I Hate Dungeon School

I awoke to light filtering through the cracks in the fortress wall, the morning chill being held back by the lovely half-elf wrapping me in her arms.

I squirmed a bit, not wanting to awaken quite yet, but having the burning need to stretch and take care of other morning functions, I had to free myself.

Eira groaned a bit, but I was able to wiggle to freedom. I wrapped a blanket around myself, found a quiet spot outside to take care of things.

Doing such things in the wilderness was embarrassing, but at this point, I didn't really care. One thing I was quickly coming to terms with was that in the dungeoneering life, civilization's conveniences were a treasure just as much as gold.

I returned, blanket pulled tight against the cold, and the whiff of something delicious tasting brushed against my nose, causing me to drool nearly immediately.

It was meat. Proper meat, not jerky, fresh, and seasoned. Who? How? What?

My answer was quickly answered as I finally noticed Mariana was awake and sitting next to the fire. Over it, spitted on a stick, was some kind of creature.

Mariana noticed me and gave me a nod as I approached.

"Spell woke me up, saying there were intruders. Just some horned rabbits. Luckily, I packed some seasoning in my pack. They don't taste very good without some spice." She said, turning them over. There was five of them, which I found impressive.

"I didn't know you hunted," I said, sitting down with her.

"Its why I have the archery skills I do. Father loved hunting, and since none of my brothers enjoyed it, I picked it up, hoping to get some kind of attention from him. It didn't work, but it made surviving on my trip to Revenstahd easier." She said, her face darkening as she continued to turn her prize.

We sat there in silence, just the crackling of the fire, and the sound of wind through ancient stone filling the awkward quiet.

"What did you do? After they kicked you out, I mean." I asked, more to fill the silence than out of any curiosity.

Mariana shot me a sharp look before softening and sighing.

"It was rough. They didn't even leave me any coin, saying that it would go towards my debt to them. They likely sold everything I owned to collect what they felt I owed. I left with my clothes and my bow, and some arrows. I tried to get a job at the local adventuring guild, but they wouldn't even talk to me without some kind of certifications."

"That sounds right. Is that how you found out about Dungeon School?" I pressed. She nodded.

"Yeah. It sounded good, and I just needed to get away from home. As far away as I could get. Hunting training finally paid off, and I was able to keep myself fed. I kept pelts to sell when I got to Revenstahd. It was enough to get room and board."

"How did you afford the tuition? I used every last coin I had saved to afford it." It had been a question that had been bothering me for a while. It wasn't cheap to get into the school, and if she was as broke as she said, it would have been impossible.

"After I saw the tuition cost, I started working at the Sighing Rose. Started cleaning, moved up from there. So to speak, anyway." She grimaced. "I eventually was able to talk the school into letting me pay in installments if I agreed to help out in the offices. I do a lot of work outside of class." She smirked, a humorless expression.

I realized I had made a lot of assumptions about her situation. I had to admit, I was feeling a not insignificant amount of guilt. Especially about strong-arming her out of the money from the duel betting. Well, not that much guilt about that. I earned a share after all.

"So that's why you don't have many friends, huh?" I asked, far more bluntly than I meant. I cursed internally at my tactlessness.

"You really don't mince words, do you, Marchesi? Yes. I'm too busy for social stuff. I barely get time to train for that matter. The only teams I've been part of for classes have been assigned to me." She sat there for a moment. "I'm jealous of you, and your team. You've got a camaraderie that I could only dream of. I miss friends. I know the other noble girls were pretending, being friends with me because of my family status, but it was better than nothing."

"Is that why you want to go back? To see if you can go back to that life?" I could see the appeal. There were some things about that life I missed, as loath as I was to admit it.

She didn't say anything for a long while before simply nodding.

"What if it doesn't work?" I had to ask the obvious question.

"Then I go back. Maybe steal some stuff on the way out. I'm not above thievery, you know." She shot me a wicked smile. I believed her. I admitted I considered it myself.

Our conversation ended as the others began to wake up and join us.

"Ooooh! Real meat!" Myth cooed as she took a big sniff.

"Good work, Mariana! Good initiative! We'll need the energy for today. After we eat, we'll get to work." Helena said proudly. Mariana blushed at the praise, but smiled.

We ate quickly, with a minimum of chatter, our bellies the most important thing on our minds. We finished up, and we dressed in our thankfully dry clothes, armor, and checked out weapons.

