Dungeon Crawlers
Dungeon Crawlers!
"So." She said.
"So?" Came back the question.
"So!" Came back the excited reply!
"So what?" The Lamia... well, half, she had hair, and that magnificent hood... most of it. It was a small hood, her mother absolutely coo'd over it, and her father, the hapless knight of honor and justice he was, just rolled his eyes and went along with what his wife said and did - thought it was cute, if odd. But, his daughter was his daughter, and damned if he'd throw a fit about it.
"So... we have our first orders." Half infernal, half elf. Or, really, half half infernal, half-half elf, and half human, that's what she was. Or maybe half infernal, half elf, and half human. It was complicated. Either way she, with her hair combed and tucked back into a warriors tail, looked up and held the orders for the day.
"So.. what are they?" Hair on a Lamia was odd - it always went odd with the scales, but she had a nice, full head of hair, at least, where the hood didn't cover. Mostly she braided it to the side into two small braids, and hung small beads from them, the half-lamia did.
"So! We get to go on a dungeon crawl! In fact, just you and me, out from the adventurers guild, on our first quest! It's our test, you see - to see if we can qualify to be full-time questers and do the good things we are meant to!"
"So... just us?"
"Well, yeah! I mean, I think. They don't say we can't get someone to go along with us, since, you know, we are both the most badass fighters in this entire guild, but... well, there's more than fighting, snakebutt."
"Hush, hooves. What about that priest of Helm? You know, the acolyte who sometimes comes in to help treat training injuries? He's kinda cute..."
"True. And I know a trap-picker. He and I sometimes go out for cards and coins, maybe...?"
"Maybe. But you know what this means, right?"
"Yup." A grin, a laugh, eyes gleaming with mirth and joy.
And they both leaped, as high as a snake could, and as low as a teifling dared - and their hands slapped together with a jubilant cry:
"DUNGEON CRAWLERS!"
"...what were our orders anyway?"
"...uhm... we are to rescue Princess! ... A princess, it seems! Yes, we are to rescue a princess from the dungeon of woe! ... no, wait... "The Dungeon of Woad." The teifling scratched her head and squinted down, turning the paper to the side and giving a hum under her breath. "Right! Uhm, well, it seems we are to rescue a princess, and to report to a... "Nancy" over at the inn. She's been trying to get someone to go and rescue her, but no one wants to help! For shame, rescuing a princess with no one to care!"
The snake shrugged, as best a Lamia could - and slipped her sword belt on, and tucked her breastplate over her chest - it was small, what her father got her on entering into the adventurers academy, but it did well on her well developed body.
"Okay, so, we go to the inn, sit at the bar, and inquire to her, right?"
"Sounds good. I'll get the priest, you get the thie... er... trap picker. Deal? Deal."
Two hours later, the four sat at a back table, three drinks split five ways, with a wizard, in over-sized robes and hat too big sharing with his familiar - a large rat that probably had more brains than the rest put together.
"Okay, so, I'm Lami, this is Hooves, and you are Magico, Stabben, and Helzor, right?"
A grunt, a nod, a grin, a squeak. An indignant squeak.
"Oh, and you, Pickles. Can't forget Pickles."
The rat seemed mollified by this acceptance and returned to lapping at the beer. It was not very good beer, and would perhaps get a fly drunk, if it did not drown in it. No, recruits of the adventurers guild had not advanced to the level of 'Real Alcohal' yet.
"Okay. And... if I remember how it goes... ahem... "I hope an adventure happens soon!" The teifling said, loud and taking a swig. And in so doing the words of ritual and magic, a young girl stepped up, barely older than nine, and glanced at the adventurers with eyes wide and mouth open in awe.
"Are... are you here to save Princess?"
"Yes, we are! We are... uh... who are we?" Lami asked, scratching her hood. "We are... the Dungeon Crawlers! Because I'm a snake. Part snake. Something."
"Oh, good. Princess is my cat..."
"Right, so, Adventure, and the dungeon of Woad! Woad? Woe?"
