Dungeon Titles

[Lost Star]

Samael ducked to avoid the rapier, then stepped forward to slam his fist into his opponent's chest. It staggered back and quickly pulled back it's weapon to thrust again. This time the Monk was close enough to bat it to the side. It scraped against his skin but caused no damage. The man took the time to hit it harder this time.

The armored monster actually fell to the ground this time. Normally that was a kill shot, but Samael instead took a step back and reset his stance. The plantfolk got to it's feet without fear or hesitation. Ice crackled down it's rapier and it aimed its weapon at him again.

"I'm still not sure this is a good idea." Camila stated quietly from the sideline.

"He's having fun. Gotta have some way of passing time." Knuckles stated quietly from his side.

A few paces behind the two Seonag was doing something spiritual to the safe zone they had chosen. Since most of her conversation was unheard, and the rest was in her native language, it was exceptionally boring to see.

"It seems a bit cruel." Camila sighed out. "Though it is a dungeon monster. I'm not even sure they have feelings."

"Samael's actually being pretty sporting about it. Nothing crippling and he's letting the thing come at him with full force." Knuckles snorted. "Can't imagine anyone else risking death like that, but he's always had a bit of battlelust." The Terror Knight was keeping an eye on the surrounding area as well as watching the fight too of course.

Samael heard some of this, but he had other things on his mind. The point of this was to work on his handling of weapons. Well that and pass the time. They were going to be there for five days.

Rapiers were actually fairly nasty weapons he'd discovered. They were optimized for speed. Add in an effect like the ice and Samael found himself sporting several scratches that were already frosted over. It wasn't a real threat, but it did add enough spice to the fight that Samael was enjoying himself more.

The rapier thrust through the air and then sliced down as Samael dodged. A bright line of frost skittered across Samael's body as the weapon skated lightly across his skin. The man grinned in reply and pressed forward hard, forcing the plantfolk monster to step back to keep him in the optimal range.

Speed and range was important in melee combat. You had to precisely evaluate them, and while weapons added range, they also added weaknesses that could be exploited. Rapiers required a good thrust to really cause damage. Admittedly the death of a thousand cuts was a thing, but that required more magic than this creature had against Samael's skin.

The plantfolk seemed to know that as it backpedaled. It's primary attack was a series of short sharp thrusts that forced Samael to twist and turn to avoid. The speed behind them was beyond anything normal as well. Good training for the monk in other words.

Samael's grin stretched wider as he continued forward. Finally he was just in range and slammed a hand into the monster's torso again. It dropped to the ground once more and he paused. Then frowned as it dissipated.

"Hey, I wasn't done." The man muttered peevishly.

"I think it was though." Knuckles raised his voice to reply as he approached.

Sighing loudly the monk shook his head and clapped his hands together. "So what's next?"

"We wait." Knuckles stated with a chuckle.

"Yes, Seonag is still negotiating." The astrologer chimed in.

Samael craned his head to look in the direction of the safe zone. The wind and snow made it hard to see though. After a moment the man slapped his hands around his shoulders and moved towards the zone.

"This is going to be really boring." Samael concluded after a moment.

"What did you expect? We're going to be holed up in the safe zone for most of it while we wait." Knuckles rumbled as he followed. "Only reason I agreed with it is because Seonag wanted a new spirit."

"More power is always useful." Camila agreed. "I'm going to use this time to work on float."

Samael paused and looked back. "Float?"

"Derivative spell." Camila responded back and then waved her new umbrella in an arc around her. A moment after that she leaned back and sat in midair. "See?" She opened the umbrella with a pop.

Both men were speechless for a moment. They glanced at each other and eventually Samael ventured a question.

"So, you can float in midair?" He queried.

"Oh yes. I can even move with it." The woman demonstrated by moving forward without a visible means of propulsion. Then she tumbled into the snow end over end and her umbrella went flying. "Needs practice." She commented woozily.

"Yes, I think it does." Samael coughed to hide a laugh.

Knuckles' shoulders shook hard and the man sounded a bit like he was choking before he managed to control himself. "Do you need a hand up?"

"I'm good." Camila got to her feet and brushed off her dress. "Where'd my umbrella go?"

"Right there." Samael pointed ahead of them.

Seonag stepped forward into sight as they approached it and picked up the device. The woman tilted her head as she held it out to Camila. "I would ask, but I believe I would not like the answer."

"Negotiation done?" Samael asked brightly.

"I have received an acceptable answer. For five days we will fight around this area. On the fifth day there were be another trial for me." Seonag paused. "For us rather. It will then offer protection from cold and fire and grant armor of ice." She nodded decisively. "Since you are assisting you will all be granted the same benefits."

"Didn't we already get that?" Samael turned to look at the rest of the party and got shrugs.

"Those spirits grant things to my allies. This is far stronger and specific to those that assist. If I were to add more than I would need to have them come here and fight." The shaman heaved out a sigh through her mask. "It is part and parcel of pacts."

"Ah, that's good to know. Thank you for the the trust." Camila nodded agreeably.

"It is of no matter." The woman waved off the thanks.

 

[Lost Star]

"Ho the camp!" A voice made Samael look up from his breathing exercises and he blinked.

It looked like another adventurer group had found their little hideaway. This wasn't unexpected after all, even a place as big and dangerous as this dungeon had people regularly traveling it. Samael waved casually to the group as the approached.

It was a standard group of four. The leader was a man clad in a rather flashy looking red vest. The two to his sides were a pair of women, one dressed in red, the other in blue. The last was a man with a very large pack on his back.

"You're welcome to share our fire." Samael inclined his head.

"Mighty kind of you." The leading man laughed boisterously and the rest of his party relaxed as they entered the safe zone.

Tradition and reason dictated that serious fighting inside a dungeon was forbidden. Typically parties would either politely ignore each other, or in the case of safe zones simple share the space. The places were dangerous enough without infighting, and it wasn't like there was a limited amount of resources. The few times that people tried backstabbing typically quickly resulted in death. Usually by crippling them and leaving them in the dungeon. There were very few things that tripped adventurer's tempers, causing issues with other parties was one of them.

