Chương 10: The [Dungeon of Anwyn's Redoubt]

Ch. 10 - The [Dungeon of Anwyn's Redoubt]

'Dungeon' is a flexible term in this world, even if some of the classifications only fit extremely loosely. There are three main types as people understand it: Some are as simple as a small ruin from ages past, sunken and reclaimed by the earth. These are the least risky to explore, but also hold the smallest reward. An Adventurer would be fortunate to find a trinket or two, and face little more than the occasional monster which had taken up residence. Next we have the collapsed remnants of a city or kingdom.

This world is old, and many a mighty empire has risen and fallen, their very name long forgotten. Here there is a chance to uncover true treasures, even artefacts. The danger is greater as well, with ancient security protocols, spells, and wards still strong long after the inhabitants have turned to dust. Some cities fell to hostile action, the magic used to spell its doom still lingering and claiming lives millennia later. The last is what I consider to be true definition of a Dungeon.

Constructed, self-contained realms, built for a singular purpose. Their makers have been lost to time, and only myth remains. One misstep here and you can lose your life. So much treasure and materials are recovered from some that Cities, and even Kingdoms, have grown up around them. They are a testing ground, a crucible, and it is here that teams of Adventurers come to make their name. It is here that so many Adventurers meet their end.

- from the writings of Steadholder Eckhart Wyatt woke up to the sensation of a tongue licking him on the cheek. Whiskers tickled his face, and he batted at Kit vaguely, his head still feeling thick.

"I'm up, I'm up …" Wyatt stretched, grimacing slightly as his pack dug into his shoulder. He still had one arm through the straps; had he fallen asleep while still wearing it? Wyatt blinked, blearily staring up at the deep blue sky, turning his head slightly to avoid the sun shining in his eyes. The grass beneath him was soft, and the air itself felt charged, tingling on his skin. He didn't know how long he'd been asleep, but his body had that deep, languid feeling you got after spending too much time abed.

Turning his head, Wyatt admired the bucolic view. It was beautiful, the kind of vista he'd always imagined when he listened to his grandparents telling stories. They'd shown him pictures and videos of blue sky like the one above, but part of him had always doubted that the world could actually look like that. Crossing through the portal into the valley had given him a taste of it, but this — this was something else entirely.

It was even more striking to Wyatt considering all the days that he'd spent, wandering lost in that endless twilight forest … Wyatt's eyes slammed open, and he stared in shock at his surroundings, realisation hitting him all at once. I'm out? I'm out! He couldn't help but gaze up at the sun; seeing the blazing orb in the sky was surreal after so long. In fact, Wyatt could just stare at it all day, considering that—"Ah! Dammit, what is wrong with me!" Wyatt rolled over onto his side, rubbing at his eyes.

Waiting for the spots in his vision to fade. At least the pain managed to snap him out of his state. He sat up, groaning slightly at how stiff his muscles felt, and looked around anew now that his mind was alert. He was laying in a grassed circular depression, perhaps five feet deep, the area ringed with fallen pieces of stone scattered about in no discernible pattern. The grass was dotted liberally with what could only be described as picture-perfect toadstools, the fungi being red-capped with white dots.

They looked so out of place, so unnatural, that Wyatt didn't need to use a skill to know that it wouldn't be wise to eat them. Beyond where he lay, Wyatt could see rolling green hills, small copses of woods, dirt tracks or paths winding their way along, the occasional small wooden structure …

"Wait, buildings!" Wyatt scrambled to his feet, the sudden movement making the blood rush to his head. He staggered for a moment, then just stared. He was out, out of the forest.

"Where the hell am I? How did I —" With a start, Wyatt remembered the voice speaking to him in his head, announcing his new level, his new skill. And not just that. It had said something else as well.

