Seated in their uncomfortable seats, the passengers in the Oversky Tuna, a type of submarine mostly composed of wood and powered by magic, they hold on as they can, the journey is long and uncomfortable, which is why few make it often.
Despite the appearance of a submarine, this transport is modular like a train, it only has windows at the front for its conductors, and its external grout is fluorescent. It emits large amounts of steam whenever it enters and whenever it leaves a port.
This transport vibrates and rattles all the time, the magic compression chambers are directly connected to the vessel's structure, which makes it cheaper, and this is the main source of its discomfort, and it was also sealed with low quality oil, and from time to time heat leaks to the oversky, this when the darkness of oversky does not penetrate through the segments that have lost their seal, it doesn't matter much, whoever takes this type of vessel doesn't have much choice.
"What a crap!" grumbles Ramon. "Do we always have to take this shit from cheap transport?" and complements with that rhetorical question.
"If you've got cash in your ass, next time we can take a carriage, and given the size of your ass Ramon, it could be a luxury carriage," Amira retorts and laughs loud enough for all the passengers in that carriage to hear.
Other passengers laugh modestly, Ramon then wants to return such favor later, the group becomes tense again soon, this is not an auspicious destination, it is a deep search mission, but they have to do it, because they have failed in the last mission, they are almost bankrupt.
Still a midst the smoke of the arrival at the port, passengers are quickly disembarking, there are almost no passengers for transport to take from here to another place, this dungeon has a very small population, only a few people working in the only tavern and a few more in the smithy, with except for the owners of each location and their families, the rest are all temporary workers.
Groups that failed their missions and survived or that really needed the money, this is a risk and maximum profit dungeon. It's not a place for the brave or the smart, it's for the fools and the desperate.
Like all the dungeons at oersky, right after the challenge portal, it has the crystal that tells you which treasures are still stored in, but not where, this place still has very valuable items available, as few dare to try their luck here.
"Finally" Susano stretches as he gets out the Tuna, his companions following close behind.
"Let's go guys! We have to take the opportunity to rest the rest of this cycle in the tavern and leave as soon as the next one starts." Krastinaff is more direct and incisive than usual.
"What was Krastinaff? Do you want to steal Susano's work?" It teases Rikka, already in a better mood, doing dirty laundry with Ramon seems to have worked out. Krastinaff responds by spitting to the side and Ramon is outraged, yet another reckoning later.
The noisy group proceeds half like a bunch of convicts, half like a troupe of bums idling with their various bags to the tavern, register and pay for the lodging, and without further delay they go to their rooms to sleep.
At the first rings of the bell above the dungeon door, as in all others, the announcement of the new cycle is heard for everyone in that area, Krastinaff's group doesn't waste time, they separate the material they will take in their search. And cover themselves with their equipment.
They go to the reception, they deposit all items they think they won't need, to complete their misfortune, they only have money for 20 cycles, if they take longer they lose everything, they go to the entrance for briefing for the last time.
"So let's take a look," says Krastinaff, looking at his friends almost lined up in front of him. "Okay Ramon, your pliable leather and mercury alloy armor looks good" they're already used to the survey Krastinaff always lends himself to before they enter any dungeon.
"Rikka your staff is shining well, potions well attached to the robe, very well" Krastinaff pulls the potions attached to pockets in Rikka's robe to be sure, Rikka hates it, it spoils the robe faster, and mystic butterfly linen has the prices soaring today.
"Amira! Tie these leather plates right, you never learn!" and once again Krastinaff has to rebuke Amira's negligence, who responds with a grimace and sarcasm.
"Susano, what's that on your sword?" Krastinaff is intrigued by a small piece of matal attached to Susano's saber pommel, he sees no reason to bother Susano, but it has a very strange shape.
"It's my new lucky charm, I found it on our last mission" the rest of the group squints and Krastinaff lets it go so he doesn't waste time.
"Yeah, you guys so minimally decent in overall" Krastinaff maintains his standard of approval at a level he knows the group never would get.
"We have this valuable orb to retrieve" Krastinaff points to the information crystal with the item already on display. "They didn't tell us almost anything about it, they just offered us triple for this mission, he must be in the last zone of this dungeon" Krastinaff pauses briefly to see if his friends are paying attention and then resumes.
"As always me and Ramon will go ahead to face any guardian monster on the way, Rikka behind me always watch out for mystical traps" Amira has crossed her arms and thinks he will never stop doing these litanies?
"Amira, wake up! You behind Ramon always watch out for mechanical traps and Susano lastly always keeping your mantra as strong as possible against illusions, the place is lined with them, many of the reports I've heard are that most don't even survive the illusions here.
They wait a while until one of the passages to the first layer of the dungeon opens and they get in with their hearts pounding.
They apprehensively descend a white limestone staircase through a tunnel provided only with light of their torches at the moment, they can't see much, this is certainly one of the darkest dungeons Krastinaff and his group have ever seen.
To fulfill their misery, a very dark green moss runs down some recesses on the wall, the descent is long and it seems calm, but they don't want to take any risk, the odor below is unpleasant, smells like rotten meat, an undead warning already sounds into their minds.
They go on in silence and they start to hear noises, it takes a few more minutes of descend for noise to get understandable, a high-pitched hum that is projected along.
Rikka has no doubts, she draws one of her potions and shoots a few meters in front of her companions who serve as living shields, before the vial falls to the ground she snaps her fingers and screams a mystical word, the vial explodes revealing with its smoke a magic circle in the air.
Ramon and Krastinaff give way to Rikka who approaches to complete the disenchantment of that mystical trap. Susano very attentive shoots a well-aimed arrow at a rotten tentacle that tried to strike Rikka's face through the seal.
Rikka's eyes widen in reflex at the sight of that tentacle being pulled away from her face by Susano's hissing arrow, Rikka hurries up and finishes in time, Ramon throws her to the side hard as he's already in his gray wolf form and he strikes up those hideous creatures.
Some undead beast tentacles are lined with thorns and manage to tear through Ramon's thick leather where his armor doesn't protect, Amira wastes no time and slashes at creatures with her lance using Ramon's body as a shield.