World Sphere - 171 - Dungeon Sprint

Chapter 171 

There appeared to be three different dungeon parties here.  At least there were groups of seven, six, and five huddled together.  A group walked out of the dungeon, their clothes steaming.  The two elven men and three human women walked past us tiredly as they ascended the stairs.  The distinct scent of sulfur was left in their wake.  They were the only ones who did not give Adrial and Kiara a second glance.

My two cats were again the center of attention.  The guards at the entrance were patient and announced, “Twenty-second location in two minutes.”  All the groups started to stir and entered the dungeon when the guards said the arrival location had switched.

Gareth walked authoritatively down the steps after the groups had already entered.  Tobias and Zayne were close behind him, and Maerlyn was a short distance behind.  Gareth asked, “How many groups just entered Storme?  And what location are they on?”

“The guards announced the twenty-second location.  It was three groups,” I informed him.

“It is a good location.  If we wait, the twenty-third location only has a cyclops cave nearby to reach the second level,” Gareth said imperiously.  Gareth also flashed a token to the guards.  Tokens for this dungeon were free, and more to track groups who were entering the dungeon.  Skyholme definitely tried to squeeze every copper out of its people by making delvers pay for access.

“What repeatable quests did you pick up?”  I asked.

Gareth reached into his pockets and pulled out some paper. He read them off, “Elkhorn, silver per pound for the apothecary.  Spinnerets, twelve for a platinum.  And bear meat is ten copper per pound.  That is all for the first level.  Didn’t think you would want to do any tree cutting or foraging for plants.”

I took the top three papers from him.  Only the spider quest had one pip for each completion. The trap door spiders in the forest on the first level were the most dangerous creatures besides the cave cyclops. But they were found as individuals, so it would take time to get twelve spinnerets.  The giant elk horns were around two hundred pounds per rack, so about two gold per kill.  The bears were massive; if I remember, they gave about eight hundred pounds of meat.  That would be eighty silver with my tissue extractration spell.

Maerlyn spoke up, “There is a bounty on Cyclops’ eyes. A merchant needs two hundred for a shipment. He is offering twenty gold each. I’m not sure how close he is to filling it, but it was only posted yesterday, and he will take extra.”

Gareth gave the elf woman a sour look as she had not shared the information with him. My guess is Gareth never asked for her input. The rewards were small, but this was just the first level of the dungeon. “Cyclops it is then. We will wait for the cycle. In the meantime, you can introduce yourselves to Maerlyn.”

Maerlyn stepped forward, “I am a silver card delver and have been delving into this dungeon for quite a while. I have gone as deep as the third layer. My specialty is ranged restraint spells, and I have a small dimensional space for harvests.”

Aelyn seemed to consider and approached the elf, “Tell me about your dreams and aspirations, Maerlyn.”  They started talking quietly as they moved to the side of the landing. I guessed Aelyn was warning her about Gareth, but I was not sure.

Gareth and I started talking, and most of the bounties revolved around the dungeon’s various forts on the second level. The items the captain of the forts dropped were desirable, and several quests focused on those rewards. At least with these, they awarded pips for copper adventurer cards.

The guards announced the dungeon location, changing it to the twenty-third location, and we stepped through. No other delve team had arrived, so I guessed this was not a popular starting location. Stepping into the dungeon was like stepping into a foreign world.

The smell of rich pin needles struck me first. Massive roughwood trucks over fifteen feet in diameter populated the area. The trucks were bare bark with no branches until they were over a hundred feet in the air. The pine needle canopy spread out at a hundred feet, letting in light from an unseen sky.

Adrial immediately bolted off, racing around the trees, looking for a hidden foe. I whistled, and she came back immediately. “You can drop your guise,” I told Kiara. Her pelt went from black to white immediately.

Aelyn and Zayne spread out as they were our two scouts on the delve team. The rest of us remained near the exit. Gareth had a map and was turning it to locate where we were.  “The cave of the Cyclops is just about a hundred yards that way.” He pointed at the largest tree nearby.