"Dungeon. It said I was in a dungeon. What does that even mean? It can't mean this place, can it? Kit, do you know?" Wyatt looked down at Kit, who'd been waiting patiently for him to address her. The little fox yipped at his question, and then shrugged her shoulders; a disturbingly human gesture beyond anything that she'd done up to this point. Just beyond Kit was the Slime, and it was quivering almost violently as it rolled back and forth. In addition to that, it seemed … bigger?

It wasn't a uniform shape anymore either, there was a smaller bulge on top of its main body that wobbled as it moved. The Slime was increasing its range of motion as Wyatt watched, moving back and forth, speeding up. There was a distinct air of excitement about the creature.

"Are you both alright?" Kit nodded, while the Slime bounced gently; the smaller bobble on top of its body wobbling in what also resembled a nod. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Wyatt stared at his two companions for a beat, silently taking in their more refined mannerisms.

"Okay, not addressing that just yet. So … we are obviously out of the damn forest. But the question is, how?" Wyatt thought back, remembering the barrow. His memories still felt a little fuzzy, but he was able to picture the glowing runes that had appeared on the wall. Wyatt's only conclusion was that they'd been teleported somehow. Which would mean magic. Actual magic. When he'd passed out, the voice had stated that he'd entered the first floor of a dungeon.

Wyatt didn't know what a dungeon meant in the context of this world, but if he'd been asked to describe one he never would have pictured the charming pastoral landscape he was currently looking at. And it had a name as well, something else incongruous.

"Anwyn's Redoubt. That's what the voice called it. I don't know who or what Anwyn is, but isn't a redoubt a fortification or something?" Once again, Kit nodded. She was sitting and paying attention to Wyatt like she was genuinely part of the conversation. Wyatt gave her a look.

"Kit — do you actually know what a redoubt is?" The little fox pointedly sniffed at Wyatt's skepticism, then just looked smug. She nodded again. Wyatt threw his hands in the air.

"Right. You know what — I'm not even going to question that. It's not like it's the craziest thing that's happened to me lately. At least we all made it through whatever that was. Although we kind of took the Slime from its home." Wyatt watched the Slime for a few moments. It was rolling around even faster now, almost frantic in its movements. And if Wyatt wasn't mistaken, it was noticeably bigger than it had been before.

In addition to the bulge on its head, there were other bumps, other protrusions, beginning to form over its body. It gave the creature an uneven and wobbling gait as it rolled around.

"Are you sure you're okay, little guy? You, ah, look a bit different." The slime came to a quivering stop as Wyatt spoke to it. It stretched, appearing to peer down at its own body. Then it bounced, going high enough to leave the ground entirely. It became even more excited. No, not just excited — it was thrilled! It was full of energy, the air here was so replete with mana that it could finally thi— Wyatt blinked.

"What the hell was that? How do I know what you're — wait a second. My skill. I got a new one, didn't I." Wyatt remembered, his thoughts calling his new skill into the forefront of his mind like he was hearing it for the first time. [Natural Affinity - Monsters] His skill was letting Wyatt understand what was going on with the Slime. It wasn't as profound as hearing spoken words or language, he just got a sense of what the creature was thinking. Feeling. Intuition dialled up to eleven.

"Alright, this might be my coolest skill yet. This must be why I'm understanding you so much better, Kit." Wyatt turned to Kit, thinking that he'd be able to get a read on her like he had the Slime. However, Kit just looked at him, amused. And this wasn't conveyed through Wyatt's new skill, she just looked amused.

"Huh? It's not working with you. Does that mean you're not a monster like the Slime?" Wyatt suddenly got a blast of mild outrage, and he turned to the blue Slime. It had stopped dead and was now focused on him. It radiated a sensation of hurt feelings. Wyatt held up a hand in apology.

"Sorry, little guy! I didn't mean it like that. I don't think you're a monster, it's just that my skill —" Another flash of insight struck Wyatt, along with a disgruntled feeling from the Slime.

