The Tower in the Shadows

"Tripwires. Tripwires. Tripwires. What can I do with them?"

Over the last few nights, I had been consumed by my experiments with traps and finally, a new door of possibilities opened. Could I fashion a tripwire from what I had on hand? The answer was a resounding yes!

Spider silk was the answer. It was stronger than I thought and I could produce it.

It did not take me long to create a basic wire. Sure, it would snap with enough pressure, but it was strong enough to trip up someone. Add that it was very thin and you have a tripwire. I would love to have piano wire, but I had no idea how it was made. I worked with what I had.

"The question remains. What can I do with them?"

I thought about this as I checked on the moss growing on the first to third floors. I had to keep an eye on the second, as the moss loved the damp environment and threatened to grow too much. I did not want to deal with a floor overrun with moss.

The adventurers coming into my Dungeon expressed their happiness at introducing the moss, which gave them at least some light. I had been cautious not to give them too much, removing my minions' ambush ability.

It had taken a few attempts, but I found the balance that made me happy. Each room was different depending on what was in it.

"Open status screen. Bhaldor."

Name

Bhaldor

Essence

85%

Race

Dungeon Core

CP

62(450) 4.5 phr

Level

4

Corruption

0%

Floors

4

Health

100%

"More fools trying the third floor before they are ready."

I had also noticed an uptick in adventurers trying the fourth, who fared even worse than those on the third.

"I wonder what's driving them?"

They had been skinning the floor boss and harvesting everything they could. Well, those who survived did. Some groups even removed the whole corpse.

"The body must be worth more than the rewards you get for killing it."

There are more questions than answers, as usual.

The fifth floor was going to have traps spread across it. All my research had been leading towards this. I was even leaning towards having the floor be wasps and tailoring the environment more towards them.

I noticed another group entering the Dungeon. A Tin group had just left after finishing the second floor. The group was another new one and it was iron from the gear and how they worked together. It looked like there were five in total: two tanks, two support and a healer. I was getting good at spotting the roles of individuals in the groups exploring the Dungeon from their gear.

"Probably going for the third."

I watched them ignore the first two floors and go straight for the third. They were a gossipier group, so I listened to their conversation as they descended. They were after the floor guardian as its hide had magical properties, allowing it to create magical leather armour.

"Well, that explains why there is a sudden interest in the guardian. Magical armour!"

They went onto the floor and cleared the first room with some difficulty.

"They are not going to make it."

The next room was their downfall. The three boars slammed into them and the fight turned into a struggle to stay alive. The boars were tough and had their skills. Three of them did not make it; the healer and one of the tanks fled the Dungeon, battered but alive.

After the essence rushes were over, I checked my status screen.

"89% nearly there. I have to make my final preparations."

## ## ## ## ##

Today was the day.

High Magus Doltum was arriving.

Ranus and Elian were waiting for the boat carrying him to arrive.

Comus had made the report on the fourth-floor boss public and they were being inundated with more requests for parts from the spider. Eight alchemic brews that benefitted from the spider were identified, with more possibly to be discovered. Elian looked exhausted and he probably looked the same.

It was never-ending.

"Sail turning the bend southward!" Came the call from the lookout.

"That will be him." Elian said.

"Are you ready?"

"No. Are you?"

"Not really."

They both fell silent, preparing themselves. Elian had told him last night that her superiors were discussing sending Albrot to the town to oversee the Guild here. They were impressed with what she had accomplished, but the Dungeon was becoming such a magnet of forces that they felt a more senior Guild member should be present to run the Guild in the town.

She had admitted that she would welcome giving it all up, but for the fact she was progressing to her next step at an incredible speed. Ranus understood he, too, was advancing to his next step and with it, his class change.

The boat came into view, and Ranus recognised it as one of the merchant boats now sailing from Tyboon to the Skaald lands. The harbour master he had hired was directing it to an empty pier.

The boat docked and a gangplank was lowered, hitting the pier. The work gang was catching the ropes the crew threw to tie the ship to the moorings.

"Here we go." Ranus heard Elian mutter.

A man quickly emerged from the boat, followed by a hunched figure. Both drew the attention of everyone around them, especially the man. He was tall with a beard and a mane of white hair. He was dressed in the travelling robes of a mage, sky blue with silver patterns decorating them. He was carrying a staff of dark brown wood that was almost black and a pommel of a sword, protruding from his robes. Easily six feet and full of energy, he bounded down the gangplank.

Ranus found it hard to look at him and look away. He had an aura that was almost a physical thing. He was smiling and taking in the surroundings. More and more people stopped to watch this man enter the town. He quickly picked out Ranus and Elian and strode over to them.

"Lord Goldwind and Guild Leader Woodland, I presume?" His voice was strong and confident. Ranus could detect the accent of the central parts of the continent, maybe even from the Cythian region.

"Indeed and you are High Magus Doltum." Ranus managed to find his voice.

"That is correct, young Lord." The man laughed with a good-natured belly laugh. "I hope to access your new Dungeon and test myself against it. I have heard som.."