"Well... the dungeon of Woad is where the old ones get their plants to make woad, for when they do the reinactments, you know? I thought everyone knew that. Well, there's an old tower there, and my cat went in, but I didn't dare go in since I saw a big scary rat and it tried to bite me but I am sure you brave adventurers could help! I even scraped together five whole pieces of gold to pay you all! Honest!" Nancy Ex. Position said, looking up and jabbering rapidly. Of course, being a local, she knew all this - while the Lamia and Teifling looked at one another, shrugged, and glanced back at the other three. Helzor shrugged and rubbed at his half-wooden holy symbol. AN acolyte, not yet a priest, but it was his duty to help! Maybe he'd get fully vested with power!
"Alright. We'll do it! Uhm... point the way?"
They got up to leave, but with a start, the Teifling held up a hand. They had nearly forgot something important about all of this - and made her way over towards a mostly sober man, an old veteran of the wars of last season. He glanced up, taking an eyefull.
"Help you miss?"
"Yes, yes sir. Uhm, see, we are adventurers about to go on a quest..."
"Oh, say no more. I know the ritual - I used t' be an adventurer myself. I even made it to the third level in the guild before deciding to just work as a blacksmith. Go ahead, it'd be an honor. There's a flimsy barstool just for you young'ns to use. Go ahead..."
And with a thankful look of relief, she picked up the mostly broken stool, and gave a firm WHACK on the shoulders of the blacksmith, and bar patron, who dramaticly tumbled over and out - the barfight over and complete. As the five left, he cracked a grin. Kids.
Beyond the city limits, no more than fifty feet from the road, a small barn stood with the intentions of keeping watch over the adventurers who came tromping through. Young and wide-eyed, he pointed them in the right direction after they tromped through, more polite than most they even avoided stomping through the garden - which made him smile. Smoking a rolled leaf, he observed as they crossed towards the ruins of the tower - which was barely five stories in height - and sat back on his rocking chair.
"Alright, so Princess went into this spot to ... do cat things, right? Alright, that means the two of us will go in first, Helzor, you can take the rear, and Pickles? Magico, Stabben, you two take the middle - and keep a look out for traps. We don't want to get killed!"
They slithered, trotted, stepped, and rode their way in, the red eyes of Pickles glowing as he perched atop the crooked hat of Magico, like a pirate on the mast of a pirate ship. They crawled and slithered forward over the rubble, as a torch was produced and lit - something that was standard issue to adventurers of all ages. It gave off a thin smoke, pleasing and aromatic.
"Okay, it appears we are in a ten by ten room, a skeleton is sitting at a chair, and there are stairs leading up. It appears there is a treasure chest in the northern corner, and a way down on the right. What do?" The Lamia asked, slithering forward, and biting back a suprised yelp as part of the floor crumbled under her weight. She slithered back - and stared down, thankful she was quick!
"Well, first, avoid caving in the floor." Stabben guffawed, while making his way over towards the chest, as was the duty of any thief to be thiefy. It was the law of the guild of Rogues, though few knew about it, or admired it publicly.
He fiddled with the lock, two slim picks working at the mechanism - which creaked and cricked beneath his touch. Helzor poked at the skeleton with the tip of his mace, and watched it crumble to the side, obviously slain.
"Seems uneventful." The mage murmured.
Outside, the skies darkened, and a forehead could be heard, slapped violently by a palm.
"Feels ominous all of the sudden." Lami murmured under her breath, and made a sign over her armored chest - only to peer up the stairs, and slowly ascend up. The second floor creaked as she poked around, and spied the rats crossing across the floor. She was quiet, observing them.
The lock popped open under the attention of Stabben, who hurriedly pulled it open and went through the contents - and found an old sheet, some silver coins in a pouch, and an old lute which was missing three of its five strings. It would be passable for a tune, one hoped.
"Up we go!" The mage said, while his rodent familiar quietly slid into the hat, and peered out from the small hole, much like a minature wizard peering from his own tower. The mage was not the brains of the operation by far - and even the rat knew not to complain about being bored, for the Gods might be listening. Indeed, he was proved right as the young mage ascended the stairs, and as one, the other rats turned, and faced him.
"Oh dear." The teifling said, quickly pulling for her sling...
