Worthy Core

Well after midnight following the day of Tafyaf's intrusion, a red-skinned bat flies a circuit around the Triple Peak Mountain. Coming up along the southeast side first, it makes note of a small camp of Rainlander guards posted at the foot of the mountain, just before the half-natural and half-artificial path that leads up the mountainside. Finding the guards to be far below, the bat pays them no mind and makes its way around the northern path through the mountains. There it spots a second camp, a little busier and more heavily-armed, but with their attention focused on the west. Unnoticed, the bat is able to make its way back south to where the dungeon entrance was discovered, landing on the flat patch of stone without a single witness around to notice it.

For the second time that day, Lady Cerise Darktouched emerges from her shapeshifted form in front of a dungeon door. As soon as her transformation is complete, the succubus does a final scan for observers before reaching for three of the satchels tied to her waist. Although apparently woven of cloth, they handle in her palm as if they were full of water, and as she opens them up and turns them upside down three large blobs of slime plop onto the rocky ground. Red, yellow, and green, they begin to reform themselves as Cerise pulls items of clothing and weapons out of yet another small bag on her hip, casually discarding them into the three blobs of goo.

Eventually each of the three reach their full heights at a little over five feet, and as they take on more humanoid forms the clothing and equipment partially embedded into their bodies shifts to fit them properly - clothes drift onto their shoulders, while equipment is taken into hand. The yellow blob grows into a feminine form, wearing only a steel breastplate, and wielding a sword in one hand and a small round shield in the other. Green takes on a masculine shape, draped under a white robe with a wooden staff in one hand, while the red slime takes the shape of another woman, a pointed hat on her head and a potion-strapped vest around her chest, with only a small wand in her hand. As the three catch their bearings and finish recreating themselves, the yellow warrior-slime turns to their transporter.

"Nice, we're here! One last adventure...gods, I hope I'm not too stiff, I remember being able to put myself back together in half the time."

The green slime responds. "Well as long as you're not likely to split open halfway through the job, I think you'll do just fine. Thanks for carrying us all this way, Lady Cerise. Are we ready to proceed?"

The succubus grins, bright white teeth showing between dark red lips. "Indeed. The Rainlanders look like they're only on watch for more Valleyland scouts from the west, or their own curious sightseers from the east. For tonight at least, I don't think we'll have to worry about any interruptions. As for us, it looks like we have a riddle door to start with - charming, I always loved playing with those. Let us see what this one has to offer, shall we?" The quartet make their way over to the dungeon's door, eventually triggering the usual response when they get to within a close enough range.

"Wow, you're even later than that last bunch of night owls. S'all good though, probably. Are you ready to prove yourselves worthy of entering the Worthy Dungeon by solving my riddle?"

The leader answers. "Indeed, I'm looking forward to it."

Doorman nods. "...What are you?" This was apparently not what Cerise was expecting, but before she can come up with something the yellow slime answers.

"We're slimes! Except for Lady Cerise, she's a succubus! My name's Tulupp!"

Cerise hisses Tulupp's name, but the guardian door seems oddly satisfied. "Yeah, sure, I'll buy that. You look like a cute bunch, I bet the boss will love you! Good luck!"

As the door swings open, Cerise stares into the darkness with a look of disbelief. "...I truly hope we didn't misjudge this situation. ...Nevermind, onward!"

Inside, Xenia sighs to herself and Guy. "Y'know, I'm kinda thinking now maybe I should've done more of an interview process for that gig. ...Those slimes are kind of adorable though. Look, one of them's even got a cute hat!"

Unfortunately, Xenia's mood quickly shifts into 'anguished screaming' as the group quickly sets out to essentially annihilate her entire first floor. The Barkbirds drop dead within seconds of them stepping inside, due to spells from the succubus and the red slime, and the slimes pass through the Slip'N'Slide chamber as if the water wasn't even there at all - and with the succubus simply taking a gliding leap from one door to the other. The Bone Maze turns into a complete joke, as the slimes don't even need to dodge the arrows being fired from above, the low-quality missiles simply sinking into their bodies and dissolving without doing any apparent damage whatsoever, while the yellow slime turns each of the orcish skeletons into dust with a single swing of her simple-looking blade.

Even the Boss Bunny, so recently recreated from scratch, is blown up with a single homing fireball tossed by the red slime.

Xenia despairs. "Are you kidding me!? I JUST summoned that one! Why do I even bother..."

The elevator level does at least slow the group down somewhat, due to the fact that by its very nature it limits parties to a set speed. Still, the nuisance swarms of spiders and bats do absolutely nothing to the group, and the handful of skeleton warriors are once again destroyed in single blows by the red and yellow slimes. The succubus leader barely even moves at all for the entire trip, apparently interested in the design of the floor but utterly unthreatened by it.

