The group looked upon a small camp of 3 other groups of adventurers as they approached the cave entrance of the Hurava Necropolis. An unassuming cave in front of the campsite seemed almost out of place since it went straight into the ground. No hill or mountain for miles only trees. They arrived early in the morning but all 3 camps were already empty. Had they not gotten directions to this place a day off the main road they’d never have found it. It was well hidden by being inconspicuous. Brice spoke up. “It’s incredible how long this festered. It is unbelievably massive on the inside.”
Emilie turned to him. “I heard it took Lightbringer Luke and the others more than a week to break this dungeon completely and find the boss who fled immediately upon being found.”
Jenora nodded. “I heard the same. This place has been looted again and again but there are traps everywhere. It’s been cleared for about 3 months now if I recall. We’re not likely to find a lot but they say there are so many secret paths we might find one or two even if there isn’t anything in them.”
Serena paused looking around. “The camps. Two of them have fires that were recently put out. One of them doesn’t look like they had one.”
Cawthorn proclaimed. “DEAD! ONE OF THE GROUPS HAS DIED!”
Victor hushed him. “Cawthorn we don’t know that.”
Swordie clarified. “I know that, and Cawthorn knows that, you do not know that.”
“So do we just go in?” Victor asked. “Do we make camp what’s the protocol here?”
Serena dropped one of Victors backpacks full of rocks. “We make camp and wait for the two groups to return tonight. Then we figure out which way they went. This way we avoid confusion or infighting. Is there anyone who isn’t alright with that?”
Emilie nodded. “We’ve been jogging all day. I might not have weights like Victor but god this is exhausting even if you don’t suffer the condition it really feels like it.”
Brice collapsed. “I can barely move. Do you all do this every day?”
Serena shot back. “Just the days we want to live. You’ve gained multiple levels worth of stats by exercising instead of relaxing. You should be more like Emilie.”
“She’s complaining too!” Brice insisted.
“No I am not! I hated this at first but after actually doing it for a long time. I’ve started to really like it. That doesn’t mean it’s not exhausting but the results speak for themselves.” She pulled up her sleeve and flexed a modest bicep for her tiny frame. “It feels good! I’m faster too.”
Jenora nodded. “I’m really loving the extra speed. I’m a fair bit faster too. It’s a shame I spent so many points on strength and endurance but both are well over 100.”
The group began setting up camp and cooking. Jenora left camp and returned with a boar shortly after. Serena put it on the spit and added some of it to the stew. The smell and the spices caused Emilie and Brice to drool slightly as her fantastic cooking permeated the campsite. Victor read through some information from Swordie asking a single question to him rather quietly beneath a tree avoiding the notice of everyone else. “How do you ‘learn’ an Innate Skill or Spell?”
Swordie simply noted. ‘That knowledge is beyond me however as you noticed it must be possible. No achievement exists which cannot be achieved.’
“Is there anyone in history who is well known for gaining one later in life?” Victor asked.
‘Deox the Destroyer is infamous for such feats. To my knowledge he is the only being who accomplished such a feat.’ Swordie silently wrote.
“Can you elaborate on that? I don’t know much about Deox the Destroyer.” Victor asked.
Swordie began to slowly write information on the page. ‘Deox the destroyer destroyed the great sources of magic in this world around the year 500 A.H. The leylines the ancient druids created were destroyed by him. They rallied to attack him and by nightfall more than 10,000 druids of great power tier 6 and up had perished. It was devastating to the entire world as these were spread through both continents. It’s forever weakened the Green Goddess and her followers. Shortly after that the Bearded Forge was destroyed killing thousands of dwarves who tried to defend it. He also destroyed Heart of the Ocean which greatly increased the mana generated by the ocean weakening. Another well known artifact he destroyed was the Heart of the Crystal Dragon . Long ago between the two major continents of this world a third landmass existed ruled entirely by dragons. Other races could come but it was entirely dragon dominated. The long destroyed country is perhaps the most extreme example of his power. When he destroyed the heart it destroyed the entire continent ending the lives of more than 10,000,000 dragons and ever since dragons have been weaker. No one knows how many have died by his hand but conservative estimates are in the 20,000,000 range. Some say he may have killed as many as 500,000,000 due to the consequences of his action. This event along with the other events of that year are collectively known as The Great Mana Crash .’
“My god, he sounds like he’s the apocalypse made manifest. Why would anyone do this?” Victor scoffed disgusted.
‘No one knows why. When asked he’d only say ‘You’ll never understand. I’m Sorry.’ Before he did it anyway.’ Swordie noted with the vacant line.
“What happened to him?” Victor inquired.
Swordie wrote. ‘He has never been defeated and may still be alive. He’s thought to be an elf and reside in the Abyssal Labyrinth with some even believing he created it. I do not know the truth about him as he’s well known as an enemy of heaven, hell, dragons, devils, elves, druids, dwarves, merfolk, driders, drow, and even Void Lords.’
“Did anyone even like him? He sounds globally reviled.” Victor raised his eyebrows in disgust.