"There are four of them, I think we can take them." The wizard said - glancing up and puling his hands together, to form a web of his fingertips and focus his power. A small stone was slung from a sling while the Lamia took point, shield down and blade ready - preparing to strike down any of the creatures if the chance was presented. Flanks were taken by Helzor and Stabben, one wielding their mace, the other a pair of daggers. The fight would be tense, the rats as easily the size of cats - and worse than that - the space was cramped.
Battle was met, three rats lunging for the snake, and a fourth diivng for the dagger-wielder, who struck fast and sliced off the tail of the creature that came close. The shield proved to be good defense as Lami struck with the flat of her blade, slapping one rat backwards, away from the other two with a wet crunch.
"Chill!' The wizard said, to the face-pawing of the rat in the hat, who was about having enough of that. A thin beam of ice shot from the laced fingers and made one of the rats squeak indignantly. A valient fight.
"Ow, ow, shit, ow!" The snake was bitten viciously, before a stone cracked the skull of the biting beast, and pinged harmlessly off scales. Two down, two to go - the others scampered away, trying to flee from the dangerous predators who invaded their tower cave. One leapt from the window, the other struck and beaned down by a thrown mace - which clattered off the wall and skittered to a stop near the stairs leading up to the next floor.
"Well, come. Come on, we have things to do." Looking at the bite, which dripped only a small trickle of blood, the brave Lamia pulled herself up tall and slithered forward - feeling her position as leader welling deep in her breast. She slid over and approached the way up - while sliding the mace back towards the priest, who seemed sheepish about throwing it - an accident if ever there was one. But youth was a time to learn - and learn they would.
"Alright, I'll head up again - it should be quiet now. There shouldn't be more than rats in a place like this, I think." The naga crept forward - only to stop, when a hand settled on her tail. She looked back, and looked forward - as she noticed a step that was lifted a bit too high. A trap.
"Ah... thank you, Stabben." She murmured, giving a bit of a blink and squint - and slowly drawing back. Stabben merely shrugged, his job was to check for such things, and crouched, studying the trap and gently depressed it with his dagger. Small spikes shot out from a hidden vent - enough to give someones feet a very bad day - or a Lamia a very serious injury.
"It's what I do, ma'am. I'm not gettin' paid for doing nothing." He worked the step and lodged it that, even under the weight of the Lamia, it would not trip - for a bent spring was all it needed to stop from activating again. With that, and a good testing of the step, he allowed the lady of scale to slither up - and followed after with a swarthy stagger. He was helping.
"So, it appears we are in... another ten by ten room. The designer didn't really..." A hand was clasped over her mouth, Magico grabbing the teifling by a horn and shaking his head rapidly - a lesson learned by quick action - and a mind that was sharpening quickly. The teifling squinted, and stuck out her tongue, before walking forward, her eyes noticing the small squares of checkerboard design.
"A puzzle?"
A puzzle.
"Uhm... let's see... Oh, here." Helzor reached out and wiped some dust from a brass plaque, which read:
"Pawns and Queens, Knights and Clergy - a battle of wits must you do - fight hard, fight true, and with the rules - so shall victory come to you."
The Lamia groaned. She hated puzzles.
"You know, we could work on this puzzle, or..."
"Or what?"
"Well, I could climb up the outside of the tower, lower a rope, and help you four up...?"
A good idea - so good, infact, that the skies opened up to rain and ice, freezing the side of the tower with ice and fog and powerful winds - which made Reginald T. Stabben grunt. It'd been a clever solution to their problem, really.
"I think we have to figure this puzzle out." The lovely teifling rubbed at her chin and stepped on one of the white boxes, which glowed, highlighting a pattern of color - her opposite block, a black cube on the other side, glowed, and a small statue of a queen appeared, black as obsidian.
To each was a position taken - the Naga taking a spot beside the queen, and the Mage taking place at the head - a simple commoner mimicking his place. Helzor a bishop, and the thief faced a seige tower. It was not an even fight, by far.
"Chess? We have to play chess? I was great at chess in..."
And each suddenly held a very large weapon, a sword, a mace, an axe. Sometimes, people needed to keep their mouths shut.
