The Guardian of Level One

What does one think when they imagine a dungeon?

Monsters? Wealth? Mystery?...

Certainly, all those things exist there. But there's a lot people don't think about.. In a wild dream you might venture into one. There you might find yourself with a sword in hand, dashing into the fray to face off against some foul beast.

A video game might take you into a fantasy world where level after level you go down.. down... down... into the depths of despair as you search for power and pleasure amidst the dark walls of death..

What of the smells? What would you imagine to find amidst labyrinthian walls and varied monsters? Amidst blood sweat and tears???

Would it be musty? Would the smell of iron and stone fill the air?? Moldy wood? Stagnant water??

No...

It's nothing so vile. Mingled with all the misery is the smell of cinnamon... A bizarre contrast to the death and decay of a dungeon. You would think that would help things right? That having a pleasantness amidst all the fighting and blood would make one feel comfortable yeh?

Wrong... it somehow makes it worse...

It's as if the gods themselves said 'Let us give them some respite' while all the while they continue to torture you... All the while you watch as your friends die one by one...

All the while you know you will never get out...

I hate that smell...

...

A lone figure sat on a mound of dirt. They pulled themselves out of their thoughts, and looked ahead..

Shuffling in their leather armor they stood slowly, lifting a long winged spear from the ground nearby. It was worn and rusty at certain points.. the well forged steel had been stained a slight red from blood over time.

Sighing, the figure looked ahead and waited...

All around, the squared off walls seemed to mock him. They seemed to close in around him, as if they would suffocate him..

"Lay off, I'm busy" he barked back, as if his words would effect the very stone of the dungeon itself..

Sure enough... that which he waited for appeared.

Out of thin air a creature materialized.. A creature he had killed many times over.. Yet, his anger towards the scaly beast never went away..

Every time he looked into the dark eyes of the monster.. every time he saw it open it's massive mouth to reveal its fangs...

Every time he saw its name and level over it's head, his heart skipped a beat, and painful memories returned...

"How many times is it now?" He thought to himself. "And how many times more?..."

"Hisss" the creature said. It's black and green scales shimmered in the dim light of the ever burning torches on the wall.

It uncoiled itself and only then took notice of him, standing twenty feet or so across the room.

It recoiled slightly, a defensive measure at the intruder into it's domain...

He would give it no time to ascertain his motive though as he twisted the spear in his hand and hefted it over his shoulder.

Pulling back with his right arm, he extended his left to aim.. He took one deep breath and looked into the eyes of the giant snake..

"Boom!"

Faster than the eye could see the spear had left his hand and pierced the head of the monster.

[Notification: You killed (Boss) Giant Snake]

[+0 EXP... 100% penalty for camping]

The man watched as the snake faded away, leaving behind a small brown sack on the ground nearby and his spear.

He slowly walked over and picked up the spear before reaching for the bag.

[Loot: Giant Snake Scale]

The man said "Inventory" as a transparent menu appeared before him. He reached out and put both the spear and the scale into the menu as they disappeared.

He watched as small icons appeared in the inventory screen of his newly acquired loot and his trusty spear.

He sighed and walked away, back to the dirt mound.

Plopping down he lay on his back, looking up at the ceiling.

The quiet of the room made his thoughts drift... Though he would rather they not...

...

"Adam??..."

A voice called out in the distance, and a young man stood paying for gas in a run down gas station. He was deep in thought before he realized a familiar voice was calling his name.

Quickly, he turned from the grungy counter and the protective glass between him and the sour faced clerk.

"Claire! What's up? Long time no see!" He said nonchalantly. He was happy to see his old high school friend. How many years had it been? Two? Three?

"Not much, just taking care of the kids now, you know.. working in Helmsdale now, but I still live out here."

Adam listened as he reached under the glass and took the change from the clerk before turning to leave.

He walked up to the short woman with her blonde hair and stuffed his hands deep into his coat pockets.