Samael had gone back to breathing exercises as the new people entered. He was a bit grateful to the change in scenery at least. Maybe later he'd talk some. Right now it was practice.

It took a fair amount of time to figure out that he was being watched. The monk opened his eyes to see the leader watching him with amusement.

"Can I help you?" Samael asked after a moment.

"Was actually wondering a bit about the new title I've been hearing about. The name's Alex." The man offered his hand with a grin. "Leader of the Firestarters."

"Ah, that's a newer clan right?" Samael replied as he shook the other man's hand.

"Hah! Yes, but we've got big expectations!" The man replied back with a chuckle.

"Oh?" The monk asked politely.

"Oh yes. We're still recruiting and looking for opportune talent." Alex's grin shifted into a smile. "I'd offer you a spot, but you've already got a good clan going on your end I think." He glanced into the safe zone casually.

"The Starseekers have been good to me." Samael stated quietly.

"Good, good. Clans should be sort of like a second family. I've been focusing on tight bonds between groups. My girls are like little sisters for instance." Alex ducked as a small ball of soot just missed his head.

Samael watched it with wide eyes. "Did someone just?" He glanced back into the shelter to see the woman wearing red sniff and blow on her hand. Soot washed off it.

"Ash ball. At best it causes a bit of soot on people." Alex chuckled and stuck his tongue out at the woman "Don't mind her, she gets annoyed when I call her that."

"There's nothing about me that's little! Or your sister! Ug!" The woman shouted out of the shelter and then moved in with a few stomps.

"We've got a decidedly fire sort of theme going that's likely going to keep happening if you can't tell." Alex admitted with a chuckle.

Samael raised an eyebrow. "The one in blue too?"

"Oh yeah, she's actually the most specialized. Scariest thing you could ever see." Alex stated proudly.

Well, that was interesting. "Then what about you?"

"Swordmage!" The man pulled out an elaborate looking saber. It had decorations running up and down the blade and looked more like a show weapon rather than something deadly.

"Huh. Haven't met one of you before." The monk admitted.

"That's sort of why I'm curious. Care for a spar?" The man twirled his weapon. "I mean, I'm an elite fighter, so I'll take it easy, but I hear you're good against magic and I rather want to see it."

Samael shrugged. "I have no objections. First blood, try not to range out too far so we don't attract enemies?"

Alex nodded and held the sword casually in one hand. It lit up with fire for a moment. "Right now this will just singe a bit. I can make it hotter. Treat it like that ok?"

"Fine by me." Samael set his stance.

"Brilliant." Alex began the battle by taking two fingers of his free hand and trailing them up the back of his sword.

Recognizing something like a spell happening the monk charged at his opponent. They were several paces away, but even that was too far for him to get in range quick enough. Alex shifted his sword between them, flat of the blade first, and Samael's fist impacted off a suddenly bright light.

Fireflies trailed behind Alex's two fingers now. He pointed them at Samael and they raced forward. The monk responded by slamming his palm forward, causing magic to ripple around him as he used Purity.

The swordmage's eyes widened as his magic rippled, but he didn't falter as Samael charged forward and under the fireflies. Very quickly Samael figured out that the flat shield spell was tied to the sword rather than anything else. Alex had to maneuver his weapon to deflect each strike. For a moment the monk wondered why a sword when he was just using it to deflect strikes.

The question was answered as soon as Samael thought it when Alex switched tactics, swiping out with the blade. The monk dodged the edge, and then winced as he felt something sharp draw blood.

"What the?" Samael asked as he slapped his hand over the bleeding wound on his arm.

"Blade's longer than you'd think." Alex replied back and did something to make a white barrier appear around his weapon.

"You don't even cut with the blade do you?" Samael half stated half questioned.

"Nope!" Alex chuckled and flicked the blade. "You gotta watch for sneaky things like that remember. Not everything is obvious."

Admittedly it was better than getting his head cut off, but the loss still rankled Samael. "Care to try again?"

"Hah!" Alex shifted so that his sword was between then. "Come at me then."

"Gladly!" Samael charged forward.

 

[Lost Star]

"Ow ow ow." Samael hissed as the man behind him rubbed ointment into the cuts. "Why does this hurt more than getting stabbed, why?!"

"I'd say it's because you're both idiots, but that would be giving idiots a bad name." The man stated flatly and grabbed some more ointment. "Now stay still. You've got half your body covered in scratches that have been partially burned." The man grumbled as he continued to apply the salve.

"Hah, sorry, I got a little carried away." Alex stated cheerily from the side of the shelter.

"When doesn't he get carried away?" On of his teammates asked the other.

"Paperwork… Maybe?" She replied back tentatively.

"And this man is my clan master." The medic sighed loudly.

"Almost got you a few times." Samael stated cheerfully as he tried to stay very still.

Alex nodded in agreement. "You did. That was impressive. If I were to judge you're solid veteran and maybe almost elite."

Knuckles took the time to but in. "You're serious."

"Hah! Yes. He's got a lot of potential." Alex grinned widely. "If the rest of you are like that, I don't suppose you'd consider joining up with our clan?"

"We have no desire to shift our allegiance." Seonag stated flatly.

The swordmage sagged in obviously exaggerated despair. "All my plans, ruined!"

"You're good to move. The salve should accelerate your healing for the next few hours. You can even fight if you wanted to." The medic patted Samael's shoulder and the monk nodded.

"Medics are interesting." The monk muttered as he rolled his arms. He didn't even feel the cuts now, just a soothing cool sensation.

"It's an expensive profession, but it does have it's perks." The man replied as he began to put away his salve.

"How's it work in combat?" Samael asked curiously. "I don't expect you'd be able to rub that stuff on someone fighting."

"He throws things!" Alex called out boisterously.

"Yes, I have a few various tonics that are made to be thrown. The salve is far cheaper to make." The medic stated dryly.

"Would you be willing to speak on some of them?" Seonag asked carefully. "I have some small knowledge of plants that might be applicable."

