Chapter 1 - "What just happened?"

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Chapter 1 - "What just happened?"



My vision is blurry. The situation is irritating. Questions are popping up in my head one after another. This whole situation... It makes no sense. Wait! … [Is this maybe a dream?] If it is, it's damn realistic... No, this is weird, normally you would wake up as soon as you realize that you are dreaming. I'm not waking up...

A view minutes pass. I try to cool my head and understand what just happened, but questions keep popping up.  Or: [Why can't I remember my name, or who I am... or it’d be better to say who I “was”, before I got here.] Or: [Where the hell am I? What is this place?] and finally [Why am I able to think, but not able to move?]

With this I push forward, more unknowingly than purposefully, and hover through the room.

[Oh, so I CAN move!] I’d assumed I couldn’t because I’m missing a body. That leaves only one reasonable conclusion ... [I'm a Ghost!] Which means [... Crap...] I must have died! ... This is depressing. What's more depressing is the fact that I don't even remember "how" I died. And after my death my soul somehow ended up here. So what is this? Heaven? Hell? Nirvana? [How can I remember about all this stuff and not remember who I am?]

In the middle of my grumbling, I realize something that gives me a bit of relief: There is sunlight coming in through the entrance of the room I'm currently in. [Well there should hardly be any sunlight in hell, right? Which means this is... Heaven?] Shouldn't there be an angel to greet me, or something?

As I get used to move in three dimensions, I give the room a quick look around. It's a square room, about 5x5 meters big and it looks very old - like, ruins. There is some rubble lying near the walls but the walls themselves and the ceiling seem to be intact. [Wait, wasn't there something on that window about ruins?] The strange screen with the random information is already gone. [How can I make it appear again?] Just as I think that it pops up right in front of me. Well, however I did that, for now this is the best hint on where I currently am. [Let's see ...]

){}---------------------------------{}(
General Dungeon Information:

Dungeon name - ?????
Dungeon theme - Ruins (Special)
Dungeon rank - Z-
Number of floors - 1
Number of rooms - 1

Remaining DP - 2738
){}---------------------------------{}(

However I look at it, it's the information of a dungeon - the information of "this" dungeon, I suppose. I look around the messy room. There is just one door, leading outside. It really has just one floor and this one room? [A bit small for a dungeon!] There is also some random stuff on the floor, some of it looks fancy. [Could that be the dungeon’s treasure or something?] But shouldn't there be some monsters or guards around, to guard it? I look around one more time, to confirm that there is really no one else here ... [Wait!] a frightening thought rises in my head - or it would, if I had a head! [It's not like I was summoned as a ghost, to guard this treasure, right?] Well that's disturbing. But since there is nothing normal about this situation, it could as well be the case.

I let the thought circle around in my head for a while. If I was summoned, then by whom? There is no one here besides me! At least I think so ...

But just in case I really was summoned as a dungeon monster, to guard this stupid treasure, I better not piss off my master. I should at least hide it somewhere, so it can't just be grabbed by any passer-by. [Can a ghost even carry something?] I won't know until I try. I move near the so-called treasure and try to pick it up. Surprisingly it works, I can move it around freely, just by thinking about it. [Now, that's convenient!] It would be more convenient to have hands, though.

I look around and the best place to hide the stuff is behind some rocks, near the wall. As I move them one by one, I try to think about what is happening. It's still too much for me to grasp this unreasonable situation. How am I supposed to react to that!?

I finish my "work" by moving all the worthy-looking items behind a pile of rocks - but it’s still easy to find, if someone looks for it. Some kind of chest would be nice, but it would be more obvious that there is something to get here. It's strange, but I feel some kind of satisfaction from doing what I think I'm supposed to do. Like a feeling that I did the right thing. [ ... You see that, Dungeon-lord? I take my job seriously!] Maybe I will get a reward? ... ... ... There is no answer. [Typical! The higher ups don't care about the small people!]

A few more minutes pass by and I still can't think of a somewhat reasonable explanation for all of this. [Now what?] I look around the room once more. Now that I look closely, there is one more abnormal thing in here. It's a bright yellow crystal the size of a fist. [How come I didn't notice it before? Was it even there?] I'm pretty sure it was, but it didn't look out of place. How can something like that seem natural with all the light it emits? [Just what is that thing?] Even as I get closer and inspect it carefully, it just feels like that shiny orb simply belongs there. It doesn't feel strange to me at all, which actually makes it very strange!

[Fine ... Now there is really nothing to do here anymore.] If I can't get any satisfying answers here, then I'll look outside! That’s what I said, but as I try to move out of the room, I suddenly feel something like a force-field, that pushes me back. The more I try, the harder it pushes back. [What? Am I also a prisoner now? That's just great!] Does that mean I have to stay in this room for all eternity? [I won't accept that!] Sudden anger rises inside me. [You hear me, you crappy dungeon master? I will find a way to get out of here!]

