319 The Horror of Lines

Mike decided to press on to the dungeon without stopping by the Guild. Figuring that the few individuals that could actually offer him advice were probably long gone by this point, he decided to simply advance cautiously while relying on Morris's notes for most things.

As for the request itself, he could always accept it prior to turning in the required meat. Thus, he didn't really have a reason to stop by and deal with that crowd of delinquents again.

Thankfully, the Screaming Dark was pretty easy to find from the air. Honestly, it was hard to miss the perfectly circular, kilometer wide hole that seemed to descend into the very depths of the planet. Even in the approaching twilight, the vast expanse of impenetrable darkness was a distinct oddity when compared to it's idyllic surroundings.

There was a small concentration of lights along its eastern edge, the nearest point to the city, so he touched down a little ways from it and walked the rest of the way. He found a mid-sized compound surrounded by a stone wall that seemingly extended all the way to the edge of the pit in both directions. The cobblestone road that evidently connected the dungeon with the city ran up to a gate that was currently left open.  Despite the rather late hour, there was still a fair amount of traffic, as merchants and adventurers waited in line to pass through a checkpoint set up at the gate.

A trio of individuals dressed in white and blue robes stood behind a counter built into the wall, and were checking the various visitors in. Apart from them, the gate was also guarded by ten soldiers in chainmail, each of which wore a blue and white tabard emblazoned with a roaring lion's head.

[These must be the White Lions I've been hearing about.] Mike thought as he got into line behind a small group of dwarves who were pulling a cart full of barrels. Even at his current distance, he could tell that they were transporting some form of alcohol.

One member of the group, a black-haired man whose beard was shot through with a few streaks of grey, noticed him and walked over, a jovial smile on his face. "You heading to the Screaming Dark as well? What am I saying? Of course you are. Why else would you be here?"

Before he answered, Mike used Appraise.

---------------------------

Berke Holdenult

Age: 167

Race: Dwarf

Class: Master Brewer

Title: Brewmaster

----------------------------

[...How original.]

Mike shrugged, "That's the plan."

The dwarf took another moment to look him over, and then stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Let me guess...you are some kind of entertainer? I know the inn was looking for someone to fill in for Evenlynn the Fair during her pregnancy, but I have to admit that I'm a little disappointed to see that they went with an average looking guy. Hopefully you play better than you dress."

Mike could tell that the dwarf wasn't intending on being offensive, but instead merely lacked an understanding of how his words might be interpreted. He'd encountered a few of these kinds of people in his old life, and he learned a long time ago that they didn't mean any harm. So, he tried to maintain his cool.

"I'm an adventurer, actually. Here to visit the dungeon." He replied calmly while mentally reviewing his appearance.

[The tunic and pants aren't my best work, but they turned out well enough to be considered armor by the system...Okay, they may be a bit tattered from that last fight, and there is a fair amount of blood I should really have cleaned up before coming here...and they may be made of the cheapest material I could get my hands on…]

"Oh! Really?! I thought for sure you were some kind of jester, but you know, like one of those sad ones that you are supposed to mock for being so depressing. But an adventurer, and at your age, that's pretty impressive. Do you come here often?"

"No...first time here, actually." Mike replied woodenly, as he did his best to restrain his temper.

Berke smiled innocently. "Well then, I should tell you a little bit about how this all works then. The White Lions up ahead are in charge of this whole thing. They have the final say on who can actually enter the dungeon, although sufficiently high ranking members of the Adventurer's Guild are pretty much given leave to enter freely. I think you have to be at least Rank 5 though, which is a bit of a problem, but I'm sure that if you work hard you can get to that point eventually."

"Actually, I'm Rank 6." He hissed through gritted teeth.

"Really? That's great! Then you should have no problem getting through. Just make sure to mention that to the clerks by the gate. They usually only let people with a pass like this in." The dwarf said while displaying a small wooden plaque carrying another lion head emblem.

Curiosity momentarily overtaking his anger, Mike asked, "So what's this place actually for, and why do they have such tight security? Couldn't you just enter the dungeon from another part of the pit?"

Berke laughed. "You could, but I'm fairly certain that none of those who've tried that in the past have actually managed to return to tell the tale. The White Lions maintain a monopoly over the only safe entrance to the dungeon. Only there can you climb down to the first floor. As for the rest, the compound built around the entrance has the usual amenities you'd expect from dungeon town. There's shops, taverns, shrines to several gods, an inn, and even a branch office for the Adventurer's Guild, although it's based out of an old stable, so I can't exactly say it's luxurious."

"And the Lions tax them all, I presume."

The dwarf leaned in conspiratorially, "Don't tell anyone I told you this, but all of the services inside are owned, at least in part, by the White Lions. They make a rather significant profit from upcharging visitors that are too lazy or too stupid to travel back to the city for their basic needs. Combined with the fees they assess for most business licenses, and this particular venture is quite the goldmine, especially with the number of delvers they've started getting recently."

"That was actually bothering me. Everything I've heard about the Screaming Dark suggests that it is a difficult dungeon that would challenge all but the strongest parties. I can't imagine all of these delvers are the equivalent of Rank 5 adventurers, or that Gildusi has so many powerful people willing to brave those dangers. What's going on here?" Mike asked while tacitly examining the group that had fallen in behind him.

Based on their equipment, titles, and classes, they appeared to be rookies with barely any experience. Honestly, he thought that even Morris could take them on by himself in a head-to-head fight and win without too much difficulty.

