Ruins. Labyrinths. Dungeons.
They were called by many names, and studded the wild reaches of the world like lost pearls of ancient civilisation. Whether they were cities, fortresses, or otherwise, one thing was for certain: they were always host to a cluster of beasts and forgotten treasures.
As such, they were prime targets for aspiring and experienced adventurers alike. The fires of many a legend had been ignited in their depths, though just as many had found themselves extinguished.
Lieze had never stepped inside of a dungeon herself. Under Sokalar's rule, the Order would reinforce lost thralls with corpses from nearby delves, but it was a task most commonly doled out to the incapable. It just so happened that Lieze was so incapable that sending her into one was always considered to be a waste of time.
That abstinence would come to an end on that day. When a shocking force of Gravewalkers and Horrors had been assembled at the city gates, Lieze took command of the horde and its wranglers and led them on an eastbound curve from the breach of the countryside into a dew-soaked woodland where a dungeon had been discovered by a Deathguard some days prior.
Drayya, Marché, and Roland took up the vanguard. The latter was keen to see some action after a solid week and a bit of showing his peers which side of a ladle was for scooping.
"I wonder how many stratums deep this one is." He spoke aloud while the army marched across a shallow creek, "They say the deeper it goes, the worse it gets - and the better the spoils become."
"If only we had any use for gold." Drayya replied, "Still, it would be nice if we could turn up a few magical items. I'm staggered by how many of the city's magical emporiums are stocked with useless trinkets."
An onslaught of hazy memories from those in the back line guided their path through the unmarked wilderness. Subtle and esoteric features of the environment turned to sharp recollections as they went on, eventually culminating in the reveal of a cobbled cluster of pillars and half-eaten walls tucked into the wild. A staircase flushed perfectly against the ground descended into the bowels of the earth near the centre.
"This must be it." Lieze said, "There's nothing worth investigating up here, so let's get a move on. I hope all of you followed my instructions and topped up your lanterns."
A chorus of creaking metal grated against her ears as every living member of the army fiddled with the lanterns at their hips. One of the advantages of taking over an entire city was that the Order could ransack it for anything their hearts desired, light sources included.
The stairwell could accommodate four thin humans standing side-by-side. Lieze sent a number of Gravewalkers down ahead of her to act as a buffer to deal with anything courageous enough to leap out from the shadows before beginning her descent into the darkness.
It took a full minute of careful footwork before she reached the dungeon's first stratum. It was everything she had hoped for and more - featureless stone walls connecting identical corridors with no regard for style, culture, or comfort. It couldn't have been a structure designed by human hands, for it served no practical purpose.
"There's no need to be cautious. If we fan out, we can explore the entire stratum in a matter of minutes." She said, "The Gravewalkers will power through or reveal any hidden traps."
New Quest Received!
'Dungeon Master' - Reach the lowest stratum of a dungeon and defeat the powerful enemy
Reward - 1,900xp
Necromancers, as it turned out, were perfect for dungeon-delving. Thralls could handle every enemy or obstacle while the master sat around and twiddled their thumbs. Not long after splitting her army up, Lieze was already reaping the effortless rewards of her delve.
Battle Report:
Goblin (x12)
Kobold (x7)
Ogre (x2)
Total XP Earned - 58
Between identical corridors, there was the occasional room barred by a wooden door. Lieze only needed to take a peek through the crack to see if there was any treasure inside. When she peered into the third such room in sequence, her eyes beheld a gold-trimmed treasure chest.
"Aha." The door whined in protest as she pushed it aside, "First of all-"
Lieze's MP - 1885 / 1885
Brandishing her [Staff of Thraldom], she conjured a [Blood Spike] and sent it spiralling towards the chest. Her spell seemed remarkably ineffective at piercing its mundane make, but that was exactly what she wanted to see.
"Lüngen used to tell me horror stories about living chests that ate necromancers alive when I was a child." She thought, "I can't be certain that they were true, but I'm not about to take any chances."
The chest wasn't alive, but it was locked. As she had learned from her time observing the patrons of the Golden Flagon, someone handy with a set of lockpicks was a mainstay of any party specifically for their ability to unlock chests. Without any lockpicks at hand, however, Lieze was forced to rely on a more barbaric but equally effective strategy.
A Horror slumped through the doorway at her command, hulking its engorged arm into the chest with reckless abandon. The lock twisted and shattered beneath the thrall's weight. The hinged top buckled open and slammed shut again. Lieze sent the thrall on its way before kneeling down and throwing the lid open.
Gold was a sight that tickled the fancy of every adventurer, but to Lieze, it may as well have been padding to protect the real treasure. Her hand sank into the mass of coins to feel around for anything solid, coming to wrap around the handle of what appeared to be a teapot. She fished the ceramic out, taking note of the gemstones studding its immaculate surface, and used [Identify] to parse its characteristics.
