Davi set out, leaving the town behind. The map Olivia made for him was extremely useful, and he followed the dot that was on it. The number had stopped growing and was now just getting smaller and smaller the closer he got, meaning the snake had stopped running away. He soon found himself in a forest, going through a sea of snow. It put a bad taste in his mouth and reminded him of the Dragon, but he crushed down those thoughts and focused on marching forward.
Eventually, as the trees began to thin out and the snow got thicker and thicker, Davi finally found what he was looking for.
Dungeons were altered spaces that could appear anywhere. Whenever a dungeon would show up near a village, town, or city, it was that place's duty to let the Arcane Knights know about it. This was because all dungeons were filled with powerful magical beasts, and should they not be dealt with, those beasts would eventually be able to walk out and wander the world.
It was theorized that this was how magical beasts came about. They most likely came from a dungeon and weren't dealt with in time, leading to the beasts' being able to leave their homes and settle down in the world.
Dungeons were dangerous, not just because of the monsters that were said to be contained within, but also because of all the traps. A dungeon would remain until an Arcane Knight managed to slay the boss of the dungeon, whose mana was the thing that kept the dungeon open.
The dungeon in Daisy was strong enough to form the barrier around the town, which stopped it from sending out a cry for help, and it had been opened for so long that the boss was able to escape and wander around freely. It had since returned to its home, though. This was because magical beasts had to eventually reenter a dungeon, no matter how powerful they were. Just like how a mage could only survive so long in a dungeon, a magical beast could only withstand the mana of the world for a certain amount of time before it would grow weaker and need to head back to its home.
The dungeon in question was sloped and built into the side of a hill. It was made of stone and looked like a doorway. It was awkwardly angled and wasn't that far off the ground, yet somehow, directly past the opening, he could see massive stone stairs, the kind that giants would walk on. They stretched out more considerably than the hill could physically contain, which proved that it was a dungeon since dungeons defied space and could be as big or small as they needed to be.
Davi walked closer to the opening and peeked his head in. The stairs kept going down, seemingly without end, and it was way too dark for him to see properly. He let out a low whistle and heard it echo and bounce off the dungeon's walls.
It was illegal to enter a dungeon unless you were an Arcane Knight due to how dangerous they can be. It was impossible to know what would be in one; plenty of people have died trying to explore them, and even Arcane Knights can struggle. Now that he thought about it, he had been in a few, so that was yet another crime he had committed. Another reason it was illegal to enter a dungeon is because of the treasure they held. The king claimed all the treasure that was in a dungeon, and so everything inside of one was owned exclusively by the Knights, making it highly illegal to take anything inside of a dungeon.
Dungeons were filled with ancient loot from the days of the elves, as well as the treasure of people who failed to clear it and died. The stronger a dungeon, the better the loot.
Should a person accidentally find themselves in a dungeon or discover the doorway to a dungeon, they were to leave immediately and contact the Knights.
The dungeon had been built into the side of a hill, yet past the doorway, it was wide and expanded out further than the slope went. Davi found himself standing on a set of stairs, each one being massive. The stairs were easily ten feet tall and nearly fifty feet wide. He'd have to climb down them and then climb back up when he wanted to exit. The roof was taller than the hill. It went up and up, so high he couldn't actually see it.
Dungeons were almost like stepping into another world. The doorway to a dungeon would simply appear one day. It could be in the middle of the woods like this one, at the bottom of an ocean, in a cave, or even in the middle of a crowded street. Either way, once the doorway appeared and a person stepped past it, they would find themselves suddenly transported to a place that defied logic and science.
Some dungeons were massive, taking days to reach the end; others were small, with only a few rooms. Some matched the environment they appeared in, and others were vastly different and didn't resemble any place found in their world.
This particular dungeon looked almost like a giant's tomb. It was made entirely of dark stone, and the massive steps just kept going down, not seeming to stop anytime soon.
"Row Shadow Vault." Davi reached into his shadow and pulled out a torch wrapped in some cloth, which he ignited with a match. It blazed to life and allowed him to see a little bit better. He strolled and jumped down each step. His armor kept him protected, literally absorbing the blow of the fall, and with his torch, he was able to see various marks along the walls, all in a language he didn't recognize. There were a few pictures as well, some showing towering stick figures and others depicting strange orbs with eight twisted lines coming out of them. 'I really hate dungeons.' Almost as much as he hated the cold.
This wasn't his first, and he doubted it'd be his last. Dungeons were supposed to be filled with vast wealth and riches. Some had powerful and ancient scrolls containing long-forgotten spells and secrets, while others had magical weapons from ages long lost. He only ever entered dungeons to see if he could find any secrets about dragons. Sadly, none of the ones he went into had information regarding them.
At the bottom of the steps, the dungeon opened up into a wide hallway, one created to accommodate beings easily hundreds of feet tall. On either side of the wall were what looked like coffins, each over fifty feet tall and wide, sealed shut with heavy lids the size of towers. They were built into the walls, entombed. It was spooky, and Davi might have been a little freaked out if not for the fact that he had triggered a trap.
