The Tower in the Shadows

Elain was thinking the Gods were laughing at her.

Not one or two, but a group of them. That was the only thing she could think of to explain the last few days.

Just yesterday, Elain had emerged from the treacherous fifth floor of the Dungeon, her mind still reeling from the encounter. Little did she know, a group of mysterious elves had already set foot in the town, their presence shrouded in rumour and intrigue.

If they were adventurers, they would soon make their presence known. If she was a gambling woman, she knew that was a safe bet. Truthfully, there was no other reason why they were here. If they were merchants, they would have brought their own ship.

Elain, her mind a whirlwind of thoughts, was attempting to restore some semblance of order to her chaotic office. The knock at the door, though expected, sent a jolt of surprise through her, causing her to lose her composure momentarily. She rallied and spoke loudly.

"Who is it?"

The door opened slightly and Naru's head appeared.

"You have an elf downstairs registering her team. She had asked to speak with you."

"Bring her up when she has finished registering."

Naru nodded and left, closing the door. Elian moved around and sat at her desk, setting the scene for the person who was going to walk through the door of a busy Guild leader.

Within a few minutes, the knock comes.

"Enter."

Naru opens the door and guides a new figure into the room. She then withdraws and closes the door as Elian stands to greet the visitor. She looks in, taking the details of the stranger and she feels that the other person is doing the same.

Before, Elian was a lithe figure. Taller than her, she could barely tell that the figure was female. The elf was wrapped in a hooded dark green travelling cloak that shimmered slightly in the room's light. Elian could not identify the material but knew its quality was far beyond anything available to the town.

The elf pulls back the cloak's hood. She is beautiful but strangely androgynous, with emerald-green eyes and silver/blonde hair tied in a high ponytail. The cloak is held in place with a silver broach, travelling clothes are worn underneath. Strapped to her back was a bow and a quiver of arrows.

"Good new day, adventurer. I am Elian Woodland, Guild Leader of Shadow Vale's Aadventurer's Guild."

"Good new day; I am Sliva'Elania Fellonia, the Silver-Tier adventurer. Most call me Sliva." She revealed a silver medallion with the Guild symbol. The metal denoted her grade and it had a stone in the centre that glowed slightly, confirming she was its owner.

Elian and Sliva bowed slightly to each other. The elf spoke in the human common tongue, but her voice gave the words a strange musical sound.

"Welcome, adventurer Sliva. What has brought you here to this community."

Elian knew why the elf was here, but she had to play the part of Guild Leader.

"My group and I are to test ourselves against the Dungeon here."

"As a copper-tier Dungeon and your group a silver-tier, you will not be greatly tested by this Dungeon."

"We know this but are interested in seeing what the Dungeon has to offer."

"Of course. There will be an opening in fifteen days we can add you to the list."

"I am afraid that we hope to be travelling again by that date."

"There are no other gaps, I am afraid."

Elian was unsurprised at the request but had to honour the rota to keep the peace among the other adventurers. The gods knew the trouble that could cause.

"I thought that might be the case."

Sliva gripped the medallion and channelled some mana into it. She handed it to Elian. There was a glowing rune on the medallion, which she recognised immediately.

"You are calling in a boon?"

Adventurers who perform services for the Guild can earn a boon. This boon allows them to receive a special service or contract. The Sliva was calling in one to get her team access to the Dungeon faster. Elian was a copper-grade Guild Leader, which meant that Sliva, as silver, could force her to do this. This was rarely done and was considered uncouth by most. This caused a flash of hot anger through her at the sheer arrogance of it. This Sliva did not even try negotiating before making this move.

"Yes. My request is to get access as soon as possible within the next three days."

Elian looked down at her desk. She pulled a sheet of vellum from a pile. It listed the groups going in over the next five days. Scanning the list, she noted a group she could have moved. She did this to hide her frustration, but she knew she was not fooling the elf.

"You can enter as the first group two days from now. Sunrise entry."

"Thank you for your assistance. I would like to apologise for the disruption, but we are acting under a tight schedule."

It was rare that she had heard an elf apologise to someone not of their kind. Elian was unsure if it was sincere but decided to take it at face value. Still, it was galling to have to disrupt their schedule. Coming into her office and demanding this was allowed due to the boon but considered rude by most.

"Is there anything else?"

Elian was still annoyed but knew that antagonising the situation was not the path forward.

"A copper-tier Dungeon had between twenty to twenty-five floors. What is the count so far?"

"Five."

"Very well, we will plan to take twenty-five into account. We will…"

"No, adventurer Sliva. Five floors, not twenty-five."

Elian took perverse joy in having surprised the elf. It was hard to read her, but the brief silence was the best indication. It was petty, but it made her so exuberant.

"Five?"

The question was clear but unspoken. Sliva would never openly question the rating but was questioning it in her mind. The Guild had standards across all of its branches. Elian's position meant she knew what she was doing when she graded the Dungeon. The repercussions for misgrading a Dungeon were severe.

"Thank you for that information. We will be ready at the given time. What is the Dungeons element?"

Sliva worked the angles in her head, trying to figure out what was happening. That was what Elian thought she was doing.

"Varies on each floor, but Shadow is the most common."

Internally, she was gleeful at the elf before reacting. Legendary for the self-control amongst other races, she caught the flicker of surprise. By now, Elian was used to the Dungeons flaunting all known conventions.

"Varied? On each floor?"

