End of Adventure, Winning the Dungeon is hard

A trail of sweat ran down Gwen’s forehead, dripping onto the floor. She wanted to move, needed to move, but couldn’t. All the dark energy rushed out from the monster’s body, drowning them.

“Gwen… adventurer, despite being weak, you have given me a great fight!” the Dungeon Warden’s voice echoed from around them.

Kira’s eyes glanced at her before looking back at the armor. “Wait, so you guys actually did fight?”

“Something of the sort. I wanted to give her a test. One she passed, ‌saving all of you.”

“So we did see the monster charge forward,” Chris muttered, shaking his head lightly.

Taking a deep breath, Gwen took a step, ignoring the weakness she felt. “What was the point of the test? To see how strong I am? Who the fuck are you to put my friends in danger!”

The Dungeon Warden chuckled. “That human tenacity, the will to stand up despite being weak.”

“Enough with the games!” Gwen roared, golden aura shooting up into the air. “If you want to fight with me, fine! But let my friends go!”

“Um, Gwen, let’s not try to piss off the monster who could trap us in a void!” Claire whispered harshly.

The silver-haired mage went to open her mouth, but the Dungeon Warden beat her to speaking. “Her personality is refreshing; it reminds me of…” he trailed off, a throwback entering his tone. “It doesn’t matter. I shall offer you bone in exchange for, when you get stronger, giving me an actual.”

“Oh, my Catis they’re more of them!” Kira whined.

Gwen punched the back of her head. “Fine, if I agree to a fight, what is the boon?” she asked, ignoring the beastkin's complaints and the siblings' snickers.

“I will not attack the capital, and I’ll help you find the person who yearned for my escape,” the Dungeon warden replied.

Gwen thought it over, tilting her head to the side. Even with the brief exchange in the void, I was seriously outmatched; depending on when he wanted to fight, I might get stronger. The arena remained quiet while she thought it over.

“We’ll take the deal!” Claire spoke up, breaking the silence.

“Wait, I don’t think—”

“You like to fight anyway, right? This is a win-win situation for us.”

Gwen’s shoulders slumped. “I don’t always like to fight.”

“And she still denies it,” Kira muttered.

Chris patted her shoulder. “It’s okay; fighting is fine, plus if it's to help others, it’s not so bad, right?”

“I guess…”

“Yes, then it’s time to hold my end of the deal!” A wave of black energy rushed out from the Dungeon Warden in a cloud. The cloud circled, growing before forming a person who plopped down in front of Gwen’s feet.

“Huh, I forgot that man you beat earlier!” Kira said, poking his face. “You really kicked his ass, seeing how he’s still knocked out.”

Damien was lying there, face pale. The only indication that he was still alive was his chest rising ‌and falling. His clothes were ripped, with blood pouring down his face.

“This man called himself a follower of the dark lord. He asked me for an alliance, but it broke when he lost to you all in a fight.”

Chris nodded. “If he were a follower, then it would make sense that he’d have some answers.”

“Indeed, with how weak he was, I reckon he has a master.”

“Hmm, I have a hunch about who it is.”

“Do you think it was that man? Adrian or whatever?” Claire asked Gwen.

“Yeah, it's why I wanted you to look into him earlier.”

“Can we go back a couple steps? Who the hell is Adrian?” Kira looked between the two of them.

“Adrian is overseer of all the adventurer guilds in the kingdom,” Gwen answered.

“Ah, then if he has something to do with this—”

“Then it would explain why you’ve been having issues with the Guild recently.” Chris finished..

Gwen shrugged. “Who knows? For now, we need to focus on getting out of here and delivering him to the authorities.”

The group shared a look before nodding in agreement.

“Here, I send you back to the entrance of the dungeon.” The Dungeon Warden spoke up. He lifted his sword into the air and slammed it down. Suddenly, a purple glow appeared from underneath the party’s feet. “Don’t forget the promise you made! I wouldn’t want to have to leave the dungeon to come find you.”

Gwen lifted her head, a flash of golden light in her eyes. “I look forward to our future bout!” She said, a hint of anticipation entering her tone.

No other words were exchanged as the purple light enveloped them. A cold feeling filled her body as she felt weightless. It lasted for a moment before the light died down. With a glance around, Gwen realized they were really at the entrance to the dungeon.

She checked over everyone, but they all looked to be okay. Tired, but okay. Letting out a breath she didn’t know she was holding, she closed her eyes. If we had fought the Dungeon Warden, we probably would have lost or, worse, died.

While Gwen didn’t want to admit it, she knew that it was true. She clenched her fist, thinking that secret led to something so…. Scary. Shaking, Gwen took ‌a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart.

The air was fresher, and the stars beamed down on them. Before she could relax, the ground shook. Where the guards usually stood, a group of adventurers marching as one was coming closer to the dungeon.

“Alright, our goal is to go into the dungeon and arrest Gwendolyn Vandrerick!‌Beth’s voice grew closer. “Don’t fight her; just ask her to come with you. If she resists, come find me; we don’t know how strong she is.”

The group of about fifty adventurers all shouted words of argument that vibrated the ground with the noise.

Chris leaned forward and whispered in her ear. “Did you break some real we didn’t know about?”

“Not that I can think of?”

“We weren’t gone that long and got permission to be in the dungeon,” Kira added, rubbing the back of her neck nervously.

“With Gwen, I put nothing past her!” Claire sighed, shaking her head.

“Agreed!” Chris and Kira said at the same time.

“Oi! What the hell do you mean by that!” Gwen stomped her foot.

Before they could answer, a deep voice interrupted the group. “Um, Guild Master, I found Gwen; she’s standing in front of the dungeon!” a man shouted, way off to the others.

“Wait, Gwen is standing in front of the dungeon?” Beth said; instantly, she appeared in front of them, a crazed look in her eyes. “By order of the crown, you’re under arrest for tampering with the dungeon. Will you come with me quietly?”

The partygoers mumbled to each other and occasionally sent glances at her. Gwen let out a sigh. You've got to be fucking kidding. A mix of annoyance and anger coursed through her body.