"Shaman right?" The man asked quietly and then smiled softly as Seonag nodded. "Of course. Let's move to the side so we can talk."

Alex grinned at the two and then turned back to Samael. "So, what are you sticking around here for out of curiosity?"

"Helping Seonag get an ice spirit." Samael shrugged casually. Well, that wasn't the primary reason, but it was a reason.

"Oh." Alex eyes widened. "I hope we're not interfering there. I can't imagine that it'd like fire mages."

The woman in blue spoke up then. "It wouldn't really. If I know my spirit lore, we'd have to deliberately burn this place right?" She asked the woman in red.

"I think so? I mean I do fire, not spirit stuff." The woman replied with a shrug.

"Seonag hasn't said anything." Knuckles rumbled.

"Well let me know and we can find another place to rest." Alex nodded and settled back with a sigh.

"Would mean a lot more walking." The woman in red muttered and sighed.

"We're going for the end boss remember. There was always going to be a lot of walking." Alex reminded his party.

"Can't wait till I can take that one on." Samael muttered.

"Keep an eye on the seasons if you are." Alex advised. "They all tell you what the last boss does, and how it's seasonal, but they don't encapsulate what the thing's like." The man shook his head with a small shudder.

"You've fought it before?" Samael asked with surprise.

"Oh, he regularly clears it actually." One of the women stated with a casual wave. "Thinks of it like a right of passage for our guild nowadays. We're doing this run mostly for more funds rather than anything else though." She huffed.

"Starting a clan is expensive. Keeping it going without a good base is moreso." Alex admitted with a disarming grin.

"Doesn't help that the Wild-makers have been pushing back on us." The woman in blue spat out.

"Pushing back?" Samael's eyebrows raised.

"They've managed to get first information on people who come here so they can find the best people to join." Alex explained with a wave. "Now I'm awesome so I can find people too, but it does make things harder than it could be. I will state for the record that the Wild-makers have been fully supportive in other respects."

"If you call that air of superiority and 'oh that's so cute' air they give support." The woman in red grumbled and what Samael suspected was her sister nodded along.

"Sounds rough." Samael admitted, but none of his buisness, he didn't say.

"Actually a bit why I wanted to talk with you. You're setting up a Monk's guild or something like that right?" Alex asked casually.

"Something like that." Samael replied neutrally.

"There are some strange rumors about it nowadays. Something about how you're too wild and too violent to make good party members. When I saw you I wanted to see if that was true." Alex gave a shrug as he continued. "Looks like it wasn't, so I thinking I could recruit some of your clanless members. We could use more bodies."

"What?" Samael asked flatly. "Back up a moment. Rumors?" The man demanded.

"They just started coming in. Something about how the monks are just trumped up brawlers, they're violent, their founder's a murderer." Alex snorted and shook his head. "All rumors, and people have met you so it's not getting traction here."

For once the monk had nothing to say. Knuckles did though.

"Well, I think I figured out why we got that problem last run." The Terror Knight hinted.

Samael nodded slowly. Alex looked inquisitive, but changed the subject when the man waved him off. So the Duke was spreading rumors and had hired an assassin? If he had died, would those rumors have been worse? That was a very good question indeed.

 

[Lost Star]

With the revelation of what was going on outside, Samael was understandably annoyed. Unfortunately that didn't mean he could just charge out and start dealing with it. For one thing the man really didn't have a clue of how to fight rumors. For another, he was sort of committed now to helping Seonag.

So he waited out day after long and irritating day until five days had passed. The spirit seemed quite pleased at the tribute at least. Seonag seemed quite happy as she arranged everyone in a circle around the shelter.

"Almost ready." She stated as she circled the shelter once and settled down in the center.

"So what exactly is this trial?" Knuckles asked slowly.

"Endure." Seonag breathed out one word and moved her mask up to reveal her mouth. She then blew hard at the little fire totem that contained her fire spirit. It went out in an instant.

Snow washed into the shelter and wind blew horribly. Samael grit his teeth as the cold immediately clawed up his body as the almost pervasive presence of Seonag's totem no longer shielded him. The wind bit harshly into his skin and soon he could see nothing but snow as the winds grew even higher.

Endure, really? Samael laughed under his breath. He could likely handle this for maybe a minute before his body went numb.

The man held his arms close to his body and closed his eyes. The wind and snow cut into his skin, but he ignored them. Breath in, breath out. The outside world was nothing important at the moment.

For a moment Samael felt peace even in the cold and wind. His skin numbed and the snow touched his form lightly. This was almost trivial to endure once you got past the initial bite. Admittedly he might get some minor frostbite, but that could be dealt with.

The wind stilled for a moment. Samael opened his eyes and he saw an impossibility. A snowstorm was raging an inch from his face, but not a single lick of snow was touching him. There was a sense of something large and impossible watching him, and then almost laughing. The world heated up a moment and his numbe skin flushed with life.

The second his skin felt warm the cold returned. This time with sharp hailstones. The hardened water hit his skin like knives. Just barely enough to pierce his skin.

Samael grit his teeth and closed his eyes in defiance. He inhaled and exhaled. He forced the world away. The knives at his skin were irrelevant. The spirit's intentions were irrelevant. He could and would endure it.

Blood dripped down the man's body. Across the muscles and into the shirt he was wearing. It frosted solid inside the wound. Through it all the monk kept himself calm.

Breathing. Cycling his magic. Samael focused hard on that and only that as his body was cut.

The wind stilled again. This time the monk didn't open his eyes. He could endure anything the spirit would throw at him.

Whether the spirit took this as a challenge or an insult he couldn't say. All the man could say is that this time the wind didn't come back. Instead ice started to form on his body.

The frozen water crackled into form like teeth. It dug into his skin and slowly ate it's way up his legs and arms. It grew and became heavy.

Samael ignored it. He let it all fall away. The ice grew and surrounded him completely. The cold leached the warmth from his body. Around the monk the world was still and in that stillness the ice grew and enveloped him.

It would have been a cold and cruel death to another person. In that cold stillness Samael breathed and focused. He focused on his faith and found it matching the icy cold.

