The Human From a Dungeon

Master General Kirain Yith

Adventurer Level: N/A

Half-Breed Drow - Balushenian

'You will awaken and continue traveling west,' The hoarse voice pierced my mind. 'By midday you will reach a well-traveled road. Go left and follow the road. You will meet a traveler who is not what he appears to be. Be wary of this traveler, but consume his blood. Take his clothing and dispose of his body and your armor out of view of the road. Continue on the road in the same direction until you see a smaller path, then follow that path.'

Expecting riddles and side-speak, I found myself somewhat stunned by how clear the directions were. Despite my shock, I endeavored to memorize them. Nothing will stop me from finding the power that this being is promising and annihilating whatever challenge awaits me.

'And what do I do when I reach the end of the path?' I asked.

'The path leads to a dungeon. Enter the dungeon and do what you feel is appropriate.'

The return to riddles and side-speak stunned me even more than its absence. It took more than a few moments for the confusion to leave my expression.

'You can't tell me more than that?'

'All I can say is that you're a vampire. Do what vampires do.'

'That's all? Why?'

'A being far grander than myself is preventing me from speaking directly of the events that may unfold within the dungeon,' It laughed. 'The very same being that will ensure fairness in the challenge to come. Go now, and find your purpose.'

I awoke before I could ask any further questions, not that I would have gleaned any answers. Do what vampires do? Likely a riddle that will become easier to solve within the dungeon itself. I arose from my temporary shelter and scanned my immediate environs. Birds were singing in the trees, which indicated that there weren't predators or monsters nearby, and there were no other signs of incursion. It seems I have truly lost my pursuers.

My muscles and bones ached from sleeping on the ground, and a quick stretch resulted in several satisfying pops and cracks. The stretch was able to provide enough relief to continue my journey. The desire to feed hit me as I verified the sun's position in the sky. I had used a lot of strength yesterday, and I would need to feed on blood again to restore it. Luckily, the entity had told me where to find my next meal.

I did my best not to think too hard about what caused me to undertake this quest, but failed miserably. My entire family is soon to be dead, my home razed to the ground, my dreams of world domination are all but dashed, and I am touched by a supposed god. These thoughts had just wandered to whether or not continuing my existence was even worth it when I finally came across the road.

It wasn't much of a road. The primary components of its construction were dirt and dust, unlike the roads that lined the countryside of the Night Kingdom. I dutifully turned toward my left and followed the glorified path. It wasn't long before my feet became tender and sore, and I found myself missing the carefully constructed stone roads of my homeland.

I followed the road for a few hours before I finally came across my objective. A dwarf wearing a high collared coat and large pack stopped and eyed me warily. I stopped as well, and regarded him head to toe. His coat and clothing appeared new and expensive, yet his pack and boots appeared well-worn. The dwarf was obviously trying to look like a merchant, but there were certain inconsistencies with his disguise.

"Who the fuck're you?" he asked.

"I could ask you the same," I replied. "You have the look of a merchant, but I've never met a merchant who travels alone."

"Well that's just cuz you've never met me," he grinned, showing a few missing teeth. "The name's Tarx. You?"

"Kirain."

"Well, Kirain, methinks it's a damn lucky day for you. I see you've got a hole in that armor of yours, and I just so happen to have somethin' that'll likely fit you just fine."

"Oh?" I asked, moving closer to him. "That would be quite the boon, if the price is right."

"I've got the cheapest fuckin' stuff you'll find in the middle of the road," he laughed as he pulled his pack from his back. "I'm more than willin' to cut you a deal."

He stuck his hand into his pack as I moved closer to him. As he began to remove his hand, I saw a glimmer and instinctively grabbed his wrist. My strength was beginning to wane, but it was more than enough to snap his wrist and sending the dagger flying. I wasted no time pulling him into his final embrace.

"The fuck?" he gasped as I bit into his throat.

He tried to resist, but I'd already taken a gulp and restored my strength. The warmth of the blood flowed through me, and I took more than my fill. After a few moments, the dwarf fell limp in my arms, completely drained of his vital essence.

