The Tower in the Shadows

The rain outside was making the adventurers cranky.

The groups were complaining about the shifting weather.

The adventurers were mainly working on floors one to six. Floor seven and lower were still being avoided by most. A few were travelling lower, but they were suffering casualties, and I was gaining from each death.

The number of gold-ranked teams had increased. Most were new to the area, but a few have worked their way up to their new rank through my Dungeon. The lower grades had seen the most significant improvements, as those who survived showed substantial progress.

I knew most of these groups that were growing in strength. Many started from Tin and have been developing over the years. There were no sudden Path increases from desperate fights, as those who tried all died.

The miners were making good gains overall, possibly the best of all who visited.

Gran and his team were regulars now. They never went below the sixth, but they were building in confidence to try. His was not the only team still visiting. Ron and his team had returned and were pushing themselves with every run.

Young nobles were frequently appearing with their teams these days. Some enjoyed the novelty of training in a Dungeon. Some were looking for riches or deeds to boast about. The smart ones were using the opportunity to the best of their ability. I felt sorry for the guards assigned to most of them; the number of intelligent young nobles did not seem high.

The number of non-human teams was also increasing. Minotaurs, elves, and dwarves will be the most common. However, other races emerged over time, and some of them were quite interesting.

There was a team of what I could only describe as Naga running around a Dungeon at times. They stayed on the sixth floor and above, never going further. They were a decently armed and equipped team, but I didn't think they were ready to face Krag just yet, and it seemed they felt the same.

One of the oddest non-human races I have encountered so far was a group of short, extremely hairy individuals. Their hair covered their bodies apart from their hands and faces. Their hair colour ranges from a deep grey to a royal blue, and all the shades in between. I heard from other adventuring groups that these were Gnomes. For their diminutive size, they were surprisingly agile and not very strong. They helped to redress this imbalance with inventive weapons and contraptions, which they used in battle along with a healthy supply of what can best be described as battle alchemy.

They spent most of their time on the fifth. They seem to like my traps and were quite good at dealing with the worms.

There was a tension in all of the groups that were coming through now. I had been listening to the conversations, and one subject was starting to dominate the gossip I was overhearing.

Folly's End.

It was no longer hidden from the population of the danger building within this blighted area. Most thought that the monsters would cross the river and attack the kingdom of Nygar. It was the common reasoning that the kingdom would be able to handle the monsters and fight off the attack.

I do not believe that.

I've been thinking about my defences and what I would need to do when the monsters crossed the river. Nygar would blunt the assault, but would not hold in the long run.

The assault would be vicious regardless of how Nygar fared.

## ## ## ## ##

"What is so important, Selmum?" Ranus asks the High Healer. She had demanded an urgent meeting out of the blue. He had realised she had learned something important and granted her one.

"We have discovered something important!" She exclaimed.

"What is it?" He asked again, more interested.

"Through studying how the Dungeon Core withdraws void corruption from those infected. This has enabled us to understand how people are contracting the infection. We are producing new wards to help protect those fighting void monsters." She was beaming as she delivered her news.

"That's incredible." He was elated at her words. Protection from becoming corrupted with void essence would be a significant boon for those who are fighting it.

"The Kingdom of Nygar have started to implement the wards to their forces already. They are still being refined and are not very effective yet."

"Excellent, any protection is better than none. When can we start?" Ranus asked.

"It is difficult and costly, but yes, we can within days."

"Then you should send me the costs." Ranus was already thinking about what resources he had available.

"I will send you the information and costs as you request."

He nodded and looked thoughtful. "How are things with the void stones?"

"We have recently gained more from the Dungeon. Several have been sent abroad. The ones here are being filled and will be returned to be safely destroyed."

"That is good to hear. That will help in the creation of more." He paused, thinking for a moment. "How is the containment of the other corrupted. I heard there were incidents."

She frowned at his question. "The Watch has been very robust in its containment of any in the city who wishes to harm those being treated. The other churches are doing what they can to assist, but it is once more sitting on the shoulders of my brothers and sisters to deal with this problem."

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"Have there been any new cases of void corruption being spread in the population?" He asked this question quite often now.

"Thankfully, no, not after the last one. We are actively monitoring all individuals entering the city through the docks, as well as the northern and southern gates. Many are identifying themselves to members of my order seeking treatment for void corruption."

"That is good to hear. It will not alleviate the fearful, but it should help contain any widespread panic from breaking out."

"I agree, panic is the worst thing we can deal with at this time."

## ## ## ## ##

Trixis had only now been forced to give up her last job.

Even as the new religion grew and strengthened within the city, she continued to work. Many had asked her why she continued this when she could easily arrange a stipend from her own organisation's funds.

They had to set up such accounts to facilitate the renting of additional spaces or the purchase of materials they needed. As her flock grew, so did the finances they had access to. Nothing was demanded or requested; all donations were voluntary, and she had made that part of the religion's core doctrine. She still called on her flock, even though the term was strangely odd and went against most of what she preached. She had nothing else to call them just yet, so she retained that word.

She had seen the other churches and temples and how they bask in their wealth and power, and found it obscene. That is why she continued to work for a living, as it was part of her preaching that nothing came for free and everything had to be earned.

That was until the last of her employers had regretfully told her that they had to let her go or stop supplying her with any of the menial work she was doing. She had discovered that most of them were content to let it continue, but a combination of changing financial circumstances in the city and pressure from some of the other churches had forced them to let her go. They did not like the new 'cult' as they called her and the group in the city.