Warmth suffused his body, and Samael lost track of time. The world fell away and the ice became nothing to his senses. For one eternal instant he finally grasped Salvation.

The monk was brought back to reality as the ice crackled and snapped around loudly and sharply. He opened his eyes to see what looked like sheets of ice dropping off his body and disappearing.

The rest of his party watched the process with wide eyes, and Seonag immediately rushed to him to place her hand against his skin. The Shaman looked a bit wild through her mask, but calmed once she found no cold.

Samael grinned slightly. "There an issue?"

"No issue." Seonag sighed loudly and grumbled as she reached down to pick up what looked like an ice shard stuck into the ground. "Just an ice spirit thanking you for the challenge."

"The challenge?" Samael asked with curiosity.

"Encasing people in ice usually kills them." The shaman stated dryly and gestured to the monk body.

Samael looked down at himself. He looked fine. If anything he was in better shape than what he had been in while doing the challenge. He did notice something new though.

"Why do I have a white tattoo now?" He asked curiously. It looked a lot like someone had added decoration around his Final Prayer tattoo.

"The spirit thanks you." Seonag sighed and hung her head. "You will likely be less bothered by the cold."

"Haha, really?" Samael asked with a grin.

"You are not finding a fire spirit to try the same thing." The shaman stated flatly.

The monk blinked innocently. "Why'd you think I'd do that?"

"I would like to think I know how my teammate behaves." Seonag waved her new icy totem and then ice crackled on her form in the shape of spiky armor.

Samael chuckled to himself and didn't say anything more. The thought had occurred to him honestly, but he figured he at least had a way of giving monks that would follow the shaman path a way forward. That was going to be very important in the future. Plus it was a very interesting effect in general. He wondered a bit what other spirits would do?

 

[Lost Star]

The ice armor turned out to be hilarious fun for Samael. It was good enough to deflect most casual strikes, and healed itself very quickly. Even better, it came with inbuilt spikes that damaged enemies while leaving him perfectly fine.

He was almost disappointed when he got out of the dungeon. Almost. The sight of something more than white and snow was enough to wash away any disappointment. He actually teared up a little bit to see shades of red and orange.

Everyone took the time to head to their rooms at this point. Well, everyone but Samael. He went straight to Bonnie's place. The plan was to meet up there the next morning, and he was going to stay there for security sake. It also let him get more information on what was going on as well.

Considering that it was very late and no one knew when they had come out, this was probably the safest plan they could do while still getting away from one another for a time. There were a few stresses here and there thanks to being cooped up with each other for five days in an extremely tense environment. It wasn't the best plan, but it was either that or start yelling at eachother.

Bonnie met Samael at the doorway and ushered him in. Not even a minute later he was set in a chair and getting some tea.

"So, have fun?" Bonnie asked after a moment.

"Honestly, yes. Seonag got herself a fairly powerful boost." Samael nodded and showed off his new tattoo. "I got something too."

Bonnie practically had stars in her eyes as she leaned forward to look. "That's fascinating. I wonder how the magical resonance works there. It could prove so many theories." The historian shook her head after a moment. "Getting off track. I did some checking and talked with a few clan members more politically inclined."

Samael turned serious and leaned forward himself. "Is this about the rumors?"

"You heard about that didn't you?" Bonnie asked with a raised eyebrow and then sighed to lean back in her chair. "The Duke of Earlsburg is sleaze, but he's competent sleaze. Pinning any of that on him is impossible at the moment. He'd just turn that around on us."

"Tch." A familiar bitterness boiled in Samael's stomach. Didn't that just figure.

"Fortunately he's limited in many ways. What he seems to be doing is trying to keep brawlers exactly where they are. Already we're seeing a shift socially. If the guild was up and running it'd be even worse." Bonnie grinned fleetingly. "The rumors and him delaying the guild formation are basically him trying to shame brawlers into keeping where they are." The woman shook her head and laughed. "I don't think he realized how stubborn you lot are."

Samael blinked in response to that. "What about the assassin?"

"You're going to have to avoid dungeons for a few weeks." Bonnie stated seriously and grabbed her teacup and practically poured sugar into it. "Based on the information I had, the duke wanted you to die randomly in a dungeon, then would have spread rumors and delayed the guild formation. That would have had any brawlers trapped in limbo for a very long time."

"That doesn't make much sense though. What about Sampson and Harry?" Samael pointed out and watched with mild amusement as Bonnie downed the entire cup of tea in one go before pouring herself a new cup.

"You're the founder of the new title. With you around, there's a lot of weight so to speak. Right now people can safely say that you're a dungeon veteran with an established pattern of working with people." Bonnie gave a lopsided grin as she sipped at her tea.

"That can't be the entire thing though." The monk pointed out calmly.

"His first plan failed. Now he's going to the second one. Keep in mind travel time and how messages are passed. He likely just found out that you didn't die and now has to try something else or the brawlers will all leave." Bonnie rolled her eyes at the statement.

"We don't know what he's going to do next though." Samael stated with a frown.

"That's why after Camila does her star reading you're heading out. That will likely head off anything targeted at you." Bonnie shrugged and set down her teacup.

"Well at least it wouldn't be more snow. Well hopefully." Samael grabbed one of the cookies the historian had set out and nibbled on it. "Why's he so pissed off at me by the way? I never really figured that one out completely."

"Brawlers fill a niche cheaply. Overflow dungeons have to be maintained. A few brawlers with no other prospects are cheap, easy to motivate, and sort of locked into their roles." Bonnie waved a hand. "You're costing him money."

"And there's nothing a nobel likes less than losing money." The monk finished grimly.

Bonnie nodded quietly. That was really the core point.

Samael went to bed with a familiar anger in his heart. One he thought he had excised when he had left his town. It was still there and ready to be fanned apparently.

He had fought, struggled, and bled for this chance. Now there was someone above him trying to beat him down again. Like the thieves guild had done. There was a difference though. He had power and skill now.

Samael refused to be brought low by this noble. He would follow along with his clan's directions for now, but he wouldn't allow this to continue forever. For a moment he contemplated terrible things that he could do. The anger burned brighter.