I let him fall to the ground and studied him. I'd managed to avoid spilling blood on his clothing, but was faced with another problem entirely. Dwarfs are significantly shorter than drow, and his attire would not fit me.

My eyes darted toward his pack. On a hunch, I grabbed it and emptied it out. Several items fell to the ground, including another knife, some wrapped rations, about fifty feet of hempen rope, a water skin, several pieces of jewelry, a bulging coin pouch, and some rather well-made clothing. It would appear that Tarx was a quite a bit more entrepreneurial than a travelling merchant should be.

"Take his clothes, eh?" I chuckled, picking up the clothing.

I removed my garments and replaced them, finding them to be a perfect fit. I spent a little time packing the items back into the bag, with the exception of the large knife, and then disposed of Tarx and my former clothing out of sight of the road. Passing carnivores would find him and make sure he didn't go to waste.

Slinging the pack onto my back and securing the large knife to my waist, I continued my journey. Not a bad change of fortune. I was now far less conspicuous, and even armed. If I changed my mind about my destination, I would be able to survive for quite some time on the wealth that the dwarf had likely killed for.

I was still debating this choice when I came across the path. It was overgrown and rather uninviting, and if I hadn't known to look for it I would have missed it entirely. I stood at this fork in my journey and thought for a moment. Should I continue to whatever city this road leads to and seek my fortune with my own two hands, or should I accept the would-be god's challenge and seek power?

Voices in the distance brought me back to reality. Drow rarely leave the Night Kingdom, and I would have to justify my existence everywhere I went. I would also have to be wary of retribution from the scorned deity. I made my choice then and there, and began to make my way down the untended path.

The overgrowth made travel difficult, but before long I found my destination. A small building served as the dungeon's entrance. It appeared to be a type of mausoleum, with two smooth pillars lining either side of its arched entrance. The roof of the structure rested upon these four columns and depicted a skull being worshiped by reptilian beings.

I felt an immense dread enter my body as I took a step forward. Many people equate vampires with the dead, so I should feel at home in a crypt. However, my instincts screamed at me that something terrible lay within here. Taking a deep breath and snarling to myself, I drew my knife and entered the dungeon. One of the advantages to vampirism is the ability to see in almost complete darkness, but my eyes still took a moment to adjust. Once my blindness receded, I continued forward and I took in my surroundings.

The floors were tiled and the walls were unnaturally smooth. Neither showed any signs of tool marks, seams, or any other variety of imperfection. This indicated that they had been created magically. I recalled from my studies that the term dungeon isn't the most accurate description of these places. While they often serve to contain monsters and other threats to civilization, they've also been known to serve as lairs for powerful beings that would seek harm on others. The origins of most dungeons are a complete mystery, and how they came to contain monsters and traps is anyone's guess.

My footsteps reverberated through the hall as I continued on. It was a soft, steady melody that was almost soothing, until a sudden click interrupted my pace. The tile beneath my foot had depressed, and I barely reacted in time to catch the spiked grate that sought to impale and crush me. Even my vampiric strength struggled with the weight of the trap. I adjusted my footing and pushed with all of my might.

Just as I thought I was done for, the trap eased up and withdrew into the ceiling. I quickly moved forward before it could trigger again, being careful to avoid the tile I'd carelessly tread upon earlier. Before I could catch my breath, a screech announced the presence of several small reptiles.

The lizards were roughly the size of my boot. I readied my knife as they swarmed me, trying to pick off pieces of my flesh with their teeth and claws. I was much faster than they were, though, and began to exterminate the pests with my knife and free hand. They were easy to crush, and not very resistant to stabbing either. It didn't take long to finish them, and I watched as the few wounds I had received healed.

The bites were extraordinarily painful, and bled longer than they should have. Once they finally faded, I continued on. I was much more wary this time, trying to avoid any further traps by tapping my forward foot on the upcoming tiles. It slowed my pace, but quickly paid off as I encountered more traps.