Her group was able to supply her work if she desired or accept a stipend to continue preaching. She can see the logic of their argument, but feels strangely conflicted over taking such a stipend. The weather was changing, and she was looking now more to the floodplains. If she were to visit the Dungeon to try to find more clarity, it had to be quite soon before the snow came.

That is why, on the night she lost her last low-level menial position, she decided to walk to the Dungeon. She walked out the northern gates, and no one stopped her. The gates closed at midnight, and the guards remained on duty. One or two were part of her flock now, and one was on duty. He nodded to her as she passed, without asking or saying a word.

It was only a short distance between the gates and the surface building of the Dungeon, but as she walked, it seemed like it was miles. As she approached, she could see the lights in the two side buildings had been built by the city. One contained the militant orders guarding the entrance way, while the other had the Adventurer's Guild member who oversaw entry to the Dungeon.

At this time of night, no one came to the Dungeon as it was closed. The smell of food wafted through the air, and she noticed that the people in the buildings were more focused on it than on their duties.

This allowed her to slip past them.

She opened one of the doors slightly and entered the surface building of the Dungeon, closing it behind her gently so that no one would hear her entry.

Inside the surface building, it was dark. The shutters were closed to keep the rain out, preventing most of the moonlight from getting in. Across the room, she could make out that the other doorway was beyond, and there was a faint blue glow indicating where the stairs were.

With a bit of feeling around to help navigate this dark room, she made it across to the other door. She got the sense that she was being watched and knew that there was a monster up in the rafters. It was a local curiosity to the adventurers. Some have tried hunting in the past, but none have succeeded; as it never threatened anyone, it was eventually left alone.

She was excited and nervous but not fearful as she put her foot on the first step. Slowly but with growing confidence and speed, she began to walk down. She remembered her flight up the stairs when she was first here, the fear and happiness she felt in equal measure. The fear of still being in such a dangerous place, but the joy of now being a free woman.

She continued down, passing the first floor. She knew all the floors, not just one; she had visited them when she was first here. She thought about stopping on the fourth but decided to carry on to the bottom. What little her cult had gathered about dungeons all spoke to the fact that the heart of them all, the Core, as it was called, was always located at the very bottom.

The blue moss on the walls supplied all the light she needed. It was not very bright, but enough to make out the steps and guide her deep into the earth's bowels. But the time she reached the seventh floor, she began to notice the heat coming up from nowhere as she continued to descend.

At first, it was a gentle warmth that did not concern her, but by the time she reached the ninth floor, she was sweating profusely. The heat was intense and almost a physical thing.

She almost passed out by the time she reached the 10th. She then learned what to expect from the members of her flock by listening to the conversations of adventurers. There were members of the Adventurers' Guild now who were also in her flock. This allowed her group to develop a comprehensive understanding of each floor and what was found on it, defended by the Dungeon's creations.

It was the last floor that had given them all pause. Down there was something new, something dangerous.

Manticore. Not a name given by the Alchemist Guild or Adventurer's Guild, or any Guild, but by the Dungeon itself. Names had power, and this one spoke of something dangerous and powerful.

Now she was standing on the cusp of the 10th floor, looking out across a lava-lit cavern. On the other side of the cavern was another proto-stairwell, which marked the end of the Dungeon. If the Core were going to be anywhere, it would be somewhere in that location or nearby. The heat was intense, and she was sweating. She feared passing out but rallied herself to cross the floor.

She stepped out onto the rough stone floor and began walking. A river of lava cut through the cavern, splitting it in two. A stone bridge has been supplied to provide a convenient passage. What few reports they had of the floor indicated that no one had ever been attacked on this side, but the single monster on the floor constantly attacked those on the other side.

She crossed the bridge.

She walked up to the bend in the cavern and turned to see the proto-stairwell in the distance. As she continued to walk forward, a massive shadow fell from the ceiling, and a great beast landed before her with a huge thump.

Trixis, the self-proclaimed prophet of the Tower in the Shadows. Looked upon the creation of the one she called God and found... Beauty.

The monster was large and powerful, with great bat wings, a lion's body, a scorpion's tail, and a face that resembled a man. It was terrifying, and she could understand why it was so feared. But she also found it a marvellous thing of beauty. The living representation of everything she preached that the Dungeon represented—a challenge to be faced and overcome through strength and skill.

The beast looked her up and down like a cat eyeing a mouse, and she was frozen to the spot. It looked like it was about to strike down when it suddenly stopped, and it tilted its head.

It growled a few times. The way it growled was strange, and it resonated in a strangely unsettling way. It was no longer focused on her, but she knew that if she made a single move, it would kill her without hesitation.

It snapped its attention back to her, and she felt a thrill of excitement and fear. But what it did next, she never foresaw. It spoke.

"Come."

Its voice was terrible, and the resonance even stronger. The power in its voice shook her to her Core in a way she had never experienced before. It turned and walked towards the proto-stairwell at the far side of the cavern.

She followed.

There in a cavern that makes up the 10th floor of the Dungeon called the Tower in the Shadows. A woman who believed that this Dungeon was a God experienced several great revelations.

What this did to her changed her yet again.

Her faith was strong and burned brightly when she entered.

When she left.

It blazed like the sun.