Dungeon Dive Read online

  Whereas Aveyad was hailed by all, very few acknowledged Talia. And those greetings were uniformly subdued, with none of the exuberance showered on Aveyad. A quiet word here, a firm nod there, or an exchange of glances. That was all the acknowledgement Talia received. But the startling disparity did not appear to disturb her. It seemed to be the opposite in fact. Talia actively sought solitude.

  When she had first joined the Training Hall, the recruits, eager to welcome Eld’s latest champion, had tried befriending her. Inexplicably, she had shunned their overtures. The only relationship she seemed to cultivate was her aggressive competitiveness with her fellow champion, Aveyad.

  What possessed Eld to select Talia as his champion? It was a question that Aveyad often pondered. He wondered what it was about Talia’s previous life that had made her so. But his speculations never lasted, inevitably dashed by Talia’s latest cutting remark or annoying stunt.

  They reached the entrance to the Training Hall, a double-barred set of mithril doors. At the door waited a wolven soldier, dressed in the black and gold of Crotana’s army and bearing an armband that marked him as a member of the Southern Host. Aveyad studied the wolven curiously, a captain no less. With dark-grey fur, gleaming fangs, and protruding snout, the captain’s features were distinctly lupine. The wolven was the first of its kind that Aveyad had seen. It was unusual to see any this far north. Natives of the warm southern climes, they rarely ventured out of the humid jungles of their homeland.

  His tail flickering in agitation, the captain waved the youths forward. “Quickly now! The king grows impatient.” Aveyad and Talia lengthened their strides and hurried after him.

  ✽✽✽

  The pair was escorted not to the throne room as Aveyad had expected, but to the king’s library, to which only a privileged few ever gained entry. They were ushered inside without ceremony. The captain closed the door behind them and joined the Kingsguard in standing watch outside.

  Within was the king, Chancellor Luter Cambrin, and Knight-Marshall Rolan Towrend. The men were alone. That, in itself, was unusual. Even though all three were powerful players in their own right, they never went anywhere unaccompanied by their protectors.

  The trio broke off their conversation at their entrance. “Come in,” said Zarr and beckoned the champions to join them at the table over which the three hovered. Rolled out on the table was a map that depicted the deployment of Crotana’s armies and behind it was a bank of scrying mirrors, each providing an aerial, real-time view of the same forces.

  Aveyad and Talia stepped up to join the august company. The trio was widely respected and revered across the kingdom. For all three to be gathered here, matters had to be grave indeed. Aveyad glanced down at the map, and noted the fresh incursion of Xetil’s goblin hordes from the south and the renewed push from the north-west by Misteria’s navy. The war was not going well. But Zarr could not have summoned them because of the war. Champions-in-training though they might be, such grand matters were still beyond them.

  “What do you see?” asked Zarr, noting their gazes on the map.

  Aveyad gathered his thoughts, and prepared to impress the kingdom’s leaders with an acute assessment of their force’s deployment. As he opened his mouth to respond, Talia said, “We’re losing.”

  The chancellor, a raptoid—one of Myelad’s few avian races—trilled in polite amusement, while the marshall chuckled openly at her bluntness. “Indeed we are, young lady.”

  Zarr nodded. “Or so it appears. Our forces are stretched thin, committed on multiple fronts. However, this will change soon. Our counter-offensive is in motion as we speak. A month from now, this map,” he gestured down, “will look very different. But it is not for the counter-attack that I have summoned you, at least not directly.” The king pointed out an isolated fort on Crotana’s northern coast. “Wyvern Peak. What do you two know of it?”

  The fort, Aveyad knew, protected the only safe harbour on Crotana’s northern shores. This time, Aveyad beat Talia to a response. “It’s a frontier outpost that wards against naval invasion from the north.”

  “Correct. Weeks ago, we sent a shipment of essence crystals to reinforce the fort’s defences against an expected assault.” He gestured to the map again and the swarm of blue icons bearing the sea-serpent symbol of Misteria, which converged on Wyvern Peak.

