Dungeon Champions

Sirun’s eyes flicked up and to the left. Whatever he saw seemed to shake him, as he spoke his replies aloud. “My Queen, Mayor Regan, what’s happening? A…what?” His mouth worked, not comprehending.

I looked over my shoulder at the girls and saw the exuberance they’d had from leveling up replaced with anticipation mixed with fear. Zuri was the only among them who kept her cool.

“Ah, excuse me,” Sirun said, tapping my shoulder. “You wouldn’t happen to be the adventurer with the legendary Tablet, would you?”

It hadn’t occurred to me that the Queen or Mayor would see through the illusion on our Tablets, even if it made sense. Well, no sense denying it. I dipped my chin. “That’s me. What’s going on?”

The man’s antennae wove a complex pattern as he looked toward the gates, then down to the docks. Citizens were rushing away from both locations, even as groups of other people – adventurers, I guessed – went in the opposite direction. The fairy with her dwarves was headed to the docks, as was the all-female elf group.

“Our Queen and her royal troupe are on tour. They are currently with the Goblin King, and several days away. That has left our defenses rather…weak.”

I caught what he was suggesting. “What’s attacking?”

He shook his head vigorously. “The mayor is local, and his Inner Circle Tablet should tell him what it is, but the information isn’t clear. It’s monsters, we know that. Lots of them. And they are coming from all directions. They are defying classification.”

Zuri spoke up from behind me. “Hybrids, then. Or new species. Ones that haven’t been defeated by adventurers in sufficient numbers for the Tablets to pick up on.”

I nearly stopped to question how she knew that, then remembered who she was. No doubt she had insights about monsters that even I would not have.

“I’m authorized to offer you a high value quest,” Sirun cut in. His eyes shot upward, and our Tablets vibrated with notifications.

Filled with a mixture of bloodlust and trepidation, I checked the text.

***

Emergency Quest – A Cry for Help

Note: This quest has been personally authorized by Queen Esmer of the Cryseth Fairies, ruler of this region. Completing it may earn her favor, along with favor from the local mayor.

Assignment: Society of the Defiant

Estimated Time to Completion: Unknown.

Estimated Risk: Significant-to-Overwhelming

Potential Rewards: Variable, depending on success – up to 25 experience per party member, plus standard individual combat experience (estimated to be worth between 30-50 points). Gold or other services will be included, based on estimated damages your team prevents.

Details: Boulibar Bay is under attack! The Queen and her entourage of assassin fairies are attending the Goblin King and have left the town stripped of its normal high-level defenders. Defeat the mysterious attacking monsters at the [North Gate], prevent damage to the town, and save lives. Upon completion, a follow-up quest may be assigned to investigate the source of the attack.

***

Even before I’d finished reading the text, I shared it with the other Tablets I had Command Authority over.

Nym gasped, “Significant? Overwhelming? What does that mean? Is it based on your level, Jordan? Or ours?”

“An average,” I said, my class giving me the insight. A pick of ice lodged in my guts as I focused long enough to skim to the experience table in the Appendix of the Tablet. Seeing it filled me with a mixture of ambition and concern. “I have good news and bad news.”

Even as I spoke, we heard an enormous splash. A beat later, a fireball detonated near the docks. The sounds of screams came from that direction.

“You may want to hurry,” Zuri said, looking to the north, where the flood of people coming from that gate had begun thinning. Many were showing signs of injury. One man was carrying an elven woman, her forehead bleeding and her eyes unfocused.

“If we accept this,” I said, speaking rapidly, “you could all earn enough experience points to reach level four. The bad news is that to receive full combat experience, I can’t damage our opponents. And we’re either going to be facing a lot of monsters, or very strong ones.”

Britney’s mouth worked, and I recognized the fear appearing there. It was the same as I’d seen while rescuing her from the slime creature. Nym wasn’t much better.

“I…I’ll follow your lead,” Merielle announced, squaring her shoulders. She looked me in the eye. “I trust you to make the right decision for us.”