Before he went to sleep though, Samael carefully put out the flames burning in his breast. Burning things to the ground would not prove anything. Instead he needed to be solid and unyielding. He needed to have a bit of faith and a bit of determination. That was how he was going to win.

 

[Lost Star]

AN: Thank you for the corrections all!
Daylight had the party plus Bonnie at an area that none of them had previously visited. The stables. Though stables really was a misnomer. Stables implied there were just horses for riding there. These stables contained far more than just horses and were easily double the size of standard ones. A lot of the animals weren't just for riding either.

There were horses, massive hunting cats, dogs, and a few very large birds of various sorts. With the wide variety of animals there one would expect that there would be trouble, but most of them seemed relatively docile and happy. This was due to the one in charge. A Beastmaster who managed the place.

The man was a fairly hefty looking man with large muscles and more than a few scars of various sorts. He greeted Bonnie with a wide smile.

"How's my favorite girl?" He spread his arms wide for a hug.

Bonnie waved limply. "Hi George."

"Oh don't be like that, we've got so much history." He moved forward and Bonnie backed away. Not quickly enough though, and she was soon lifted up in a hug.

The girl endured it with a look of long suffering and soon she was back on her feet. "Do you have what I need?" She asked as she brushed out her clothing.

"Of course, of course!" George nodded and looked at the other people. "These the people?"

"Yes." Bonnie replied.

"You're really racking up favors girl. Maybe I should ask for that date in exchange?" George winked at the adventurers.

Samael was sure that if Bonnie had been wearing her bunny ears they would have gone straight up. The girl's eyes widened and she stepped back in horror. "You said you'd never bring that up again!"

"Hahahaha!" George laughed loudly and slapped at his knee. "I didn't girl. You did. Bonnie's got a bit of history with bad dating." He confided to the other people.

The Historian cleared her throat. "We are in a bit of a hurry."

"Oh, but the stories I could tell!" George shook his head and motioned to Samael and his party. "You all can come back. I have your ride staged there."

"I'm going back to the library. Camila gave me the calculations for where you're going." Bonnie waved as she moved away.

George clapped his hands together as he led them through the stables. Samael glanced around at the various animals with curiosity, but tried to keep his attention on the man. It was a bit hard since there were a lot of different animals. Even the horses were in different shapes and sizes.

"So, Bonnie has set you up with a Stone-hoof Donkey and cart." George began as they moved to a wide open area. "Stone-hoof Donkeys are probably one of the most stable and placid animals we have. You can feed them practically anything and they'll live, so just get some standard feed."

The man led them to a rather small looking cart with a seat. Strapped into it was a rather rocky looking donkey. As in it literally had rocks on it's body. It was chewing on something while the approached and completely ignored them.

"Aww, it's adorable." Camila cooed and moved forward to pet at the animal's nose. It didn't even stop chewing.

George stifled a laugh. "You could set off an explosion next to one and they wouldn't care much. That's good and bad though since they won't get away from trouble like other animals might." He slapped the animal's shoulder and nothing happened. "It takes a lot to damage or even get their attention."

"Oh." Camila didn't stop petting the animal though.

The beastmaster motioned to the other adventurers and they followed. "He'll start with a rein snap, and a 'Forward.' He'll stop with a rein pull and 'Woah.' Right and left you pull on the sides. Don't be afraid to pull hard, you're not going to hurt him unless you put all your weight into it." The man pointed to the reins as he spoke then continued. "Brush him down and remove the harness and reins before you go to sleep, and he'll be good for you for years if you wanted."

"Seems simple." Seonag stated as she glanced at the animal.

"That's why you're getting him. Any other animal and you'd need a handler along. That beast can likely live through more than you." George stated bluntly and then motioned to the back of the cart. "You have three cargo holding boxes. Right now they have feed and a few standard rations. Fill them up as much as you need on the way. Other than that, this is yours. Remember it's a loan, not yours. Bonnie will be pissed if I have to bill her for the thing."

That got winces from everyone but Camila. She was still petting the donkey. "I'm going to call you Stony!" She stated.

George looked to be restraining a laugh as he motioned to the cart. "Get in and I'll get the doors open so you can get him out. Good luck with whatever it is you're doing."

Knuckles moved into the front seat and picked up the reigns. Camila and Samael moved to the back of the cart. Seonag sat next to Knuckles.

After a moment the large front doors to the stables creaked open and the wind and cold started to seep into the building. Knuckles snapped the reins and the donkey began to placidly move.

A few minutes later they were starting down the road. About the only good thing about the cart appeared to be it's design to handle rough roads. The jostling was surprisingly little.

"We're we going?" Knuckles asked Camila.

"Right now, south!" The Astrologer chirped back and yawned. "Predictions state that there's going to be a falling star that way within the lunar cycle. I'll need to do more checking to get more information."

Knuckles grunted and began to direct the cart that way. The cart creaked and swayed as they continued to move onto their new adventure.

 

[Lost Star]

Samael had been wondering some on why they had gotten the wagon, but as they moved south he figured it out fairly quickly. Camila had curled up in a ball and gone to sleep, and the rest of them had basically quietly watched the terrain move by. It wasn't that much faster than walking, but it was peaceful. The wagon basically made the distance they were traveling easier and let them carry more supplies.

They moved south for now. On the road and through wide fields that would be filled with grain in the spring and summer. Right now it was mostly white, white, and a few greys. The silence they rode in wasn't stifling though. It was peaceful. Just the quiet wind and clip clop of hooves from their donkey.

Hours later they came upon a city pillar. The large stone block loomed in the distance. One of several that surrounded a city, these pillars gathered ambient magic for various tasks and needs. They powered magical items for non-adventurers through an arcane process that Samael didn't really know about.

The party didn't really need to go in the city though, so they simply had the wagon skirt the boundaries of the city and continue further south.

More fields and snow followed. Seonag switched off with Knuckles and Samael moved up to take her place as they continued. Camila stayed asleep through the brief stop, and they continued south.