We looked like a proper adventuring party. Smitty, our spear and shield defender, kobold. Myth, our leather-armed wood elf mage. Mariana, out elven priestess archer. Cori, our trap expert and crossbow archer. Eira, our Spellsong Pugilist with her spiked gauntlets. Helena Andritch, our teacher and dwarven axe master. All are powerful in their own right, despite the difference in experience levels between all of them.

And then there was me. A Sword-Witch with no magic, relying on a sword technique that usually needed magic to boost it. I was a liability.

I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. I had value. I deserved to be here, and not just because in a roundabout way this was my doing, even though it wasn't my fault. Circumstances conspired against me and led me to this point.

"Ok, professor, what first?" I asked, as we stood around our now extinguished fire.

"First thing we need to do is get a feel for the magic of the area. Now that we're rested, the magic users amongst us should be able to feel the ambient mana. It'll help when you balance your mana reservoirs. This doesn't apply to you, Alta, but this is useful info for the future. Myth, I believe you have the most sensitive mana reservoir of us, so if you would please." Helena held her hand towards Myth, indicating for her to proceed.

Myth closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes with concentration. She breathed in. Breathed out. Again. Again. Her brows began to furrow with effort. A bead of sweat began to form before being whisked away by the chill of the air.

Her eyes popped open.

"There's something wrong, Professor. I can't get a feel for the mana. Every time I reach out, there's like an absence. Darkness. Not like there's low mana, there's a gap. A hole where the mana should be. I'm not sure how to explain it." She said, her voice rising a bit with growing panic.

Andritch swore. And swore again.

"What's wrong? What does that mean?" Eira asked. If she didn't know this was an unusual situation. She had a full year of classes on us, and was learning to be an Extractor on top of that. Her dungeon knowledge was considerable compared to the rest of us.

"It's a caul! I should've known a fortress this old would have something living in it!" Helena swore and began to pace back and forth.

"What's a caul in this context? I know about it with baby cattle and the like, but what does that mean in magic speak?" Cori asked, her face looking between Myth, Eira, and Helena.

"It means that not only are there monsters in here, they're intelligent, with their own magic. And whatever it is, is awake." She answered.

Intelligent monsters were rare. They were usually powerful, leading hosts of other fiends and the like. They could do magic, plan ambushes, and more. They were usually the foes of knights, mercenaries, and proper adventurers.

"Should we leave?" Mariana's voice was full of fear. I didn't blame her for a moment.

"We can't. No time! The dungeon core is getting more unstable, faster than I expected. It might even be reacting to the caul. If we don't get this done today, it will turn into a Chaos Dragon and we can kiss the surrounding countryside goodbye. We have to handle this. I'm just not sure if we can!" Andritch sat on the ground and put her head in her hands.

This trip was dangerous enough, but the universe continued to heap complications on top of it.

I wasn't a religious woman, but I prayed to any god that was listening that we could figure this out.

"What do we do?" I couldn't keep the panic from my voice.

"You kneel, of course." A whisper crept into our minds from a voice without a voice.

We turned to see a figure emerging from the shadows.

"Don't bother praying, trespassers, and don't bother searching these ruins for me. Your death has delivered itself to you, personally." The whispering figure continued, its voice piercing our minds more than our ears.

The figure emerged fully into the light, cloaked in shadow and swirling ash. I could see an ancient skeletal figure, a pulsing gemstone in its rib cage like some kind of foul heart. Its skull was wreathed in a crown of lightless fire, and it radiated a sense of pure menace.

"Lich!" Smitty howled, readying her weapon and shield.

"Foolish cur. I said Kneel!" It's whisper turned into a roar.

My companions struggled but fell to their knees one by one. Except for me. I didn't feel a thing. Other than the fear of such a powerful being, my mind resisted its command. Resist wasn't the right word. Its spell was nothing but a word to me. There was no power behind it to me. What was happening?

"Curious. Most curious. Tell me, elf, what manner of abomination be ye? I must know before I send your soul to the hells." The skeleton cocked its head at me, quizzically, like a predator sizing up a meal.

I shored up my nerve, drew my sword, Ice Moon, its blue blade shining in the early morning light.

"One you don't screw with, bone boy!" I shouted, the juvenile insult echoing off the walls.

"Spirited, I see. Let's have some fun with this. I've been so bored for so long!" The skeletal head clacked as the formless voice cackled from it.

I just hoped my body could back up my bravado.