them to the dungeon, the council seeks to reduce the number of these creatures in their homeworld. Adventurers are brought in the same way and for the same reasons. The difference is determined by the level of the species’ intelligence. Instinctual beings become denizens of the myriad dungeons while intellectual beings become adventurers so that they can be outfitted to cull the former.

The Adventurer’s Guild Guidebook

Nash woke in the middle of the night. He had been sleeping on his back and for a moment, he could swear someone was lying on his right side. When he became fully awake, there was no one there. Tamsyn was sleeping soundly on the other pillow, using it as her bed. He didn’t have time to think about it, nature was calling. Groggily, he got up and went to use the john. The ale had finally gone through him and he was thankful for the hundredth time for this world’s magical indoor plumbing.

In the hallway, Nash could hear the faint sounds of revelry below. A few patrons had decided to enjoy an all-nighter. Nash hoped it wasn’t any of his group. He didn’t need to be babysitting a hungover Xill or Nishra in the middle of a deep dungeon. Shrugging, Nash finished up and went back to his room. He crawled back into bed and was out like a light.

The morning came quickly. Nash rubbed the sleep from his eyes and checked on Tamsyn. She was sleeping on her pillow but in a different position. “She must sleep rough,” Nash thought. Getting up, he hastily dressed.

“Hey Tamsyn,” he called out, waking the sleeping nixie. “I’m going down to the river for a bath. I’ll be back right after.”

“Okay,” she mumbled, rolling over to cover her face from the faint light streaming in from the window.

The water was refreshing but cold. Luckily, he’d bought a towel in town and was able to dry himself off, shivering as he was. It was early fall, this world having roughly the same seasons as his old world. Within half an hour, he was back in the room at the tavern. The cool weather kept him from lingering, besides, he had a party to gather up.

It didn’t take long. Tamsyn was waiting for him when he got back. They went down and had breakfast; boar bacon, hard toast, and fey apples. Nishra joined them but opted for ham and cockatrice eggs. Xill showed up when they were just finishing up.

Nash mounted his black marble cat, Tamsyn and Xill joining him. The saddle reconfigured itself for two riders, with Tamsyn seating herself on his shoulder. Luckily, Nishra had her own mount, a raptor. The dark blue lizard stood eight feet tall and came with a black leather saddle and reins. Nash and Nishra shared a look, nodding to each other. Kicking his heels, they were off for another deep dungeon. This one was like the little cousin of the one where he had been betrayed within. Not only was it geared for a much smaller party, but it was much closer to the town too.

On their way, the group talked amongst themselves. Nash discovered that he was the only one of the group who had fought through this dungeon so he took time explaining what they could expect to find within, lots of undead.

It turned out that the dungeon was near the barrow mound that he had recently wiped out. That made the offroad part of their trip easy and they arrived before a dark crack in the rock face at the end of a valley that looked to have been dug from the scarred landscape. It looked foreboding and stank of rotting meat and decaying plant life. Looking at his status magic map, Nash determined that this must be the entrance to the dungeon, small as it was. He had only ever entered from the Light side.

“I’ll lead the way,” said Nash once everyone had dismounted.

Equipping his gear, he held his shield out front and walked inside. He had to hold his axes close to his side for a few feet before the crack opened up into a large cave. Mold, slime, refuse, and bones littered the floor, the sound of trickling water coming from several places within, the result of a small spring that had been diverted into the ancient underground city beyond. Several dank pools filled a third of the cavern area. Moving on, the group came to the wall in the back of the cave. It had collapsed and a once ornate bath chamber lay inside.

Tamsyn was the first to hear the moan. “Eeep,” she yelped, fluttering towards the ceiling.

Nash turned and saw several shadows darker than the rest start to move, arising out of the watery pools that lay around the room they had just walked through. Luckily, the whole party had dark vision and they could make out the plant encrusted corpses that were pulling themselves out of the cavern’s filth. Nash stepped forward, putting himself between the creatures and the rest of this party. He did it just in time. Eight of the creatures rushed him at once.

“Duck and cover!” yelled Nishra.

Nash did just that and felt the heat of the large explosion that went off right in front of him. Opening his eyes to assess the situation, he smiled when he saw that there was nothing left of the creatures but smoking bones. They had all been blown back to the far side of the cavern. Nodding appreciatively towards Nishra, Nash resumed leading them into the city portion of the deep dungeon.