Just as I let out some rage, my furious call is answered by a monotonous female voice:

???: [Warning! Hostile entities are close to the dungeon entrance.]

Now I've done it ... [What the ... wait. Who are you? Are you the master of this place?] Nothing but tense silence fills the room. I give it another try: [Are you punishing me? What hostile "entities"? ... Where?] As I ask, a 3-dimensional map appears in front of me. [At least some kind of response ...] In the middle of the map, there is a ruined watchtower on a small hill, and around it is a dense forest in - what I think is - the north direction, and plains and hills with a few trees on the other side. Following the edge of the forest, there is a thin path, passing by the tower. And there is movement. As I try to look closer, the map zooms in on that area. It seems I can control it with my mind, the same way as I move items around.

On the path there are three men with leather armor and short swords. They are clothed in the same fashion and have some kind of insignia on their backs - a black dagger, that is covered in thorny veins, with a purple rose on top of it - which leads to the conclusion that they belong to an organization. They also have two dogs with them, who are sniffing the ground furiously and dragging the armed guys behind them.





Wait, what am I thinking? [People! There are actually people here! Thank goodness, I thought I would be alone for all eternity ...]

As I watch them getting closer, I notice something else moving in the forest. I can't see clearly what it is, but it's fast.

The humans have almost reached the entrance by now. I can hear them talking already.

Soldier 1: "Man, we really shouldn't go that far by ourselves."

Soldier 2: "Easy, they are just untrained ex-slaves. We can handle them. And don't forget that we also have the dogs. It will be an easy play."

[Who are they talking about?] They mentioned ex-slaves, could they maybe be head-hunters, or even slave-catchers? [I don’t think I want to get involved with them ...]

Soldier 3: "He's not worried about the slaves, you idiot! He is worried about the lizard-man tribes in this area. After they got smoked out of the swamps, the bastards settled in the woods around here."

Soldier 2: "Ah, crap, they moved to this area?"

Soldier 1: "Exactly, let's quickly check out the ruins and then head back to the main unit. If the damn thieves went any further they are dead by now anyway."

Soldier 3: "Good point."

[First Slaves and now it's thieves and lizard-men?] As I try to combine the bits and pieces I gathered from their talk into useful information, their dogs begin to bark like crazy.

Soldier 3: "What's the matter?"

Soldier 2: "I'm not sure, but they smell something inside that tower!"

Soldier 1: "The damn thieves are still here! Don't let them escape!"

They let the dogs off their leashes and rush to the entrance. There are obviously no slaves or anything in here, but if I’m the guardian of the place, they don’t leave me a choice ... [So, you want a fight? You can have it!] Let's see how you guys fight against a ghost!

Their two dogs come to the entrance first. Barking furiously, they jump around the doorstep, but do not dare to enter. [You know what you are up against, huh?] I move to the middle of the room and just wait for them. I can't get out of here anyway, so I might as well give them all I have ... whatever that may be. [I don't even know if I can fight in this state...]

The three men arrive shortly after. They also stop at the entrance, and we are all just standing there for a few moments, staring at each other. The situation became really tense, it could explode at any moment ...

Soldier 2: "Just what is that thing? ..."

[Hey, who are you calling a "thing", you dumbass?]

Soldier 1: "No clue, never seen somethin' like that ..."

Soldier 3: " ... I know what it is, I've seen it once before, in my time as a dungeon-diver... that thing is a dungeon-core..."

Soldier 2: "Wait, what?"

I just now realized that they are not looking at me at all, they are looking at the shiny, yellow sphere behind me. [So, they can't even see me?] Judging from their reaction, they can't hear me either.

Soldier 1: "So, someone hid a dungeon-core in an abandoned tower? Why?"

Soldier 3: "No, this is not some dead core from a dead dungeon. This one is alive!"

Soldier 2: "You being serious now?"

Soldier 3: "I wouldn't joke about that!"

[So this is what that shiny thing is ...]

Soldier 1: "But isn't a dungeon supposed to be several floors big and have hundreds of rooms, and monsters, and stuff?

Soldier 3: "This is probably a very new one."

Soldier 2: "So, what should we do about it?"

Soldier 3: "We need to ..."

At that point he gets interrupted by a loud screeching sound that seems to come from all sides. It resembles the noise a rusty door would make. The three soldiers turn around in surprise. At the same time several creatures that look like giant lizards with spears jump out of their cover. [What are these guys, and when did they get there?] There are clearly too many things happening right now, I can't keep up with the events. Who are the bad guys? Who should I aid, if it comes to it? [I have no freak’n' idea!]

Soldier 3: "Get inside!"

Soldier 2: "You sure about that?"

Soldier 3: "We can't face them all at once and the room seems empty, there is no choice!"

[Stay the hell out of here, keep your troubles for yourself!]

Soldier 1: "We're gonna die here ..."

[You're damn right about that! Don't make a mess while you do!] The three men quickly jump through the entrance and their dogs follow them. A batch of wooden spears fly through the entrance, but the soldiers dodge them skillfully.

