Goblinsbane Ch. 03: Dungeon Crawl

The party of adventurers - one experienced, four new - rode toward the Fallen Fort of Falo Forest, which was something that no sane person would want to do. They had just survived a battle with vicious, ape-like orcs, and they were sure to encounter more monsters that would want them dead at their destination. But like all adventurers, the group rode directly into danger and away from safer, more sensible life choices.

Sister Sabine kept her cool on the outside in spite of the anxious energy building up within her. She felt as though she would burst. Not only was she about to experience something new, she was doing this in service to Mirea. At that moment, she couldn't think of anything more thrilling.

In addition to that, this foray into the fort would be another opportunity to learn more about Eredwal, whom the common folk around Vesper named the Goblinsbane. So far, she had seen how effective he was at killing goblins and their kin; he was effective enough to deserve his title. While that, alone, was worthy of a bard's tale or two, she suspected there was more to him and more to being an adventurer than fighting monsters in the Falo.

Sabine hoped that the so-called 'dungeon crawl' they were about to embark upon would be an opportunity to learn other aspects of adventuring.

The priestess watched the Bashaan Twins out of the corner of her eye. She had no trouble guessing how the two youngest members of their party felt - both of them were practically bouncing on their saddle. Akam, who rode with his arms around his sister Maka's waist, had been talking non-stop about the dungeon crawl for the past half-hour.

"You know what I hope to find in the fort?" Akam asked no one in particular. "A gray slime. I've heard stories about them, but have never seen one. I want to see one."

"Trust me, little brother, you don't," Maka said as she re-tied her long, black hair into a tight topknot. "For one thing, you wouldn't be able to hurt it."

"Sure I would! They're slow, so they'd be easy to hit."

"What would you hit, exactly? Slimes have no vital organs. If you shot an arrow into one, it'd sink, harmlessly, into its body, and you'd be out an arrow. What's worse, if it caught you, it would drown you inside of it, then slowly digest you."

Akam made a disgusted face, but since he was seated behind his sister, she did not see it. "How do you know so much about slimes?"

"I've read about them. You'd know all of this, too, if you listened to me and read more. I have a book about slimes and other weird monsters back in our apartment, so you can look through it when we get back."

"Feh. I don't need to read to learn about monsters. I'll learn through experience! And by listening to what fellow adventurers have to say. Real adventurers don't need books; isn't that right, Goblinsbane?"

Eredwal - the black-clad warrior and leader of the party, which Sabine assumed was a role he often took - answered without glancing back at them. "Maka is right. You should read about monsters whenever you get a chance. If you charge into a fight with a slime without knowing what it's capable of and how to kill it effectively, you'll end up getting digested."

Maka twisted around in the saddle to give her twin a look that screamed, 'I told you so!'

Akam gave her the stink eye, then asked a follow-up question to his mentor. "How do you kill a slime, then?"

"Fire works well, especially if it's magical," Eredwal replied. "Ice works even better. Freeze the things solid, then shatter them into pieces. If you don't have access to fire or ice, just run past them; like you said, they're slow. Folks who get killed by slimes are the ones who got surprised by them.

"Read your sister's book. I knew how to kill a slime before I ever saw one, because I read about it."

"You should read a book on manners, next," quipped Kassus, the tall, armored man who'd been Sister Sabine's guard for many years and her friend for much longer.

Eredwal blurted out a laugh. "Wow, that was really good, Kassus. I thought you had rocks for brains, but wit like that couldn't come from a pile of rocks."

Although Eredwal insulted him - as he was wont to do - Kassus turned to Sabine and flashed her a grin that parted his thick, curly, black beard. It was obvious he was proud of himself. She smiled back, glad that the two of them were getting along, at least for the moment.

The rest of the ride to the Fallen Fort of Falo Forest was uneventful. Sister Sabine was thankful for that, for recent events made her think that running into goblins or orcs was inevitable in the Falo. She had been on her guard the entire ride.

She guessed that this was a price you had to pay when you went off on an adventure: constant vigilance. But she wondered at what point did constant vigilance become paranoia.