Maerlyn seemed conflicted but finally volunteered, “The trap door spiders are spotted easily enough. Their burrows are covered with fresh pine needles that they harvest from the trees.”  The ground was a mix of brown and green pine needles. “So the ground looks too green, it is probably a spider den.” Gareth seemed a little annoyed, but I appreciated her volunteering her knowledge even though we had already read it in the dungeon guide.

Aelyn returned first, “No signs of anything interesting.”

“What about the trees, Maerlyn? Anything interesting up there?” I said, looking up.

“Just vulture nests. Local restaurants seek the vulture eggs, but are not special other than having tasty yolks. All the vultures are female, so no surprises when cracking them,” she smirked. I repeated the warning about the trap door spider dens to Aelyn, and soon Zayne was back as well.

“Let us head toward the Cyclops and see the cave before deciding if we should hunt anything else on this layer,” I decided.

Gareth suggested, “We should take down a few elk for the meat and racks.”

“If we see any, sure. I think I would just like to get to the second level and check out the forts,” I challenged. Gareth didn’t press his point, and we started our walk over the pine needles. It was not long before we discovered the first trap door spider. Nestled around the roots of one of the trees, an oblong covering of green pine needles was apparent. I was actually a little disappointed it was so easy to spot.

Gareth walked confidently forward, and the pine needles flung into the air as the spider’s den burst open like a trap door. Gareth pirouetted and swung overhead. The spider missed him completely, and four legs were cut from its body. The spider struggled on the ground, and Adrial landed on it, squishing it with her mass. Gareth bemoaned, “Adrial, you destroyed the spinneret!” I couldn’t help but smile as Adrial looked at Gareth and tilted her head, trying to figure out what she did wrong.

“Adrial, don’t attack unless commanded,” I scolded her half-heartedly. The spider was not that big, and its poison was mild. A caw in the air had two large vultures diving toward Adrial. She spotted them, and her tail twitched in anticipation as they closed. I cast arcane web, catching both in two castings. As they crashed to the ground, Adrial attacked them with a fury, feathers flying everywhere.

My arcane web spell was level 18, and on the 17thevolution, I could select one creature beside myself that was unaffected by it. It was out of necessity as Adrial had frequently gotten herself entangled in the web when we hunted in the Progenitor Dungeon.

With the threat handled, Maerlyn asked.  “Is that the tier three arcane net?”

“Just the tier two arcane web, but it is level eighteen,” I responded. She nodded, impressed.

Gareth was the only one in the group who was not happy.  “Storme, if your kitty is going to destroy every creature, we are not going to have much of a harvest.”

I had to remember most delve teams needed all the little harvests to add up for a successful delve. “We can always hunt for more reward chests from the challenge monsters. I am sure the value of that loot far outstrips spinnerets and vulture feathers.” Adrial exhaled a puff of feathers as if to emphasize my point. Gareth didn’t look too happy.

For the next two trap door spiders, I held Adrial back and then used the tissue extraction spell to free the spinneret after Gareth had disabled them. We reached the cave in a clearing. An off-blue sky above highlighted the rocky mound and dark entrance. Maerlyn thought to warn our group, “The Cyclops are the strongest creatures on this floor and are not stupid. The best thing to do is draw it out of its cave.”

We were at the edge of the clearing, so I started firing ice balls into the cave. My casting time was fast, and my aim was good even at this distance. The pinging sounds of the compressed ice hitting inside the stone cave echoed. After a hundred or so castings, a roar finally erupted from the cave. The ground shook as the giant must have slipped on the ice balls. But it soon emerged, angry and quite large. An improvised spiked wooden club was in its hand.

Gareth said disappointedly, “I thought it would be bigger.” The giant stood at around twelve feet and was covered in rippling muscles. “Remember, don’t look into the eye, and it has a minor fear effect.” Gareth started rushing the giant.

I went into overdrive mode with my lightning reflexes, easily sprinting past Gareth. I was moving more than three times faster than a normal person. I had my flight spell ready and launched myself up at the cyclops, my falchion piercing its eye and exiting the back of its head. The creature had been too slow to react. I rode the giant to the ground, extracting my blade as it fell.

