Re: Expedition to the Dungeon of Lust
Well, it looks like the argument is done for.
The crowd has spoken! A has been chosen
Chapter 3: The Sword of Promised Victory
A blade to defend the weak. A call to gather the strong. A fire to light the darkness. That's what Louise was to me. If it had not been for the curse of the dungeon, she would have surely led us all to victory in stalwart fashion. She was the hero we deserved... - excerpts from the Last Papers of the Scholar Eleanor d'Salve
Louise sipped her ale quietly as the chaos continued around her. Laughter and screaming -and was that a little moan from Olivia?- filled the hall. She couldn't help but smile. After Olivia's return, with a former adventurer no less, the mood of the place had been beyond hopeful. Triumphal, perhaps. But as much as Louise partook in it, there was something nagging at the back of her head: That the next one might not be so lucky. After all, Olivia had the help of the gods. Louise? Louise had her sword arm, and even then she knew others who were greater in strength and speed. The elf, for example. Speaking of...
"So you're the one who they say is leaving," Kyrie said. She smirked ever so slightly. Louise grinned back at her, pretending that Kyrie wasn't utterly loathesome.
"Of course. I can't let the servants of the gods show me up. I'm a scion of the noble house of Valliere, reknowned throughout the land."
"I've never heard of them," Kyrie sniffed, "my line has lasted twelve thousand years, and I am the granddaughter of a king." Kyrie looked with smirking pride, one-upping Louise oh so easily. But then Ellie snickered, and Louise' attention drifted over to her.
"Yes, a king, indeed. A disgraced king, who sold gave his eldest daughter to an orc warlord for peace," Ellie said, teasing. "Was that your mother?"
Kyrie's sword was drawn before anyone could react. Anyone but Louise, that is. Her own sword dashed forward, colliding with and deflecting Kyrie's before it could skewer Ellie! The bespectacled girl's eyes widened in fear, but neither of the two veterans saw it. Their eyes focused solely on each other.
"Back down, Kyrie," Louise said calmly. "You don't want this."
Kyrie sneered, sword still drawn. "Fool. If I so chose, you'd join me in killing the wretch in an instant. I swear upon my ancestors I will-" the elf stopped mid-sentence and collapsed onto the ground. Louise glanced over at Ellie, her breathing heavy. She smiled.
"She may be able to charm, but I can put the bitch to bed," she said with a chuckle.
Louise sighed and kicked the elf's sword out of her hand before tying her up.
"Hey, is everything alright over there? Do you need any -mmph!" Olivia, sitting in the corner table with Melany, was silenced by her paramour's kiss. "Pay them no heed, love. It's just a barfight... you have something much more interesting to look at," Melany said with a chuckle, before continuing her lewd ministrations towards the priestess.
Louise sat back down with a sigh, and took another sip of her ale.
***
Morning. The entrance of the dungeon, normally silent and cold, was filled with people, seemingly all the townsfolk. There was Olivia and Melany on one side. Ellie on the other as she passed by. Kyrie hadn't shown up at all, but at the dungeon entrance, standing beside it, leaned a new figure, the quiet foreigner who had drifted into town sometime in the last week. Louise stopped for a moment and glanced at her.
"Come to think of it, I don't even known your name, stranger," Louise said.
"Mikasa," was all the mystic had to say.
"Well met, then," Louise said. Mikasa simply nodded. And then, Louise stepped forth.
The Dungeon Entrance
The chamber was surprisingly small, more like a lobby than anything else. She was reminded of some of the churches she had visited, which had a small antechamber that fed into the main hall, a sort of waiting and greeting area to prevent the masses from seeing the higher mysteries. It even looked something like one of those, with its low ceiling, furnished rugs and unlit candles. It looked like the priest of this place had merely stepped out for the night, as though this wasn't an abandoned dungeon at all.
Louise saw that there was a single door beyond, and took it without hesitation. What she saw next made her gasp. The room wasn't anything like what she expected. Instead, it was almost a trap. In the center of the grand chamber was a statue of the lust goddess, a being mostly nude in the way most classical statues were. But what was most strange was that the face was that of Louise herself. She gritted her teeth. There were murals on the walls, all of them showing lewd situations, sex and more sex. And the women all looked like Louise. She balled her hands into fists.
"Do you think this is funny?" Of course the dungeon surely did.
"I cannot speak for the goddess... but we do!" Louise gasped. Two dwarves stepped out from behind the statue, armed with axes. They did not speak another word, instead preferring to charge! Louise raised her shield and blade, ready to fight, if they weren't ready to talk!
Round 1
Initiative... 6 vs. 1, Louise wins!