"Ohi! Ya forgot me again, ya stupid git!" A woman behind the Magus said in a rough and stern voice. The accent was thick and guttural; Ranus could not place it.

"Ah, yes and this is Seela." He waved his hand to indicate to the person behind him that he was blocking the view of.

"Get ya bony ass out of the way, ya old fool!" Doltum sighs loudly and rolls his eyes as he moves aside.

What or who now stood before them was someone who was even more striking in many ways when you paid attention and looked away from the Magus. The woman was old but still vibrant, like Doltum. Standing at maybe five feet at a push, it was hard to tell as she was hunched over, carrying a pack almost as big as her. She wore a simple light brown worker clothes with a hood, but her arms were exposed. Her face was old and her hair white, but her eyes were clear, brown and sparkled. A thick steel-toped club hung at her belt along with more pouches than Ranus thought possible.

Ranus found himself staring at those arms. They were the most muscular he had ever seen on a woman and even many men! Each arm had scars that were pale lines against the sun-tanned skin. They were gripping the arm straps of her pack.

"Oh! Admiring me arms, eh? Well, me face is a little higher." She said, cackling.

"Seela, will you stop teasing the local Lord?" Doltum sounded tired, as if they had been doing this for a long time.

"Bah! It's one of the few fun things I get to do following ya old bony backside around." She snapped at him.

"Listen to me; you stubborn old mule; we are the same age that….."

Ranus and Elian watched, bemused, as the two began arguing right there on the edge of the pier. The language was harsh and barbs sharp, but they never reached for their weapons.

"This is normal for them, according to what has been reported to me," Elian leaned over and said to Ranus.

This instantly ended the argument between them. They turned their attention back to Ranus and Elian, not in the least embarrassed by their display or language.

"Well, Seela and I have been travelling together since before the Folly. We have quite the history. She is my burden carrier." Doltum coughed as he attempted to regain his composure.

"If any of yea call me an ass, donkey or mule, I'll brain ya!" From the look she gave them, Ranus believed her.

High Magus Doltum was old and so, it seemed, was Seela. Because of the number of steps he had taken on the Paths of Ascension, he was still as vibrant as a man in his twenties. He was one of the last humans to reach Diamond grade or higher left alive. The rest had died during the Folly.

This was a disaster, in addition to the destruction of the Dungeons. Many considered this the main factor in the collapse of the old empires and the weakening of humanity amongst the other races.

"But to business! Guild Leader Woodland, can you inform me when we can enter the Dungeon."

"We have arranged your entry time to be the first tomorrow. I have a request."

"What is it, Guild Leader?"

"May I join you on your journey through the Dungeon. We have been receiving reports of alterations to the Dungeon."

"Of course. I have heard the rumours that the Dungeon's Core has not been found yet?"

"If you come with us to one of the local Taverns, we have arranged rooms. We can let you know what…"

## ## ## ## ##

"They should be arriving soon. They will probably start with Tin group."

Larry was lying on the rafter he liked. His ears were up and twitching, indicating I was getting visitors any minute. The door opened and three people walked in. I recognised Woodland straight away, but the other two were new.

The first was a well-dressed man whose age I could not tell. He looked like a mage or spellcaster. The second was….. is……. Eh?

Is it a woman? I was not sure. I closed in on the figure and took a closer look.

"Yep. It's a woman. With bloody, massive arms. How much weight training do you do? Does this world have steroids?"

She was tiny. I would call you a liar if you said she was five feet tall. She was also hunched over, carrying a massive pack on her back.

"Let's check them out. Mana Sight. Activate."

My vision shifted and I looked at the pair…

"FUCK! I am blind!"

They light up like two suns filling my vision.

"Mana Sight. Deactivate!"

My vision returned to normal.

"Fuck me! How much magical gear are you two carrying?"

The two were looking around.

"There is a sharron in the rafters." The man spotted Larry straightaway.

"Larry, get out and hide now!"

He scampered out of the room as fast as he could.

"The sharron is an unknown minion of the Dungeon. We do not know its function within the Dungeon."

"A shadow-based creature, is it the affinity of the Dungeon?"

"No. This Dungeon has no main affinity."

They went on to discuss my lack of a central mana type. I found out the man was named Doltum and was a "High Magus," whatever that was. He was powerful, and I knew the woman with him was as well. From their bickering, I found out her name was Seela.

Doltum said they should start exploring the Dungeon. Woodland told them that the surface building was empty and that they should truly start with the basement. They walked across the room and entered the tower base. The stairs up and down the central pillar were free of obstacles.

They started to descend and walked down to the first room. Blue moss was now growing in the room, illuminating it. I did not know if they were going to go down any further or take the Dungeon floor by floor.

They went onto the floor and entered the room with the copper vein. Seela pointed out the copper and inspected it. She asked if the vein was trapped or had a monster assigned to it. Woodland told them that there was none.

This surprised them as it seemed that Dungeons normally protected resource nodes. I had decided not to do this. Doltum was getting eager to move on and see what else was different about my Dungeon.

"Well, he's not going to be disappointed."