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Chapter 507 - Surprise Landing
🕑 Added 2022-08-24 13:01:03 +0000 UTCHaving almost all Royal Explorers participating in the Eternal Bond dungeon was much easier than expected. Thanks to Farica and Barlac, instead of having to clump all 16 people plus the 5 Naga in a cave that wasn't all that big, they managed to create a temporary dormitory for everyone. It helped that both of them worked as builders before joining the Royal Explorers. Barlac was a crafter that specialized in interior design. He was one of the people who knew how to make stone furniture that was not just pretty but also very usable, and the man made a show out of it. Being leaner and taller than most dwarves, he could almost pass as a short human. The man had a considerable following in Boothudurn because of his appearance. He had green eyes and wavy silver hair, and always wore elegant clothes. Even his traveling gear made him look like a noble. It was a black coat with gold trimmed edges and a pattern of flowers that would hide the buttons. He also had a cloak with some black fur on the sides attached by a couple of golden strings that went from one shoulder to another. Even Fethy told Rutigan, again and again, to get Barlac's advice when choosing his clothes, but the king refused, explaining that he enjoyed a more relaxed look.
Another person was in charge of both the structure and the expansion of the cave that was by what would be Chika's nest. If it wasn't for Farica, they would have definitely caused a cave-in. The woman was a mage that specialized in excavation. In fact, she was part of the team who did the last expansion in Boothudurn. At the time, she assisted with the expansion of the farms, and as a favor to Risli, she helped her reallocate her house in a new area away from the rest of the healers so the old shaman could have some peace. Farica was Callena's best friend, and the two would often go out drinking together. The mage had deep chocolate eyes and always wore fine clothing, but her armor was closer to the idea of a witch. A pair of leather pants with simple shoes, a black corset with a chain necklace, and a small mantle around her shoulders. To complete the look, she had a pointy witch hat that helped her control her magic.
When the group arrived at the dungeon, the Naga were wary at first. However, after she introduced everyone and told the dungeon constructs she vouched for the people she brought, the Naga opened up to them. It still was a far cry from when Hera was alone, and even her interaction with them was a bit colder than she was used to. Still, they weren't being hostile, and they were open to most questions that people would ask. The Naga wouldn't reply to some topics, but this allowed Shane to gather some extra information. Hera also tried to find more about her bracelet but to no avail.
During the last day, Hera talked about the spiders, and they moved to the giant stone door again. Their reaction was quite similar to the one they had the first time. The Naga got excited and immediately walked toward the tunnel. Everyone else had to follow along, which was the dungeon's most annoying part. It was a single file line for all 21 people, and they had to move at a steady pace to accompany Darni and the others. Hera was 90% sure that even if they lost track of the Naga, nothing would happen, but just in the off chance that if they got too far, the dungeon denizens would vanish, she was trying to keep everyone moving at a good pace.
When they arrived at the door, Hera showed everyone how to open it using her tablet. She had opened her hunter's catalogue from her tablet and selected the picture. Unfortunately, other people couldn't see the same information that she had available on her skill, but the name and image of the creature would still show up. Using an app, she took a screenshot of the monster and used it as an overlay on her camera. The moment she aligned the picture with the drawing on the wall, the doors started to open. Shane was the one who suggested this method. No dungeon should require you to be in a specific role to trigger the hard mode. So, they could activate it by using a drawing or their tablets.
When the fight began, Hera sent out her court to the sides and stayed in the back watching the fight. She was using her blades to make sure none of the Royal Explorers got injured. On the last day of classes, all the dwarves and only them were invited for a meal with the king. During the dinner, the members of this exploration group were informed of the hidden secret of their organization. The search for a safe haven in case something forced the dwarves to run away. Hera also added the information about her legacy, feeling it wouldn't be a good call to hide that from them. The excuse they gave to the rest of the Royal Explorers was that since they would be essentially ambassadors of Boothudurn, Rutigan wanted to talk to them all to explain a few things. Even so, Hera also visited Mylo to tell him about her legacy. She had already known the man for a few years, and since he helped Shane find her court, Hera felt it was only fair that the fighter knew about hers. Oddly enough, this 'secret' was something everyone in their newly formed organization knew about, except for Adriel. Hera still didn't trust him enough to tell him about her court, and he was the only member that didn't have a reason to keep the secret. Blue and the others were her friends, and the dwarves respected her position. On the other hand, the elf was like a free agent, making Hera weary of sharing that information. At least until she was sure, he could be trusted.
The fight went on without a hitch. It was obvious to anyone watching that they didn't actually have to participate since the Naga could take care of the hundreds of spiders by themselves. Still, Shane was the only person who wasn't actively fighting against any of the monsters aside from Hera. The holder of the Enchanting Court watched mesmerized as Darni created spells and attacks out of nowhere with completely different effects. Making the air around him move faster as if it was a bullet, turning the soil into sand that would jet out in violent bursts, hissing and making the sound form swords that cut the spiders like butter, each attack was unique. Even if she could understand that he was simply enchanting something to cause an effect, Shane was nowhere near as proficient as the former hero. She believed that her court was something made to buff and help her allies and never considered using it to fight this way.
