Return to the Dungeon

The ocean is far calmer than the last time I went into the dungeon. The waves roll up the beach slowly. Even from up here on the cliffside path as we descend to the beach I can distinctly hear the waves.

“Where did you get those strange goggles anyway?”

Brutus, currently ahead of the rest of the party yells back at me from the front. As we get closer to the bottom it gets harder to hear each other so I yell over the waves and passing seagulls.

“Oh there was this nice little shop I found and the orc–”

A sharp pain. Silence smacks their staff on my back. The look in Momo’s eye shows pure terror.

Brutus stops and looks at me waiting for me to continue.

“They apparently belonged to a goblin.”

“Bawhaha! Why would you a human want to wear goblin goggles?”

He continues ahead laughing. Momo slows her pace to match mine. She has to lean down to whisper in my ear so quietly it tickles a little.

“Thank you. If you had continued it would have soured his mood and probably lowered our survival chances.”

What?

She takes a moment to reach into her pack.

“Tai, I wanted to give you this before we descend into the dungeon.”

Wait, I really wanted to ask about Brutus. I guess I'll ask another time. Best to let Momo continue. In her hand she hands me a metal shield.

“It’s a medium buckler shield. They are really good for beginners. You’ll see a lot of people around town with ones just like this. Most of the adventurers here like them for their size in the tight spaces in this dungeon.”

Reminds me of the shields I like to use in Darkest Souls. The shield is very lightweight. I can feel that it is strong and could probably handle a few direct blows easily. There is a tiny heart with a dragon’s tail engraved into the metal near the armstrap.

It matches the engraving I found on the hilt of my short sword.

“Thank you Momo but you really didn’t have to buy me a shield.”

“Don’t worry about it. I just wanted to increase our party's odds of survival. I am the leader after all.”

That makes sense. I bet she is worried that I am a reckless individual. I can’t really blame her. I haven't done anything of note to prove otherwise.

Momo looks sternly at me with her big eye.

“Tai, do me a favor. Use this opportunity to watch and learn but try to avoid fighting as much as possible. Only engage a boss directly if you are confident in your skill. Are we clear?”

She looks serious. I don’t want to cause any issue since Death Clap is generously letting me tag along to learn.

“Understood.”

I give her a thumbs up. She smiles but I can see the worry in her expression and the momentary wrinkles of her cheeks.

The entrance to the dungeon produces a hollow whistle with the wind passing by the gray cobblestone archway. I take a moment to dig into my pouch and start my stopwatch.

We each take our last breath of fresh air before we descend the stairs of the dungeon. Each step deeper the temperature begins to drop as we enter the damp cold halls.

After sometime navigating the halls a wet gurgling sound draws my attention. The others already seem to have been aware of the pack of monsters approaching.

Brutus charges ahead. At the moment of slamming both his swords into the side of a wandering seaweed zombie he yells back towards the party. “What is Goggles doing? Is he just sitting there reading? I know we said we would help him learn but this is a little much.”

The stench of the seaweed zombie is palpable rotting flesh mixed with soaked seaweed is a terrible combination. They are like any normal zombie except the poor soul lost their life at sea and the seaweed infused into the corpse. It makes them slick and tougher to cut through in one motion. The zombie is like its own living ecosystem.

Momo yells back to Brutus as she braces her shield against three of the lumbering foes.

“Don’t worry about it, I told him to sit back after all. It is only the first floor we should be okay. If he wants to read up on the dungeon while we delve deeper it's okay.”

I am not reading but the banter doesn’t bother me. In all the action I doubt they can see my pencil jotting down as much information as possible.

The zombies move closer and Momo uses her club to smash their heads. The zombies stopped moving after that. Brutus wasn’t so through and the one he cleaved in two began to crawl toward him. They must function just like the movies I remember. As long as they have a head they are still a threat.

Brutus stomps on it to finish it off.

Through my goggles I am analyzing every bit of information that I can of the monsters. Attack patterns. Parry windows. Even though these things aren’t NPCs in a game they have their own natural instincts almost as if they are coded. The way the monsters react to things. The traps lining the dungeon. The terrain, the sounds, even the smells.

Every little detail could be the key to clearing this dungeon quickly or even solo if I feel confident enough. When speed running a game every single bit of detail is crucial and nothing is useless. It is no different with dungeons from what I gather. Never mind that now I need to focus.

I jot down the last of my notes as quickly as the party dispatches the final monsters before us. Brutus begins to take the zombie apart. He starts to slice pieces of seaweed and flesh off carefully, wrapping it, and placing it in his pouch.

