Lewd Dungeon, Chapter 385

Chapter 385 – Offer

“Ah, Master, you’re back.”

A young Atlantean woman with fire-engine red hair called out as Lunaleaf entered the Adventurers Guild. She was at a table with four others, three women and one man. All of them bowed their heads respectfully to him as he approached the table, while the woman pulled out a chair for him.

Emblema Dustmantle

Atlantean Female

Level 11 Mystic Spelldancer / Greater Courtesan

Titles: Beguiler, Nimble, Thrall, Masochist

Market Value: 39,120 gp

The woman was dressed in clothes that looked fit for a dancer, with flowing lines and long slits on either side of her skirt, giving her plenty of freedom of movement. It did not look to be much in the way of protection, though, but I knew that the Spelldancer class and Courtesan profession had skills which could balance that out. Of course, many people would have to try and tear their eyes away from her prodigious ‘assets’ to actually try attacking her effectively, but that is part of what a Courtesan did to people. She had a staff next to her, which I assumed was her primary weapon, besides her looks.

Danyll Voidrun

Atlantean Male

Level 13 Shadowblade / Master Assassin

Titles: Nimble Fingers, Executioner, Thrall, Addicted

Market Value: 39,480 gp

The man sitting next to her was thin, and had that kind of nervous energy of a crackhead between fixes. His titles also indicated that he was addicted to something. Given the way he kept stealing hungry glances at Lunaleaf when he thought people weren’t looking, I guessed that he’d been conditioned, somehow, and whatever he was addicted to, Lunaleaf was his supplier. For the rest, those titles weren’t uncommon for rogue-types. And the class/profession combo was a common evolution for anyone who started as a Rogue/Assassin.

Teffany Swiftvalor

Atlantean Female

Level 10 Stalwart Shieldmaiden / Master Armorer

Titles: Tough, Strong, Thrall, Sadistic

Market Value: 37,965 gp

Next to him was a burly green-haired woman, dressed in plate armor. A tower shield and spear rested against the table next to her, and I saw a short sword and handaxe tucked into her belt at her side. A solid choice of weapons, but I knew that there were areas in the dungeon where the tower shield would be more of a hinderance than a boon. But she was Tier 2, and certainly looked like she knew what she was doing. Maybe she had a second shield in her inventory, to swap out for tighter spaces, or when one was tramping through difficult terrain.

Elia Wildbringer

Atlantean Female

Level 12 Darkwoods Druid / Master Survivalist

Titles: Wise One, Huntress, Masochist, Thrall

Market Value: 40,586 gp

The next woman had blue hair and a lean, toned body. She wore leather armor, and had a wooden shield as well as a heavy club. Most people would have taken her for some kind of warrior, but being a druid made her much more than that. Druids could shapeshift into different animals, giving them stealth or defensive abilities, and they had spells that let them heal, or use nature to their advantage. That made them an ideal fifth or sixth member of a party, able to shift into whatever role they were most needed at in the moment.

Merewen Ironwater

Atlantean Female

Level 10 High Priestess of Selphie / Master Chef

Titles: Evenhanded, Wise One, Blessed Sight, Thrall

Market Value: 37,038 gp

Last in the group was a silver-haired woman. Actually silver, not just a shade of gray. Her slim figure was at odds with the heavy breastplate and shield she carried, or the mace hanging at her hip. She was probably her group’s primary healer, given her class, but having someone who could cook was essential for keeping morale up in a dungeon, as well. And even if she was a healer, I was certain she knew how to use that mace well enough. She wouldn’t have gotten to Tier 2 otherwise.

More importantly for the current situation, however, was her Blessed Sight title, which basically allowed the woman to see through most types of illusion magic. It didn’t work on mundane disguises or physical transformations, but general invisibility? Saw through it immediately, unless the person was a higher level than she was. Even then, she would get a ‘something’s off’ feeling.

