Dungeon Life-Chapter Three-Hundred Forty-Three
Nimis Julour
The lead scout does her best to contain her nerves as she follows the Knight-Captain, alongside the other lieutenants. If it weren’t for the confident figure of Olander Wideblade, the Crown Inspector himself, walking with them, she’d be trying to talk the Knight-Captain out of this.
Instead of going to the Dungeoneers to get the full information packet on the dungeon Thedeim, they want her and her scouts to gather information instead! She understands the theory of it: in the field, she can’t just walk up to a guild, hand over some coin, and have the full details of an enemy. But to walk into a dungeon blind?
The Crown Inspector doesn’t seem worried, but the idea still puts her ill at ease. She can see the concern in the other lieutenants’ eyes, but they’re not speaking up either. With the gates fast approaching, the time for dissent is past. She needs to be on her guard once inside, no matter if the dungeon is supposed to be cooperative. It’s still a dungeon.
The others tense, even the Knight-Captain, as they cross the threshold into the dungeon. Only Sir Wideblade himself still looks at ease. The military can feel the difference in the air, the danger lurking around every corner.
Which is at odds with what they’re actually seeing. Nimis scans her surroundings, even taking a moment to look deeper at the delvers around them. Her building look of confusion earns a laugh from the Crown Inspector, which in turn earns a concerned look from her Captain.
“Your eyes aren’t playing tricks,” reassures the experienced elf.
“What are you seeing, Scout Julour?”
“I… they’re all civilian classes.”
The Knight-Captain’s eyes widen at that, as do the eyes of the others. They all look around, each slowly picking out the details that shine like beacons to Nimis’ eyes. Olander Wideblade nods and speaks, gathering their attention.
“It’s true. This is the Manor. I don’t think it’s too much to give a little intel for this section, at least. It’s the lowest level area in Thedeim, designed to help new adventurers grow. He even has aranea that give out quests over on the porch.” He points and the others look on in confusion. Nimis, for her part, can read some of the quests from where they all are standing, and speaks them with disbelief.
“Kill Five Vipers. Gather Some Fool’s Coal. Wave At Tiny?” She looks to the Crown Inspector in confusion, but he simply smirks at her.
“I think that one will be up to you and your scouts to discover. I wouldn’t tell the Knight-Captain how to lead his people, but I’d suggest treating the manor as a neutral village encountered, or something similar. The other delvers will probably be happy to tell you what they know, and thought there will be denizens to fight, it shouldn’t be anything beyond what a scout can easily handle.”
“Kinda small for an army,” comments a voice, and though the others look annoyed at the appraisal, Nimis goes rigid. She didn’t sense anyone nearby, but she knows that voice doesn’t belong to any of the lieutenants. Her eyes dart around before landing on the Crown Inspector, who smiles at her and points down. She follows his direction, but is baffled by what she sees.
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“A rat?”
“Not just any rat,” it replies with a prideful smirk. One of the other lieutenants kicks at it, but the rat vanishes, quickly appearing on the shoulder of the Crown Inspector, both smiling.
“Allow me to introduce Teemo, the Voice of Thedeim.”
“He can make shortcuts,” murmurs Nimis in awe, recognizing the advanced technique. She’s specialized in observation rather than trail blazing, but she hopes to be able to use the technique some day. The Knight-Captain looks intrigued while the lieutenants look confused, with the Voice preening under her awestruck gaze.
“I sure can. Anyway, I take it you guys aren’t the whole army? We saw a lot more of you coming in.”
The Knight-Captain glances at the Voice out of the side of his eyes for a moment before continuing. “These are my lieutenants. I am Knight-Captain Ross, leader of this company. The Crown Inspector suggested I forgo the standard procedure of a Dungeoneer report, and instead rely on my scouts. Ordinarily, that would be far too dangerous, but I’m told your territory is… much safer than usual.”
The Voice nods. “Not a single death. Well, a couple scythemaws, but they don’t count.”
“Tunnel horrors,” explains the Crown Inspector, earning uncomfortable reactions from them all.
The Knight-Captain looks unhappy, but continues. “Such beasts are truly dangerous. It’s unfortunately not surprising they would fell some adventurers.”
Teemo shakes his head. “No, they didn’t kill anyone. We killed a couple scythemaws. They show up as delvers for the Boss, but they don’t seem like they're actually smart. That’s why we don’t count them.”
Knight-Captain Ross is dumbfounded for several long seconds. “You’ve… delving tunnel horrors?”
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“Yeah. There’s two big watery areas deep below us, the Boss likes to call them the Underswamps and the Aquifer Lakes. There’s scythemaws in both, and they apparently come out into the caverns and tunnels connecting the two bodies of water to mate. The Boss doesn’t own any of either part, but he has a lot of the space between, so we had to deal with their mating season… around mid fall of last year or so, I think? Hmm… maybe late summer…”
Olander Wideblade earns gasps from the lieutenants when he bucks his shoulder, interrupting the Voice of the dungeon. Why would he try to upset the dungeon!? “Don’t tell them too much, yeah? The scouts need to do their jobs still.”
“Ah, yeah, fair. What’re the rest of the guys going to do while they do their thing?” Nimis gives the Voice a confused look. He’s not upset about being interrupted like that?
Olander Wideblade shrugs. “That’s up to the Knight-Captain, though I doubt he’ll want to send his men in without having a report of what to expect.”