When the fighting was done, the Naga thanked the group, and they all received their rewards. They all got various types of replicas of Naga artifacts, but not all of them had an actual use. Hera and three other group members received ceremonial pieces that didn't do anything. A couple of the dwarves got pieces of art, while the rest received something that had a unique effect, but it wasn't that impressive. Things like a flute that could make snakes dance or a jug that could contain 10 times more liquid than its dimensions would allow. Unfortunately, that was something that only would happen with liquids, and the actual weight of the jug would still be that of something 10 times heavier. Only one of the Royal Explorers actually got something that could help during their travels. A necklace that would glow green in the presence of poison and turn red in the presence of hostile creatures.
A hunter called Alton was who got that item. He was a guard member for a few months after getting his role, but when he realized that it would take too long for him to enter a dungeon, he gave up. His dream was to fight strong creatures, and, once upon a time, he dreamt of being the one who killed the mighty griffon that became the bane of the dwarves. When Hera and Blue unlocked the room, and human explorers started to come by, Alton was one of the first dwarves to try his hand in the dungeon. He spent years practicing his shooting skills and used to train in the lake aiming his arrows at some fake fish he made. The man had light blue curly hair that was a bit too long in the front and covered part of his eyes, a face that was constantly stuck in a menacing expression, and some scars on the bottom of the left cheek caused by one of his experimental arrows that blew up in his face. The city's healers offered to cure that, but he wanted to keep it as a reminder of his mistakes. He was currently wearing light brown leather armor with a hood that he could use to blend with the room's environment. As a hunter, he always prepared for his tasks, which is why he only chose his gear after researching his destination.
It took them four days to complete the dungeon, as it was supposed to be. However, the last day was much shorter than anyone expected. They woke up at around 8; at 10, they were already out, and everyone had unlocked the hard mode. Hera asked if they wanted to take a day to rest, but they were all excited about the first-time rewards. So, the decision was simpler. They would take a break to eat, rest and resupply, and at 1 P.M., they would head back inside for the new version of the dungeon.
Going to the entrance was exactly like when they would try the normal mode. A tunnel heading up that should lead to Chika's nest. However, their destination was different this time. Instead of stopping in that small alcove where the Naga were resting, they continued going up to where the temple should be. When Hera, who was taking the lead, emerged from the cave, she saw Darni's statue and the set of runes in the ground that functioned to hide or reveal the temple. She walked forward, using her sensory net to find any possible threats. However, she didn't sense anything around them and gestured for the rest of the group to get closer.
Everyone left the tunnel and started looking around. They knew that not every dungeon would give them a quest just as they entered it. Suddenly, Hera and a few dwarves heard something coming from above. It was a minimal noise that could easily be confused with the sound of the wind going through the valley. What alerted the few was a slight difference from the rest of natural sounds, almost like a dog whistle in the distance. Hera noticed it was getting closer and when it came into range of her sensory net, she could only sense something large going towards the group. In a split-second decision, Hera created a stone wall covering all the Royal Explorers while, at the same time, triggering her Earth Elemental Armor and calling out her court.
Something heavy slammed against her body, the tip of a spear sinking into the ground just a few centimeters beside her head. Nimbus, Daskka, and the court were all about to come crashing down on the attacker when Hera yelled, "Stop!"
Blue, Alex, and the dwarves ran out from behind the barrier that Hera sprung up out of nowhere, ready to attack before they heard Hera's scream. The Countess of Exploration was on the ground, and on top of her was a large blue snake-like creature with two arms and a pattern of arrows all over her body.
"Wait…. Hera?" the Naga asked with a surprised expression.
"Oh, you remember me? Hey Casks," Hera smiled and waited for a moment, "Do you mind getting off of me? No offense but you are kind of heavy."
"Ops," Casks slithered to the side and helped Hera up. Unlike what the explorer remembered, the astrologist was much taller than her. She also seemed bulkier, and her scales had lost some of their shine. Her skill was also telling her that this Naga in front of her was much older than the one she met in the normal mode of the dungeon, "Sorry about that," Casks looked up, "Hey, everyone. I didn't expect to see you here."
"We could say the same about you," Shane replied, "Why the rough greeting?"
"Oh, we have monsters around here sometimes, so we have a few people who do rounds to ensure the city is safe," Casks explained.
"City? What city?" Hera asked.
Casks smiled and gestured to the other edge of the valley, "Come with me. I'll show you what we built here."
Comments
Perizou
It wouldn't. The dungeon hard mode show10s a 'parallel world' Something that could have happened if the events that created the dungeon were different. In this particular case the difference would be that Darni and the others came back. The dungeon exists because Chika became bonded with Darni and then was left behind to cope with his death by herself. This is a place where that didn't happen. Darni came back to his bonded creature and lived on. So even if the city could be a potential location for the dwarves to move to, it is not real, and the current world can be different from that place.
Gail Burke
Ooooooohhhhhhh, cliff hanger, how I missed you, sigh,*cries inside*. Now I'm wondering if maybe the city the Naga built might be a good second home option for the dwarfs, maybe several move in, kind of staking a claim so to speak so if needed the rest could move quickly.