As soon as he had touched down, there was a quiet click that echoed around the vast chambers. Small sections of the coffin tore open, the stone pulling back, and the next thing Davi knew, he was being blasted from all sides by a horde of arrows and bolts.
'Ow.' The Ebony Knight thought to himself as the arrows launched his way. They were small, meant for people his size, and not the giants that likely rested here. As the bolts smashed into him, his armor easily deflected most, but a few rammed into his head. 'Maybe I should put my helmet back on…' None of the bolts were able to pierce his skin or even injure him all that much, aside from a few bruises.
By using mana, he could cloak his flesh in a thin layer, forming invisible armor over it, so even if something could get past his armor, it'd then have to get past a second layer of protection.
'This is annoying.' He walked forward, feeling the arrows and bolts bounce and shatter on his flesh and armor. The barrage kept coming, a seemingly infinite amount pouring out. He was used to it, however, and so he didn't falter walking through the storm of projectiles.
It was odd, though. Everything about the dungeon was built most likely for giants, yet the first trap he triggered was made for humans. Dungeons were always strange like that, seemingly being created to keep people out.
Right on cue, he felt another pressure plate sink beneath his foot, and a thundering boom echoed through the hallway as a boulder dropped. It wasn't one able to squish giants, being too small, but it'd more than do the trick for a human. Or at least a normal human, since in an instant, the rock was halted by his hand.
Davi's fingers dug into the stone, breaking past it, and with a grunt, he lifted it up above his head and tossed it behind him. He rubbed his shoulder a bit and then carried on, finally reaching the end of the hallway. There were two gigantic doors, but he simply punched straight through one, blasting a hole in the bottom of it, and stepped into the second room, leaving the storm of arrows behind.
'Oh. It's one of these rooms. I hate these rooms.' Davi sighed as he took stock of what was inside. This room was totally different from the last one.
Instead of being made for giants, this room was much smaller, being a standard-looking stone room. The massive double doors that had been in the previous room twisted and were forced into a small size once he was past them, the dungeon bending space to make it all work. Dozens of suits of armor lined the walls all around, and the moment his foot entered, the suits instantly came to life.
They were rusted and covered in dents, and they shambled, slowly drawing broken swords or spears. Davi lifted a gauntlet-covered arm up and blocked a powerful sword swipe that came down at him. While he did that, he threw his other arm out and muttered a spell. His claymore blasted out of his shadow, and he gripped it as he slashed it out, ripping the suit of armor in two. Three more took its place instantly, all charging at him.
Davi twisted and dodged out of the way as several spears were thrust out at him. His sword smashed through two more suits, and he kicked at a third, hitting it back into a wall. There were still eight more suits, and he didn't even have time to throw out another attack as a grinding sound filled the air. The room suddenly began to get smaller as the ceiling started to drop.
'Trying to crush me to death? Boring.' He thought to himself. The grinding sound rumbled again, and jagged spikes stabbed out of the ceiling, causing Davi's eye to twitch. 'Cheater.' He growled. 'You can't add to the trap. Also, did it read my mind or something? What gives? These are private thoughts.'
The room already hadn't been that big, and the ceiling was rapidly dropping. Davi looked back at the doorway he came through. He didn't see another door or any obvious way forward. That just meant he'd have to make his own. He launched himself past the other suits of armor and reached the back wall. Letting out a huff, he swung his sword out as hard as he could and smashed it into the stone wall. The wall shook and cracked but didn't break.
The ceiling dropped lower, and Davi was forced to throw one of his arms up into the air. A spike came down on his hand, and he wrapped his gauntlet around it and struggled to push the ceiling back. It was heavy, hundreds of times more than the boulder, and he felt pain as the spike began to dig through his glove. His arm shook, and the grinding got worse as he and the ceiling had a battle of strength. He was holding it back for the moment, but that was quickly becoming a losing game.
While he did that, the suits of armor charged at him and began to swing at his back. Davi grunted, and his knees buckled, and he almost lost his grip on the roof. "Row Shadow Armor." His other arm dropped his sword, which sank into his shadow, and the darkness rose and covered the arm that wasn't holding the roof up. The gauntlet around that arm grew thicker and heavier, forming into a black fist weapon, which he used to smash into the cracked wall. The cracks expanded, and he hit it again, this time putting his all into the strike, shattering the wall entirely.
Instantly, Davi let go of the roof and dove through the hole he had created. The ceiling smashed down, crushing the suits of armor. Once it was done, it began to rise back up. However, Davi didn't care about that because he was now falling. Past the hole was a drop, and the next thing he knew, he was crashing through water.
The dungeon had yet again twisted and changed, this time forming into a lake. The lake started to swirl, and Davi sank like a rock, his armor weighing him down. Water filled his lungs, and it was so dark he couldn't see. He spun around and crashed into the bottom. Everything started to twist, and he felt the world itself spin as he was suddenly launched out of the whirlpool and came flying out of the lake.
Davi rammed into the ground head-first and sputtered and coughed. He wiped his face clean and gasped for air. "I hate dungeons." He said, unconcerned despite everything that had happened so far.