Someone came in the door of the gas station and the cold winter air came in after him. Adam shivered and wrapped the thick coat tighter around himself.

"That's so awesome Claire. How's tommy? He still working at the factory?"

The woman nodded and smiled back. He remembered that smile. They had dated for a brief period in the 10th grade. If you can call going out for a week dating anyway..

"He's doing good. You know, he's a foreman now. Got a few promotions and we managed to get our own place away from the park. But what about you college boy? Heard you were doing well. Back to see your parents for Christmas then?"

"Something like that" he said, smiling. "Well it's nice seeing you, I have to get going. Merry Christmas."

"Of course, I've gotta go as well. Merry Christmas, and don't be a stranger. Drop by and see Tommy and the kids sometime!"

"Haha will do." He said, waving goodbye over a small shelf stocked with cheap junk food and beer.

He brushed the short brown hair out of his eyes before stepping out into the snowy evening.

"Man.. crazy to be back.." he thought to himself. He pulled some keys out of his pocket and walked past several pickup trucks, the norm for the area, before he stopped at a beat up two door.

It was idling loudly near a pump and letting off steam from the exhaust. He hadn't dared to turn it off and risk freezing for the fifteen minute ride to his sisters.

It was such a piece of junk he was thankful it worked at all.. After he graduated he vowed the first thing he would do would be to buy a brand new car.

"Your days are numbered" he mumbled as he sunk into the uncomfortable driver's seat and shifted the car into drive.

It lurched forward as if protesting the very idea of moving at all. But it moved, like it always had, however reluctant it seemed to be about it.

And he was off.. down the unlit backroads of the Midwest.

All around farmhouses and small neighborhoods dotted the otherwise nothingness of the landscape. He hated it...

His whole life had been this nothingness...

The only reason he had come back was for his sister. Not even his parents. Fuck them. They had never done anything for him..

He flipped on the radio and shoved his thoughts away, preferring instead to listen to the static voice of a radio host coming through his tin can speakers.

"Merry Christmas folks from 97.7 the wave.. We have all the classic hits here, coming right up."

He sunk back in the seat and listened as "jingle bell rock" started blasting loudly over the radio. It made him smile, the unyielding familiarity of it all..

No matter how many years passed, one thing stayed the same: Christmas... You could always count on the trees, the food, and of course the music..

Not so much the family though...

He knew he could count on his sister though. Her place was a ways away, off some dirt road. He still had ten minutes or so to go.

She had moved out a year after him, though not for college. She just couldn't take their parents anymore.. he didn't blame her.. their life had been anything but ordinary, or happy..

But they had each other. Through all the pain and hardship they could rely on each other..

And for Christmas he had at least one person in the world to spend it with...

That was enough...

Minutes passed as he hummed along to familiar holiday songs and tapped his finger on the wheel..

Then a light came in the distance. A car.. he didn't pay it any mind at first. Why should he? Headlights passing in the night and all that, who cares..

Except that they swerved into his lane, and they didn't slow down... he hit the brakes instinctively And tugged the wheel to the side. A mistake...

His car spun like a top on the icy road and the car slammed into the driver side going 60 in a 35...

All the while "i saw momma kissing Santa clause" played loudly in the background as his car flipped and his consciousness slowly faded to black...

...

"Huuuu!"

Adam sat up in shock. He looked around, not really seeing anything. More so he was wondering what had happened?

Wasn't he in a wreck?

The place he was in certainly didn't look like a hospital.

He was sitting on the floor of a large stone room. It was squared off and lit up only by primitive for aches on the wall.

"What the hell? Is this a basement? Did someone save me?" He thought, panicking.

There was a single door ahead, that looked to be made of some dark wood and had an ancient looking handle on it.

Other than the door and the torches, there was nothing but the same grey stone.

A moment later a soothing voice reached his ears that said plainly,

"Good, you are awake... Welcome Adam Porter to the Dungeon..."