A large forest loomed as they moved on, and there they decided to stop for the night. Camila was woken up and they gathered enough wood for a large bonfire. Technically they were hiding. Practically if someone had followed them they would have noticed it at some point. There were very few travelers at this time thanks to winter.

The fire was rather nice, and everyone gathered around it. Seonag's spirits kept them warm, but there was something about the fire that made things better. It certainly made the bland rations better.

"I'm going to be up all night getting better directions." Camila yawned widely as she watched the fire.

"That's fine. You're probably the only one going to be doing work for awhile." Samael chuckled as he replied.

"Heard that the roads peter out down south." Knuckles muttered.

"The wagon and I can handle off road travel." Seonag contributed and wiggled one of her totems. "Earth is agreeable to smooth the way for some extra tribute."

Camila nodded with a small smile. "That should help. Straight south hits the sea, but I expect we're going to be going south east soon. That brings us to the border and the mountains."

"I don't know geography, so I don't know what's after that." Knuckles admitted.

The Astrologer waved her hand and grinned. "Oh, I can help with that!" She waved her hand and a sphere appeared in front of them. A part of it expanded.

Knuckles and Samael looked at it with bewilderment. All they could see was a lot of land in front of them.

"We are around here right?" Seonag pointed to an area. "I believe south then would bring us to a badlands."

"You're right." Camila nodded and parts of the lands started to light up. "The Crowned Kingdom, where we are is this space." A large field was illuminated in red. "Amazonia is to the Northeast." A smaller place was illuminated. "Badlands are here and here." Those were illuminated with white.

"Badlands are places where dungeons have taken over if I remember right." Samael muttered. "I don't think we're ready for that. They're elite territory."

"Starchasers don't go into there as a general rule." Camila waved away the illusion. "If the falling star drops into that area, we get to the border and try to view it. I can create telescopes to view from afar." Camila shrugged.

"Does that happen often?" Seonag asked curiously.

The Astrologer pouted. "More often than I would like. It's either someplace we can't get to, or it's rocks falling from the sky, or it's nothing and we can't figure out why."

"Hah, sounds like you're taking it a bit personally there." Samael teased.

"We've been searching for evidence since our founding!" Camila waved her arms in protest.

"The search for truth always takes time." Seonag advised. "I am not sure there is even an end to it. There are always more truths to find."

Knuckles snorted and threw more wood into the bonfire. "Anyone who thinks that they know everything there is about the world is a fool. Seen more than one trumped up 'educated' idiot get conned and actually thinking they got the better of the person."

Samael snickered and stretched. "Oh yeah, I've seen that happen too. Those are funny."

"Funny?" Camila tilted her head.

"Trumped up nobles coming down into the slums thinking that because they have the education and money they can do anything they want." Samael explained and made a dismissive notion. "They don't get hurt cause that would cause trouble, but they typically lose all their money and I've even seen a few running back without their pants." The man chuckled.

"Gambling cons are probably the easiest there. They keep coming and don't realize that they're not getting anything." Knuckles added casually.

"Those were actually kind of sad sometimes. Addicts are more pitiful than anything else. The higher ups just hide it better." Samael sighed in remembrance.

"Your 'nobles' seem similar to the ones in my country. I have heard tales of their antics. Though they prefer rumors and backstabbing." Seonag stated softly. "More than one woman has been run out from embrassement."

"Wow, you all have stories. I just got taught a lot by my brother." Camila looked at them with wide eyes. "He's always been an adventurer, just like my parents."

"And you don't have stories?" Samael asked curiously.

"We had a nice home in the country with a big skybox. Mother and father were away a lot doing clan business, but they tried to keep brother and me happy. Big brother was the one that taught me astronomy though. When I sparked I went right into mage, and then Astronomer." Camila made a few sparks of magic. "He was proud. It's a bit of a family thing."

"Hah. Didn't have any of that." Samael shook his head.

"Nor I." Seonag added.

"Actually, my father was an Adventurer. " Knuckles coughed out and everyone looked at him with a bit of surprise. The man looked a bit annoyed at the surprise. "Ain't like he did much more than pay her for a night though." He added and there were a few winces.

"What…?" Camila trailed off as Samael made a cutting motion at his throat. She looked at him questioningly.

"I'll explain later." Samael whispered lowly.

Conversation petered off after that, and people went to sleep as Camila started up her diagrams and checks. Well after Samael explained what prostitution was. Which was a fairly embarrassing thing to go over.

 

[Lost Star]

Days passed. The travel was slow and steady though. Soon the winter started to slake and rains started to come in fits and starts. Fortunately a combination of stubborn determination from their donkey and Seonag's earth totem made things relatively easy to travel in. Though relatively didn't mean it was without pain. The rain was cold and miserable, and the fire spirit couldn't quite chase away the miserable nature of being wet.

The party ended up stopping briefly at an inn and getting a cover setup on the wagon. It was a simple a crude setup, but it did keep the rain off when it came. They pressed on with determination despite the unpleasant turn the trip had taken. A little discomfort wasn't going to stop them.

Eventually they reached the border of the kingdom and to the badlands. There the crude road ended, and a few signs had been placed. None of the signs had text. Instead they all had large skulls and crossbones on them. Markers on where the normal terrain ended and the dungeon began.

It looked almost innocent. There were no differences between the grassland on one side or the other. Samael almost doubted the signs, but he could see something larger than normal flying above them all. In the distance too was a large and foreboding mountain, topped with snow and ice. That was where the dungeon was centered.

"It's a secured dungeon in there right?" The monk asked as he watched the things circling above them all.

"Air and earth apparently." Camila responded absentmindedly as she began to make motions in the air.

"We're camping here." Knuckles stated after glancing up at the creatures above.

"Air and Earth?" Seonag asked Camila curiously.

"It has flying things that provide warnings, and uses some sort of earth creatures as defenses." The astrologer explained as she made made a circle with her fingers and then pulled her hands apart. A flat plane in front of her expanded and the flying monsters came into view as the magic caused a magnification effect.