The lake had spat him out into yet another new room. He prayed this would be the last one. It was bigger than the room with the armor but not as massive as the one with the giant coffins. The ground was covered in thick ice, and snow rained down around him from the roof. The room was filled with pillars that were scattered around. The lake behind him, which had spat him out, was mostly frozen over. Near the back of the room, heavy blocks of ice stood; even from where he was, he could see that each one held a body within it. There were nine in total, one for each missing person.
He had found the missing girls.
He couldn't tell if they were alive or not, but he hoped that they were. They appeared to be sleeping, curled up, eyes squeezed shut, not moving. They were suspended in the blocks.
"You're not the fire mage." A hissing voice jittered around the room, bouncing off the walls and swapping which direction it came from with every word. "You're the one I fought earlier. The one who harmed me."
Davi shook his body, drying his armor off as he quietly looked around. "Fire mage?" His massive gauntlet shrank back down and returned to normal as he folded his arms. "Explain."
"The mage I made a deal with." The voice hissed once more. "You are not them, though. You're someone else. Someone who isn't in on the plan."
"Yep. I'm the new guy. And you are?"
"I have no name."
"That's sad. Want one?"
"No, thank you."
Davi casually nodded. "A monster that says thanks? That's new? You're the snake, right? I didn't know you could talk. Why didn't you try to talk to me back in the town?"
"Because I had nothing to say to you earlier."
"Fair. So now you do have a reason to talk to me?"
"Did you bring me a sacrifice?" The voice hissed out.
Davi looked around, but he still didn't see the snake. The voice bounced around so much that it was impossible to pinpoint it, never staying in any place for very long. "What do you mean by sacrifice?"
"The girls." The snake responded. "I like their taste." A pillar cracked, and Davi was about to launch an attack, but then another pillar on the other side of the room groaned as something unseen wrapped around it. The creature was fast, going from place to place, using its cloaking and the shadows to stay out of his range. "I used to hunt them. Always on the hunt. Then I moved in here. Cleared it out. Killed the others and claimed it as my home. It moved, though."
"That's no surprise. You're in a dungeon." Davi explained. "You likely slaughtered most of the monsters here, and sometime when you were sleeping, the dungeon's space moved to a new location and made you the boss of it since you were the strongest entity in it."
"I awoke and climbed out. I made it to the stairs, and that was where I found the fire mage. He was a man, the same as you. I hate the taste of man. I could smell his fear. His desperation. He was no threat to me, not like you. I offered him a deal. Shinies. Trinkets. Useless things. All he had to do was bring me my food. It will be time for the long sleep soon. I've been stocking up. Preparing for it. The mage brought me many snacks because he wanted something in my dungeon. I told him that when he brought me enough girls, I'd let him have the thing he wants. We were making a trade."
Davi rubbed his chin, piecing together most of what he was hearing. "Dungeons are filled with vast wealth and magical items. Ones that put items of today to shame. It's likely why the Arcane Knights are always so eager to raid these places and why they ban mages from entering, since they don't want the wrong kind of thing to end up in the wrong hands. So, if I understand what you're saying, someone has been bringing you the kidnapped girls as an offering, and when you collect enough, you'll give them something in this dungeon as a way to pay them back?"
"Yes." The snake almost sounded like it was chuckling. "He and I made a deal. I pretend to attack the city, and he 'fights' me off. I don't harm his place or his people; in return, he finds me the prettiest, most delicious snacks to make my own. The deal was ten. He brings me ten girls, and I'll give him the thing he wants from my home."
"So why are you telling me this?" Davi asked.
"Let's make a deal." The voice responded. "I'll offer you the same thing I did the fire mage. Give me enough of what I want, and I'll let you have anything in here. You're strong, so I don't want to fight."
Davi's eyes shimmered for a bit, and he nodded. "Do you have any information on how to find a dragon?"
"What is a dragon?"
"I'll take that as a no." Davi walked toward the girls. The voice hissed at him, but he ignored it and reached them, looking at each block they resided in. "So you haven't done anything to them? They're still alive."
"...For now…"
"Okay." Davi nodded, and he counted. "Nine."
"Nine? Is that how many girls you'll bring me?" The voice sounded excited now. "We can make a good deal; I'll give you everything in the vault and even help figure out what this… dragon is. Sound good?"
"You misunderstand. That's how many you're going to give me." Davi stated in a cold, unfeeling tone. "Every girl here. You're going to hand them back. Now. Do that, and I'm willing to look the other way since you haven't hurt any of them yet. As long as you promise never to do anything like this again."
"Never! I won't hand any of them over!" A loud, guttural hiss blasted from up above, and the room shook, shards of ice raining down. "I will never give up my food! They are mine! Now leave! I've changed my mind; no deal for you! Go!"
Davi's look darkened. "I guess we're doing this the hard way. Row Shadow Vault." His vault was only ever as big as his shadow, but in a dark room like this, his shadow was vast and near endless, opening up and pulling in a massive wave of ice and all the girls.
"No!" The snake's cry echoed through the dungeon. "How dare you!"
The last of the girls faded away as Davi drew his claymore and lazily placed it over his shoulder. "Well? What are you waiting for? Come and get me."