Dungeons and Dalliances

The day had arrived.

Natalie stared around at the enormous dome enclosing the beating heart of Aradon, or indeed Valhaur, itself. The dungeon entrance. As one of the most mythical objects in existence, Natalie had of course seen it in textbooks, had seen the detailed artistic renditions of the one-story-tall, black obsidian slab.

It was somehow less than she’d expected.

Because this was the dungeon entrance? Four wingspans wide, and a single story tall, the slab of black stone was so … unassuming, considering it was the lifeblood of society, as important to early civilization as rivers and arable land. The dungeon entrance ought to be bigger than life, majestic, awe-inspiring, towering ten thousand feet high. It should have Natalie falling to her knees, her mind overwhelmed.

Which was dramatic, she knew. But really. It was the dungeon entrance. While the polished, perfectly geometric slate of black stone was far from mundane—it was clearly of supernatural make, not a natural occurrence in the slightest—it simply lacked the enormous presence the concept of ‘dungeon entrance’ had in Natalie’s head. The artwork in textbooks had exaggerated the details.

Still, there was plenty of awe, but it stemmed from Natalie’s knowledge of what the object represented, rather than sheer presence itself.

The glassy black surface wobbled, a newest set of adventurers stepping into the seemingly-solid material, disturbing the surface like it was made of water. The group of five sank into the darkness, then were gone. Faster than liquid would, the obsidian stabilized, regaining its rigidity.

That, at least, lived up to the descriptions. Otherworldly.

“So,” Sofia asked. “Everyone’s ready, then?”

The five of them had showed up after class. Around them, other groups of Tenet students swarmed, some of them already having set off into the entrance’s glassy black portal. There was a steady flow into each of the entrance’s two faces, north and south. Most entered from the north. An old superstition, certainly false, but even Natalie’s group would be doing the same. Ridiculous as it was, no point in tempting fate, right?

“Ready to kick monster butt,” Liz said. “Over-ready. Feels like I’ve been waiting forever.”

That sentiment was, undoubtedly, mirrored in all of them. This was the culminating moment every Tenet student had waited, and trained for, their entire life.

Even Liz, permanently bubbly, seemed to be anxious in a ‘let’s get to it’ sort of way. The cheerful response had been more forced than usual, as if trying to ease everyone else’s nerves.

“Let’s do it.” Resting a hand on her hammer’s shaft, she vibrated with anticipation. She looked around at each of her teammates, then nodded. No disagreement.

Stepping forward, Natalie spurred the group into motion.

Her anticipation grew as she approached the tall slab of obsidian, but she didn’t let herself slow. With only two ways into the dungeon, and loads of adventurers trying to enter, clogging the flow of traffic was a quick way to getting kicked out of the building with a hefty fine attached. Plus, Natalie wasn’t scared. Just stuffed with adrenaline.

The black surface rapidly approached. It took some overriding of her instincts to force herself to continue. The wall looked as solid as anything else did. Her brain told her she was going to smack face-first into it, however many times she’d watched teams step into its glassy black surface.

She shared a quick glance with Jordan, who nodded at her, then Natalie braced herself and strode into the obsidian wall.

***

The bustle of the Aradon’s dungeon entrance disappeared, a switch flipping off. Silence echoed through a dark cave tunnel.

Cave. The most common Sanctum biome. No surprises there.

She turned in time to see the last of her teammates step from the black portal sprouting from the ground behind her. Ana, with that ever-present blank expression on her face. Natalie had no problems with people who kept strict composure—her best friend was one—but that girl was … icy. A statue. Not hard to read, but impossible. She was almost unnerving to be around.

But a good mage. That was all that mattered.

Natalie swept her surroundings with a discerning gaze. Though a group of first-timers dropping into the first level of the Sanctum were unlikely to have an ambush sprung on them straight out of the portal, it would be idiotic not to check.

Stretching tunnels ran in two directions, one branching into the far distance. The passages were illuminated with a soft blue glow from the moss clinging to the walls. A cleaner, brighter light radiated from Natalie and Liz, the front line and back line, respectively. She fiddled with the tiny, flat-oval lanterns affixed to each of her shoulders. Convenient tools. How annoying would dungeoneering have been in the old days, having to use torches? The modern age came with conveniences, though the dungeon was as deadly as always. Just less of a logistical hassle.

“Cave,” Sofia said. “That’s good. Fewer swarming enemies.”

That was their team’s identified weakness. Sofia and Jordan excelled in single-target damage, which made the team great for boss-hunting, but poor when handling too many enemies at once. Ana plugged the hole slightly, being a mage with decent area of effect spells, but the disbalance left them weaker against swarms than most teams.

Balance wasn’t always preferable, though. Specialization was valuable, and the real money—and experience—was in taking down bosses. Not that they’d be reaching one today. The first delve of the semester was exploratory, meant to dip their toes in the water. Plus, they only had a few hours. Curfew was at ten. Real delves happened on the weekend, where the expedition could stretch overnight. Weekdays were for quickies.

The group oriented themselves to their dark surroundings.

Natalie nodded, then hefted her hammer up. She didn’t say anything. They’d all trained for this for years.

As Liz had put it … it was time to kick some monster butt.