  “The shipment never made it. Raiders intercepted and sunk the cargo ship that carried it. Without the essence crystals, Wyvern Peak will fall when Misteria’s fleet makes landfall two weeks from now. We cannot let that happen. There is time—barely—to send a second shipment, but with the demands of the war, the capital’s stores are nearly empty.”

  Aveyad immediately grasped the king’s need. “You want us to farm a dungeon for more crystals.” Myelad’s magical technology, all its wondrous artefacts, and magical constructs were built using essence crystals. And the crystals could only be harvested from slain demons in a dungeon.

  “Exactly,” said Zarr. “You are the only champions that can be spared right now. We are at a pivotal junction in the war, and all Crotana’s other champions are committed to critical missions. If I redeploy any, I risk our counterstrike failing and with it, the entire war.”

  Aveyad nodded, understanding Zarr’s quandary. Only a champion could lead a party into a dungeon. During peace-time Crotana maintained a steady rotation of champion-led parties through its dungeons. But the war had disrupted the schedule, and champions, always in short supply, were redeployed to the front instead, leaving the dungeons unfarmed and the kingdom’s essence stores empty.

  Zarr pierced both youngsters in turn with his gaze. “I know your training is incomplete, and I hate to ask this of you. But this is a mission of vital importance. Crotana’s fate may very well rest on its success. The armoury will be at your disposal, and you will be provided with the companions you require for a dungeon expedition. Are you willing to undertake the mission?”

  Aveyad hurried to answer, but Talia got in the words first. “I am, Sire,” she said, kneeling before Zarr.

  Aveyad followed suit and echoed her assent. But he did so with a sinking heart, his hopes already dashed. Crotana’s standard dungeoneering tactics was for a dungeon party of six—five vassals and one champion. And Talia had volunteered first. Damn, he thought, resigned to being left behind. Now the king is going to send her.

  Zarr smiled down on both of them. “Excellent,” he said. “You will both go.”

  New quest received!

  Quest 1: Dungeon Dive.

  Objective: You have been tasked by Zarr Dwamenkor, king of Crotana, with gathering 1,000 essence crystals from one of Myelad’s dungeons.

  Rank: Common.

  Game Data

  All abilities are grouped by rank and skill. A player’s effective skill determines the strength of an ability. Effective skill is in turn derived from a combination of the player’s base skill, attributes, items and traits.

  The rank of an ability determines at what level a player may learn it, as well as the maximum skill which can be applied to it. Rank I or novice abilities can be learnt from level 1, and are capped to a maximum base skill of 20.

  Likewise Rank II or apprentice abilities can be learnt from level 20 and are capped to a maximum base skill of 40. —Mechanics of the Game by Jostfyler Graldvir, Game scholar and champion of Weeran.

  Aveyad’s Profile (Class Data)

  Data not related to the player’s class is not shown here.

  Name: Aveyad Tamuzan. Level: 23.

  Player type: Advanced player, champion.

  Race: Human. Health: 276 / 276.

  Stamina: 610 / 610. Will: 720 / 720. Essence: 920 / 920.

  Attack: 43 (divine). Karma: Good.

  Defences (physical / psi / spell): 23 / 23 / 40.

  Class: Celestial invoker (rank II, apprentice).

  The celestial invoker is a hybrid divine-magic class that specialises in the summoning of celestial beings.

  Class traits


  Summoner (+1 summon creatures per rank): Current limit: 3.

  Spiritcaller (restricted to summoning celestial beings, +1 to rank of celestials summoned).

  Class skills

  Divine magic (43), wands & staffs (43), mystical garments (45), air magic (41), conduit (43), planar magic (48), spellcasting (43).

  Class abilities

  Celestial companion (Velia): The invoker is permanently bonded to a primordial celestial spirit anchored to the physical plane by the player. The spirit possesses neither sentience nor body, and it grows in strength with the invoker. The celestial companion does not count towards the invoker’s summon limit.

  Combat abilities

  Air magic, rank I: Blend, truesight.

  Air magic, rank II: Shock bolt, mirrored selves, shock wall.

  Conduit, rank I: Eld’s bless, lay hands, holy fire.

  Conduit, rank II: Summon aspect.

  Planar magic, rank I: Banish.