The Voice eyes the Knight-Captain, rubbing his chin in thought. “Yeah, if we’re acting like a wargame, it’d be just stupid to send his people in without having some reconnaissance done. Oh!” He snaps his fingers and smiles as he apparently gets an idea. “They should try the Gauntlets!”
“Gauntlets?” echoes the Knight-Captain, and the Voice soon explains.
“You guys have probably done some kind of obstacle course, yeah?” At his nod, the Voice continues. “The Boss has two. One is a bit simpler, but they’re both designed to test basically everything except combat prowess. They don’t see as much use right now as in the past. I think the people who liked the mental challenge have mostly moved on to the Labyrinth, and there’s no shortage of physical challenge all over the place.”
Knight-Captain Ross looks intrigued. “Indeed? And it’s safe?” He directs his question to the Crown Inspector, who nods.
“You might have an encounter or two to get there, but the gauntlets are not combat areas.”
“The Boss says he’ll let you guys in there without any fights. No spoilers for the scouts, heh. You gonna bring all two-hundred or so for it, minus the scouts?”
Knight-Captain Ross gives the Voice a confused look. “Two hundred? I have one hundred fighting men and women, with the rest being support staff.”
“Yeah, all two hundred, counting them. Look, the Boss gets they’re not going to be the trained fighting force of your actual soldiers, but if it comes to a real fight, they’re going to be in danger anyway. Better to get them used to it, maybe get a leg up. You all see the civilian classes delving without much issue. Can your support people even handle a couple rats and a viper?”
Her Knight-Captain frowns, as do the lieutenants as they consider. Nimis is actually glad to be part of the scouts, and so doesn’t really have any support staff. She and her people are expected to be self-sufficient, able to spends days, weeks, even months in hostile territory on their own. “I see what you mean,” he admits. “But I won’t ask them to delve until my scouts give the clear.”
“That’s fair,” the Voice agrees, before Nimis interrupts with a shout of alarm.
“Wolf!”
The military personnel draw their weapons and take a defensive posture, though the Crown Inspector still looks calm. No, not calm: amused. “Warden Leo, everyone. Another of Thedeim’s Scions.”
That doesn’t exactly reassure them, and they all tighten their grips as the large wolf stalks closer. He stops just outside of their easy attack range, and takes a seat on the ground, his tongue lolling in a wolfish laugh at them.
“Not the best entrance if you want to ask them for a favor, Leo,” admonishes the Voice, earning a wuff from the intimidating wolf. More than his size and the way he carries himself, his gaze is intimidating. Those eyes are far too smart for her liking, even for a Scion.
“What favor?” asks Knight-Captain Ross, his sword still held forward, but his stance easing slightly as the wolf continues to simply sit there, watching.
“Leo is a bit of a tactician,” explains the Voice. “He was instrumental in the Boss dealing with Hullbreak, and the Maw, too.”
“The Maw?” asks the Knight-Captain, and Nimis is glad for it. That doesn’t sound like something that would be simple to fight, whatever it was.
The Voice shrugs. “It’s a bit long to explain right now. But just understand Leo knows a lot about organizing and supplying forces out in the field, and how to direct them to victory. And he’d like to do some wargames with you, if you allow it.”
“What do you mean by wargames?” asks her Knight-Captain, unable to keep the worry out of his voice.
“Just that. You guys can use lethal force, but we won't. It’ll cost the Boss some mana if you catch them outside, but that’s all the more incentive for him to not get caught. We can go over the details later, it looks like you don’t trust us very much yet. That’s fine. Talk to the people, talk to the delvers, scout us out. I think it’d be a good idea for all of us for each of our forces to get better.”
Nimis watches her Knight-Captain consider, with the other lieutenants watching as well. On the one hand, it could be an incredible training opportunity. They’ve done spars, individually and as groups, and they know how quickly it helps them to improve. But… this is a dungeon! They may be expected to train within it, but can it really understand the restraint required for what it’s suggesting?
Knight-Captain Ross looks close to a decision as he looks to the Crown Inspector. “What do you think, Sir Wideblade?”
“I think you don’t know the value of the gift being offered here.” He smirks and looks at Voice Teemo as well. “And I don’t know if Thediem appreciates what he’s offering, either. If he’s not careful, he might have His Highness sending the entire military here, desperate for the same deal.”
Nimis’ eyes widen at that. The Crown Inspector thinks such training could be that powerful?
“Then I graciously accept, though I would like my scouts to do their jobs before I agree to anything.”
Leo grins at that and stands, giving a bark over his shoulder as he goes. Teemo smiles wide and translates. “He says ‘Let the games begin.’ He wants his own scouts to get a feel for you, too. Don’t worry, though. He’ll use just wolves for now. You’re camped out around the site of the Hold, yeah?”
Knight-Captain Ross nods, looking a lot more confident than his lieutenants. “Then I shall ensure our camp is secure.”
Voice Teemo smiles at that, and holds out a hand, which the Knight-Captain fills with a finger. “Here’s to a good game then! If you guys can keep out the wolves, we’ll start using our actual scouts!”
Nimis does her best to hide her apprehension at that declaration. She’ll quietly inform the Knight-Captain once back at camp. She doesn’t doubt that them using wolves for scouts would be them playing nice, even as wolves are known for being sneaky when they want to be. The Voice is also a Scout. If any dungeon understands scouting, it’d be one with a scion like that.