Zuri pointed at the elf. “I agree with her. Also, it wouldn’t hurt to accept the quest and see what we’re against. Right?”

A straggler from the north gate appeared at the end of the lane. It was a small boy. He might have been of a short-statured fae species, or a child. Either way, the sight was enough to encase my heart in ice.

One way or another, I knew what I had to do.

“We go,” I growled, accepting the quest.

Taking the lead, I started down the street. Merielle and Zuri followed, stretching their legs to keep up. Nym, whose tail was tucked firmly between her legs, narrowed her eyes to slits and followed, her terror palpable.

When I checked my Tablet for Britney’s location, it showed that she was still standing there. Her status read [Uncertain] next to her current hit points and available abilities.

I don’t have time to give a shit about her. Not with people in trouble. The thought hurt and left me wondering whether we could truly rely on the girl. It was one thing if she was a haughty brat. It was another if she would abandon her group against a difficult challenge.

We cut through the town, with no sign of any other adventurers or guards joining us. I assumed the dock was the most economically valuable section of the city so the Mayor or Queen or whoever was overseeing defending the city was routing most people that way.

But she saw I have a Legendary Tablet. She may assume I’m a one-man wrecking crew. Crap.

The north gate was intact, a single bloodied guard standing inside the wall. Wearing a simple black and silver uniform, he held a glowing polearm suggesting he had levels if not a Tablet. Seeing us, the broad-shouldered human sagged in relief. “Thank the Fates, you’re here. I can’t hold out much longer.”

Thud! Thud! THWACK!

It sounded like axes were tearing into the closed wooden gate, each impact echoing. Now that we were close, I heard sounds suggesting at least ten, if not more, monsters on the other side.

I looked over at Merielle, who was tugging on her Elemental Fighter’s Gloves and lifting her Handshake of the Titans. “Okay. We’re going to open the gate. My job will be to distract them while you dip in and out. Whatever the monster is, our goal is to push them away from the wall until we can get them away from the city.”

She was pale but gave me a firm nod.

“A-and…what about me?” Nym asked, her voice small.

“Get Scouring Blast or Quick Combust ready.”

“Oh…sure.” She looked down, frowning with effort. “I’ve never cast them before.”

I started to reply when the wood splintered. The gate we’d intended to push through popped open and a veritable wall of monster flesh shoved the guard forward. He stumbled, off balance, and tried to spin, his polearm flashing with enchantment.

Half a dozen four-foot-tall creatures that looked like ant-faced dwarves, with an enormous pincer claw erupting from their chests, rushed him.

Snickt!

The guard’s polearm sliced through one ant-dwarf, then lodged into another, getting stuck on a layer of chitin covering their robust little bodies.

Three of the monsters swarmed the guy, claws snapping. They had enlarged, cutting mandibles that tore at the man’s flesh.

Part of me noted that the monsters showed little, if any, coordination. They weren’t skilled. As they sliced through the man’s livery and left lacerations to the bone, I knew they’d be deadly enough.

Especially to my team.

The guard screamed. “Help! Please!”

Merielle and I went in at the same time.

The redheaded elf screamed a battle cry as her magical hammer expanded. Haft elongating to a full six feet, the wedge-shaped head became something that resembled an anvil more than a traditional mallet.

She swung the weapon. As she did, I saw her form falter when the weight wrenched her to the side. The head hit a monster menacing the downed guard, the one already damaged by the man’s polearm. It was enough to kill the thing.

As the ant-dwarf fell over, one flailing arm hooked on Merielle’s elongated hammer. With its weight added to the oversized mallet it became too much for her to wield. She fell over, her magical weapon slipping from her grasp.

When it fell, the hammer returned to its former size, landing at her feet.

Gritting my teeth, I made my way into the fray. Grabbing the downed guard by a piece of his armor, I lifted him bodily away from the monster throng. I was easily strong enough to free him, although the utter lack of self-defense cost me.

Clawed pincers, fists, and mandibles scoured my armor and clipped flesh. It stung enough to tell me these monsters were lethal enough to be a threat even to me, if left alone.