But nonetheless, Louise was faster, charging forth with a scream that startled the twin dwarves long enough for her to make her strike.
Attack roll... 10! Miss
But unfortunately, these twin dwarves were well armored as well, and though she was faster, her blade struck only metal.
"Damn you!"
She backed off enough so they couldn't surround her, but two enemies, side by side was quite the danger.
Attack roll... 10! 11! Miss
Their axes clashed against her shield, making even her bones ring from the blow. But no damage was done.
Round 2
Initiative... 2 vs 2! Simultaneous Action!
She darted forward, her blade charging forth... only to meet opposing blades as well!
Attack roll... 19! Louise hits! 7 damage! 14! Miss! 20! Hit! 2 damage!
Louise managed to block the axe of the opponent to her right... but the one she struck, to the left? Not so lucky. Even as her blade stabbed through the dwarf's heart, his ax hit true, cutting into her side! But the damage wasn't so severe, she could still fight, and as she pulled her blood-covered blade from the dwarf, he fell, dead. She smiled, her bloodlust growing, and turned towards the second dwarf!
"Still think this is funny?!"
Morale roll... 4
"Kinda, yeah!" It wasn't the same dwarf as who spoke before, she could tell from the voice. He readied his axe and lunged!
Round 3
Initiative... 5 vs 5! Simultaneous Action!
Attack roll... 6! Miss! 12! Miss!
Ax and longsword met in battle, and for several seconds, they held each other off. Ten seconds. Their battle was intense, blade scraping against scale mail, axe slamming against shield. But neither side gave in.
Round 4
Initiative... 4 vs 3! Louise wins!
Finally, Louise found the dwarf's rhythm, and broke through, giving a brief feint to the left before striking from the villain's right!
Attack roll... 19! HIT! 6 damage!
Her blade struck true, nearly severing one of the dwarf's arms. But it wasn't enough. Though badly bleeding, the dwarf was still ready to fight. And it struck back!
Attack roll... 11! MISS!
However, Louise was able to easily back away out of range. The dwarf panted, its blood leaking all over the place. Louise was ready to go in for the kill.
Round 5
Initiative... 4 vs 2! Louise wins!
Her blade flashed in the light, and...
attack roll... 18! HIT! 2 damage!
...finished the dwarf with a stab down the neck into the body. He slumped off the blade, and Louise couldn't help but feel a smile on her face. She won, two on one, against warriors without a doubt greater than common goblins. Soon she was laughing.
In the minutes after the fight, as she began to stitch up her wound, she found that this chamber had four doors... except at the statue where the dwarves came from. She turned around, and from behind... there was a stairwell. She peered down, and gasped. A veritable treasure vault! Ten thousand pieces of gold... she wandered down, not even afraid of the danger. These two dwarves must have hoarded massive amounts of treasure from the dungeon for themselves. But then there was a BANG!
Another door, with an opening. Bars across it. She glanced inside... eight women! Not adventurers, not heroes. Not anymore. But eight women who had fallen victim to this dungeon, all within.
"Take heart, I'm here to rescue you," Louise said, and then came the cavalcade of women's cries of hope.
"Um, it wouldn't also be too much to ask for your help carrying all of this treasure out through the front door, would it?" Louise chuckled to herself as they said yes. Oh, this was too easy. Almost as though random chance had favored her beyond all.
Of course, this wasn't all the treasure she found. A magical blade; gauntlets that gave her the strength of an ogre (or a prissy elf who won't be named here!); a magical shield; a scroll whose magic she absolutely couldn't read; but most important to our future playing, a treasure map, to be described in detail later. It showed a path through the dungeon that led to wonders.
***
Louise returned through the entrance of the dungeon scarcely an hour and a half after entering. And she came bearing eight rescued women, decked out in magical items galore, carrying ten thousand gold pieces. She promptly gained the four thousand gold bounty on the women's rescue, and all were amazed.
She'd pulled the haul of the century, but that was just the beginning. For within the map which she'd unearthed, there was the promise of something even greater, deep within...
Chapter 3 End
Well, that didn't go as planned. The dice were stupidly kind today. And the treasure, too. I've never seen such an outrageous haul. For a group of four or more, it'd be enough to bring everyone to level two, easy. But for a singular individual? This is the difference between being a level one peon and earning your own plantation, practically.
Louise is now level 4, and her level title is, appropriately enough, hero. You'll see her amazing power soon enough, and I'll give you all a vote for the next girl soon enough... unless you all already know who you want to vote for? Either way, you'll see the updated stats soon, I wanted to just get this out to you before I do all that math.