They fought their way through several white marble rooms, grey from age. After the initial zombies, the only things they came across were animated skeletons. They waded through group after group of the creatures. Skeletal humans, ogres, minotaurs, wolves, and even rats sought to stop the party but nothing prevailed over them. After an hour of near-constant fighting, they finally reached the first boss, a living statue made from the bones of numerous creatures. Xill had even managed to level.

“Okay, this first boss is pretty straightforward,” said Nash. “I’ll hold the front and keep his attention. Xill, I want you to backstab away. His core is more than bone and can be damaged. Nishra, attack it from behind me but keep an eye out for its minions. They’ll come in waves from behind us. Tam, just keep us alive. You all good?”

All three nodded. “Alright, here we go!” announced Nash.

Charging in, he drew the boss’s attention. The boss, CravenBone attacked Nash with bone spikes but Nash’s blade barrier kept them at bay. Xill zipped in behind and went to work on the boss’s torso while Nishra launched fiery orbs at the bony monster.

Before long, several alcoves opened up in the back of the room and skeletal minions crawled, scampered, and ran towards them from several directions. Nishra split her orb into five pieces that each took down a skeleton. After three uses of the ability, she had eliminated the wave and refocused her attacks on the boss. A few bone splinters got through Nash’s defenses but Tamsyn kept him healed up. Two waves of minions later and the boss fell, defeated.

“Congratulations! You have defeated Cravenbones.”

“You each gain 150,515 experience.”

Congratulations: Xillifrideraticatsk Has Leveled Up! Thief - Level 14

Congratulations: Nishra Has Leveled Up! Fire Witch- Level 17

“New loot has been added to the loot table. View Loot? Y/N”

“Congrats you two,” smiled Nash. “Now, let’s see what kind of loot we have.”

Once Nash selected the ‘Y’, the loot table popped up.

Bonebranch – Mainhand – Staff

Skull of Cravenbones – Trinket

Rattle Cloak – Back – Light Armor

Healing Elixer – 2

Iron Marks – 2,550

After a brief discussion, everything went to Nishra as the only one who could use the items. Xill just shrugged nonchalantly. Nash hoped the thief would make out better after the next boss. He didn’t want envy in the ranks after their very first dungeon. Nishra seemed pleased, giving Nash a big hug after equipping her new gear.

The rest of the dungeon went much the same, with no real danger to anyone so long as they followed Nash’s advice. Five more bosses went down and Xill ended up making out like a bandit with new gloves, chest armor, boots, and a trinket. Tamsyn even received an item. Now that she was no longer a minion and had officially joined Nash’s party, she now had a class, level, and equipment slots.

Tamsyn’s item was a new trinket, Mirror Spoon, which absorbed damage to the healer and rerouted it into healing for the healer’s target. Nishra got a new wand and robe and Nash won a lucky roll for Boney Roller, a cosmetic minion. Perhaps most importantly, Xill gained three more levels, Nishra gained two, and both Nash and Tamsyn gained one. Nash and Tamsyn were both level twenty-four now, with Xill at level seventeen and Nishra at level nineteen. Nash could already see that choosing a dungeon a little beyond the lower leveled members was a good call.

The way back to Gravenport went without incident. They all stopped by the river early on, stripped down, and cleaned themselves up again. All-day battling undead and other unsavory creatures in an ancient and dank dungeon had them all smelling rather ripe. Afterward, Nishra pulled out a picnic basket from her inventory and they all enjoyed a late picnic lunch of fish, fey apples, peppered chicken, and wine. Washed, fed, and relaxed, the group spent the next couple of hours heading back to town. Once they got there, they headed straight for the Seductive Succubus. This was all part of Nash’s plan, they needed to present well to convince others to join.

They walked in just in time for a late dinner. The place was already filling up with regulars but there were a few new faces as well. A low murmur turned into a series of ‘welcome backs’ and ‘congrats’.

“Thanks,” said Nash to the crowd. “And the next round is on me. We did well today.”

That announcement brought the crowd fully around and they were greeted with cheers, hoots, and hollers… mainly for the free drinks. Nash smiled widely, knowing that was to be expected. He led the way and found a table near the back that was big enough for the four of them. Nash and Nishra sat next to each other. Tamsyn and Xill both sat on top of the table, both too small to reach from the chairs. It wasn’t long before they had their first visitor.