The best way to describe the monsters was that they were unhealthy looking birds. They had feathers on their wings, but that was it. Skinny and almost malnourished looking, they had a sickly looking air as they circled in the sky. Instead of being pathetic looking though they looked dangerous. Their beaks were cruelly curved, and their talons glittered in the air.

Camila just glanced over them briefly and then shifted her hands. A massive stone door came into view then. It was perhaps better to call it a stone slab carved into the mountain. This was where the secured part of the dungeon came in.

Secured dungeons were the rarest and probably the most mysterious. They always had some barrier to entry. Some required keys even. They existed as an argument for dungeons being intelligent, though there was requirement to use the entrances. Some people had deliberately passed them to no noticeable reaction.

This dungeon's entrance was just a big stone slab on hinges. If you could move it, you could get in. As far as entrances go it was particularly crude, though that didn't make it ineffective.

"So, what do we do now?" The monk asked after the view hadn't changed for a moment.

"Camping sounds good." Camila replied with a small smile. "I need to set up a few actual runes and arrays to give us a good view. The star should fall in the next few days."

"I'll get out the tents then." Knuckles turned back to the cart as he spoke.

"I'll help!" Samael added on quickly and followed.

The larger man grunted and motioned to the boxes in the back of the cart. The monk immediately dove into them and began to pull out various parts of the tent. Knuckles grabbed them without words and they began to arrange a campsite. Samael dragged out the tarps and stakes while Knuckles gently pounded the appropriate parts into the ground.

Samael paused mid move as he noticed something off. "Something wrong with your finger?"

Knuckles paused and clenched his good hand in the gauntlet. One of the fingers didn't move quite right and took it's time to close. "Just practicing something." He grunted as he continued to position the stake.

"If you say so." The monk shrugged off the observation, and then noticed blood dripping down the man's gauntlet. "You're bleeding."

"Shit." Knuckles sighed and pulled off the metal object. One of his fingers looked to have been practically mauled and the bandage had shifted.

"What in heaven's name happened there?" Samael breathed out as he darted to Knuckle's side.

"Training. I don't want to talk much more about it. It's not pretty." Knuckles grunted and rebandaged his finger.

Hissing, Samael made a face but backed off. "Don't let it get infected and let me know if you need help then."

Knuckles gave a grunt and they continued to setup the campsite. A few minutes later they had four tents setup and Seonag had set a perimeter with her magic.

More impressive though was the thing Camila had setup. She had pulled several metal poles and circles out of her bag and arranged them pointing towards the mountain and into the sky. Each circle functioned as a magical telescope and acted independently of her direction. The magnification on some of them was fantastic, enough to see the snow moving on the mountain.

"Now we just need to wait!" Camila adjusted one of the circles so it was facing the sky. "Oh, this is so exciting!"

"Do you want to tell her you're bored out of your skull already, or shall I?" Samael whispered to Knuckles quietly.

"No chance of that. She'd pout." The man grumbled softly in reply.

"I will see about finding the dice." Seonag chimed in. "And see about finding something to hunt so we have fresh food."

"Anything's better than the rations." The monk muttered and sighed.

Camila hadn't noticed any of the conversation. Instead she was adjusting and readjusting the various circles she had set. The views were fantastic, but absolutely nothing was happening. Not that this was stopping her.

 

[Lost Star]

When the star came down from the sky, it came down in a rainstorm. Camila was particularly distressed that she couldn't see exactly where it had come from, but her setup had not been in vain. They were all treated to sight of a blazing white sphere screaming it's way through the air and impacting the mountain top somewhere in the distance.

Unfortunately the angle and the rain made the show regrettably short and not that impressive. The only thing that made the entire thing something other than a disappointment was the fact that Camila had managed some sort of spell that recorded the entire event. She could even pause it and magnify it a small amount.

That was actually fairly interesting. Everyone crowded around as she paused when the full view of the falling star was in her instrument.

"See how it trails as it's falling? That's part of it burning off as it comes down. Something about the air causes it!" Camila pointed towards the back of the star as she babbled excitedly. "We've figured out that a lot of them are made of ice or stone. This one's ice I think."

"It is really fascinating." Samael muttered absentmindedly as he looked at the picture.

"Do you hear something?" Seonag tilted her head and frowned. She wasn't wearing her mask at the moment. Something that she seemed to be regretting.

"Nooo?" Camila trailed off and looked around the rainy field. She flicked the ring holding the picture and starting to look up at the sky. "Maybe something from the dungeon is roaming out?"

"It sounds like something cracking." Seonag responded and then pulled out her mask and pulled it on.

The shaman then tapped at her wind totem and began to look around. Camila did the same, though she looked more at the sky.

"I hear it too." Samael stated after a moment and glanced around. It wasn't like visibility was spectacular at the moment though.

"There is nothing nearby." Seonag finally said as he wind spirit blew in from the rain.

"Oh my." Camila breathed out, and eveyone's eyes snapped to what she was seeing.

Inside the metal circle was a view of the entrance of the dungeon. The massive stone slab that made up the entrance had seen better days. Cracks ran up and down it's sides, all courtesy of the thing in front of it.
It was a thing too. It wasn't identifiable as a human, or a monster really. More a shapeless mass of off grey coloring. As they watched it's form rippled and then slammed into the door again, causing more cracks to run up and down the door.

"What is that?" Seonag asked with a fearful tone.

"I don't know!" Camila responded quickly as she tried to magnify the view.

The magnification didn't help much. It was still a strange grey blob. The magnification did give an idea of it's size though. It was far larger than a man, and as they watched several of the bird monsters that made up the dungeon attempt to attack it.

What happened next was nearly impossible to see. One moment the birds were diving, and the next they were gone. Everyone blinked, and Camila quickly had the recording play back slowly. It showed a brief instant where the grey thing looked like it was reaching towards the monsters.

"That's fast." Samael breathed out shakily.

"I think…" Camila gulped and switched the view again. "That's a world boss." She sounded very faint. "That's a world boss."

"That's a world boss." Knuckles stated flatly. "You're sure?"