He notices me staring with disgust.

“What is it Goggles? Haven’t heard about this stuff? The alchemists pay good coin for corpse wax soaked seaweed. They use them to make special healing salves.”

My gut churns. I think I am about to hurl. I don’t think I want to eat seaweed for a while now.

I step away to try and clear my head. I notice Silence staring at me.

Silence has been paying an unusual amount of attention to me since we entered the dungeon. Hopefully I haven’t done anything to alarm them. Maybe they are curious about this pencil I made?

Our eyes meet. They clack their staff once against the ground, smiles, and points.

“Silence is right everyone, we need to keep moving toward the first boss room. We are making good time but I don’t want us to be stuck in the dungeon all night.”

I wonder what happens if we are in the dungeon while it starts to regenerate itself? I'll have to ask Momo about that sometime.

“What are ya doing reading Goggles?”

The orc brushes up past me.

“I am writing down notes about the monsters in the dungeon so I can study them later.”

I flash my pencil to the party. Momo’s eye grows wide and she looks intently at the pencil in my hand. I had it fashioned from a graphite rod that a dwarf shaman was able to create for me. I wrapped it in twine and it does a decent enough job.

“That looks awesome and far more practical than quill and ink. How did you come up with that Tai?”

I probably should have kept it more a secret. Who knows what would happen if I introduce concepts from my world here.

“Um I just knew graphite is a mineral that leaves marks on parchment so–”

Clack.

Silence spots something. Their staff now points towards an adjacent hallway. Something stirs in the darkness. It is moving faster than the seaweed zombies and it is headed my way.

“Goggles look alive!”

No time to think I react on instinct. I slide to the right, raising my shield to protect my head. I draw my blade.

It slips.

Darn!

The short sword slides across the floor out of reach.

Too late.

I use both hands to brace my shield against the blow.

A large blade covered in barnacles crashes down on me. The weight is more than I anticipated. I buckle under the blow and fall to the floor.

It is trying to follow up with another attack!

“Tai stay down! I have it!”

Momo and her tower shield lock the monster in place as it tries to cleave me in two. It looks terrifying. It looks like a skeleton but something is not right about it. I still see some flesh attached loosely to its bones and tattered rags that sway with each movement.

Its whole body is covered in coral and barnacles. Momo is doing everything she can to hold it still. This isn’t like the zombies before.

“Brutus! It’s Living Coral!”

“I’m on it Missy! Just hold the thing still.”

Brutus leaps over the two of them and in a singular motion spins his blades into the monster's chest. His blades recoil off the surface. He staggers back. He mutters some orcish curse under his breath.

“It's tougher than armor. Momo, get clear right before my hit lands!”

“Got it!”

I feel a strong hand grab the collar of my tunic. Next thing I know I am sliding across the damp dungeon floor.

Clack.

Silence stops me in place with their staff. That kind of hurt but not the time to complain.

Brutus spins forward toward the Living Coral at the precise moment Momo disengages. He impacts directly on the monster's skull. The weight of the orc and his two blades crumple the thing into pieces shattering the ground.

“Silence now!”

The room’s temperature drops immediately. I look up to see Silence casting some form of ice magic. A chilling mist exits their breath and freezes all the bits of coral.

“You didn’t get any bits of coral on your skin right?”

Momo is looking over me extensively. She grabs my arms inspecting them. Then she places her palms on my cheeks. Her face is really in my personal space. Her eye scans for a moment then her face flusters and she quickly removes herself and takes a step back.

“That’s a relief. Sorry…um I didn't mean... to get so close.”

She isn’t looking me in the eye. What has gotten into her?

“I think I am alright but shouldn’t we worry about Brutus? He is completely exposed without a shirt.”

“Watch it Goggles! Don’t go make it sound like I am an indecent fellow.”

“Brutus, I think Tai is right. Maybe you should try wearing some more clothing.”

“Grrrrr…”

Brutus walks off ahead of the party leaving the monster remains. Momo puts her hand on my shoulder reassuringly handing me back my blade.

“Don’t worry about him. Living Coral only infects humans or those with half-human blood. The rest of us are safe. Now come on, let's keep going. The stuff is illegal to bring to the surface so no need to waste anymore time.”

Wait, there are monsters that can only affect specific races in this world? I really should do more research on the dangers that can be human specific if I want to try and stay alive.

I feel a gentle nudge at my back. Silence pushes me along.