In the early afternoon, they arrived at the Fallen Fort, which was built atop a low hill surrounded by trees. Sister Sabine could only begin to guess why anyone would erect a fort here. There was no visible road; their horses had been trotting over roots, shrubs, and bare earth ever since they met up with the Bashaans. With no road, there was no trade route nor military route to protect. She guessed that there was a road here, once, but it must have been covered up by earth and time.

"What possible reason could there be to build a fort here?" Sabine asked out loud as she dismounted. Due to decades on the road, she dismounted with well-practiced ease, even though her brand new breastplate still felt cumbersome.

"I see no reason," Kassus replied as he, too, dropped from his saddle. Although he was decked out in plate armor that covered him from neck to toe, he moved as though he were unarmored. "Whoever decided on this spot must have been mad."

Once everyone was dismounted and all their horses were tied down, Eredwal slid on his helmet and lead them around the perimeter of the fort. He did not need to explain what they were doing for Sabine to understand that they would scout the fort before entering. More specifically, Eredwal was about to put Akam's scouting abilities to the test.

"What do you see, Akam?" Eredwal asked. His helm covered much of his face, but his eyes and his mouth were still visible.

The half-elf teenager was ready with an answer. "I see a wall around the keep that originally had one entrance: its south-facing gate. But the walls have crumbled in a few places, and other points of entry have opened up. There's one over there," he pointed at a narrow gap in the ancient, gray stone wall.

"Good." Eredwal stopped walking, and the group gathered around him. "Can all of us get through that opening?"

"No. Maka and I probably could, because we're thin enough. You're bigger than us, but you might be able to get through if you take off that bulky coat of yours. The sister would be able to get through, but she'd have to take off her armor, too. And there's no way Kassus would be able to get through, armor or not."

Eredwal nodded, a ghost of a smile on his lips. "Good. We won't be entering that way, then. What else do you see?"

While Akam described what else he saw, Sabine decided to participate in this exercise, too. Although she wasn't a scout, and although she wasn't the one being instructed by Eredwal at that moment, she figured it would still be productive to learn whatever she could, whenever she could. Thus, she tried to see the fort through the eyes of a scout.

What she noticed above all else was how the earth attempted to reclaim the structure. Vines crawled all over its gray walls, and atop those walls were thick mounds of dirt from which tall weeds grew. Sabine could only guess how many centuries the Fallen Fort had existed, and she could only begin to guess how long it would take before the Falo swallowed it up, completely.

As Akam had pointed out, the outer wall had fallen apart in a few places. The group walked around a tower that had toppled over long ago. Sabine surmised it was the ravages of time - rather than an enemy assault - that caused those parts to crumble.

The history of this place made the priestess wonder: Who occupied this fort before it had fallen? Why did they abandon it? What purpose did it serve out here, where there seemed to be nothing except roving bands of goblins, orcs, and other beasties she would rather not think about? And what, if anything, dwelled within the fort now? A new sense of dread began to bubble up within her, but for the moment that dread was drowned out by her excitement, as well as her desire to fulfill her promise to the Harvest Mother.

"We can take a look around and try to find secret passages," Akam said. His comment snapped Sabine out of her musings. "Or we can take the obvious route and enter through the front door."

"I can tell you right now that there is a secret entrance into the Fallen Fort of Falo Forest, but it's a real pain in the ass to find," Eredwal said. "For the sake of time, we'll just go in through the front." No one in the party questioned that decision, although Sabine did wonder why everyone, including her, felt compelled to use the full name of the fort whenever they said it out loud.

The group passed through the main entrance. It once comprised two doors made of iron and wood - doors that were so heavy that a team of men were needed to open or close them. There used to be a portcullis that could be lowered behind the doors, as well. When the doors were shut and the portcullis lowered, the Fallen Fort's wall was difficult to breach.

But that was long ago. Now, one of the double doors had fallen off its rusted hinges, and the portcullis lay on the ground, useless. The group passed through the gate without any trouble, although Kassus and the twins watched the standing door, warily, as though they were worried it would fall on top of them right as they passed by. Everyone stepped over the portcullis, which had weeds and grass growing in between its brown bars.

