Worthy Core

The Farmers Party stands outside the entrance to the Bone Maze, slightly scratched but generally in high spirits. The first room with the Barkbirds had barely been a threat - regardless of whether they had fangs or beaks, a hawk would have an extremely hard time killing an armed adult human, and none of them had been clumsy enough to get knocked into one of the obvious traps. They'd each carefully hopped over the trap in the following hallway, and the Slip'N'Slide room had gone even easier. Only Ulas had been unlucky enough to slip on the soaked metal flooring, but not only had he avoided all of the traps waiting in the center of the chamber, he'd immediately found the stone key hiding in the water among the pressure plates.

At the start of this third chamber though, they felt a note of hesitation enter their minds. The hallway ahead was cramped, and although it was well-lit by dungeon torches, a sharp turn meant they couldn't see very far inside. What they could hear though was the sound of odd, shuffling, clacking footsteps. Gras spoke up first.

"If something's walking around in there, then we're probably talking some for-real monsters now. Difficulty's probably going up a bit."

Hensley grips his sword. "I'm not turning back cause we heard some spooky noises. C'mon already." Taking the lead, the others soon follow, though with barely enough room to stand side-by-side they find themselves forced to spread out a little more. The first turn reveals no surprises but the second brings them to a long path, at the end of which stands an oversized skeleton, silently staring at the group with a knife in its hand.

Gras eyes the creature blocking their way. "I'm no expert, but that looks like an orc skeleton to me. Guess Taffy was right about Valleylanders coming around here after all. Dinky-looking knife, though."

Hensley grins. "Pretty sure I can take it on...there's not room enough for us to all go in swinging weapons though, so stay back unless I need help, alright?" The others nod, after which Hensley raises his sword and charges the orc with a shout. The skeleton watches without any reactions or emotions whatsoever, let alone fear, but the same can't be said for the rest of the party when an arrow suddenly appears in the top of the Farmer's skull, dropping him to the floor instantly.

"Hen! Fuck!" Idora cries out, even as she finds herself pulling the others back to prevent them from charging into the same fate. "Stop! We need to - look!" Once Gras and Ulas are corralled a bit, she points up at the ceiling where Hensley died. "There's an opening to another level in the ceiling...are those feet? I think there's more skeletons up there waiting for us!"

Ulas groans. "Well, now fucking what? We can't just leave Hen there!"

Idora thinks, thankful that the orc skeleton isn't attacking them, even as she realizes now that it was just the bait for a trap. "...Okay, look, I don't have the range to deal with anything up there, but you two do. Gras, shoot out its leg or something as soon as you get a shot, Ulas, you spear anything within reach, and I'll handle the orc. Got it?" The others nod, and she slaps Gras on the back to send him forward first. Fortunately it seems as if the skeleton archers waiting above aren't built for crouching or kneeling, meaning that as long as the crossbow-wielding Carpenter stays out of view of its bow, he appears to be safe. Once the skeleton's pelvis comes into view he launches a bolt, shattering it easily and causing the skeleton to crumble atop its arrowslit. Ulas quickly steps forward to jab his spear into the thing's skull, finally triggering the orc to step forward - only to find Idora weaving her way forward and swinging her sword.

While the Farmer's blade-handling skills are amateur at best, the low-grade, poorly-armed skeleton makes her look like an expert swordswoman in comparison. It tries to block her sword with an arm, which crumbles to pieces for the trouble, and when it moves in to stab her she finds the attack easy to dodge even in such cramped quarters. A second swing fully disarms the monster, making a third attack to remove the creature's skull a matter of child's play. That threat defeated, she looks back to see the others nervously watching the barred hole in the ceiling. "You good there?"

Gras responds, a fresh bolt already loaded into his weapon which remains aimed upwards. "For now, pretty sure there's more up there though. ...What do we do about Hen? He's...well. At least it was quick..." Idora swallows, suddenly regretting that she ever agreed with this decision, one that she knew was stupid the moment she made it.