Soldier 3: "Don't let them through the door, we can't allow them to surround us!"

The one who gives the commands must be the leader. They raise their wooden shields and prepare for close combat, as some of the Lizard-like creatures storm towards the entrance. Their unusual weapons seem to be made out of wood and bones for the most part. They crash in the soldiers' defensive formation and exchange the first swings and parries. The soldiers strike back at the leader's command. One of the lizards get hit, the others jump back. More spears are flying from the back row. It's just now that I notice how many of the Lizards there are. There must be at least ten that I can see through the entrance. I could probably check on the map if there are more, but I can't avert my eyes from the spectacle.

The shield of a soldier got hit by two spears almost simultaneously, and he got thrown to the ground by the impact. The shield is unusable now. The Lizards try to jump through the gate again but one of them gets impaled by the commander's sword right away. The other one gets blocked by the shield of another soldier. Two more Lizards jump through the door and force the soldiers further inside the room. The dogs that were standing back and barking until now join the skirmish. It gets chaotic and I'm not able to follow the tide of the battle anymore. The fight continues for about 10 minutes, until the commander is pierced by several spears and bone-swords, near the dungeon core.

For a few moments things become silent, as the remaining Lizards start to check if their fallen brothers are really dead. Some of them aren't.

And then, something really strange happens ...

One of the lizards - the one who died first - starts to glow in a dim yellow light, and disappears moments after into countless yellow particles of light, which then slowly move through the room towards the dungeon core. Obviously, it doesn't stay unnoticed. At first I think that maybe this is a natural occurrence, but seeing how they were actually more surprised by it than I was, I doubt it. As the last light particles were absorbed by the core (which gave me a warm, satisfying feeling for some reason), the lizards become noisy. They start talking loudly all at once, and seem to discuss something important. Sadly, I don't understand a single word of what they are saying. They become silent again as the same phenomena happens with the next dead body. After that the biggest individual among them shouts something, and they hastily move out of the room and take the injured with them.

Following that, the remaining 7 bodies disappear one after the other in the exact order in which they died. The lizard-people crowd the entrance and watch what happens with wide-opened eyes the whole time. They don't seem scared about it, or sad about their fallen comrades, just fascinated... Not less than I am ...

During the fight and even now, there was nothing I could do. I don't even know how to react to all that chaos. [Just what in the whole world is happening?]


Prolog < Chapter 1 > Chapter 2

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6 comments:

  1. lizards start treating him as a local land god, humans searching for solders that didn't come back find tower slaughter lizard people go to kill the dungeon but get chased out by lizard reinforcements. dungeon expands under protection of lizard people?
    or something like that :3 eventually people forget about the dungeon and when the lizards are forced out by human expansion the dungeon is re purposed as a training center, temple, or something else because the dungeon has more floors and they don't explore the bottom layers to deeply. naughty brats explore dungeon and befriend it. dungeon learned to project himself into a physical form but still can't leave dungeon territory, and decides to start focusing on his past, and a way to leave the dungeon behind him with his new friends. other humans find out and end up finding out about the dungeon, but spare him because the past record of nonviolence with the kids, and because he hasn't been a problem yet. he is kept secret from anyone not involved with the incident and covered up from the public to avoid panic.
    ends up making a deal with city peoples to help expand infrastructure and rebuild the city in event of disaster and becomes a part of the city itself even if the people don't know it.
    he is now a part of the city and regularly converses with the mayor about any projects becoming an adviser of sorts but mostly just helps out with some things around the castle and keeping monsters out of the city where the guards can't.
    stuff happens? idk i'm not really good with the whole writing stories thing. have fun with this but you don't have to use it it's embarrassing? gaah w/e idc.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You say, that you are not good with writing stories but have you ever considered trying it? Because your Ideas are great! REALLY!
      I like the way you think, and i really consider going with it for now. The Lizards worshiping the Dungeon ... This is hilarious. I already have Ideas for a background story of why they do that. I totally gonna use that! :D

      I will copy your entire Post to the "Ideas" page here, so it will be easier to see for everyone: http://living-dungeon.blogspot.de/p/ide.html

      Delete
    2. i got ideas but when i start thinking about the small stuff i get lost T.T
      i haven't tried writing anything in a while though, i have an accn't on royalroad but i'm just a lurker and haven't made any posts <3

      Delete
    3. I know, how you feel! XD
      Well as soon as the first characters with names are introduced to the storry, i my give them off to be claimed. If a reader claims a character, he/she has some influence on how he is developing, how he sees the world, how he feels about cetrain things. Probably someone may even tell their background storry or explain, how the char became the way he is. If done with care, this could even be made as a side storry. ;)

      At least that is the Plan. lets see how it works out. :D

      Delete

What kind of character did Argos have?

What was needed to bring Argos down?

How should slavery be handled in the world?

How should the dungeon advance in the near future?

Haw scarce should magic be in the world?

What Name should the Dungeon get in the future?

Should the Protagonist remember his past?