“Well met,” said a large grey-skinned man, his voice like gravel. “I’m Hank and have just arrived in Gravenport today. I heard talk that you were looking for adventuring companions. Is that still true?”

“It is,” said Nash, taking the man’s appearance in. “We’ve just started recruiting and have already had a very lucrative dungeon run. In fact, we’ve just made it back and were looking to have dinner. Care to join us? You could tell us a bit about yourself.”

“Well then, excellent,” replied Hank, smiling at the group. “I could eat. Us stone-born have hearty appetites, after all.”

“Well then, pull up a chair,” replied Nash.

Hank sat down with them and a barmaid came by to get their orders. It turned out that Hank was a fellow tank, a dragoon, and eleventh level. Nash was confident that with their help, he would level even quicker than the others. They made small talk and soon their food and drinks came. Nash enjoyed a grizzly steak and baked potato while Hank regaled them with his past exploits.

After an hour-long dinner conversation, a pair of dark elves approached the table. Both had dark red skin and pure white hair, giving them the look of sisters. They both had the look of foresters, except their rugged outdoor clothing had all been blackened. The older-looking one smiled.

“Greetings,” she said, a strong foreign accent coming through from that single word. “My cousin and I heard about your offer and we’d like to accept. We are both expert trackers and deadly with our bows.”

“Relax ladies,” said Nash, noting a hint of desperation in the dark elf’s voice. “You’re in. All I ask of anyone is that they work hard, trust me, and allow me to trust them. What are your names?”

“I’m Lynesse and my cousin is Cyrie,” answered the older of the two dark elf women.

“Well met, Lynesse… Cyrie,” replied Nash, nodding at each woman in turn. “I’m Nash, and this is Tamsyn, Xill, Nishra, and Hank. There’s still plenty of room if you’d like to join us.”

“Why thank you,” replied Lynesse, seeming somewhat taken aback. “We’re not used to such manners… or kindness.”

“Hey, we’re all just folk,” said Nash. “I’ll trust you until you give me a reason not to.”

“Fair enough,” answered Lynesse. “And likewise.”

“Great then,” said Nash with a note of finality in his voice. “Then what are you having?”

The dark elf women quickly took their seats and ordered their drinks, gourgrog – a thick, black concoction that smelled faintly of licorice and was incredibly potent. Nash raised an eyebrow when the ladies ordered them. Lynesse just gave him a look, daring him to say something. Cyrie had other ideas.

“Would you like a sip?” she asked, offering her mug to Nash. Her voice was soft and higher-pitched than her cousin’s.

“Sure,” said Nash, never afraid to try something at least once.

He to the mug and took a swig of the syrupy stuff. It was sweet and tasted like licorice, and it had quite the kick. Cyrie watched him intently and smiled when it seemed like he enjoyed it. Tamsyn gave him a death glare for some reason he couldn’t fathom. He handed the drink back to Cyrie.

“Thanks. That was pretty good,” he said, smiling back at Cyrie.

“You’re welcome. I’m glad you liked it,” replied Cyrie, taking a sip from the same spot that Nash had, staring intently at him the whole time.

“A toast, to new friends,” said Nash abruptly, raising his mug high.

Everyone raised their drinks, clinking them together in solidarity with each other.

“So, when do you think we’ll head out next?” asked Hank, the stone-born rubbing his hands together in anticipation. “I’m ready to crack some skulls.”

“Well, we have seven now,” said Nash. “So, I think we could probably do a deeper dungeon than we did today. How about tomorrow?”

“What about mayor business?” asked Tamsyn.

“Yeah,” replied Nash. “I’ll look in on that after we get back, okay?”

The nixie shrugged. Nash gave her a questioning look but she just stared back flatly. Sighing quietly, Nash used the status magic to add the recruits to his party. Hank was level eleven, Lynesse was level seven, and Cyrie was level five. Nash wasn’t concerned. They would level quickly under his protection.

The group continued to discuss plans, get to know each other, and had a generally good time for the rest of the night. It had been a long day, so Nash bid them good night and went up to his room to sleep. Tamsyn followed quietly behind him, her mood having remained subdued for most of the night.