Aelyn shook her head, “Show off.”

Gareth’s face was a mask of disbelief, “Did you evolve your spell again?”

Maerlyn also couldn’t contain her amazement, “What spell was that?”

I couldn’t help but smile, addressing Gareth, “Yes, I evolved the spell at level 29 in the spell and stacked the enhanced movement. I can move 234% faster in overdrive mode. Have to heal a little bit after using it, though, as the speed has outpaced the safety margins of the spell again.”

Maerlyn asked again, “What spell was that?”

“Lightning reflexes,” I answered honestly. “Tier four lightning and healing spell.”

Her eyes were darting everywhere, not really believing what she had witnessed, “I am not familiar with it. If I had eight spell slots, I would love to learn it.”

“No, you wouldn’t. It is not only an aether hog, but it also takes about five or six evolutions to start being really useful. I also usually need to do some self-healing after moving that fast. If you think you can cast more spells, that doesn’t work as it does not speed up aether channeling.” I explained the shortcomings of the spell.

Gareth was already moving toward the cave entrance. He liked to check out the dungeon treasure first. I didn’t really mind as he never hid what he found in the reward chest. I could tell he was also a little upset with me for showing him up in front of Maerlyn. Gareth soon emerged with a wooden chest and brought it over to the group.

He dropped it front of everyone and popped the lid. It was the first time Kiara had been interested in anything in the dungeon and sniffed inside. Gareth quickly sorted the contents, “Ten gold coins, one side has an eye, and the side has the storm witch on it. Leather gloves and a spell book.”

Aelyn took the spellbook from his hand and paged through it, “Tier one, arcane dart,” she said, disappointed.

Maerlyn motioned to the gloves, “Those should be secure grip gloves. Good for climbing and archers. Worth maybe a hundred gold in Myththorne. The arcane dart spellbook is good for twenty-five gold.” Arcane dart was an aetheric spell, which meant the evolutions were more flexible.

“Minotaur shit,” Gareth said. “The gloves are too small for my hands.  They stretch a little but seem made for a woman.”

“That is one of the things about the Cavern of the Thunder Witch. Most of the rewards are woman-sized,” Maerlyn said, smirking.

“That was not in the dungeon guide!” Gareth bellowed, frustrated.

“Can I have them?” Aelyn asked, trying them on to a near-perfect fit.

“Sure,” I motioned. “Gareth, you can have the spell book and coins as your share from the chest. Unless we are going to be raiding every cave on this level, I think it is best if we proceed to the second level of this dungeon.”

We all made our way into the cave and entered another portal, taking us deeper into the dungeon. Grassy, rolling hills met us on the other side. A hill in the distance had a wooden fort perched at its summit.

“By its silhouette, that is the hobgoblin fort,” Maerlyn informed us. She was clearly familiar with the dungeon. Although she had not done anything so far, her knowledge was clearly useful.

“What can you tell us about it?” I asked.

Gareth interrupted, “Where is the lizard fort from here? That is our target.” He already had his map out and was trying to locate where we were.

Maerlyn answered my question, “There are about one hundred hobgoblins. They send out patrols every hour of seven. The patrols march either toward the dwarf or human fort. Two patrols meet to fight, and the winner retreats back to their respective fort. Usually, twenty or so delvers will assault a fort together or look for a conquered fort to descend without fighting. The rewards are usually good, though.”

I used my telescopic eye spell on the fort to zoom in. Hobgoblins were walking the parapets.  They were dressed in simple hide armor. “Do they have any detection spells?”

Maerlyn realized I was talking to her, “The hobgoblin fort? Two shamans support the captain in the center. One specializes in fire, and the other in ice. The captain has a heavy maul that he swings.”

“Bleiz?” I asked the bored Wolfsguard.

“About time,” he said, drawing his two curved daggers and going invisible.