"Oh? Haven't you heard? They've recently discovered a secondary dungeon that branches off from the main path and has many of the same aspects as the Screaming Dark, with one notable exception. The monsters inside it are significantly weaker than in the main dungeon, but still drop several valuable materials. The Lions, wanting to revitalize their flagging business, have opened it to just about anyone willing to pay the entry fee."

Berke was about to say something else when one of the other dwarves interrupted suddenly. "Oy! Boss! It's our turn."

"Whoops. I guess I better be going. If you have some time, swing by our tavern, The Copper Barrel. In honor of our newfound friendship, I give you a discount." The dwarven brewer announced while running back to his cart. "Bring your friends, if you have any!"

[Yeah...probably going to pass on that. Not sure if my ego can take any more time in his company.] Mike thought to himself before stepping up to the checkpoint and displaying his guild crest.

While the clerk was certainly surprised by his rank, he nevertheless allowed Mike to enter free of charge, and even gave him a small wooden tile that would get him a slight discount at most of the stores in the town. Apparently, it was part of a program designed to encourage high ranking adventurers to continue visiting the main dungeon despite its difficulty. It would also serve to expedite his entrance into the town when he came back.

Within a few minutes, he was passing through the gate and down the paved street, which was quite crowded with groups of adventurers and mercenary-types. The sounds of raucous laughter and boisterous music filled the air as he passed several bars that appeared to be full to the bursting point.

Following the general flow of traffic, he eventually reached the edge of the massive pit and got into yet another line to enter the dungeon itself. Surprisingly, there were dozens of delvers queued up in front of him. Even though the line was moving rather quickly, the sheer number of people seemed unusual.

Curious, he turned to the man that was standing behind him in line, a sun elf dressed in leather armor and carrying a halberd. The rest of his party seemed to be falling in behind him. "This is a little crazy. Is it usually this crowded?"

The man gave him a casual glance before answering. "The recently discovered section of the Screaming Dark has a unique trait. For some reason, it begins to spawn more difficult monsters. At the same time, however, the drops are a lot more valuable, making it a great place to make money for mid rank adventurers."

"Ah, I see. Thanks." He replied with a smile.

"Of course."

The rest of Mike's wait was uneventful, and he was soon standing in front of yet another clerk dressed in white and blue robes, who immediately demanded to see his ticket. Unsure of what he was talking about, Mike showed the discount tile he'd gotten from the gate.

There was suddenly a small commotion from the people waiting in line behind him, but when he turned to look he couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. 

After inspecting the tile for a few seconds and then asking to see his guild crest, the clerk eventually allowed Mike to pass through a nearby archway that stood at the top of a narrow, wooden staircase heading down into the pit.

The descent would have been quite intimidating to the average person, with the rickety steps being the only thing separating a delver from a seemingly endless fall, but the knowledge that he could simply fly if it came down to it made the experience less terrifying.

[Between my various defensive skills and my regeneration, I could probably even survive an impact at terminal velocity at this point, now that I think about it. Of course, that assumes that this particular bottomless pit actually ends at some point. Considering some of the weirdness I've already experienced in other dungeons, I wouldn't be surprised if this was some kind of massive portal to a realm of neverending shadow or something.] 

After a few minutes of climbing, the stairs ended in front of a simple cave entrance. Inside, he found two passageways, one directly in front of him and another to his right. The latter of the two had a sign hung from the ceiling stating simply, "New Dungeon Route."

Taking the former route, Mike walked through the tunnel for roughly twenty meters before it ended in a shimmering dungeon portal.

"Well, lets see how this goes." He muttered to himself before stepping through.

--------------------------------------------------

Hurit adjusted the halberd on his shoulder as he watched the youth enter the dungeon. He was still lost in thought when the rest of his team members finally caught up.

"So what do you think?" Barin, the group's mage asked. "Is he a good target?"

The sun elf glanced back and shook his head. "Even though he's dressed like that, he's got a Rank 6 guild crest and enough confidence to challenge the main dungeon by himself. The way I see it, he's either a fake or the real deal. If he's a fake, then we won't be seeing him again, and if he's the real deal, I don't want to mess with him. We're better off finding someone else."

[Of course, I didn't even get a chance to slip him the anchor token, so it's a rather moot point.]

"Shame. It's been awhile since I saw a solo diver." The mage replied while throwing his hands behind his head. "Oh well. In that case, I overheard a trio of newbies in line behind us. From the sounds of it, they are planning on clearing a few floors and heading back. Probably won't spend more than a few hours inside. We could run the old 'helpful senior' gamit. If we do it well enough, they may even invite us along willingly."

"Newbies again?" Kolgrin, the dwarven warrior complained. "Don't you ever get tired of picking on weaklings?"

"Hey, it's a steady income source. You really want to risk tangling with veterans?"

"Of course not, but I think we can…"

Hurit stopped listening to his party members while looking back at the dungeon entrance. Something about the kid had set him on edge. His instincts were telling him that it would be better to lay low and avoid attracting any attention for the time being.

"We'll do a straight run up to the fifth floor of the new dungeon and call it a night." He announced suddenly, killing the conversation.

His statement was met with a chorus of groans, but no complaints. They knew better than to complain, since Hurit's instincts had never steered them wrong in the past. Nevertheless, a night's worth of hard work was hardly something to celebrate.

He watched his group reluctantly trudge into the portal, before taking up the rear himself.

[Best to play the good adventurer for the next few weeks.] He thought as the cold surface of the portal closed around him.