Teapot of Pouring
Artefact (Common)
Description - This teapot contains 0.3 litres of tea. When emptied, it regenerates tea at a rate of 0.1 litres an hour. If this artefact is cracked or damaged in any way that exposes its interior, it reverts to a mundane teapot and loses any magical properties.
"People risk their lives for trash like this?" Lieze sighed, "Hopefully the others will have found something worth the effort…"
Finding Drayya was no tall task. All she had to do was follow the sounds of violence bouncing from the labyrinth walls, rounding corners whenever she came face-to-face with a wall of spikes extending towards the ceiling decorated with the still-writhing bodies of Gravewalkers.
The source of the noise, as it turned out, was not Drayya's group. Roland was skimming the edges of the dungeon on the lookout for secret paths and powerful monsters. His long face ill-suited a grin, but that was exactly the expression he wore when Lieze hoved into view.
"Tell me you've found something of value." She asked.
He reached into his pack and retrieved another artefact, presenting it with both hands as if its value was limitless. It was unmistakably the exact teapot she had just pulled out from a treasure chest not two minutes prior, with only the colour of its gemstones as any indication that it wasn't the same article.
"What is it with this place and its damnable teapots?" Lieze asked, "I was hoping to find something that could aid in our efforts to conquer the world, not a trinket to ease the burden of preparing lunch."
"This is only the first stratum, you know." Roland replied, "There is a factor of luck to dungeon diving. There were days in the Deadlands when we emerged with nothing, and others when we discovered priceless treasures - that staff of yours is a perfect example."
"All the more reason to avoid dawdling." She said, "If there's nothing more to be found on this stratum, then let's proceed to the next."
Their forces conjoined, and the two of them set out to search for Drayya and Marché, who, as it turned out, had experienced similarly poor luck in their own endeavours. Lieze suppressed the urge to sigh as the two of them presented yet more identical teapots - that was, until Marché made a suggestion.
"Every magical item is the recipient of some form of alchemy." He explained, "With enough time, we would reverse the processes used to create them and acquire some potent alchemical reagents."
Lieze crossed her arms, "How useful would that be, exactly?"
"Without a tried-and-true alchemist among our ranks? Not very useful at all, I'm afraid." He answered, "But you never know. And if we did recruit such an individual, they could use the reagents to create magical items on demand, which would alleviate the burden of plundering dungeons from our shoulders."
"We have a Bag of Holding, so there's no reason not to collect everything we find." She replied, "-But I don't want any of you using that as an excuse to be picking up everything - especially not gold."
The four teapots, then, inevitably ended up stuffed inside Lieze's Bag of Holding. She could only hope that the next item she pulled out of it wouldn't be slick with spilled tea.
"Where's the next stratum?" She asked.
"The staircase is this way." Drayya pointed a thumb behind her, "I sent a few thralls down to clean up anything that might be planning an ambush."
She nodded, "Let's get this over with."
The labyrinth's complexity brought to mind images of an anthill. The next stratum was very much like the first, and the second was very much like the third - but as the group descended, new passageways connected the maze in ways that shouldn't have been possible. The fourth became the fifth, and the sixth led back to the second. Minutes ticked by as Lieze's small army of thralls brute-forced their way through every monster and trap intent on blocking her path of destruction, breaking their way into side rooms and bursting treasure chests open to a fountain of golden coins and middling artefacts.
The constant, at least, was the slow trickle of experience which ramped up as the depths became more dangerous. Soon, there came a need for strategy and conscious thought as the dungeon's inhabitants went from simple-minded goblins to cunning kobolds to rampaging ogres. The labyrinth's tight corridors demanded sacrifices, but for every Gravewalker killed, another specimen was risen in its place.
Battle Report:
Goblin (x49)
Kobold (x68)
Ogre (x45)
Dire Wolf (x17)
Giant Cobra (x2)
Slime (x20)
Total XP Earned - 2,361
"It's not as rewarding as completing quests, but it is consistent." She thought, "Now, if only we could find something to make the trip worthwhile…"
The dungeon's answer came in the form of a staircase ever-so-slightly larger than the ones before it. A pair of burning sconces welcomed an entire procession of wall-mounted torches leading the way down to the next stratum. Before Lieze could approach the stairwell, Roland spoke up.
"This is the way to the lowest stratum." He explained, "The other Deathguards used to call them 'sanctums'. They're small, but there's always a troublesome monster guarding it - and a few lesser foes for good measure."
"What about treasure?" Lieze asked.
"Do you recall what I mentioned about your staff? The one that once belonged to Sokalar?" He pointed to the focus in question, "We never cleared a sanctum often, but when we did, there was always something worthwhile to be found. That staff was one of them."
"I wouldn't get your hopes up. The chances of discovering something as useful as this focus are extraordinary." She replied, "-But I didn't come all the way here to collect teapots. And if there's a powerful monster we could turn to our cause, then the opportunity is too tantalising to ignore."