And at last, the elevator reaches the ground floor, with nothing left in between them and the core chamber. Xenia sinks down into the furs on her chair, despairing. "Well, Guy. It was a good run while it lasted. Think maybe you could put in a good word for me with the bosses up there? Get me something where I can at least go out for a drink before I go?"

But before Guy can answer, the succubus steps forward and announces in a clear voice, if in somewhat accented Rainlander. "Attention, master of the Worthy Dungeon. I am Lady Cerise Darktouched, Enigmatic Emissary, and I have been sent here to treat with you on behalf of the Dragonlord. I imagine you have not yet grown powerful enough to summon an avatar, so we may communicate via writing if you wish, although I have knowledge of a spell which can temporarily give spirits corporeal form. Do I have your consent to perform this spell?" Xenia raises an eyebrow, and after a quick glance at Guy, carves out a response on the chamber floor.

SURE, GO FOR IT.

The woman nods and begins chanting, causing a ritual circle to form on the ground in glowing blue light. Xenia finds herself pulled out of her chair and into the circle, straightened out into a standing position, but the pull feels gentle and comfortable and the dungeon master feels no need to fight against it. After a solid minute of chanting the circle flashes and disappears, leaving Xenia returned to the mortal plane...although not unchanged. Looking down at herself, she finds that she's now black and white - not in the grayscale meaning of an old TV show, but literally only in the colors of pitch black and pure white. As she looks at her hands, moving them around, the creases in her skin fade in and out as black lines, apparently crossing some threshold of shadow and flipping from one state to another. Looking up at her summoner, she smirks.

"Nice trick. Do colors cost me extra?" The Emissary looks on in some surprise at Xenia's appearance, however. Although at least part of that appears to be due to the amateurishly-made rabbit-ears headband Xenia is wearing, crafted together out of leather, iron wire, and actual rabbit fur. Realizing it was summoned along with her, Xenia quickly tears it off and tosses it into a corner of the room. "Haha, never mind that...lost a bet earlier. Where were we? Ah, and you can call me Xenia."

The Emissary takes a moment to control the smile beginning to appear at her lips. "Actually, this particular style is new to me - not that there's anything unusual about the unusual when spirits are concerned. It's a good look on you, though. An interesting contrast."

Xenia sniffs. "Thanks for the complement. Your style's not bad either, although it kind of rubs it in that you creamed my monsters while wearing something that looks like it'd blow away in a light wind. Not saying that I don't like it. It definitely, uh...emphasizes whatcha got pretty well."

Cerise laughs. "Thank you for the complement, and don't feel bad. I'm level 36, my Lady, you would have needed quite a few more floors for me to even begin to get serious. Even my companions are all nearing Expert classes at 20...if they make it that far. But, shall we proceed to why we came here?"

"Go for it. Gonna admit, I don't really know shit about the world outside right now. I've picked up a few factoids about the area...a vague impression of there being a 'Domain' to the south? That's you, right? What brings you all the way out to my humble mountain?"

The woman grins and begins to pace the room, even as her three assistants stay lined up where they first entered behind her. She takes a moment to admire the view out of the windows, or the lack thereof, before starting her pitch. "The knowledge you obtained may disagree, but we are within the Domain of the Dragonlord even now. We have never accepted the claims of the Rainlanders and Valleylanders, and even by their standards Mount Faralis, the Center of the World is considered 'disputed'. Hence the common name of 'Triple Peak' - the Mountain with Three Names. But, no worries - we are not here to claim our domain over you, specifically."

Xenia returns to her chair, finding it slightly less comfortable now that her body has real mass. "Gee, how generous. But 'Center of the World', huh, sounds like I sure lucked into some prime property here then."

Cerise nods. "You very much did. And because of your...extremely useful position, we would like to offer you a deal. One which involves us giving you a great many gifts, and you being required to do nothing more than you were already doing anyways."

At this Xenia leans forward, a dangerous smirk on her face. "A deal with a devil, huh? I love those! Lay it out then, what's on offer and what's the price?"

The succubus returns to standing before Xenia, answering as she pulls a cloth bag from her waist. "The price is simple. We want you to kill Rainlanders, as many as you can. And Valleylanders, if more of them should manage to make their way to you. But of course we understand that doing so would increase your own risks of being destroyed in turn, and that you may lack the strength to do so more than you already have been in any case. And so we are prepared to provide you with the tools to both perform this task and to defend yourself. Power to shortcut potentially years of slow, incremental progress."

Before she can begin her demonstration, Xenia interrupts with a question. "Hold on, I've been told that beating a tough dungeon is how people get like, god powers or whatever around here. Isn't helping me out good for the locals, not bad?"

The Emissary smirks. "In the long run, perhaps. But people have certain expectations when it comes to dungeons. Which floors are safe for which level of experience, which dungeons go easier on delvers than others. No one close to Paragon or Champion status would ever bother visiting a dungeon newly-born, it would be a waste of their time. It will be some time before the higher tiers change their habits, and in the meanwhile you would have the opportunity to cut a great many careers...rather short. Now! Let us show you what we have to offer. We bring with us gifts approximately equivalent to what you might recover from a full party destruction of those on the verge of Expert level skills."