Between the outer wall's gate and the fort itself was a courtyard. Like the rest of the land all around, the courtyard was overgrown with tall grass that the party stepped through or on. They passed by a statue of an armored figure riding atop a warhorse. Sister Sabine, Maka, and Kassus each stared at the figure's face, but countless years of exposure to the elements had eroded its once carved features into something unrecognizable. Even the statue's upraised sword had been eroded into a stub of a weapon.

"It looks like he's holding an ear of corn," Maka observed.

Kassus chuckled. "It kind of does."

Unlike the outer wall's gate, the fort's double doors were still in place, looking as sturdy as ever. Sister Sabine thought that their condition was odd. Why did everything about the fort appear to be ancient except the front door?

Akam did not need Eredwal to remind him to investigate the door. He jogged ahead of the others and gave it a close inspection.

"See anything?" Eredwal asked after several seconds.

"No. It's clear." Akam tried the door, but it was locked. Without skipping a beat, he knelt down, removed his backpack, and rummaged inside until he found a small kit.

Sabine peered over Akam's shoulder, trying to see what he was doing. "What are you looking for, Akam?"

"He just checked the door for traps." Maka was the one who answered, for her brother was too focused on what he was doing. "Now, he's trying to pick the lock."

Kassus nodded in approval. "Handy skill to have."

"Yeah," Eredwal said without taking his eyes off of the metal tools Akam had inserted into the door's lock. "When you form your party for a dungeon crawl, you've gotta make sure at least one person knows how to find traps and how to pop open locks. Otherwise, the crawl will be over before it's even begun."

"What happens if the door is barred on the other side?" Sister Sabine asked.

"Don't worry," Eredwal replied. "It isn't"

Sabine wondered why Eredwal was so sure about that. She also wondered how he knew about the supposed secret passage. Maybe he was making that part up?

Sabine had a follow-up question. "By the way, why is this door in such good condition compared to everything else?"

"It just is."

Before the priestess could ask the Goblinsbane more, Akam laughed in triumph, removed his tools from the lock, and tried the door again. It creaked open.

"I did that quick!" Akam bragged.

Maka patted her brother's mohawk, which closely resembled Eredwal's. "Yes, you did. Good job." She opened the door and peeked inside. As she did, she removed a small moonstone from a hard leather case attached to her belt. Holding the round, white stone out in front of her, she spoke a single word - "Lux" - which made the stone emit a bright, white light.

Sabine anticipated the glow, and was thus able to avert her gaze in time. Kassus, on the other hand, was staring right at the stone when its light burst to life.

"Agh, damnit!" Momentarily blinded, the guard shielded his eyes with a gauntleted hand, even though it was too late. Next to him, Eredwal chuckled.

"Sorry." Maka gave Kassus an apologetic look that he couldn't see. Then, with only her arm past the door's threshold, she used her magical light to pierce the darkness.

The moonstone's light revealed a large room just beyond the door. The room would have been empty if not for the decorative shields that hung from the gray stone walls and the crisscrossed swords fastened behind them. In addition to the double doors that lead to the outside, the room had two other doors - one to the left and one to the right. Maka shone her light up to the ceiling, as well as to the left and right, which revealed nothing except a few empty torch sconces and air filled with floating dust.

"It looks clear," she said before she opened one of the front doors all the way, then stepped inside. Akam was right behind her. Eredwal opened the other door to let even more of the outside light in. Before stepping inside, Eredwal opened the other door to allow even more of the outside light in. When he entered, he had his war hammer, Akarimei, held at the ready.

Before entering, Sister Sabine said a quick prayer to Mirea, asking her goddess for guidance. Beside her, Kassus whispered a prayer of his own while he unsheathed his blade. Seeing him do that reminded the priestess that now would be a good time to ready the Morning Star - the holy artifact given to her by the Mirean priestesses of Vesper. Her imagination ran wild with images of the creatures that could be lurking in the darkness. But at the same time, she had faith that her goddess would protect them.

Akam was already checking the next door, aided by his sister's magical light. It was then that Sabine remembered one of the only powers she was certain the Morning Star possessed. She held the artifact in front of her face, closed her eyes, and whispered a new prayer.

"Mirea, Mother of All. Radain Brih, Dawn Father. Please Light the way."