  Planar, rank II: Summon celestial elemental, summon holy knight, summon young titan, summon celestial priest, summon planar drake.

  Divine magic, rank I: Divine shield.

  Divine magic, rank II: Starburst, holy ward, heal.

  Spellcasting, rank II: Delayed casting.

  Traits

  Racial: Inventive (+15% crafting skills), short lived (+25% experience gain).

  Advanced player: Player’s mark, vow of binding, player’s interface, commander interface, player’s map, inventory, insight, more-skills, multi-lingual.

  Champion’s traits: divine sense, pledge of undying loyalty (channel divine essence from one’s God).

  God-given: Attuned to the planes (+15% planar magic skill), Eld’s benevolence (+15% healing).

  Talia’s Profile (Class Data)

  Data not related to the player’s class is not shown here.

  Name: Talia Sarmeen. Level: 25.

  Player type: Advanced player, champion.

  Race: Human. Health: 500 / 500.

  Stamina: 1000 / 1000.Will: 650 / 650. Essence: 890 / 890.

  Attack: 59 (slashing). Karma: Good.

  Defences (physical / psi / spell): 44 / 50 / 50.

  Class: Inquisitor (rank II, apprentice).

  The Inquisitor is a hybrid divine-warrior class that eschews all form of magic but the divine, and specialises in combating magical foes.

  Class traits

  Magically immune (+1 spell and psi resistance per level).

  Zealot (can only cast divine spells).

  Class skills

  Heavy armour (48), two-handed weapons (48), divine magic (46), stamina regen (51), conduit (46), combat expertise (46).

  Class Abilities

  Caster’s bane: The inquisitor can bind a single target within leech-like coils that siphon essence from the target to the player. This spell has no time limit.

  Combat abilities

  Combat expertise, rank I: Charge, stun.

  Combat expertise, rank II: Whirlwind.

  Conduit, rank I: Eld’s bless, lay hands, holy fire.

  Conduit, rank II: Summon aspect, avatar’s boon.

  Divine magic, rank I: Divine shield, heretic’s hate.

  Divine magic, rank II: Starburst, holy ward, heal, leap of faith.

  Two-handed weapons, rank I: Knockdown, disarm.

  Two-handed weapons, rank II: Cleave.

  Traits

  Racial: Inventive (+15% crafting skills), short lived (+25% experience gain).

  Advanced player: Player’s mark, vow of binding, player’s interface, commander interface, player’s map, inventory, insight, more-skills, multi-lingual.

  Champion’s traits: divine sense, pledge of undying loyalty (channel divine essence from one’s God).

  God-given: Eld’s hand of justice (+15% physical damage), Eld’s benevolence (+15% healing).

  Chapter 2

  The Game affects all facets of life on Myelad. There is no escaping it. The entire world—divided into twelve demesnes and each ruled by a different God—has been given over to it. Locked in eternal conflict, the domains strive to dominate, conquer, and win the Game. And central to their conflict are the players—both champions and vassals alike. —Marcos Aurclasy, Silenheim librarian.

  Aveyad and Talia hurried on Marshall Rolan’s heels. The marshall strode purposefully. His pace left no opportunity for conversation, and the youngsters were forced into a trot to keep up.

  After the pair had accepted the mission, Zarr had concluded the audience and ushered the young champions out, giving them into the care of the marshall, no less. The king required them to set out that night, and plans for their departure were already in motion. They rushed to the armoury, where the marshall promised they would meet the rest of the team, which it seemed, had already been chosen.

  Aveyad trembled with excitement, his mind awhirl with thoughts of the adventure that awaited. This was his first mission and he could not have dreamt of a better opportunity. To serve his God, king, and prove his worth in a quest that was as dangerous as it was vital. What more could he have asked for? Involuntarily, his gaze sidled towards Talia. Well, whispered a devilish voice in his mind, you could wish to complete the task alone, unsaddled with her.

  But that was an unworthy thought. No doubt the mission was just as important to her as it was to him. He shifted to study Talia more fully. She seemed undaunted, cool and collected as ever, without even a flutter of nerves showing. She turned towards him and smirked—as if she knew exactly what he was thinking. But this time his enthusiasm refused to be quelled. “Exciting isn’t it? Our first mission and so soon. You think we are up to the challenge?”