"It's the only thing that makes sense. See, it's changing some?" Camila switched view to the blob. It had grown wings and looked almost like a bird now. "World bosses that have roamed a long time have been noted to change in the histories. We're seeing one just emerging." The girl was hyperventilating as she frantically cast something on the tools she had setup. "This is like one of the greatest discoveries in the world!"

"If we live through it." Knuckles replied grimly.

"Oh, yeah." The astrologer looked at the view with wide eyes. The door had broken and the creature had moved in. "It's going into the dungeon. We have a moment."

"Remind me again how far is safe from a world boss?" Knuckles called out over his shoulder as he practically ran to the cart.

"Something like five hours travel?" Camila paused and then began to frantically unhook her tools. "Quick, grab it all! Don't worry about making it neat! We have to go now!"

Samael and Seonag didn't argue. They grabbed the metal poles and circles with trembling hands. Knuckles had the donkey trot up right behind them and they threw the materials into the cart.

"This isn't going to go that fast." Samael muttered as he glanced at the donkey.

"We need the recordings." Camila argued back with uncharacteristic firmness. "They could change everything we know. It HAS to be saved if nothing else."

"I know, but there are towns nearby." The monk stated.

Knuckles cursed. "Run to the nearest one. You remember where it was? There's messenger services there."

"You sure?" Samael asked them all.

"Run. Fast." Seonag stated. "Bring warning. We will meet you there."

 

[Lost Star]

Samael ran. He ran through the rain and reached the muddy road. His feel squelched through the dirt and water and caused his pants to become drenched and dirtied. He didn't stop or even hesitate though. One foot in front of the other. His life wasn't the only thing depending on this. If the word didn't get out he didn't know what would happen, but it wouldn't be something good. Bonnie had said world bosses rampaged across kingdoms.

The nearest town was a full day's of travel away. Samael needed to be there far faster.

One foot in front of the other. He couldn't take a break. He couldn't stop. Samael didn't sprint, much as he wanted to. He ran. He ran hard and at a pace that he felt he could maintain, and just a tad extra.

His legs burned as the minutes passed. His breath came in big heaving gasps. Samael felt himself tire quickly. Battles were exhausting affairs, but running like this was tiring in a different way. The monk didn't even think about stopping.

The road blurred. The icy cold rain drenched his skin and practically sizzled as his heated body caused it to steam. Step by step, Samael ran as best he could. The rain slowly stopped and the sun started to shine when he could see the town in the distance.

That was only half the battle though. Samael ran into town and ignored the stares he was getting. There, there was the guard station. One of the larger buildings in the town. The man ran into it practically broke down the door.

Panting, he glanced around the area. The man at the desk was already rising from his seat. "I need the person in charge." Samael gasped out harshly.

"I'll, um, get the captain." The man at the desk stuttered out and practically stumbled over himself moving into a backroom.

Samael focused on controlling his breathing as he waited and darted his gaze around here and there. There were papers scattered across the desk. A bit of water on the floor. A mug of something on the corner of the desk. Someone had a coat hanging up on the rack.

"What's the emergency?" The captain asked seriously as he stepped out of his room.

"Do you know what a world boss is?" Samael began slowly and deliberately.

The captain inhaled slowly. "Son, I don't think you understand what you're asking."

"We spotted one in the badlands. It was attacking the dungeon." Samael replied back quickly and quietly.

The only sign of how disturbed the man was by this statement was how he inhaled sharply. He glanced at the worried looking aid behind him and then breathed out slowly. His next words were measured and slow. "You're sure?"

"My party was watching the dungeon. We're with the Starseekers clan." Samael babbled a bit as he got his breath under control. "We saw it."

"All right then. We're going to do this quietly and carefully." The captain spoke with a steady and careful tone. "Mikey, I want you to have everyone get into their basements. Call it a storm drill. I'm going to round up the guards."

"Sir?" The assistant questioned.

"Did I stutter?" The calm tone from the captain had the assistant running away fast. Only once the man was out of earshot did the captain continue. "Now, boy. You're Starseekers? I don't know that clan, but you are able to contact them correct?"

"Yes…?" Samael trailed off as the captain passed him a badge.

"Priority mail. Send them a message. Also send the same one to this address." The captain wrote out a scrawling address across the back of some report. "Mail the badge with that one." The man continued and handed the monk the paper. "Say, date, time, location."

"All right. Then what?" Samael asked as he looked over the paper.

"Come back here. I'm assuming you're a spellcaster of some sort?" The captain asked.

"Fighter actually." Samael clapped his hands together.

"I hope you're good enough. We have to pin down the world boss before it reaches the town." The captain answered back and smiled without humor. "I do hope you're lying."

Samael blinked several times. "Why?"

"Because if you aren't, we're going to all die and this town's going to be wiped off the map." The captain moved across the room and to a locker. Inside was armor and weapons. He began to steadily pull out the armor pieces.

"What?!" The monk blurted out.

"World bosses travel to large cities and population centers. They destroy everything they can, and devour all humans they find. They can be hidden from though. If we delay it even a few minutes then the people here might live." The captain latched on his breastplate and pulled out a simple looking sword to glance over it. "My duty and honor would demand no less than that. Any information we could get would be a boon as well."

"We'd be dead though." Samael pointed out quietly.

"Our souls will be called back for information." The captain sheathed his sword with a click "It costs a small fortune for it, but it will happen. I can rest easy in heaven knowing that."

The monk grit his teeth, but was forced to acknowledge the cold practicality of that. "Shit."

"You don't have to come back after you mail the letters." The man continued quietly and fixed his sword to his belt.

The monk laughed softly and shook his head as he left the office. "I don't think I could call myself what I am if I did that. I am Samael the Monk. I will help. If I die. So be it."

Samael didn't stay to listen to the response. He ran to the post office and scrawled out a quick message to both Bonnie and the address the captain he had been given. The worker in charge glanced at him with disinterest, but then looked with wide eyes at where he was sending the letters.

"Please send them now and get underground." Samael stated softly as he dropped several gold coins on the table.

The worker nodded rapidly and moments later Samael could hear something gallop. He was outside the building and moving towards the office himself.