"Oh, girl, not guy? Uh, sorry about that." The Slime wobbled primly, accepting his apology. Wyatt kept his face expressionless, but no matter how much he looked, he couldn't see any indication of sex or gender on the creature. Perhaps it was just its preference? But then again, what did Wyatt know about slime biology. The Slime had gone back to zooming around in an increasingly wide radius. It still felt slightly agitated and excited.

It might have been Wyatt's imagination, but it looked as though the protrusions on its body were growing more pronounced.

"Are you doing that on purpose? Growing, I mean?" Although it didn't stop moving, the Slime pulsed, bouncing more animatedly. The sword that was still stuck inside of its body was actually pushed out a few inches. The motion of the weapon caused the Slime to come to an abrupt stop. It craned itself around, stretching and twitched, sightlessly regarding the bared portion of the blade. It felt … shocked. Then the Slime went through its biggest changes yet.

Its body morphed, flexed, going through what looked like some kind of mutation.

"Kit, what's happening to it?" Wyatt watched helplessly as the Slime pulsed, grew, and shrunk. He didn't know what to do, or if the Slime even wanted help. From his skill, Wyatt got the sense that the creature was apprehensively excited. He stepped closer, wondering if he should try and pull the sword out, but before he could, the Slime bolted. It took off, rolling up the side of the depression at such a great speed that it actually went airborne for a few seconds when it reached the lip.

Its thoughts and feelings grew more pronounced to Wyatt, crystallising … before abruptly vanishing entirely. The last that he saw of the creature was the Slime heading towards the nearest copse of trees, then it went over and behind a hill, out of view. Wyatt took a few running steps after the Slime, before stopping. He felt a pang at the creature's sudden exit; it had been growing on him. Wyatt looked ruefully down at Kit.

"I guess we only just met it — her. Do you think she'll be okay here?" Before Kit could answer, voices suddenly were heard from above, just past the lip of the depression. Multiple voices, all sounding young and excited.

"… did you see that? It came from over here!"

"There shouldn't be anything down there — nothing alive anyway."

"I know that, that's why we should check it out! The rumourmonger at the entrance would pay to know."

"Yeah, yeah. Did anyone of you see what it was? All I got was that it was blue."

"It was a weird shape. Careful now, don't fall in whatever you do —" Three heads popped into view. Wyatt couldn't make out features at first as the sun was right behind them, but they were young. Kids, maybe a few years younger than he was, two guys and a girl. They were wearing a hodgepodge of armour, mostly leather, and were all carrying weapons. He stared up at them, shocked into silence. They stared back down at him. One of the guys, one who was holding a sword, pointed down at Wyatt with a trembling finger.

"Hey, are you crazy? Get out of there!" Wyatt gaped, his thoughts running thick and slow at the unexpected meeting.

"… what?" The girl clutched a staff to her chest. It had a spherical glass ball affixed to the top that swirled with colours. She called out, her voice urgent.

"That's a death zone! It's trapped! Didn't you see the signs?" Wyatt looked around blankly, still overcome. They looked so normal it hurt.

"Signs?" The girl with the staff nudged the first guy who had spoken in the side.

"Raek, I think he's hurt. Do you think he hit his head?"

"That or he's just stupid, Marie." The third member of the group, one who was carrying a bow, looked down at Wyatt warily.

"Or he's dungeon crazed. He's got that look, don't you think?" The one with the sword shook his head.

"It doesn't matter. Listen you! Yeah, you! Get out of there right now!" Wyatt nodded, glancing down at Kit. The fox had cocked her head as she regarded the kids above them, but she didn't look worried. Wyatt grabbed his gear and walked up out of the depression, not even resisting as the two guys grabbed his arms and pulled him out hurriedly the rest of the way when he wasn't moving fast enough for them. They chattered as they stood in a circle, talking fast as they examined him, asking if he was hurt.

Wyatt barely listened, he was just staring, drinking them in. They were … people. The first people not from Earth that he'd seen. People.