A feeling she was definitely getting right now, by the looks of things. While Lunaleaf and his other thralls were chatting about different quests available, and which ones they should take, she was clearly not paying attention to them. No, her eyes were searching the area I was standing in, trying to see what she couldn’t see.

“Master,” she said, slowly, “I am sorry to interrupt your discussion, but we are being watched. I cannot see them, but I can feel their presence.”

Naturally, talk of quests and the like died off, since being watched by an invisible person in the middle of the Guild building was not exactly normal. Well, this was as good a time as any to make my introduction. I allowed my invisibility to fade, showing off my ‘Atlantean’ guise. Of course, I also made certain that [Appraise] would return nothing from me.

“Hello there,” I smiled. “My compliments, miss. Even with the Blessed Sight talent, it takes a perceptive eye to notice my invisibility when I do not wish to be seen.”

The group had tensed as I revealed myself, hands moving to weapons, but they didn’t draw them. As I spoke, well, I barely needed to lean on my CHA to calm them. After all, I was simply talking, in a public place, and I had no obvious weapons. Lunaleaf took a breath, and then motioned to his thralls. At his signal, they relaxed, but I noticed a couple still had hands near their weapons, just in case.

“So,” Lunaleaf started, eyes locked on me. “Who are you, and what do you want? Not to sound unfriendly, but sneaking up on people while invisible is not exactly a friendly act. People might think you’re plotting something.”

“Oh, I’m always plotting something,” I chuckled. “But I have no current plots against you or yours. In fact, I was looking to hire a party of adventurers, and you caught my eye as you were leaving the chapel.”

The True Dominator’s eyes narrowed, and he said, “And yet, you still haven’t given us a name. Which doesn’t set my mind at ease, especially if you’ve been following me since then.”

“It wasn’t supposed to set your mind at ease. I simply spoke what was true. As for a name, for now, you can call me Abel Blacksoul. That is not my true name, of course, but it will serve for now. And, as I said, I am looking to hire a group of adventurers. The job will pay well, but it will take you far from Palerre, and Bluemountain as a whole.”

“Master, I recommend caution,” spoke the High Priestess. “I sense no falsehood in his words, but the way he speaks uses truth to cloak truth in lies. What he says may be true, but not in the way we understand it.”

I nodded approvingly. “You pick your thralls well, Lunaleaf. She is correct, of course. But some truthful misdirection is, at times, necessary. Especially for jobs such as this.”

“And what kind of job is it you’re wanting us to do?” Lunaleaf asked.

“Before I get into that, there are a couple questions I must ask. Have any of you ever owned slaves? Or been slaves yourselves?”

The adventurers frowned, but Lunaleaf answered for them. “No. While the Confederacy doesn’t prohibit slavery, before the Goddessbreaker threw down Pofmis and Vinastra, it would have caused far too much trouble for slavery to be practiced openly, beyond judicial slavery. Is that a problem?”

“No,” I shook my head. “Actually, it is quite the opposite. It means that you meet the minimum qualifications for the job.” I looked at the group, and asked, “What do you know of the dungeon known as the Forbidden Chambers of Exotic Pleasures?”

Obviously, they knew the name. That much was clear to see by the way that their posture changed. Not that I was surprised. Even if ‘dungeon me’ was overshadowed by ‘god me’ in the battle that apparently got me named Goddessbreaker, my dungeon still played a solid part in that affair.

“That is the dungeon that Lord Kuronoth the Dominator and Breaker of Pofmis ascended from,” Lunaleaf said evenly. “Given that you apparently followed me from the chapel to Lord Kuronoth, I’m sure you would not be asking us to do anything against his commands.”

“Oh, heavens no. I can assure you that nothing I ask you to do will be against the wishes of Kuronoth. So, how much do you know about the dungeon, and its nature?”

Lunaleaf looked to the High Priestess, who just nodded once. He took a breath as he turned back to me, and shrugged. “Not much, beyond the fact that the dungeon has slimes as at least part of its dungeon, and that the portals which brought the armies to the Tenthar Plains to entrap the Vinastrans were made with the dungeon’s power. There were many stories from the army that went to join the others at the Tenthar Plains, but those are the two things all the stories agree on, at least as far as the Forbidden Chambers dungeon goes.”