"Oh bugger me." The snake murmured, slapping her brow.
For minutes, they contemplated their moves - one sliding forward a step, the other edging slowly out, for a wall of force held Helzor to movements diagonal at best. The queen, the teifling, could move any way she wished, but so could her opposite, and the knight, proud, took shapes of an elongated L, moving quickly, easilly, and eagerly.
"Chess. Battle chess. This is unique. They didn't cover this in the guild." The dear, battle-scarred Naga murmured, while tapping her blade to her shield. She dodged to the side of the pursuit of the queen, who hungered for blood.
"So how are we supposed to beat this? I mean, the goal is to take the enemies King, right? We don't have a king. Neither do they. So... what do we do?"
Sighing, wistfully, having just put a pot of coffee on to brew, the Rat knew his duty - and leapt forward from the hat, to land on a square - forming that of a brave and tall rat-king on the opposite side. Battle was had - and would be held well.
"This is one giant cluster-"
A dance of movements, graceful and sure, they exchange places, while the Mage advanced surely forward, towards his opposite - before the two clunked together and could move no farther, much to the breach of logic that could be held by such a route. He could do nothing to get past the pawn, as the Knights chased one another, leaping and dancing. IT was an odd sensation for a snake to jump.
"Do we know what we are doing?"
"No."
"Well damn."
"Take the king?"
"Take the king. What if they take our king?"
"Then we lose."
"That bad?"
"I'd guess so."
"Damn."
It was a longer puzzle than any had stomach for - but with luck, mercy, and a roll of the dice - the king was taken, and the board vanished in a puff of smoke, to be forgotten and never mentioned ever again, by them, or anyone else. In return for their silence, coins were distributed - as was a gem for each vanquished foe. An odd system, but, there had been odder.
"Next floor?"
"That'd put us at the top."
"Right." The snake slithered up.
It was late. The rains had stopped outside, and the ice melted into a slush - which would have helped two hours earlier. Up at the top - facing an old bedroom covered in cobwebs and an old glowing pentagram, the five (plus the super-intelligent Pickles!) stood, or, stood and slithered, looking about for the Princess. Tired of this adventure, and ready to go back home to a comfortable spot to rest - they began to explore, and keeping a healthy distance away from the pentagram, if only out of common sense.
"Well, let's see, if I remember my lore correctly." THe Lamia spoke, rubbing the tip of her nose and grooming her hood back. She wasn't as pretty as her mother, she thought - but her father couldn't resist that large, innocent smile of hers. "There should be... what was it, at the top of every tower, never touch the pentagram. It only causes trouble, like cities burning down, someone being turned into an orphan, or kicked out of a guild to get revenge... right. Just stay away from it. Don't even look at it."
There was a general consensus, though the mage didn't bother telling them he already was an orphan, nor Stabben that he wasn't really in the guild any more. It was just bad manners!
They explored - calling for the cat who was nowhere to be found - only the old bedsheets and the half-ruined library, eaten away at by mold and rat and mouse and other vermin.
A spell book rested, open, with bell and candle near the pentagram. It was ignored.
A holy symbol of silver hung from the rafters above the pentagram, just in the reach of a certain acolyte. It too was ignored.
So too was a pile of gold, a symbol of wisdom and valor, and a neat bow to replace an old and damaged sling.
So, of course, the cat just happened to be sitting in the middle of the pentagram.
"how did we miss the cat?" Helzor, who had been a bit tired, jerked awake and glanced in at the feline, who mewled pathetically with large, innocent eyes. It mewled, unable to cross the pentagram.
"The cat..."
"Yup."
"...is in..."
"You got it."
"...the pentagram."
This certainly wasn't looking up - and the five glanced at each other, as Pickles went back into the hat to the coffee he had brewed. It smelled wonderful, and brought back memories of happier times - of wild fields and lusty lady rats, all before becoming the smartest rat to have ever lived, would live, or could be - smart enough to possibly take over the world!
"So we have to cross the threshold to get the cat, but whatever is bound in there would be set free, which would end up causing more harm than good, right?"