  Talia swept her gaze over him, and said slowly, “This mission… it is beyond you. You know that, right? You aren’t ready yet.” She shook her head. “It’s best if you stay behind.” She patted his arm consolingly. “It is not too late to back out. I’m sure the king will understand.” She arched one brow and waited in anticipation of his response.

  Gods, when will I ever learn? This woman did not deserve any kindness from him. Aveyad whipped his head forward again and, ignoring Talia’s amused chuckle, forced his thoughts back to the upcoming mission.

  They would travel to the Ilenmon dungeon, which lay en route to Wyvern Peak. Nestled within the Skarral mountains and within the borders of Crotana, the dungeon was well known and often farmed by Eld’s champions. Aveyad recalled that the archdemon incarcerated therein favoured manifestations of undeath and dark sorcery, which both he and Talia were well equipped to deal with. It was perhaps another reason why they had been chosen.

  Lost in thought, Aveyad realised too late that the others had stopped. He crashed into the marshall’s unyielding form and bounced back onto the floor. Face flushed, he picked himself up. Beyond the marshall, he caught sight of Talia, lips firmly pressed together to hide her smile. He reddened further and mumbled an apology. The marshall brushed aside his words and gestured him forward. “We’re here. Inside quickly. The others are waiting.”

  Not needing further encouragement, Talia strode within, while Aveyad—still dusting himself off—followed in her shadow. Inside the armoury waited three elves, and a dwarf who combed irritably through his braided beard.

  The elves were dressed in mottled-brown leather armour. They had swords sheathed at their hips and longbows strapped across their backs. On the left arm of each elf was an insignia of the Skarral peaks. Skarral Rangers. An elite, hand-picked company of mountain rangers made up entirely of players.

  The dwarf in comparison was short, stubby, and encased in a mountain of metal. Emblazoned on his helm was the crest of a heavy infantry captain.

  At the trios’ entrance, the four stiffened to attention and saluted, to the marshall first and then the champions. “At ease,” said the marshall. “Trainees, meet the ranger squad that will accompany you on your quest. They are amongst the Skarral Rangers’ finest apprentices. You won’t—” He stopped, words trickling to a halt as he ran his gaze over the rangers again
.

  Lips thinning, the marshall turned to the broad-shouldered elf, who in addition to a sword had an axe sheathed on his belt. “Corporal, where is Ranger Elias?” he asked, voice soft.

  The earnest young man gulped. “Sir! Ranger Elias was delayed on a personal matter, sir.”

  The marshall sighed inaudibly. “That ‘personal matter’ wouldn’t happen to involve a tavern, would it corporal?”

  “No sir! I mean, I wouldn’t know sir!”

  The marshall’s lips tightened. “Corporal, if you cannot control your squad, maybe—”

  Just then the other door leading into the armoury banged open, and in swayed an older elf, hair tousled and unkept. The elf ignored the pregnant silence that filled the room, and stumbled into line with his fellows. As he passed, Aveyad caught a whiff of alcohol.

  Aveyad’s brows furrowed in consternation. The Skarral Rangers’ finest? Three green youths and one old drunk? The marshall had to be joking. Aveyad had expected the team that accompanied them into the dungeon to be young of course. The game mechanics that governed dungeoneering were quite rigid. Only players of the same rank as the leader were allowed in the dungeon party. And since Talia and Aveyad were only apprentices themselves, their companions could be ranked no higher.

  But this squad… Three looked too young, and the other… too old. Worriedly, Aveyad studied the rangers anew. The corporal was an intense-looking elf who shouldered his weapons competently. The elven maiden was bright-eyed, eager, and bounced on her feet with excitement. She was the only woman amongst them. The third youth was pale, scrawny, and surely too young to be an apprentice. He looks like he should still be in school. And then there was the older one, with a battered face and greying hair. Definitely too old by far. How old does an elf need to be to go grey? For him to still be an apprentice implied incompetence… or worse.