He paused, and then said, “If you’re about to ask us to go and get something from the dungeon, we do make a habit of investigating a dungeon with the local Adventurers Guild before actually diving, so we have the best information possible. Going into a dungeon is dangerous enough. Going in blind is more dangerous still, and when there’s information to be had, not investigating is just foolishness.”

“That’s good. I don’t need incompetent or overconfident adventurers on this quest. And yes, the job is to go into the Forbidden Chambers of Exotic Pleasures dungeon, and obtain a [Silver Sword of Soulbreaking].”

“That is a rather ominous sounding name. A sword with that kind of name isn’t going to be unguarded.”

“Of course it won’t be. But my information says that the sword can be found on the eighteenth floor of the dungeon. Which is where you come in.”

“And why us, exactly? We would need to cross a continent to get to Nighthold, in the Black Knight’s domain, before using the portal there to cross over to Earth, where the Forbidden Chambers of Exotic Pleasures lies. That is no small journey, even with magic involved. Surely there are adventurers on Earth?”

“Oh, there are,” I nodded. “However, the nature of the Forbidden Chambers and how the System only recently turned on in their world means that more than a few parties have slave-owners in their midst, and adventurers who are enslaved, some voluntarily, others less so. Unfortunately, that makes those groups problematic for obtaining the sword, as my information suggests that one cannot gain access to the path leading to the sword without first interacting with a group of dungeon creatures that attack Slave owners on sight.”

“And I don’t suppose that you would give us the source for this information?”

“Suffice to say that I have conducted what divinations and research that was necessary to find out what I needed to know.”

Of course, I didn’t actually need to do any research or divinations to know that the [Silver Sword of Soulbreaking] was on the eighteenth floor, since I had placed it there, as the main weapon for the chief enforcer of the Slaver’s Guild in Khav-Srokzas. It was one of the missions you could take in the Lower City, to try and ingratiate yourself with the Great Houses, which was necessary for getting access to the raids. Specifically, in this case, House Ilzor, which was the one that publicly supported abolition of slavery.

Lunaleaf considered that for a moment. “And if we were to take this job, what kind of pay would we expect? This is not a ‘quick jaunt to the local dungeon’ kind of quest, understand. It will take considerable time and expense simply to get there, much less delving the dungeon itself.”

I drew a bag from my inventory. Sure, the bag, and its contents, were created by me, in my dungeon, and then transferred to my inventory, when I could have just conjured them then and there, but at such a close range the High Priestess would have absolutely felt me using my divine power, which would have ruined the whole point of this charade. Interacting with them too much as a god would taint the test results when they got to Shatterchain.

I tossed the bag on the table with a nice thunk. Inside were twenty-four Tier 2 diamonds, each worth almost ten thousand gold pieces, and a spell scroll. The Rogue looked at the contents, and quickly explained the value to the others. Probably some kind of loot appraisal or identification skill. Either way, it had them all looking at me. “You’ll get another bag, of equal value, when the [Silver Sword of Soulbreaking] is in my hands. Use the spell scroll to contact me when you have the sword and are out of the dungeon.”

The True Dominator nodded slowly as he put the bag, including the spell scroll, into his inventory. “Then it seems we have a deal. We will make what preparations are needed tonight, and set out for Nighthold in the morning. We will contact you by the scroll when we have completed the job.”

“Excellent,” I smiled. “Then, I will leave you all to it.”

I turned, and walked out of the Guild hall. The Rogue tried to follow me, probably out of some healthy paranoia, but once I was out of the High Priestess’s line of sight, I went invisible once again. The Shadowblade did not have the item or skills necessary to pierce my invisibility. Or, at least, he didn’t have them right now. Either way, I simply dismissed my avatar, and returned my attention to my dungeon self. The pieces were in motion. I just needed to see how things played out.