After each trap, another group of lizards attacked and was defeated. Eventually, I put away my blade and began to use the little bastards as stress toys. This pattern repeated several more times before there was an abrupt change.

"FOR THE LORD!" a dwarf-sized lizard shouted, waving its spear in the air.

"FOR THE LORD!" its five comrades echoed.

I drew my knife again and charged at them. They hadn't expected this, and I managed to slit one's throat before they could recover. I grabbed its spear and flung it deep into the chest of another, then dodged back as the last four formed a formation of sorts. I grinned at them, baring my fangs.

"A sucker!" one of the reptiles gasped.

"Shit, what do we do?"

"We poke him 'till he stops movin', same as everythin' else!"

"FOR THE LORD!"

They charged forward, and I slid under their spear-tips. I used my claws to tear at the face of one and stabbed my blade into the heart of another. I dragged my knife out of its chest and through the throat of the one I had mauled. Disallowing any recovery time, I leapt over its falling corpse and bit into the shoulder another lizard before it could change the position of its spear, and threw my knife at the final one.

I grabbed the reptile's throat and lifted it into the air as its comrade hit the floor with my blade protruding from the space between its eyes. I spit its blood onto the floor and ripped the spear from its hands. The reptile looked down at me with absolute terror in its beady little eyes.

"Who is your lord?" I demanded.

"I ain't tellin' you nuttin'!" it shrieked.

"Then I shall find out myself," I said, crushing its windpipe and vertebrae.

As I dropped its body to the ground, it occurred to me that I might have used hypnosis on it. I sighed, disappointed at the missed opportunity to glean some intel. After retrieving my blade, I continued my journey into the depths of the dungeon. It wasn't long before I got another chance.

I tore into the creatures and tried to use hypnosis on the survivor, but I couldn't make a connection to its mind. At first I thought my hypnosis was being blocked, but then I came to the realization that the mind was too simple to be forced in such a way. It was like trying to hypnotize a pupper. I tore its head off in frustration.

Several more conflicts later, the hallway opened into a large room. Torches flickered to life as I entered, throwing shadows upon the smooth, gray walls. In the center of the room was a skeletal corpse sitting upon a golden throne. It looked lifeless, but I could feel massive amounts of magic emanating from it. Its eyes began to glow and it rose from its throne, levitating a few inches from the ground.

"Who dares to enter my domain?" it asked.

"Kirain Yith," I replied. "And who might you be, Lich?"

"What would my name matter to an insect that's about to be exterminated?"

"Why would you want to know the name of an insect that you're about to exterminate?"

I barely managed to dodge the ice spear it sent at me, and quickly tried to close the distance. Before I could, fire erupted from the floor and sent me reeling. The burns on my face began to heal, and I snarled at the creature before me.

"Ah, a vampire," it said. "I have no blood for you to suck, filth."

Once my nose healed, it caught a familiar scent in the air. I grinned at the lich, and threw my blade at its face. A magical barrier caught the blade and sent it back from whence it came, but I had already closed the distance with the lich. It drew back from me, but I grabbed its neck and squeezed, crushing the vertebrae in my grasp. Its body crumpled to the ground as I caught its skull with my other hand.

"You have bested me, it seems," it said. "Go on, finish me. I'll return again and again."

"You lied to me," I grinned.

"Pardon?"

I followed the scent and approached the throne. Hidden in the throne's finery was a rounded, crimson jewel. The invigorating scent was coming from this jewel. I struggled for a moment to remove the jewel from the throne, and once I was successful I found that I was holding a disguised vial of blood. I held it up for the skull to see.

"A phylactery. You DO have blood," I laughed.

"Perhaps we can make a deal," the skull said. "I can give you gold, gems, even teach you ancient and terrible magics. What do you require in exchange for the safety of my phylactery?"

"Why would I destroy it?"

"What? What else would you do with it?"

"You were once a mer, and I am a vampire," I grinned widely, baring my fangs. "I'm going to do what vampires do."