Sliva asked to confirm what she had just heard.

"Yes and yes."

"I thank you again, Guild Leader. Excuse me, I must be away for my business."

With this, the elf swept from the room and closed the door behind her. Elian sat at her desk and broke out into a vindictive smile. She waited until the elf was out of the Guild before saying,

"Did not expect this Dungeon, did you?"

## ## ## ## ##

Sliva and most of her group were sitting in their rented room. Halo was missing for the moment as she had sent him out on a mission. Out of all of them, he was able to blend in and hide even in this town.

The rest were sitting on the beds and a few chairs in a rough circle. Sliva had told them of her conversation with the Guild Leader and had sent Halo out to find out what he could.

"Do you believe the Guild Leader?" Elron asked.

"I do. She was not lying when she spoke."

"I think the human is a fool. There is no copper-tier Dungeon with five floors." Asta sneered. This caused a ripple of unease amongst the others.

"Asta! The human, you are insulting an Adventurer Guild Leader! I will hear no more of it." Sliva snapped, knowing that such insults would not do them well if such words became known. They were speaking in their language, but she had to be careful.

Asta slumped in outrage at the words from Sliva. The others did not comment on what was happening between the two. They, too, knew the dangers of insulting the Guild.

"The Guild has confirmed the grade of the Dungeon. This means we are going to be walking into a Dungeon that follows none of the standard's rules."

The group remained quiet, thinking about what they might be walking into. They hoped Halo could tell them more.

"We will be acquiring supplies for the expedition tomorrow. We have much, but we will most likely need more."

The door to their room opened, revealing that Halo had returned. The group tensed when it opened, but they relaxed as he entered.

"Halo, what did you find out."

"Much."

He came in and removed the human-made cloak he was wearing. The group watched as he shed the disguise he used to walk amongst the humans. They were curious but respected their teammate to tell them what he had discovered. He came over and joined the circle.

"The Dungeon had just opened the fifth floor and not much is known about it. More is known about the other four. The first is wasps and pitfall traps. The second is a water environment with toads. Third has large boars and the fourth has spiders."

The group shifted each time he listed the floor and monster, knowing that the Dungeons they had explored were not like this.

"When we go in, we must be careful. Make sure you have plenty of room in your dimensional bags."

Her teammates understood what they were expected to do. Sliva wanted to make sure that they had plenty of room to collect the resources and loot offered by the Dungeon. She did not want to employ a carrier to come with them into the Dungeon, as that was an additional expense and would get in the way of their intelligence gathering.

By now, she had to admit to herself that this mission was not a standard exploration but an intelligence-gathering mission for her people. The people who sent them needed to know what this Dungeon was capable of and what it was producing for the humans.

"What else have you learned about the Dungeon, Halo."

"The dungeon produces mostly copper coins, alchemy ingredients and leather hides."

"Boar hides?" Dayton asked.

"Boar hides and meat are the biggest sources of income for adventurers who can reach that floor. The floor bosses produce most of the alchemy ingredients, but I have discovered that the third-floor boss produces a magically infused hide."

"Infused in what way?" Asta was interested now being the group mage.

"Shadow mana. The hides are being ordered by anyone who can convert them into shadow-infused leather armour that is good for rogues or stealth-based adventurers."

This piqued the interest of the group.

"How much are we talking?" Elron asked. Another archer like Sliva. He was the group's moneykeeper.

"Fifteen gold for the hide alone on a bad day. Treated to be used or even finished armour, you are looking at much more."

That was a good return; with that money, Sliva could comfortably transport them all back to the Lands of Starlight.

"We are going in tomorrow. We will clear each floor. We are harvesting where we can. No heroics; we study and kill everything we find. Understood?"

They all acknowledged her instructions. Asta, by now, was used to how the group worked. A close call in the first Dungeon they explored had changed her attitude and she was far more focused now in them.

"If the boss hide is worth as much as Halo found out, we will be getting back home slightly faster."

This brought smiles to their faces.

"But remember! This is a copper-tier Dungeon with five floors. No one here has ever heard of this before. We need to stay sharp!"

This brought them back into focus. The circle broke up as each went to attend to their gear.

Halo came over to Sliva and sat in front of her, blocking the view of them from the others. He motioned in the elven sign language.

"There is something else."

"What is it?" She signed back.

"Most of the hushed conversations the adventurers have all speak of the Dungeon's intelligence and two strange monsters that exist in the Dungeon."

"Explain?"

"Found in the entry room normally is a local monster called a S-H-A-R-O-O-N." He had to spell it out, as its name did not exist in the language.

"What is it?"

"Low Level. Shadow infused. It has been sighted on other floors as well."

"Why speak of it?"

"Most ignore it. Some have tried to kill it, but not one has succeeded."

"Odd. The second?"

"Not much is known. Several have reported seeing a pink light and have got brief glances at a small flying creature."

"Which floor?"

"Several of them like the first."

"Anything else?"

He indicated no. Sliva nodded to him to attend to his gear. He left and left her to her thoughts.

Two wandering monsters?

Things were getting stranger. On the surface, she was calm and composed. Internally, she was getting more concerned. Too much was out of the norm, both with the Dungeon and the town. She had discovered that all the Gods were present with a place of worship, and that raised her concerns. Add in the strange things they were hearing about the Dungeon and she was now troubled.

"Rest well, my friends. Tomorrow, we challenge this Dungeon in shadow."