"Uh-huh." The Teifling idly picked at a horn with the tip of her nail, getting an itch free. Horns could itch, a little known fact. "There's no way around it. Just go for it..."
The Lamia reached for the cat, while carefully plucking the symbol of wisdom from the chair that teetered and wobbled.
"HALT!" A voice boomed, all of the sudden!
"Well bugger me." The teifling said - and lunged at the suddenly materialized speaker. IT was tall and elegant, long of hair and weilding a great sword - a handsome elf, handsome enough to blind. By obvious means, it was meant to help them solve this puzzle that they could not handle alone, since they were by far too weak to do it on their own! He grabbed at the Lamia, ignoring the teifling whose attacks did little.
"I shall complete this quest for you! I am Vincent Squall Fratley, and I shall..."
His skull caved in, as did a sword slam through his chest, a sling crush his eye, and the full might of both rat sorceror and mage might strike true - putting the elf down who writhed, before being struck again and again and again and again, no matter how hard he tried. The earth shook and the heavens rumbled, and a loud CRACK could be heard, much like a hand slapping against cheek. Thunder rumbled, like the arguing of Gods and the sound of a heavy tome of law and lore slamming into an old oak table.
"That solves that." The Lamia said - before reaching to pull the cat up into her arms, the cat looking suddenly bewildered. The five took the treasure set aside just for them from the Gods, and carefully picked their way out, as the heavens stormed, and rain began to fall - further cracks and slams and the crashing of a table filled the heavens. The old farmer laughed on his rocking chair, watching the show, as the five quietly returned to the inn, and returned the feline.
"Oh brave adventurers, thank you!" The young girl cried, giving them each a coin.
"I cannot accept this." The Teifling said, feeling a strange welling of pride and strength in her heart. She was not just a fighter, though trained in her skills, she was more - her skills were not to stand in the front, but hunt in the back - to move from shadow to shadow. No longer was she Hooves, for she was now called s Caronna. "For you need it more than I."
"I cannot accept this either." The Priest, not acolyte, said, standing tall, his beard now strongly grown, his mace no longer shoddy, but pure and blessed. He stood tall and brave, arms crossed, and head tucked down, slightly. He felt a peace fill him, and his god send his blessing. He was no longer Helzor, no, his name was now Harold Zethrium, priest of Helm, cleric of the Guardian.
"I cannot accept this." The wizard said, his hand combing through his beard, and he leaning on what was no longer a walking stiff, but a magnificent staff. "I earned far more than a coin - for I have a book of spells. I owe you much, daughter Nancy." His name was Arpegio, brave and fearless in pursuit of wisdom.
Pickles merely snored - his job was done, and his rest was well earned.
"Nah. No thanks here, darlin'. I've got a treasure worth more than that." The lute, etched with brass and given to a merry tune, no longer hummed and gave a screechy sound, but played a tune that could make the gods weep. The power was there, the music strong, and the smile radient on a face young, and filled with ideals and wicked humor. Richard O'Malley was his name.
"What about you? Can you accept the coin?" She looked at the dull snake, as much marked like a grass snake, than as the cobra she descended from. She looked down at the coin, almost as though afraid, then up at the others - gliory and radiance coming from them. They stood for strength and valor, duty, and a walk away from fear, so that others could stand, and do as they did, and keep the world safe. She felt fear - and closed her eyes. IT was a big step.
But it had to be done.
"No. It would not be right to keep a reward, for simply doing what was right to do. It's what heroes do."
"That's right." Nancy said, laughing brightly. And with those words - scales changed, the hood becoming broader, and her armor no longer as tight - as it grew to a large breastplate, a great shield at her side. No longer just the Lamia, she was Lady Ophelia, Daughter of a Paladin, Daughter of a Ranger, and child of Heroes.
"You are really adventurers now." Nancy said, and quietly walked away with her cat, as the five heroes looked upon one another, to see what had always been.
"That's the adventure? is it over?" The teifling said, marveling at the beauty of her name. Caronna.
"No, my dear friend. It's not the end of our adventure. It's just the start. Because, we are heroes."
The five touched their fists together, a ring upon each hand - the same, to mark them as who they were.
"DUNGEON CRAWLERS!"