Swordie continued. ‘No, although it could be said humans, halflings, and other humanoid races which didn’t have strong racial identities or communities are generally considered to have benefited from his actions. At the time those races, especially dragons were far more powerful than they are now. The Heart of the Crystal Dragon had many effects but the most extreme of these effects was being born at level 40 and granting many powerful racial skills which every dragon descended from them since possesses. Including the innate skill Growing by Gold .’ He pulled up the skill
Growing by Gold Rank 1
Rarity: Epic
Requirements: Born a dragon
Innate Passive Skill
While sleeping gain experience based on the amount of gold you are sleeping on.
“That’s insane. They get more powerful by doing nothing.” Victor protested. “That doesn’t seem fair at all to anyone.”
‘Some people think that the extreme inequality between species is why he took these actions, but no one really knows.’ Swordie insisted.
“I really hope I’d never do things like this in favor of equality. It really feels wrong to kill huge swaths of people.” Victor glared at the book. “It just feels like it’s too far.”
Swordie paused before asking a question with a sharper point than any blade he’s ever formed. ‘Would you say the same about swaths of slavers?’
Victor didn’t respond looking for a long time at the words. He changed the subject. “Are there any great sources of power left in this world or has Deox destroyed all of them?”
Swordie continued. ‘ Yggdrasil the World Tree , The Claw of Conquest , and The Seven Blades of the Divine are the greatest remaining sources of great power which I am aware of. The World Tree started growing 9,000 years ago after Deox disappeared and has been amplifying the Green Goddess and her strength. The Claw of Conquest is an incredible object of power for devils and fuels their lust for war and conquest worshiping their long dead failed conquest of heaven. You hold one of the Seven Blades of the Divine .’
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Victor sighed. “What innate skills of note did he learn?”
He answered with a twinge of anger. ‘ Perfect Circle . He took it from my compatriot Hope. There are others that were known but that skill allowed her to cast circle magic at massively increased rank, instantly, and repeatedly. He did not learn it. He stole it. It was hers. He gained that power and she died.’
“He killed an angel? How?” Victor asked confused.
‘He encountered her shortly before the siege of heaven and she died. No one knows what transpired.’ Swordie curtly insisted.
“I’m sorry. Did she mean a lot to you?” Victor asked earnestly.
Swordie reminisced ‘While I am merely a fragment I have memories of it. It was the most painful moment of my life. Angels do not engage in romance as every angel that ever existed was created by The Golden Goddess. She however was the closest thing to a partner I’d ever had before or since. I miss her.’
Victor closed and hugged Swordie. “I’m here, and I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you Victor, being with you has been an enjoyable experience. Mostly. Avoid abominations.” He finished.
Victor scoffed in good humor. “Well what if I had no choice other than to die? Should I deal with one to live or to save others?”
Swordie pondered. “A difficult situation. Your title is tied to your intent and believed outcome. It’s why enslaving Irina didn’t revoke the title despite your, inelegant, orders given to her. The truth is that they are evil and will use you for greater evils. Ultimately you must decide but I advocate living when possible even when employing them and dying only if it will yield the greatest good against an otherwise unavoidable evil.”
“I guess my first deal didn’t really fall into that. I’m genuinely sorry.” Victor apologized.
Victor went back to writing. ‘It’s reasonable to say that. The abomination had no hold over you, offered you nothing but power, and no one you cared for was in danger. However without that deal 13 people that you saved would have died or been sold into slavery. I criticize you because it was a bad choice. It was made with genuine hope that you’d be able to save others and inside of 1 day you proved that you’d use those powers to do that. If you make such a choice again make sure it’s worth it. Some things are worth more than a single life. Even yours.’
“AH FRIENDS!” A tall extremely muscular man without a shirt in a furry loin cloth and a massive axe emerged from the cave with.
“Wait those aren’t the group we went in with this morning.” A tall woman clad in green with long brown hair turned to him.
The short man with a shield in one hand and a mace in the other looked up to the shirtless man and asked him “Are they another group?”
A small woman barely waist high with a wide brimmed pointy hat looked up to him. “Where is the other group? They’ve returned faster than us every single day and we’ve been doing this for 4 weeks.”
Victor stood up and walked over to them. With a bright smile the tall shirtless man introduced them. “Hello! My name is Jim Fairbrook, the shorty with a shield is Stan Stouthelm, the girl with the hat is Clarissa Convale, and our resident druid is Teresa Treefellow. We are the Fur Fellows.” He reached his hand out to shake. Victor took it as it completely engulfed his wrist in the shake. “Who might you be friend?”
“I’m Victor Vogal, that’s Serena Brooks, Jenora Oath, Emilie Ward, Brice Pendleton, Cawthorn and my book Swordie. We are the Stars of Verdan.” Victor nodded.
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone introduce a book as part of their party.” He turned to Teresa.
She smiled reaching a single finger out to Cawthorn. “Adorable, sweet, loving familiars always count though.” She gently stroked Cawthorn’s head as he leaned in.
She stopped after a moment only for Cawthorn to visibly ask. ‘Why did you stop?’ before audibly declaring. “THE PARTY IS SAFE! THEY ARE TRUST WORTHY!”
Teresa giggled as did most of both groups. The large man went back to speaking. “Are you here to artifact hunt?”