The gold-plated head of the Morning Star became sheathed in white-gold light. Although the light brightened the entire room, the glow from the mace was soft on the eyes. When Sister Sabine opened her eyes, she discovered that she could stare at the mace without discomfort.

Kassus dropped to a knee and prayed at the sight of the holy glow. Maka and Akam both stared at mace. Eredwal whistled, appreciatively.

"Nice mace," Akam said.

"It's more than simply 'nice', Akam. What she has in her hands is quite powerful." There was a gleam to Maka's eyes that was more than just the mace's glow reflecting off her pupils. Sabine could tell that she was using her Mage Eye - an ability that all mages were taught early in their training so they could detect magic and ascertain the properties of magical objects.

"Okay, so it's a nice, powerful mace," Akam corrected himself. "By the way, this door is safe." He tried the door's handle and discovered that it was unlocked. Still exercising caution, the young half-elf opened the door all the way. What they saw past the door was a wide hallway made of gray stone. The way was lit by burning torches that hung from sconces along the right side of the hall.

"Wait, why are these lit?" Kassus asked as he peered down the hall.

"The Fallen Fort of Falo Forest, like most dungeons, always has lit torches," Akam answered before stepping into the hall. Maka followed right behind him. With another whispered word, she shut off the light of her moonstone then tucked it into its case.

"Why are they always lit?" Sabine asked. Feeling somewhat disappointed that her glowing mace was not useful at that moment, she thought about shutting the glow off. As though it read her mind, the mace dimmed, but its light did not fade completely.

"They just are," Eredwal answered.

"I'm not satisfied with that answer. Surely there must be an explanation? Furthermore, why is the hall so clean? There should be more dust and debris than this in a fort that had fallen centuries ago."

"Allow me to save you a headache, Sister," Eredwal said without taking his eyes off of Maka and Akam. Akam appeared to be checking for more traps while Maka withdrew a wand from the satchel at her side. "Nobody knows why dungeons have torches or lanterns or chandeliers that are always lit. They just do. And nobody knows why some dungeons are clean.

"Don't bother trying to figure out why. Just accept it as the way things are, and focus on what's important: getting out of here alive and richer than when we started."

The Goblinsbane stepped into the hall. Sister Sabine and Kassus shared a look. Kassus shrugged. Then the two of them followed the others.

"Doesn't it worry you?" Sabine whispered after she caught up with Eredwal. "Maybe monsters lit the torches so they could see us and prepare an ambush?"

"That's possible," Eredwal replied. "But they wouldn't need to light any torches to see us coming. If it was all dark, they'd be able to see your shiny mace or Maka's moonstone from a league away. Besides, most monsters can see in the dark, no problem.

"Like I said, just accept it. You'll go crazy if you try to figure out something that no adventurer has ever been able to figure out. I'm speaking from experience, here."

"So you were curious about this, too, at one point?"

"Sure. Curiosity is part of human nature, right? I racked my brain trying to figure it out when I was a rookie. But the bottom line is, it doesn't matter who or what lit these torches or cleaned the place up. It could be monsters waiting to ambush us. This whole place could be enchanted. Maybe there's a dungeon imp that visits every dungeon between every crawl to sweep the place up and make sure all the lights are lit for the next party. In the end, it doesn't really matter to us."

Sabine blinked in surprise. "Wait a moment - 'the next party'? Other adventurers have been here?"

"Yeah, of course. Probably hundreds of different parties have been through here before us. Maybe a lot more than that."

"Why are we here, then?" Kassus asked. "If so many others have been here before us, wouldn't all the monsters be dead?"

Eredwal sighed. "No, because dungeons always have monsters. Even if you take the time to clear out every single room, the monsters eventually come back."

Sabine had more follow-up questions, but before she could ask any, Eredwal cut her off. "I don't mean to sound rude, but let's take a break from all the questions, huh? Let's focus on the crawl, and when we get out of here I'll happily answer any other questions you've got. Okay?"

Although he said he would happily answer other questions, he didn't sound happy at all.

"Very well, Goblinsbane," Sabine said with a patient smile.

Maka and Akam were stopped in the middle of the hall. Akam, kneeling, analyzed the floor for something while Maka kept her eyes down the hall. Eredwal stopped behind Akam, peered over his shoulder, and whispered, "What have you found?"