First, she brings out a small, polished but unadorned wooden box. "A collection of mana crystals, enough to likely double your current capacity." A steel breastplate and shield, somehow stretching their way out of the small sack. "Unenchanted but high-quality steel armor." Another wooden box. "A sampling of various potion and poison types, which, in addition to providing possible adventurer rewards, can enhance mid-tier and higher dungeon monsters." A short stick with a heavy-looking blue crystal implanted in one end of it. "A Force Wand, possessing spells for both barriers and non-elemental attacks." A small pile of fabrics, as if a sampler collection was put together from a crafts store. "Clothing material suitable for both magical robes and civilian fashions. The bottomless bag itself is also yours to keep, which will provide you with access to an abstract Dungeon Inventory - and! A unique item, crafted specifically for dungeons such as yourself." She finishes by pulling out two small crystal balls, each ringed by a metal band covered in runes. "Two single-use equivalents to the spell I have just cast on you, sufficient to generate a physical avatar for you for one hour each."

Xenia grows a bit wide-eyed like a child on Christmas, but before she can ask any questions Cerise brings up one more offer as she approaches her slime support. "Additionally, you may choose one of my slime companions to join you. Tulupp in yellow is a level 19 Slime Sentinel, an expert in defense and short-range melee. Pullyp, in green, is a level 18 Slime Regenerator - a healer, with additional self-regeneration spells and healing-over-time capabilities. And finally, in red here is Lollyp, a level 19 Slime Elementalist, a combat mage specializing in elemental attacks, although I believe Lollyp here likes fire particularly."

Lollyp grins widely. "I do!" Xenia is a bit confused by this final offer, however.

"Hold on, hold on. Like, one of em will move in here? Like a roommate? We're not big on amenities or anything like that..." Cerise gives a light laugh.

"Oh, no, of course not. I will 'retire' the slime of your choice before we go, allowing you to absorb their knowledge, equipment, and of course, soul. Any one would grant you mid-tier non-sapient slime summons immediately as well, as dungeon classifications treat them as relatives."

The dungeon master blanches at this, which casts the rest of the deal in a new light. "Whoa, whoa, now that's a little fucked up. ...Why do you three all look so cheerful, did she like, put a Charm spell on you or something?"

Pullyp, the healer, shakes his blobby head. "No, no, we volunteered. Ah...you see, we slimes on average only live to be about twenty. Tulupp and I are both 22, Lollyp here's 23...personally, I might be able to stretch things out a bit longer, being a Regenerator, but the fact is, we're old. We dry out faster than we used to, shapes are harder to hold. One way or another, this trip is probably gonna be the last mission any of us ever take. Hells, this job would probably qualify us for Expert classes but odds are we'd never finish the training period."

The red slime Lollyp adds her two cents. "And hey, even if we lose our memories, at least we're getting to choose what our next life is gonna be! And if it's in service to our country, then that seems like a win. I mean, who knows what we might get if we roll the dice, right?"

The hard look on Xenia's face softens. "I...I can actually kinda get that sentiment, yeah." She sighs. "Look, I don't really know you, I definitely don't trust you, but...you're probably right in that you're not really asking me to do anything I'm not going to be doing anyways. I mean, I don't like killing idiots, I don't mind giving them plenty of chances to back out, but if they're determined to get down here I'd definitely wanna use this stuff. So...I guess I don't see any reason to turn you down?"

Cerise claps her hands. "Wonderful! I'm glad you're such a reasonable sort of dungeon."

Xenia Worthy, Reasonable Dungeon rolls her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. To be honest, and I'm sorry if this was a bad stereotype or anything, but I was half-expecting you to throw in a night with you as part of the bargain, heh. Given that I've actually got a real body for the night and all." At that, a different look enters Cerise's eyes. A very...sultry look.

"Very few dungeons are interested in that sort of thing...although you're not the first, either. You're right, it's not part of the bargain, but in the interests of good relations I wouldn't be opposed to making the offer anyhow. We certainly have plenty of time to...get to know each other better before we conclude our business." A finger traces its way down her very deep cleavage, pulling ever so slightly at the loose fabric of her dress, causing a nipple to nearly break free of its confinement. Xenia stares and, almost unbidden, a low-quality but large bed suddenly shoots up from the floor behind her, made of a mix of stone, wood, and many, many furs.

"...Anyone who's not a sexy-ass succubus, please give us the room." As the slimes, and a mostly-invisible Guy, turn to make their way to the elevator, Xenia rethinks and adds an addendum. "...Actually. Wait." She sighs. "The red one, Lollyp...no pressure or anything, but would you want, y'know...one last roll in the furs before you go?"

Lollyp's smile reaches sizes impossible for most mortal races. "Fuck yeah!"