“You two stay,” I told the phantom cats. “Aelyn, give us about twenty minutes before joining us. We will clear the walls first.” I disappeared as well, using my invisibility spell. I was thinking these forts would be great locations to level spells.

Gareth was still playing with his map and just realized we were attacking the fort. Zayne groaned, “I suppose I should help. This was turning into a nice vacation. Guess I gotta do some work.”

I could see Bleiz stirring up dust as he jogged toward the fort. We passed near a group of delvers camped about two miles away from the fort. Maybe they were waiting for others to help in the assault. “Zayne?”  I said to the air after we passed the campsite.

“Yeah, High Mage?” He replied twenty feet from my left.

“I need you to stop and keep an eye on the camp. I am unsure if they are friendly and don’t want the others running into a problem.” I turned and saw Gareth dropping his pack and starting to rush after us.

“Got it, High Mage.” Zayne stopped running and turned around. I now wanted to clear the fort as quickly as possible as well.

Approaching the wooden walls, I used my aether shield to scale the wall quickly. The gate was open, and that was where Bleiz had headed. I beheaded two hobgoblins with my first swing. My invisibility was broken, and I turned on lightning reflexes and rushed along the top of the wall. After my fifth hobgoblin, the alarm finally sounded. A loud shrieking whistle resounded.

Chaos erupted as the buildings below erupted, with various hobgoblins rushing to defend the fort from the buildings. A crossbow bolt zipped by me, and I located four hobgoblins with the weapons below. I could see Bleiz making a dash for them, allowing me to continue clearing the perimeter wall. The wall was almost clear when a flame spout erupted in the fort’s center.

One of the shamans had targeted Bleiz. A hail of ice shards followed from the other shaman. I jumped off and raced to help him. Bleiz was engaged with a large hobgoblin in impressive black leather armor. He even wielded a black maul to match. The fire shaman never saw me coming as I targeted his exposed neck. His aether shield flashed, but my enchanted falchion easily cut through it, taking his head.

Bleiz barked at me, “At least leave me the captain!”

The fire mage targeted me with an arcing spray of fire. I rushed forward, using an aether shield as a high step to launch myself over the flame. Coming down, I made to bisect the fire shaman. His eyes showed fear as my blade connected. He had a defensive fire shield that washed over my own aether shield.

My falchion cut through his head and half his torso before slowing. I extracted it and turned to check on Bleiz. Beliz had but the hamstring of the captain and was unharmed. “Will you be ok?” I asked, seeing hobgoblins rushing to surround us.

“I am just playing with him. My aether shield ring needs a few seconds to reset,” Bliez replied. I scanned the crowd and raced toward the only two hobgoblins with crossbows that I could see.

Beliz finished the captain as the remaining hobgoblins pressed in on us. Gareth came charging into the fight, contributing at the very end. When the last hobgoblin fell, both Bleiz and I were coated in the thick blood of the hobgoblins. I hit both of us with a cleanliness spell. As we looked at the carnage we had wrought.

“How many?” Bleiz asked.

I did a replay in my mind of the fight, “Forty-nine.”

Bleiz huffed, “Thirty-three, but you cheat with your speedy spell.”

“Seven,” Gareth added to be part of the conversation. He barely had any blood on him. “If you had waited for me, I would have notched the most,” he said irritably.

I started sifting through the hobgoblin equipment, “I think I like this dungeon level. That was actually kind of fun, and the only dangerous aspect was the two shamans.”

Bleiz was searching the captain’s body, “The captain was pretty strong, too. If someone got hit by his maul, it could do some serious damage, maybe even kill. I think it is enchanted.”

Kiara and Adrial came sprinting into the fort, looking for the fight. The ground was littered with hobgoblin bodies in a bloody mess. Aelyn, Maerlyn, and Tobias followed them shortly after. Maerlyn looked around in disbelief, “How? We were only fifteen minutes behind you!”

Zayne appeared, dropping his invisibility to report. “The delve team was waiting to team up with someone to tackle the fort. They should be here in a few minutes. Doesn’t look like you needed any help, though.”