Shoving the maimed guard ahead of me, I held him as far from the attacking crowd as I could. Screaming, “Wake up and run!” in his face, I took a few steps, hoping that Merielle or Nym would do something to help.

A quick glance revealed that they couldn’t.

With the gate open and unguarded, more of the monsters flowed in. Seeing us as the immediate threat, they’d swarmed. Merielle was doing her best to play defense, dodging and sprinting as four fresh creatures menaced her.

To the elf’s credit, her efforts kept Nym from going down in those first seconds. The catgirl’s eyes were wide, her mouth working. She made a brushing gesture with two hands and eleven brooms manifested out of the air. Made of plain wooden material, the cleaning implements shot out, sweeping the feet and legs of the invaders.

Unarmed goblins might have been poorly equipped to deal with her spell, but these creatures were ideal for it. The brooms managed to distract several, earning Merielle and me several precious seconds.

But that was all they did.

CRACK! CRACK CRACK CRACK!

Broom after broom snapped, vanishing as cruel pincers caught and ended the spells.

The guard shook his head, eyes unfocused. He’d lost a lot of blood and struggled to find his feet. He was looking at me, then around us. “Wha…”

“Run!” I screamed in his face. “I need you out of here.”

Fresh claws snapped at my back, neck, and arms. One monster came around to slash at my face, cutting my cheek open.

“Necromantic Propulsion!” Skullie called, zipping out of my backpack. The skeleton head slammed into the nearest monster. The impact was enough to knock the ant-dwarf over. Skullie landed on top, narrowly avoiding having bits of his spine snapped off by a retaliatory claw.

Shaking his head, the guard found enough focus to put his feet down. He turned and ran.

Finally, I thought, turning just as Zuri screamed.

“Nym!”

Whipping my head around, I saw Zuri had taken her silk wrap off enough to reveal several serpent heads. Two ant-dwarfs that had closed with Nym abruptly stilled, turned to stone. As they did, however, the gorgon’s skin went ash pale and she staggered.

These things cost her far more mana than the low-level creatures in the dungeon, I thought, recognizing severe mana drain.

I ran over to Zuri, catching her as she stumbled. She didn’t look at me though. Her eyes were on Merielle.

Our fighter was working hard, dancing between eight or nine of the invaders. Her retracted hammer struck out, scoring incidental strikes on one after another, yet none were with the right force and angle to deal full damage. She’d injured most of them, keeping their attention long enough for Zuri to save Nym and help me get the guard away.

The cost she’d paid had been high.

Merielle was bloodied, her armor dented, and her skin covered in jagged lacerations. She was panting through split lips, her hair in wet tangles from a nasty scalp wound.

A monster, its beady eyes red and filled with cunning the others lacked, crouched and prepared to leap. It waited for the elf to hit one of its companions, her awkward attack opening her back.

The creature sprang, arms outstretched, pincher claw aimed at her neck.

It’s going for a critical attack, I thought, hand snapping down. The Accurate Dagger of Cruelty slapped into my hand. Before I could intervene, potentially costing the girls vital experience, the monster froze in place.

As a statue it fell to the ground, shattering.

“Merielle,” Zuri whispered, then shuddered and fell unconscious.

“Zuri!” Nym screamed, looking at me. I’d bled all over the gorgon, and from her perspective it likely looked like she’d been hurt and died. “Jordan! We… We have to go! We’re not ready for this!”

Another, different scream, came from the fight as Merielle shoved her way free of seven grabbing creatures. She stumbled, clearly near the end of her hit points, barely getting away from the throng.

Behind her, a wave of even more of the creatures surged through the gate. There must have been thirty of them, including one far larger than the rest. With a minotaur’s furry body and horned head, the newcomer also possessed the chest-pincer and mandibles of the others.

Seeing us, it spread its jaws in a roar of triumph and led its throng forward.

Holding Zuri, seeing Merielle on the verge of death, and hearing Nym’s desperate screams brought a familiar sensation up from my stomach. Ice gripped my heart, and the Battle Scholar rose in my mind.