Fates of Grenora: Return of the Night

The continuous drips of water resonated through the passageway as two people wandered down a dimly lit passage. With a [Potion of Night Vision] their vision in the dark helped them see clear as day as they continued to advance unimpeded. The creaking of rock pebbles tumbling down to the stony floor kept them on edge in fear of an ambush from the creatures that lurked in these tunnels.

"Oh my god, I hate this dungeon!" A brown skinned burly man echoed out into the cavern, "Why did we get stuck with a Tier C Mission again?"

"Well, Gryph, we were the only ones out close enough for the routine check," a slim pale man with glasses replied.

"This is the last time I EVER go this far out AND TO THINK THIS WAS YOUR IDEA OF A GOOD TIME," Gryph said.

"You disgust me sometimes, Elliot," He flatly added, making Elliot chuckle.

"We can regroup with the others soon anyway," Elliot said, ignoring the joke.

The two continued down the winding corridor back to the meeting place where stood two humans and an elf. The group had their backs turned to them as they were hastily whispering between themselves.

"What's got you three in a circle-jerk?" Gryph announced, making the group of three flinch in surprise.

"We found this," the younger of the two humans stated as he presented them with a cloudy green glowing fist sized orb.

"Anton, did you Identify this?" Elliot asked the group, specifically the older man that had salt and pepper hair and a beard to match.

"I tried, but my profession as an Arcanist is apparently too low," the older man, Anton, said.

"Alright, a Profession check failed, which can be a good thing for pricing. What do you make of this then, Phaendral?" Elliot asked the lean looking elf, the third person standing next to the two humans.

"It looks like a [Key Orb] for a deeper part of the Dungeon," Phaendral smoothly replied.

"Well, would ya look at that! Finally, something to brag about when we get back to base, eh, Aldrin!" Gryph said as he grabbed the younger looking man who had shoulder length wavy brown hair and copper skin in a bone crunching side hug.

"Gryph, please, can't breathe." Aldrin struggled out.

"Gryph put Aldrin down. He is turning blue," Elliot commanded.

"Before we proceed, we need to do equipment checks, status checks, and distribute our points for those of us who leveled," Elliot continued after Gryph released Aldrin.

Aldrin nodded, pulling up his character sheet and abilities.

Aldrin debated between getting the next levels of Minor Antidote to cure Tier 3 poisons and lower, Dispel to break Tier 3 curses and lower, or Armaments of the Dedicated to help reduce the damage to all. However, his stats needed to be worked on; but he was also acutely aware of what it was like to have something enticing peeking around the corner with skills. So it was always a gamble. Never knowing if the next level of the skill was the one you needed all along to give you an edge in most cases. That thought process would change once you got to a Tier 4 Class then you would start to snowball in skills and stats, ultimately changing the playing field again.

Unfortunately, for now, the choice between stats and skills was a question. The question that often plagued those who were Adventurers. Here, for Aldrin, being an offset tank-healer hybrid, they were traversing a routine sweep of this dungeon yet found an anomaly in the [Key Orb]. That being said, he would rather have more protection than not if things were going to continue to become weird.

Coming out of the Status Screen stupor, Aldrin looked to see if the others were done as well.

As usual, Elliot the Chromatic Apprentice(Tier 2 Mage), their de facto leader for this dungeon run, was the first to be done and eyed the dark passageways that led to this cavern. Gryph, the resident meat sponge and freshly advanced Behemoth(Tier 3 Knight), was busy scrubbing his tower shield that looked more like a slab of dense metal.

Phaendral, the reserved elf and Beast Tamer(Tier 2 Rogue) kept a watchful eye on the ceiling and walls for any signs of movement since fire breathing giant insects seemed to be a thing in the dungeon now. And lastly, Anton, the Divine Monk(Tier 2 Healer) still had the look of Status Screen stupor.

"Do you ever get that weird feeling that something big is about to change?" Elliot whispered as Aldrin walked up.

"I haven't felt it since we were abducted from Earth and came here to Grenora." Aldrin bitterly replied.

Elliot let out a coarse laugh,"I remember that. I was young when people started vanishing in beams of light and then soon after it was entire cities," He said.

"It took us from our homes, our friends, and family," Aldrin grumbled.

"How long has it been since we left Earth again? 20 years ago, right?" Elliot asked, scratching his non existing beard.

"22 years tomorrow at least," Aldrin said, memories of the escape replaying in his mind like it happened yesterday.

Elliot cursed to himself, "Has it really been that long?"

Aldrin nodded back to him.

Elliot grumbled to himself, signaling the end of the conversation between the two. Of course, this left Aldrin pondering over thoughts he buried within the deep recesses of his mind. The fear of the large portal he and his family had to walk through, the fear of the unknown.

"I have finished," Anton announced, snapping the others out of their vigilance.

"I will scout ahead," Phaendral said as he departed down the only passageway that led deeper into the dungeon.

"Think we will find anything else that is out of place in the dungeon?" Gryph asked, strapping his metal slab of a shield to his arm.

"I don't know, but I don't want to take any chances, so be prepared for anything," Elliot replied as they all faced the passageway Phaendral went down.

Grim faces were the only answer Elliot got in return. Aldrin and Gryph took point, each with their shields raised and weapons poised to strike. They trekked their way slowly down the passageway, the [Potion of Night Vision] allowing them to see perfectly in the dark tunnel.

Hurried footsteps echoed down the chamber and no sooner did Phaendral appear. He rounded the corner, eyes wider and paler than usual, holding a gaping wound with his intestines spilling through his fingers.

Anton and Aldrin immediately cast Minor Healing on him, engulfing him in white light. The wound healed slightly, but then reopened and continued to eat away at his skin. "Tier 5 Poison Curse!" Phaendral breathlessly shouted.

Gryph and Aldrin opened the shield wall they made as Phaendral came stumbling through to be caught by Elliot. Black blood spilled out of Phaendral's mouth, squirting some on Elliot's face that began to eat away at his own skin like acid. Elliot cried out as he furiously and desperately tried to scrub away the acidic blood, causing it to spread to more of his face and hands.

"What the hell causes Tier 5 Poison and Curse in a Tier 2 Dungeon?!" Gryph demanded, eyes wildly searching every crevice and opening of the tunnel.

Aldrin kept casting Minor Healing on Elliot as he screamed. Anton used a combination of Healing Hands and Minor Healing on Phaendral but to no avail. The Tier 5 Poison Curse continued to eat its way through his insides. Sizzling and popping were the only sounds made as Phaendral lay there dying by his own acidic blood that ate away his skin and flesh. Anton grunted and chugged a [Magic Potion] giving up on trying to save Phaendral.

Aldrin's system notice blared in his vision.

"I know, damn it! Just give me a minute!" Aldrin said to himself, chugging a [Magic Potion].

Anton rushed over to help with Elliot, his face pale when Aldrin looked at him. Their eyes briefly met and gently shook his head no. The staccato of marching boots echoed, slowly creeping down the hallway.

"Guys, what's the call?!" Gryph panicked.

Elliot stopped making noises as his hands fell limply to the side, revealing a shiny alabaster skull with empty eye sockets. The Tier 5 Poison Curse ate away at the rest of the flesh on his skull, making Anton heave out our lunch from earlier off to the side. Aldrin was numb to it all as he lost 2 party members in seconds.

"Oh my god," Gryph breathlessly said.

Aldrin read the system notice and read again to make sure what he was reading was correct. A whimper escaped Anton's mouth as the reality of what shithole they stepped in bore its shit-eating grin to them.