Path of the Pioneers

We were much quicker moving about when I didn’t have to drag an unconscious Adeline by her arms while propping up her legs with [Telekinesis]. After a day’s travel, we made camp, having traveled about 20 miles or so.

Adeline prodded at the campfire, stoking the flames with her longsword. Then, she glanced over at me. “I think I know where we should head to.” She continued, standing up. “Let’s just lay out the groundwork for the plan.”

Adeline crossed out an “X” in the dirt with the tip of her sword. “The Royal Capital is here. To the west..” She drew a line in the dirt, curving it into a distinct shape. “This is the territory of Duke Cirix. Of course, we must be somewhere around…” She put yet another “X”, a good distance southeast from the Capital. 

“No matter what our plans are, we should keep heading southeast, at least for the time being. That is, if we value our heads.” She smiled a little, patting herself on the chest. “And I value mine quite a bit, really.” I couldn’t help but chuckle at least a little, which she seemed to be a touch proud about.

“I have a suggestion in mind, if you’ll hear me out!” She leaned down, staring at me from across the fire.

“I believe that you would know far more than me about what to do, so I’m more than willing to follow your sage counsel.” I smiled.

She poked at certain spots in the dirt, all across the representation of the Kingdom.

“Have you ever been in a dungeon, Sybil?”

“My-..” No, perhaps it wasn’t wise to bring up my master.. “Err. I’ve.. Heard of them, in the past. But I’ve never been in one myself, I’m afraid.”

“Dungeons..” She poked at one more spot, leaving the ground marked all over with them. “Are challenges fit for the awakened. You go inside, fight special monsters, and receive grand rewards for your efforts. There’s a certain inherent risk, but it’s well worth it for the prizes.”

“Right.”

My master had given me a brief explanation. When the Pioneers were chosen, dungeons sprouted up in all sorts of places around the world. Far more dungeons than Pioneers, at that. She told me that dungeons that were left incomplete would fester, filling with stronger and stronger monsters until their boundary would split.

There had only been one documented case of it, in the 50 years since their appearance. 

About thirty years ago, near the border of a foreign land. There, a dungeon outside of a small town was left to gather dust. At the time, the people thought nothing of it, since it was impossible for dungeon monsters to exit the structure.

After laying dormant for the twenty years since its creation, the boundary between the dungeon and the outside shattered, allowing the monsters within to escape and run rampant through the town. It took one of the Pioneers to deal with the aftermath.

Ever since that time, everyone has taken dungeon clearing deadly serious. A profession even cropped up specifically for scouting them out and checking on their condition.

“Generally, a House manages the dungeons of its territories. But I know of a few on the path that have been just slightly ignored.” She grinned. “The monsters might be a little tougher, but that means the rewards would be better. We’d be doing good, too, clearing out an untended dungeon.” She looked at me intently, waiting to hear my thoughts on the plan.

I frowned just slightly, “We would have to be careful though, wouldn’t we? If we were caught sneaking into a dungeon. As wanted criminals, no less..” 

Adeline thought about it for a moment, and then replied, “I figure our perception in the eyes of the Crown can’t get much worse. We may as well work it to our benefit, wouldn’t you say?” 

I couldn’t argue with the logic, as poor as it seemed.

“Assuming we did go through with this plan, then..” I sighed a little, rubbing my hand against my forehead. “Assuming. Which dungeon would be the easiest for us to sneak into and go through?”

Adeline’s grin returned to her face, and she began looking across the “map” she had made for herself. She muttered here and there, gesturing with her sword to nobody in particular.

“I think I have it.” She poked at a spot, continuing. “A week’s travel from where we are, a dungeon in the territory of Grivash.”

I furrowed my eyebrows reflexively. “A-are.. Are you mad?”

“Barging into the territory of the family of my fiance-to-be and clearing one of its dungeons after removing one of his arms?”

“So you do understand the problem?”

Adeline poked again at the spot. “This dungeon is an easy one. Notoriously so. But the local Count has been slacking in his duties to send awakened to it. In his own mind, it’d be easier to just clear it twice a decade and be done with it.” She continued tapping at it as she spoke more. 

“This man’s a fool. Representative of everything wrong with nobility. If I had it my way, his head would be sitting on a pike in the Capital as an example to the rest.”

At my rather alarmed reaction, she elaborated.

“It’s the duty of the nobles, and those blessed with this gift, to protect those under them. Seeing someone shirk that responsibility while lavishing in its privileges makes me sick. That’s the problem with House Grivash, and it’s all the way in their core.”

The way Adeline spoke.. It almost reminded me of my master, just much more violent with her verbiage.

“So.” She held up her hand beside her face. “We steal potential dungeon rewards from a wicked man, and maybe tarnish his reputation along the way.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Tarnish his reputation? What do you mean?”

“If we’re clearing the man’s dungeon, then we should at least make it clear that we were the ones responsible, don’t you think?”

This woman was bound for danger. There was no doubt of that. The incident that sparked our meeting wasn’t a one-off. 

Still…

“Fine, then. We’ll try it.”

I didn’t mind it all that much.

alerie