“We are!” Victor proclaimed excited.
Stan spoke up. “Well we’re not going to stop you but we have something to tell you. Assuming that group doesn’t return then we’ve seen 2 full groups and 1 solo dwarf disappear disappearing. This place is rife with traps. If you don’t have a rogue, don’t even bother.”
Clarissa protested. “We don’t have a rogue!”
“You’re replacing our rogue Clarissa.” Jim looked at her as though they had this conversation before.
“I’m just summoning small creatures made of mana! Using those to check for traps doesn’t disarm them!” She protested irritated.
“Watching your spirit animals get smashed, stabbed, and sliced is not something I enjoy. It’s safe though.” Teresa crossed her arms.
Jim laughed. “My axe can disarm most of those traps.”
Stan noted. “Sufficient Violence can overcome any trap.”
Clarissa groaned. “Uhg, men. Why did you introduce your book?”
“I am his angelic patron! He is my angelic knight.” Swordie loudly proclaimed.
Victor looked down at him. “So we’re just going around announcing it now?”
Cawthorn shouted. “MY MAGE IS THE GREATEST ANGELIC KNIGHT TO EVER LIVE! REVEL IN AWE OF HIS AWESOME AWESOMENESS!”
She stepped forward looking him in the eye before groaning. “You know when you lie so brazenly people won’t believe you.”
Emilie chuckled and waved 1 finger. “Ha, ha, ha! By my faith in the Golden Goddess he is an angelic knight.”
Jim chuckled heartily picking Victor up for a massive bear hug. “Is that true? Are you another like Lightbringer Luke?”
The tone became quiet as Jenora grimly clarified for them. “Lightbringer Luke is dead. Slain in Wonora by Zolvorn the Avatar of Gizixil.”
Stan shook his hand no. “There’s no way. That guy is a legend! He cleared this place for crying out loud.”
Clarissa widened her eyes. “They’re telling the truth. Luke is dead, and he is an angelic knight.”
Teresa turned. “Really? That’s incredible if true.”
Jim seemed genuinely shocked. “That tough guy died? I guess an avatar of a Void Lord could do it but that’s so tragic.”
Brice interrupted. “While I don’t mean to interrupt this tragic news I wanted to ask if you knew anything about this place you’d be willing to share over dinner. Our rogue caught a massive boar and it’s more than enough for all of us.”
Serena slightly irritated agreed. “I’d intended to make jerky out of but we probably don’t have time. Sharing dinner is fine.”
Jim proclaimed. “Lets eat away our worries!”
“Food is comforting.” Teresa nodded as they all sat down around the massive boiling pot and roasting boar.
Brice asked Clarissa. “Can you tell me about the dungeon?”
Clarissa nodded. “It’s huge. We know of 29 floors each of which has hundreds of rooms and it seems like every other room has a secret door in it. The lowest floors have been swept by at least 50 parties and have definitely been cleaned out. The top two floors undoubtedly have been swept clean. The floors in the middle are all that are left to clear out. We’ve been working on going door to door on floor 16 for 4 weeks.”
Victor astonished cut in. “For 4 weeks? You must have a hoard of artifacts!”
Jim chuckled. “No we have 2 Spheres of Undeath. It’s been easy but time consuming.”
Clarissa groaned. “Mana regeneration between me and Teresa is something we need more of. We can only do 2 or 3 rooms a day. The risk has been extremely low though so it’s an easy job.”
Victor did some quick math assuming both were worth 500 gold. ‘1,000 gold over 28 days is what 35 or so gold a day. That’s not bad I guess but we’ll have to talk about unusable artifacts like the spheres at some point.’
Jim turned back to the cave looking again. “The other group still hasn’t come out.”
Clarissa went on. “Two weeks ago a group went missing inside on the 13 th floor. Just now it seems a group went missing on the 14 th floor. There was also a dwarf who went missing on the 9 th floor. We’ve not found any bodies when they went missing or even almost any blood. It’s like their bodies were spirited away to the afterlife. I recommend either starting on floor 15 or between floors 7 and 10. The lowest floors are extremely dangerous but also mostly empty.”
Jim quickly piped up as he took a small piece of meat. “Don’t go down there. We’re tier 2 and we’ve seen at least a tier 3 monster.”
Clarissa nodded. “The entire necropolis was built into a natural cave system. It’s absolutely massive in scale. It’s probably larger than most cities in Peria. Generally the church and the royals both consider this place to be empty of any worthy creature. As a result it’s mostly left to artifact hunters like us. We’re going to continue on floor 16 until we clear it. As long as you can respect that we’ll all be fine.”
Victor shrugged. “I see no reason not to try a floor near that either 15 or 17 that way if we need assistance or you need assistance we can rush to each others aid.”
Serena cut in with a slightly irritated tone. “Would any of you come to our aid if we were in trouble?”
Stan answered. “I’m not inclined to do so. This place is dangerous to traverse quickly. I’m happy to be friendly to you but I’m not saving you.” The others agreed and so did Serena. Despite Victor’s thought that it would be safer with more people there, no safety was afforded to them. The conversation shutdown quickly as they ate their food before going to sleep.
