Making a Deal
"Who am I addressing may I ask?" Anissa says defensively as she rests her hand on her weapon while the rest of her group prepares as well.
"My full name is Tilania Du Bathain, Plague Pixie Healer. But You may call me Tilly and I am the familiar of the Dungeon Core and will be his voice. I'm sure you all recognize these fine fellows as our Dungeon Bosses and yes they are all fully healed and have their full power unlocked just in case you get stabby. Now may we have an answer?" Tilly responds in a cold voice as she watches the group glance at each other before Ro quickly casts a spell and Tyr's body is bound and gagged by some invisible force.
"If the dungeon wishes to eat her we shall abide. Now what types of questions could this Core have for lowly warriors such as us?" Anissa asks calmly as she watches Banshee shoot out a thin web at Tyr and drag the bather towards her, Slax quickly healing the woman before allowing Banshee to bring her prize back to the core room.
"No worries. After what your people have done to these poor Blood Bathers the world labels them as more monster than man, meaning she will hopefully see the value of my masters offer of a pact. Now his first question is if you enjoyed his dungeon and if the dropped loot was acceptable. You are the first true party to enter other than that ones party so he wishes to get input to further balance his challenges." Tilly says as slowly the group turn pale at the mention of the bathers condition as well as the possibility of facing Tyr one day.
"Well esteemed Tilly, for a starter dungeon his challenge is very fair. The loot though is much to generous but I assume that's due to you only having silver before this. The abyss leather gear is extremly good but two pieces for the snake mobs seems a bit to lucky, and the Bosses seem to suffer from a certain inexperience which is understandable if we're his first party. I understand why he doesn't have a lot of more challenging normal mobs but what he does have is very good for beginners and if we were not as experienced as we are it would have been wonderful. I see a lot of potential and I believe a mutual agreement could help both of us grow stronger over time." Anissa says carefully as Tilly nods her head before pausing as I tell her to let them ask what they'd like.
"The dungeon appreciates your feedback and will make changes once you leave to better balance itself. It has told me to allow you to ask your questions and make your case so to speak." Tilly says in a business like tone as she flies to spooky and rests herself on his shoulder.
"Our Lord has acknowledged the benefit of having a dungeon nearby and wishes to possibly take control of the area outside of your entrance and build a safe zone. We don't know if you've noticed but somewhere in the area is a corrupted dungeon and its a very powerful foe. It's constantly hunting our members and the local wildlife while spreading undead and mutated creatures to infect the few clean area's. On top of this threat it also has several of its boss monsters wandering the land at all times to find new resources for it to devour. We sadly have no knowledge of where this dungeon is but our Lord told us that dungeons rarely fight against each other and so we hope that if this happens in your case we may be able to combine our forces to defeat it and gain freedom from this constant threat." Anissa explains seriously as the other two nod along before she finishes and waits for our response.
'Tilly wouldn't having adventurers outside be a good thing for us? We could constantly have new loot and grow stronger. Plus maybe we could convince them to release the slaves over time and have a chance to get their blueprints as well. And if that dungeon does attack us we can use them as a meat shield while we kill it!' I say and Tilly nods her head slightly before clearing her throat gently.
"The dungeon accepts your request to build outside of his entrance but he has a few stipulations. He wishes for all of the broken or unusable items to be thrown into the dungeon for absorption and for the release of any intelligent slaves while they're stationed there so that they may also train and become stronger. On top of this groups inside the dungeon right now are limited to a max of 5 adventurers, this does not include summons or pets. Finally he wishes for your men to work with his creatures that can leave the dungeon to find new resources or help scout the area since we have yet to explore further than a few hundred meters out." Tilly explains as the group nod their heads enthusiastically.
"Also I demand the release of the slave known as Myra. If she be not with your group when they be building outside I be very angry." Slax adds in quickly to our confusion before we see the group freeze for a second before nodding their heads.
"We can agree to most of these demands but the slaves freedom and Myra in particular may take some time. We will do our utmost best to fulfill these wishes. If we wish to communicate with the core or your esteemed self about issues how would we contact you? Anissa asks as Tilly nods her head before smiling coldly.
"You are standing within a dungeon. This is his world and within the confines of the dungeon he can see all that happens. Since your entry he has watched in excitement as you challenged his mobs and showed his bosses their weak points. He was enthralled with the power of the two new adventurers prowess and the show of new skills and styles for him to learn from. If you need to speak to us just speak inside of the dungeon and you will be heard. Now if that is all we must be going, our core wishes to meet with us all. We look forward to our partnership." Tilly says icily before tapping Spooky's side causing him to turn back to the wall and walk through it followed by the rest of the bosses.
After the bosses and Tilly leave I watch as the group slowly approach the wall and touch it before noticing its solid, looks of cautiousness appearing on their faces before they turn towards the blocked entrance/exit to the room.
"Well....guess we start digging." Says Anissa as the other two sigh and get to work.