"We'll have to bring him back on our way out. For now we need to keep moving - you're right, there's still more of them in here." Taking the lead, Idora crawls forward with a great deal of newly-found caution. At two turns she finds more knife-wielding orc skeletons waiting to surprise her, but with her careful approach the surprise fails and she finds them as easy to dismantle as the first. A second arrowslit is defeated in the same manner as the first, with Gras disabling the waiting archer and Ulas finishing it off, but the third brings disaster.

"Ha! Got 'em! Ain't so hard when you know what you're dooing - !" Ulas, jabbing at the remains of the third archer, is taken by surprise as his spear is grabbed and pulled up into the ceiling. Not wanting to lose his only weapon, he holds on, a move which turns out to be a fatal mistake when his face is pressed against the bars. When he suddenly goes limp and releases the weapon, an arrow in his eye socket makes it clear why.

"Gods! Dammit! Dammit, fuckin', shit!" Gras quickly fires a bolt to destroy the skeleton who had grabbed on to Ulas's spear, and with a quick reload and some very careful maneuvering, he eventually manages to track and take out the final opponent who must have launched the lethal arrow. For a long moment afterwards he and Idora both crouch quietly, on full alert for noises indicating more attackers, but this time all they can hear is their own hearts and heavy breathing. "...Dammit! Three of them at one window? Fucking bullshit!"

"...Dungeons aren't exactly known for playing nice." Taking a quick look around the next turn, Idora feels a bit of relief. "Think the door out of here's next...and looks like a chest, too." The pair both give Ulas's body a long look, but uncertain what to say, they move on. What they find waiting for them however is an entirely different kind of surprise. Though the doorway they can see another open cave cavern, with...what appears to be the entrance to an entirely different, darker cave at the far end. Surrounding this entrance are scattered bones and skulls...and a very calm-looking bunny. Taking a look at the chest sitting on a pedestal near to the door then, they notice a sign on the wall above it with words written in both Rainlander and Valleylander.

"Make your choice, adventurers," Gras reads. "If you feel worthy enough to face the monsters within, you may continue, but if not, take your consolation prize and go, knowing that the way forward will be blocked to you.

" He frowns. "Can't we do both?" Idora shakes her head, pointing at the pedestal the chest is sitting on.

"Look, there's a pressure plate. I'd wager if we take anything from the chest, the weight will change and a door will close here. I heard dungeons can't close themselves off, but maybe that doesn't mean adventurers can't choose on their own to close it off? Or uh, maybe we could try breaking the door down, but I'm not chopping down a door with a sword. ...Or we clear the place and loot it on the way out." Judging their choices, the two take another look into the room where the bunny continues to stare at them without expression.

"...It's just a fucking bunny."

Idora sighs. "You wanna wager your life on that, because you literally would be. Fuck it, Gras. I knew this was stupid, you knew it was stupid, and look where we are. Forget old-lady-Idora regrets, I think I'd be a lot happier just getting to be an old lady now."

Gras grimaces, hand running along his crossbow, before finally he breaks. "Dammit! Fine! Let's...take the fuckin' consolation prize and get the others out of here before the damn dungeon eats them." Nodding, Idora opens the chest. Inside they find a sum of coinage matching up to perhaps a year's earnings for an average Grassbrook Farmer, and two amulet necklaces - both made of simple string, one with a stone in the shape of a bunny, the other in the shape of a seashell. While neither have the appraisal skills required to exactly judge their value, Idora notes that holding the rabbit gives her a feeling of speed, while the shell makes her skin feel...tingly? Tougher? The effect is weak, but any magical item is a fortune for a Farmer.

Prizes in hand, the door to the final chambers slides shut as Idora had guessed it would, and the pair make their way backwards to recover their fallen friends and make the long trek back home. Unseen, a woman's hands scoop the waiting bunny into her arms.

"Good work, Sir Flopsy! You really pulled it off!" Xenia grins as she scratches the animal between the ears, but the smile fades as she looks at a nearby window.

 

 

"Stupid Boss Bunnies costing me a full fifteen mana. Thank god the damn bribe worked, but if only they'd gotten here an hour later..."